In order to cope with abandonment Florens journeys to find the blacksmith to fill the void left by her mother; “the rejection is a wound which stunts the psyche of the young Florens, leading her to ‘give dominion of herself to another”(56, Downie). Their relationship is primarily physical, yet Florens falls deeply in love with the man because her insistence to feel accepted. The blacksmith is a free black man who leaves the Vaark farm when his work is done without even saying goodbye, turning her journey in finding him into an obsession. However, Florens discovering her blackness under the violating racist act undoes the erotic empowerment she associates with the blacksmiths embrace. The event leaves her filled with anger and shame. So, when finding the blacksmith and seeing the affection he gives to Malaik she cannot accept another male child being chosen over her; “Florens conflates the two when she
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Through her processing the tragic events in her life she finds independence and accepts her status as an orphan. Florens feels her reliance on others for validation lessening. Released of her issues with abandonment and new found strength Florens again questions her mother’s intent; “is that what mother knows? Why she chooses me to live with out?” (Morrison, 135). The final chapter demonstrates the ironic failure of communication between mother and daughter, one that has already isolated Florens and contributed to her misreading of events, but now Florens is able to answer her own question when she recognizes she is no longer afraid; “Sudden it is not like before when I am always in fright. I am not afraid of anything now"(Morrison, 135). Florens’s mother gave her up out of fear of her child becoming a sexual possession, but Florens never understands this and instead stops focusing on her mother’s intentions. She is liberated from trying to understand and just
Through her processing the tragic events in her life she finds independence and accepts her status as an orphan. Florens feels her reliance on others for validation lessening. Released of her issues with abandonment and new found strength Florens again questions her mother’s intent; “is that what mother knows? Why she chooses me to live with out?” (Morrison, 135). The final chapter demonstrates the ironic failure of communication between mother and daughter, one that has already isolated Florens and contributed to her misreading of events, but now Florens is able to answer her own question when she recognizes she is no longer afraid; “Sudden it is not like before when I am always in fright. I am not afraid of anything now"(Morrison, 135). Florens’s mother gave her up out of fear of her child becoming a sexual possession, but Florens never understands this and instead stops focusing on her mother’s intentions. She is liberated from trying to understand and just