POST 7

When NPR interviewed Toni Morrison about A Mercy, she discussed numerous themes and inspiration that helped her create the novel. Morrison ties the stories of Florens, Sorrow, Rebekka, and Lina together through their Jacob in order to show just how small a world we live in. The main theme (other than mercy, obviously) that Morrison is trying to get across in her novel is the idea that slavery is neither black, nor white. It exists all over the world and effects every race. She does this through the voices of these four women, who represent numerous races: Black, White, Native American... Showing that slavery can (and does) happen to anyone/everyone. Morrison discussed her reasoning behind this narrative strategy in the aforementioned interview with NPR, saying "Every civilization in the world relied on [slavery]," says Morrison. "The notion was that there was a difference between black slaves and white slaves, but there wasn't."
She didn't ever mention this outright in the novel, but it clearly resonates throughout the text. We get to see how taxing slavery can be on a marriage through Rebekka, who realizes even though she is white there are only three options available to her: prostitution, marriage and slavery. Through Florens we get to see the selfless love of a mother (her own, who gave her to Jacob in order to avoid an abusive master), and those are just two of the four women whose stories Morrison tells in A Mercy. Aside from trying to show that slavery is not blind to race, more than anything Morrison is showing that female slaves are always at the 'mercy' of men's decisions; whether it be a white women like Rebekka, or slaves like Lina, Sorrow and Florens, their lives aren't their own.


Sources:



Ulaby, NEDA. "Toni Morrison: A Mother, A Stranger, 'A Mercy'." NPR.ORG. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2009. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95961382