Discussion Topic
Violet and Celyndia's means of earning money and their marketplace activities in Amos Fortune, Free Man
Summary:
Violet and Celyndia earn money by making and selling brooms and baskets. They engage in these marketplace activities to support their household and contribute to their community in Amos Fortune, Free Man.
How did Violet and Celyndia earn money in Amos Fortune, Free Man?
Violet and Celyndia, her daughter, make money by weaving. They're very talented. Violet also helps Amos with his business.
After Amos is freed by Mrs. Richardson, he moves to Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and rents land to work his tanning business. After his first two wives die, he marries Violet.
Like his past wives, Amos purchases Violet so that he can grant her freedom. Celyndia is included in the sale. He frees them and Violet begins to work at the tannery. After they're married, she's grateful for her freedom and thinks that she wants to be a true partner and helper to him in years to come. She does so. Elizabeth Yates writes:
It was important for Amos to arrive in his new surroundings in early
spring, for the tan bark, which was essential to his work had to be removed from trees soon after the sap had risen. With Violet's...
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help and, what was even more, the sure comfort of her presence, he managed to deliver the last of his leather in late March of the year 1781. Then, working together, they packed up all the transportable tools-spud, barking mallet, rollers, knives, even the beam and work table.
The longer they live together, the more Violet and Celyndia hone their skills at the loom. Yates says:
The years went on in a quiet way. Violet and Celyndia spun and
wove, and their linens were as much in demand as Amos' leathers. Often a man coming from a long distance to leave a hide would not go home empty-handed. Seeing the fine linens that were woven in the tanner's house, he would secure one or more to take home to his wife.
The success of the family rests on all of them—not just Amos. In that way, Violet fulfills her wish from after their wedding. She's his true partner and helps him achieve his goals. Together, they live a happy and prosperous life.
Where do Violet and Celyndia sell their crafts in Amos Fortune, Free Man?
Over time, the fine linens made by Violet and Celyndia at their loom have become as much in demand as Amos's leathers. It's often the case that when a man comes by to drop off a hide, he leaves with one or two pieces of fine linen to take home with him to his wife. The sale of linen is a useful source of additional income, especially now that Amos is getting on a bit and therefore not quite as active as he used to be.
Even so, it's notable that Violet and Celyndia can only sell their goods from home. This is an indication that they, like Amos, are not fully accepted by white society. Though Amos may have earned the respect of the townsfolk through his hard work, he's still not respected enough to allowed to sit with white people at church every Sunday. Instead, he and his family are forced to sit in the cold north gallery reserved for Black people.
As for Violet and Celyndia, the home is the only place where they count on being treated with dignity and respect. Outside the confines of the home, the place where they make and sell their fine linens, it's a different story. There, they are not fully accepted by white society, even though they are no longer slaves. Celyndia is even occasionally subject to taunts and abuse, an indication that, for all their hard work and respectability, Amos and his family must still contend with prejudice and bigotry.