Winter's Bone

Ree lies in bed for the afternoon as another winter storm blows in. The boys come home from school, excited about more snow days. Ree ruminates over the benefits of the two kinds of pills she had taken that day, noting that while one left her brain active, the other dulled her senses. Ree thinks to herself that sometimes one wants their mind active and “dancing,” other times having ones’ feelings dulled can be a relief. As the snow continues to fall, Ree takes another blue pill that numbs her mind. 

Ree’s consciousness dips in and out, and she realizes that she is sitting in Teardrop’s truck with him. As Ree struggles to regain awareness, Teardrop informs her that he is tired of waiting for retaliation by the Hawkfall clan; he plans on acting first to gauge their reaction. Teardrop reveals his plan to take her to Buster Leroy’s house, and for the remaining drive Ree falls into a whiskey and pill-induced sleep.

Again, struggling for consciousness, Ree realizes they have arrived at a gas station where Teardrop speaks to Buster Leroy and two women. The two women—Kitty Thurtell and Jean Dolly—approach Ree and sympathize over her injuries. Jean alludes to the Hawkfall women’s actions as cowardly, at which point Kitty tells her to speak such thoughts quietly, even if they were truthful.