The end--what happened?

[Rachel-K]

Do you think you know what actually happened in the story? If you had to pinpoint any of the bits of the story as “true,” what would you bet on? Does it feel important to you?

And if this is all Angelica’s fabrication or memory, or her best guess, can we talk about the story itself, the characters? Or are we barred from making our own guesses?

[Fozzie]

The more I think about the story, the less certain I feel about anything I thought I was sure of!

We do know that Joseph died when Angelica was about four years old. We know that Anne and Constance had a close relationship after his death, such that Angelica called her Aunt. I don't think we can be certain about much else.

I do think Joseph was murdered, but don't know by whom or exactly how. Certainly the use of the knife is implied, but I do recall that Constance and Anne were putting substances in his food too, which, in theory, could have caused an adverse reaction.

Personally, I consider it a strength of the story that we, as readers, can be certain of so little after reading it. This book caused me to stretch my mind and question everything I was reading.