In the story, Charles Chesnutt places agency in the words of a biracial enslaved woman, Viney, after she has been viciously tortured by her white owner, Murchison. Viney has lived in the master’s home as his sexual slave. When he decides to get married, she knows that she will be ousted from the house and either sold away from the plantation or forced to work for the new mistress. Taking matters into her own hands, she visits the fiancée and tells her about Murchison’s sexual relationship with her. The fiancée then breaks off the engagement. Enraged, Murchison retaliates by savagely disabling Viney: he cuts out her tongue. She also resumes residence in a cabin on the property. The plot twist then places Viney into a position of power that ironically depends on her speaking. It turns out that she is the only person who knows where to find valuable documents and properties: the legacy of his deceased uncle, which the uncle had buried on the property and confided its location to Viney. Although she retains some power of speech, she withholds it, declining to tell the master the exact location. Murchison takes up a shovel and digs incessantly all over the yard in a futile effort to find the hidden wealth.
No comments:
Post a Comment