Sue Monk Kidd has a talent for dredging up the rawest of emotions, both in her characters and in this reader. How come I had never heard of the Grimke sisters, two abolitionists from the early 1800's? They were among the forefront of the movement to free the slaves. Call it what you want...audacity, courage, fierce belief in their cause...these two Southern white women faced unbelievable odds. Not only did women not have the vote, they barely had a voice. I wanted to stand and cheer when I read what Sarah told her male colleagues: "Do what you have to do, censure us, withdraw your support, we'll press on anyway. Now, sirs, kindly take your feet off our necks." I'm sure there were several dropped jaws and rolled eyes in the room.
Hetty, aka Handful, was my favorite character in Kidd's novel. Although she did exist as a real slave to Sarah Grimke, Kidd created a longer life for Hetty in the novel. When Sarah taught Hetty the basics of reading, I knew their bond would be lifelong. Their relationship is depicted well in this quote from Hetty,
"People say love gets fouled by a difference big as ours. I didn't know for
sure whether Miss Sarah's feelings came from love or guilt. I didn't know
whether mine came from love or a need to be safe. She loved me and pitied me.
And I loved her and used her. It never was a simple thing. That day, our hearts
were pure as they ever would get."
In my reading of other accounts of America's history of slavery, both fiction and non-fiction, I don't recall feeling such compassion as I did with Kidd's, The Invention of Wings. Maybe it was more powerful because she did such an excellent job of depicting the painful truth of the time in all walks of society, both in the South and in the North.
I also loved her metaphor of the quilt as a story of life, and the black triangles depicting birds' wings. I read in a review of the book that Kidd broke down in tears after she had written the last sentence in the novel. I understand why.
"When we left the mouth of the harbor, the wind swelled and the veils round us flapped, and I heard the blackbird wings. We rode onto the shining water, onto the far distance."
Beautiful review, Patty! I'm so happy you enjoyed the book as much as I did!! I agree about being curious why the Grimke sisters aren't more commonly mentioned in histories of abolition. They certainly were a big part of the movement! I'm reading "The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought" by Marilyn Robinson right now. She refers to them briefly in an essay about the impact on America of abolition and 19th century educational reform. I won't go into her thesis on this comment -- but it's definitely a book we should talk about sometime!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love Marilyn Robinson's integrity as a writer. She chooses to write when she wants, not when the publisher wants. That is an intriguing title. I would love to read it.
ReplyDeleteYou'd love the book! She poses some very thoughtful questions! You should look up her recent interview in New York Magazine. That'll give you a taste of what her position is in "The Death of Adam..."
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