Race plays an important role throughout The Keepers of the House . Grau illustrates what she regards as hypocrisy among southerners, whose beliefs about race do not coincide with their outward statements or actions. This dissonance is reflected in the character, John Tolliver, who is challenged about whether he truly believes the racist rhetoric he spouts. This bitter condemnation of racist rhetoric, made at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, evoked a sharp public reaction against Grau. When the book was first published, Grau was publicly attacked by the Ku Klux Klan, and a cross was burned on her lawn.
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