The Member of the Wedding: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Member of the Wedding" is a poignant exploration of complex characters navigating themes of identity, family, and societal expectations. At the center is Frankie Addams, a twelve-year-old tomboy struggling with feelings of loneliness and a yearning for connection as she prepares for her brother's wedding. Her character embodies the challenges of adolescence, particularly regarding self-image and social acceptance. Berenice Sadie Brown, the motherly cook, provides a stabilizing influence in Frankie's life, offering wisdom and guidance rooted in her life experiences. Meanwhile, Frankie's father, Royal Addams, represents a more traditional, absent-minded paternal figure, further complicating her quest for belonging.
As the story unfolds, we also meet Jarvis, Frankie’s brother, and his fiancée Janice, who play significant roles in the wedding's dynamics while highlighting Frankie's sense of alienation. Supporting characters like T. T. Williams and Honey Camden Brown reflect the complexities of race and class, enriching the narrative with their contrasting perspectives. The tragic events surrounding John Henry "Candy" West, Frankie's young cousin, further deepen the emotional landscape, emphasizing the themes of loss and the search for identity. Together, these characters weave a rich tapestry of human experience, inviting readers to reflect on their own relationships and societal roles.
The Member of the Wedding: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Carson McCullers
First published: 1951
Genre: Play
Locale: Georgia
Plot: Impressionistic realism
Time: August, 1945
Frankie Addams, a confident yet naïve tomboy. The twelve-year-old is conscious of her height (five feet, six inches) and has had her hair shaved off, though it has grown to resemble a boy's. She is uneasy about her developing sensuality, her family relationships, and social behavior, especially among adults, servants, and other adolescents. Recently, she has been evicted from a movie house for booing a romantic film and has been rejected as a member of a local girls' club. The motherless blonde girl decides to become a member of her brother's wedding party in an attempt to end her loneliness and to become someone of consequence. She is dreamy and restless, and she lives in fantasy.
Berenice Sadie Brown, a stout, motherly black cook. First married at the age of thirteen, she has had four husbands in her forty-five years and is a philosophical observer of the community about her, both black and white. She has a flat face and one blue glass eye that sometimes bothers her (at which times she removes it and uses a black eye-patch); nevertheless, she does not seem to be a grotesque, for her motherly role and characteristics are dominant. She alone has authority with Frankie and tells her that she must grow up; she is regarded by the black community as its matriarch.
Royal Addams, Frankie's widowed father. A small-town jeweler, he is a deliberate and absentminded man of about forty-five, set in his ways and old-fashioned in look and manner. He is conservative in outlook, unmindful of his responsibility for Frankie's social and personal development; he has never spanked her. He has allowed Berenice to be his surrogate as a parent. He spends long hours at his store, and when he is home, he does not seem to hear much of what Frankie says to him.
Jarvis Addams, Frankie's brother, a good-looking twenty-one-year-old soldier. He is somewhat embarrassed because he has brought his fiancée, Janice, to be married at his home and Frankie does not understand the proprieties of a wedding.
Janice Williams, Jarvis' fiancée, a pretty, fresh-looking girl of between eighteen and nineteen. She has a pleasing personality and is sensitive to Frankie's sense of alienation; she assures Frankie that she and Jarvis love her and want her to visit them after their wedding trip. She is eager to be accepted by her new family.
T. T. Williams, a friend of Berenice. A large and pompous-looking black man of about fifty, he dresses like a church deacon, wearing a black suit and a red emblem in his lapel. He is timid and overly polite, having experienced the worst aspects of race relations, yet he is a guardian of Berenice's foster brother, Honey Camden Brown, and collects donations for the funeral of Sis Laura, the vegetable vendor who dies.
Honey Camden Brown, Berenice's foster brother. A slender, limber black man of about twenty, he is a foil to T. T. Williams: He is light brown in skin color; wears bright, fashionable clothes; and is either brusque or speaks in a manner that combines hostility and teasing. His having been “left out” of society has made him mean, Berenice thinks. Only reluctantly does he “yes, sir” Royal Addams; he is tired of being called a nigger. When he is refused service, he draws a razor, then is hunted down. Ironically, he declares that he is happy now because he is free of a sense of inferiority, but he is caught and hangs himself in jail.
John Henry “Candy” West, Frankie's seven-year-old cousin. He is a delicate, active boy who wears gold-rimmed spectacles that give him the look of a judge. He is sunburned, fair-haired, and usually barefoot. Although he is much younger than Frankie, he is in many ways more mature; he is certainly more realistic and more perspicacious about matters of race, class, and status. His death from meningitis the same week that Honey commits suicide affects Frankie: She senses his presence, “solemn-looking and ghost gray,” but also senses her loss, which she tries to compensate for by befriending Barney MacKean.