CHAPTER SUMMARY AND NOTES

CHAPTER 70

Summary

Nettie writes to Celie about Corrine's failing condition. She also reveals that she has finally told her and Samuel the truth about Olivia and Adam. Corrine does not believe the story. Nettie tries to get Corrine to remember the day she met Celie at the store when buying fabric for dresses, but Corrine cannot remember. Nettie closes the letter by asking Celie to pray for them.

Notes

When Nettie finally brings herself to tell the truth about Adam and Olivia, Corrine refuses to believe her. Instead, she still believes that Nettie is a cunning woman who is trying to hide her relationship with Samuel. Nettie pities the poor woman and attributes Corrine's failing health to her lack of trust in the ones who have loved her. It is obvious that Corinne is a weak, paraoid character.

CHAPTER 71

Summary

Nettie writes to Celie that she has persisted in trying to get Corrine to remember the encounter at the store that day. Finally, she goes through Corrine's quilts, looking for old fabric that Corrine might have purchased in the store. Corrine sees the correct fabric, recalls Celie, and begins to cry. She remembers how much Olivia looked like the women in the store, which scared her; she was afraid Celie would want her daughter back.

Nettie assures Corrine that Celie was happy to see that Olivia was being well cared for; she had thought her children were dead. Nettie also tells Samuel that Fonso is the father of Olivia and Adam; he is shocked by the news.

In the middle of the night, Corinne wakes up and tells Samuel, "I believe." Then, she dies.

Notes

Nettie persists in trying to make Corrine see the truth about Olivia and Adam; with Christian concern, Nettie wants her to die in peace, knowing that Samuel has been faithful to her. Finally, it is a quilt that Nettie finds that makes Corrine remember her encounter with Celie. She admits that she had been afraid of the woman in the fabric store, for she knew Olivia looked just like her. She feared Celie would want her children back. Once again the quilt is used as a symbol for tying together disparate lives and uniting women.

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