Avidity (noun) – keen eagerness or consuming greed.
Source:Â https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avidity
From âThe Complete Fiction of Nella Larsonâ by Nella Larsen, “Quicksand” Chapter 15 Page 112
“And she was shocked in with which Olsen beside her drank it in.”
Here, the author uses the word avidity to describe how Olsen is eager, while Helga is annoyed and feels shamed by the performance she went to see at Copenhagen vaudeville hall.
Ramification (noun) –Â the act or process of branching
Source:Â https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ramification
From âThe Complete Fiction of Nella Larsonâ by Nella Larsen, Page 43
“Negro society, she had learned, was as complicated and as rigid in its ramifications as the highest strata of white society.”
The author uses this word to describe how the Negro Society has many layers or branches in it. This shows that the Negro Society is big, and contains various divisions that are complex.
Acquiescence:Â noun:Â passive acceptance or submission.
Source:Â https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acquiescence
From “The Complete Fiction of Nella Larson” by Nella Larsen, Page 42
“Helga, on the other hand, had never quite achieved the unmistakable Naxos Mold, would never achieve it in spite of trying…Always she had considered it a lack of understanding on the part of the community, but in her present new revolt she realized that the fault had been partly hers. A lack of acquiescence.”
Acquiescence is used in this passage to explain why Helga hadn’t adjusted to life in Naxos. She didn’t adopt the Naxos way of life because she didn’t want to.
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