How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
A thought surfaced through my ashes.
She cannot chain my soul.Yes, she could hurt me. She'd already done so. But what was one more beating? A flogging, even? I would bleed, or not. Scar, or not. Live, or not. But she could no longer harm Ruth and she could not hurt my soul, not unless I gave it to her. (38.32-34)
Up to this point, Isabel has been giving Madam Lockton permission to hurt her insofar as her body is enslaved by the Locktons, but her soul is not. This realization goes a long way in empowering her to seek her freedom.