The Themes of Sexism and Classism in Daughter of Earth: Freedom is Higher Than Love Natasha Borden College

The narrative of the novel Daughter of Earth by Agnes Smedley follows the coming of age story of Marie and her struggle against the almost overpowering social forces of both sexism and classism to find her own sense of self-respect and autonomy. She is both influenced and deeply scarred by these forces as she pulls herself up the social ladder of class mobility through the power of education, determination, and sacrifice. Marie is able to make the connections between the personal and the political and, in the end, she chooses freedom over love.

Marie's parents represent the issues of sexism and classism enacted on a personal scale. Their powerlessness and unhappiness become an excuse for abusing one another. During this time Marie not only becomes emotionally scarred, losing her ability to love and trust, but she also learns "the shame and secrecy of sex...that male animals cost more than female animals and seemed more valuable"(15). When her brother George is born her father is so happy to have a son, but he tells Marie to go away leaving her with the impression that" there seemed something wrong with [her]...something too deep to even cry about" (16). Once the family is in town it becomes apparent to Marie that education is...