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Noah
Fiona is a white woman who discovers Amari, Polly, and Tidbit sleeping in one of her husband’s hunting shacks. She agrees to help them. Fiona is a puzzle for Amari and Polly: she and her husband, Patrick, own slaves, yet Fiona feels compelled to help Amari and Tidbit, who are clearly runaways. She insists that while she has no standing to interfere with her husband’s business of owning slaves, she can also make her own choices when it comes to slaves whom Patrick doesn’t own. It’s also clear that Fiona feels little loyalty toward her husband, as he doesn’t want to engage in trade that would give Fiona access to goods like cloth. Instead, she has to make do with making heavy garments out of pelts. Heartbreakingly, Amari realizes that Fiona and Patrick own Besa.
Fiona O’Reilly Quotes in Copper Sun
The Copper Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Fiona O’Reilly or refer to Fiona O’Reilly. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 37
Quotes
“Of course, child. Everybody has slaves. How do you think we handle this land? But my Patrick is a good man and does not mistreat his property. Our slaves like it here.” Amari couldn’t understand how the woman could see no wrong in owning slaves as long as they were well treated.
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“It’s like this: if my Patrick brings home a new slave like he did last week, for example, that’s his right as master and man of this house, and I dare not interfere. As a woman, I ain’t got muckle to say about those kind of decisions. But when I got the chance to decide for myself, I find it gives me pleasure to choose to help you be free. That’s the truth, and I did not know it until I spoke the words.”
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Chapter 42
Quotes
She inhaled sharply as she thought of Mrs. Derby, of the infant who had been given no chance to live, and of all the other women, both black and white, who continued to suffer as property of others.
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Fiona O’Reilly Quotes in Copper Sun
The Copper Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Fiona O’Reilly or refer to Fiona O’Reilly. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 37
Quotes
“Of course, child. Everybody has slaves. How do you think we handle this land? But my Patrick is a good man and does not mistreat his property. Our slaves like it here.” Amari couldn’t understand how the woman could see no wrong in owning slaves as long as they were well treated.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“It’s like this: if my Patrick brings home a new slave like he did last week, for example, that’s his right as master and man of this house, and I dare not interfere. As a woman, I ain’t got muckle to say about those kind of decisions. But when I got the chance to decide for myself, I find it gives me pleasure to choose to help you be free. That’s the truth, and I did not know it until I spoke the words.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 42
Quotes
She inhaled sharply as she thought of Mrs. Derby, of the infant who had been given no chance to live, and of all the other women, both black and white, who continued to suffer as property of others.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
