Poetry · Chapter
Costa Magic explained
Cesira falls ill and is suspected to be bewitched by her father.
What happens
Cesira falls ill and is suspected to be bewitched by her father. Despite medical diagnosis of phthisis, a wise woman's ritual is performed, but Cesira ultimately dies, leaving the narrator to reflect on the unnaturalness of a father bewitching his own daughter.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
Ova’s emotional and psychological peak occurs in her desperate, childlike plea for the Gentle Jesus to “come o…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- The Body and Mortality
Cesira's physical decline from phthisis and her eventual death are central to the chapter, highlighting the fragility of the body.
- Religion and Mythology
The ritual at the magic tree and the belief in bewitchment invoke folk magic and supernatural causation.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“It is unnatural in a Father Bewitching a daughter Whose hair down covers her thighs.”
The narrator reflects on the unnaturalness of a father casting a spell on his own daughter, whose long hair reaches her thighs.
This line underscores the taboo of paternal bewitchment and the intimate, disturbing nature of the act.
“Cesira becomes as a wild beast A tree of age”
At the magic tree, Cesira transforms into a wild animal, as if the tree itself is ancient.
The transformation at the tree blurs the line between human and beast, suggesting a loss of self under the spell.
