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Chapter 17
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
Cussy Mary and Doc arrive back in Troublesome Creek just before dark and take Doc’s horse back to the Carter place. Before he leaves, Doc gives Cussy two satin hair ribbons to replace the twine that used to secure her braids. She says, “thank you,” and accepts them, even though she knows that his generosity will last only as long as she complies with his experiments. As Cussy reaches the porch, Doc tells her once more that he thinks he can cure her.
Doc’s gesture of a gift seems to recognize Cussy Mary as a fellow member of his “kind,” but she’s all too aware that Doc’s interest in her is instrumental and will only last as long as she’s helping him. Generous gestures are highly valued in this harsh countryside, and Cussy is generous with others. In contrast, Doc’s “gift” is more like a payment.
Themes
Inside, Pa has fallen asleep covered in coal dust. He rouses enough to ask Cussy Mary if Doc took good care of her, and she reassures him. He also gives her a coal-blackened envelope to take to R.C. Cole. Cussy packs Doc’s medicines and the letter into her satchel, then tends to Junia. In the warmth of the evening, she goes to the creek to bathe, taking a mirror with her. She looks at her face in the mirror, feeling horror rise at seeing her blue skin. She doubts that there’s a potion strong enough to cure her, no matter what Doc says. Before she dresses, she inspects the areas where the doctors sampled her flesh using the mirror. None of the scratches are deep.
In the aftermath of the violent and terrifying day at the hospital, Cussy Mary finds solace in the routines of her life and reminders of how important her role in the community is (she’s about to bring mail and necessary medicines to her patrons). When she bathes, she looks at herself and feels horror over her blue skin. This contrasts with her repeated claims that she doesn’t need to be fixed, suggesting that she has internalized the discrimination and hatred that she feels from others.
Themes
Inside, Pa is dressing for the mine, even though it’s Saturday. He’s going to a secret union meeting. When the Company catches wind of any organizing, they tend to use violence and arson to shut the miners up. Cussy doesn’t fuss at Pa but makes sure to add the pear and cheese Doc gave her to his lunch bucket. He leaves with a promise to rent a horse and clear some of the briars on her trails later in the week.
Neither Cussy Mary nor Pa can protect the other from the dangers of their respective jobs. Each is motivated in part by their desire for autonomy and control over their own destiny and in part by their humanity and desire to help others. Cussy can’t stop Pa, but she can show her care and concern by sharing the food Doc gave her with him.
Themes
Cussy Mary eats some biscuits and starts her evening chores. While she works, her thoughts return to the hospital, and she tries to imagine what the doctors did to her. To wash away her feelings, she furiously scrubs her clothes on the washboard until her mind stills. Calmed, she prepares for her Monday route by setting aside a news article about a fire for R.C., adding a book from her mother’s collection to her satchel, setting aside a baby care pamphlet for Angeline, and packing up Doc’s medicines and some freshly cleaned bandages. These precious gifts are worth more than gold, or chickens: they are what Mr. Moffit needs to live, and the Moffit family won’t survive without them.
Cussy’s scrubbing of her clothes suggests that she feels polluted in some way by her experience at the hospital. And, since Harriett has already compared her to an inkblot, the idea of stains is strongly associated with the discrimination that Cassie routinely suffers in her home. Doc’s experiments are a subtler version of Harriett’s hatred; both suggest that there’s something wrong with Cussy, and her desire to clean herself and her clothes shows how much she has unconsciously absorbed these messages. But she still finds strength and solace in doing things that help other people around her.
Themes
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