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A Brief Summary

Born out of wedlock to her fifteen-year-old mother, Anney Boatwright, Ruth Anne, affectionately nicknamed "Bone," is labeled a bastard right from birth. This fact seems to haunt her mother, despite her multiple attempts to fix Bone's birth certificate. Things seem to be looking up as her mother finds a man she truly loves to marry, but he soon dies in a car accident. After years working in a diner to try and support her two daughters, Anney ends up marrying Glen Waddell, a rather unsuccessful son of a dairy farmer. Though the rest of Bone's family, an affable Granny and a varied collection of aunts, uncles, and cousins, are supportive and kind to Bone, her stepfather is anything but.

 

Angry and volatile, Glen begins to beat and molest Bone, and though her mother knows of the treatment, she does nothing to stop it - only leaving Glen for a few weeks when his beating lands Bone in the hospital. Constantly moving and constantly poor, Bone's only reprieves are the few moments when her mother sends her to stay with other family members: Aunt Ruth and Aunt Raylene, specifically. There, Bone nurses her anger and ever-hardening exterior, becoming rougher and meaner - even as she turns to gospel music for comfort. She moves from school to school, makes friends with a particularly ill-treated and nasty albino named Shannon Pearl, breaks into a store, steals, and longs to be like the fighting, jail-going men in her family. 

 

After a particularly rough beating, Bone's Aunt Raylene finds the bruises and blood on Bone's body, and the uncles beat Glen to an awful, bloody state. Angry, hurt, and still compassionate, Bone blames herself for her mother's newfound unhappiness, believing she is the reason things have become so broken. Anney is still at a loss of what to do, but Bone swears she will never live with Glen again. Glen, however, thinks Bone is the key to convincing Anney to come back to live with him, and ends up finding Bone at her Aunt Alma's house, beating her senseless, and viciously raping her. Anney sees it happen, and while at first she seems to finally come to her senses and begins to protect her child (throwing things at Glen and dragging Bone to the car while Glen apologizes), she ultimately breaks down, leaving Bone in the car while she cuddles Glen to her chest and breaks down into tears with him.

 

Bone wakes up in the hospital with no clue as to her mother's whereabouts. Her Aunt Raylene brings her to her house, and there she stays for a time. Anney shows up for one last visit, telling Bone she loves her, and leaving her with a birth certificate missing the large, red mark her mother always hated: ILLEGITIMATE. Bone is left confused, too young to understand what she has suffered through, but wise enough to know exactly what sort of person she will be when she, herself, grows up.

Merriam-Webster defines sadomasochism as "the derivation of pleasure from the infliction of physical or mental pain either on others or on oneself" and "sexual behavior that involves getting pleasure from causing or feeling pain" (2). Most often, though not always, this behavior is exhibited in indivduals suffering from emotional problems. Also, suffering from previous abuse can contribute to the desire for this self-destructive form of pleasure.

Merriam-Webster defines feminism as "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes" and "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities" (1). It is not, as many think, the belief that women should be raised in power over men. Feminist writers tackle the inequality of the genders through their prose, poetry, and essays.

These two concepts are prevalent themes throughout the novel, and if you analyze the text with these concepts in mind, you get a very intense and deeply-felt reading. The Sadomasochism, especially, is seen in more characters than you might think. I focus mainly on Bone and her experience with both concepts, bringing to light an issue with sexuality in young women that most people would rather ignore than acknowledge; an issue that too many girls have had to suffer.

What about Bastard?
What is Sadomasochism?
What is Feminism?

"You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation." - Brigham Young

"People pay for what they do, and still more, for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it simply: by the lives they lead." - James Baldwin

Fig. 1 - 6.

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