Emmanuel brings her back to his native Haiti where his family seek to become leaders in this liberated black-governed nation. When she meets a man named Emmanuel who entreats her to marry him, she sees a way to escape the path her mother laid out for her.
But Libertie's interests don't align with her mother's nor are these two women held to the same standards as Libertie's mother has lighter skin than her own. She also has a clear plan that Libertie should follow in her footsteps, intently trains the girl in her practice and sends her to a school to get a formal education in medicine. Libertie's mother is a practicing physician and, though she's a role model as a strong educated woman, she doesn't offer much emotional warmth to her daughter. Through her eyes we see the hidden costs of compromise and how difficult it is to live in society without being subject to the will of insidious ideologies. It's gripping following Libertie's journey as she strives to obtain independence from her country, her mother and the husband who lures her into a life she doesn't expect.
They had returned in their minds back to the places they'd run from, the places they didn't name, even to their fellow travellers.” It also questions whether liberty can truly be found when systems of government are overhauled by people who also abuse their power - especially against women and the impoverished/under-educated working classes. Greenidge's novel considers the lasting impact of slavery for individuals who've been freed but are permanently burdened with the trauma sustained during their subjugation: “The people of Culver's back room had all lost themselves. These stories re-view our assumptions of the past and provide a deeper understanding of the resonance of history. Recent novels such as “The Water Dancer”, “Conjure Women” and “The Prophets” created a radically new perspective about the abolition of slavery. That's what Kaitlyn Greenidge “Libertie” does admirably while also telling a deeply engaging coming of age story about Libertie, a free-born black girl in Brooklyn being raised by her single mother in the time before and after The American Civil War. It's so moving when historical fiction gives an entirely new view of a particular time period while also raising larger questions which resonate with the world today.
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