Freedom Theme Analysis

Beginning in the spring of 1775, against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War, Chains tells the story of 13-year-old Isabel, an enslaved Black girl. When Isabel’s owner dies, Isabel expects to be freed along with her five-year-old sister, Ruth—her owner’s will dictates that the girls should be freed upon her death. But since the will is missing, Isabel and Ruth are instead sold to wealthy New Yorkers, Master and Madam Lockton, who are ardent Loyalists (they support the British in the war). In New York, Isabel throws herself into trying to secure her freedom through any means possible, including spying for the Patriots. But Isabel comes to suspect that while the white Patriots seek freedom from oppressive British rule and often talk about how everyone deserves freedom, they actually have no intention of helping enslaved Black people become free as well. However, Chains shows that despite the hypocrisy Isabel observes among the Patriots, their rhetoric about freedom and equality is still powerful. In fact, the Patriots’ cause helps Isabel realize that there are different kinds of freedom. Although Isabel isn’t physically free from slavery by the end of the novel, she realizes that her mind and soul belong to her alone—and in that way, she and other enslaved people do have some degree of freedom.

Isabel begins the novel with a specific idea of what freedom looks like. Isabel initially conflates freedom from slavery with freedom from British rule because of the way the Patriots talk about freedom. One of the Patriots’ central beliefs is that “all men are created equal,” which means that no one person is superior to another and that all people have the right to live freely. Isabel and some other enslaved people—most notably Curzon—take this to mean that they’re included in the group of “all men,” since they are, of course, human beings too. In this sense, Isabel comes to think of freedom as being treated equally to everyone else and not being tyrannized by an oppressive ruler. And she assumes that if she supports the Patriots’ cause, they’ll free her—so, she does as Curzon asks and spies on the Locktons for the Patriots.

Yet few characters in Chains—other than wealthy, white men—are actually free by Isabel’s definition, suggesting that how free a person is depends on a variety of factors (such as gender, skin color, and class status). Isabel, as an enslaved Black girl, has very little, if any, freedom. At one point, Isabel is branded with an I for “insolent” because she dared to call Madam out for selling Ruth (who’s also enslaved) and then ran away. And selling Ruth in and of itself illustrates enslaved people’s lack of freedom, as Ruth has no agency over her life. In essence, Isabel and other enslaved people aren’t allowed to think for themselves, defend themselves from abuse, or speak for themselves—they’re supposed to mold their behavior and thoughts to please the people who own them. Yet Curzon sees himself as freer than Isabel even though he’s enslaved too, since he’s able to join the Patriot army and earn his legal freedom that way. But this doesn’t free him from the effects of racism. For instance, when he and his fellow soldiers are imprisoned, Curzon’s cellmates steal his rations and his blanket, as the white soldiers don’t believe it’s right for an enslaved person like Curzon to receive the same accommodations they do. And while Madam is a villain in the novel and is one of the most formidable figures standing between Isabel and freedom, it’s possible to see that Madam herself isn’t truly free. She may have the power to abuse her staff, especially those who are enslaved, and she lives a lavish lifestyle—but Master Lockton demands total deference from his wife and becomes physically abusive when she tries to advocate for what she wants. In this way, Madam isn’t treated as an equal in her relationship, and Lockton oppresses her similarly to how the Patriots believe the British are oppressing them. This, of course, doesn’t excuse Madam’s abusive and manipulative behavior, but it suggests that few characters in the novel are able to enjoy Isabel’s definition of freedom.

While Isabel doesn’t end the novel legally free (she’s still technically enslaved), she does ultimately discover that she can find a different sort of freedom by understanding that her mind and soul belong to her alone. After Madam sells Ruth, Isabel is traumatized and defeated; she stops trying to resist Madam’s abuse. But as Isabel reads Thomas Paine’s political pamphlet Common Sense and starts to remember some of her deceased Momma’s advice, Isabel realizes that in some ways, she can be free—she realizes it’s her choice whether to let Madam take her soul and her spirit. Though Isabel acknowledges that she has to work within the system of slavery and follow Madam’s rules, she can also find ways to bend or break them, as when she continues to visit Curzon and the other prisoners in the Bridewell prison despite being forbidden to do so. This is also why Isabel decides to bake a bread pudding for a houseless family on Christmas. She knows Madam wouldn’t approve, but doing so allows Isabel to feel like she’s still a human being who can make choices for herself. One of the things that spurs Isabel to accept this kind of emotional and mental freedom is her realization that no matter what the Patriots say, Isabel—and other enslaved Black people—aren’t included when the Patriots say that all men are created equal. Put another way, in the world she inhabits, she’s severely limited in the kind of freedom she can access. This doesn’t deprive the Patriots’ words of their power, but it does show Isabel that for now, at least, she’s going to have to work harder to achieve the same kind of freedom as the Patriots, or she’ll have to settle for a different type of freedom. It’s Isabel’s realization that she can keep ahold of her mental and emotional freedom that spurs her to plan her final escape from the Locktons’, and to take Curzon along with her. Achieving her mental freedom, in other words, is framed as the first step to Isabel eventually achieving physical and legal freedom.