Suzette

Daughter of Elisabeth and Gerasime, Suzette is born into slavery and lives in the plantation house as nursemaid and companion to the niece of the plantation owner, though Suzette and the young girl are the same age. Suzette's life is difficult but perhaps less so than that of the slaves who work the fields of the plantation. Suzette's mother worries that Suzette's ideas and priorities have been skewed by the fact that she spends so much time in the plantation house rather than in the slave quarters where her family lives. Suzette, though conscientious in her work, cannot seem to help dreaming of a better life, first for herself and later for her children. As she ages, Suzette is obviously torn and sometimes feels that she spends too little time in the slave quarters. After the slaves are freed, Suzette is the one member of the family who...