It now becomes clear to us that Mattie not only works for immigrants' rights, she hides illegal immigrants in her house. The novel takes a political stance, portraying Mattie's work as good and heroic. Edna and Virgie do not understand Mattie's remarks, perhaps deliberately: Virgie harbors very conservative views on immigrants, and twists Mattie's ideas in order to hear what she wants to hear. Neither does Taylor fully comprehend what Mattie says, a failure that Kingsolver does not excuse. Because Kingsolver makes the nature and nobility of Mattie's work clear to the reader, Taylor's failure to grasp it seems perplexing at best, and purposeful at worse. Kingsolver asks us to wonder if Taylor decides not to understand, because the topic scares or upsets her. Estevan's story of heaven and hell continues this political commentary. As he tells his story, he glowers at Virgie, conveying his disapproval of her views on immigrants. She thinks immigrants should fend for themselves, and Americans should not help them, just as the hell-dwellers in Estevan's story think only of helping themselves.
             "I wasn't trying to make a sale. I
             just thought you two needed some cheering up."
             grandmother are visiting her in Arizona to help out. Angel
             agreed to move back in during his in-laws' visit because "he
             knew the power of mothers and grandmothers". If the women
             knew that Angel and Lou Ann had split up, it would escalate
             their derogatory insistence that Lou Ann and the baby go home
             Barbara Kingsolver uses the growth of plants as a dominant theme of the novel and a metaphor for the growth of the characters. The growth of plants serve a number of thematic purposes in the novel. The night-blooming cereus that Edna Poppy brings to Taylor and Lou Ann before Taylor undertakes her journey to Oklahoma serves as a harbinger, and represents the ephemeral quality to the character's opportunities. The wisteria vi
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