Defiance
In the past, the slaves were told not to look at their masters, no matter what they do. Handful thus lives in a world dominated by fear where she knows that she can be punished for misbehaving or for acting in a way she should not do. Because of this, she does everything she can not to anger her mistress. However, in one instance, Handful rebels against her mistress by looking her straight in the eye. Instead of being punished, the mistress stops hitting Handful, an action seen as being ironic especially considering the circumstances.
Her slave
In the beginning, Sarah was reluctant to accept Handful as her slave, thinking about what she could do to free her. Sarah’s attitude changes however quickly and after a few months, she begins to behave just like any other slave owner. This aspect is ironical especially considering how Sara dreamed of freeing every slave in the country one day.
Punished by the one she loved
Sarah admitted that she felt more close to her father than to her mother, something considered strange in that time. Sarah liked her father because he allowed her to read and learn new things, something considered unusual for the girls living in that time. Ironically however, the father is also the one who is most against Sarah’s dreams. Instead of supporting her and teaching her what to do, the father insists that Sarah learns to accept her place in the world, that is becoming a woman, married to a man and having his children.
Mother with dreams
When Sarah’s brother is sent off to college, she expresses her desire to go and learn law as well. Instead of being supported by her family, Sarah is laugh at by her parents and siblings. Distraught, Sarah goes to her room and there she is followed by her mother who confesses that at some point in her life, she had ambitions and dreams as well but that her parents destroyed her dreams for her own good. Ironically, the mother agrees that she was hurt by their actions but she continues to do the same thing to her daughter, even though she knows that she will hurt her as well.
A slave owning another slave
Charlotte got involved romantically with a man named Denmark, a black man who freed himself by paying his price to his master. When Charlotte goes to meet with Denmark, Handful goes often with her and often she talks with Denmark who tells Charlotte about his adventures. One time, Denmark tells Charlotte about a former slave he used to know, who, after getting emancipated, bought some slaves of his own. This is ironic considering that fact that former slaves knew what it was like to be owned by another person. However, instead of fighting against the system, they continued to perpetuate it, through buying more slaves and becoming slave owners themselves.
