Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire

Verity Vox’s continued stay in Foxfire raises new interpersonal, political, and communal challenges, which further the novel’s theme of the Use of Power for Good Versus Evil. Since her arrival in Foxfire, Verity has done her best to convince the Foxfire residents that her efforts to help them are without guile or expectation. Her decision to brave the woods and mountain to bring back Tacita Tarry is also inspired by her desperation to use her magical powers for good. However, this decision upsets the fragile peace in Foxfire when all of Verity’s spells start to reverse and the townspeople turn against Verity once more, underscoring the novel’s message that power can heal or harm, depending on the spirit in which it is used.

As their fortunes shift, the people of Foxfire start to blame Verity for their failing crops and ailing animals because they have not recovered from Earl’s abuse. Their tenuous trust in her reiterates the novel’s theme of Navigating Community Hurt, Need, and Healing. In Foxfire, Verity cannot simply show up and enchant her new neighbors with her charmed black hat, magical black cat, and flying broomstick. The people have a fundamental distrust of all forms of magic, and Verity’s whimsical embodiment of the “dark arts” piques their suspicion. The exploitation they have suffered dictates their outlook on outsiders, and Verity in particular. So when their town starts to fall victim to famine and upheaval once more, they disparage their newcomer:

The town of Foxfire had been through this before. Small gifts of convenient magic had suddenly been taken from them and used as a bartering chip to exact a higher price, a steeper price. They had to wonder: Was that what she was doing? Was she actually here to help people or was she playing a different version of the same game Earl had played with them years before? (129-30).

The townspeople’s perception of Verity is based on their community’s history. Their collective past has taught them that they are vulnerable, and that others with power are willing to exploit their vulnerability for their own gain. Verity cannot immediately reverse their impressions of magic in general, and herself in particular, because she cannot erase the history of abuse they’ve suffered. Instead, she must prove her intentions to them through her decisions and actions, engendering her own growth as she comes to value other aspects of herself and understand that she has more to offer than just magic.

Verity’s decision to confront and combat Earl captures her desperation to prove herself as a witch and a trustworthy Foxfire ally, but it also highlights her courage, determination, and compassion, aspects of herself that she is just discovering. Her venture to the mine thus furthers the novel’s theme of Self-Exploration amid a Small-Town Community. Through Gilly, Verity comes to understand why Foxfire is having such a hard time taking her word and trusting in her power: “Hospitality,” the narrator remarks, “is a deep magic, after all, and she was still a guest” (137). Desperate to be accepted into this close-knit community, Verity sets her mind to undoing Earl’s curse so that she might rescue all the lost Foxfire souls. Her response to Gilly’s story about her family’s disappearance captures her desperation to prove her relevance to the community, and in turn, to prove her worth to herself. As soon as she hears about her friend’s loss, she announces that she is going to reunite the Green family “if it’s the last thing [she does]” (139). Facing off with Earl is a test of strength, power, and courage Verity has designed to test herself, and she proves that she has bravery and commitment. She sends Earl quite swiftly to the mine, convinced that she has acted in the best interest of Foxfire. Her actions capture her eagerness to belong and to be accepted so she might formulate a definite sense of self.