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Chapter 4
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fever 1793, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Freedom and Independence
Mothers, Daughters, and Familial Love
Disaster and Human Nature
Ingenuity, Ambition, and Survival
Summary
Analysis
A week later, 64 people have died in Philadelphia, but no one is sure of the cause. Mattie is so busy cleaning and serving in the coffeehouse that she has little time to mourn Polly. One day, Mattie jumps at the chance to run to the market. Grandfather talks Mother into letting Mattie go, arguing that they can’t rearrange their lives for a fever. Mother gives Mattie strict instructions not to wander off or loiter in front of the Peale house. Mattie blushes and makes a quick escape.
The fever begins to spread, but life mostly goes on as normal. Mother worries, while Grandfather continues to underestimate the gravity of the developing situation. Mother is also aware of Mattie’s crush on Nathaniel, who’s apprenticed at the Peale house.
Themes
Mattie enjoys the sights, sounds, and smells of the open-air market, quickly forgetting the items on Mother’s list. She chats with some German farmers, “egg-shaped” Mr. Epler and “fluttering” Mrs. Epler. Mrs. Epler tells Mattie that the fever is a sign from God and tells Mattie that as long as she keeps going to church, she’ll be spared. Mattie buys eggs from them and moves on to get cabbages, lemons, and apples.
The lively atmosphere of the market contrasts with its vacancy later in the novel. Mattie hears one common interpretation of the epidemic—that it’s a judgment from God upon the unfaithful.
Themes
Suddenly someone grabs Mattie’s basket. She whirls around and faces Nathaniel Benson. Mattie can’t help admiring him; he looks more like a man than a boy. She sometimes walks past the Peales’ house, where Nathaniel works long hours as an apprentice. Whenever Nathaniel strolls past the coffeehouse, Mother won’t let Mattie see him, dismissing him as a scamp without a future. He and Mattie watched the balloon together earlier this year.
Nathaniel is closely connected to Mattie’s longing for independence in the future; the symbol of the balloon, elsewhere an emblem of freedom, reinforces this connection. Mother’s dismissal of Nathaniel echoes her own parents’ rejection of her marriage to a carpenter, suggesting that maternal conflict tends to recur across the generations over surprisingly similar issues.
Themes
Mattie tries to stay prim and composed. She manages to grab her basket back when she tricks Nathaniel by saying that his shoe buckle is missing. Nathaniel has the day off and asks Mattie to come fishing with him. Mattie is tempted, though she isn’t sure what to make of Nathaniel’s smile. She figures as long as she “[fishes] like a lady,” it will be fine.
Mattie and Nathaniel have mutual feelings for one another. Mattie is conflicted drawn by contradictory desires and obligations: her interest in Nathaniel, her family’s expectations, and her desire to conform to “ladylike” behavior.
Themes
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They’re interrupted by the tolling of the Christ Church bell. The butcher explains that the bell tolls for a fever victim’s death, ringing once for each year of the person’s life. Nathaniel counts the bell tolling 21 times. They talk about Polly, and Mattie starts to cry. Nathaniel’s hand on her shoulder comforts her. Mattie excuses herself to return to the coffeehouse, telling Nathaniel, “Good luck with your paints.” As she goes, she cringes at her words, feeling like a “ninny.”
In another example of the epidemic breaking into everyday life, Mattie’s and Nathaniel’s playful conversation is derailed by the bell tolling yet another death. This brings back the reality of Polly’s death. Still, Mattie’s grief doesn’t totally displace her embarrassment at her social awkwardness.
Themes
