Lyddie's roommate, Betsy, becomes more and more dissatisfied with the work at the factory as the novel progresses. She complains that she can no longer handle the speed of the equipment and the greater demands being placed on her as a worker. She says to Amelia, "We're all working like black slaves, is what." She then says she is ready to sign the petition for working ten-hour instead of thirteen-hour days. Over Amelia's objections, she resolves to sign the petition, explaining to Lyddie, "Our real wages have gone down more often than they've gone up. Merciful heaven! Why waste our time on a paper petition? Why not a good old-fashioned turnout?"
By this she means that the workers should participate in a rally protesting the poor working conditions. She then sings the song, "I cannot be a slave." She learned the song when she was only ten, working as a doffer. This indicates that Betsy has been working many years in the factory already. The line that says "Isn't it a pity that such a pretty girl as I should be sent to the factory to pine away and die" actually foreshadows Betsy's fate. She becomes very ill and ends up using all her savings to pay for the doctor and the hospital. She was saving money so she could go to college and have a chance to do what she wanted to do with her life. However, she ends up almost dying and then having no "liberty" to do what she really wants to do despite having slaved away for all those years.
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