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Chapter 5
Themes
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
Lyddie wonders if she should run from this intruder—but before she can, he begins quoting the Bible, his voice smooth and comforting. The man muses that Lyddie doesn’t look like a robber, and as calmly as she can, Lyddie explains that she is in fact “mistress” of the house. The man then introduces himself as Ezekial Abernathy; he immediately knows Lyddie’s full name, which surprises Lyddie. Ezekial explains that Quaker Stevens brought him here, realizing the empty house might be a perfect hiding place.
Historically, Quakers like Lyddie’s neighbor Stevens played a vital role in the Underground Railroad, helping to facilitate hiding places and transportation for those escaping from enslavement. Stevens’s choice of Lyddie’s house as a hiding spot for Ezekial perhaps points to Quaker Stevens’s inherent trust in the young girl.
Themes
While Lyddie wonders whether she should turn Ezekial in for the reward money, Ezekial explains his circumstances: he taught himself to read the Bible (“a little reading is a dangerous thing”), then became a preacher for other enslaved people. But learning to read made Ezekial even more desperate to escape from his brutal circumstances. Ezekial tells Lyddie he left a wife and child back home, and he does not know when he will be able to see them again.
If the lack of literacy makes Lyddie and Mama feel shame, here, the converse is true—Ezekial’s access to words and writing enabled him to challenge the injustices of slavery. In other words, literature and literacy bring both political and personal power, meaning these things can be “dangerous” (as they threaten the power of those in charge). Ezekial’s separation from his family parallels Lyddie’s own loss.
Themes
Lyddie boasts that she and her family are “freemen of Vermont,” though she cannot help feeling that her forced servitude links her in some way to Ezekiel’s plight. After Ezekial offers Lyddie some of his meager stew, Lyddie hints that she initially considered turning Ezekiel in, and feels guilt.
Themes
The next morning, Lyddie returns to the tavern. Before she goes, she gives Ezekial all of the money she earned from selling the calf. Ezekial promises to repay her when he reaches Canada, and Lyddie struggles with the “enormity” of what she has just done. Each wishes the other good luck, hoping they both find freedom soon and are able to be reunited with their families.
Themes
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When Lyddie arrives back at Cutler’s tavern, Mistress Cutler has returned—and, furious, she fires Lyddie for taking a trip. But Lyddie sees this firing as an opportunity: she will walk to Lowell, Massachusetts, and start her life as a factory girl. Triphena frets that Lyddie has no money for coach fare, and when Lyddie declares that she will “walk to freedom,” Triphena warns that her “feet will get mighty sore.”
Themes
