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Fiona is a white woman who discovers Amari, Polly, and Tidbit sleeping in one of her husband’s hunting shacks. She agrees to help them. Fiona is a puzzle for Amari and Polly: she and her husband, Patrick, own slaves, yet Fiona feels compelled to help Amari and Tidbit, who are clearly runaways. She insists that while she has no standing to interfere with her husband’s business of owning slaves, she can also make her own choices when it comes to slaves whom Patrick doesn’t own. It’s also clear that Fiona feels little loyalty toward her husband, as he doesn’t want to engage in trade that would give Fiona access to goods like cloth. Instead, she has to make do with making heavy garments out of pelts. Heartbreakingly, Amari realizes that Fiona and Patrick own Besa.
Fiona O’Reilly Quotes in Copper Sun
The Copper Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Fiona O’Reilly or refer to Fiona O’Reilly. 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 37 Quotes
“Of course, child. Everybody has slaves. How do you think we handle this land? But my Patrick is a good man and does not mistreat his property. Our slaves like it here.” Amari couldn’t understand how the woman could see no wrong in owning slaves as long as they were well treated.
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“It’s like this: if my Patrick brings home a new slave like he did last week, for example, that’s his right as master and man of this house, and I dare not interfere. As a woman, I ain’t got muckle to say about those kind of decisions. But when I got the chance to decide for myself, I find it gives me pleasure to choose to help you be free. That’s the truth, and I did not know it until I spoke the words.”
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Chapter 42 Quotes
She inhaled sharply as she thought of Mrs. Derby, of the infant who had been given no chance to live, and of all the other women, both black and white, who continued to suffer as property of others.
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Fiona O’Reilly Character Timeline in Copper Sun
The timeline below shows where the character Fiona O’Reilly appears in Copper Sun. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 37. Lost and Found and Lost
...iron collar with hooks on it. Punishment for slaves is worse. She introduces herself as Fiona O’Reilly and asks Amari if Tidbit is hers. Amari says that he is.
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Fiona says that the girls and Tidbit can’t stay in the shelter; Patrick is good but...
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Polly asks why Fiona is helping them if she has slaves. Fiona explains that it’s Patrick’s business when he...
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Fiona bustles in, tells Besa to put hay in the back of the wagon, and swears...
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After Tidbit changes, Amari shares with Fiona that they’re headed south. She explains that everything they know is gone. They only have...
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