Cold Mountain Summary
Description
Here you will find a Cold Mountain summary (Charles Frazier's book).
We begin with a summary of the entire book, and then you can read each individual chapter's summary by visiting the links on the "Chapters" section.
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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024
Chapters
Chapters Cold Mountain Summary Overview
Inman, a war-weary Confederate soldier recuperating in a Virginia hospital, yearns to return home to his love, Ada. After receiving a letter from Inman about his impending return, Ada struggles to run her farm alone after the death of her father. A local girl, Ruby, becomes her companion and helper on the farm, forging a strong bond between them. Concurrently, Inman's journey back home is fraught with peril, including run-ins with a debauched preacher, Solomon Veasey, and a dangerous encounter with the Home Guard, the military force hunting for him. Despite his narrow escape from their clutches, the journey wears heavily on Inman. Ada adapts to her new life of laborious harmony with nature, and her bond with Ruby deepens. Her life intertwines with the war when a group of exiled pilgrims seek shelter at her farm and Inman's story continues to unfold. Encountering several unique individuals on his way, Inman shows perseverance and resilience, even when faced with despair. One day, he comes across a kind young widow named Sara, who feeds and clothes him. Following an encounter with Federal soldiers who had threatened Sara, he continues on his journey home. Meanwhile, Ada and Ruby, prepare for autumn. Their peaceful routine is disrupted when Ruby's father and his friend are shot by Teague's Home Guard. The women leave the farm to bury the bodies in the mountains. Inman finally reaches the farm, but finds it empty. He soon reunites with Ada, and they spend a few precious days together. However, their happiness is cut short when Inman and Ruby's father are ambushed by the Home Guard, resulting in Inman's death in Ada's arms. The story concludes a decade later, with Ada, her daughter, presumably with Inman, and Ruby's family gathering for an evening meal, marking the end of their tumultuous journey.
chapter 1
At dawn, Inman rises from his hospital bed, disturbed by flies buzzing around his neck wound. The morning light is dim, obscuring the tree, road, and wall usually visible from his window. Seated, he imagines escaping through the window and recalls a school memory. Bored in a history lesson, he tossed his hat out the window. It landed near a hayfield, looking like a crow's shadow. Despite the teacher's threat of punishment, Inman retrieved his hat and abandoned school. Balis, the patient beside Inman, occupies himself with translating Greek texts. He lost his right foot in battle and is progressively rotting away. As the room brightens, more patients stir. Inman occupies his time by counting flies and watching for the arrival of a blind man. He reflects on his near-fatal battle wound, which ejected remnants of clothing and an object like a peach pit. This item induced unsettling dreams. While convalescing, he'd pass time by waiting for changes in the view from the window. The blind man enters, and Inman strikes up a conversation. The man reveals he was born blind and wouldn't want sight if it meant losing it later. Inman wishes he'd been blind during a battle where his regiment massacred Federal soldiers. The gruesome scene that followed still haunts him. Later, Inman engrosses himself in his book, Bartram’s Travels, which evokes the landscape of his home. Days later, he purchases supplies like clothes and writing paper in town using money sent from home and his back pay. At an inn, he reads about army deserters and Cherokee soldiers killing Federal troops. He recalls Swimmer, a Cherokee boy he met when they were both sixteen. Swimmer's tales about the soul and his belief in a celestial race residing above the mountains stir Inman's thoughts about spirituality and divination. Inman's thoughts are interrupted by fiddle music. He starts, then discards a draft before finally sending a letter announcing his return home. Back at the hospital, he discovers Balis has died. He reads Balis' translations, packs his new supplies, and leaves through the window that night, filled with a sense of profound sorrow.
