Brown Girl, Brownstones: Analysis of Major Characters
"Brown Girl, Brownstones" is a poignant exploration of identity, family dynamics, and the immigrant experience as seen through the eyes of Selina Boyce, a young Black girl navigating her upbringing among Barbadian immigrants in Brooklyn. The novel delves into Selina's complex relationships with her parents: Deighton, her idealistic father, and Silla, her pragmatic mother. Deighton embodies whimsical dreams of prosperity and a return to their homeland, while Silla is focused on establishing stability in New York, leading to significant tension within the family.
As Selina seeks to mediate the conflicting desires of her parents, she concurrently grapples with her own emerging identity and desires, symbolizing a broader quest for self-discovery. The narrative is enriched by secondary characters like Suggie, a tenant who introduces Selina to aspects of life and sexuality, and Miss Thompson, a hairdresser who provides emotional support. Clive Springer, Selina's first lover, also plays a crucial role in her journey, reflecting the struggles that accompany racial and social challenges. Overall, the novel presents a rich tapestry of experiences that highlight the nuanced struggles of first-generation immigrants and the quest for personal and cultural identity.
Brown Girl, Brownstones: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Paule Marshall
First published: 1959
Genre: Novel
Locale: Brooklyn, New York
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: 1939 to the late 1940's
Selina Boyce, a young black girl growing up among Barbadian immigrants in a section of Brooklyn. Selina is a sensitive, intelligent child, extremely attached to her free-spirited father and at fierce odds with her strong-willed, practical mother, both recent immigrants from Barbados. Throughout most of the novel, Selina attempts to act as mediator between her beloved but hopelessly idealistic father and her hard, manipulating mother, whose only dream is to buy a home of her own, rather than run the boardinghouse in which the Boyce family lives. The explosive tension within the family is matched by the internal sexual and emotional tension within the adolescent Selina. She watches helplessly as her family disintegrates, and she struggles to escape the destruction through a personal metamorphosis, a transformation from an “invisible” black child into a self-reliant woman in search of her roots.
Deighton Boyce, Selina's father. Deighton's impractical idealism leads him to various dead ends. He chases one grand scheme to achieve fame and financial security after another, only to abandon the projects when success or acceptance is not immediate. Still, Selina adores her free-spirited father and shares his whimsical dreams. When Deighton receives word that he has inherited a piece of land in Barbados, he and Selina begin to spin a dream of a return to the homeland as prosperous landowners. When Selina's mother sells Deighton's land behind his back, Deighton initiates a path of rage and self-destruction.
Silla Boyce, Selina's mother. Silla is a strong, willful woman with one goal: to establish a permanent home for herself and her family in New York. She wants no part of Deighton's dream of a return to their homeland, which she remembers as oppressive and spiritually bankrupt. She covertly sells Deighton's land, and when he wastes the money she received for the land and abandons the family for a religious cult, she reports him to the immigration services and has him deported. All of her actions enrage Selina, with whom Silla engages in an ongoing struggle for control and dominance.
Suggie, a tenant in the Boyce's boardinghouse. Suggie is well known for her sexual adventures, inviting various men up to her room each night. Her bohemian lifestyle attracts the curiosity of Selina, who eventually finds in Suggie a kind of mentor and friend. Suggie encourages the frightened, shy Selina to reach out for life and also assists Selina in discovering her sexual self.
Miss Thompson, a hairdresser and an acquaintance of the Boyces. Miss Thompson serves as a mother figure to Selina, who is able to talk to the hairdresser in ways she finds impossible with her own mother. Miss Thompson walks with a limp as the result of a wound in her leg received in her youth when a young man attempted to rape her. She carries her wound as a reminder to herself and all who see her of the victimization of uneducated, disenfranchised immigrant women.
Clive Springer, Selina's first lover, a twenty-nine-year-old artist and World War II veteran. In addition to initiating Selina into the world of sexual expression, Clive helps her through various racial and social traumas. Despite his important role as Selina's first male mentor other than her father, Clive himself is defeated by the world. The war destroyed much of his sensitivity, and racial and artistic prejudices continue to plague him.