Riding Freedom

“Nobody wanted an almost grown girl.”

Charlotte recognizes that her chance of being adopted has passed. When she was little and very cute, she was a desirable child, but Mrs. Boyle prevented her from being adopted. She understands that she is not wanted in society partly because she is an orphan, but also because she is a girl. Adoptive parents want young strong boys to help them with work and hard labor. She has to let go of her dream of being adopted into a family and instead learn to rely on herself.

“You’re getting close to being a young lady and you need to start acting like one. From now on you will have full duties in the kitchen with Mrs. Boyle. The stable is off limits to you.”

Mr. Millshark is punishing Charlotte for outperforming the boys. He is embarrassed that his supposedly strong and healthy boys are beaten in the race by a girl. He knows how much Charlotte loves to help Vern in the stables, so he intentionally takes that away from her to keep her from humiliating him or the boys.

“You gotta do what your heart tells you.”

Vern believes that Charlotte should follow her heart rather than Mr. Millshark or anyone else’s ideas about what is right for her. He can deeply relate to this sentiment as he chose to follow his heart’s desire for freedom, even though it was a dangerous journey. He helps Charlotte embrace courage rather than succumb to fear or domination.

“Boys and horses. Can’t seem to keep ’em apart.”

This remark helps further cement the idea that Charlotte is interested in boy’s activities. At this time, horsemanship is a male enterprise. Since Charlotte is interested in male activities it makes sense for her to continue posing as a boy.

“She loved the horses, always talking and clucking to them like they were her babies.”

Charlotte learned to treat horses kindly from Vern. She connects with horses more deeply than most. Her feminine and maternal instincts come out around horses, allowing her to express femininity that she does not with people.

“Ebeneezer stepped back and looked at Charlotte in a way that he never had before. Did he know?”

Charlotte is always scrutinizing the faces and reactions of people around her to discern whether they know that she is really a girl. She lives in a perpetual state of worry about being caught. Consequently, she has to live in a hypervigilant state and keep herself very reserved.

“It’s for guiding your team by the sound. Not for beating on a poor horse.”

Ebeneezer proves to be a kind and gentle man. He sets an example of masculinity that proves men can treat animals kindly and still be strong. He manages to command six huge horses without using any violence or brute force. This helps Charlotte feel comfortable with him, which allows her to further develop intuitive senses with the horses.

“Once word got out, it wouldn’t matter how old she was or how good a driver. Customers wouldn’t ride with a woman.”

Even though Charley is revered as one of the best drivers and respected in the community, if people found out that Charley is a woman they would treat her differently. Even though she would possess the same qualities and skills whether she’s Charlotte or Charley, the misogyny of the time would discredit her abilities simply based on her sex.

“You’re the coachman, you’re in charge, so load ’em up.”

Ebeneezer encourages Charlotte not to give in to fear when confronted with Mr. Millshark. He espouses a mind over matter approach and helps her see that if she believes she is in charge, others will respond to her as though she is in charge. Her disguise is important, but the way she carries herself is what really matters, according to Ebeneezer. He is correct, as no passenger ever suspects Charley is a woman.

“I’m the only one who can drive this team. Them women in the coach are only good for cookin’ and sewin’. I need a strong man to help me.”

Charlotte delivers irony here, telling Mr. Millshark that women are only good for sewing and cooking and that he is a strong man, when in fact Charlotte is the strongest and most capable person there. This scene highlights the discrepancy between gender roles and reality. Mr. Millshark is lazy and weak, while Charlotte, a woman who is supposedly only good for kitchen work, is strong and hardworking.

“The West was wild and untamed. Prospectors flocking to pan for gold up and down the lower Sierras were becoming millionaires overnight. And Sacramento. Everyone was talking about Sacramento, California…”

This novel is set during the height of the Gold Rush, when the western United States came to be known as the Wild West. Americans from the East traveled to places like California to find gold in mines and rivers, striking it rich almost overnight. Because gold is a finite resource, there was a rush to get as much gold and buy as much land as one possibly could. Without the landed aristocracy of the East Coast or the South to determine social order, people of all creeds were able to strike it rich. For a hardworking dreamer like Charlotte, this is an ideal setting.

“Charlotte knew from the minute they started talking about the land that she would go. But she had to tell Ebeneezer. And that wouldn’t be easy.”

As soon as Charlotte hears James and Frank’s description of the West, particularly of the land that can be bought, she knows this is her chance to make her dreams come true. But Ebeneezer has become like a father to her, and she isn’t sure how she will feel about leaving him. Like all children who eventually grow up and leave home, Charlotte knows this is an essential step in her journey, even if it is difficult to say goodbye.

“He never confronted her. He never asked outright. But he knew.”

Ebeneezer knows from the very beginning of his relationship with Charlotte that she is actually the little girl who ran away from the orphanage. He can see that Mr. Millshark is a dangerous person and chooses to protect “Charley” from him. Part of the protection he provides is going along with her disguise. By treating her like a boy, he helps Charlotte believe she is capable of fooling people into thinking she is a boy. This allows her to continue wearing her disguise and training with him. Ebeneezer also proves that he is trustworthy when he reveals that he has known Charlotte’s secret all along. He is not the type of man who would take away her dreams just because she is a girl. He believes she is gifted with horses, and while he can’t change society, he can provide a safe haven for Charlotte, as Charley, to work with them.