chapter 2
Ada is drawn into thoughts of managing her farm after her father's death while writing a letter to Inman. Her lack of practical skills contrasts with her high-class education as she struggles with tasks on the farm, such as fending off an aggressive rooster and failing at baking bread. She finds solace in reading by the window, admiring the view of Cold Mountain and visiting her father's grave. Reflecting on her father's death, Ada recalls finding him lifeless in the garden after leaving him to paint. She remembers the funeral and deciding to stay with the Swangers instead of returning to Charleston. Her fear kept her from returning to her home, where memories of her father resonated. On her way to the post office, Ada encounters a few townspeople. She receives a letter and visits Esco and Sally Swanger. Esco tells a tale of a man, Teague, who coerces a family into giving up their valuables, believing they're connected with the Union army. After narrating disturbing omens, Esco gives Ada a mirror to glimpse her future in his well. Confused by what she sees, Ada hesitates on her next steps, but informs Sally she has no plans to return to Charleston. She leaves with a jar of blackberry preserves given by Sally. Returning to her farm, Ada takes a trip down memory lane recalling how they arrived at Black Cove. Her father had been passionate about attracting believers to his new chapel, even offending the devout Swangers. During her reminiscence, she reads a letter that informs her of her father's worthless investments. She falls asleep while reading, dreaming about her silent father trapped in a glass case. Waking up to a sunrise, Ada decides against returning to Charleston due to the societal pressures there. Later, a girl named Ruby, recommended by Sally, arrives at the farm offering her help in managing the farm. She sets clear conditions for her assistance, emphasizing equality. Ada watches as Ruby quickly takes control, killing a rooster and preparing a broth, signalling the start of their shared responsibilities.
chapter 3
Inman, despite days of travel, hasn't advanced far from the hospital due to challenging conditions like poor weather, hostile dogs, and the Home Guard's menace. Three men attack him at a small crossroad town, but he grabs a scythe from a blacksmith and beats them, escaping towards the forest. He then recites a spell taught by Swimmer, which brings back memories of Monroe's sermon on Emerson and his puzzling question of why humans are born to die. That was the day Inman first saw Ada. Inman recalls his first encounter with Ada in church, drawn to the curve of her neck shown by her hairdo. Several single men vied for her attention post-service, but Inman, through Sally Swanger, was introduced to Ada. Their chat was quick and uncomfortable, but Inman managed to impress Ada by aptly comparing two things. Leaving the pine forest, Inman travels along the river. He contemplates becoming a recluse, imagining a life with Ada in the mountains as a cure for his gloom. At a ferry point, he hails for a ride. A brunette girl maneuvers a canoe towards him and identifies the river as the “mighty” Cape Fear. Despite the sign indicating a five-dollar fare, he offers twenty dollars, knowing she's saving for a horse and saddle to escape her life. While they paddle against the current, the three men from town, with additional company, start firing at Inman. Both he and the girl dive into the river, using the sinking canoe for cover as they drift downstream, invisible in the night to their pursuers. On reaching the shore, Inman compensates for the ruined canoe, and the girl provides him with directions to the western roads.
chapter 4
Ruby heads back home to gather her things and returns to Black Cove to assess what needs fixing. She plans for her and Ada to raise pigs, sell cider and grow tobacco. Ruby is happy that Ada is penniless, as she doesn't trust money and prefers to trade goods. She tells Ada to decide between selling the piano or a cabriolet to get them through winter. Ada opts to trade the piano, which Ruby exchanges with a local, Old Jones, for a sow, sheep, cabbages, and more. The piano's departure stirs memories in Ada of a pre-war holiday gathering. Inman showed up late to that party, surprising Ada as he dried his rain-soaked clothes in her kitchen. After drinking too much champagne, she ended up sitting on his lap. They didn't converse much but Ada remembers the comforting smell of his damp wool and the happiness she felt before she returned to her piano playing. Ada goes looking for champagne in the basement but finds green coffee beans instead. The women spend the entire night drinking coffee and chatting. The following day, Ruby trades the beans for chickens, vegetables, and salt. She makes it clear to Ada that she's not a servant and insists they share the workload. They fall into a homey routine, with Ada reading Greek tales to Ruby at night, starting with Homer. Once night falls, Ruby tells Ada about her life. She never knew her mother and was raised by her irresponsible father, Stobrod Thewes, in a cabin. Ruby had to fend for herself since Stobrod would often leave her alone for days to party or 'hunt'. Once, while gathering food, four-year-old Ruby got her dress snagged on a briar and spent the night alone in the forest. She felt a presence watching over her. Stobrod joined the army early in the war, but Ruby has no clue about his fate. She thinks she's twenty-one but isn't certain.
