Gilead

Jack reveals that he is married “in the eyes of God” and has a young son, Robert Boughton Miles. Jack’s wife is an African American woman named Della, a former St. Louis schoolteacher. Della’s father is also a minister and disapproves of her relationship with Jack. When Della became pregnant, she was disowned by her family and dismissed from her school position. Jack has trouble caring for Della and his son, and the two return to Tennessee when things get hard. Della’s family tells Jack there is a man in Tennessee who is willing to marry Della and adopt her son.

If they could find a way to live, Jack thinks Della would marry him. He would like to introduce his son to Boughton but worries it would kill him. Jack has written to Della but not heard from her since coming to Gilead. Jack asks for John’s advice, saying that John is no stranger to an “unconventional” marriage, having married a younger, uneducated woman. John retorts with a hurtful comment about how Boughton “certainly took to that other child” (230), then apologizes. Jack wonders if his family can live safely in Gilead, but John can’t promise his help.