In Chains, what challenges did Isabel face and how do they change her?

Isabel
encounters numerous challenges in her life, especially after the demise of the kindhearted Miss
Finch. However, her most notable challenge is her quest for freedom. Their troubles start
immediately she and her sister are sold off to the Locktons after failing to prove that Miss
Finch had freed her family in a will. Ruth is forced to take on backbreaking labor at the
Locktons estate, which she perseveres through while remaining determined to find a way out to
freedom. She detests the inhumane conditions under which she and her sibling live, and she would
go to any extent to gain freedom.

After her encounter with Curzon, she
becomes a spy and exchanges information with different groups with the hope of gaining freedom
in return. Her hopes do not materialize as the groups only use her to gain crucial information
to advance their agenda. Finally, Isabel realizes that nobody but herself will help her secure
freedom, which she does at the end of the book when she manages to sneak Curzon from prison and
row the boat across the river to Jersey.

Among other challenging encounters
for Isabel is the loss of Ruth. She wakes up one day and discovers that Madam Lockton has sold
Ruth off to another owner. Isabel becomes momentarily defiant, an act that forces her to run
away from Locktons estate only to end up beaten and in jail. The judge rules that she be branded
upon Madam Locktons suggestion. The branding is a painful experience for Isabel; it is a
permanent mark and reminder of her slave status. Isabel sinks into depression soon after due to
the loss of Ruth and her dwindling hope of ever being free. However, her attitude towards her
branding changes, and instead of shame, she takes it as a proud survival symbol, just like the
one her father had.