chapter 5
Inman treks the edges of Deep River under the cover of darkness. As he spots a light, he fears it's the Home Guard, but it turns out to be a man preparing to toss a white bundle into the river gorge. The man mistakes Inman for a divine sign, but Inman, after learning the man's true intentions - to murder his drugged pregnant lover - detains him at gunpoint and orders him to guide them to his town. While doing so, Inman inadvertently injures his thumb on the horse's lead rope. During their journey, the man, who turns out to be a preacher, admits to his affair and impending marriage to another woman. His deeds, if known, would lead to his shunning. As Inman mulls over this, he recalls a past argument with a young soldier about whether worldly knowledge was responsible for the brutalities of war like the Fredericksburg battle. Inman begins to think the boy might have had a point. Inman is indecisive about what to do with the preacher, and openly admits it. Once they reach town, he gags the preacher, binds him to a tree, and carries the preacher's victim, Laura, to her bed in her grandmother's cabin. After warning Laura about the preacher, he pens a letter outlining the preacher's plans and pins it above the preacher's head, before leaving town to sleep in a pine thicket. Upon waking, Inman tends his gun and contemplates his ease with violence. As he resumes his trek, he encounters two slaves and a camp of individuals matching his own rootless nature. He eats, observes a woman who reminds him of Ada, and shares food with a group of gypsy boys. He purchases a bottle of Moet, shares a meal with a man entertaining a group with knife-throwing acts, and listens to their tales. Distracted by the attractive knife-thrower, Inman retreats into the woods for rest. There, he indulges in champagne, reads from Bartram's Travels, and contemplates his interactions with Laura and Ada, the latter at a Christmas party where he had futilely sought clues to the future in her hand. Inman dreams of Ada in white and black, promising her he's returning and will never let her go. Waking up to find the camp empty doesn't dampen his spirits, buoyed by his pleasant dream.
chapter 6
While tending to the garden, Ruby discusses her faith in the “rule of the heavens” and the correlating “signs” of growth, which Ada interprets metaphorically despite her father's skepticism. Unexpectedly, a group of women and children refugees from Tennessee appear, their homes destroyed by the Federals. Ada and Ruby offer them dinner and, after the refugees depart the next day, the women share a meal in the orchard. Ruby explains how her knowledge stems from keen observation of nature, discussions with older women, and the influence of Sally Swanger. Her insights about nature provoke Ada to contemplate her own worldview. Later, Ada shares a memory of her final party in Charleston at her cousin Lucy’s residence. Dressed in a mauve gown her father purchased, she recalls a boat ride with a fellow named Blount, who expressed his fears about the war. Ada could only comfort him with a gentle touch. She recollects the moment she mistook her confident reflection for another woman, and later learning of Blount's unfortunate fate - shot while attempting to avoid a similar situation. Wrapping up her reminiscence, Ada ponders on Monroe’s idea that Cold Mountain's surroundings mirror another world. She eventually concludes that the tangible world is all that exists. She then goes to secure her cow, Waldo.
chapter 7
Inman continues his trek, asking a woman for directions and stealing lunch from a laundress but leaving money in exchange. He encounters Solomon Veasey, a disgraced preacher, who thanks him for previous help and shares his dreams of owning a ranch in Texas. Despite Inman's reluctance, they journey together. The duo find an empty house where Inman discovers honey. Over their meal, they discuss food, satisfaction, and God, before moving on. Spotting a catfish in a stream, Veasey attempts to catch it, but it’s Inman who eventually shoots it dead. They camp out, eating the fish, and Inman shares a war story with Veasey. The following day, they go shopping in the pouring rain. Veasey threatens the shopkeeper with his stolen gun, forcing Inman to intervene and seize the weapon. A slave woman guides them to a local inn, where Veasey gets into a dispute over a prostitute named Big Tildy. Inman prevents the fight from escalating further, eventually buying a meal and a bed for the night. There, he meets Odell, a peddler and the heir to a plantation. Odell reveals his tragic love story involving Lucinda, a slave whom he fell in love with and had a child by, despite being married. Upon revealing the affair, his father cruelly separated them by sending Lucinda away. Heartbroken, Odell ran away from home and started peddling to fund his search for her. After a few more drinks, Odell shares a horrific incident where he witnessed a woman being devoured by vultures. Once he confirmed she wasn't Lucinda, she perished in front of him. In the morning, Inman departs the inn and reunites with Veasey, who despite sporting a cut under his eye from Big Tildy, insists he enjoyed his night with her.
