Chapter 16 is the climactic chapter in the novel. Estevan, Esperanza, Taylor, and Turtle visit Mr. Armistead, the person whom Cynthia, the social worker, suggested that Taylor see about getting legal guardianship of Turtle. In Armistead's office, Estevan and Esperanza pretend to be Turtle's parents. They "give" her to Taylor and express their wish for Taylor to adopt her. Note that as Esperanza tells her supposedly make-believe story, she goes through a catharsis, a purification that releases her bottled-up feelings about her real daughter, Ismene, and the atrocities that she has witnessed while living in Guatemala. By relating her personal story, Esperanza acknowledges that she no longer dreams of once again holding and caring for Ismene; she is saying good-bye to her daughter. Note, too, that she gives to Turtle her medal of St. Christopher, guardian saint of refugees, and then hands over Turtle to Taylor.
Because this scene in which Esperanza relinquishes her maternal rights of Ismene and her fictitious rights of Turtle is so sad and painful, Kingsolver interjects humor to lighten the tone. Taylor thinks that Esperanza plays her role as the sacrificing mother so well that she could win an Oscar nomination for best actress. Throughout the novel, Kingsolver injects such humor to lessen the emotionally weighty tone of the work.
When Taylor, Turtle, Estevan, and Esperanza finally leave Armistead's office, Taylor thinks of how the group is now a new community of friends and family. She realizes that Estevan and Esperanza have sacrificed everything for her, including their pride, symbolized by their donning denim work clothes to make themselves look more poor than they really are.
In Chapter 17, Taylor safely delivers Estevan and Esperanza to a church that is part of the underground network known as the Sanctuary movement. Another difficult and emotional scene unfolds as they say good-bye to each other.
