Fever 1793

by

Laurie Halse Anderson

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Fever 1793: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Grandfather determines that Mother is alive. He gets Mattie to help him carry her into the coffeehouse. Eliza screams and drops a pitcher when she sees Lucille. Grandfather says that she has simply been overcome by the heat. Lucille revives after they tuck her into bed. She’s shivering. She tells Mattie to go downstairs and make herself useful. Mattie feels that with mother sleeping during the day, “something was desperately wrong.”
Grandfather remains in denial as to the urgency of Lucille’s condition. Lucille, however, clearly suspects the truth and wants Mattie out of the way. Seeing her mother at rest unnerves Mattie; it’s unnatural for Lucille to be overcome by anything. Her helpless state signals a coming reversal in their relationship.
Themes
Mothers, Daughters, and Familial Love Theme Icon
The afternoon is disastrous, with leaking coffee, burned biscuits, and quarrelsome customers. At the end of the day, Grandfather brings in Mr. Rowley. Eliza tells Mattie that Mr. Rowley isn’t “a proper physician, but he sees sick folk and prescribes medicines.” According to Reverend Allen at the Free African Society, all of the real physicians are working near the waterfront, where “bodies are piling up like firewood.”
The appearance of Mr. Rowley—whom Eliza hints is more of a quack than a real doctor—shows how desperate the situation in the city is becoming; reputable doctors are few and far between, which is all the worse for those who are desperate for a reliable diagnosis and treatment. Eliza, with her connections at the Society, is better informed than Grandfather, who is still reluctant to accept the truth of what’s happening.
Themes
Disaster and Human Nature Theme Icon
Grandfather introduces Mr. Rowley, who’s experienced in “treating female complaints.” Mattie is skeptical, as he looks dirty and smells of rum, but she follows them all into the bedroom. Mr. Rowley examines Mother, who remains asleep. Finally, he pronounces that Mother’s illness is not yellow fever. Famous doctors like Mr. Rush, he claims, are being alarmist. The “pestilence” is a matter of fervent debate; people are being thrown out by their families over mistaken yellow fever diagnoses, so Mr. Rowley himself uses the diagnosis sparingly. Grandfather feels vindicated. Mr. Rowley prescribes some treatments and collects his fee.
Mr. Rowley pronounces a questionable diagnosis. He claims that the famous doctor, Benjamin Rush (a historical figure), is leading people astray and causing needless panic. This accusation indicates how disorganized and inconsistent the Philadelphia medical establishment is. In any case, Mr. Rowley seems more interested in being paid than in ensuring an accurate diagnosis.
Themes
Disaster and Human Nature Theme Icon
Quotes
Mattie doesn’t want to help Eliza give Mother a bath—it feels “upside down and backside front”—but it’s necessary. Every four hours, they have to wake Lucille and drag her into a hot bath. Lucille weeps and calls Mattie’s father’s name. When they put her back to bed with fresh linens, she shivers until her teeth rattle. That night, Grandfather sleeps at Mr. Carris’s house, and Eliza must go home to her brother’s family. She kisses Mattie and promises to try to bring a doctor in the morning.
Mattie copes with an uncomfortable situation, as she’ll have to do many times in the coming weeks. Caring for her mother feels like a particularly unnatural reversal, one that prefigures the coming change in their relationship.
Themes
Mothers, Daughters, and Familial Love Theme Icon
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Mattie locks herself in the darkened house. When she checks on Mother, she wonders, “Had [Mother] ever enjoyed anything? […] Perhaps death would be a release.” As Lucille moans in her sleep, Mattie tries to control her tears. She reflects that no one can ever tell Mother’s feelings just by looking at her; Mattie needs to master this skill. “There were so many things she had tried to teach me,” she thinks, “but I didn’t listen.”
Alone with Mother, Mattie gets a first taste of the independence she’s yearned for—but it’s not like she imagined. She admires Lucille’s strength and grieves her own failure to appreciate and learn from her mother. She’s beginning to better grasp how much Lucille has struggled over the years and what survival has cost her.
Themes
Freedom and Independence Theme Icon
Mothers, Daughters, and Familial Love Theme Icon
Ingenuity, Ambition, and Survival Theme Icon
Quotes
Mattie prays some Psalms for deliverance and then dozes off next to Mother’s bed. The next thing she knows, Mother is violently vomiting blood, her eyes rolled back in her head. Mattie jumps up, screaming for Eliza. But Mattie is alone. She forces herself to soothe Mother and sponge her face. Mother vomits again and raggedly begs Mattie to leave her. Mattie, sobbing, tries to offer her mother another bath and clean linens, but Lucille weakly throws the Psalm book at Mattie’s head and croaks at her to go away.
Again, Mattie is forced to summon courage in the midst of horror in order to care for her mother. She instinctively wants to lean on the other adults in her life, but she has no one to rely on but herself. Compounding the terror, Mother resists Mattie out of her fear that Mattie will sicken as well.
Themes
Freedom and Independence Theme Icon
Mothers, Daughters, and Familial Love Theme Icon
Ingenuity, Ambition, and Survival Theme Icon