The Invention Of Wings By Sue Monk Kidd: Character Analysis

Sue Monk Kidd always asks herself, “What does my character want?” and she makes those wants and desires the purpose of her characters’ stories. This applies strongly to her characters Handful and Sarah in her novel, The Invention of Wings. This novel closely follows Handfuls’s desire to be freed from slavery as well as Sarah’s desire to both be treated equal to men and to have a voice.
Handful’s primary desire is to be freed from slavery. This is shown by the fact that the majority of the things Handful does demonstrates her desire to be freed from slavery and be treated as an equal. One instance that demonstrates this desire is Handful’s desire to read. Even after she was found out and outlawed from reading by Mrs Grimke, she still tries to teach herself to read and continues reading. Slaves were not allowed to read in the time period this book was set. Handful’s desire to read demonstrates that she sees herself as an equal to everyone around her and thus illustrates her desire to be freed from slavery. When Handful tells Sarah, “I know you’re angry Sarah, but I didn’t see any harm with me being in the tub, same as you.” After she is caught bathing in Sarah’s tub. It shows that not only does Handful want to be treated as an equal and not slave, but that she is also willing to take action to make her desire happen. Moreover, this shows that Kidd’s quote applies well to Handful. …show more content…
Handful’s goal is to be freed from slavery, and Kidd follows this goal and makes it the plot of Handful’s story. Handful is constantly breaking the rules such as when she doesn’t sleep outside Sarah’s door, the bathtub and many more instances. Kidd closely follows these instances as well as Handful’s more noticeable rebellions- such as when Handful steals a bullet mould for Denmark Versey. Handful’s story is a freedom fight and Denmark Versey’s quote, “Charleston is Egypt all over again,” acts as a perfect metaphor for this fight. As in the case of Egypt, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell if Handful didn’t fight for her freedom. This shows that Kidd’s quote applies perfectly to Handful. Sarah wants equality and a ‘voice.’ She wants women and slaves to have equal rights to white men. …show more content…
Sarah desires a voice so that she may advocate for these rights, as shown by when she tells her father and brother that, “one day I intends to follow in your footsteps... to become a jurist.” A jurist is someone who has a voice- someone who can ensure equality which is why Sarah wants to become one. A voice is therefore Sarah’s first primary goal. Sarah’s second primary goal is equality. The fact that in her childhood, Sarah strove for a man’s education, “oh to be a son,” how she at first refused to take Handful as a slave, “as if owning people were as natural as breathing.” and how she taught Handful and the slave children at the church how to read. All of these actions shows that her primary goals are towards having a voice and for equality. As in the case of Handful, Kidd’s quote also applies greatly to Sarah. As proven above, Sarah’s primary goals are equality and a voice. If Kidd’s didn’t focus on these goals, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell. This is shown very well when Sarah goes through a stage of depression after her