Kezia's Independence In The Wedding Gift By Thomas Raddall

In the short story "The Wedding Gift" by Thomas Raddall, the reader meets a strong young woman named Kezia Barnes. Kezia was orphaned when she was just a child and was brought up as house-help in the Barclay home in the late 18th century (Raddall,17). Kezia Barnes' ability to manipulate others, her vast intelligence and her resourcefulness has allowed her to become much more independent than most women of her time. One prominent indicator of Kezia's independence is her capability to effortlessly manipulate others.

Kezia precisely shows her independence throughout the story by manipulating Mr. Mears to ensure she wouldn’t have to marry Mr. Hathaway. She is given a tinderbox by Mr. Barclay to give to her suitor as a wedding gift. Then when she is found in a rather peculiar situation where the tinderbox could become useful to keep warm , she chooses to disregard it and bundle

She demonstrated to Mr. Mears multiple ways to keep warm in the cold and also suggests the idea of ride-and-tie to save their energy. Much of Kezia's knowledge is her common sense but another large part of her intelligence was acquired by sitting in on some of the Barclay girls lessons (Raddall, 18). This has allowed her to use what she has learned to keep them alive during her embark. Kezia's resourcefulness is a key factor in their survival on their journey in the woods. This shows how independent she is and how she took matters into her own hands and in turn saved their lives while also escaping for an arranged marriage.

In "The Wedding Gift", Kezia displays many characteristics that demonstrate how independent she is through her ability to manipulate, her intelligence, and her resourcefulness. These characteristics verify Kezia's differences from other women during 1794. Kezia shows the reader that she is a very independent woman and has many traits that are confirmation