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Chapter 34
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 is lost in grief as she rides away from Henry’s house, so Junia notices Devil John first. He has found her to report that his children are working hard on their chores now. Cussy congratulates him, distractedly thinking about Henry. As Devil John continues, it’s clear that he’s proud of his children and enjoys listening to them read. They’re teaching him to spell some words, too. He asks if Cussy can bring more “Boy Scout reads,” a new Bible, and a scrapbook, which she promises to do the following week. And he gives her a bottle of moonshine as a gift.
Yet again, Junia watches out for Cussy Mary when she needs it. But this time, Junia doesn’t alert her to a threat, but to an unexpected source of joy. Devil John has come to ask for more books, since the ones that Cussy recommended have encouraged his children’s industry and improved their lives. In the previous chapter, books had the power to carry Henry away from his suffering peacefully. Here, their power is much more practical: they can improve lives by teaching people new ideas and new, better (and often, more modern) ways of doing things.
Themes
Later, just as Cussy Mary is about to leave Timmy Flynn’s house, his mother comes splashing across the creek with the scrapbook Cussy left a few weeks earlier in her hand. Cussy doesn’t have the energy to deal with her fussing and is pleasantly surprised when Mrs. Flynn asks for another book just like it. And despite her grief over Henry, her heart warms with a small joy.
The encounter with Timmy Flynn’s mother is a sort of extension to Cussy Mary’s encounter with Devil John. Like the moonshiner, Timmy’s mother was suspicious of the books, wary of the government intruding in her life. But Cussy shared a scrapbook that she’d made herself, featuring useful items and local wisdom. It convinced Timmy’s mother that not all books are bad and encouraged her to become a library patron herself.
Themes
On the way home, Cussy Mary and Junia stop to rest by the creek. Cussy’s water bottle is empty, but she doesn’t trust the creek water—who knows if it’s contaminated by the mine or people’s privies. So, she drinks the moonshine. It warms her belly and quiets her troubled spirits, and soon she finds herself deep into an angry prayer for Henry and all the other victims of the blood-soaked Kentucky soil.
Wary of drinking the water—a reminder of the harsh and often unsanitary conditions in this corner of rural Kentucky, where no one has indoor plumbing—Cussy Mary opts for the moonshine instead. She gets a little tipsy, and the alcohol lowers her inhibitions. Freed from the pressure to behave and act in socially-appropriate ways, she vents her anger at God for the cruelty of the world.
Themes
