Shuttered Windows by Florence Crannell Means
"Shuttered Windows" by Florence Crannell Means is a coming-of-age novel that tells the story of Harriet Freeman, an orphan who yearns to connect with her only living relative, her great-grandmother Granny Freeman, on Gentlemen's Island in South Carolina. The narrative captures Harriet’s internal conflicts as she grapples with her identity and the stark realities of life in the segregated South, which contrast sharply with her sheltered upbringing in Minnesota. Upon arriving, Harriet is confronted by the poverty and segregation that prevail in the region, challenging her romanticized expectations of her great-grandmother and the local school, Landers.
As Harriet navigates her new environment, she experiences feelings of superiority and later, humility, particularly upon discovering her great-grandmother's illiteracy and the socioeconomic struggles of her peers. The novel explores themes of race, class, and identity, as Harriet evolves from a self-centered perspective to one of empathy and understanding. Ultimately, she decides to stay in the South to help her great-grandmother and educate the local Black community, illustrating her journey toward self-discovery and social responsibility. Despite its historical context and dated terminology, "Shuttered Windows" offers valuable insights into universal adolescent struggles, fostering connections across cultural divides.
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Subject Terms
Shuttered Windows by Florence Crannell Means
First published: 1938; illustrated
Type of work: Social realism
Themes: Poverty, race and ethnicity, family, and friendship
Time of work: The 1930’s
Recommended Ages: 13-15
Locale: Landers School and Gentlemen’s Island, near Charleston, South Carolina
Principal Characters:
Harriet Freeman , a young, talented, privileged, and educated black girl, orphaned in Minnesota, who travels to South Carolina and is compelled to stayGranny Freeman , Harriet’s warmhearted great-grandmother, who is the only living link to her heritageRichard Corwin , a sensitive and intelligent but poor black boy from Gentlemen’s Island who becomes Harriet’s close friendMr. and Mrs. Trindle , Harriet’s foster parents in Minnesota, who encourage her to return North, where life for blacks is easierLily , an impish, orphaned black child, who was taken in by Harriet’s GrannyMossie Clapp , Harriet’s roommate at Landers, who is a shy, poor, black girl from rural South CarolinaJohnnie La Rocque , a young girl from Jamaica, who, like Harriet, feels out of place at Landers
The Story
The circumstances presented in the plot of Shuttered Windows provide an effective vehicle for realistic fiction. The protagonist, Harriet Freeman, faces events both beyond and within her control, and adolescent readers will identify with Harriet as she struggles with internal conflicts. An orphan, Harriet wishes to visit her proud and independent great-grandmother, Granny Freeman, her only living relative, who lives on Gentlemen’s Island in South Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Trindle, Harriet’s foster parents, know that the South is not a welcome place for blacks, yet they understand Harriet’s desire to meet her great-grandmother and agree to drive her there. Harriet’s great-grandmother has asked her to spend her senior year at Landers, a school for girls. Eager to go, Harriet has romanticized visions of the island, the school, and even Granny. Upon her arrival in South Carolina, however, Harriet is shocked by the poverty and the strict segregation, revelations for which life in Minnesota had not prepared her. Finding Landers beneath her, Harriet decides before completing a tour that she will not enroll there. Daunted by her impression of Landers, Harriet is still eager to meet her great-grandmother. Harriet’s first impression of Granny is one of bewilderment: She dresses strangely, speaks in a dialect almost unrecognizable as English, and lives in a shack by the sea with Lily, a young orphan. Harriet is greeted affectionately by Granny and Lily, and quickly responds in kind.
At a picnic, Harriet notices an attractive young man Lily identifies as Richie; Harriet has no idea that he is Richard Corwin, the one who handles her great-grandmother’s correspondence. Richard, a helpful and sensitive boy, means little to Harriet until he tells her that he is the R. Corwin mentioned in her great-grandmother’s letters. Harriet discovers that Granny’s letters were written by Richard, not because her vision is failing, as Harriet had assumed, but because Granny is illiterate. Harriet is humiliated. When she learns that Granny’s house is to be sold for back taxes, however, her shame is replaced by a desire to help. Harriet decides to stay nearby, attend Landers, and find a way to help Granny keep her home; she will return North for college when the school year is over.
Harriet is shocked when she meets her roommate, Mossie Clapp, a poor and timid rural girl. Full of contempt, Harriet rudely requests that Mossie be replaced with Johnnie La Rocque, a girl from Jamaica. In Harriet’s opinion, she and Johnnie have much in common: Johnnie dresses properly, speaks proper English, and does not plan to remain in the South.
The other students resent Harriet and Johnnie because of their attitudes, and life at Landers is miserable for the pair. Harriet later discovers that, but for circumstances of birth, she, too, might be like these girls. Her feelings of superiority give way to a sense of identification with those she realizes are her own people: Harriet now wishes to help Mossie refine her behavior and style of dress. With Granny’s house secured and the school year completed, Harriet decides to stay and help Richard educate the local blacks.
Context
Means was a prolific author who wrote more than thirty books for young readers, as well as plays, short stories, and adult fiction. Although white, Means devoted most of her efforts to writing about minority groups, such as blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. In an effort to make the lives of minority individuals understandable to a white audience, she emphasizes character, with the belief that people relate to people, regardless of race.
Now considered a period piece—blacks are called Negroes or colored, and whites and blacks live in a strictly segregated world—Shuttered Windows nevertheless has much to offer its readers. The central conflicts contained in the novel are common to all people: Harriet’s struggle to find her place in the world is a universal adolescent experience.
Means helps white readers identify with a black protagonist in a novel way. Because Harriet’s parents moved to Minnesota before she was born she knew no other life, and although black, she was never subjected to the sort of life-style that Southern blacks during the 1930’s had to endure. Harriet finds the setting of the Deep South as alien as might most readers, because her experience has been one outside a poor and segregated community. Harriet’s values with regard to education, art, music, and literature are more like those of middle-class whites than of Southern or urban blacks. Those readers who sympathize with Harriet must consider and eventually accept an alternative set of values.