The Conjure Woman · Chapter
The Conjurer's Revenge explained
On a dull Sunday afternoon, the narrator and his wife Annie are visited by Julius, who warns against buying a mule.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Conjure and Superstition
The central plot revolves around a conjurer's spell that transforms Primus into a mule, illustrating the power of folk magic in the lives of enslaved people.
Deception and Manipulation
The conjurer's trickery and the mule's deceptive behavior (e.g., eating tobacco, getting drunk) highlight themes of manipulation and hidden agency.
Injustice and Cruelty
Primus's punishment for stealing a pig—being turned into a mule—reflects the harsh and arbitrary cruelty of the slave system.
Characters to notice
- Uncle Julius
Visits the narrator and Annie on a Sunday afternoon, warns against buying a mule, and tells the story of Primus.
- Annie
The narrator's wife, who is present during Julius's visit and initially dismisses his story as nonsense.
- Primus
A slave who was turned into a mule by a conjurer after stealing a pig; later restored to human form with a club foot.
- Mars Jim McGee
The owner of Primus and later the mule; buys the mule from a poor white man.
- Sally
Primus's wife, who takes up with Dan after Primus disappears.
- Dolphus
A slave who drives the mule to the vineyard and discovers it drunk on wine.
Key passages
“Ef you er gwine ter hab any mo' ploughin' ter do, I 'spec' you'll ha' ter buy ernudder creetur, 'ca'se hit's much ez dem hosses kin do ter 'ten' ter de wuk dey got now.”
If you're going to do more plowing, you'll need to buy another animal, because the horses are already busy with their current work.
Julius advises the narrator about the need for additional labor.
“I wouldn' 'vise you ter buy no mule.”
I wouldn't advise you to buy a mule.
Julius warns against buying a mule, setting up his story.
“Fac' is, I doan lack ter dribe a mule. I's alluz afeared I mought be imposin' on some human creetur; eve'y time I cuts a mule wid a hick'ry, 'pears ter me mos' lackly I's cuttin' some er my own relations, er somebody e'se w'at can't he'p deyse'ves.”
The fact is, I don't like to drive a mule. I'm always afraid I might be imposing on some human being; every time I hit a mule with a switch, it seems to me I might be hitting one of my own relatives or someone else who can't help themselves.
Julius explains his superstitious fear of mules, hinting at the story's theme of transformation.
“W'en I wuz a young man, dat club-footed nigger—his name is Primus—use' ter b'long ter ole Mars Jim McGee ober on de Lumbe'ton plank-road.”
When I was a young man, that club-footed man—his name is Primus—used to belong to old Master Jim McGee over on the Lumberton plank road.
Julius begins the story of Primus, identifying him as the club-footed man seen earlier.
