Hetta Master is the wife of the main character Frank in the 1853 section of this novel. When Frank meets Hetta at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fortieth Street she is "standing there like a statue, under her parasol, reading." What book has her so engrossed? The controversial "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The revolutionary ideas proposed here, inspired the movement to free blacks from slavery. However, Frank doesn't see this as a good thing. He claims that the book "had been like a plague in his house for nearly a week now. A plague to the whole country as far as he could see."
The discussion that follows between these two characters gives insight into how people around the world were probably feeling during this time. Hetty claims that it is really a Christian Book - "A challenge to all Christians. How can we countenance such an evil in our land?" Interesting words given some of the other disturbing events in world history that have now occurred such as The Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide.
Charles Dickens is also mentioned here, his books more widely accepted and popular at this time. It reminds me of the Harry Potter or Twilight craze teenagers are experiencing in the 21st century. Like J.K. Rowling, this British author "had come over from London to begin his triumphal tour of America." Hetta says that she "loves his characters and stories and his plea for social justice is beyond all praise."
Hetta's choice of reading material shines a light on her character. She truly feels empathy for the less fortunate and has a high moral conscience. This includes giving her husband a hard time about shipping cotton which is still fueling the slave trade.
Reading Edward Rutherfurd's New York provides a true immersion experience into the world of the mid-19th century.
No comments:
Post a Comment