"You can't tell how heavy someone else's load is just from looking. The Lord doesn't give us more than we can carry."
As I said before, I am planning on writing my ISU compare/contrast essay about the relationships between women and white men. This quote, although it does not mention love or marriage, sums up my thesis perfectly. The Creole plantation wife, Francoise Derbanne, seems to be the cream of the crop to the others in society. However, we learn that she struggles with jealousy. Being barren, she can never have the bond of a child between herself and Monsieur Derbanne, but the slave women can. All bias and prejudice aside, think for a moment what it would be like to have to live on the same plot of land as all the women your husband had affairs with. Try to imagine how you would feel to see his illegitimate children running around on your property. On the other hand, women like Suzette and Elisabeth, who were born into slavery, have it equally as hard. This is the most drastic, but there are so many examples of relationships in Cane River that link to this quote. I am really enjoying this novel, and hope to share more as I progress in the process of essay writing.
I think that this is a really good compare and contrast topic. As it seems that in both of the books being compared that women have uncertain relationships with white men. Your book sound really interesting and I hope one day to read it.
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