67 pages • 2 hours read
Ruth WareIn A Dark Dark Wood
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 13-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
Nora recalls how she first met Clare. It was the first day of primary school and Nora was shy, nervous, and did not know any of the other children. As she sat alone at a table, Nora saw Clare walk in and was immediately struck by how beautiful and confident this little girl looked. Several of the other children called out to Clare, asking her to sit with them, but Clare chose to sit next to Nora: “Clare sat beside me, and I felt myself transforming from a nobody to a someone” (109). When Clare introduced herself, Nora tried to say her name but only stammered out “Le.” Clare cut her off and said, “Hi, Lee,” which became the name everyone called her for the rest of her school years. Because Nora was Clare’s friend, the other children extended their friendship, inviting her to parties and playdates. Nora thinks that she might have become the class outcast had Clare not included her.
Nora’s mother did not like Clare for reasons Nora did not understand. When Nora entered secondary school, her mother requested that she not be placed in the same class as Clare. That was when Nora became friends with Nina. Outside of class, Nora continued to spend all her time with Clare. Nora recalls situations in which Clare clearly used their friendship to manipulate her while still appearing to genuinely care for Nora.
The narrative then shifts to the hen do. Flo adamantly proclaims that Melanie can’t leave. Melanie rejects this, contending that Flo can’t force others to go along with her idea of having the perfect weekend. Flo calls Melanie a bad friend and person, to which Melanie wearily remarks that her life does not revolve around Clare.
When Clare comes downstairs, Melanie explains that she must go and asks if she minds. Clare doesn’t, but before she leaves, Melanie says, regarding Flo, “Look Clare, help her get a grip, yeah? It’s not … it’s not healthy. For anyone” (114). Flo cries hysterically, and Clare leads her to the kitchen. Nora goes upstairs to get away from the drama and hears Nina talking to her girlfriend on her phone. Nina tells Nora that she wishes her girlfriend Jess was there with her, and Nora comments that there’s a vacancy since Melanie has left. Shocked, Nina asks how Flo took the news. Nora tells her to listen, and they can both hear Flo’s heavy sobs. Nina calls Flo “unhinged” (115) and asks Nora if she has noticed that Flo copies everything Clare wears. Nora is uncomfortable with the term “unhinged,” rationalizing that because Clare has a strong personality, it can be easy to want to be like her.
Nina apologizes again for the previous night, saying that she had not realized that James was still a sore subject for Nora. Nina asks why Nora came to the hen do, if she still cares for James. Nora confesses to not knowing the whole situation, adding that Clare planned to tell her in person. Disturbed, Nina maintains that if Clare had wanted to tell Nora in person, she could have done it under better circumstances, not in the middle of nowhere for a hen do. Nina angrily says that Clare has always done awful things to people and then tried to act like she was doing it for their benefit. Clare publicly “outed” Nina as gay when they were teens and then acted like it was for the best for her to not live a lie. Nina says this is the same type of behavior: “Force you into a position where you’ve got pretty much no choice at all whether you forgive her” (118).
Nina offers to leave the party with Nora. Although this suggestion tempts her, Nora realizes that leaving might highlight her unresolved feelings for James. Nora fears that Clare will tell James about Nora ruining the party, subsequently alerting him to Nora’s feelings. To avoid this, Nora tells Nina that it’s just one more night and convinces her to stay.
Chapter 14 Summary
Back in the present, Nora is still in the hospital, reflecting on the pieces she remembers: “If only. If only I had gone then” (120). Nora tries to make out the conversation between the police officers in the hall but can’t hear what they are saying. All she can think of is the word “murder,” and she desperately wonders who killed whom. She can’t remember what happened the night before, and the events of the weekend mix together in her mind. She knows that she must figure out what to tell the police when they come to question her. Nora touches the bruise on her shoulder again and tries to remember.
Chapter 15 Summary
Nina and Nora go downstairs and find Flo pretending that everything is now fine. Nina asks for coffee, just to tease Flo, but Flo does not get that she is joking. Flo says that she will get some coffee when they go to the shooting range later. Startled to hear that that are going shooting, and both Nina and Nora wonder why they are not doing typical hen do activities like going to the spa and nightclubs. Tom comes downstairs and asks if Melanie is up yet. Flo indignantly starts to tell him that Melanie left, but Clare comes down as well and explains that Melanie had to go for family reasons.