chapter 8
Ada and Ruby, while birdwatching, head into town for supplies. Ruby expresses respect for the crow for its resilience and cunning. Ada's spirits are low, which she blames on laborious tasks like hay cutting and the dreary weather. After shopping, they lunch by the river and then visit Mrs. McKennet, a widow. Mrs. McKennet entertains Ada with exaggerated war tales and calls her naïve for finding war repellent. Ruby is plainly disinterested in the war and views Northerners as mere money worshippers. As they return home, they encounter a prisoner telling his story outside the courthouse. He was dragged from his home by the Home Guard, whose violent leader, Teague, murdered his father. Others were chased from the property, with only him surviving due to his surrender. Teague considered hanging him, but another guard, Birch, advised against it, for appearances' sake. The prisoner believes the world won't last much longer. Debate over this perspective ensues between Ada and Ruby until a heron distracts them. They argue over the bird's intentions as Ada sketches it. Ruby then shares an absurd story from Stobrod who jokingly claimed her real father was a heron. This prompts Ada to narrate her father Monroe's story of how he courted her mother. He fell in love with a woman named Claire Dechutes at a Charleston house. With her father's blessing, he was to propose once she turned eighteen. However, he caught her with another man on the day he intended to propose. She married the man and moved to France, while Monroe sought comfort in England. After her unhappy marriage ended, Claire returned and married Monroe. Ada was born two years later, but Claire's death in childbirth devastated Monroe, who vowed to devote his life to Ada. Their conversation ends when a flock of birds flies past the moon, and Ada identifies the planet Venus, ready to set behind Cold Mountain.
chapter 9
Inman and Veasey encounter a discarded saw which Veasey pockets, arguing that God disregards property rights. They munch on honey locust tree pods, and aid a stranger in removing a dead bull from a creek. Despite Veasey's failed attempts to move the bull using leverage, Inman dissects the bull using the stolen saw. In appreciation, the stranger invites them for dinner and shelter. Inman agrees on the condition the man takes the saw. As they journey to the stranger's home, they swap stories and consume alcohol. The stranger introduces himself as Junior, sharing scandalous tales of his past and griping about his free-spirited wife and sisters-in-law. When they reach Junior's off-kilter house, they encounter Junior's daughter, Lula, and continue drinking. Inman observes the night sky and meets Junior's wife, Lila, after which Junior excuses himself. The women present bread loaves shaped like men, and Lila reveals a disturbing tale about a ghost in the forest. Inman feels unwell and secures his belongings. An unusually large and ambiguous cut of meat is served for dinner. Lila flirts with Inman but Junior returns with the Home Guard and Inman and Veasey are captured. Junior forces Veasey to marry Inman and Lila before they leave. Marching east for days without food takes a toll on Inman. One evening, the guards attempt to execute the captives. Inman survives with a minor head wound and hogs pull him out from a hasty grave. He frees himself from Veasey's lifeless body and encounters a slave who gifts him a melon and takes him to his master's farm. The slave conceals Inman, who rests and loses track of days. On leaving, the slave advises Inman to head north to evade Confederate patrols and shares a hand-drawn map. Inman is grateful but regretful that he can't offer any money. Inman returns to Junior's home, retrieves his possessions, and kills Junior. He travels west overnight and rests by a tree holding a crow's nest. Inman daydreams about morphing into a crow to escape or mock his foes.
chapter 10
Ada and Ruby set a trap to catch a thief pilfering their corn, using Ada's anxious horse, Ralph, to build fences. Ruby departs to exchange goods with Esco, while Ada constructs a scarecrow, dressing it in an old dress and a French hat given to her by Monroe. She dubs the leader of a crow gang "Notchwing", then draws the scarecrow after having lunch. Ruby comes back carrying cabbages and a letter for Ada. The women plant the cabbages behind their smokehouse and then engage in a playful hair-braiding competition, which Ada wins. She then reads from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, before Ruby retires for the night. The letter is from Inman, Ada's lover. He requests her to stop viewing his old photograph given his transformation. Ada agrees that it no longer resembles him and recalls how popular it was for soldiers to have their photos taken before leaving for war in 1861. She reflects on the last time she saw Inman when he shared an ancient Cherokee legend about a hidden utopia in the mountains that can only be accessed by fasting for a week. Ada ponders their uncomfortable farewell and her failure to reply to Inman’s queries about his potential death. She remembers feeling distressed and seeking the comfort of “lomalakne love.” Recalling her apology to Inman for her previous day’s behavior and their farewell kiss at his doorstep, Ada feels a sense of regret.
