Contents
Chapter 43
Overview
Ellie, now heavily pregnant in Noelle’s basement, learns Noelle is calling the pregnancy a “miracle” and becomes violent when challenged. As months pass, Noelle’s interest cools into resentment and neglect, revealing instability and risk.
Ellie recognizes her Stockholm syndrome and resolves to nurture her hatred as a means to survive and eventually escape.
Summary
In late pregnancy, Ellie observes the baby’s movements while Noelle showers her with prenatal items and declares the conception a divine miracle. When Ellie questions Noelle’s faith, Noelle strikes her and locks the door, establishing fear and control.
After a night of disturbing dreams, Ellie anxiously awaits Noelle, who arrives furious and dumps junk food, dismissing Ellie’s nutrition. Ellie voices fears about being abandoned and dying locked in, prompting Noelle to snap yet admit she would tell someone if something happened—an inadvertent hint of outside exposure.
Noelle’s excitement fades as Ellie grows larger. The healthy meals and baby chatter stop, replaced by greasy food and volatile visits. Ellie learns to read Noelle’s moods from footsteps and keys, bracing for each swing.
In a self-pitying monologue, Noelle laments life’s drudgery and regrets taking on Ellie and the impending baby, signaling deepening resentment and instability. She threatens the hamsters and leaves Ellie isolated.
Alone, Ellie catalogues her physical discomforts and homesickness, acknowledging conflicted feelings toward Noelle. Recognizing classic Stockholm syndrome, Ellie vows to suppress any attachment, cultivate her anger, and preserve the will that might one day help her escape.
Who Appears
- Ellie MackHeld captive and heavily pregnant; endures Noelle’s mood swings, fears abandonment, recognizes Stockholm syndrome, and resolves to keep her will to escape.
- Noelle DonnellyCaptor posing the pregnancy as a miracle; violent when challenged, increasingly resentful and neglectful, revealing instability and fatigue with the situation.