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It took me a little while to really get into this book, in fact, it took me about a month to read it but once I got into it, it was hard for me to put it down. This novel has so many different themes:
the inhumanity of slavery
maternity and the sacrifices women make for their children
race relations
the importance of education
friendships between women
But I think the overwhelming theme (and the one that is probably most relevant to today’s audience) is that women are worth more than their “lady parts.” The main character, Lizzie, drives this point home at the end of the novel when she is thinking about the things she needs to teach her daughter so she could survive in a world where her skin and sex determined her worth:
Never forget your name. Keep track of your years and how old you are. Don’t be afraid to show how you feel. Learn a craft so you always have something to barter other than your private parts. (p. 238)
Wow. This is a powerful statement that simply permeates the novel. The slave women are concubines who are treated as sexual playthings by their masters and scorned by their mistresses, yet, they try to carve out some semblance of love and respectability amongst themselves and others within the slave community.
I’d recommend this novel as an additional reading source for a college level American history course. Tawawa House was a real place and the relationship described between the slave masters and the slave women is one that hasn’t really been explored in other writings but could lead to some interesting in~class discussions (especially when considered alongside the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings).
the inhumanity of slavery
maternity and the sacrifices women make for their children
race relations
the importance of education
friendships between women
But I think the overwhelming theme (and the one that is probably most relevant to today’s audience) is that women are worth more than their “lady parts.” The main character, Lizzie, drives this point home at the end of the novel when she is thinking about the things she needs to teach her daughter so she could survive in a world where her skin and sex determined her worth:
Never forget your name. Keep track of your years and how old you are. Don’t be afraid to show how you feel. Learn a craft so you always have something to barter other than your private parts. (p. 238)
Wow. This is a powerful statement that simply permeates the novel. The slave women are concubines who are treated as sexual playthings by their masters and scorned by their mistresses, yet, they try to carve out some semblance of love and respectability amongst themselves and others within the slave community.
I’d recommend this novel as an additional reading source for a college level American history course. Tawawa House was a real place and the relationship described between the slave masters and the slave women is one that hasn’t really been explored in other writings but could lead to some interesting in~class discussions (especially when considered alongside the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings).