Dessa Rose: Analysis of Major Characters
"Dessa Rose: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complexities of character dynamics within the narrative of "Dessa Rose," a powerful story set against the backdrop of slavery in America. The titular character, Dessa Rose, is an African American woman who embodies resilience in the face of extreme violence and oppression. Her determination drives her to lead a slave rebellion and seek freedom alongside her son and fellow fugitives. A key ally in her journey is Ruth Elizabeth Carson, a white woman who aids runaway slaves and forms a complicated bond with Dessa, despite tensions arising from her relationship with Nathan, another fugitive slave.
The character of Adam Nehemiah represents the perspective of a white man who seeks to document Dessa's rebellion for his ambitions, yet struggles to understand the realities of her experience. Additionally, Nathan and Harker, fellow slaves, play pivotal roles in devising clever schemes to gain temporary freedom, highlighting the resourcefulness and survival instincts of those resisting bondage. Kaine, Dessa’s deceased lover, serves as a significant figure in her past, offering inspiration and a poignant reminder of the personal losses endured in the fight against slavery. This character analysis provides insight into the themes of resilience, solidarity, and the complexities of relationships formed under the oppressive conditions of slavery.
Dessa Rose: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Sherley Anne Williams
First published: 1986
Genre: Novel
Locale: Marengo County, Alabama
Plot: Historical realism
Time: 1847–1848
Dessa Rose, an African American woman who experiences both gender and racial inequality. As a slave, she knows not only marginality but also extreme violence, danger, and cruelty. She is a strong person, determined not to surrender her life or her child's life to slavery's victimization. She leads a slave rebellion. As the story develops, Dessa enters an intimate relationship with another fugitive slave, Harker. She escapes to freedom in the West with Harker, her son, and their friends.
Ruth Elizabeth Carson (also known as Miz Rufel and Rufel), a white woman who harbors and provides strategic aid to runaway slaves. She becomes an ally and friend for Dessa Rose, her baby, and Dessa's fellow escaped slaves. When she becomes involved in a sexual relationship with Nathan, one of those slaves, Dessa so disapproves of their union that she refers to Miz Rufel as “Miz Ruint.”
Adam Nehemiah, a white man who wishes to record the story of Dessa Rose's rebellion on the Wilson coffle, to be included as a case in his next book on slave management and slave uprisings. He is ambitious, and he hopes that this new book, coupled with the success of his first book, will help him to establish a place in planter society. He is ill-equipped, however, for a match of wits with Dessa Rose. After she escapes from prison, he obsessively tracks her.
Nathan and Harker, two of the slaves who participate in the slave-coffle rebellion that nearly costs them their lives. While in hiding with Dessa Rose, these characters plan a brilliant deception that, with the assistance of Rufel, allows them to generate income by selling themselves back into slavery repeatedly, only to elude their prospective owners.
Kaine, Dessa's lover and the father of her child, who is brutally and senselessly murdered before the events in the novel. Through memories and flashbacks, readers learn of him as a strong man, a tender partner to Dessa, and an ongoing inspiration to her struggle to resist slavery and escape its injustices.