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Chapter 26
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
Upset from her experiences in town, Cussy Mary hurries home. Thinking about the ladies’ fancy dresses and hairdos at the dance reminds her of an article she saw in one of the library magazines that showed how to make rag curls. She tears up a strip of old fabric, wets it, and dresses her hair. Then dances around the room in the arms of a pretend suitor…until she stubs her toe on the bed.
Despite the discrimination, hatred, and hardship that she faces, Cussy Mary’s human spirit is irrepressible. While she’s internalized people’s low opinion of her skin color, she also understands that she’s valuable. Curling her hair and pretending to dance allows her to demonstrate that value, if only to herself. It also shows the power that books and other library materials to bring the ideas of the wider society to isolated areas.
Themes
Pa returns home at dawn, bloodied and bruised. Yet he feels responsible to continue the union talks, because his fellow miners selected him to be their spokesperson. Suddenly, Cussy Mary wonders if the only reason they picked Pa is that he’s a Blue, and they feel that his life is more expendable than everyone else’s. When she asks Pa if his skin color has anything to do with his union duties, he barks between coughs that it’s because he is “a Kentucky miner, and a damn good one!”
Cussy Mary worries that Pa has been picked for the most dangerous job because he is a Blue, and thus his fellow miners consider him less worthy and more expendable. Her fears aren’t unfounded; Pa’s brother was tricked into being a miner’s sacrifice years ago. Yet, Pa’s essential concern for his fellow miners—a mark of his humanity—means that he’ll fight for them despite the hardship and danger.
Themes
The next morning, Doc takes Cussy Mary back to Lexington. On the way they pass Kentucky horse farms with stables bigger and grander than any person’s house Cussy has ever seen. At the hospital, Cussy shows Doc the knife she brought with her, and she tells him that she will participate in the tests only if she can keep her undergarments on and the black-hearted nuns aren’t involved. Doc agrees, and Cussy presses her advantage to ask him for more food.
The poverty of the mountains contrasts sharply with the wealth of the Kentucky horse breeders. After the last trip into the hospital, Cussy Mary is prepared: she will defend herself against the nuns and Doc if she must. As in other moments of danger and difficulty, Cussy draws on her own strength and independence—and she uses the opportunity to help her friends and patrons by securing more of the food they so desperately need.
Themes
In the Colored Ward, a small Black girl becomes hysterical with fear at the sight of Cussy. Dr. Mills and Doc ask Cussy questions about her family’s habits and medical history. When they ask about her kin, she offers to write out a list of her relatives. Dr. Mills is surprised to discover that she’s literate, and Doc brags that she’s not just literate, she’s one of the Pack Horse librarians. When Dr. Mills asks Cussy to read off a letter chart on the wall, she huffs that she already proved she knows her letters. Doc explains it’s an eye test. The doctors discuss the possibility the Carters have a recently discovered hereditary blood disorder.
The little girl’s fear draws attention to the oddity of Cussy Mary’s blue skin and reinforces her feeling that Kentucky society despises and fears her even more than the Black people society also ostracizes. At this stage, the book suggests that white people aren’t the only people who discriminate against others. Dr. Mills also takes Cussy’s Blue skin as a sign of mental inferiority and is thus surprised to discover that she’s literate.
Themes
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Dr. Mills wants to keep Cussy in the hospital for observation, and when she and Doc protest, he brags that he doesn’t need their consent. He can claim that she’s a threat to public health and involuntarily quarantine her. Doc erupts in anger, refusing to let Dr. Mills keep Cussy for “[his] interest.” Doc thinks that Mills, as a Black man, should understand what persecution feels like. The two men step into the hall, and Cussy can hear them exchanging heated words. When they return, Dr. Mill’s coat is crumpled, and he’s silent. Doc asks Cussy to give a blood sample that they can test for the hereditary disorder. Impatient to leave, she readily agrees.
When Dr. Mills wants to keep Cussy in the hospital, he threatens her autonomy and reminds her of her powerlessness against the will of others. He knows that her Blue skin isn’t a sign of illness, but he can use this as a rationale to keep her, and most other people (ignorant of her color’s true cause) would believe him. In this moment, Doc protects Cussy, earning her gratitude. Evidently, while he’s happy to blackmail Cussy into participating in research for his own interest, he’s unwilling to extend the same benefits to Dr. Mills. While he notes the similarity between the discrimination that Cussy Mary and Dr. Mills both face (as so-called “colored” people), Doc can threaten and rough up Dr. Mills because the power of white people in racially divided society of the early 20th century protects him.
Themes
