The Marrow of Tradition · Chapter
XIV: The Maunderings of Old Mrs. Ochiltree explained
Mrs.
What happens
Mrs. Carteret, after discharging her nurse for taking baby Dodie to Dr. Miller's house, visits her aging aunt, Mrs. Ochiltree. During a drive, they encounter Janet Miller and her son, prompting Mrs. Ochiltree to reveal a family secret: Julia Brown's child is the daughter of Olivia's father, and she herself turned them out to protect Olivia's inheritance. The chapter also features a brief encounter with Sandy Campbell, who updates them on old Mr. Delamere's health.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Heritage
The chapter revolves around family secrets, inheritance, and the legacy of slavery, as Mrs. Ochiltree reveals the hidden lineage of Janet Miller and her own role in preserving Olivia's property.
Class and Privilege
Class distinctions are starkly drawn: Mrs. Carteret's disdain for the Millers, Sandy's self-perception as 'quality,' and Mrs. Ochiltree's horror at the sale of ancestral land to a black doctor all underscore racial and class hierarchies.
Racial Injustice
The encounter with Janet Miller and the revelation of her mother's fate illustrate the systemic racial injustice and the social ostracism faced by mixed-race individuals and their families.
Characters to notice
- Mrs. Carteret
Visits her aunt Mrs. Ochiltree after discharging the nurse; coldly avoids Janet Miller during the drive.
- Polly Ochiltree
Aging and senile, she reveals the family secret about Julia Brown's child and her role in securing Olivia's inheritance.
- Janet Miller
Seen leaving the colored hospital with her son; exchanges a lingering look with Mrs. Carteret.
- Sandy Campbell
Encountered on the street; reports on old Mr. Delamere's health and flatters Mrs. Ochiltree.
- Little Dodie
Mentioned as having a cold; the reason for the nurse's discharge is his visit to the Miller home.
- Old Mr. Delamere
Mentioned as being in declining health; Sandy reports he is good for a dozen more years if he avoids excitement.
Key passages
“When your father died, I turned the mother and the child out into the street. The mother died and went to—the place provided for such as she. If I hadn't been just in time, Olivia, they would have turned you out. I saved the property for you and your son! You can thank me for it all!”
Mrs. Ochiltree reveals that after Olivia's father died, she expelled Julia Brown and her child (Janet) from the home, claiming she did so to protect Olivia's inheritance.
This key revelation exposes the family secret and Mrs. Ochiltree's role in securing Olivia's social and financial standing.
“The new colored hospital, indeed, and the colored doctor! Before the war the negroes were all healthy, and when they got sick we took care of them ourselves! Hugh Poindexter has sold the graves of his ancestors to a negro—I should have starved first!”
Mrs. Ochiltree expresses outrage at the existence of a black hospital and doctor, and at a white man selling his ancestral land to a black man, reflecting her deep-seated racial prejudice.
This quote illustrates the resistance to black progress and the symbolic importance of land and ancestry in maintaining white supremacy.
“He ain't ez peart ez he has be'n, ma'am, but he's doin' tol'able well. De doctuh say he's good fer a dozen years yit, ef he'll jes' take good keer of hisse'f an' keep f'm gittin' excited; fer sence dat secon' stroke, excitement is dange'ous fer 'im.”
Sandy reports that old Mr. Delamere is not as lively as before but is doing reasonably well, and the doctor says he could live another dozen years if he avoids excitement.
This update on Mr. Delamere's health foreshadows his vulnerability and the potential for future conflict.
