Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange

First published: 1985

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Bildungsroman

Time of plot: 1959

Locale: St. Louis, Missouri

Principal characters

• Betsey Brown, a thirteen-year-old girl
• Jane Brown, her mother, a social worker
• Greer Brown, her father, a doctor
• Allard, her younger brother
• Charlie, her cousin
• Vida Murray, her grandmother
• Bernice Calhoun, a a nanny
• Eugene Boyd, a friend of Charlie
• Regina Johnson, a nanny-housekeeper
• Mrs. Maureen, a beautician
• Carrie, a nanny-housekeeper
• Mr. Jeff, a gardener

The Story:

Betsey Brown is at the awkward junction between childhood and womanhood, torn between the everyday life of home and school and her dreams of romance and accomplishment. Often drawn into the schemes of her contentious younger siblings, she is also becoming aware of the complexities of the adult world, but not yet sure how to sort these realities out. The Brown’s rambling Victorian home is full of nooks and hideaways, and Betsey often retreats to one of them to think, and to observe the neighborhood’s activities unseen.

On a typical weekday morning, Betsey stands on a terrace watching the sun rise over the city’s rooftops. Soon the rest of the family is stirring, with the children squabbling over bathroom access, mother Jane and father Greer claiming a brief respite for lovemaking before the day’s duties set in, and Grandma Vida Murray, Jane’s mother, brewing coffee and checking out the children’s school gear. Betsey reluctantly comes inside, practicing a selection by composer Paul Laurence Dunbar that she is scheduled to recite in school today. Dr. Greer, an early advocate of African American pride, lines the children up and conducts a daily quiz. Each child fields a question on black leaders, culture, or geography. A correct answer wins them an extra nickel. They start for school as the parents leave for work. The neighborhood falls quiet. Vida goes outside to admire her beloved flower beds.

Despite the comforting routine of daily life, both Betsey and her world are on the cusp of change. Her mother feels overwhelmed by the multiple demands of her own life: raising five spirited children, working with crazy patients at the “colored” hospital, and Greer’s loud and heartfelt advocacy of African American music and causes.

One day, a weirdly dressed woman named Bernice Calhoun comes to the door, looking for work. Jane hires her and hopes Bernice will be a big help with the children. Vida, however, deplores her uncouth speech and manner. Betsey is hiding in her favorite retreat—the big oak tree in the front yard—when her mother calls the children to come meet their new nanny. No one before has discovered Betsey’s tree perch, but Bernice spots her there and reveals Betsey’s secret to the whole family. Betsey is quietly furious at having her hideaway revealed. It does not take much persuasion to organize her siblings into staging an especially chaotic morning for the next day. The morning includes widespread damage from spilled grease and from swinging on the curtains. Bernice quits her job on the spot.

Betsey brags at school about the episode, horrifying her friend Veejay. She tells Betsey that her mother makes her living looking after bratty white kids. Bad behavior like this is expected from whites, but she had thought Betsey would treat a black woman better.

Stung by Veejay’s comments, Betsey dashes home to make amends with Bernice, but she has gone. Jane and Vida do not blame Betsey for the morning disaster, but Betsey herself still feels guilty. Her longtime friendships at school are fraying under the stress of adolescent cliques and romance. Betsey herself is mightily interested in kisses. When cousin Charlie’s friend Eugene Boyd comes over to shoot baskets, her interest turns into reality. They share two gentle lip touches, but though Betsey imagines Eugene as her boyfriend, their kisses fail to enlighten her about the whole man-woman thing.

The adults of the family have their own preoccupations. Jane, still bothered by the constant noise and confusion of family life, hires a young woman named Regina Johnson as a nanny and housekeeper. The girls love Regina’s fashion consciousness and high spirits, but Vida views her as a bad influence. In the meantime, court-ordered busing has begun in St. Louis, Missouri, and Greer insists his children take part. Jane fears for their safety, but Greer stays adamant. They must do it for their own future and for the future of their race, he says.

The children are nervous, too, but Charlie reminds them that Emmett Till was the same age as him when he was brutally murdered. At the new school, Betsey’s experience is not so bad. At worst, some of her new classmates ignore her. Charlie comes home with a black eye; he had to defend himself against a gang of five. Greer offers to go with him to school tomorrow, reassuring Charlie. He knows that Greer had been a boxing champion in his youth. The family settles into a new schedule, with the children commuting uneasily between their safe neighborhood and the white world.

One day the stress becomes too much for Betsey. Her mother yells at her for her low-class taste in music and dancing, and her teacher refuses to let her report on composer Dunbar. Everyone distrusts Betsey’s interest in boys. Finally, Betsey realizes that she does not fit in with her family. After some thought she decides to go work at Mrs. Maureen’s beauty salon and make her way in the world.

Betsey’s appearance at the salon shocks Mrs. Maureen, whose evening work as a madam is just winding up when Betsey appears. Maureen brings Betsey into the beauty shop, treats her to a luxurious makeover, and explains that she cannot hire her. She gives Betsey money for a cab ride home. Betsey dallies on the way, immersed in daydreams. Her family does not know she is safe until the police take her to the hospital, where a distraught Dr. Greer is making rounds.

The next day, Greer and Jane quarrel over Greer’s plan to take the children to a street demonstration. To Jane, this is tantamount to child abuse. Greer will not back down, so Jane leaves. In her absence, Greer hires a woman named Carrie to look after the house and children. Carrie is competent but strange, and her colorful vocabulary and relationship with Mr. Jeff, the gardener, alarm Vida, the family’s moralist. Late one evening, Jane returns home. She fires Carrie, who has just been arrested for knife-fighting. The family is overjoyed with their mother’s return and the return of normal life. Betsey climbs back into her tree and broods about all she has learned.

Bibliography

Ryan, Judylyn S. Spirituality as Ideology in Black Women’s Film and Literature. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2005. This study of the spiritual in the creative work of African American women includes a chapter comparing Shange’s use of spirituality to that of writer Zora Neale Hurston and playwright Ama Ata Aidoo.

Shange, Ntozake. “Catching up with Ntozake Shange.” Interview by Will Power. American Theatre 24 (April, 2007): 30-33. A transcript of an interview, with added notes. Shange speaks of the influence of place on her plays, pointing out how, for example, highway-building breaks up urban neighborhoods to create a sense of loss for residents.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “In the Heart of Shange’s Feminism: An Interview.” Interview by Neal A. Lester. Black American Literature Forum 24 (Winter, 1990): 717. Shange explains the roots of her feminism in this interview. She also discusses her thoughts on the different ways that men and women respond to novels.

Tate, Claudia. Black Women Writers at Work. New York: Continuum, 1983. In her essay in this collection, Shange explains how and why she is “writing for little girls coming of age.”

Whitson, Kathy J. Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004. This article reads Shange from the point of view of her feminism as well as her race. Places her alongside feminist writers of all races and nationalities.

Willard, Nancy. “Life Abounding in St. Louis.” The New York Times Book Review, May 12, 1985, p. 12. A lengthy review of Betsey Brown. Praises Shange’s use of dialogue to convey character, and the evocative quality of her descriptions of place and atmosphere.