Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather


When I picked out my list of books for the Back to the Classics Challenge, I was going to read Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather as my historical novel -- mostly because one of my favorite bloggers, Thomas at My Porch, raved about it in this review.  My copy of Shadows is 1931 edition bought in Fredericksburg, TX, at an antiques store with a really nice selection of books in the basement level.   I keep putting off reading it because I'm a little afraid of damaging it.  Instead, when I was searching for my next read, I randomly grabbed Sapphira and the Slave Girl off the TBR shelves (I still have a bunch of Vintage Classics by Cather that I bought during the Borders liquidation).

Anyway, Sapphira and the Slave Girl is the final novel written by Willa Cather, published in 1941.  Unlike most of her novels, it's set in the antebellum South, in Western Virginia.  It's 1856, just a few years before the Civil War.  Sapphira Colbert is a middle-aged woman with grown daughters, and the owner of a prosperous farm and the town's mill.  Years before, after inheriting property from an uncle, she "married beneath her" to the son of Scottish immigrants and moved from the city to a rural area, much to the shock and dismay of her family and friends.  Her children have grown up and mostly moved away, and she's had some health problems which have disabled her and she's now in a wheelchair.  Her husband Henry mostly lives at the mill, so she's pretty much alone in the big farm house with all the slaves.  

One of the slaves, Nancy, is an attractive young mixed-race girl, daughter of Sapphira's maid, Till.  Nancy's father is unknown but people speculate it was one of the master's brothers, who are known for their randy behavior; or possibly a Cuban portrait painter who once visited.  Nancy was once Sapphira's favorite, but lately her behavior to Nancy has become cruel, for no apparent reason.  Soon, the reader learns that Sapphira is suspicious of Nancy's relationship with Henry.  Are they father and daughter?  Lovers?  Sapphira's behavior to Nancy becomes increasingly cruel and manipulative.  At first it just seems petty and vindictive, then the reader learns that Sapphira really has it in for Nancy, to the point at which things become drastic.  Meanwhile, Henry is struggling over the morals of slavery, and their grown daughter Rachel becomes drawn into the unfolding drama.

This book started out a little slowly, and I actually put it down for a week because I thought it was going to be incredibly depressing.  However, after I gave it another try, I became drawn into the story.  Cather's writing as always is wonderful, and she's especially good at describing scenery without becoming too flowery.  The Virginia countryside must have been stunningly beautiful.

Cather also did a really good job at showing Henry's moral dilemma.  At first, I was having a hard time figuring out if Cather was a racist or not -- there are multiple uses of the N word, which makes me uncomfortable, even thought it was in the context of a historical novel; also, there were other references to the slaves that would have been common by white people at the time, especially by slave owners.  Ultimately, Cather is exploring the issue of slavery and it becomes obvious at the end she's not racist.

While I was reading this, I kept thinking about the movie 12 Years A Slave, which was just nominated for multiple Oscars.  I haven't seen it yet because I know it's going to be really difficult to watch.  It's a really awful part of American history.  Sapphira and the Slave Girl had a few uncomfortable parts but is really worth reading. It's a Cather novel that nobody seems to read any more, but I really liked it.  

I'd like to read some more Cather this year -- I still have to choose an American Classic and a 20th Century Classic for the Back to the Classics Challenge.  Besides Shadows on the Rock, I still have Lucy Gayheart, Alexander's Bridge, and A Lost Lady on the TBR shelves.  Bloggers, have you read any of these?  

18 comments:

  1. I think I just deleted my original comment. I just read this last year and enjoyed it as I enjoy all of Cather's fiction. You will be surprised how different Shadows feels when you finally read it. (Read it!)

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    1. OK, I promise I'll read it! This year, definitely. I also want to read One of Ours, which ironically is one of the only books I didn't buy at Borders.

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  2. Wow, this one sounds really fascinating! I've never even heard of it before. I wonder if my dad has. Cather is his favorite author, but he doesn't always dig deep into an author's backlist. This might make a really good gift for him one day.

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    1. It was really good -- the details about daily life in that period were really interesting. Isn't Death for the Archbishop his favorite? She wrote a lot of books that don't get much attention, but I really enjoyed this one.

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  3. Interesting selection - I don't feel like I see this one discussed very much at all. I ended up writing a paper on this and Imitation of Life,and looking at the ways that black women enabled white women to be the Southern belles they were supposed to be. I think even Rachel references parties she and her husband would host and how they would hire a black cook to make these events successful. It's been a really long time since I read it, though.

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    1. Now I have to read Imitation of Life! People kept putting the movie on hold last year at the library, which put it on my radar -- maybe this will be my Book to Movie selection for the Back to the Classics Challenge. I didn't remember the parts about Rachel's cook but I'll have to go back and check that part. She was my favorite character.

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    2. And excellent point about the black women enabling the white women -- where would Scarlett be without Mammy? She'd never have been able to make that dress from the curtains in time!

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  4. I really enjoyed reading Lucy Gayheart, but I haven't read the other two books you mentioned, so I don't know how it compares to them. Just reading your review today makes me realize that I need to read more Willa Cather this year. What's the book she wrote where her characters visit some Anasazi ruins? Do you know?

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    1. Lucy Gayheart is tempting, especially because it's pretty short. I think the book with the Indian ruins is The Professor's House -- there are flashbacks to a character finding ruins in canyons, but I don't know if they specifically say that they're Anasazi. Those were my favorite parts of the book, though.

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    2. Mine, too. The Professor's House...I need to reread that one. Hope you enjoy whichever Cather novel you choose to read next. :)

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  5. I have Death Comes for the Archbishop on my TBR stacks. I know I've read others of her books, but it's been so long that I remember almost nothing about them. I know I haven't read this one, though - this I'd remember.

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    1. I liked Death Comes for the Archbishop but it wasn't my favorite. I think Sapphira might be tied for my favorites along with O Pioneers and My Antonia.

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  6. I haven't heard of this Cather and never knew that she wrote about antebellum South. Sounds like such an interesting book, and in Cather's hands, I'm sure it shines.I wonder what drew her to tackle this subject.

    I also want to watch 12 Years A Slave, but have the same trepidation you have. I've been doing a fair amount of Civil War reading lately, and this seems like a good tie in to the 150 commemorations.

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  7. At the end of the book, there's an epilogue that ties Cather with the book's setting. I don't think it's really a spoiler, but Cather was born in Virginia and moved to Nebraska when she was older, so I think that explains why she chose that for her final book.

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  8. I love all of Willa Cather's novels and think they are all masterpieces for various reasons. :) One of Ours is one of my favorites, but, like Sapphira and the Slave Girl, it hasn't received much love in recent years although it was very popular when it came out and WW1 vets loved it. Can't wait to hear what you think about the next Cather you read.
    p.s. I just picked up 12 Years a Slave the other day. Haven't seen the movie yet.

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  9. I was going to recommend My Antonia and O Pioneers, but I see you've already read them. I've not read this one, it'll probably be on I skip in favor of Death Comes for the Archbishop which I still haven't read. I'm not a fan of historical fiction overall. I prefer reading material written by people who lived it or whose parents lived it. But there are always exceptions.

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  10. I love Cather but have no tread this one....I did not care for the Archbishop either!

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  11. I enjoyed this when I read it for Willa Cather Reading Week, but I LOVED Shadows on the Rock. I will read everything Cather wrote eventually; she is a real master.

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