58 pages • 1 hour read
Kim Michele RichardsonThe Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Distrust of Authority
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussions of prejudice.
Throughout the novel, readers encounter characters who mistrust authority. This is first apparent in the scorn shown for the WPA. Pa is unwilling to get a WPA job, while R.C. Cole’s prospective father-in-law looks down on the work, and even Loretta refuses to take “government books.” Their distrust of authority is initially presented as a slight annoyance to Cussy Mary, though it is later shown to have its roots in their day-to-day reality.
As the narrative develops, Richardson illustrates the extent to which this distrust is often merited. Authority figures in the book, including Doc and Pastor Vester Frazier, regularly take advantage of those with fewer privileges: the poor, those in rural areas, and people of color. The mining company (“the Company”) also does this, paying unfair wages and mistreating its workers and the land it mines. With these authorities misusing their power in various ways, the vulnerable in the community are the most affected and the most hurt by their actions. The distrust many people have for authority figures, then, has a solid basis in these actions.
However, Cussy Mary provides a new model for authority figures as a representative of the government. She is part of the community and actively works to cultivate it. She brings medicine to the sick on her route, even when they are personally prejudiced against her, as Willie Moffit is. She teaches them, feeds them, and assists them in any way that she can. In doing so, she becomes a new kind of authority figure. Her success becomes apparent when her patrons gather outside the courthouse to celebrate her wedding: She has earned their trust.
The Random and Dangerous Nature of Prejudice
While almost all readers will come to the book with an awareness of American people of color and indigenous populations, far fewer are likely to have heard of Blue people. The rarity of the condition Cussy Mary and her family members have highlights how random prejudice can be. They are mistreated and looked down upon by many people within the town (such as Eula and Harriett) when the only thing that makes them different is their appearance. Doc shows this difference to be reversible with medication, but the prejudices held by these people still prevent them from accepting Cussy Mary even after her skin is white, showing how random they were to begin with.
While the book shows that these preconceptions about people who look different from the majority of the community are unfounded, not truly reflecting anything important about their inner selves, it also depicts them as dangerous. As Blues, Cussy Mary and Pa know they have to be above suspicion. Actions that a White person could take, like shooting a trespasser on their land, could get them killed by a mob. The dual nature of prejudice within the book—its randomness and its dangers—thus creates a framework that becomes increasingly unbearable for Cussy Mary. When she adopts Honey, she swears that she will raise her in a way that protects her from this kind of hate.
The Power of Community and the Importance of Care
The novel is primarily set in the Kentucky hills, a region shown to be difficult to navigate and even treacherous as Cussy Mary and Junia traverse it. The primarily rural setting means that the library patrons live far away from each other. Despite this distance, Cussy Mary is able to build a community among her patrons by the end of the book, as is apparent when many show up to see her married. They are, in fact, more supportive than the community in the town, which shuns and reviles Cussy Mary and other people who look different from them.
Cussy Mary is primarily able to create this community through reading. She discusses books with the patrons on her route, notably Jackson Lovett. She also carefully picks out materials that they will enjoy or find useful. Her role as a cultivator of this community is best symbolized by her creation and keeping of scrapbooks. In these books, she gathers materials from different sources to share with the library’s borrowers. Cussy Mary cares deeply for the patrons, often at the expense of herself. She submits to Doc’s unpleasant and painful tests to get food and medicine to help various people along her route.
The care that Cussy Mary shows for them is returned to her. Angeline shoots a snake in her path, keeping her safe. Patrons bring her food. They support her when she gets married, with R.C. Cole even attempting to fight on her behalf. This kind of care reflects the ideal relationship between an authority figure and her community, as opposed to the distorted and even violent relationships embodied by Doc, Vester Frazier, and the sheriff.
