Structure

The novel is divided into three sections, The Darky, The Wench, and The Negress, and is bookended by a prologue and epilogue. These sections, their titles and points of view in particular, map Dessa's road to freedom and self-possession. The Darky, dominated by Nehemiah's point of view, presents his version of who Dessa is, her story and substance filtered through the perspective of a well-to-do white man. The Wench, steered primarily by Rufel's point of view, illustrates the white woman's impression of Dessa's character and history. The final section, The Negress, lives behind Dessa's first person perspective, proving her ultimate jurisdiction over her mind, body, and identity. Italicized sections detailing Dessa's dreams, punctuate the first two larger sections. The third person also shifts behind Dessa's lens a few times within Chapters 1 - 4. These structural choices create a tension between Dessa and the other characters, between her point of view and theirs, their impression of her, and her developing sense of self.