The Bell

The next morning, Dora wakes in her bedroom to hear that the ceremony of the new bell has already begun. Surprised, she sees from her window hundreds of people gathered for the ritual. She runs down the stairs and to the terrace, finding a place from which she can see the procession that is forming. As the workers begin moving the bell toward the causeway and the convent, the Abbey doors slowly open. Suddenly, the bell stops moving in the middle of the causeway, and after a loud groan, the trolley tilts and the ball overturns, plunging into the lake.

The crowd goes wild, and the Abbey doors close. Dora feels obscurely responsible for what has happened, and she is moving toward the lake to see better when Catherine rushes past her, shoving her violently. Dora starts after her, seeing in Catherine’s eyes something lost and almost crazed. Catherine says it is her fault the bell has sunk, saying, “A white garment cannot conceal a wicked heart. There is no passing through that gate. Good-bye” (276). As if in a trance, she enters the lake.

Shouting for help, Dora rushes after her, the mud sucking her in and the weeds tangling her feet.