A lot of the novel's characters experience prisons, some of them literal (in the cases of Zach and Rosaleen), and others metaphorical (as with Lily and Deborah). Zach and Rosaleen run afoul of the law primarily because of their skin color and end up in jail—Zach for quite a while, in fact (and Rosaleen is physically assaulted multiple times during her few hours in police custody). The novel's multiple references to slavery also bring the theme of confinement (and particularly confinement of the unjust variety) to the fore.
Metaphorical prisons can be pretty, well, imprisoning as well—and the really tricky thing about those is that you don't always know you're caught in them. Lily found this out when she decided to leave home about three seconds after realizing she was trapped (in T. Ray's grasp). In most cases, the novel's characters escape their respective prisons with a little help from their friends…and maybe a statue.
Questions About Freedom and Confinement
- At the beginning of the novel, Kidd draws an analogy between Lily's metaphorical imprisonment with Rosaleen's literal one. Do you find the association problematic?
- Deborah seemed to be suffering her own kind of imprisonment (i.e., her marriage). How is what she experienced different from/similar to the forms of imprisonment experienced by other characters? How do we know?
- Why do you think Lily gets so upset when she sees Our Lady of Chains all chained up during the Mary day celebrations?
Chew on This
Likening Rosaleen's incarceration to Lily's home life is offensive; the two things are entirely different, and drawing that analogy trivializes the social and racial dynamics that were at play during that time.
By drawing an analogy between Rosaleen's literal imprisonment and Lily's metaphorical one, the novel makes the big historical issues at play feel more personal, relatable, and "close to home," which encourages readers to engage with the issues portrayed.