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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
Angeline Moffit impatiently waits in the yard for Cussy Mary and chastises her for staying away so long. Cussy introduces Junia and Angeline recognizes the mule’s biblical name. Junia was the only female apostle named in the Bible, and Junia the mule is Cussy’s fierce protector. She already saved Cussy from a bobcat and a potential landslide.
Despite her evidently hard life, Angeline is an apt student. In the mountains, hardship limits people’s opportunities, but it can’t define who they are. Junia’s name indicates the importance of the work she and Cussy do. Biblical apostles carried the Good News of the Christian gospel throughout the ancient world; Cussy Mary and Junia carry hope and possibility throughout rural eastern Kentucky in the form of library books.
Themes
Cussy Mary can’t talk about the winter’s events, but Angeline has already heard some of it. Cussy has a children’s book for Angeline, who is learning to read, and a Popular Mechanics magazine for Mr. Moffit. It features an airship on the cover. Although Eleanor Roosevelt flew in one to Kentucky, Cussy and Angeline find it hard to imagine seeing one in person.
Angeline rises above her poverty through literacy that allows her to connect to the larger world. There’s a sharp contrast between the technological advances in the world, like airplanes, and the hardscrabble existence in the hills. The changes happening in the world sometime seems so distant and different from the day-to-day reality of the mountainfolk that they are almost impossible to imagine.
Themes
Angeline slips her hand into Cussy Mary’s, and Cussy stiffens. No other white person ever touches her that casually. It makes her yearn for her mother, or for a child of her own. But she knows she will never have a man; town gossip says that a Blue Devil murdered Charlie Frazier in his bed. As the women enter the house, Angeline tells Cussy that Mr. Moffit “busted” his foot recently, although Eula Foster said that he’d been shot for stealing a chicken.
Angeline treats Cussy Mary like a person, ignoring the color of her skin. But Cussy can’t enjoy Angeline’s kind gesture because its contrast with the normal, bigoted, and fearful treatment she receives from people just emphasizes her isolation. Angeline loves Cussy, but this just reminds Cussy of how unloved and unwanted she generally is by people who can’t see beyond her skin color. Mr. Moffit has been shot for stealing a chicken, which reminds us how desperately poor and hungry many of the people in and around Troublesome Creek are. Nevertheless, his theft is shameful, leading Angeline to talk about it euphemistically.
Themes
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Angeline drags an empty lard tin next to the bed for Cussy Mary to sit on so she can read to Mr. Moffit, who is illiterate. Cussy holds the magazine so he is spared the sight of her blue skin. As he pulls the covers up, Cussy notices that the tips of his fingers and toes are blue. She wonders if it’s from his injury and illness, or if he is also a Blue. She’s heard stories about some who grow out of the color as they age.
Mr. Moffit represents many white people in Troublesome Creek, who consider Cussy “colored” (a slur for Black in an era of grave discrimination), and therefore think associating with her is degrading to themselves. But Cussy catches a glimpse of fingers and toes that suggest he might be a Blue himself. If he is, but people consider him white, this might explain some of why Cussy seems to make him so uncomfortable.
Themes
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Cussy Mary reads until Mr. Moffit falls asleep, then finds Angeline in the yard, practicing writing words. Angeline returns her last book, which got a little busted when Mr. Moffit threw it into the yard during a fight. Cussy can see that he gave up on his hard life long ago, and that his anger is an expression of this despair. Sometimes, his anger frightens Angeline.
Books can bring hope to their readers. The fact that Angeline is learning to read while Mr. Moffit isn’t (and he treats the books with disregard) suggests that she is more optimistic about the future than he is. He and Angeline share the same harsh life, but he’s succumbed to despair, and she hasn’t.
Themes
The last time Angeline returned a busted book, Eula told Cussy Mary to remind her that the government pays the librarians’ salaries only. The books are donated, and the project doesn’t have money for replacements or unnecessary repairs. Cussy promises to fix the book herself. As Cussy prepares to leave, Angeline gives Junia half of a scrawny carrot from her tiny garden. Then she asks Cussy to see if Doc will come tend to Mr. Moffit’s foot. She hands over a packet of her special corn seeds to offer as payment.
Cussy Mary, sharing the hard life of the hills with Angeline, shows understanding and human decency toward her patron. In contrast, Eula Foster (who lives in town) has little patience for the busted books. Her stinginess contrasts with Angeline’s generosity; her family can’t survive without stealing chickens and can’t pay for medical treatment, but she still shares the meager produce of her garden with Junia.
Themes
Angeline worries about Mr. Moffit, especially since she’s pregnant and due in July. She’s planning to name the baby Honey, even though Mr. Moffit says that’s a “colored’s name.” She reminds Cussy Mary to tell Doc how valuable the corn seeds are—they’re from her grandmother’s crops. If Cussy won’t be in town soon, Angeline suggests that she ask Jackson Lovett to take the message to Doc. Jackson, Cussy’s new patron, just got back to Kentucky from working on the Hoover Dam.
Mr. Moffit dislikes the name “Honey” because it sounds “colored,” implying that all “colored” things (like Cussy Mary) are bad and beneath him. Angeline’s situation reflects Pa’s desire for Cussy Mary to marry: she is scared to lose her husband’s protection. Life is hard in the hills, so it makes sense that Angeline is worried. In this context, the fact that she provides Cussy’s first introduction to Jackson Lovett foreshadows his future role as Cussy’s protector.
Themes
Angeline tells Junia to keep Cussy Mary safe. Somehow, she heard about another librarian, whose horse broke a leg and died at Hell-for-Certain Creek (pronounced “Hell-fer-Sartin” by the locals). She and Mr. Moffit both have kin out that way, though neither have ever visited the remote town. The librarian survived, completing her route on foot. As Cussy Mary rides off, Angeline hears the call of a rain crow, which the mountainfolk think prophesies death.
Junia is Cussy Mary’s protector. The autonomy of her library route also means that she must rely on herself and her mule to keep her alive and out of danger—other librarians have faced dangerous situations before. Angeline’s mention that both she and her husband have kin in the same town foreshadows revelations about these kin that will come to light later in the book. The call of the rain crow also signals impending disasters.
Themes
