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Chapter 40
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
Leaving Honey at home with Pa, Cussy Mary rides to the Moffits’ homestead to see if Jackson has been true to his word. She finds him out back standing over two fresh graves. When she dismounts, she’s surprised to watch Junia sidle up and gently nuzzle his arm. He refuses the money Cussy tries to offer him for the work of gravedigging and shows both concern for Honey and respect for Cussy’s willingness to take on the hard task of raising her. Then he pulls out a ring that he braided from locks of Mr. Moffit’s and Angeline’s hair before he buried them.
Cussy Mary trusted Jackson enough to ask for his help, but she still wants to verify that he’s kept his word. He’s done this and more, taking clippings of their hair to save as a memorial of their lives in addition to burying them. And his refusal of Cussy’s offered payment demonstrates his kindness toward his fellow humans, no matter what he thought of their choices.
Themes
Jackson tells Cussy that his mother and brothers died of smallpox when he was 12. His father cut locks of their hair and tucked them into the family Bible, saying it was important to keep a part of them living. Jackson added his father’s hair to the Bible after he drank himself to death two years later. Cussy tells him about the grief-triggered drunken tear Pa went on after her mother died. It’s the first time she’s shared the story, and it startles her to realize how she trusts Jackson.
The burial gives Jackson an opportunity to share more of his life with Cussy Mary. His tale reminds readers that virtually no one is untouched by suffering in this part of the world.
Themes
After his father died, Jackson explains, he left Kentucky swearing never to return. But a Kentucky man’s wandering legs won’t allow themselves to be planted except in Kentucky soil, so he returned. Cussy says that her folks always told her that her French great-grandfather came across the ocean to “collect his ’tucky heart.” They named her after the town where he was born because she looked like him. Jackson quips that he knew she didn’t get her name from swearing too much.
The story also explains Jackson’s autonomy and independence from the prejudices and beliefs of most of Troublesome Creek. He left the area as a young man and experienced much more of the world than most people. He expanded his mind by widening his experience, but he still felt drawn to the beauty of rural Kentucky, despite its dangers. Even knowing how hard life was there, he chose to return. Both Jackson and Cussy belong to Kentucky.
Themes
Jackson talks about being torn between wanting to stay and to flee Kentucky. Cussy Mary can’t really imagine leaving, even though, as she tells Jackson, Queenie has invited her to come to Philadelphia, where there are better opportunities for colored people. This reminds Jackson of his words to Cussy on the day she fainted, and he apologizes for speaking out of his ignorance of her painful experiences. He says he was foolish because all he saw was a “smart librarian, a fine lady,” but now he understands more. It seems like he’s about to say more, but then he abruptly turns back to the graves, saying he’s not finished.
Jackson has the freedom to leave—he’s done so before, he’s not a Blue, and as a man he can protect himself and find work. Cussy Mary doesn’t feel like she has the same freedom as Jackson or even Queenie, who’s making a life in Philadelphia. The mention of Queenie—whose departure left Cussy Mary the only non-white-skinned person in the area—reminds Jackson of his last argument with Cussy Mary, and he apologizes, showing both kindness and humility. He didn’t consider how her skin color might have made her life difficult, because he didn’t pay attention to it. He only saw who Cussy is as a human being, and one whom he respects and likes.
Themes
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Jackson collects two decent-sized rocks which he plans to take home and carve the Moffits’ names into before placing them as headstones. He scatters a handful of dirt over the graves with a brief prayer. And then he’s off. Cussy Mary stays for a while, talking to Angeline and promising to take care of Honey.
Jackson continues to show his humanity by his intention to mark Mr. Moffit’s and Angeline’s graves. They might have lived hard and short lives, but his desire to monumentalize them claims that their lives were nevertheless important.
Themes