The group crowds into Clare’s car to go clay pigeon shooting, and Nora immediately starts to feel carsick. Flo has prepared a quiz about James and says that the “losing” team will have to wear the underwear that reads “I love James Cooper.” Nora immediately tenses in anger, but Flo does not notice. Nora knows all the answers to the questions about James but does not answer. Nina competitively tries to get all the answers correct, then notices that Nora looks ill. Nora opens her eyes and sees Clare in the rearview mirror, amusedly smiling at her. The game continues, and Nora, feeling increasingly sick, recalls memories of James.
The question—“At what age did James lose his virginity?” (131)—comes up, and Nora tells Clare to stop the car so that she can get out to relieve her nausea. Flo lets Nora sit in the front seat after that and tries to continue with the quiz, but Clare asks her to call the competition a draw.
Chapter 16 Summary
In the present, a nurse wakes Nora. Nora remembers now that the bruise on her shoulder is a recoil bruise from the clay pigeon shooting. She asks why she is in the hospital, and the nurse tells Nora that she was in a car accident. The nurse explains that while Nora has not broken anything, the doctors need to observe her head injury to make sure she does not have a concussion.
The nurse goes out to ask the doctor if Nora can shower when the police officer catches her arm. The police officer demands to know when she can speak to Nora, but the nurse says the questioning must wait. The police officer says, “I don’t think you appreciate that this is now a homicide investigation” (136). Nora feels panicked, wondering again who is dead.
Chapters 13-16 Analysis
In Chapter 13, Nora recounts how she and Clare met and became best friends in kindergarten. Clare took Nora under her wing and transformed her from a friendless child into a popular girl who could not be ignored: “As Clare’s best friend I was always included in games, not condemned to sit, lonely but trying not to look it” (110). Looking back, Nora thinks of Clare as her savior. However, this was not without cost. Even as a 5-year-old, Clare got her way with adults as well as other children. She used her social powers to both punish and reward Nora, who Clare forced to accept situations that made her uncomfortable or unhappy. Clare also gave Nora the nickname “Lee,” which Nora had no choice but to accept it. Clare consistently manipulated Nora, assuaging Nora’s anger with the notion that her actions were for the benefit of others: “And I felt myself thaw, and smile back, almost in spite of myself. After all, Clare had only been trying to be a good friend” (113). Nora recognizes Clare as a domineering force, one that she was unable to counter.
At the hen do, Nora sees that Clare’s manipulative childhood behavior has continued into adulthood. Clare acts in objectionable ways but manages to make herself seem blameless. Although Clare’s callous plan to reveal her engagement to James angers Nora, she finds herself defending Clare when Nina exclaims, “How does she get away with pulling this crap? And she comes out of it smelling like roses every time!” (118). Clare’s ability to maintain friendships with people she mistreated both disturbs and intrigues Nora, who still finds herself under her former friend’s manipulative pull.
Just as Clare once exerted her power over Nora, she now demonstrates her control over Flo. These chapters underscore Flo’s unrelenting and obsessive idolization of Clare: “‘You saved my life,’ Flo gasped between sobs. ‘How am I supposed to forget that?’” (114). Nina and Nora find it creepy that Flo dresses in the exact same clothing as Clare, even though the outfits do not suit her body type. Nora, having been in a similar relationship with Clare herself when they were younger, sympathizes with Flo: “Clare’s perfect, do you know what I mean? It’s easy to want that for yourself, and feel like imitation is the way to get it” (117). Flo’s obsessive behavior causes Nora to reflect on her toxic childhood friendship and confront her latent issues with Clare.
As Cliff slowly reveals Nora’s cryptic past through flashbacks, she intersperses short chapters that take place in the present. These hospital scenes showcase Nora’s amnesia about the traumatic events of the hen party, including the death of someone in attendance. Cliff uses this nonlinear structure, with the juxtaposition of Nora in the hospital and the events of the hen party, to build the narrative’s suspense. In this way, the reader pieces together the ominous events surrounding the hen do just as the protagonist does.
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By Ruth Ware
