We took eNotes out of the machine. Read the eNotes Pledge . Teacher (K-12), Professional Writer Educator since 2010 163 contributions English, French, and History and history teacher; writer, editor, and published author. Race is a major theme in Quicksand , but it is not Helga’s only conflict. Helga’s mulatto complexion allows her to move freely between black and white cultures, but it is her education and refinement that allow her access to the black middle-class environments of Naxos and Harlem and the... (This entire section contains 551 words.)

Unlock this Study Guide Now Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime . Already a member? Log in here. white upper-class society of Denmark. Helga fails to establish a social identity in any of these environments, however, and ultimately descends into a social wasteland in rural Alabama. Helga’s insecurities about her family background cripple her socially and lead to repeated self-imposed isolation. She feels lonely at the “Negro school” where other students have families to return to on holidays and she chooses to spend hers alone in the city. At Naxos she discovers that "if you couldn't prove your ancestry and connections, you were tolerated, but you didn't belong.” She admits that she is committing “social suicide” by not marrying James Vayle whose family are “people of consequence.” When Dr. Anderson pleads with Helga to remain at Naxos, he tells her that she is a good example to the students because she is “a lady” and “has dignity and breeding.” Helga angrily informs him that she is neither; she was born in a Chicago slum. She is no more capable of reconciling her social identity than her racial identity. Chicago proves to be a social no-man’s-land for Helga. Without work references, she cannot even qualify for a domestic position. In Harlem, there are different social conflicts. Helga lives with the wealthy Anne Grey and enjoys a privileged, cultured lifestyle yet she is surrounded by the teeming masses of Harlem whose sensual extremes are abhorrent to her morals. She cannot identify completely with either class. When Helga feels the teeming masses closing in on her, she again feels trapped. Thanks to money from her white uncle, Helga is able to escape to Denmark, but in Denmark Helga is a foreigner. At first she enjoys the “peacock” upper-class life imposed upon her by her rich aunt and uncle, but she soon realizes they are using her to advance their own social position. They suggest several suitable marriage partners for Helga, all well-connected socially but all white. Race and culture converge and confuse her. Helga has another chance to establish a social identity by marrying a Danish artist, Axel Olsen, but when she realizes he views her as an exotic commodity, she rejects his proposal and returns to America. Dr. Anderson’s rejection of Helga prompts her to marry the Reverend Pleasant Green. Helga’s marriage does not make her feel inferior in terms of race or class. She attempts to embrace her poor black life in Alabama, but before long, she is trying to impose her middle-class values on the members of Reverend Pleasant Green’s flock, telling the women how to dress and how to decorate their homes. Once again, her internal conflicts have not been resolved. Helga gives in to the social institution of marriage, hoping to resolve and legitimize her sexual conflicts, but her marriage to the repulsive Reverend Green is social suicide from which there is no escape. Helga becomes trapped in a final quagmire as the ever-pregnant wife of a poor black Southern preacher, the worst possible place for an educated Northern black woman.