Beyond traveling alone, Sarah is also going to live with a widowed man – something that would render her stained in society’s eyes due to the possibility of sexual immorality. Sarah, as a wealthy white woman, has the economic freedom to make this choice for herself, whereas Handful, an enslaved black woman, does not. Sarah finally takes responsibility for her own destiny, remembering her pledge to free Handful and deciding to follow the Voice to freedom even if it is not God’s order.