Rebekkah

Rebekkah is Joseph’s mother and Meribah’s mother-in-law. When Angel arrives at Joseph’s home, Rebekkah initially watches her with disapproval, but she soon becomes the person who offers Angel a place to stay and a chance to earn a living. Her welcome is expressed not through sentiment but through firm decisions, useful work, wages, and food.

Identity and Introduction

Rebekkah appears in Joseph’s household while Angel is seeking work. Joseph introduces her and his wife, Meribah, as Angel’s hosts; Rebekkah watches Angel closely as the women offer coffee and try to understand why she has come. Angel is wary and says she should not have come, leaving Rebekkah’s first response guarded rather than immediately affectionate.

Shelter and Work

When Angel offers to leave the following morning if her presence might cause trouble, Rebekkah ends the uncertainty: Angel will stay as long as Joseph wishes, and her cot will be set beside the downstairs wood stove so she can be warm. The instruction is both decisive and practical. Rebekkah does not ask Angel to justify her presence before providing shelter.

The next morning, Rebekkah notices Angel gathering her things and tells her there is plenty to do around the store. Angel is surprised to be offered work. She takes on the labor of stocking shelves and other tasks, working through the day until Joseph closes the store. Rebekkah pays her wages at dinner and tells the family that Angel is a good worker. She also places potatoes beside her and urges her to eat. The combination of paid employment and ordinary care matters: Angel has earned less in an afternoon at the store than she once made quickly at the Palace, yet she feels clean and proud of this money.

Relationships and Significance

Rebekkah’s place in the household is reinforced by her relationship with Joseph and Meribah: she makes the decision that Angel may remain, while Joseph prepares the cot and Meribah shares in the work. Rebekkah’s authority is firm, but it serves hospitality rather than exclusion. Her actions help establish the family home as a place where Angel can receive shelter and wages without being treated as a commodity.

The contrast between the Palace and Rebekkah’s store gives her small acts particular weight. A cot beside the stove, an envelope of wages, and a serving of food offer Angel a different measure of value—one grounded in work and care rather than the price of access to her. Rebekkah does not erase Angel’s past, but her welcome gives Angel an immediate, concrete experience of safety and self-respect.