Themes of humiliation and revenge dominate this chapter. Hilly spreads lies about Minny's thievery so that no one else will hire her. A maid's reputation is everything, and Hilly has ruined Minny's credentials. Most maids would have just accepted their fate, but Minny is not good at staying in her assigned place. Minny's mouth gets in her trouble all the time and the chocolate pie incident is no exception. Her humiliation of Hilly is complete and a power shift occurs. Minny now knows something about Hilly—that she tricked Hilly into literally eating humble pie—and that Hilly is now terrified of her. When Minny shares the secret with Celia, it empowers Celia, too.