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Splendors and Glooms Chapter 7 Summary

The Women in the Mirror

  • The day of Clara's party also happens to be the witch Cassandra's birthday, too. But no one celebrates with her or comes to visit; no one sends gifts or even a card. She's not too popular.
  • Cassandra opens up the locket and stares down at the phoenix-stone, feeling feverish as she does so. She is completely obsessed with it, and the stone obviously holds a lot of power over her.
  • She thinks about how she could go down to the frozen lake and drown herself, perhaps destroying the stone in the process.
  • But there has to be another solution, and she wishes she knew what it was. She doesn't want to send for Grisini if she can help it.
  • Suddenly, she looks over at the mirror and sees a young woman on a wooden stake being burned. The image in the mirror is super clear, and somehow she knows that she is not hallucinating or dreaming.
  • Then, another woman appears—this one is burning in a house. Cassandra tries to block out the sight of the mirror but can't stop seeing all those flames and women burning to death.