Images of racism
The novel is replete with images of racial prejudice. Olivia is ridiculed by the whites and by Mrs. Merton just because she was the daughter of a former slave owner. She says, “I am disappointed in England; I expected to meet with sensible, liberal, well-informed and rational people, and I have not found them; I see a compound of folly and dissimulation.” Then, there are images of a whole community in Jamaica who suffered this racism, and all the members of the community were focusing only to heal their minds from the western racist attitudes.
Images of Christ
The images of Christ have been presented through the character of Olivia’s maid dido, who helps her in escaping from Britain. She brings Olivia back from the trauma of her life to a new home and gives her new identity and a new life. She doesn’t care for her own life and treats Olivia like her family. She also acts as Olivia’s mother and a savior when she seems to need her mother.
Images of persecution
There are images of Olivia being persecuted by her family. Firstly, she is persecuted by her father when she was forced to Augustus and later on, she was mistreated by her husband. She says, “Servitude, slavery, in its worst form, would be preferable to finding myself the wife of a man by whom I was not beloved.” At the end of the novel, there are images of Olivia becoming mad because of being wronged by both the society and her family.
