The Analysis Of The Historical Novel "A Mercy" By Toni Morrison
The novel “A Mercy” by Toni Morrison is a historical novel based in the late seventeenth century during the blossoming of slavery. The book focuses on a wide variety of characters but mostly on a mother and her daughter, Florens, and primitive Americans. Each chapter in the novel is told by one character and each character is telling the same story, but from a different perspective. The book explores what it is like to be a slave in early America and the audience gets a glimpse of the hardships and struggles each individual slave faces, what it is like to be a freed slave, and what it felt like to be slave or a free individual. This essay will explore one of the characters in the book and their relationship to another, and the meaning of freedom.
Throughout the novel, Morrison constantly reminds the readers of the abuse the slaves endured in the early times of America. From the time they are taken from their homeland and brought to the new world, the enslaved characters are constantly disrespected and put to shame. Florens’ mother is a prime example of this. Florens’ mother was taken from Barbados and was sent to work on a plantation. She was eventually sold to D’Ortega and then shipped to Maryland. While in possession of D’Ortega, Florens’ mother is raped and as a result gives birth to Florens’ and her brother. The reader also witnesses this injustice when Rebekka sends Florens on a quest to deliver a letter to the Blacksmith on her behalf.
While on this journey, she is stopped by town officials and forced to strip off her clothes. Even after seeing the letter, they insisted she come with them to see the Sheriff. These are just two incidents of the mistreatment the people in the novel faced. Because of the strife the characters are put through, they crave to be free. Freedom is very important for some various reasons as portrayed in the book. Being a free person, one lived a better life and was able to own their own property including owning slaves for various jobs that needed to be done. As the examples above show, being a slave was difficult in this time, even though it had just begun. They passed through a hard life, and they were emotionally and sexually abused. They worked under poor conditions and were not entitled to have freedom or to own property. These things defined the importance of being free and the value of liberty in America then. Everyone desired to have a free life and to at least have their own property.
The Blacksmith, one of the various characters in the novel, is the only free African American man that remains free in the novel for reasons that are not portrayed to the audience. He radiates freedom and independence. The Blacksmiths presence in the novel seems more mysterious than the other characters and seems to have a bit of a reputation as a healer. Other than Florens’ mother, he does not have a name and is only referred to as the “Blacksmith” for his artistry. During the story, the Blacksmith comes to Vaark’s farm to make an iron fence for Jacob’s new, fancy home. During his time on the farm, he heals a life-threatening illness, also known as smallpox, that Sorrow has and also begins a sexual relationship with Florens. To Florens, the Blacksmith represents freedom, love, and independence.
Throughout the novel, the reader sees a change in Florens. She was once so eager to please and was so naïve. However, she becomes angry and violent because of the way others treat her, including the Blacksmith. Florens dedicated herself in loving the Blacksmith, but overall the Blacksmith treats her like everyone else. This tarnished relationship, even though it did not actually exist, helps Florens find her true identity. The Blacksmith turns Florens down after she accidentally injures Malik while he is crying. Once the Blacksmith enters the home, he finds Florens and the unconscious child. The Blacksmith tells Florens to leave and ultimately calls her slave. He says, “Own yourself, woman, and leave us be. You could have killed this child. You are nothing but wilderness. No constraint. No mind” (126). After the Blacksmith turns her away, she loses control and ends up hitting the Blacksmith with a hammer. As a result of all that Florens is put through, she decides to rid her memories of the Blacksmith. Florens is the only slave that can read and write and this helps her rid of the memories of the Blacksmith.
Towards the end of story, the reader finds out that Florens’ story is carved into the walls of the house that Jacob Vaark has built and then she burns it down. This act by Florens sets her free. She becomes free from herself, something the Blacksmith told her to do. Throughout the novel, Florens deals with a wide variety of pain, both mentally and physically. From the abandonment she felt when her mother gave her to Jacob Vaark to the heart break she felt by the Blacksmith. She is finally content with who she has become. She’s finally free.
