This entire chapter is narrated from the viewpoint of the town. After the last chapter, in which Joe found a certain peace within himself, he then returns to the community and apparently allows himself to be captured. Since none of the action is from Joe's point of view, the reader must speculate about what caused him to make a break after he had apparently given himself up and decided to accept his punishment.
The first explanation is offered by Gavin Stevens, a new character who functions as a type of commentator on the action. This character, Gavin Stevens, will appear frequently in some of Faulkner's later novels, but what the reader should remember is that any new commentator can give only partial reasons and partial motivations for the actions. However, Stevens' view that Christmas' actions were a result of the conflicting elements in his blood is to a large degree the correct interpretation. But Stevens is closer to the truth when he speaks of the role played by Mrs. Hines and how she and her husband, old Doc Hines, set peaceful elements into conflict.
In the preceding chapter Joe had come to the realization that he could gain peace only in isolation and could never be accepted by the society as part white and part Negro. Joe no longer rebels against the conflicting elements in his blood until the arrival of old Doc Hines, and then the grandfather's wild rantings and ravings cause Joe to despair, especially since his own grandfather is the chief person demanding Joe's immediate death.
It has also been developed throughout the novel that women function as a type of destruction to Joe's sense of order. Thus, having accepted his destined place in life and having accepted his death, the visit of Mrs. Hines probably set warring elements into conflict again. We must assume that she told him of the Reverend Gail Hightower, since Joe did go there when he escaped from the sheriff. Through Mrs. Hines, Hightower's house functions as a type of haven for Joe where he can find some type of sanctuary from the influence of women.
