The Girl Who Drank the Moon: Chapter 38 Summary & Analysis

Ethyne and Mae walk toward the Tower. It’s unusually sunny. Ethyne remembers her mother’s stories about the Witch and that her mother lost a boy long ago. Because of Ethyne’s constant questions, Ethyne’s mother spoke about the Witch constantly. She died when the stories got too heavy, when Ethyne was 16. Then, the Sisters offered Ethyne a place in their novitiate. In the Tower, Ethyne noticed that nobody mentioned the Witch and that Sister Ignatia never aged. At night, something stalked the halls, and when a Sister’s grandfather died, Sister Ignatia hungrily watched her cry. Ethyne realized that she, like everyone else in the Protectorate, carried the burden of the Witch. She learned that stories are power and began to suspect that the Witch wasn’t in the forest—she was in the Tower.

Wyn, Antain’s youngest brother, greets Ethyne at the Tower door. Ethyne gives him a piece of paper as she hugs him and asks him if he’ll help her. Wyn hugs Ethyne hard—she’s the kindest person he knows. When Ethyne addresses Wyn by name and asks to see her Sisters, Wyn vows to help her. Ethyne and Mae walk in as the Sisters begin to chant. As Ethyne starts to tell a story, Wyn stands outside with a chain, a padlock, and a key. Ethyne says that the Witch isn’t in the woods—she formed the Sisterhood and invented the story of the Witch to make everyone sad. Now that Ethyne is no longer sad, she can see clearly. Nine Sisters follow her out and Wyn locks the door behind those that stay. Then, Wyn and Ethyne unlock the other doors, including the library.

Protectorate mothers who lost babies begin to experience visions. They see their babies held by other mothers and know it’s impossible, but the visions continue. They see their babies talking, walking, getting married, and having babies of their own. The mothers call the names of their children and know the dreams are real. They wonder if their babies are alive, and it makes them hopeful. The sky gets brighter and brighter.

Elder Raspin insists that everything is Gherland’s fault. They watch a crowd protesting outside the Tower and Raspin says that Ethyne—Gherland’s relative—is “rousing the rabble.” Gherland sputters that Ethyne will mourn as she should once they sacrifice her baby, but the other Elders grumble that there’s too much sun and that the Sisters are shirking their duties. Raspin says it’s Antain’s fault and they should’ve dealt with him long ago. Gherland insists that all of this is temporary and that Antain will die. He says that it’s as sure as the ground they stand on, which begins to rumble. The Elders open the window and see that the volcano is burning.