How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
A profound terror had taken possession of [Roxy]. Her child could grow up and be sold down the river! The thought crazed her with horror. (3.1)
Roxy's super emotional reaction to the prospect of being separated from her son defies a belief common in the 19th century that black women didn't feel as much attachment to their own children as they did to the white children they cared for.
Quote #2
[Roxy] paused awhile, thinking; then she burst into wild sobbings again, and turned away, saying, "Oh, I got to kill my chile, dy ain't no yuther way—killin' him wouldn't save de chile fum goin' down de river. Oh, I got to do it, yo' po' mammy's got to kill you to save you, honey." (3.3)
If Roxy had gone through with this plan, not only would she be saving her son from slavery, she'd be making a pretty big statement. Infanticide, or the killing of an infant, was considered a form of resistance to slavery since it was a way in which black women could destroy the property of their masters.
Quote #3
[Roxy] saw her darling gradually cease from being her son, she saw that detail perish utterly; all that was left was master—pure and simple, and it was not a gentle mastership, either. She saw herself sink from the sublime height of motherhood to the somber depths of unmodified slavery. (4.21)
Uh, maybe this whole switching babies thing wasn't such a great idea after all. It seems that Roxy was so concerned with helping her son escape slavery that she didn't consider the consequences for herself until it was too late.