Fire

You probably knew fire was going to be a big deal before you even opened this book. After all, fire is in the title—chances are beyond good it's going to come up in the text. And sure enough, it does.

Abyssinia is the girl who's marked by fire. Born in the middle of her mother's workday in a cotton field, the foreman builds a fire for her to give birth by. When Abyssinia's birth is recounted by local women, the following unfolds:

"Remember it like it was only yesterday," one of them commented.

"Born in the cotton field."

"Came here marked, too."

"Marked by fire!"

"Baptized with the fire!"

[…]

"An ember jumped out of the blaze and branded the child."

"Marked at birth!" (3.3-13)

As we explore on her page in the "Characters" section, Abyssinia is a sort of Every Girl… at first. Except that in the story of her birth, we're given the first inkling that this isn't entirely true: She's "marked" as different. And insofar as it's fire that marks her, the fire that burns within Abyssinia later in life when she steps into her power, is foreshadowed in her birth. So while we get totally caught up in the ordinariness of Abby's childhood as she plays and eats ice cream and goes to school, in the beginning, we're given a solid clue that she's more special than she appears.

Sure enough, fire imagery returns in full force right before Abby fully connects with her power. As Trembling Sally sets fire to Lily Norene's house, Abby digs deep in order to save herself and Lily' daughters:

She called upon every power she knew. Straining every muscle in her body into one mighty thrust, she heaved the window open.

[…]

The wild woman let out another tortured wail and, wielding her flaming torch, rushed toward the fleeing Abby.

Abby placed one leg out the window and, clutching the youngest child to her chest, jumped free of Trembling Sally's grasp. (29.31-34)

The fire consumes Trembling Sally, ending her reign of terror over Abby's life once and for all. No longer hunted and haunted by her lifelong antagonist, Abby isn't just free of the house fire—she's free to fully become herself. Which is exactly what she does. Right before she does so, though, there's one more bit about fire:

"There are two things children must remember," Patience advised.

"What is that?" asked Abby.

"Fire is warmth, and fire can burn."

"And when it burns…?"

"Yes?" the women echoed in a chorus.

"The holy water of women can mock the fires of hell," Patience witnessed.

"Turn its groaning rages to singing embers," another whispered.

[…]

Abby understood, her hands quiet on her cloth. (30.19-27)

What Abby understands here is the power of women. The connections that flow across generations—of women healing and helping and teaching each other—becomes clear to her in this moment. And with this clarity, Abby feels ready to fully play her part in this cycle, to unleash the fire within herself. After all, she's the woman who's marked by fire.