How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I looked at the red imprint left by the straps of her bra, thinking, Who's taking revenge on whom? But why be surprised, when that's what they hear all their lives. When it's made into a great power and they're taught to worship all types of power? With all the warnings against it, some are bound to want to try it out for themselves. The conquerors conquered. Maybe a great number secretly want it; maybe that's why they scream when it's farthest from possibility – (24.54)
Here the narrator speculates that women are socialized into certain types of desires – for instance, that power is erotic. As a white woman, Sybil has been taught to fear the power of the black man, but at the same time she occupies a "greater" position because of her race. This dynamic creates a space where she feels free to ask for rape – not realizing, of course, that not all black men are or want to be rapists. This passage is an example of how white male power can influence interactions between individuals who are neither white nor male.