Marked by Fire Tone

Hopeful

We often use more than one word to describe the tone of a book, but in the case of Marked by Fire, the book is resolutely, steadfastly, unrelentingly hopeful. Hopeful is truly the best word to describe the tone—despite the fact that the book tackles abandonment, sexual violence, spousal abuse, and more. For instance, consider this passage:

When looking, each woman imagined a miracle. Mother Barker imagined the flower ceremonies of spring. Patience imagined the sparkle of a bird's throat. Mother Barker saw a fierce, abiding affection tempered by the fire flickering from the sacred shrine of her heart. Patience meditated on energy from the indelible spirit stored beneath the rich colors of her skin and hair. (9.57)

This is part of how Patience and Mother Barker help Abyssinia heal after she's raped by Brother Jacobs. She is just a child, destroyed physically and psychologically by what's happened to her, but instead of focusing in on this darkness and destruction, Thomas hones in on the value of hope. Here we see the belief that hope can heal in action in the text—and this belief permeates the book at every sharp turn it takes.