IV explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Racial Identity and Passing

  Mimi's observation of the sharp racial lines in Atlanta, where even within the Black community, skin color creates divisions, highlights the complexities of racial identity and the potential for passing.

• Colorism and Social Hierarchy

  The chapter explicitly discusses the preference for lighter skin within the Black community, as seen in Mrs. Plummer's scolding of her daughter for playing with 'yaller children,' and the social advantages tied to lighter complexions.

• Class and Materialism

  Jean's critique of the 'moneygrubbers' and the emphasis on material success in Atlanta contrasts with his appreciation for art and refinement, reflecting the tension between old-world values and new capitalist ambitions.

Characters to notice

• Mimi Daquin

  Mimi begins to notice the racial and social divisions in Atlanta, feeling a growing sympathy for Jean's discomfort. She forms a deep friendship with Hilda Adams, and her own nonconformity (Catholic, friendship with the Adamses) starts to isolate her.

• Jean Daquin

  Jean criticizes the materialism and loss of refinement in Atlanta, feeling out of place. He struggles to adapt to the new social environment and grieves his inability to attend mass.

• Hilda Adams

  Hilda meets Mimi at a social gathering and they form an instant, intense friendship. She shares gossip about the other women, including Mrs. Watkins's jealousy of her mother.

• Mrs. Adams

  Mrs. Adams is ostracized for her defiance of racial segregation (attending a theatre from which she was ejected) and for her simple, non-elaborate entertaining. She is the subject of petty jealousy among the other women.

• Mrs. Hunter

  Mrs. Hunter hosts the social gathering, acting as a dowager-like hostess. She arranges a private table for Mimi and Hilda, showing a condescending but well-meaning attitude.

Key passages

• “Here are these coloured people with the gifts from God of laughter and song and of creative instincts⁠—do you remember that man who sang as he went past the house our first night in Atlanta?⁠—and what are they doing with it? They are aping the white man⁠—becoming a race of moneygrubbers with ledgers and money tills for brains and Shylock hearts.”

  Jean laments that African Americans are abandoning their cultural gifts to imitate white materialism, becoming obsessed with money and losing their creative spirit.

  Jean's critique reflects his disillusionment with the new urban Black middle class and their pursuit of wealth, which he sees as a loss of cultural authenticity.

• “How many times I got to tell you to leave these yaller children alone? First thing you know, you'll be coming home saying some of them's called you 'black.'”

  Mrs. Plummer scolds her daughter for playing with lighter-skinned children, fearing they will call her 'black' as an insult.

  This quote illustrates the internalized colorism within the Black community, where lighter skin is valued and darker skin is stigmatized.

• “She felt a deep warmth within her for this woman who, because she wanted so avidly the entertainment, the touch with the world of ideas, the stimulus that came from the plays which came to Atlanta, and which her race barred her from seeing respectably, made her run the risk of discovery.”

  Mimi admires Mrs. Adams for risking social ostracism to attend plays from which her race was barred, showing her intellectual hunger and defiance of segregation.

  This highlights the courage of those who challenged racial segregation and the social costs they bore.