Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -… [517]

It’s the Moss attitude that gets me. Richard Moss lets his wives and daughters pull things like this. He works them like slaves in his gardens and rabbit raising operation and around the house, but he lets them pretend they’re “ladies” when it comes to any community effort. If they don’t want to do their part, he always backs them up. This is dangerous and stupid. It’s a breeding ground for resentment. No Moss woman has ever stood a watch. I’m not the only one who’s noticed. — , Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -…, 517

Note

The chapter’s sharpest piece of social analysis, and it works through juxtaposition: ‘works them like slaves’ against the scare-quoted ‘ladies,’ labor versus the performance of exemption. The clipped final sentence (‘I’m not the only one who’s noticed’) converts private irritation into a community grievance without raising its voice.