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Chapter 18
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 finds Angeline working in her garden. Her first question is when Doc is coming. In answer, Cussy returns the unwanted corn seeds to her. Mr. Moffit has developed a bad fever, and Angeline throws the seeds to the ground before rushing inside and collapsing into tears at her husband’s bedside. Above the bed is a calendar marked “Honey” that counts down the days until her baby’s arrival. Mr. Moffit’s foot is red and swollen and leaking foul-smelling, greenish pus.
The harsh realities of life are on display at the Moffit household, where poverty, hunger, and sickness have brought Mr. Moffit to the brink of death just as Angeline is about to have their first child. In contrast to this pain and suffering, Doc’s focus on “curing” Cussy Mary’s blueness seems petty, suggesting that there are more important things to do than to discriminate against people who have a different skin tone.
Themes
Cussy Mary explains that she’s brought medicine: willow bark to make a tea that will ease the fever, alcohol to wash the wounds, honey to disinfect them, clean bandages, and laudanum for the pain. Angeline, overjoyed, places Cussy’s hand over her swollen belly so she can feel the baby’s vigorous kicking. Then, the two women set about tending to Mr. Moffit. But when Cussy lifts his leg to wash his foot, he rouses and swears at her. He doesn’t want a “colored [to] touch me an’ bring more infection.” Angeline chastises him for being ornery, but Mr. Moffit refuses to accept Cussy’s aid, and Cussy quietly leaves the house.
Cussy Mary’s medicines are a mix of the traditional (willow bark and honey) and modern (alcohol, laudanum). There’s value in the old ways, but also in the new ideas coming in from the outside world. Sadly, Mr. Moffit’s fear and hatred of Cussy’s difference (her blue skin) still blinds him to her generosity, and rather than accepting what she has to offer, he runs her out of the house. It seems that he would rather die than be touched by a so-called “colored” person, showing just how deep discrimination can run and how irrationally it makes people behave.
Themes
