The Weight of Ink

The narrative resumes in late June 1665. As the plague has grown worse, political and xenophobic tensions have risen in London. As Ester reflects, “London seemed redrawn: the invisible borders between parishes, once unnoticed, now were gulfs to be crossed at one’s peril” (389). Ester and Rivka try to stay secure in the rabbi’s house and rarely go out. The rabbi’s health is getting worse and worse, but fortunately Manuel HaLevy continues to send them money. Many people, including members of the Jewish community, have fled from London, but the rabbi is too sick to go anywhere. When he sends them money, Manuel often asks Ester to come and join him in the country, where his father has built a beautiful new house, but she continues to refuse.

Rabbi Mendes urges Ester and Rivka to flee for their own safety, but she firmly refuses. Eventually, Rabbi Mendes tells Ester that he knows that she has been writing her own ideas. He tells her that she should marry, even if she is going to deceive her future husband the way that she has deceived him. Ester continues to insist that she does not want to marry, but she admits to herself that her feelings for John leave her ambivalent.