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The Social hierarchy during this time period was completely dependent on race. Even if a person of color was free, they would not be considered as valuable to the community as a white person who owned property was. In the novel, Suzette is black and is never able to gain freedom. When she is raped by a white man, she has a daughter named Philomene who eventually has a daughter with a white man named Emily. Emily is able to be the first in the family to be born as a free person because the color of the family's skin was getting lighter as the generations went on. Even for the free people, interracial marriage was still outlawed, and they all struggled to live in a racist society around them. For example, when Emily marries Narcisse's cousin who is a white male Frenchman, interracial marriage was still outlawed in Louisiana. This only greater highlighted the social norm of racism and racial hierarchy.

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Due to the cruel and unusual treatment of slaves by their slaveowners, all slaves desired to one day be free from the plantations they were forced to work on for hours at a time. Suzette feels as if she is close to being a free person as her companionship with Oreline develops, but she is still stuck working on a plantation. Suzette's daughter Philomene claims she has experienced visions of the future, which she refers to as “glimpsings.” These "glimpsings" are of her future as a free person, who is no longer forced to work countless hours on the plantation. Although these "glimpsings" are probably a figment of her imagination, it further depicts her desire to be free. These visions can be seen as a coping mechanism in order for Philomene to have something to hold onto as she is working as a slave desiring her freedom.

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Most slaveowners would often punish their slaves for small acts of so-called disobedience physically. This included whipping, punching, slapping, and more cruel methods of physical abuse. In the novel, Suzette is slapped across the face by Madame Francoise Derbanne, the mistress of Rosedew, the plantation house where Suzette works as a slave. Francoise ridicules Suzette's mother, Elisabeth, saying that the Madame's husband got sick the last time that Elizabeth made the family a certain meal. Suzette stands up for her mother, suggesting that it was not the meal that Elizabeth made for them, but instead the excessive amounts of alcohol that her husband drinks. Francoise then slaps Suzette across the face as a physical punishment for her disobedience.

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Another normal occurrence for slave families during the 1830s was being separated from their families. Due to the fact that slaves were treated as property, slaveowners did not feel the need to buy all the slaves in a family. In the novel, after the master of Rosedew Plantation dies, Oreline buys Philomene and brings her to live with Oreline and her husband on their farm, splitting up Suzette’s family. Oreline is the niece of the original owner of Rosedew Plantation, who became a companion of Suzette's as she grew up. Even though they shared this bond, Oreline still decided to split up Suzette and her family because she still did not see Suzette as a human being, but her own property that she could whatever she wanted with.

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During the period of slavery in the United States, or even during the time of European slavery, raping one's slaves was not an uncommon practice. This would often result in mixed children, which depending on their skin color would become slaves or could potentially be free. In the novel, Suzette is raped by a visiting white man named Eugene Daurat at age thirteen. As a result, she becomes pregnant with her two children, Philomene (the strong-willed rebellious daughter who loses her virginity at 15) and Gerent. Suzette vows that even though her children were not born out of her own consent, she would do everything in her power to give them the life and love that she never did.