Dolls

The “topsy-turvy” doll that May Belle makes for Varina symbolizes the entwined lives of Varina and Rue, who are combined in this one doll (149). For Rue, the doll is symbolic of the way her identity is subsumed by Varina’s, as the doll she had hoped her mother was making for her turns out to be just the flip side of Varina’s birthday present. Rue really has no birthday of her own or presents to go with it. Instead, she exists to entertain Varina, and her status as a plaything for her white friend is cruelly brought home when she sees herself a doll in its owner’s hands. At the same time, the doll encapsulates May Bell’s clever (witch)craft. Her doll babies uncannily resemble the people they are meant to represent, whereas the lifeless, ornamental dolls in Varina’s bedroom symbolize the...