Mrs. Lockton In Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains

“Among all the species and degrees of slavery that have excited the attention of mankind . . . there is perhaps none more pitiable than that of the ill-sooted wife. She is bound by ties from which nothing but death can release her, and whatever her suffering and her wrongs is compelled by delicacy and a regard for personal reputation . . . to submit to them in silence, and conceal them from observation.” - Unsigned Colonial-era letter. This quote perfectly describes the situation in which Mrs. Lockton, a character from Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel, Chains, finds herself in. Her story takes place in a revolutionary war torn New York. The novel is centered in a loyalist household where Isabel is a slave to Madam Lockton. They both must resist the chains by which life and
society bounds them. Even though they have different statuses in society, Mrs. Lockton and Isabel are similar in the sense that they are each subject to a type of slavery, and they are fighting for their freedom. In Chains, the characters of Mrs. Lockton and Isabel have different statuses in society, yet they are also the victims of types of slavery.
Due to the racial biases at this time, Isabel, having black skin was considered a lesser person, and was a slave from the time she was born. Isabel started in a kinder household, where she came her closest to freedom, but had the chance taken away from her when she was sold to a new family. At a very young age Isabel began working for Mrs. Lockton, with her sister Ruth, and saw the true unfairness of slavery. She was mistreated and abused by her mistress. This time her masters went by the names of Mrs. and Mr. Lockton, this leads us to our next character, Madam Lockton. Even though she was wealthy, Mrs. Lockton was also born into a form of slavery. As a woman she was always the property of a man, whether it be her father, or her husband. She continually tried to stand up for herself, even though she was beaten because her husband saw her as property. Society thought that the man's life should be protected over the woman’s, because they are more valuable. “She stopped as Madam cried out in pain. ‘The master likes to be obeyed. He’s not happy she wants to head for Charleston. And she don’t want to stay here.” This is a quote from Becky, a servant in the Lockton household.
This quote shows us that women were considered objects that should not have an opinion. Mr. Lockton beats her, and justifies it because women were objectified at this time. In this way, Madam Lockton is caught in a woman’s slavery to her husband. Women at this time were expected to publically appear strong, and uphold their family name. In this way, Madam was the slave to societal norms. She had to cover up her bruises and act like nothing was wrong in public. “She covered the bruises still visible on Madam Lockton’s face with a thick white layer of Molyneux’s Italian Paste and told her she must not show weakness.” This citation is when Lady Seymour, Mr. Locktons aunt makes Madam go to church and hide the welts on her face, given to her by Mr.Lockton. This informs us that women at this time were expected to act normal and cover up their flaws, as society sees them, in order to “not show weakness”. Thus we can see the similarities between Isabel and Mrs. Lockton in their situations.
Mrs. Lockton and Isabel are in similar positions, yet to further prove my point, that they have alike personalities, we must look at the way in which they react to their situations. The characters of Isabel and Mrs. Lockton are both rebellious to their conditions, and attempt to stand up for themselves. Isabel, who is mistreated by her mistress, Madam Lockton, is very rebellious. She spies in order to earn her freedom, and will do much more, going to extreme extents in order to break her chains of slavery. She stands up to her mistress when her sister is taken, and runs away in attempt to gain freedom, but fails. Isabel also acts as a spy for the patriot cause. She is rebelling against the political ideas of her master, which she truly disagrees with. Madam Lockton is also rebellious in the sense that she tries to stand up to her husband, and even though she is repeatedly beaten, she continues to do it. Madam is aware of consequences that may befall her if she stands up for herself, for she has been beaten before, yet she still tries to make her point heard. Both Madam Lockton and Isabel are doing things that are unheard of for their time. They are going against societal norms, and they are breaking out of the box. During this time, it was unprecedented to do such things, and in this way, both Isabel and Madam Lockton were rebelling. They knew the consequences they could suffer, yet they still continued to fight. “‘A Loyalist, sir, who would beat me bloody if he knew I was here.’” This quote is from Isabel as she is at the Patriots camp, and she states who her master is. This tells us that she is fully aware of the possible consequences, yet she still decides to proceed with her spying. Madam Lockton is also persistent in her rebelling. “As I closed the door, Madam started again, begging him to take her with him, or at least to let her know where he was going.” Right before this happened, Madam had begged to go with him, for it, she was hit so hard that she flew into the bookshelf. Then she decided to start again, because she was fighting for what she thought was right. From this, we know that both Isabel and Madam fight for themselves, which is not normal for this time. They rebel against their tyrants, and will continue to do so until they have won what they want, freedom. In short, the characters of Isabel and Mrs. Lockton are similar not only in their situations, but in the way they rebel towards it.
