The Poisonwood Bible

Orleanna explains that, though she does not love her other children less, she loved Ruth May differently, knowing that she was the last she would ever have. After her death, Orleanna keeps moving to avoid her grief finally descending on her, and she leaves the reverend through that movement. She says that she knows she should have left him earlier, but that it never would have occurred to her to do so until Ruth May died. She argues that men like her husband—and conquering nations—all “lose in the end… because they stand still and their stakes move underneath them” (384). Orleanna if Ruth May is still the child she birthed or now part of Africa itself.

Orleanna, Leah, Rachel, and Adah leave Kilanga with only the items they can carry. Fortunately, neighbors give them water and oranges for the journey. They walk toward Bulungu. Leah contracts malaria, and Anatole appears. She hallucinates Mr. Axelroot appearing with horns and a tail, mentioning something about Rachel before flying away. Anatole tends to her as she heals from the malaria, promising her mother to send her home when she is well. Orleanna and Adah catch a ride out of town, continuing their journey, but Rachel has flown away with Mr.