Yellow Wife

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of racism, sexual violence, graphic violence, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The title Yellow Wife refers to Pheby’s position as a woman of mixed race who becomes the enslaved mistress of a white jailer. What feelings did this title evoke for you before reading? How did your understanding of it change as you progressed through the novel?

2. Johnson builds her story around the historical setting of the Devil’s Half Acre in Richmond. What impact did this real historical setting have on your reading experience? Have you read other historical novels about slavery such as Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and if so, how does Johnson’s approach compare?

3. Which scenes or moments in Yellow Wife affected you most powerfully? Why do you think Johnson chose to include such graphic depictions of enslavement’s brutality rather than softening some of the harsher realities?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Ruth teaches Pheby that no one can own her mind. What personal mantras or words of wisdom have guided you through difficult circumstances in your own life?

2. Throughout the novel, Pheby must make impossible choices to protect herself and her children. When have you faced a situation where none of your options seemed ideal? What factors helped you decide which path to take?

3. What forms of resistance or self-expression, similar to Pheby’s secret recording of enslaved people’s names and stories, have you turned to when facing challenging situations in your own life?

4. The complex mother-daughter relationship between Ruth and Pheby shapes who Pheby becomes and the choices she makes. In what ways has your relationship with a parent or mentor influenced your core values or approach to adversity?

5. Pheby’s piano playing provides her with moments of escape and eventually becomes crucial to her survival at Lapier’s jail. What skills or talents have you relied on during challenging periods in your life?

6. In the novel, Pheby experiences contradictory emotions, including feeling jealous of Rubin’s attention to other women despite not loving him. Can you recall a time when you felt conflicting emotions that seemed incompatible? How did you reconcile these feelings?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Johnson explores how enslavement affected everyone within the system, including white enslavers like Delphina and Rubin who become dehumanized by their participation. In what ways does this perspective challenge or enhance our understanding of this period in American history?

2. Yellow Wife is based on the true story of Mary Lumpkin, a woman enslaved by Robert Lumpkin at the Devil’s Half Acre. Why do you think stories of enslaved women like Mary have often been overlooked in historical narratives? What value do you see in recovering and telling these hidden histories?

3. The Epilogue reveals that Pheby transformed Devil’s Half Acre into “God’s Half Acre” after Rubin’s death. How does this transformation reflect broader questions about how we should address spaces with violent or traumatic histories today?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What significance does the red dress hold throughout the novel? How does this garment evolve from being Ruth’s possession to becoming a symbol of both connection to Pheby’s mother and Pheby’s own resilient identity?

2. In what ways does Johnson’s three-part structure, moving from Bell Plantation to Lapier’s jail to “Bully Trader,” mirror Pheby’s emotional and psychological journey throughout the narrative?

3. The journal Pheby keeps represents both resistance and remembrance in the story. How does this object function as a symbol of defiance compared to other symbols in the novel?

4. Straw appears repeatedly throughout the novel, connecting Essex, Monroe, and Pheby in various scenes. How does this simple element gain emotional significance as the story progresses? What might it symbolize about connection and survival in circumstances where little else remains constant?

5. Johnson tells the entire story through Pheby’s first-person perspective until the Epilogue. What emotional impact does this narrative choice create for readers? How might the novel have differed if told through multiple perspectives or from a third-person viewpoint?

6. The relationship between submission and defiance appears as a major theme throughout Yellow Wife. How do characters like Pheby, Ruth, and Essex navigate this complex balance? What does the novel suggest about resistance within seemingly impossible circumstances?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine writing a letter to Monroe as an adult about his mother’s choices and sacrifices. What would you tell him about Pheby’s decisions? How would you explain the complex relationship between survival and compromise that defined her life?

2. Pheby’s journal documented the names and stories of enslaved people who passed through Lapier’s jail. If historians discovered this journal today, what impact might these recorded stories have on our understanding of this period?

3. If you were in Pheby’s position after gaining ownership of Lapier’s jail, what specific changes would you make to transform the Devil’s Half Acre into a space that both acknowledges past suffering and creates something healing and new?

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