The Frozen River

Martha Ballard, the town midwife of Hallowell, helps Betsy Clark, wife of the blacksmith, Charles, to deliver her new baby. Betsy fears that the baby will be a girl, since her husband is hoping for a boy, and Martha bristles at such gender bias. When the baby arrives, and is indeed a girl, Martha delivers the news to the blacksmith in order to spare Betsy his potential anger. He expresses disappointment, indicating that a boy would have been more helpful for the family business, and seems determined that their next child will finally be a boy. Concerned, for Betsy’s health, Martha urges him to be cautious and gentle in regard to their sex life moving forward, but it is unclear whether Charles will take this advice.

Sometime later, Martha is woken from her nap by Charles, who tells her that someone is looking to speak with her. She is met outside by James Wall, who informs her that her medical expertise is required in town, since there has been an accident on the recent river expedition.

On the ride to town, James recounts what occurred on the river. One of the party members, Sam Dawin, went overboard and almost drowned. While underwater, he discovered a disfigured corpse. James suspects the body to be that of Joshua Burgess but refuses to say so with certainty. Burgess had recently been accused of raping the parson’s wife, Rebecca Foster, alongside Colonel Joseph North. As such, there are several people in town who might have wanted Burgess dead, including Foster’s husband and Colonel North. James wants to take Martha to Pollard’s Tavern to inspect the body, since she is a qualified medical professional. As they travel, Martha reflects on discovering Rebecca alone shortly after the rape.

Once she arrives at Pollard’s Tavern, Martha asks for information about what happened at the river. Moses Pollard, the Pollards’ 20-year-old son who is interesting in marrying Martha’s oldest daughter, explains that the body is being stored in the back room alongside preserved meats. His father, Amos, escorts her to the back room, where she begins her autopsy, and men gather around to watch. She determines that the body is indeed Joshua Burgess, and that he has been hanged and then thrown into the river (though the rope is missing). Furthermore, after removing his clothing, she realizes that his murderers brutally beat the body from head to toe. Moses expresses the opinion that Joshua deserved to die because he committed rape. Just as Martha finishes inspecting the body, an unfamiliar doctor named Page arrives and announces that he will complete an autopsy instead of Martha. She begrudgingly leaves the tavern.

As she leaves, Martha tells James Wall to “keep an eye on Dr. Page” because she does not trust the newcomer (25). She heads to Coleman’s General Store, and as she enters the shop she overhears poachers plotting to kill a silver fox that they have spotted on her land. Inside, she asks Coleman, who is missing one eye and four fingers, if he has heard anything in town pertinent to Burgess’s murder. Coleman indicates that he has not heard anything yet but promises to keep an ear out for Martha and get back to her if he learns anything useful. Martha also asks Coleman what he knows about Dr. Page, though the chapter ends before he can provide his answer.

Martha returns home to the family mill, where her two daughters, Hannah and Dolly, are providing medical care to Sam Dawin. Before entering the house, she spots the silver fox on a nearby ridge, and realizes that it seems to be communicating with her, directing her to go to the house. She finds the girls taking care of Sam. Dolly and Hannah reveal that in order to force Sam to stay and receive care, they stole his clothing while he slept and hid it from him so that he could not leave. They indicate that he is on the mend, and also reveal that the prior night, there had been a fight between Burgess and some other men at the local dance. Burgess had tried to force Hannah to dance with him, and Cyrus, one of the Ballard sons, forced him out of the dance hall.

Martha talks to Sam, and he informs her that he saw no rope in the water when he discovered Burgess’s body, before asking to return home to his fiancée. Jonathan, the oldest Ballard son, returns home, and Martha asks him to tell her what happened at the dance between Cyrus and Burgess. Jonathan evades answering, and quickly leaves to take Sam home. Martha goes to her office to review her journals, stumbles upon the entry from the day Rebecca was raped, and remembers that she should tell Rebecca about the murder. On the way out, she runs into Cyrus, tells him that Burgess has been murdered, and that he will eventually have to tell her everything that happened at the dance.

The parsonage door is answered by Sally, the housemaid who is notorious for eavesdropping. Martha asks for Rebecca and finds her having tea in the parlor. She notices a tin of savine tea on the mantle, before selecting a more pleasant flavor for herself. Rebecca’s husband, Isaac, is out of the room writing letters to Church leadership in Boston, hoping that his position as Parson of Hallowell will be reinstated. Deciding that it is better that Rebecca hears the news alone, Martha informs her of the murder. Rebecca expresses her happiness that Burgess is dead and says that she hopes Isaac is the one who killed him. She reveals to Martha that she believes that she is now pregnant, a consequence of the rape.

Back at home, Martha finds a note from Cyrus telling her that he will be back soon and swearing that he had no part in the murder. Martha believes Cyrus and returns to inspecting her journal entries. She notices her entry from the day that Rebecca formally accused North of rape and considers Rebecca’s motives for speaking about it publicly. Despite combing through her entries, she is unable to find answers to this question.

Martha’s husband, Ephraim, returns home from his work at the mill, and she informs him of the day’s happenings. They discuss Moses Pollard’s intentions to court Hannah before Martha turns to the subject of Burgess’s murder, as well as Cyrus’s fight with Burgess prior to the killing. They speculate that Joseph North will likely try to have Cyrus or Mr. Foster accused of the crime to save himself from suspicion. Martha also tells Ephraim about the strange silver fox, and he tells her, “foxes don’t come to people naturally. And if you asked the Wabanaki, they would tell you that it is a sign” (60). This reference to the local Indigenous population reminds Martha of a detail from her journal entry that she had previously ignored—on August 22, members of the Wabanaki tribe were present at Rebecca Forster’s home. Connecting the savine in Rebecca’s tea tin to the Wabanaki’s prowess with herbs, Martha theorizes that they gave Rebecca the tea to help terminate her unwanted pregnancy. The chapter ends with a romantic encounter between Martha and Ephraim.

The next day, The Court of General Sessions, presided over by North, holds its monthly meeting in Pollard’s Tavern to make rulings on local petty disputes. Martha gives testimony regarding Burgess’s death, asserting that she believes it to be a murder based on her examination of the body. Dr. Page provides contrary testimony, however, claiming that Burgess drowned by accident. North chooses to accept Page’s explanation based on the missing rope, but Martha requests that her opinion on the matter also be recorded by the court.

Sally Pierce, Rebecca’s eavesdropping housemaid, submits an accusation of fornication against Rebecca, having overheard her tell Martha about the pregnancy. She also accuses Mr. Foster of murder, having heard Rebecca say she hoped her husband was the one who killed Burgess. Martha protests this testimony, saying that Sally misconstrued their conversation because she was eavesdropping, but North holds her in contempt of court and tells Ephraim to escort her out. Ephraim warns Martha that her actions in the courtroom were dangerous.

Thirty-five years prior to the events of the story, Ephraim and Martha watch the hanging of Billy Crane, the man who raped Martha. Martha’s period has not yet arrived, and Ephraim plans to marry her as quickly as possible to save her from scandal in the event that she is pregnant. He reassures her, however, that he is still marrying her because he loves her, rather than out of pity. Martha agrees to his plan, and they head home, where Joseph North is waiting to perform the wedding ceremony.