The Conjure Woman · Chapter
The Goophered Grapevine explained
The narrator and his wife Annie meet Julius McAdoo, an old Black man, while inspecting a vineyard they consider buying.
What happens
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.
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
In this scene, the emotional and psychological peak occurs when Julius, while cutting a slice of ham, is sudde…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Conjure and Superstition
The entire chapter revolves around Aunt Peggy's goopher (curse) on the grapevines, which is believed to cause death and control behavior.
- Deception and Manipulation
Mars Dugal' uses the goopher to manipulate his slaves into avoiding the grapes, and later a Yankee deceives him into ruining the vineyard.
Characters to notice
- Uncle Julius
Narrates the story of the goophered vineyard to the narrator and Annie, warning them not to buy it.
- Mars Dugal' McAdoo
The owner of the vineyard who hires Aunt Peggy to goopher the vines to stop slaves from stealing grapes.
- Aunt Peggy
The conjure woman hired by Mars Dugal' to place a curse on the grapevines.
- Annie
The narrator's wife, who listens to Julius's story and is evidently impressed by it.
Key passages
“Well, suh, you is a stranger ter me, en I is a stranger ter you, en we is bofe strangers ter one anudder, but 'f I 'uz in yo' place, I wouldn' buy dis vimya'd.”
Julius warns the narrator not to buy the vineyard because it is bewitched.
Julius introduces the central conflict of the chapter, using his authority as a local to dissuade the purchase.
“Mars Dugal' had hi'ed her ter goopher de grapevimes.”
Mars Dugal' hired Aunt Peggy to place a curse on the grapevines.
This reveals the deliberate use of conjure as a tool of control over the enslaved population.
