Sarah has always been a bold character and one who spoke up for what she believed in. Beginning with when she “set free” Handful from slavery on her seventh birthday, this stance against slavery reigned true in Sarah throughout the novel (19). However, she was led astray from her ideas when she was involved with Burke Williams. During this time, Sarah let her guard down and allowed herself to grow close to Burke to only then be crushed when she found out about his multiple lovers. Nevertheless, we see Sarah grow and mature and while a new man Israel enters her life, she knows where to draw the line between standing firm in her ideas and giving in to being a wife and mother. What reaffirmed this self-awareness in Sarah was her silver fleur de lis button. When she rediscovered the button Sarah realized that “…[she] was meant to do something in the world, something large, larger than [her] self,” and with that Sarah sought to become a Quaker minister so that she could share her ideas with the community (277). The button “had always held this knowing for [Sarah],” and was the reassurance she needed to feel confident in what she believed. This new-found confidence is what led Sarah to decline Israel’s proposal, though hard, Sarah knew she had “…chosen the life [she] belonged to” (295). The fleur de lis was Sarah’s guide “the button had been the most constant object in [her] life,” and would continue to guide her as she sought to further her calling: the abolitionist movement and the fight against slavery.
As we come towards the end of Handful’s story there is a special occurrence, the return of her mother along with her other daughter. While mauma returns with “whip scars” and a branded “letter W” to her right shoulder, she still stands strong and will do whatever it takes to achieve a better life (270-271). I think that this quest for freedom, while deeply rooted in mauma, was really brought to the surface because of her relationship with Denmark Vesey. While the two were lovers, I think that from him is truly, where she saw freedom as an actual possibility. Since she left Denmark behind to flee, I think that this desire for freedom was perpetuated within her by the presence of her and Denmark’s daughter, fittingly named Sky. Throughout the novel birds and flight have come to represent freedom, so I think that the reason mauma named her daughter Sky was not only a reminder for herself, but also a lesson to her daughter that she too can be a free bird soaring in the sky. Handful also describes Sky as “…big-boned, big handed, big-footed with a forehead like the full moon” (266). This description of her “forehead like the full moon” alludes back to after Handful had stolen the bullet molds, and had wished “…for the moon instead of lead” (246). I think that the moon as well represents freedom. For Handful, she wanted her freedom not a rebellion filled with gunfire, and I think that with the introduction of Sky and her association with the moon, I think Handful’s wish for freedom may finally come true.
Sue Monk Kidd’s historical references are continuous throughout the entire novel. A unique reference is one to another strong female like both Sarah and Handful. When Sarah is brought in front of the Quakers because of whether she should be forced to leave the Morris family only one-person sticks up for her, a female minister named Lucretia Mott. When Mott spoke up Sarah felt like “[she] might cry at the sight of it,” clearly showing her gratitude and also admiration for this total stranger that just took her side when no one else would, not even the man she thought had cared about her (234). I think that Kidd strategically placed this reference to Mott, because historically Lucretia Mott would have been the exact person that Sarah would aspire to be like. Mott, as mentioned was a Quaker minister, but was one that felt a deep passion for anti-slavery and the abolitionist movement, similar to Sarah. Mott also was one of the organizers of the Seneca Falls Convention, one of the first major meetings for the women’s rights movement, in which the women chose the abolitionist movement to be their main goal to fight for. While in the story Mott is only briefly mentioned, I feel like her one action that she did for Sarah opened Sarah’s eyes and showed her that what she had learned in the north was great, but that her home, the south needed her strong abolitionist ideas even more.
More about Lucretia Mott: http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/lucretia-mott.htm |