Chapter 53

Summary

• Dot Bellamy reflects on how her life was altered by the revelation of her past and childhood trauma.
• Dr. Maisel, a psychiatrist, explains to Dot how memory reframing works and the significance of her recurring dreams.
• Dot is grappling with the newfound knowledge that her upbringing was based on a lie, questioning the honesty of her past.
• Dot has not yet informed Hazel and Camellia about her past but has been writing to piece together her memories.
• Aunt Imogene is in custody with a trial pending, causing distress among Dot's family members.
• The narrative starts to intertwine with the article Dot is writing about the River Child, in which she uses parts of her recollection augmented by her imagination.
• Dot revisits Binsey, experiencing the locations of her past, namely the well with two names, connecting it to her own experience of having two identities.
• She acknowledges that renaming something (or someone) doesn't alter its (or their) essential nature or history.
• Dot's personal journey to the church and well is symbolic and filled with confronting memories that she acknowledges but are not engulfing her.
• The chapter ends with a reconstructed scene from Dot's past where she is rescued after nearly drowning by a woman named Imogene, whom she associates with various roles including aunt, nurse, and babysitter.
• Imogene manipulates and lies to young Flora, who is in a vulnerable state, convincing her that her family does not care for her and luring her into a hidden room inside the church.
• Imogene promises to keep Flora safe and warm, further conditioning her into relying on her and revealing her secret imaginary place, Whisperwood.
• The chapter concludes with Flora stuck in the church, cold and alone, realizing that she may never be able to return to her real family due to her disclosure of Whisperwood.