Eliza Scagglethorpe (Mother) Character Analysis in Blonde Roots

Eliza Scagglethorpe is the wife of Jack Scagglethorpe and the mother of Madge, Sharon, Doris, and Alice. She suffered a bad case of the pox in childhood that left her infirm in adulthood. She also has a dreamy temperament not unlike her second daughter, Sharon. Even in middle age, she’s proud of the time when she was young and beautiful and attracted the attention of Lord Percival Montague. Captured by slave traders, alongside the rest of her family, not long after Doris is kidnapped, Eliza is among the captives purchased by Bwana on his first slave-trading voyage. She dies during the Middle Passage when she refuses to eat, and her captors throw her overboard.

Eliza Scagglethorpe (Mother) Character Timeline in Blonde Roots

The timeline below shows where the character Eliza Scagglethorpe (Mother) appears in Blonde Roots. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The Arbitrariness of Cultural Values Theme Icon

Doris was born a peasant in Europa. She, her mother (Eliza Scagglethorpe), her father (Jack Scagglethorpe) and her three sisters (Madge, Sharon, and Alice), were... (full context)

The Importance of Love and Family Theme Icon

...was a princess waiting for her prince to come. Madge was the family caretaker. Doris’s mother’s health was fragile after a bout of pox when she was a girl. She was... (full context)

...keep house. They embroidered tablecloths and other linens to make money. Once a week, their mother took the wares to the market at Duddingley, where Doris remembers hearing the gossip about... (full context)

...can’t possibly remember, like the day she was born. When she went into labor, Doris’s mother rattled protective stones in her hands and send Madge off to fetch Old Sarah, the... (full context)

...survives the voyage. Nwonkorey clearly isn’t one of those. Doris dreams of home, of her mother and father and of cool pitchers of lemonade. (full context)

...helpfully translates. The captive identifies himself as Jack Scagglethorpe and says that he, his wife Eliza, and his daughters (Sharon and Alice, who are there; Doris who was stolen a year... (full context)

Doris imagines going home. Her father and mother are there, and her mother has returned to full health. Sharon married a stable hand... (full context)

...Madge was raped and left to die. Jack died of dysentery on the crossing and Eliza was thrown overboard after refusing to eat. Sharon explains how Bwana made her his mistress.... (full context)