Everybody liked reading The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd. The most common criticism was
that the story dragged a little in the middle; it got too detailed among the
descriptions of the abolitionist arguments and speeches, as well as the feminist
and suffrage rights that were combined with anti-oppression rights.
At the
beginning of the discussion, there were general opinions about the book and its
interface with the social norms, including the following comments:
Linda: The Quaker church was pro-abolition but at the same
time conservative and sexist.
Flo: Oppressive and sexist attitudes were common; they reflected
the time.
Marcia: Nurses and teachers weren’t allowed to be married,
because women's main function was to marry, have children and take care of them.
As is often the case, our discussion strayed from the events
in the story to the ideas generated by these events and their impact and
expression in modern society. Here are some examples:
Dennis: Growing up in the south, the customs and ideas that were central to the book were still
in force but were more rudimentary. Whereas the rare early liberal-to-radical
arguments said that oppression of anybody was oppression of everybody; it wasn’t
until later that popular movements were against all oppression. Dennis pointed
out that there was a lot of disagreement among abolitionists about other kinds
of oppression, such as that of women.
Heather: She was raised to be a wife and mother, rather than
encouraged to choose a career. Raised in Charleston, Heather has found that
this attitude is still popular there, and the feeling that Blacks should be
slaves is rarely spoken but still there. Heather noted that generations pass
attitudes forward.
Dennis: People are still kept on farms to work; their
positions as laborers and not landowners have been carried on and inherited.
Marcia: Nurses’ shifts are mandatory, leaving not much
choice to those who wish to work.
Linda: In Appalachia, poverty brings the lives of Blacks and
Whites together in similarity and shared difficulty in escaping the essentially
oppressive lifestyles they are born into.
Carla: You’d think older generations would die out and
prejudices would go away, but she has heard children express prejudices that
were surprising and obviously learned from older family members.
Ken: The Ku Klux Klan is still active, leading a lot of racism,
and is a vibrant organization in Texas.
A box of quotes and discussion questions gleaned from
various web sites for discussions of this book had been passed around the room,
and the following were some of the questions and answers:
Morna chose the question as to what it might have been like to have received your own slave at the age of 10. Morna said she would have
liked the idea!
Flo said it was unusual for Sarah to not want her own slave,
and that Sarah was ahead of her time.
Joyce M. picked the question as to why Sarah wouldn’t marry.
She said that with Sarah’s views about slavery and rights for women, Sarah
would have felt that she was enslaved by a husband.
Joanne drew the question asking why the book’s title was
apt. Joanne had thought the title was perfect, referring to the new ideas about
women’s rights as an “invention of wings.”
Joanne noted that Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852 and that her
life overlapped with those of the Grimke sisters. She wondered whether Harriet
Beecher Stowe was influenced by the Grimkes’ publications. The group decided
that we thought that these women probably knew of each other, as all had
achieved some notoriety.
Marcia mentioned that slaves used quilts with stories sewed
on them, with trees etc indicating directions to safe houses during Underground
Railroad times.
Marcia read the question that asked which character in the
book was the most “free.” She thought it was probably Sky, because Sky’s job
was outdoors, tending the garden.
Carla drew a question about punishments of slaves and the
brutality of the Work House. She said she was surprised at the intensity of
physical treatment of the slaves, especially because the slaves were valuable
workers and could work best when undamaged.
Ken suggested that one reason for steep punishments was to
keep the slaves strictly in line, partly because actions of slaves at one house
in the community would be known at others. If slaves got away with rebellion or
freedoms at one house, another slave owner might decide to interfere.
Joyce M’s question from the box asked what cunning ways the
slaves disobeyed. She listed the hoarding of red thread, Charlotte’s stealing the
fabric, and hiding money. She also said that teaching Handful to read was a way
that Sarah rebelled.
Another important aspect of the book that our discussion
brought up is the basic conflict between truth and hyperbole involved in historical
fiction. Some members expressed frustration with not knowing what details were
true and to what extent, and others were more comfortable with interpretation
of how the story fits into history.
Flo thought the Grimke sisters were super bold and that
Sarah was ahead of her time in preferring to function without a slave.
Carla thought that much about the abolitionist movement
could be fictitious.
Joyce M. mentioned that the abolitionist writings have been
published. Joyce also said that having begun the book not knowing that some of
it was fiction, and then having read the detailed author’s note at the end
saying that much of the book was fiction; she was sorry to have read it and
would have preferred all history or all fiction. She thought Sarah’s excess of
progressive ideas might have been fictitious.
Dennis said that he prefers to read a book without reading a
detailed preface first, so that the book stands on its own.
Linda said it made sense that Sarah grew into the character
by reading a lot of books.
Peggy thought that Sarah’s being traumatized at a young age
by seeing a slave beaten went a long way in explaining Sarah’s later ideas
about slavery.
Carla thought the book’s being based on history was interesting,
even though some was fiction.
Sue Monk Kidd wrote a complex and impressive book! Oprah
Winfrey interviewed the author on a Super Soul Sunday interview. To watch,
click here.
To see a story told in the Gullah dialect, click here.
