Rebecca Harding Davis "Life in the Iron Mills"

Journal #4
Posted by Melissa Veum
Engl 48A
10-01-09

"Deborah was stupid with sleep; her back pained her sharply; and her teeth chattered with cold, with the rain that soaked her clothes and dripped from her at every step. She stood, however, patiently holding the pail, and waiting (Davis, 2604)."

“Reform is born of need, not pity. No vital movement of the people has worked down, for good or evil; fermented, instead, carried up the heaving, cloggy mass (thinkexist.com)."

This passage from Davis talks about how patient, loving, and giving Deborah was of Hugh. She was extremely tired and cold and still walked the mile to Hugh's workplace in the freezing weather, drenched beyond belief. Throughout the story Deborah seems to always be in pain, dirty, and freezing from being soaking wet constantly. She came to deliver Hugh's dinner to him, even though he wasn't expecting it. He was working and did not really acknowledge her at first, so she patiently waited. Even after he had begun eating she still waited for Hugh and did what he wanted her to do; wait for him by taking a nap on the warm ashes.

Deborah shows immense respect and loyalty towards Hugh throughout this passage.The quote is just one example of this. She did not need to walk to Hugh's workplace, through the dirty, gloomy streets, but she did, showing that she cares and has love for him. She shows that he comes first and that she is loyal and despite her many pains, she still thinks of him first. That he needs to eat, that his workday is very long, and that he needs to be respected. I like how this quote says that Deborah was "stupid with sleep" because that shows just how tired she was and in the passages following you see that she really is stupid by stealing something from Mitchell. Maybe if she wasn't in so much pain and so tired, she would have thought more about what she was doing and not made the worst mistake of her life.