The Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grissom

Characters
The Kitchen House	Tall Oaks	Slave Quarters
Lavinia McCarten (Abinia) – indentured to Captain Pyke to pay for passage - parents died on ship from Ireland except for brother Cardigan – brother – indentured to pay for passage – died Belle – daughter of Captain Pyke Jamie Pyke – son after rape by Marshall Mama Mae Papa George Uncle Jacob Ben Fanny Beattie Beattie – 3 children with Marshall Dory Henry – son – died Sukey - daughter	Captain James Pyke Martha – second wife Marshall – son Sally - daughter – died Campbell – baby Mrs. Pyke – Belle’s grandmother – educated her as a white girl Mr. Waters – tutor Isabelle – Martha’s younger sister – died Rankin – overseer Will Stephens – overseer Martha – wife Williamsburg: Sarah Madden – Martha’s sister Husband - lawyer Meg – daughter Mr. Boran – Mr. Madden’s law partner – wants to marry Lavinia	Jimmy – married Dory Ida – Jimmy’s mother Lucy – married Ben Three sons

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers refer to the paperback edition.

1. Given the time period, was there any better solution for Lavinia other than Captain Pyke bringing her home with him as an indentured servant?
2. How was Belle able to accept her position, knowing she was Captain Pyke’s daughter and was educated and yet was considered a slave?   Do you think Marshall should have figured out the relationship between Belle and his father?  Why didn’t anyone tell him?
3. Why did Martha not give Belle the papers granting her freedom right away?
4. All of the slaves knew that Mr. Waters was abusing Marshall.   Was there something else they could have done sooner?   Could his mother have known if she was paying more attention to him?  How do you think the abuse affected him throughout his life?
5. How many choices did Lavinia have in her life?  Could she have said ‘no’ to Mr. Boran’s marriage proposal?   Why do you think Mrs. Madden encouraged the marriage?
6. Discuss Lavinia experiencing both the white and slave environments.  How hard do you think it was to transition to the perspective of the white mistress after she married Marshall?
7. Can you understand Lavinia’s resentment of Beattie having relations with Marshall?  Did Lavinia really understand Beattie’s position?
8. When Mr. Madden turned down Lavinia’s request to go back with the family to Williamsburg, she withdrew and started taking laudanum.  Bell criticized her and said, “Course, she actin’ just like a white woman, just give up, sittin’ in her room.” (page 308).  What else could Lavinia have done?
9. Discuss Jamie, Belle and Marshall’s son.  He thought he was white, even though the law would consider him a Negro.  How do you think he felt when told the truth?  How do you think he should have been raised?
10. Discuss the organization of the book.  Did you find it confusing or interesting?  Did you like the way the author started off with the ending and then led up to it throughout the book?  Did you like the fact that she led the reader to believe that it was Belle who was hanged?
11. Did this book give you any new insights into this time period in our country? 

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.