54 pages • 1 hour read
Meagan ChurchThe Last Carolina Girl
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Autonomy in the Face of Adversity
In The Last Carolina Girl, Leah’s journey illustrates the personal struggles of those oppressed by societal constraints. Left orphaned by her father’s death, Leah must learn to navigate a challenging situation, especially at the hands of the abusive Mrs. Griffin. As the novel progresses, Leah develops a stronger sense of autonomy, ultimately taking control of her life.
Leah faces significant challenges to her autonomy once she moves into the Griffins’ home. Mrs. Griffin denies her the opportunity to go to school, forcing Leah to work as an unpaid housekeeper for the family instead. Mrs. Griffin openly insults Leah with impunity, calling her “simpleminded” and responding with harshness whenever Leah does something that displeases her. Mrs. Griffin also seeks to deny Leah’s bodily autonomy, first by shearing off her hair in a fit of rage and, even more significantly, by arranging Leah’s forced sterilization surgery. This pivotal moment in the narrative underscores the devastating impact of stripping individuals of their autonomy under the guise of societal betterment.
Leah, however, gradually grows in confidence and strength over the course of the narrative. She begins to cast a more critical eye on the Griffins, especially once she discovers that Mrs. Griffin has been hiding Jesse’s letters from her. Leah concocts an escape plan step-by-step: She manages to send Jesse a letter inviting him to a fair and then writes another letter telling him that she must leave the Griffins for good. When she realizes the full implications of her forced surgery, Leah makes a definitive break with the Griffins, burning the dress she wore to the ball and confronting her aunt and uncle directly about how they have kept their true connection to her a secret. In doing so, Leah not only breaks Mrs. Griffin’s hold over her but also secures her own release: Mr. Griffin agrees to take her back to the Barnas, where Leah can at last build a life on her own terms as a free woman.
Leah’s personal development thus illustrates the various abuses that marginalized or disadvantaged individuals may face while also celebrating her resiliency and resourcefulness in learning to take back control of her life despite many obstacles. By the novel’s end, Leah is an old woman who is still impacted by the grief her forced sterilization has caused her, but she is also a woman who has found love and freedom in the home she has always dreamed of.
The Complexities of Home and Family
The Last Carolina Girl explores the complexities of home and family, particularly through Leah’s personal journey. While Leah begins the novel with a very narrow definition of what home is or could be, she eventually adopts a more nuanced understanding of what family and belonging truly are.
In the novel’s opening chapters, Leah feels insecure when school bullies taunt her about her lack of a mother. Her feelings of shame worsen when Harley dies, as Leah cannot fathom showing her face at school, knowing that if her bullies “call[] [her] an orphan again, [she’ll] have no defense” (52). Even without her father, Leah wishes to remain in their former cottage, even if it means living alone—she cannot fathom creating a different sense of family or a different type of home. Leah’s response highlights the societal stigma attached to being orphaned and underscores her ongoing quest to forge her own identity and sense of belonging in a world that often marginalizes those without conventional family ties.
While Leah originally hopes that the Griffins will accept her into their family, she is met with harsh rejection, with Mrs. Griffin even assigning her a room outside of the house. At first, Leah responds by working hard to earn Mrs. Griffin’s acceptance: “I started asking questions, carrying on a conversation, asking for a story, wishing I could do the same with my own mama” (111-12). However, the longer Leah cohabitates with the Griffins, the more she realizes how detached the family members are from each other. As Leah observes, “I’d come to see that Mrs. Griffin had ideals for everyone in her family. She had a picture of what she wanted, and she did her best to mold them into the picture she had in mind” (214). The Griffins exist as a family in name only—Mrs. Griffin never accepts her children for who they are or shows them any love or affection. With her assumptions about traditional families shattered, Leah feels called to return to Supply to be near Jesse.
Leah’s return to the Barnas solidifies her evolved understanding of home and family. Leah recognizes, “I guess that’s the thing about coming home; it’s not the home that’s changed, it’s the person coming back who has” (282). Having undergone significant emotional growth, Leah’s perspective about social norms and priorities in defining family are reshaped: She ends the novel knowing that families are created through ties of love and support, not mere genetics.
The Shortcomings of Upward Mobility
Leah introduces the theme of “wanting more” early in the narrative, shaping a complex view of the pursuit of wealth and status. Her desires for material goods, such as art supplies and elegant dresses, are often tempered by feelings of remorse. As Leah observes the Griffin family more closely, she becomes more aware of the shortcomings of upward mobility and the price people pay if they value appearances and status above genuine emotional authenticity.
Mrs. Griffin has a deep-seated motivation for wanting to achieve social mobility. As she ultimately discloses to Leah, “Daddy was worthless. Couldn’t farm worth a darn, couldn’t afford the doctor when Mama got sick” (277-78). This revelation humanizes Mrs. Griffin, portraying her as a product of her difficult circumstances. Having suffered from poverty and parental neglect, Mrs. Griffin now seeks to ensure her family's security and prosperity. However, Mrs. Griffin ignores everything she sacrifices while social climbing. In grooming her children to fit in with other high-society families, Mrs. Griffin raises them to be fearful and secretive, hiding parts of themselves from their mother when anticipating her disapproval. Mrs. Griffin’s relentless pursuit of social status creates a tense and inauthentic family environment, with her children resorting to covert actions to assert their individuality and maintain some semblance of autonomy.
Mrs. Griffin’s beliefs about the class system and societal advancement reach their apex when she forces Leah to endure a sterilization procedure. Mrs. Griffin prides herself on this deplorable act, fully believing that she is improving society by sterilizing her niece. Meanwhile, Leah recalls feeling like “one of those rats hanging on the poster board. [She] was one of the tainted ones, the burden needing fixing” (278). Mrs. Griffin’s justification for Leah’s sterilization epitomizes her misplaced sense of societal duty, where she perceives herself as enacting a righteous measure for the greater good. The fact that she also deliberately hides the fact that she is Leah’s aunt for most of the novel reinforces her commitment to maintaining a social façade that is based on lies and abuse.
Having witnessed the miseries in the Griffin family, Leah rejects their inauthentic lifestyle for one that is rooted in deep interpersonal relationships and simple, honest labor. Instead of seeking wealth and prioritizing outward appearance, Leah learns to support herself through growing produce, settles down with Jesse, and eventually has the home she’s always wanted. While the novel leaves the fate of the Griffins ambiguous, Leah’s own happy marriage and dignified independence imply that she has ultimately found a more satisfying way to live.
