Willard struggles with the blacksmith because he sees a black man who is free and paid, while Willard is a white man who is not free and does not get paid. This again shows how in A Mercy, slavery and freedom are not solely characterized by race.
Similarly, many forms of love are portrayed in the book. There is love between Jacob and Rebekka. While Rebekka is a mail-order bride from England and despite having never met Jacob before, she comes to love Jacob very much and he is also pleased with her. Even through the multiple miscarriages and the death of their daughter, they worked hard together and created a loving marriage. Another form of love is the wild love that Florens has for the blacksmith. He is the object of her love and lust. Although Lina warns Florens that she is "one leaf on his tree," Florens insists that she is "his tree" (Morrison 71). This means that she believes that she means as much to him as he means to her. Readers see how Florens is in desperate need to receive the love from the blacksmith, until she realizes his priority and love is directed towards his adopted son, Maliak (Stave and Tally 111). When Florens sees this, she feels threatened upon, remembering her mother leaving her to stay with her younger brother. Finally there is the love of Florens' mother. This is the most powerful demonstration of love in the story, because Florens is not aware of it. The end of the novel is a first-person narrative from Florens' mother, explaining why she had to let Florens go. When she saw Jacob, she "saw the tall man see you as a human child, not pieces of eight" unlike Senhor (Morrison 195). Although it was a huge sacrifice, she believed it was necessary and that "there is a difference" (Morrison 195). She was desperate to protect Florens, who was still too innocent to understand the sexual abuse that the other slaves were experiencing.
