“A Mercy,” by Toni Morrison takes place around the forming of the United States of America when slavery weren't just defined from race. Around this time slavery was getting popular and had finally hit the U.S. with storm. A major theme in this story is the stereotypes of women. One stereotype that comes up a lot is the dependence of men from a woman's perspective.“Women were created from the rib of man to be beside him, not from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be trampled by him, but from under his arm to be protected by him, near to his heart to be loved by him.” (Matthew Henry). This stereotype has been around since the start of civilization. Toni Morrison shows this stereotype with the lives of Florens’ and Rebbekah and how there is havoc internally in their lives without male dependence. Florens shows how the stereotype was able to survive for as long as it has with the quote from Florens after the blacksmith rejects her “No, wait. You put me into misery” (141 Morrison). Florens is obsessed with the blacksmith and it is shown multiple times in the book, also the blacksmith knows Florens is obsessed with him. The blacksmith treats Florens like a non-intellectual animal “Your are nothing but wilderness.. No mind” (141 Morrison). Florens falls into the stereotype with her love being super strong towards the blacksmith which allowed her not to think about what she was doing. After she finds out the blacksmith doesn't want her she is internally dreadful and broken. The stereotype of a woman cannot live without a man lives on. The novel may have showed the reader that the women in the book get stronger with the men out of their lives. A quote by Scully showing that he feels she has became a strong and independent women; “It was easy to spot that combination of defenselessness, eagerness to please and, most of all, a willingness to blame herself for the meanness of others. Clearly, from the look of her now,