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Chapter 22
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Lyddie, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Bravery, Endurance, and Hope
Labor, Enslavement, and Racial Prejudice
Biological Family vs. Found Family
Written Language and Power
Gender Inequality
Summary
Analysis
First, Lyddie goes to Triphena, who is happy to see her. But the Cutlers have a new apprentice now, and Triphena cannot provide Lyddie a place. Lyddie then walks to the miller’s house, but both Charlie and Rachel are at school. So she decides to creep back into her old cabin, hoping for one more night in her beloved home. When she arrives, however, she is surprised to see Luke Stevens is already there.
Lyddie’s feeling of uncertainty and displacement continues as she ventures to previous homes (Triphena, Charlie and Rachel) only to discover that they no longer have space for her. So it is especially surprising—and perhaps telling—that when Lyddie finally returns to her cabin, the only home that she still recognizes, it is now associated with Luke Stevens.
Active
Themes
Luke apologies for his letter and asks where Lyddie plans to go. Instinctively, Lyddie realizes that she is off “to stare down the bear!” But now, staring down the bear means heading to Ohio, where Lyddie hopes to get an education at Oberlin, the school Betsy talked about.
For much of the narrative, “the bear” has symbolized something scary outside of Lyddie’s control—poverty, illness, disloyal family, or Mr. Marsden. But now, Lyddie realizes that “the bear” she must face can also be something within herself (like her own fears surrounding learning or connection).
Active
Themes
When Luke hears this, he sighs that Lyddie is “indeed a wonder.” Lyddie slowly realizes that Luke is the man she will eventually love, even though she is wary about linking her life to another’s (“might as well just throw open the cabin door full wide and invite that black bear right onto the hearth”). Seeing Lyddie’s face, Luke wonders if he frightens her, which makes Lyddie giggle. Lyddie hopes Luke will wait for her—and privately, she muses that “we can still hop.”
