The Bean Trees: Chapters 13–17

by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver's first novel tells the story of Taylor Greer, who leaves Kentucky and tries to make a life for herself and an orphaned Native American girl in Tucson, Arizona.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–8, Chapters 9–12, Chapters 13–17

Here is a link to our lists for The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. legitimate
    authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law
    “I understand that. But the problem is that you have no legitimate claim. A verbal agreement with a relative isn’t good enough...”
  2. coerce
    cause to do through pressure or necessity
    “...You can’t prove to the police that it happened that way. That you didn’t kidnap her, for instance, or that the relatives weren’t coerced.”
  3. cameo
    engraving or carving in low relief on a stone
    The pin at her throat was an ivory and flesh-colored cameo that looked antique.
  4. loophole
    an ambiguity that makes it possible to evade an obligation
    Obviously Mattie knew what there was to know about loopholes.
  5. noncommittal
    refusing to bind oneself to a particular course of action
    Driving up here like the original tough cookie in jeans and a red sweater, with my noncommittal answers and smart remarks, acting like two flat tires were all in a day’s work and I just happened to have been born with this kid growing out of my hip, that’s how cool I was.
  6. notarize
    authenticate by someone empowered to witness signatures
    “The law varies. In some states the mother would have to acknowledge her consent before a judge or a representative of the Department of Economic Security. In others, a simple written statement, notarized and signed before witnesses, is sufficient.”
  7. brooch
    a decorative pin
    “Can I ask you a kind of personal question? It’s about the cameo brooch.”
  8. befuddled
    confused and vague, especially of thinking
    She stood looking befuddled for a second or two, then pulled herself together and said, “Edna said I ought to come over and get you. We have something the children might like to see, if you don’t think it would do too much harm to wake them.”
  9. intervening
    occurring between events, spaces, or points in time
    In the intervening minute I had not extracted any further information from Virgie.
  10. cantankerous
    stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
    “She’ll do fine,” I said. “Remember, I'm used to cantankerous cars.”
  11. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    It was one of a meandering row of mossy, green-roofed cottages lined up along a stream bank in a place called Saw Paw Grove.
  12. inkling
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    He spoke very slowly, the way people often speak to not-very-bright children and foreigners, although I’m positive that Mr. Armistead had no inkling that the Two Two family came from any farther away than the Cherokee Nation.
  13. catharsis
    purging of emotional tensions
    “I keep thinking it was a kind of, what would you call it?”
    “A catharsis.”
  14. horticulture
    the cultivation of plants
    I wouldn't have put it past her to say “horticulture” one of these days, a word I hadn’t uttered myself until a few months ago.
  15. rigamarole
    a long, complicated, and confusing procedure
    “Nope. It’s done, for all practical purposes. There’s still some rigamarole in court for getting a birth certificate that takes about six months, but that’s not too bad. It takes longer than that to make a kid from scratch, is how I look at it.”
Created on Tue Dec 04 11:02:51 EST 2018 (updated Tue Aug 05 13:51:33 EDT 2025)

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