Blackbird House

Red is symbolic in both of these chapters. In “The Token,” although the townsfolk view red as a sign of witchcraft, red represents both grief and love. When Lysander dies, Ruth’s world turns red, voluntarily in her dying all clothing and making red food, but also involuntarily in the color of her tears. Furthermore, Ruth kills a cardinal (a scarlet bird) and watches it for signs of what will happen to her. In fact, the bird “turned bright as a heart” (43), implying that the death of the bird is the death of her love, the ultimate cause of grief. In addition, her daughters, Garnet and Ruby, are named for shades of red, and Garnet’s burying the first 12 halibut teeth produces rubies. The red hue resurfaces in “Insulting the Angels”, specifically with Larkin. The man’s hands are stained red from cranberries, but this embarrasses him, so he wears gloves to hide the stains. Covering up his hands is much like covering up his emotions:

That was Larkin; he’d learned to make do, though that meant ignoring the harsh realities of his life. He put away the loneliness that had surfaced inside him the year he lost his family. In doing so, he put away other things as well. He looked past anything he didn’t want to see, and therefore he often didn’t recognize the truth even when it was staring him right in the face (52).

Larkin’s denial of reality mirrors his refusal to look at his hands. The red stains parallel the harsh realities of the world as well as the possibility of love, the things he chooses to ignore.

In addition to symbolism, the crimson tears, along with the halibut tooth necklace, invoke magical realism. Ruth’s grief runs so deep that it not only changes the color of her tears but also transforms the dead leaves on the ground. Also magical are the halibut teeth in Lysander’s necklace, not only in how he obtains them (by coughing them up) but also in what they produce when Garnet puts them in the earth. Burying the teeth is reminiscent of the scene in Jason and the Golden Fleece when Jason, in his quest for the Golden Fleece, was ordered to place dragon’s teeth in the ground. However, when he buried the dragon’s teeth, a formidable army sprung up against him. Here, the magic in the burial for Garnet isn’t an opponent, but an aid: Jewels appear to help Garnet and her family leave this sorrowful place. This twist on the allusion, of burying teeth to help rather than hinder, isn’t only an instance of magical realism but also a moment that underscores the power of women, emphasizing the theme of Resilience Resulting From Adversity.

Garnet exemplifies this strength and resilience when she decides she must act to keep her young sister, Ruby, safe after Garnet’s perception of her mother shifts. As Garnet witnesses Ruth’s grief, the girl acknowledges her fear of her own mother: “I understood why people in town had thought she was a witch. There was no difference between her inside and her outside, no barrier, no bone, only blood” (48). The girl’s view of her mother in this moment is one of fear and negativity. The term “witch” reinforces the stereotype of witches as dangerous and evil. In addition, the fact that her mother doesn’t hide who she is terrifies Garnet because she, too, views it as dangerous. However, when the girl discovers the means and strength to leave Massachusetts, she ponders her own appearance and realizes that she doesn’t care what others think of her: “If someone were to look at me, it would be because I was smart. Because my hair was so red it appeared that my inside was the same as my outside; no barrier, no bone, only blood” (50). Using the same words to describe herself as she did for her mother, she discovers a strength she never knew she had. By acknowledging this about herself, she also understands that despite her grief, Ruth exudes strength as well. These two characters are part of a long line (starting with Coral Hadley) of resilient women at Blackbird House.

Likewise, Lucinda is much stronger than she first appears. Initially presented as a meek servant whom her employer repeatedly rapes, she perseveres through trauma and makes her own way on her own terms. She notes enviously at one point that her brother ran away when he was young: “If she’d been a boy, she would have done the same. She would have disappeared long ago” (69). Although she acknowledges the limitations of her gender in the 1800s, this memory plants a seed because she does indeed escape her life by posing as a boy. Even though she chooses to enlist in the army, which is a hard life, it’s an escape from the horrors of her previous existence, in which she was subjected to repeated sexual assault. Lucinda’s making such a decision, to pose as a man to enlist in a dangerous war, leaving leave behind not only her baby but also a kind person who offered her safe harbor, requires immense strength and fortitude.