Unsheltered

Tasked with checking at the local historical society for preservation money to repair the family’s house, which has been badly damaged in two storms, Willa meets Chris, the docent of the local historical society. He tells her all about Landis and the original vision of Vineland and eventually mentions Mary Treat, who became well-known after her death. Chris makes a connection between Mary and Willa’s house when she gives him the address, since Willa lives in the vicinity that Mary did and changes in the town’s addressing system over time can make it unclear how current addresses match up to past ones. Willa is excited by the idea that she might be living in Mary’s house, both because it could make it easier to get restoration grants and because she is intrigued by Mary herself. While he searches for records, Chris shows Willa some of Mary’s letters from Charles Darwin, which amaze her.

Willa and Iano take Aldus for a hike. They walk down a boardwalk that ends in a precipitous drop. Narrative reveals that Nick is declining and hasn’t been out of bed in several days. Willa notices storm clouds rolling in and shortly thereafter receives a message from Tig saying that she and Jorge are taking Nick to the emergency room and that an intense storm is coming, necessitating a shelter-in-place order.

Thatcher and Mary visit the Pine Barrens, a unique forested ecosystem in New Jersey marked by acidic, nutrient-poor soil that supports unusual native plants. As they explore and check on populations of plants, Thatcher is amazed by Mary’s botanical knowledge and her ease in the outdoors. They converse about an article in a popular magazine that Mary is writing, and Thatcher feels that the two of them feel the same calling to educate the ignorant—Thatcher by teaching his students and Mary by educating the public through her articles. In his conversations with Mary, Thatcher comes to realize that her husband was a member of the spiritualism movement popular during the 19th century, a movement that relied on emotion and intuition rather than evidence such as that found in science. Thatcher realizes that the two spouses must have been at odds with one another in their pursuits. When he gets home, Rose’s conventional femininity and her scolding make her compare poorly to Mary.

Zeke has to spend a few weeks in Boston for his start-up, leaving Willa to take on most of the daily needs of Aldus (who has been nicknamed Dusty). One of Iano’s students who lives in Vineland shows up at Willa’s house to try and get a ride from him to the university, although Willa suspects that the girl has romantic feelings for her husband. Her suspicions are confirmed as she and Tig converse with the girl, who feels that the boys her age are immature. Iano is at the hospital with Nick, who suffered a stroke several weeks before in Chapter 7, so Willa and Tig keep talking to the girl, who eventually leaves.

Willa has been doing more research on the family’s house with Chris and is trying to figure out if Mary lived in their house. She’s intrigued and excited by Mary’s writings, which have been preserved at the historical society. She also ponders the besotted girl who came to the house that morning, reflecting on a past affair that Iano had with a professor early in their marriage. Later that night she talks to Iano about the girl, who he reveals has been trying to make advances toward Iano at work. He has rebuffed the student and is surprised that she came to the house. The couple talks about the disappointments and financial struggles they’ve had, with Willa struggling against and Iano accepting their situation. Willa and Tig get the family on Medicaid for health insurance.

At a town lecture, Thatcher meets Uri Carruth, who prints Vineland’s only other newspaper besides the one published by Landis. Carruth’s paper is often critical of Landis and is one of the only public sources of criticism toward the land baron. Carruth warns Thatcher that his disagreements with the school’s principal over scientific theories have spilled over into the city council and reached Landis. The principal is planning to hold a school-wide assembly in the guise of a symposium and ask Thatcher in public about his thoughts on Darwin’s theories. As the symposium draws near, Thatcher meets with Mary, and she lets him use her carriage house to write and prepare his defense, a gesture that increases the affinity between them.

During the symposium, Thatcher becomes discomfited by his principal’s questions and interruptions during his speech and doesn’t feel that he’s performed very well. Embarrassed, he leaves after the speech, but Carruth finds him and commends him for his efforts. Carruth takes Thatcher to a hidden saloon (Vineland is officially a “dry” town that outlaws open consumption of alcohol) for a drink to raise his spirits.