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Lina
Sorrow is a young woman and an orphan who works on the Vaarks’ farm. Several times during the book, characters imply that Sorrow is mixed race and heavily suggest that Sorrow suffers from some kind of mental illness or possession by evil spirits. Sorrow’s exact origins are unknown to everyone else in the book. As an adolescent, a lumberjack found Sorrow half drowned on a beach and took her back to his wife. Sorrow would tell them nothing about her prior life, so the lumberjack’s wife named her “Sorrow.” The lumberjack sold Sorrow to Jacob after she proved unable to complete simple tasks. During her chapter, Sorrow reveals that, prior to being found on the beach, she was a Captain’s daughter who had spent her whole life on a ship. When the ship was wrecked, Sorrow began hallucinating an imaginary friend, Twin. Sorrow became pregnant before arriving at the Vaarks farm. When Lina delivers her baby, she tells her it is stillborn and sets it in the river to be carried away. Sorrow is convinced the baby was alive and suffers greatly from the loss. The next time she becomes pregnant, presumably from her secret meetings with the deacon, Sorrow has a healthy baby. Following the birth of her child, Sorrow stops hallucinating and becomes more focused and capable. She renames herself “Complete.”
Sorrow Quotes in A Mercy
The A Mercy quotes below are all either spoken by Sorrow or refer to Sorrow. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 8 Quotes
The blacksmith and Florens were rocking and, unlike female farm animals in heat, she was not standing quietly under the weight and thrust of the male. What Sorrow saw yonder in the grass…was not the silent submission…that Sorrow knew…It was a dancing…It all ended when the blacksmith grabbed Florens’ hair, yanked her head back to put his mouth on hers…It amazed her to see that. In all of the goings she knew, no one had ever kissed her mouth. Ever.
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Explanation and Analysis:
In this quote, Sorrow describes watching the Blacksmith and Florens have sex without them knowing. As Sorrow watches, she is fascinated by how different Florens’s sex with the Blacksmith is from any sex that Sorrow has ever had (or even seen). Sorrow describes it as “a dancing,” and notes that rather than being a “silent submission” like her own sex, Florens actively participates and seems to enjoy sex with the Blacksmith. Sorrow’s descriptions of the sex that she has had as “silent submission” suggests that Sorrow did not actively enjoy it, nor even perhaps consent to it. The men who Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neq
Although all her life she had been saved by men— Captain, the sawyers’ sons, Sir and now Will and Scully— she was convinced that this time she had done something, something important, by herself.
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In this quote, Sorrow describes how she feels as she lies on the riverbank after giving birth to her second child, and the only child she’s had that survived. Will and Scully have just helped Sorrow deliver the child and then gone back to their raft on the river. Sorrow’s satisfaction with her child and her success in childbirth is extremely apparent from this quote. As Sorrow describes, she has consistently leaned on men for help throughout her life, often in exchange for sexual favors. Sorrow exemplifies Rebekka’s definition of a women “of and for men,” as she has thus Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusam
Chapter 10 Quotes
They once thought they were a kind of family because together they had carved companionship out of isolation. But the family they imagined they had become was false. Whatever each one loved, sought or escaped, their futures were separate and anyone’s guess.
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In this quote, Scully describes how the farm felt like a family prior to Jacob’s death and Rebekka’s illness. As he describes how the Vaarks and their servants “carved companionship out of isolation,” Scully alludes to the fact that so many of the members of the household were orphans or motherless. Scully’s analysis of the alternative family that the Vaark household formed suggests that it is possible to form strong relationships outside of the confines of blood relationships. However, as Scully describes how the family was ultimately “false,” it seems that, in fact, the household’s bondedness and shared love was Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a de
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Sorrow Character Timeline in A Mercy
The timeline below shows where the character Sorrow appears in A Mercy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...Although Florens can read, she does not read the letter, and neither do Lina or Sorrow, who are illiterate. Florens, however, knows it is a letter to give to anyone who...
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...what she learned from the Reverend. Florens likes to talk and enjoys conversation with Lina, Sorrow, and the Blacksmith. When she first arrived at the Vaark farm, Florens did not talk,...
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...she was in hell. Lina wrapped Florens in warm clothes. Rebekka looked away from her. Sorrow waved a hand in front of her face at nothing.
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Lina told Florens that Sorrow is pregnant and the father is unknown. Lina believed the child is Jacob’s. Rebekka said...
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Chapter 2
Because of this sympathy, ten years ago Jacob took on a girl called Sorrow that a lumberjack found nearly drowned on a riverbank. At the time, Jacob needed the...
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Chapter 3
...part of a winter. In the winter, a disease shows up, similar to one that Sorrow had previously. This time, the disease strikes Jacob. He becomes moody and develops blisters, vomiting...
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Chapter 4
...Lina noticed Florens’s crush, she thought for sure that the Blacksmith would be attracted to Sorrow, not Florens. When Lina learns from Rebekka that the Blacksmith is a free man, not...
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...gate the Blacksmith made as a complete waste of time, she admires how he saved Sorrow’s life. Lina ponders Sorrow, who Jacob had agreed to take from some lumberjacks that found...
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When Jacob brought Sorrow back to the farm, both Lina and Rebekka were unhappy about it. Rebekka found Sorrow...
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Lina returns to thinking about Sorrow. She remembers one time when they trusted Sorrow, who was pregnant at the time, with...
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One day while they were preparing mincemeat, Lina told Rebekka that she believes Sorrow carries bad spirits with her. Rebekka told Lina her baby died of a fever, not...
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Now, Lina thinks, Sorrow is pregnant again, and her baby will possibly survive this time. Lina wonders what will...
