Chains Courage Quotes

Isabel's courage to step forward and address Mr. Robert regarding her freedom is the first time we start to suspect that Isabel's not one to just sit back and take orders. What's interesting, though, is that she seems to take for granted that she won't have to argue the finer points of Miss Mary's decision. Initially she's concerned about where she and Ruth will go once they're freed, unaware that the first step is still up for debate.

If you want more information about how Poppa empowers Isabel's life in spite of his absence, you can check out his profile in the "Characters" section, as well as read up on him in the theme of family—but it's pretty clear that Isabel inherited his bravery in standing up for people he cares about. Poppa's willing to shed blood to keep his family together, while Isabel, too, is willing to die for Ruth, Curzon, and Lady Seymour.

Is there someone whom you love enough to protect by taking a blow for them? Braving the pain to keep that person from experiencing it would take a lot of courage. Here, Isabel models the bravery that sacrifice requires by taking the responsibility for Ruth's laughter.

Even though she knows what the right thing to do is, Isabel nonetheless wrestles with the potential consequences of her actions several times in the book. Still, she always comes out on the side of suppressing her fear in favor of the greater good that could come from her actions. In this case, she chooses to willingly break the rules in hopes that she can use Master Lockton's bribery plot to win their freedom.

Let's take a minute to appreciate the seriousness of what Isabel's doing here. Armed with her secret spy password, she walks into a Patriot military base and demands to see Colonel Regan. The idea of a slave even speaking to an army official, let alone walking into his quarters, would have been unthinkable. Still, Isabel knows it's a risk she must take in order to free her and Ruth from the danger of the Locktons' home.

Directly confronting Madam about selling Ruth takes guts, and calling her a "miserable cow" takes sheer fearlessness. At this point, there's no time for Isabel to consider what could happen to her for doing this. With Ruth's life at stake, a potential beating seems to be the least of her troubles.

If you don't think Isabel's a superhero by this point in the book, you might want to stop and assess what just happened. Isabel just carried an elderly woman out of the fiery inferno of her burning house. Not only that, but she manages to rescue Lady Seymour's husband's portrait as well and is willing to leave behind her prized possession—Ruth's doll—in order to do it. Now that's bravery and selflessness.

When Isabel watches Hickey's execution earlier in the story, it's not just attendance at a public spectacle—it's a reminder of what could happen to her if her activities on behalf of the Patriots were exposed. Again, though, her desire to help Curzon in prison overcomes even her fear of death.

Isabel might seem superhuman at times, but she's not immune to the paralyzing, nausea-inducing fear that comes from doing something that could get you flogged or worse. Even though she's brought low by terror, she still has it in her to get back up and continue her mission.

Why is burning a piece of paper such a big deal, you might ask? When Isabel destroys Captain Farrar's note, she's not just defying Madam Lockton's orders, she's declaring once and for all that she sides with the Patriots… which means she is also defying the code that slaves are to align themselves politically with their owners. It's a highly symbolic gesture that makes it clear that she will no longer play by slavery's rules.