Document Information
- Section & Chapter: Part One, Chapter 12
- Scene: Jim and Marcus see Bonbon’s wife as she watches Marcus.
- Draft: Early manuscript
- File location: Box 3, folder 3
Discussion Questions
- This is the first time that the narrator refers to Louise Bonbon by her name, and not as “Bonbon’s wife.” Why might Gaines have named “the mistress,” Pauline, earlier in the text than “Bonbon’s wife” Louise?
- From this point forward, “Louise” is used more often than “Bonbon’s wife” to refer to this character. What event might have caused this change?
- In the published text, Gaines changes “Bon Bon” to “Bonbon.” In French “bon” means good, but “bonbon” means candy. What implications could either meaning (good good or candy) have on the characterization of Sidney Bonbon?
By then we were passing Bon Bon’s house, and as I glanced toward the house—Bon Bon wasn’t there or I wouldn’t’a done so in the first place—I saw his wife Louise sitting on the gallery in the rocking chair. She was looking at the tractor. But I shouldn’t say “the tractor,” I shouldn’t say the two trailers, or the corn that—I shouldn’t even say she was looking at us. She was looking at just one person—Marcus. Marcus wasn’t standing more than two or three feet away from me, and Louise Bon Bon was over a hundred feet away from the road, but I could feel that she on looking only at Marcus.
“Ain’t that his wife?” Marcus was saying. He hadn’t notice the look, he probably hadn’t seen her looking.
“That’s his wife,” I said.
“So he got two, huh? A black one down the quarter and a white one up here?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“And y’all don’t do a thing about it?”
“What should we do?”
“Meeting,” Marcus said.
“I’m sure you’re going to do a lot” I said.
“I’m go’n get that black woman,” Marcus said. “I tell you that much.”
“Sure,” I said.
He jumped down and opened the gate for me, and after I had parked the trailer of corn before the barn and put some more water and fuel into Red Hanna, I hooked her up to the two empty trailer and went on back down the quarter.
Document Information
- