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The Conjure Woman · Character

Tenie

A conjure woman who gave up her craft for religion, until love for a borrowed husband pushes her to work one last spell and hide him in plain sight.

supporting

First appearance: the gray wolf s ha nt

As a supporting figure in The Conjure Woman, Tenie is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Sandy's wife and a conjure woman who turns Sandy into a tree to keep him from being sent away.
In the storyPo' SandyOpen this moment free

Tenie is Sandy's second wife on Mars Marrabo's place, a woman whose devotion is so plain that even the other enslaved people remark on it. She has not conjured in fifteen years, having turned to religion, but when Sandy faces being sent forty miles away she offers to transform him into whatever will let him stay near her. Her choice — a pine tree by the swamp, turned back only at night — sets up the story's central tension between love, secrecy, and the limits of her power.

See Tenie in Po' SandyBook page

Free preview opens at this moment — character cards, Character Web, and themes sit beside the text as you read.

Character Web

7 connections

A slice of how Tenie sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

MDMars Dugal' Mc…SASandyUJUncle JuliusTOTomANAnnieTETenie

Relationship types

  • Professional
  • Romantic
  • Other

Character groups

  • Conjuring and Identity
  • Conjuring and Transformation
  • Protagonist
  • Conjuring Plots and Revenge

+2 more in the full Character Web

Open in reader

Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.

SetupEscalationAftermathClimax
  • 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 reading

Relationships

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Tenie in the gray wolf s ha nt

In the story

Tenie appears across 1 companion beat. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Tenie unlock in the free preview.

See Tenie in the gray wolf s ha nt
See Tenie in Po' Sandy
Who is Tenie in The Conjure Woman?