chapter 11
Inman navigates through hills to a mountain range using a map provided by a slave. He goes through a rather depressing place called "Happy Valley", avoiding Home Guard patrols. He encounters an elderly woman in the forest who offers him a meal at her camp, located in a river gorge. He observes her goat-filled caravan campsite, and she prepares a goat meat meal for him. For several days, Inman dines on various goat dishes and engages in conversation with the woman. He claims to be on military “furlough” due to an injury, but she doesn't buy his story. She shares her tale of survival in the wilderness after escaping her abusive spouse. The woman and Inman discuss the war, with her stating that the Southern army fights a godless, slavery-protecting war, which she calls a “curse laid on the land.” Inman mentions his own war experiences, noting that men are drawn into battle out of boredom rather than survival instinct. She gives him herbal treatments for his injuries. They share laudanum, leading Inman to talk about a woman named Ada. He briefly contemplates adopting the woman's solitary lifestyle, but deems it too isolating. The woman reveals she documents her life through writing and painting but leaves out who taught her these skills. They touch upon the topic of dying alone, and she expresses her fear of it, especially when she becomes unable to care for herself. On the following day, the woman shares a story with Inman about a hard bargain she negotiated over the bells on her goats with a man in town. Inman dozes off, wakes up at night amid goats, and discovers numerous goat drawings in the woman's journals. As he departs, the woman gives him a cautionary warning and gifts him a drawing of a carrion flower.
chapter 12
Ruby comes across a man trapped in the corncrib and identifies him as her father, Stobrod Thewes. She surmises he's been pilfering grain for brewing. After preparing him breakfast, she refrains from inviting him in. He informs Ruby and Ada he's taken up residence in a mountain cave with other outliers before departing. Ruby and Ada then inspect their thriving tobacco crop, credited to growing and harvesting in line with "the signs." They relax in the hayloft, where Ada is unsuccessful in distinguishing tree types by the sound of their leaves. Ruby and Ada dine al fresco when Strobod re-emerges. He presents a unique fiddle he crafted, featuring a snake's head rather than a scroll. He details how he hunted a rattlesnake and embedded its rattle in the fiddle to give his music the "dire keen of snake warning." Despite playing several tunes, Stobrod fails to impress Ruby. He recounts how composing his own music became a habit after a dying girl requested a personal tune. The melody he created is now second nature to him. Stobrod concludes discussing his joy in creating harmonies. He performs a song titled "Green-Eyed Girl," a tale of longing. Ruby comments on the late-life discovery of Stobrod's only "tool" and the origin of his nickname, a result of a "stob" beating for theft. Ada marvels at the transformation of Stobrod's character.
chapter 13
Inman roams aimlessly in the wilderness, healing from his injuries but growing extremely hungry. He encounters a man named Potts, who sympathizes with the Federals. Potts guides Inman to a nearby house for food. At the house, Inman meets Sara, a young widow with a baby. She feeds Inman and gives him her late husband’s clothes when he promises to kill her pig. That night, Sara shares her sorrowful tale, causing Inman to have a restless sleep filled with nightmares. The following day, three Federal soldiers arrive. Sara urges Inman to hide, and he witnesses the soldiers harass her and rob her food livestock. After they leave, Inman follows them, overhears their conversations about home, and kills them all when he learns the one who threatened Sara is named Eben. He then goes back to Sara's place with her stolen livestock. Inman and Sara prepare and eat the livestock. Inman removes his beard while Sara cooks the evening meal. Later, he watches Sara care for her sick child and sing a haunting lullaby. Impressed by her courage, they sleep together. Inman departs the next day.
chapter 14
Ada finds fulfillment in harvesting apples. When Ruby departs to barter cider for meat, Ada stays behind to chop wood and create a bonfire. She tires from the task and opts to pen a letter to her cousin Lucy, detailing her physical and mental transformation, notably her newfound appreciation for nature. She realizes she's excluded Ruby from her narration and sets the letter aside. After tending to her chores and reading Adam Bede, she contemplates creating a sun tracking point in the nearby trees. Unexpectedly, Stobrod and a young man named Pangle visit Ada. Stobrod tells Ada about how he stole a banjo for Pangle, noticing his innate musical talent. Ruby returns with beef for the fire and dinner is shared while Stobrod and Pangle play music. Ada is touched by their performance and Stobrod's evident joy in it. Stobrod then reveals his fear of Teague hunting him for his thefts and asks for occasional refuge at the farm. Ruby defers the decision to Ada, expressing disappointment when Ada accedes. Ruby recounts how Stobrod abandoned her in her youth to start a distillery at Cold Mountain. She admits he never harmed her but also never showed her kindness. After the men depart, Ada gazes at the starry sky and witnesses a lunar eclipse through Monroe’s spyglass. Overwhelmed by her feelings, she pens a single-line letter to Inman, "Come back to me is my request."
