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The Vanishing Half is about the lives of two identical twin girls. They are both black light-skinned girls who flee their homes at the age of sixteen. While Stella lives her life pretending to be white, Desiree marries a dark-skinned Black man and has a child with him. The book follows their lives over generations as they grow apart from one another while yet being connected. It's a story that examines the complexities of race, family, and identity.
“You were supposed to be safe in Mallard-that strange, separate town- hidden amongst your own. But even here, where nobody married dark, you were still colored and that meant that white men could kill you for refusing to die. The Vignes twins were reminders of this, tiny girls in funeral dresses who grew up without a daddy because white men decided that it would be so.” (Pg 35)
Restless, stubborn & rebellious
Quotes - “...unlike Desiree, who rushed around each morning to find a clean dress and finish the homework crushed in the bottom of her book bag.” (Pg 9)
“Desiree hated helping her mother clean. Plunging her hands into dirty dishwater, stooping over mops, knowing that someday, her fingers would also grow fat and gnarled from scrubbing white folk’ clothes. But at least there would be no more tests or studying or memoring, no more listening to lectures, bored to tears. She was an adult now. Finally, life would really begin. (pg 10-11)
Abusive Relationship and Ridicule
Quotes - “The first time Sam hit her, Desiree started to think about returning home.” (Pg 15)
She lowered the chicken into the oven, and when she turned, Sam’s hand smashed hot against her mouth.”
“Leave him,” her friend Roberta told her over the phone.”
“It ain’t that simple,” Desiree said.
“Why?” Roberta said. “You love him? And he loves you so much, he knocked your head off your shoulders?”
“It wasn’t that bad,” she said.
(Pg 16)
“In Mallard, nobody married dark. Nobody left either, but Desiree had already done that. Marrying a dark man and dragging his blueblack child all over town was one step too far.”
(Pg 5)
Attachment to Stella
“The thought had always terrified Desiree, Stella moving to Atlanta or D.C. without her. A small part of her felt relieved; now Stella couldn’t possibly leave her behind. Still, she hated to see her sister sad.” (Pg 11)
“She was beginning to feel as if an escape door had appeared before her, and if she waited any longer, it might disappear forever. But she couldn’t go without Stella. She’d never been without her sister and part of her wondered if she could even survive the separation.” (Pg 13-14)
“She don’t want to be found. You gotta let her go. Live her life.” “This ain’t her life!” Desiree said. “None of it woulda happened if I didn’t tell her to take that job. Or drag her to New Orleans, period. That city wasn’t no good for Stella. You was right all along.” (Pg 68)
Quotes - “She was always so practical. On Sunday nights, Stella ironed her clothes for the entire week…” (Pg 9)
“She was too young to look this tired, but she must be, fighting all the time. Stella never fought. She always gave in. She was a coward that way.” (Pg 22)
“Stella liked school. She’d earn top marks in arithmetic since kindergarten, and during her sophomore year, Mrs. Belton even allowed her to teach a few classes to the younger grades”. (Pg 9)
“She wanted to go to college someday and of course she’d get into Spelman or Howard or wherever else she wanted to go.” (Pg 11)
“But sometimes lying was an act of love. Stella had spent too long lying to tell the truth now, or maybe, there was nothing left to reveal. Maybe this was who she had become.” (Pg 259)
“In the lobby, the colored elevator operator gazed at the floor when she stepped on. She ignored him, the way Stella might have. She felt queasy at how simple it was. All there was to being white was acting like you were.” (Pg 75)
“She couldn’t tell what unnerved her more, picturing a colored family moving in or imagining what might be done to stop them.” (Pg 160)