The Book Woman's Daughter

Honey’s best friend, or sister, is 19-year-old Pearl. The Role of Female Friendship is thoroughly explored through their relationship. They bond over their shared love of books, and Honey admires Pearl’s records, makeup, and jewelry. Pearl notices this admiration and pierces Honey’s ears, gifting her pearl earrings. Pearl’s defining features are a “silver bracelet full of charms” and short curly hair (15). Pearl eventually confides in Honey that she became a “fire-tower watcher” after the death of her boyfriend in a barn fire (15). This fire occurred in her hometown of Somerset. After moving to Troublesome, Pearl keeps in touch with her mother through regular phone calls and invites Honey to meet her when she comes to visit. Her father passed away after being wounded in World War II, and Pearl expresses how much she misses him. Pearl and Honey both highly value family.

Furthermore, Pearl and Honey look out for each other and the other women in their community, fighting Othering and Sexism in Rural Kentucky with The Role of Female Friendship. Pearl values Honey’s words and believes her when Honey warns her against dating Gillis, the violent, sexist primary antagonist. When confronted with sexist laws and a sexist sheriff, Pearl says, “There’s another law in Kentucky, one you won’t find in any books. A different justice that comes from our kin and the kin before us. We take care of our own” (251). Pearl is willing to use physical violence to protect herself and Honey; after Gillis and Robbie attack the watchtower, Pearl is ready to defend herself and Honey with an ax, though this is ultimately unnecessary.

Retta is a close friend of Honey’s family, and helped raise Honey. Retta “watched [Honey] for years while Mama tended her book routes” (55). When her parents are imprisoned, they have the lawyer Mr. Morgan file for Retta to become Honey’s guardian, demonstrating the familial closeness. However, shortly after she is awarded guardianship of Honey, 92-year-old Retta dies.

While she is ill, Retta tells Honey about attending the Midnight School, where adults met to learn how to read and write. She uses herbal cures to aid her symptoms: “Retta knew a lot about herbs and remedies, more than Doc even” (85). She wills the cabin to her nephew, Alonzo, intending for Honey to live there until she is legally old enough to own the property herself. Alonzo does not honor this wish, nor aid in end-of-life matters. It is Honey who hires a frontier nurse, arranges for Retta’s burial, and pays for her headstone. Taking on these responsibilities aids Honey in obtaining emancipation at the end of the novel.

Retta is tied to the theme of The Function of Books. Though she is deeply religious and states that the only book worth reading is the Bible, she acknowledges the importance of general literacy and says that children should read other books too. Her dying wish is for Honey to read her the Bible.

Bonnie is the cousin of Francis Moore, Honey’s romantic interest. To support her son after the death of her husband, Bonnie became a miner; Honey used to babysit her son. She warns Honey about the men who harass her at work, including Gillis, to the extent of cutting off her hair. Her experience with Sexism in Rural Kentucky inspires Honey to warn Pearl about Gillis, demonstrating The Role of Female Friendship.

Bonnie strongly believes in solidarity between women. She assists Wrenna, a young girl who was also assaulted by Gillis, in encouraging her pet rooster to attack Gillis; Gillis later dies of his injuries. Her willingness to enact revenge is reflected in her reading material: Honey notes that Bonnie carries The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson (273). After Gillis dies, the male miners leave her alone and she gets a better position. Her comment on the matter is, “We women don’t always have to work harder than them, jus’ smarter” (271).

While Bonnie throws sunflower seeds to encourage the rooster, Wrenna is the one who signals the bird that “hens” are in danger, activating its aggressive territorial instincts. Wrenna is cared for by Emma McCain, a healer, after the death of her parents. Emma’s folk traditions include the use of lodestones; Wrenna’s rooster eats the one Emma gives to Wrenna for protection. Wrenna does not understand that the rooster attack resulted in Gillis’ death, and is still running wild through the woods at the end of the novel.

Gillis is the antagonist of the novel and a strong representative for Othering and Sexism in Rural Kentucky. He is a miner who applied for the fire lookout job, and resents Pearl for getting it. He is responsible for several attacks on the tower, at least one of which is arson intended to kill Pearl and Honey.

Gillis physically assaults Wrenna and Bonnie and kills his wife, Guyla Belle. Before the rooster attack, Gillis is able to avoid responsibility for his crimes because he is related to the sheriff. Honey foreshadows Gillis’s death, sure that “the Devil comes calling and pushes a mud-rotted fist up from this blood-soaked earth to claim its sinner” (251). Gillis’s “sinful” characterization is developed with the theme of The Function of Books. He hates reading and destroys a copy of The Awakening that Honey gave to Guyla Belle. This indicates his immoral character to Honey.

Honey is able to convince her lawyer, Mr. Morgan, to get the state police involved after the sheriff refuses to do anything about Guyla Belle’s disappearance. Gillis’s son tips Honey off that Gillis threw Guyla Belle’s corpse in the well and had it covered over with concrete. Gillis is arrested in the hospital, but he dies of rooster-inflicted injuries before he can stand trial.