Fighting Words

Suki is Della’s older sister and primary caregiver. Since birth, Della has depended on Suki for protection, support, and love. In taking care of Della, Suki takes on a lot of responsibility, especially after she and Della go to live with their mother’s boyfriend, Clifton. Clifton sexually abuses Suki for years, claiming that the girls “owe [him]” for living in his house (133). The pressure of parenting her sister and the unresolved trauma of her abuse build within Suki, culminating in a suicide attempt.

For much of the text, Suki keeps her own history of abuse a secret from those around her because she feels deep shame for the things Clifton did to her. Suki experienced the Stigma of Abuse when she attempted to come forward and was abandoned by a former friend, and again when their emergency foster placement refused to believe her. This pushes Suki to alienate those around her that want to support her, such as her friend Teena and their foster parent Francine. She explains to Della that: “Sometimes people know too much. You can’t forget things when you’re around them [...] [Teena] looks at me different now.” (90). Rather than interpreting Teena’s concern as a sign of love and support, Suki believes Teena is judging and condemning her. Similarly, she brushes off Francine’s gentle hints and takes offense when Francine suggests she needs professional help.

Leading up to her suicide attempt, Suki’s trauma responses increase. She wakes up screaming from nightmares and becomes increasingly withdrawn from those around her, including Della. She views Della’s independence as a sign of her failure as a caretaker, but she also lashes out at Della over her own lost childhood: “I had to take care of you my whole snow life! I had to take care of you when I was six! […] When is somebody going to take care of me?” (148-49). Suki strongly desires to have someone look out for her, but her shame prevents her from asking for help, and her inner pain and helplessness grows beyond her control.

Suki finally receives mental health support in a psychiatric hospital. She opens up about what happened to her and learns to assert her feelings, such as her discomfort with testifying against Clifton in person. Suki shows Della that she is committed to getting better by getting a tattoo of a semicolon on her wrist next to her scar. The tattoo is a powerful symbol of Suki’s commitment to moving on with her life. While she will carry the scars of the abuse she endured, Suki carries the tattoo as a reminder that the rest of her story remains unwritten. Suki also begins making plans for a career in the medical field, showing that she feels comfortable dreaming about the future.

Francine is Suki and Della’s foster mother. When they first come to live with Francine, Della assumes that Francine is like any other adult she has known: at best, uninterested in helping her or Suki in any meaningful way, and at worst, unsafe. When the girls move in, Francine says, “I keep foster kids for the money” (18), which furthers Della’s perception of her. However, as time goes on, both Suki and Della realize that Francine is an adult they can depend on.

The longer Suki and Della live with Francine, the more she seems to understand the situation they escaped and the trauma they have not entirely dealt with. Francine is one of several characters who help Deconstruct the Stigma of Abuse. She tries, unsuccessfully, to convince the state social worker that both Suki and Della need mental health evaluations because she can see the strain that they are under, especially Suki: “Trying too hard to keep everything under wraps makes you liable to explode. Getting help—therapy—that’s like putting in a release valve” (101-02). When Suki attempts suicide, Francine steps up as a safe person for the girls, signing Della up for therapy herself and taking an active role in Suki’s recovery.

While her own past is unclear, Francine alludes to the fact that she, too, has experienced trauma, which is why she supports them the way she does: “I wished someone had helped me when I was Suki’s age. Or yours […] Wish I’d had someone on my side” (227). She acknowledges that the girls’ situation is unfair, that “[f]oster care might be better than anything [they’ve] ever had in [their lives] so far, and it will still never be as good as what [they] should have had” (175). While Della first believes that Francine only keeps foster children for the government benefits, she comes to learn that Francine genuinely wants to help: “I couldn’t do it if they didn’t pay me. Couldn’t afford to. But I didn’t say ‘only,’ did I?” (228). Francine never takes on the role of parent, but she works to provide a safe and supportive environment so Suki and Della can rest and focus on their recovery, something neither of them have ever had before.