The Women of Brewster Place

The Women of Brewster Place is a very emotional story collection.  Each story is filled with events that greatly characterize the struggle of an oppressed and impoverished people.  I cannot say that I saw Gloria Naylor’s book as uplifting or optimistic in anyway.  In fact, I saw the book as quite dark, and each time I thought the book would take a surprising turn for the better, the mood dropped again.

 

Starting right away with Mattie, the course of action in the book takes a nosedive.  Her pregnancy turns her away from her family, and even though she is take in by Eva Turner and fortunate enough to buy the house, her son ruins her chances of staying there by skipping bail.  The depressing material continues throughout the book with Etta’s misfortune with men, the death of Lucielia’s baby, Cora’s neglect for her children, and finally the rape of Lorraine.  The events in each of these stories all carry a common, morbid theme, one we’ve seen in so many other books this year, entrapment. 

 

Although each story was mostly depressing, Naylor throws in a few uplifting lines here and there.  At then end of Etta’s story, she excited to go see Mattie, who brings her comfort.  Also, at the end of Lucielia’s story, Naylor writes that “morning would come,” signifying hope for the days ahead.  Still, I hardly find these few lines to be hopeful in the midst of such dark material in the book overall.

 

Taking the moods and events from each story into consideration, I would consider this book a short story cycle.  All of the stories revolve around a common setting, Brewster Place, and each one seems to return to the same dark place it began.  Also, the book begins with “Dawn” and ends with “Dusk,” signifying the cycle of a day.