chapter 15
Inman encounters a woman mourning her recently deceased daughter. He assists in burying the child before accepting a meal from the woman. He then observes a photograph, an “artifact,” showcasing the woman as the last living member of her large family. Continuing his journey, Inman spends the night in an abandoned chicken coop. Upon waking, he reads an excerpt from Bartram’s Travels, detailing the landscape of Cold Mountain. The following day, he comes across three skeletons hanging from a tree, their bones creating a rhythmic “tock and click” sound. Moving along a mountain ridge near his home, Inman pitches camp on a “rocky scarp.” A furious bear and its cub disturb his sleep. Remembering a childhood vow, Inman resists shooting the animal and attempts to communicate with it. The bear lunges at him, but he sidesteps, causing the bear to fall onto the rocks below. Left with no other option, he kills the cub and consumes it. Overwhelmed by guilt, Inman likens the taste of the meat to “sin.” Unable to pinpoint his sin from the seven deadly ones, he creates an eighth, “Regret,” to articulate his remorse.
chapter 16
Stobrod, Pangle, and a third individual, a 17-year-old Georgian whose cousin died on Cold Mountain, scale a part of the mountain. They struggle with stomach issues from eating venison the previous day. Looking for a route, they pause at a flat place. Stobrod and Pangle have plans to establish a community near the Shining Rocks and they collect food and supplies left by Ruby and Ada under a peculiarly marked stone. Debating which path to choose, Stobrod suggests they eat before making a decision. The young boy runs into the woods due to an upset stomach while Stobrod falls asleep near the fire. Waking up, he finds himself surrounded by the Home Guard led by Teague, who are hunting deserters. Teague demands the location of their hideout. Stobrod gives a fake location, but Pangle inadvertently exposes the real one. Teague's men prepare breakfast while Stobrod shares his recent experiences and plays music with Pangle. Birch refers to them as "holy men," before Teague instructs them to stand near a poplar tree. Holding his fiddle with pride, Stobrod and a smiling Pangle face execution. Teague asks Pangle to cover his face with his hat before they are both shot.
chapter 17
The young Georgian shares Stobrod's and Pangle's fatal incident with Ada and Ruby. Ada inquires why he survived, and he cites his hiding spot in the brush. After Ada assures him of a meal, she requests for him to lead them to the location. Ruby doesn't react emotionally, insisting the deceased be interred up the mountain. She gives the boy directions home before the women map out their upcoming journey, realizing they must overnight in the forest. They put on Monroe’s old attire and leave the farmstead. Walking through the ominously shadowed woods, Ada contests her father’s belief that everything earthly has a spiritual significance. A snowfall begins, prompting the women to find a safe haven. Ruby recalls a childhood camp and they settle there. While resting under a rock overhang, they discover signs of past cultures, evident in arrowhead remnants found in the charred remains of the fire. Ada is mesmerized by the flickering firelight. Ruby asserts that human progress often results in loss, rather than gain. The following day, they locate Pangle at the crossroads and choose to lay him to rest by a chestnut tree. Ada hopes that the locust cross they place will bloom into a story akin to Persephone’s, characterized by “black bark in winter” and white blossoms in spring. They discover Stobrod, barely alive, and Ruby extracts the bullet in his chest. The women move further down the valley and establish camp in an abandoned Cherokee settlement. They house Stobrod in a cabin while Ralph is stabled elsewhere. As Ada watches the flames dance, she is overwhelmed by a sense of solitude.
chapter 18
Inman comes across the campsite where Pangle lost his life. Noticing the women's footprints, he decides to pursue them the following morning as nightfall approaches. Despite his hunger, he pledges not to eat until he reunites with Ada. Recalling his morning arrival at Black Cove, Inman acknowledges the contrast between reality and his expectations. He learns from the Georgia boy that the women had left for the mountains. Contemplating in front of a fire, he hopes Ada's presence will bring him redemption. His thoughts drift towards preachers like Veasey and their deceitful salvation promises. Despite this, Inman retains his belief in possible redemption. The following morning, he sets off on the trail of the footprints, which get concealed by a fresh snowfall, leaving him in a hemlock grove, disheartened. Ruby wakes to find Stobrod ill and concocts a poultice to alleviate his condition. Ada ventures out to hunt turkeys, successfully killing two with a single bullet. The firing sound prompts Inman to leave his shelter. He spots a figure with a gun, only to discover it's Ada. Initially, Ada fails to recognize him, declaring she doesn't know this stranger. Inman almost walks away but decides to speak, triggering Ada's recognition. Picking up the turkeys, they head back to camp together, with Ada filling the air with comforting chatter.
