Discussion Topic
Madam Lockton's treatment and instructions towards Isabel in Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Summary:
Madam Lockton treats Isabel harshly and with cruelty in Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. She gives Isabel strict and often demeaning instructions, expecting complete obedience and punishing any perceived disobedience severely. This treatment underscores the harsh realities of slavery and the lack of autonomy and respect afforded to enslaved individuals like Isabel.
Identify an example of Madam Lockton's meanness towards Isabel in Chains by Anderson.
There is an example of Madam Lockton's cruelty early on in the narrative. When Madam Lockton's belongings are being searched in public, Ruth and Isabel find the awkwardness of the moment as humorous. Isabel is smart enough to remain silent, but Ruth laughs aloud. When she takes responsibility for her sister, there is deliberate cruelty in how Madam hits Isabel hard enough to cause her to stagger under the force of the blow. One can argue that this scene represents much in way of meanness on a couple of levels. There is the public humiliation of being hit by someone in the position of power, almost to reaffirm one's own degraded state. Madam Lockton takes advantage of this in a public manner. The hit itself is cruel, for Isabel is only a child herself. She wishes for so much more than what is. Comforted only by the idea that it...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
was better for her to be hit than her sister, one sees how mean of an action it actually was. She is hit for something that is not her own fault and she is left without any recourse. She cannot speak. She cannot retaliate for the social condition that maligns her is as mean as Madam Lockton. In the final analysis, this particular moment confirms both her meanness to Isabel and the meanness in the social condition that allows such an act of brutality to happen.
Why does Madam instruct Isabel to serve Master Lockton in Chains?
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson is set in the Revolutionary War period in the North. Isabel and her younger sister Ruth are young black girls who should have been freed when their beloved owner died; however, the older woman's nephew, Mr. Robert, is a swindler and a cheat. He is unwilling to consider the possibility that his aunt freed the girls, mostly because he is greedy and wants to make money by selling them.
Ruth and Isabel are soon sold to Master and Madam Lockton, and both girls are miserable because the Locktons are not admirable people. Master Lockton is still loyal to the King of England and is involved in devious schemes to bribe others into becoming Loyalists. At the same time, he claims to be a a Patriot, so he is double-dealing. Isabel learns that she can be helpful if she reports what she learns about any plans Master Lockton might be making, but until chapter 14 she does not seriously consider taking any action.
In this chapter, Madam still does not think much of Isabel. The woman is generally cruel and unkind, demanding and petty. But now she wants something and uses Isabel to try to get it. Master Lockton is up in the library meeting with some like-minded men. Madam Lockton loads a tray with food for the men and makes Isabel carry it up to the library. Madam Lockton follows her and shouts to her husband through the door that she has brought them refreshments and he should therefore open the door.
Master Lockton does not want to let his wife in the room, but he finally unlocks the door and lets Isabel inside with the tray of food. Of course Madam does not want to be left out and tries to barge her way into the room behind Isabel. Her ploy does not work and she is refused admittance.
Isabel is able to learn some valuable information as Master Lockton reveals a plot to assassinate General George Washington. He is devious and motivated both by his political beliefs and his selfish desire to save his own skin. He blackmails the men by creating a list of names which incriminates all of the others. He says:
“It [the list] will motivate you and our friends to do everything possible to secure my release.”
Isabel soon finds a way to use what she knows for a good cause.
References
Why is Madam Lockton mean to Isabel in Chains?
One thing can be stated with a lot of confidence: Madam Lockton is a mean woman. What is open to individual reader opinion is exactly why Madam Lockton is so mean. Personally, I think she is just plain evil. Isabel recounts her mother's support of that notion in chapter 43.
Everybody carried a little evil in them, Momma once told me. Madam Lockton had more than her share. The poison had eaten holes through her soul and made room for vermin to nest inside her.
Of course, maybe Madam Lockton is sadistic for another reason. She is an inherently selfish woman, and that selfishness does not do good things for her marriage. Often, Madam Lockton's selfish and harsh demeanor does little to endear her to Master Lockton, and angering him is never a good idea. He mistreats Madam Lockton as badly as she mistreats Isabel. Master Lockton beats her in chapter 17 until she has rings under her eyes.
It is possible to think that Madam Lockton is so mean to Isabel because Isabel is someone that she can exert her power over. Madam Lockton knows that she can't exert power over her husband, so she chooses to exert her dominance over Isabel and the other slaves. I suppose it is also possible to think that Madam Lockton is mean to Isabel as a way of venting her frustrations. Sometimes people come home angry at their bosses and go for a run or punch a pillow. Madam Lockton brands slaves and locks them in basements.