Tell him Sista!

Lena, after reading Chapter 9 is, for obvious reasons, an intriguing character who I have numerous questions about. Prior to chapter 9 she's only occassionally mentioned in descriptions of the Dead family, usually being paired with Corinthians and the two being described as a pair. In chapter 9 her character as well as her strength is revealed to the reader.
What makes Lena intriguing is the fact that she is able to talk to Milkman the way that she does. By that point, Milkman had exerted his power as one of, if not the most, dominant member of the household. When Lena gets upset with him, she attacks the aspects of his life which Milkman prides himself on. She exposes his perpetual self-interest and his lack of empathy for anyone else in the household. Prior to this chapter, we see the situation that Corinthians has found herself in: as an adult she has a college education, works as a maid, and lives in fear of her father. Lena, growing up in the same conditions lives in a similar predicament. She is also an adult and has no credibility in her household, yet in this particular instance, she possesses the strength and will to tell Milkman everything which he chooses to ignore or is simply unable to see.
At this point in Song of Solomon almost every woman is in some way weakened or driven by the actions of the males. Corinthians lives in fear of the men in her household, Hagar has been driven to insanity by Milkman, and Ruth is left with questionable sanity herself as a result of pain inflicted by Macon Dead. Contrasted with all the women oppressed by the men in their lives, this particular chapter sparked my interest in Lena in general. Unfortunately the reader doesn't see much more of her but she still gets props for tellin Milkman like it is