Harriet's Daughter

Harriet’s Daughter is a 1988 novel by Caribbean author M. NourbeSe Philip. It tells the story of Margaret, a young girl of Barbadian descent, as she becomes obsessed with the figure of Harriet Tubman and attempts to rebel against her parents to send her best friend back home to Tobago. Taking place in 80’s Toronto, the book focuses on the family lives of Afro-Caribbean immigrants in Canada through Margaret’s coming-of-age narrative.

Margaret is a fourteen-year-old girl who lives in Toronto with her mother, father, sister, and brother. She does not think highly of any of the members of her family. Her mother, Vashtina, she perceives as neurotic and weak, unable to stand up to her father, Cuthbert. He is a stern, controlling man who does not let his wife work and wants her to give up all ties to their Caribbean culture, while himself regularly playing dominos and spending time with the men of their local Caribbean community. Margaret notices and dislikes this hypocrisy, and often clashes with her father.

One day at school, Margaret and her best friend Ti-Cush notice a crowd in the schoolground, and find a girl crying and being taunted. Margaret comforts the girl, called Zulma, and asks her what is wrong. She finds out that Zulma is homesick for her native Tobago and her grandmother, whom she has left behind there. Margaret teaches Zulma to make snow angels to cheer her up. The two girls quickly strike up a close friendship, to the annoyance of Ti-Cush.



A few days later, Margaret is called to the principal’s office to once again comfort Zulma, who has been crying again. Margaret decides she is going to help Zulma get back to Tobago, and the two bond as Margaret asks Zulma to teach her to speak in Tobagonian dialect. As they grow closer, details of Zulma’s family situation begin to emerge: she lives with her mother and stepfather, who dislikes her and makes her do all the work in the house. Her mother is scared of him and is unable to stand up for herself or her daughter.

Margaret becomes more determined to help Zulma get to Tobago. She asks her mother about using her life savings to buy her friend a ticket. This money is a combination of her “baby bonus money” and some money left to her by Vashtina’s previous employer, Harriet Blewchamp, after her passing. Mrs. Blewchamp had been a Holocaust survivor who had hired Vashtina as a caretaker soon after the family’s arrival in Canada and had loved Margaret as a child. Vashtina refuses to use the money, and Margaret is furious.

Margaret, Ti-Cush, and Zulma go to the library one day to work on a school project. Margaret, who has been thinking about changing her name to one that means more to her, is also on the lookout for inspiring famous women. She arrives home late for supper from the library, argues with both her parents, and is grounded for a week. She spends time learning about Harriet Tubman, and starts fixating on the historical figure, having regular dreams about her.



Margaret continues to clash with the members of her family over various issues, and her father begins to threaten to send her to Barbados to spend time with his mother and receive, as he calls it, “good West Indian discipline.” Margaret helps her mother get a part-time job at the school, but it is revealed that she only did this so that Vashtina could save up half her salary to help Zulma get back to Tobago. Vashtina once again refuses.

At school, Margaret tells her friends she wants to be called Harriet, and everyone accepts. She then asks her mother to call her Harriet as well, and her mother explains that she herself always preferred to be called Tina. She had wanted to name her daughter Harriet, after her employer, but Cuthbert had insisted on the name Margaret, after his mother. Vashtina accepts the new name, to Margaret’s delight.
Margaret is sent to fetch her father at Mr. Billings’ house, where he is playing dominos. There, she chats with Mrs. Billings, a friendly woman who gives her cookies and talks to her about Harriet Tubman. On the way home, Cuthbert asks Margaret if she would like to spend some time in Barbados and she says no, which causes him to once again get angry at her and call her disrespectful.

One morning, Zulma calls Margaret in tears. Her step-father has beaten her mother, and she is more desperate than ever to leave. She decides to run away, but Margaret stops her by promising she will find a way to get her a ticket.



Margaret, Zulma, and Ti-Cush invent the Underground Railroad Game, a complex chasing game based on Harriet Tubman’s historic efforts to smuggle slaves up north. They bring in their friends from school, and all the children become obsessed with playing it. They even start playing at night, but start getting in trouble at school and with parents as snippets of conversation about the game are picked up by the adults. The children decide to stop playing, but not before someone reports them to the principal and Margaret gets in trouble for it.

Her father decides to finally send her to Barbados, and her mother does not defend her. She decides to run away with Zulma, and finds seven hundred dollars in her mother’s car, which she had been keeping as a secret from her husband. Margaret decides to take the money and use it to run away but confides in Mrs. Billings about the plan. The latter is understanding, but tells the story about how she had to run away from an abusive family at fourteen, and the hardships she experienced. She asks to speak to Zulma, and she tells the girls that she will speak to their parents to see if they can be convinced to send them to Tobago. If she fails, she will help them.

After some discussion, Vashtina and Zulma’s mother finally accept to help, without their husband’s knowledge or consent. Vashtina begins asserting herself in her relationship with her husband, which surprises him. The plan advances and seems to be on track until Cuthbert receives a visit from Mr. Clarke, Zulma’s stepfather, who has learned of the plan. Cuthbert and Vashtina argue about whether to send Margaret to Barbados or Tobago, but Vashtina ultimately wins. Margaret then goes to find Zulma, who is with her mother at the Billings’ house. Mr. Clarke tried to attack Zulma’s mother, but Zulma had succeeded in hurting him and getting them both away.



On the day of their departure to Tobago, the girls say goodbye to their families and receive goodbye gifts from Mrs. Billings. The latter reassures Zulma that her mother will stay safe with her, and the two girls finally set off to Tobago. When they land, Margaret finally gets to meet the grandmother Zulma has been missing all this time.

Harriet’s Daughter was praised upon release for its depiction of female Afro-Caribbean characters, who are neither fiercely matriarchal nor completely submissive. Throughout the novel, women struggle for their freedom and independence in the face of controlling male figures. They demonstrate strength in their love and compassion for each other, which ultimately allows them to either break away from or assert themselves with the men in their lives.