The Able McLaughlins · Chapter
XIV explained
Wully McLaughlin, consumed with rage and a desire for vengeance after Peter Keith's assault on Chirstie, patrols his homestead with a gun, unable to track Peter through the tall prairie grasses.
What happens
Wully McLaughlin, consumed with rage and a desire for vengeance after Peter Keith's assault on Chirstie, patrols his homestead with a gun, unable to track Peter through the tall prairie grasses. Chirstie, feverish and terrified, clings to him while he fantasizes about killing Peter quietly and burying him. The chapter contrasts their domestic peace—Wully playing with the baby, planning a better garden fence—with the idyllic, flower-filled McNair farm, which Barbara McNair has transformed into a showplace, envied by women and distrusted by men. Wully's fury is reignited when he recalls Alex McNair's condescending advice about fencing, and the chapter ends with Wully searching the barn and prairie, helpless against the vast, concealing landscape.
Themes in this chapter
Violence and Trauma
Wully's rage and fantasies of killing Peter, Chirstie's fever and terror, and the memory of her assault drive the chapter's emotional core.
Gender Roles and Women's Experience
Chirstie's vulnerability and dependence on Wully for protection contrast with Barbara McNair's independent, flower-filled domesticity, which is envied yet distrusted.
Land and Identity
The prairie landscape—both a refuge and a hiding place—shapes Wully's helplessness; the McNair farm symbolizes transformation and pride in the land.
Characters to notice
- Wully McLaughlin
Frustrated and raging, he patrols his property with a gun, fantasizes about killing Peter Keith, and recalls painful memories of Chirstie's confession. He also plays with the baby and plans a better garden fence.
- Chirstie
Lies moaning in fever after Peter's assault, terrified and clinging to Wully. She begs him not to hurt Peter and worries about Aunt Libby.
- Peter Keith
The hidden antagonist who assaulted Chirstie; Wully searches for him in the grasses but cannot find him.
- Barbara McNair
Her farm is described as the showplace of the country, with flowers, a white fence, and a lamb; she is envied by women and distrusted by men.
- Alex McNair
Remonstrated with Wully about fencing for Chirstie's garden, taking credit for the McNair farm's beauty.
- Mary
Wully's sister, working at the McNairs' and being made a blue silk dress by Barbara for her upcoming marriage to a Yankee minister.
Key passages
“He would kill that man, and go to the sheriff and give himself up. He would stand up and tell any twelve men in the county that story, and come home acquitted.”
Wully believes that if he kills Peter, a jury would acquit him after hearing Chirstie's story.
Reflects Wully's conviction that his vengeance is justified by the law and public opinion.
“If only he might find him crouching there somewhere! So desirable did that consummation seem that he turned abruptly and went to the barn, to see if his spade, which his father had borrowed, had been returned to its place.”
Wully checks for his spade, planning to dig a secret grave for Peter in a remote slough.
Shows Wully's premeditated intent to kill and conceal the body.
“That McNairs’ was now the very showplace of the country. One driving up to it, unless he had heard reports, could scarcely believe his eyes.”
The McNair farm has become an impressive, beautiful homestead that surprises visitors.
Highlights the contrast between the McNairs' success and the McLaughlins' current turmoil.
