Dessa Rose is a character by Shirley Anne Williams as a strong African American woman who has been facing the world of black slavery alone while also being subjected to racial as well as gender based discrimination specially at the hands of the white men. The theme of the book Dessa Rose is the journey that she has taken to create a future for herself, other black females and her son in a time of black slavery. The theme of the character Dessa Rose is akin with the theme of the novel as well.
Dessa Rose the character is shown to be lively black woman who leads a rebellion against black slavery while vying for her rights as a female as well as a black slave who has equal rights as a white female. Her anguish for white men is depicted when inquired in the novel as to why she kills the white men. She simply replies that she does so as she is able to conduct such an act now. This shows her revulsion and hatred towards the white men in light of the treatment that she and her loved ones have received at their hands.
Dessa Rose also shows signs of weakness and frailty especially when she remembers the life and the death of her lover. The initial reaction of Dessa Rose to the death of her lover Kaine is that of bereavement and distraught. However with time it becomes more of a good/ happy memory for her to re-live the good times that she shared with Kaine to help her get through the difficult times later on in her life. Additionally the death of Kaine also fuels the hatred that she has for the white men.
However with the birth of her son Dessa Rose becomes more protective and more motivated to survive in while facing the challenges thrown at her for seeing her son grow up to become a man. Throughout the story she works hard towards securing a good future laden with freedom for her son. Due to her life as a female black slave Dessa Rose is highly suspicious of the fairer race including both the white men and women. She is apprehensive of Adam Nehemiah as she sees him as a person who would reveal Dessa’s story through a historical yet traditionally ‘white’ perspective.
As a result she resists Nehemiah’s visit by getting into an oral contest with him. Ruth or Rufel is a white woman who wants to help Dessa Rose, however Dessa Rose is apprehensive as well as suspicious of Ruth as well. This is mainly because of the fact that Ruth is white and therefore belongs to a race that has been targeting Dessa Rose and her kin with slavery. Dessa Rose always sees Ruth with suspicion mostly due to the fact that Ruth assumes an automatic power that she can reside with over Dessa Rose despite the fact that both of them are females in similar situations and therefore possibly equal.
This is basically what creates and maintains a rift between Dessa and Ruth. In one incident Dessa Rose even accuses Ruth of not knowing her Mammy’s name or her at all as she has never bothered to ask mammy about her identity. Dessa Rose wants a voice for herself and her people particularly the black females who have been oppressed at the hands of their white enslavers. In order to get her story across and to get her rights she resorts to trickery, bribery and even cunning intelligence to help her out of tight fixes with the local government and the authorities in order to protect her son and his future.