“I had a child once. A girl. She died from the fever, same as my wife. But that little girl…she could ride like the wind. I ain’t never seen anything like it…’cept you.”

Ebeneezer is motivated to train Charlotte and accept her like a daughter in part because he lost his own child. His words about his daughter reveal that he is not like most of the men of his time. He could see a talent for horses in both his daughter and Charlotte, and encourages them rather than telling them that horses are for boys. Ebeneezer serves as the moral compass in the novel, providing an alternative example of how girls can be treated and raised.

“With the men out in the mines, many women are running the farms and should be able to make decisions that affect their properties and families.”

The women’s rights advocate speaks of factual historical conditions. This is a clever way for the author to bring up the historical context in the novel. As the speaker says, men left home for work, so women were forced out of the kitchen to do men’s labor at home. They were managing the extra load of work in addition to housekeeping and raising children. Through this passage the author exposes the hypocrisy of expecting women to do the work of two people yet not considering them fit to vote.

“I’m afraid you might lose sight in that eye. What’s a girl trying to shoe a horse for?”

When the doctor tells Charlotte that she may lose her sight, she is made vulnerable in two ways: she is outed as a female and has become blind in one eye. Both of these things are worst-case scenarios for her, as either one could end her career as a stagecoach driver. Just as Ebeneezer predicted, the Wild West is very hard on her.

“The crying made her bad eye swell even more. But just like that day at the orphanage when Hayward left, once she started, she couldn’t stop until every tear was given away.”

Charlotte rarely cries, but when she does it is powerful. As readers we know that if she is crying, she is deeply distressed. Her crying acts as a cathartic experience: After she has shed every tear, she emerges stronger and more determined to succeed. She has to remain so strong and closed off most of her life that she rarely gets the chance to experience her grief and fear, but crying alleviates some of that pressure.

“She’d been stubborn enough to think that somehow she could do it all. Now her dreams were slipping away, and it frightened her clear to the bone.”

Charlotte describes her ambition as stubborn, conveying a sense of foolishness. She is upset that she has come so close only to be kicked in the face by a wild horse, when she should have known better than to work with a mustang. However, she is more afraid to lose her dream than she is to get back up and keep doing the hard and dangerous work of stage driving. Her “stubborn” nature might be better described as persevering.

“I’ll tell you if I need help. Don’t go steppin’ in unless I ask.”

Charlotte has worked so hard to relearn how to drive that she is firm with James. She doesn’t want to be treated differently; she wants to prove to him that she can do it. She knows that she can, and she will have to show James without any interference to convince him it is possible to drive with one eye. Her words and tone show a big shift from the days when she was nervous and worried to drive Mr. Millshark. She has fully stepped into her role as the driver-in-charge.

“Tree limbs swayed in the wind and the sounds of the storm brought back a memory from somewhere deep in Charlotte’s mind. A jumble of frantic images and words. Being held in someone’s lap. And voices. ‘Stop! Hold on!’ Her parents’ voices. And a face. Yes, her mother’s face close to hers. ‘Keep them straight! Keep them straight!’ That’s what she had to do.”

Earlier in the novel Hay asks Charlotte if she remembers her parents. She tells him no. Now the severity of her present situation conjures up the memory of her parents’ deaths. Charlotte is about to suffer the same fate when the memory of her parents comes back to her, almost as guardians, telling her to keep the horses straight. She knows what she must do to survive this familiar scene, and she succeeds.

“News of how the one-eyed stage driver saved the lives of those people spread like warm honey.”

After Charlotte successfully saves her passengers and horses from the collapsing bridge, she gains notoriety. The use of the phrase “warm honey” suggests that Charlotte now feels comfortable and relaxed. Her life is sweet, as she has overcome the most difficult obstacle and is happily pursuing her dream. She is saving up money easily, driving well, and enjoying respect and praise from her community. She has arrived in the land of milk and honey.

“The wife can’t pay so we’re foreclosing. She hasn’t got a cent. Hate to do it, but women usually can’t pay and after all, business is business.”

The bank owner’s statement illustrates the impossible position women were in during this time period. Margaret is a widow with no money or land to call her own, and she cannot afford to keep paying her mortgage without her husband’s income. She is not trained for any kind of work other than kitchen work, and as a woman she is not allowed to do much else. Without a husband to support her financially, she will be thrown out of her house and made homeless. The bank owner’s oblivious comments (business is business) reflect the national attitude that women were not equals to men who deserved fairness or respect.

“‘You still got the leather bracelet?’ she said and held out her arm next to his to compare. Both leather bands were soft and rolled from years of wear.”

Charlotte shares her leather bracelet with Hay, which symbolizes his place in her heart and their unbreakable bond. After not seeing each other for so long, she is worried that he may not feel the same way toward her. She asks if he still has his bracelet to test whether they are still linked. Indeed, both have worn their twin bracelets since the last time they saw each other.