Lastly, Mrs. Lockton and Isabel may be similar in their rebellion, yet they also have a passion, invisible to each other, yet obvious to the reader. Our characters, Mrs. Lockton and Isabel each have the spirit of a fighter. It may be difficult to find, but if you take a closer look at their personalities, it is completely visible. Isabel has a spirit of a lion, this is seen in her rebellion against Madam Lockton, when she finds out that her sister was taken. In this scene, Isabel truly shows her passion and spirit, as she terrifies Madam Lockton, even though she only walked up the stairs. She was able to frighten Madam Lockton because she had so much passion and love for her sister. “She did not look into my eyes, she did not see the lion inside. She did not see the me of me, the Isabel.” In this case, Isabel is incorrect that Madam Lockton cannot see her. Mrs. Lockton can see Isabel's spirit, yet she refuses to because she is afraid of Isabel and justifies her cruelness by not seeing her as a human. Even though Isabel disagrees with me, In this cite, she is recognizing her own spirit. She knows that Madam is scared of her, and should be, because Isabel has an immense amount of passion, and Mrs. Lockton took away Ruth, Isabel's sister. Madam Lockton, although more subtle, has a lot of spirit as well. She yells back at her husband when they get into fights, and isn’t just a submissive housewife. “‘I will not!’ she shouted. ‘I will not be left at the mercy of our enemies while you slink away!’” This quote is from Madam Lockton, as she and her husband get in a fight over the fact that he wants to leave he in New York, while he runs for safety. She feels so strongly that her husband should not leave her, as he shouldn’t, that she throws his china snuff jar into the wall. This shows us her passion, and spirit, and that she too has strength, and an opinion. Isabel and Madam Lockton both have so much spirit, and when they thought that there was nothing they could do to get their loved ones back, they reacted in similar ways. They became emotionally detached from the world, as if they were living in their own bubble. Isabel had nothing left to pray for, and she had been defeated. “Melancholy held me hostage, and the bees built a hive of sadness in my soul.” This is a cite describing Isabel's depression after she convinced herself that there was no way to get Ruth back. She became drowned in depression and sadness, much like Madam Lockton. “Becky pointed upstairs, where Madam lay atop the coverlet on her bed, asleep. She had stayed muddy in strong wine since Lockton fled the city.” This cite shows us that Madam Lockton is also defeated by her loved ones not being here. She is depressed, and ever since her husband left, she has been drinking in order to block out her emotions. From this, we can see how Isabel and Mrs. Lockton’s spirits are also similar, showing us that the two of them have very similar characters.
In conclusion, the characters of Isabel and Mrs. Lockton, in the novel chains are very similar. These two women, who are in the same situation, rebel against it, thus showing their passion. From this, we can deduce that the characters of Isabel and Mrs. Lockton are in fact very similar. Madam Lockton, a wealthy woman, who is beaten by her husband and bound by the slavery a woman must endure in the revolutionary era, is in fact full of rebellion and passion. She dares to break the chains of society, as does her slave, Isabel. This young girl was born into slavery, yet she didn’t except her life as it was. she continually fights for her freedom, and through this we can see the rebellion of a lion spirited girl. From this, we can see how a master and her slave can resemble each others character. Thus I have proven how Isabel and Madam Lockton, from Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel, chains, indeed have very similar personalities.