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Chapter 7
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
Lyddie wakes to a clanging, and at first she thinks it is the bear again, crashing around with the oatmeal pot. But soon, she realizes it is the sounds of the other girls at the boardinghouse, all waking up at once. Lyddie goes downstairs, taking in the new-fangled stove and plentiful food. She feels grateful that Mrs. Bedlow, the coachman’s sister, was kind enough to take her in.
Every time the symbolic bear reappears in the novel, it is a sign that Lyddie is facing some new, terrifying challenge. Now, that challenge is the world of the mills, with all of its chaos and bustle. The bear also reminds Lyddie of her family, so her memory here is perhaps the first hint that Mrs. Bedlow and the factory girls will eventually become a surrogate family of sorts.
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Before breakfast, Mrs. Bedlow talks to Lyddie: if she wants to get a job at the factory, she will need better clothes, not the homespun dress and tattered boots she arrived in. Lyddie explains that she doesn’t have any money, so Mrs. Bedlow offers to loan her some. Then breakfast comes, and Lyddie is struck by the plentiful food and noisy chatter.
Once again, poverty repeats and enforces itself—in order to move up financially, Lyddie will need to dress well, but how can she afford new clothes unless she has the money for them?
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Three girls introduce themselves to Lyddie: pretty, well-mannered Amelia; blunt Betsy; and kind Prudence, who is also from Vermont. As the girls ask Lyddie about her circumstances, Lyddie feels newly self-conscious of her simple braids and rural Vermont accent. After breakfast, Amelia and Prudence take Lyddie shopping, and—to Lyddie’s horror—she spends all the money she has from Mrs. Bedlow.
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Mrs. Bedlow decides that Lyddie will room with Prudence, Amelia, and Betsy. As soon as Lyddie moves in, Amelia presses her about where she plans to go to church. When Lyddie responds that she is not usually religious, Betsy looks up from her novel to explain that the factory owners insist that all the girls attend church. Betsy also informs Lyddie that the Methodist church is best, as it doesn’t charge pew rent.
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The next day, Mrs. Bedlow takes Lyddie to the mill. There are many buildings: offices, storerooms, and the giant, water-powered mill itself. Though the factory men put on airs, pretending to disapprove of Lyddie’s youth and clothing, Mrs. Bedlow quickly secures Lyddie a one-year contract. Before Lyddie can even say thank you, she is handed a contract to sign. The clerk also gives Lyddie a pamphlet filled with rules. Lyddie wishes Charlie were here to help her read it.
Lyddie initially feels eager to start factory work, though her eagerness is dampened when she is (per her contract) forced to get a vaccine—a hole is gouged in her leg, then filled with some unpleasant substance. After the vaccination, Mrs. Bedlow guides Lyddie to the factory and introduces her to her new boss Mr. Marsden. And Lyddie’s life as a factory girl begins.
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