Junie

That evening, Beau reveals that he and Bea are in town because they were invited to the Yule Ball in Montgomery. He wants Violet to accompany him. Junie notices that Violet looks upset. After dinner, Violet and Bea tell Junie that she should go spend the night with Caleb. Junie worries that Caleb told Bea about them.

Junie and Caleb meet up. She confronts him about mentioning their feelings for each other to Bea, but he swears he didn’t say anything, admitting that he doesn’t want to get attached to her. Offended, Junie runs off.

The next morning, Junie tells Muh that she’s afraid to leave Bellereine with Violet. She then asks if anyone has ever tried running away from Bellereine. Muh tells her about a man who tried running from her old plantation; he was caught and mutilated afterward. Junie apologizes for having asked.

Junie accompanies Violet, the Taylors, and Caleb to the Montgomery ball. She marvels at the landscape along the way. After dinner that evening, Bea and Violet tell Junie that she must attend the ball that the enslaved people are having at the same time as the main ball. Junie doesn’t have anything to wear, but Violet insists that she borrow one of her dresses.

Violet and Junie spend the afternoon preparing for the balls. Junie is thrilled when Violet lets her wear her yellow dress. On the way to the ball, however, Junie’s spirits deflate when she doesn’t see Caleb.

Junie gets lost in the excitement of the ball. She fills her dance card and dances with several men. During one dance, her partner insists that she looks just like Charlotte, revealing that he is her uncle George. Junie is stunned because she thought that George was dead. George explains that he is a free man and wants her to send word to the rest of the family to join him on his “plot of land north of Montgomery” (235).

After George disappears, Caleb invites Junie to dance. Afterward, they go outside to talk. Caleb apologizes for what he said earlier, explaining that he’s only worried about getting attached to Junie because he loves her and doesn’t want to lose her. He then shows her the page from Snow White where he wrote their names side-by-side. Moved, Junie professes her love, too.

Junie creeps back into the Taylor house, still flushed with excitement from her night with Caleb. She pushes into Violet’s room, shocked to find Violet and Bea naked in bed together. Violet recently told her that she is in love with Bea and that the only way for them to be together is for her to marry Beau.

Junie is understanding of Violet’s situation but moves to leave before the women see her. Bea catches her and demands that Junie enter. She then makes Junie repeatedly say that she didn’t see anything happening between her and Violet. Violet assures Bea that they can trust Junie.

Skeptical, Bea demands that Junie empty her pockets. Junie refuses, but Violet intervenes and commands Junie to show her what she’s hiding. When she discovers the torn page of Snow White, Violet accuses Junie of stealing and slaps her in the face. Junie hits her back. Bea starts screaming, and Beau barges in. He removes his belt and beats Junie over the head until she passes out.

Three days after returning to Bellereine, Junie is still recovering from her injuries. One morning in the cabin, she overhears her family discussing Violet’s engagement to Beau. Junie is shocked that she is “still going to marry him” after what he did (251). That afternoon, she confronts Violet about the engagement, insisting that she doesn’t have to go through with it. Violet reiterates that she can’t be with Bea any other way and gets angry with Junie for interfering. She reminds Junie that she is enslaved and forbids her to enter the house again.

That evening, Junie and Caleb talk about the engagement. Junie admits that she was foolish to trust Violet. Caleb reminds her that if Violet and Beau get married, they’ll get to be together. Junie suddenly feels as if there’s no “[r]oom for love” in her life while she and Caleb are still enslaved (257). Frustrated, she leaves Caleb’s side without explanation.

Down by the river, Junie realizes that she needs to listen to Minnie after all. When her ghost appears, Junie apologizes for pushing her away and promises to do anything Minnie asks. Minnie explains that she’ll have to poison William with the hemlock leaves. He’ll become so sick that the family will be too distracted to notice Junie running away. Junie agrees.

Junie’s days are consumed with helping the McQueens plan Violet’s wedding. On the day of the wedding, Junie tells Bess about seeing George. She explains that they must run away that night because George said there will be a boat on the river to pick them up. Bess promises to join the escape.

After the wedding ceremony, Junie is tasked with replenishing William’s liquor supply. She is emptying the leaves into a decanter when William appears in the room, visibly intoxicated. He then demands that Junie pour him a drink and sit with him. He starts rambling about Minnie and Charlotte, drinking glass after glass of the poisoned liquor. He confirms that he is Minnie’s father and then demands that Junie touch and kiss him and tell him she loves him. He says that he made Charlotte do the same and that she eventually came to enjoy it. Realizing that William did rape Charlotte, Junie lurches away from him. When he grabs her ankle, she kicks him in the face. He collapses as she flees the room.

Outside, a frantic Junie runs into Caleb. She tells him they have to leave right now. When Caleb hesitates, Junie calls him a coward and races to the cabin. She tells her family about her plan to escape, but Innis appears before they can leave. She reveals that William is gravely ill. Marilla and Bess have to nurse him while Granddaddy and Caleb fetch the doctor. Hearing Innis describe William’s symptoms, Junie has a revelation: Minnie had the same symptoms before she died.

Junie races out to the woods. Minnie appears and demands that she flee immediately. Junie accuses her of dying by suicide and abandoning the family. She refuses to do the same, and Minnie begs her to understand. The freedom papers had given her hope, but she despaired when she discovered their burned remnants in William’s office. Feeling trapped, she ate the hemlock. Junie wishes that she could have been there for her.

Junie races out of the woods, determined to find a way out for her and her family. She runs into Caleb, who announces that William is dead. He asks if William did anything to her or if she saw anything strange when she was with him. Frustrated, Juni accuses him of being a coward and ends their relationship.