The Conjure Woman · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chesnutt.
Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.
Chapter 1
The Goophered Grapevine
The narrator and his wife Annie meet Julius McAdoo, an old Black man, while inspecting a vineyard they consider buying. Julius warns them that the vineyard is 'goophered' (bewitched) and tells the story of how Mars Dugal' McAdoo hired the conjure woman Aunt Peggy to place a curse on the grapes to prevent slaves from stealing them. The curse caused anyone who ate the grapes to die within a year. A slave named Henry, who unknowingly ate the grapes, was saved by Aunt Peggy's magic but became bound to the vineyard's health—thriving when the vines thrived and dying when a Yankee ruined the vines.
Chapter 2
Po' Sandy
Julius tells the story of Sandy, a slave who is constantly lent out by his master Mars Marrabo McSwayne, causing him to be separated from his wife Tenie. Tenie, a conjure woman, turns Sandy into a pine tree so he can stay on the plantation. The tree is later cut down and milled into lumber, which is used to build a schoolhouse. The schoolhouse is later rumored to be haunted by Sandy's spirit. In the frame story, the narrator plans to tear down the schoolhouse for a new kitchen, and Julius asks to use it for church meetings.
Chapter 3
Mars Jeems's Nightmare
Julius's grandson Tom proves lazy and is discharged by the narrator. While waiting at a mineral spring, the narrator and his wife witness a neighbor cruelly beating his horse. Julius remarks that such cruelty leads to bad dreams, and tells the story of Mars Jeems McLean, a harsh slaveholder who forbade singing, dancing, courting, and marriage among his slaves, and whose brutal treatment only worsened after a failed courtship.
Chapter 4
The Conjurer's Revenge
On a dull Sunday afternoon, the narrator and his wife Annie are visited by Julius, who warns against buying a mule. Julius tells the story of Primus, a slave who was transformed into a mule by a conjurer after stealing a pig. The mule exhibits strange behavior, including eating tobacco, getting drunk on wine, and attacking Primus's wife's new lover, Dan. Eventually, the conjurer repents and turns Primus back into a man, but with a club foot as a permanent reminder.
Chapter 5
Sis' Becky's Pickaninny
Julius tells the story of Sis' Becky, a field hand separated from her husband and later traded by her owner for a racehorse. Her baby Mose is sold to a speculator, causing Becky deep despair. Through conjure and the help of Aunt Peggy, she is reunited with her son, who later buys her freedom. The story is framed by Annie's melancholy and her eventual recovery after hearing it, with Julius's rabbit's foot appearing as a token of luck.
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