52 pages • 1 hour read
T. KingfisherWhat Moves the Dead
Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 2022A 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 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
Easton wakes up early and takes Hob for a ride, contemplating ways to help the Ushers. While riding, Easton notices Miss Potter, who is painting, and stops to talk with her. Miss Potter is occupied with her work, and Easton waits for her to finish. Ka tries to skip a rock into the tarn, but the rock lands in something gelatinous, which Miss Potter believes is an algae mat. Easton asks if mushrooms grow underwater, and although Miss Potter says it is unlikely, she notes that someone has indeed documented an underwater mushroom in the United States. However, not all fungi are mushrooms, and some species thrive in water. Miss Potter has seen a few water-based fungi, including one that resembles cotton growing on fish fins or in their mouths. Easton explains that ka enjoys hearing about the passions of others, and Miss Potter says Easton should see her niece Beatrix’s work. Upon spotting Madeline walking down to the tarn, Easton parts with Miss Potter, planning to hunt for red meat to help with Madeline’s anemia.
To prevent Roderick from being uncomfortable at the evidence of their charity, Easton and Angus plan to convince him that Easton accidentally shot a cow, thinking that it was a deer. In truth, Easton bought the cow from the farmer before killing it. Roderick believes the story, and he and Denton mock Easton for kan mistake. Easton reflects on kan earlier conversation with the farmer, who claimed that although the hares around the village are normal, but the ones by the tarn are strange; they move slowly and awkwardly and watch people. The farmer’s son followed one of the hares until it fell into the lake and drowned.
That night, Easton wakes up when ka hears someone moving in the hallway. Grabbing kan gun from the nightstand, ka goes to investigate. (Easton does not sleep with a gun anymore, as the gun once discharged under kan pillow; this is likely how ka developed tinnitus.) Going into the hallway, Easton catches a glimpse of a person disappearing around the corner and quietly follows them, but kan tinnitus flares up, so Easton returns to kan room.
Chapter 5 Summary
Easton and Denton go for a ride and find Miss Potter. Easton, holding the horses, stands apart from Denton and Miss Potter while Miss Potter shows Denton the stinking redgills. Easton notices a hare that sits up and stares at kan. Ka tries to scare the hare away, but it doesn’t move. When ka gets closer, the hare begins to drag itself away “like a man scaling a sheer cliff, but on level ground” (58). Denton and Miss Potter join Easton, but when Easton points to the hare, it is gone.
At dinner, Angus discusses the fish that he caught earlier that day. He caught two fish, but they were both filled with “slimy felt.” Easton guesses that the fish may have been infected with a fungus and advises Angus to talk to Miss Potter, whom he has yet to meet. That night, Easton hears someone in the hallway again and rushes out and sees someone disappearing around the corner. Ka follows and sees someone wearing white and shuffling down the hall; it is Madeline. Easton talks to Madeline, but she seems oblivious. Assuming that Madeline is sleepwalking, Easton decides to wake her up. Madeline stumbles, and Easton grabs her, worrying that ka will leave bruises on her delicate arm, which is covered in fine white hairs. As Easton leads Madeline toward her room, Madeline becomes coherent. She says that she needs no help in getting to her room, but Easton insists. Easton also argues that Madeline’s maid must be told that Madeline sleepwalks, and Madeline vaguely agrees. Unable to sleep, Easton walks to the balcony overlooking the tarn and sees lights in the water. The night is cloudy, so the light cannot be reflected stars, and it reminds ka of the beautiful bioluminescent plankton that ka once saw in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the light in the tarn is flashing in a pattern and is unsettling.
Chapter 6 Summary
The next day is as pleasant as it can be under the circumstances. Roderick expertly plays the piano while Easton and Denton sing and Madeline watches and claps. After Madeline goes to bed, Easton brings out a bottle of livrit, a strong, syrupy alcohol popular in Gallacia. They make numerous toasts and then go to bed. This is the last normal day in the house.
While Easton is getting ready for bed, ka hears a noise in the hall and opens kan door to find Denton. They take a walk to the balcony to get fresh air and talk. Easton hopes that the tarn will be glowing, but it is dark except for the reflected stars. Denton describes his nightmare from the night before; he dreamed that he was amputating the limbs of soldiers, and when he looked at the pile of severed limbs, they were moving. Easton also has dreams about war.
Easton asks Denton for his opinion about the tarn, and Denton calls it “dismal.” It reminds him of the colorful but deadly water that he has seen in US streams, but he assumes that the water of the tarn is not deadly because they have likely been drinking it and are seemingly fine. Easton describes the lights in the tarn that ka saw on the previous night, and Denton says that Madeline almost drowned in the tarn a few months ago, which Easton had not known. Madeline was in the tarn for hours, and Denton suggests that a cataleptic fit prevented her from inhaling water and dying. Now, they see two small flashes of light, then return to their respective rooms.
