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Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Kind, Kindness, and Discrimination
The Power of Books
Hardship and Humanity
Change and Modernization
Autonomy and Interdependence
Summary
Analysis
The hardest drop on Cussy Mary’s Wednesday route is Hogtail Mountain, where she climbs up to a WPA fire watchtower to deliver books to R.C. Cole. He’s trying to use his learning from the library loans to work his way up to fire watch dispatcher, then forest ranger. Today, he can’t come down because he’s keeping an eye on a potential fire in the distance. The work is dangerous—his father died in a lightning strike, and a thunderstorm almost got R.C. himself last summer.
The remoteness of R.C. Cole’s tower offer yet another reminder of how remote and isolated some of Cussy Mary’s patrons are. Without her service, there’s no way they could access books and the opportunities they provide. Yet, the remote tower also illustrates the independence and resourcefulness of people who can live in these hard places. For R.C., the books offer a chance to better himself and to move up in the world.
Themes
In addition to his old loans, R.C. gives Cussy Mary two letters, since she can get them into town—and on to their recipients—faster than he can. One is to Ruth Beck’s father, asking for her hand in marriage. Firewatching is a lonesome job, and after a year of faithful courting, R.C. is ready to take the next step in their relationship.
Given the remoteness of some of their patrons, the Pack Horse librarians sometimes rendered assistance carrying messages and mail between patrons and town, as Cussy Mary does for R.C. here. Despite his ability to live on his own, R.C. is lonely and would like the companionship of a wife, pointing toward the interdependence that characterizes human nature, no matter how independent an individual may be.
Themes
At the foot of Hogtail Mountain, Cussy Mary waits for Queenie since their paths cross on Wednesday. To pass time, she reads a passage from Wind in the Willows aloud to Junia in her best newscaster voice, stumbling over some of the longer words. When Queenie rides up behind her, she gently mocks Cussy for concreting up her own “musical words” with “city airs.” Cussy protests that she wants to learn as much as she can, to know all the words and their meanings. Queenie lends her the dictionary she got from her pa.
Cussy Mary faces so much discrimination and abuse that she doesn’t always want to be herself, and her attempt to appropriate the city-educated voice of the newscasters is an element of her desire to transcend her appearance. Queenie chastises her because she understands that it’s a person’s character that counts, not their appearance. And Cussy has a good character, alive with intelligence and curiosity.
Themes
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Queenie has been thinking of leaving, maybe for Philadelphia, where she learned that there’s an assistant librarian job opening. She applied last week. Queenie longs to live in a big city where there is opportunity and a Black community. As she and Cussy Mary part ways, Cussy envies Queenie for having a community to belong to. Even in the city, Cussy fears she’d be singled out for her blue skin.
Queenie also understands the importance of belonging to a community, something neither she nor Cussy have in Troublesome Creek. Unfortunately for Cussy, however, there isn’t a big city where she can go to live among other Blues.
Themes
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Cussy Mary sometimes delivers her patrons’ letters with their books, and she has mail for the Evanses. Mr. Evans is away, and Mrs. Evans is illiterate, so she asks Cussy to read the letter to her. The letter from their son announces the birth of their first granddaughter, named after Mrs. Evans, and bears news of their success in cattle ranching in Nebraska. As a thanks, Mrs. Evans gives Cussy some crackling bread for her ride.
The letter from the Evans’ son, like Cussy Mary’s earlier conversation with Queenie, offers a reminder that escape from Troublesome Creek is possible, and that life is much easier in some parts of the world. Nevertheless, Cussy lightens the hardship of the mountains when she reads the letter to Mrs. Evans, and in response, Mrs. Evans generously offers her some food, one of the most precious gifts in the mountains.
Themes
Cussy Mary’s next patron is Timmy Flynn. Because his mother refuses the Pack Horse Library, Cussy leaves his books in a pot on the edge of the property. Today, Timmy playfully sneaks up on Cussy. He’s skinny and underfed, but too prideful to accept charity. So Cussy tricks him into eating the bread Mrs. Evans gave her. Before she leaves, she has another trick up her sleeve, convincing Timmy to carry her best scrapbook to his mother. Cussy hopes that the recipes and whittling tips it contains will convince her to borrow some more books. As Timmy runs home and Cussy Mary turns back to the path, she and Junia hear something—or someone—rustling in the trees behind them. They’re still being hunted.
Like Miss Loretta, Timmy Flynn’s mother is suspicious of the content and nature of the books that the Pack Horse Library offers. But, also like Miss Loretta, her caution doesn’t translate into hatred or violence like it does for Vester. Again, she demonstrates that there are a variety of viewpoints on modernity and change. Like everyone else, Timmy has a hard life and doesn’t get enough of the things he needs to thrive, whether that’s food or books. Cussy, because of her kind nature, shares both with him (and his mother) in abundance.
Themes
