Sassafrass’ Love Language

Sassafrass’ partner Mitch speaks a striking line from her section of the novel that illustrates both the materiality of Sassafrass’ craft and a reason for the discord in her relationship with Mitch: “You can create whole worlds, girl” (70). In context, Mitch intends to pressure Sassafrass into channeling her self-expression in writing rather than “all…

The controlling, wrathful, and god-like, Mitch.

In Ntozake Shange’s Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, Mitch is compared to divine powers that highlight his control over Sassafrass. Gods are above humans , they are at the top of the hierarchy. When Sassafras was explaining Mitch’s appearance she states, “his presence was that of one of those Olmec gods. Mitch thought of himself as…