The next morning, Easton hears Madeline in the hall and follows her again. She is walking stiffly and awkwardly. Easton attempts to wake Madeline from sleepwalking, but Madeline responds only with strained, incoherent words. She says something about too many, then counts to 10 and says that breathing is difficult. Madeline smiles a strange smile, which scares Easton. Easton lets go of Madeline and notices that kan hand is covered in white hairs and that Madeline’s arm has a handprint indicating the missing hair. Madeline keeps trying to talk, and Easton escorts her to her room. Ka is upset to see that Madeline’s maid is not in the room. Ka puts Madeline to bed and realizes that Madeline’s walk reminds kan of the hare.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
This section of the narrative escalates the tension of the plot and deepens the characterization of the Easton and the Usher siblings, heightening the suspense and developing the context for significant revelations that will appear later in the text. Specifically, Easton’s observations and interactions provide essential clues to unraveling the mystery of the Usher family’s deadly malady, and each new encounter strengthens the sense of the uncanny that often pervades Gothic texts. Easton’s explorations also foreshadow future events, for in Chapter 4, for example, the encounter with Miss Potter and the discovery of the algae mats in the tarn implies that the tarn itself is alive. Likewise, the mention of the existence of underwater fungi foreshadows the presence of sentient fungus living within the mountain lake and venturing out to infect and dominate new biological hosts. These concepts are further reinforced by Easton’s subsequent conversation with the farmer about the strange behavior of the hares near the tarn. Similarly, Angus’s refusal to hunt the witch-hares and his experience with the fungus-ridden fish highlights the recurring concept of Mycology and the Possibility of Intelligent Fungi, indicating that the presence of the fungus is all-pervading and deeply ruinous to the local ecosystem.
The classic Gothic trope of creeping uneasiness is further escalated by Easton’s encounters with Madeline in the hallway at night, for the Usher sibling’s behavior is designed to invoke the common theme of psychologically troubled female characters—an element that pervades classic literature from the 19th-century time frame that Kingfisher endeavors to portray. Thus, Madeline’s irrational behavior contributes to the ominous mood and the horror elements of the story, and the nighttime scenes also foreshadow the later revelation that Madeline is already deceased and the fungus is in full control of her body. However, despite this key foreshadowing, the overt narrative maintains the illusion that Madeline is still alive and lucid, and her stark appearance is portrayed as being the result of her declining health rather than the fact that the fungus is simultaneously animating and consuming her dead body. As Easton says of Madeline’s prominent ribs, “I prayed that it was the shadows that made them seem to stand out so far from her skin” (61). Her utter lifelessness is emphasized when Easton grabs her arm, which ka describes as, “no warmer than the air itself (62). The specter of death is further invoked when ka notes, “[I]f she had not been so obviously alive, I would have thought that I touched a corpse” (62).
In addition to conveying the central mystery, Kingfisher also devotes considerable time to developing the social nuances of the various characters, particularly through their interactions with Easton. For example, the ruse involving the cow demonstrates Easton’s solid and compassionate understanding of Roderick’s character, and Kingfisher uses a variety of such interactions to advance the plot and convey key details through demonstration rather than exposition. Thus, these scenes depict Roderick as proud and stubborn, while Easton is shown to be observant and considerate. The dynamics that influence Easton, Roderick, and Denton are reflective of their shared military history, as when Roderick and Denton playfully mock Easton for the perceived “mistake” of shooting the cow instead of the deer. This pattern of camaraderie born in conflict and trauma further emphasized through Denton’s confession of his dream about performing amputations, for as he confides in Easton, “I was looking at the pile, and there were so many severed limbs, but they were alive. They were moving” (70). Denton’s openness resonates with Easton, whose narration soon reveals that ka also experiences war-related dreams. These insights into the two characters’ shared experiences highlight their deepening bond and the lingering effects of their pasts. Through this intricate character development, the narrative underscores the impact of past history on present actions and relationships, enriching the emotional and psychological complexity of the story.
These chapters also develop The Psychological Impact of Isolation and Environment by detailing the isolation and dilapidation of the Usher’s ancestral home. Likewise, Roderick’s and Madeline’s strange behaviors indicate their declining physical and mental health, and even the temporary visitors’ growing sense of unease reflects the deteriorating environment’s effect on overall well-being. Additionally, the peculiar behavior of the hare that Easton encounters foreshadows the importance of Mycology and the Possibility of Intelligent Fungi, as the narrative will later reveal that the tarn fungus has commandeered the bodies of the hares and is using them to evolve beyond the tarn and invade the very fabric of the land as well. With the exploration of these themes, the story transcends entertainment and invites reflections on broader issues, for Kingfisher interweaves social and scientific elements to explore the complexities of the human condition, the nature of sentience, and the natural world through the lens of fiction.
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