chapter 19
In a cabin, Ada, Inman, Ruby, and Stobrod gather. After the men retire, the women set about restoring another shack. Ada discovers an antique bowl and finds a spot for it. They cook the turkeys and Ruby tells Ada she can survive without Inman. Ada counters, not wanting to turn into a "cranky old woman". Inman brings Stobrod water and enters the women's shack for turkey. Ruby prepares soup for her father and leaves, hinting she might be absent for a while. At a loss for words, Inman reads aloud from Bartram’s Travels to Ada, accidentally choosing an erotic excerpt. Despite his embarrassment and cleaning his dishes in the river, he is drawn back to Ada by the memory of her touch. They share a warm embrace while Ada recounts the letters she drafted for him. Inman fears he might be "damaged past repair." They share their hopes for the future and speculate about the previous inhabitants of the cabin. Upon Ruby's return, Inman departs and Ada informs Ruby that Stobrod can recuperate at Black Cove farm. The following day, Ada and Inman attempt to hunt but return empty-handed. Ada elaborates her intentions of retaining Ruby at the farm. They find an old arrowhead lodged in a poplar tree during their search for medicinal plants. They envision revisiting this spot with their family to observe the arrow's decay. Back at the camp, Inman and Stobrod retire while Ada and Ruby discuss their optimistic plans for the farm. Ruby keeps vigil by her father's side that night, while Ada and Inman spend the night together. The couple reminisces about their pasts, but Inman refrains from discussing the war, believing no account could truly capture its horrors. Instead, he shares stories about a goat-woman and his grueling journey home. They discuss their matrimonial plans and future life at Black Cove, with Inman expressing his intent to learn Greek and music.
chapter 20
On their third day at the village, Ada and Inman anticipate the war ending by late summer. Inman dismisses going back to the army and Ada disagrees with him hiding to avoid danger at Black Cove. They agree instead on Inman's surrender to the Federal army, pledging to remain true to their future aspirations. By the fourth day, Stobrod recovers enough to sit up and consume solid food. Ada observes the others eating cooked squirrels, but doesn't partake due to the squirrels still possessing teeth. As the snow thaws on the fourth day's dawn, Ada and Ruby head to Black Cove. Inman plans on following them with Stobrod later to keep the women safe. He determines to spend a night in the forest before going north. After the women's departure, Inman watches some of the "richness of the world" leave with Ada. He helps Stobrod onto Ada's horse and they set off, passing Pangle's grave and sparking Stobrod's memories of his friend. Their journey is interrupted by sounds from behind. They encounter Teague, a boy, and several other men. Recognizing the futility of reasoning with them, Inman sends Stobrod into the woods to safety and fights off the men. He shoots a guard and a wolfhound, causing the others to rein in their frightened horses. With no cover available, he shoots another man and uses Teague's rifle to knock down the remaining man. He finds the last rider, Birch, hiding in the forest. Despite Inman's warning, Birch shoots him. Hearing the gunshots, Ada finds Stobrod and rushes back to discover Inman lying wounded. Inman hallucinates crows and a blend of seasons. The scene is described from a distant perspective, noting the serene appearance of the lovers despite the circumstances.
epilogue
Ada reflects on Ruby's joyful union with the man from Georgia, Reid, while observing their children at play outside. She contemplates the changing of seasons and her preference for fall over winter. From the kitchen, Ruby emerges with a young girl, and together with Stobrod, who has just finished tending to the cow, they all sit down for a meal. Later, everyone congregates around the fire. As Stobrod fills the air with melodious fiddle tunes, the children frolic about. After being reprimanded for waving a flaming stick, the girl turns to Ada and affectionately calls her “Mama.” Ada narrates the tale of Baucis and Philemon, a story of two lovers morphing into trees. Her narration is slightly hampered by her missing fingertip, a casualty of marking tree locations on the ridge during sunset. After concluding the story, Ada puts away the book and decides it's time to secure the house and retire for the night.