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...working on his property. Now, however, the plan seems to have backfired. Rebekka is sick, Sorrow is pregnant, and Florens is lovestruck and running after the Blacksmith.
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Lina implores Rebekka not to die, wondering what will become of herself, Florens, Sorrow, and Sorrow’s baby if they are left alone without a master. None of them are...
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...immediately became attached to her. Lina decided to protect Florens, trying to keep her from Sorrow and from the Blacksmith. Lina saw how Florens was attracted to the Blacksmith immediately, and...
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...competed for Patrician’s affection, Lina was the only one who paid attention to Florens. Unlike Sorrow, Florens can read and write, quickly completes chores, and responds well to affection and praise....
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...her face in the mirror. Lina leaves the room to do chores and to find Sorrow, so she can tell her to muck out the stalls. Lina goes into the cowshed...
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At the river, Lina does not find Sorrow. She does, however, smell fire. Moving towards the smoke, Lina sees a group of people...
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Chapter 5
Florens thinks of the time she, Rebekka, and Sorrow went to sell the cows and a village woman slapped Sorrow in the face. When...
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Chapter 6
...the house and set Jacob down. Jacob died and Rebekka closed his eyes. Rebekka, Lina, Sorrow, and Florens sat down on the floor and cried.
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...in their lives, functioning like an “anchor.” She remembers how Lina was afraid of him, Sorrow grateful to him, and Florens in love with him. Rebekka sent Florens to go find...
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...long time, and since his work was invaluable. Jacob was right, since the Blacksmith cured Sorrow of her illness. Rebekka prays that the Blacksmith can do the same for her, and...
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...common. Rebekka thinks that some women, like Lina, have withdrawn completely from men. Others, like Sorrow, have become victims of them. Rebecca’s shipmates “fought” men, while the Baptists “obeyed them.” Rebekka...
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...with Jacob again. Now, though, with her husband gone, Rebekka is alone with the servants. Sorrow is worried about what will happen to her if Rebekka should die. Lina, though, seems...
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Chapter 8
Chapter 8 follows Sorrow’s limited third-person narrative. The narrator begins the chapter by stating that Sorrow does not mind...
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According to Sorrow, she met Twin under one of the hammocks of the ship she was on after...
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Sorrow grew up on that ship and had never lived on land before. Alone on the...
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Sorrow put on the clothes and ate breakfast. When Sorrow’s saviors asked her name, Twin told...
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The lumberjack’s wife tried to get Sorrow to care for the geese. Because of Sorrow’s sea legs, she stumbled and tripped throughout...
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When Sorrow bled, the housewife told her it was her period. However, she did not bleed again...
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Jacob took Sorrow away to his farm on horseback. During the ride, Sorrow vomited. Twin was happy when...
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The next morning, Sorrow threw up her breakfast. Rebekka told her to work in the vegetable garden. As she...
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Lina does not often speak to Sorrow, but she was the one who told Sorrow she was pregnant. Sorrow recalls her utter...
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When Sorrow’s baby was born, she thought she saw it yawn. Lina, though, told her it was...
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Sorrow began meeting with the local deacon in secret. He brought her cherries and walnuts and...
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Sorrow remembers that Florens arrived on the farm next, and Sorrow was happy to meet someone...
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Several years later, the Blacksmith arrived at the farm. Sorrow remembers how Lina was afraid of him and tried to warn Rebekka about him, but...
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Sorrow lay outside in a hammock with the women fanning her. She hallucinated that she and...
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The Blacksmith insisted that Rebekka and Lina feed Sorrow nothing during her sickness, only fanning her and soaking her boils in vinegar. Finally Sorrow’s...
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However, Sorrow thinks, Florens became sick anyway—with love for the Blacksmith. One day Sorrow was lying in...
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...beside her. Rebekka thanks him repeatedly. The Blacksmith leaves the room and Lina follows him. Sorrow, though, lingers by the door long enough to see Rebekka get down on her knees...
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Sorrow tiptoes away and out into the yard. She sits down in the grass, stroking her...
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Before sunrise the next morning the Blacksmith leaves again. Sorrow stands in the doorway, unable to sleep, and watches him ride away. Lina clearly is...
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Sorrow is so pregnant she cannot bend down or lift anything heavy, so she cannot do...
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One day, Sorrow’s water breaks. Rebekka is still sick, and Sorrow, who still thinks her first baby was...
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Sorrow wraps the baby in a blanket and dozes on the riverbank. Just before sunset she...
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Two days later at the farm, Lina hides her disgust with Sorrow and continues to worry about Florens. Rebekka says nothing about the baby. Sorrow says to...
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Twin has completely disappeared from Sorrow’s consciousness. Sorrow stops wandering, and is now able to complete chores and care for her...
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Chapter 10
Only Sorrow’s change seems to be for the better. With her baby, she is more focused on...
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Although Scully joins Willard in mocking Sorrow, he also admires her. He thinks the look in her eyes is not blank but...
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...not say anything about her increasingly nasty behavior towards her other servants. When Rebekka beats Sorrow, takes down Lina’s hammock, and decides to sell Florens, Scully is quiet. However, he tries...
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Chapter 11
...the outhouses are in winter and what that cold could do to an infant like Sorrow’s.
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...weather, saying that sleeping outside in hammocks is for “savages.” On one very cold night Sorrow seeks shelter for herself and her baby in the house and Rebekka slaps her. Florens...
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...that Rebekka is going to sell her but keep Lina. Meanwhile, no one will take Sorrow and her baby. Florens admires Sorrow’s devotion to her child. Sorrow has changed her name...
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