Betsey Brown
"Betsey Brown" is a coming-of-age novel by Ntozake Shange that centers on the experiences of its thirteen-year-old protagonist, Betsey Brown, as she navigates the complexities of adolescence and identity. Written specifically for adolescent African American girls, the story addresses the lack of relatable literature available to Shange during her own youth, highlighting the unique challenges faced by young Black women. Set against the backdrop of St. Louis in 1959, the narrative unfolds during a pivotal time as the city begins to integrate its public schools, placing Betsey and her siblings among the first Black students in formerly all-white institutions.
Betsey is the eldest of five children in a middle-class family, where her father emphasizes cultural heritage and civil rights, while her mother grapples with her own identity and fears about the dangers of involvement in the struggle for equality. A key theme in the novel is the importance of understanding and embracing one's cultural roots, which is epitomized in the contrasting perspectives of Betsey's parents. The story ultimately showcases Betsey's growth and self-discovery as she learns to honor her heritage and assert herself, particularly in the absence of her mother, who later returns transformed after embracing her own identity. Overall, "Betsey Brown" provides rich insights into the intersections of race, identity, and family dynamics during a significant historical moment.
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Subject Terms
Betsey Brown
Playwright
- Born: October 18, 1948
- Birthplace: Trenton, New Jersey
First published: 1985
The Work
Playwright. Betsey Brown tells the story of its thirteen-year-old title character’s struggles with adolescence, with discovering who she is and who she might become. Ntozake Shange wrote the coming-of-age novel specifically to provide reading material for adolescent African American girls. In her youth, Shange could find no books to help her sort out her life: Books about young women were written by Whites for Whites, and most books by Blacks were by and about men.
Betsey Brown is the oldest of five unruly children in a middle-class family. Like most adolescent girls, she feels separated from the rest of her family. They do not understand or appreciate her. Betsey’s father wants her to grow up to lead her people to freedom. He wakes the children every morning with a conga drum and chanting and then leads them through a quiz on black history. All of the children can recite poetry by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Countée Cullen; they know the music of Dizzy Gillespie, Chuck Berry, and Duke Ellington. Betsey herself was once rocked to sleep by W. E. B. Du Bois. Betsey’s mother fears that this exposure will limit her children instead of expanding them. She would like the children to grow up with nice middle-class manners and tastes. In many ways, she has denied her own heritage, her own identity. Eventually, she leaves the family for a time.
The story is firmly rooted in its specific time and place. In 1959, St. Louis took its first steps toward integrating its public schools, and the Brown children are among the first black children bussed to formerly all-white schools. The father has tried to prepare the children by giving them a firm sense of self and heritage. He is eager for them to enter the struggle for civil rights, even as the mother fears that they will be in danger if they become too involved.
A central issue of the novel is the importance of passing down one’s cultural heritage. It is not until the mother decisively embraces her heritage that she can again join the family. While she is absent, the housekeeper assumes her role as mother and guide and teaches Betsey and the other children how to follow the dreams of both parents. They learn to stand up for themselves, honor their culture and history, and to be well-mannered and self-sufficient. When Jane returns, it is to a new Betsey, one who has taken the first steps in forging her adult identity. Ntozake Shange died at the age of seventy in 2018.
Bibliography
Collins-Hughes, Laura. “Ntozake Shange, Who Wrote 'for Colored Girls,' Is Dead at 70.” The New York Times, 28 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/obituaries/ntozake-shange-is-dead-at-70.html. Accessed 15 Apr. 2023.
Hocker, Joyce L. "Growing Up With Civil Rights: A Developmental Autoethnography." Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 21, no. 8, 2015. doi.org/10.1177/107780041556979. Accessed 15 Apr. 2023.
Ling, Peter J., and Sharon Monteith, eds. Gender in the Civil Rights Movement. Routledge, 2014.
Martin, Reginald. Ntozake Shange’s First Novel: In the Beginning Was the Word. Mary Washington College, 1984.
Ryan, Judylyn S. Spirituality as Ideology in Black Women’s Film and Literature. U of Virginia P, 2005.
Schindehette, Susan. Review of Betsey Brown, by Ntozake Shange. Saturday Review, vol. 11, May 1985, p. 74.
Splawn, Jane P. “Rites of Passage in the Writing of Ntozake Shange: The Poetry, Drama, and Novels.” Dissertation Abstracts International, vol. 50, Sept. 1989, p. 687A.
Tate, Claudia. Black Women Writers at Work. Continuum, 1983.
Whitson, Kathy J. Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature. Greenwood Press, 2004.
Willard, Nancy. Review of Betsey Brown, by Ntozake Shange. The New York Times Book Review, May 1985, p. 12.