Chapter 2

Summary

• The protagonist returns home from the woods feeling numb and exhausted, carrying a deer carcass for food.
• She notices the faded protective markings around the cottage door and reflects on their supposed uselessness and on the charlatan who sold them to her father.
• Upon entering, she's greeted by her sisters and father, who are focused on the deer and indifferent to the blood on her.
• Her sister Elain inquires about how long it will take to clean the deer, implicitly assuming the protagonist will do it.
• The protagonist reflects on her familial relationships—Elain's naivete, Nesta's bitterness, and her father's incapacitation.
• Their poverty is apparent, they rely on the protagonist's ability to hunt, and her father and sisters do not contribute to household chores or income.
• As the sisters discuss wanting a new cloak and boots, the protagonist plans to sell the deer's hides for as much money as possible.
• The protagonist recalls the violence that left her father crippled and their subsequent struggle for survival, including the lack of help from Nesta and Elain.
• She confronts her family on their lack of practical contribution to their survival and the fact that she takes on most responsibilities, including chopping wood.
• There is tension about who will get to spend the money from the hides, even though the protagonist is the one who obtained them.
• The protagonist's father queries about the risky acquisition of the deer and wolf pelt; she internally bemoans his lack of effort to provide for the family.
• Nesta insults the protagonist's lack of manners and refinement, highlighting their differences and the protagonist's longing to paint.
• The protagonist listens to Nesta insinuate about another sister, Elain, marrying Tomas Mandray, the woodcutter's son, for love rather than practical reasons.
• There is a confrontation over Nesta’s potential marriage to Tomas, with the protagonist emphasizing their financial reality and the unsustainability of such a match.
• Nesta lashes out at the protagonist, accusing her of jealousy and insensitivity, and the sisters retreat to their room, leaving the protagonist with her father.
• The protagonist's attempt to discuss the issue with her father fails as he advocates for hope, leaving her feeling isolated and without support.
• The chapter concludes with the protagonist contemplating the ephemeral nature of hope and her own impact on her environment and family.