He spoke kinder than usual, and said he should come back; but it didn't deceive me" (Chap. 34, pg. 518). In just the first part of her story, Cassy describes painful experiences, falling so deeply in love just to be sold like furniture. It is easy to see how someone going through this can become bitter. When Cassy says 'but it didn't deceive me', this is there first time we see her lack of faith and trust in the people around her.
Once he was gone, the cousin took Cassy and the children, showing proof of the sale and learns that he had planned to get her former owner in debt so that he would be able to have them for his own, threatening to sell the kids if Cassy ever misbehaved. She couldn't lose them, saying "Well, you can do anything with a woman, when you've got her children. He made me submit; he made me peaceable" (pg. 519). She would do whatever in order to still have them, which was significant when dealing with the kind of man she was. "I gave up, for my hands were tied. He had my children -whenever I resisted his will anywhere, he would talk about selling them, and he made me as submissive as he desired. O, what a life it was! to live with my heart breaking, every day, -to keep on, on, on, loving, when it was only misery; and to be bound, body and soul, to one I hated" (pg. 518). Her words say it perfectly, trying to be a loving mother in the worst circumstances. This shows that she is now enslaved in more than one way. Her heart and soul are now held captive by this man, just toying with the last two things she will ever love. He sold the children anyway, and hung over her head the possibility of him buying the kids back. Later she finds her son, escaping his owners and running into her and begging for help before being taken back by the men he fled from. She pleads others to help, even willing to pay for assistance. She snaps and kills the man with a nearby knife when she is asked "what did I expect?" (pg.