Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Because being a kid typically involves acts of daring-do and danger (think trampolines, wheelies on your bike, touch football, antics on the monkey bars), pretty much all of us have scars, and those scars all have stories. Imagine, though, having a large scar in a prominent place, such as your cheek, one that everyone noticed the minute they looked at you, one that symbolized a moment of public humiliation and shame. This is how Isabel feels about the letter I for insolence that Madam Lockton orders branded on her face.
Branding is usually a practice reserved for farmers who want to inscribe their cattle with their initials so they can be brought back if they run away. In this sense, Isabel's mark illustrates the brutality of slavery, and the rendering of human beings as objects. The judge at Isabel's trial even asks Madam if she'd like her husband's initials to be used. Madam thinks the I will be more shameful, though, as it will "alert people to her tendencies and serve as a reminder of her weakness" (22.36). In this regard, the scar also represents the calculated cruelty of Madam.
Unwittingly, however, Madam ends up doing Isabel a huge favor through this decision: she unknowingly gives Isabel back her identity.
The second half of Chains, which begins when Isabel returns to the Locktons' after recovering at Lady Seymour's, primarily focuses on her struggle to tow the line with Madam Lockton while still asking serious questions about freedom and her future. When she finally decides to escape and goes to Lockton's office to steal the pass that will set her free, she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
As she studies the mark, she recalls that her father had three lines carved into his face as part of a tribal ritual. "He was proud of his marks," she says. "In the country of his ancestors, they made him a man" (43.86). Looks like somebody just found a connection to her past—and a connection based on pride instead of shame at that.
In this moment, looking at her own mark that was meant to symbolize shame, Isabel finds empowerment instead. "This is my country mark," she realizes. "I did not ask for it, but I would carry it as Poppa carried his. It made me his daughter. It made me strong […] This mark stands for Isabel" (43.88, 90). Instead of insolence, the I comes to represent Isabel and her reclaiming of her personhood.
Madam Lockton may have tried to break Isabel by sending away her sister, physically abusing her, and even renaming her. Ironically, though, the scar also represents Madam's failure to control Isabel. She may own Isabel's body, but as Isabel herself observes, "She cannot chain my soul" (38.33). And so long as that's true, Isabel will always be at least a little bit free.