The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers
"The Ballad of the Sad Café" by Carson McCullers is a poignant narrative set in a small, isolated Southern town characterized by a dreary atmosphere. The story revolves around Miss Amelia, a talented and independent woman who inherits a café from her father and initially runs it alone. Her life changes with the arrival of Cousin Lymon, a hunchback who becomes the center of her world and transforms the café into a lively gathering place for townspeople. Amelia's past includes a tumultuous marriage to Marvin Macy, a handsome but reckless man whose return disrupts the newfound happiness she shares with Lymon.
As tensions rise, the narrative explores themes of love, betrayal, and isolation, ultimately leading to a dramatic confrontation between Amelia and Marvin. Following this, Amelia descends into solitude as the café loses its vibrancy, reflecting the emotional decay of both her life and the town. The tale concludes with a sense of longing and melancholy, emphasized by the contrasting joy found in distant songs of a chain gang, symbolizing the enduring human spirit amid despair. This work invites readers to reflect on the complexities of relationships and the impact of isolation on both individuals and communities.
The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers
First published: 1943
Type of plot: Realism
Time of work: The 1930s
Locale: Central Georgia
Principal Characters
Miss Amelia Evans , the owner of the Sad CaféCousin Lymon Willis , her beloved hunchbacked cousinMarvin Macy , her former husband
The Story
The action of the story covers the period from the time Cousin Lymon arrives in town until his departure with Marvin Macy almost seven years later. The narrative, however, includes incidents and explanations of circumstances from Amelia’s early childhood until several years after Lymon and Marvin have gone. The story begins with a description of the dreary, isolated town, the hostile climate, and the central building there: a shabby, boarded-up former café. From the upstairs window, the dim, grief-stricken face of Miss Amelia can occasionally be seen gazing out. The story of the café and the story of Miss Amelia are one. She was born there in the upstairs living quarters, was reared as a solitary child by her widowed father, and inherited both the property and the business when her father died. She is a woman of many talents: a sharp business negotiator, a renowned liquor distiller, a compassionate and knowledgeable doctor, and a strong and independent person.
Amelia’s independence and solitary habits are well known, so when Lymon, the small, sickly hunchback, arrives and claims to be her cousin, the townspeople are astonished and baffled that she takes him in. He quickly becomes the center of her life and encourages her to convert the store into a combination store and café, where not only the traditional supplies and moonshine are dispensed but also meals are served and a general festive gathering of the townsfolk takes place on Saturday nights. Lymon is the center of the café activities. He enjoys the company of the townsfolk, and Amelia becomes more sociable and friendly, even starting to wear dresses instead of the rough, masculine work clothes she always wore before.
Her love for Cousin Lymon is obvious, though incredible, to the townspeople, especially as they recall her one previous experience with love, when she was courted and wed by Marvin Macy. Marvin was a wild young man who had been abandoned by his parents when he was a small child. He was handsome, reckless, and a notorious seducer of romantic, trusting young women. When Marvin Macy met Amelia, however, his life changed. He fell in love with her, reformed his character and behavior, and patiently waited two years before declaring his love and asking her to marry him. Amelia did marry him, albeit with the belief that the marriage was a business arrangement, and she aggressively resisted his efforts to consummate the marriage physically. In his efforts to win her over, he gave her all that he owned: his money, property, and gifts that he bought for her. After ten days of this uneasy relationship, with Marvin the lover trying earnestly to win over his beloved, she threw him out but kept all that he had given her. He left town, and rumors subsequently went around that he was in jail for robbery. Amelia’s life continued as before until the arrival of Lymon.
After six years of happiness and contentment between Amelia and Lymon, during which time the café flourishes and the townsfolk enjoy the social activity each Saturday night, Marvin Macy abruptly returns. Lymon is entranced; he adores this arrogant, swaggering, handsome outlaw. Marvin, for his part, ignores and even abuses Lymon.
During the winter, Lymon, undaunted by Marvin’s scorn, invites him to come and live in the café. Amelia makes no protest, not daring to insist that Marvin leave for fear that Lymon might go with him. Instead, she begins to practice boxing. She is an inch taller than Marvin Macy and solidly built; the townspeople speculate that she will instigate a fight when she feels confident that she can beat Marvin.
Finally that day arrives, and the townspeople gather to witness the fight. Amelia and Marvin exchange hundreds of blows over the course of a half hour or so; they are so nearly equally matched that no apparent advantage can be seen. Then the fighters shift to wrestling, grappling with intense effort and concentration. Finally, Amelia proves to be stronger and pins Marvin to the floor. Just as she has her hands around his throat and is on the verge of victory, however, Lymon, who has been standing on the counter in order to see better, leaps onto Amelia’s back and grabs her around the throat. This intervention turns the course of the fight, and Amelia is decisively beaten and left lying on the floor of her café. Marvin and the spectators leave, and Lymon hides underneath the back steps outdoors.
Later that same night, Marvin and Lymon return, and with Amelia closeted in her small office, they ransack the café, destroying what they do not care to take. As a final expression of their hatred, they prepare Amelia’s favorite dish—grits and sausage—mixed with poison.
Amelia becomes more and more isolated. She raises her prices, and people can no longer afford to eat at the café or shop at her store. She loses her interest in healing and in helping small children. For three years, she simply sits on the front steps, waiting, but Lymon never returns. Finally, she has the building boarded up and retreats to the upper story, whence she occasionally looks out over the town.
The town itself loses its spark as the life goes out of the café. It becomes a dispirited and isolated place, and the only pleasure the people find is in walking out to the highway, where a chain gang of twelve men is working at patching the road. The men in the gang begin singing, and as they sing, their song fills the listeners and the earth and sky with the music of human voices telling of the joys and sorrows of life. It is the music of men chained together.
Bibliography
Barlow, Daniel Patrick. “'And Every Day There Is Music': Folksong Roots and the Highway Chain Gang in The Ballad of the Sad Café.” Southern Literary Journal 44.1 (2011): 74–85. Print.
Champion, Laurie. “The Ballad of the Sad Café.” Identities and Issues in Literature. Ed. David Peck. Vol. 1. Pasadena: Salem, 1997. 142–43. Print.
McDowell, Margaret B. Carson McCullers. Boston: Twayne, 1980. Print.
Millar, Darren. “The Utopian Function of Affect in Carson McCullers's The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Café.” Southern Literary Journal 41.2 (2009): 87–105. Print.
Phillips, Robert S. “Painful Love: Carson McCullers’ Parable.” Southwest Review 51 (1966): 80–86. Print.
Stebbins, Todd. “McCullers’ The Ballad of the Sad Café.” Explicator 46.2 (1988): 36–38. Print.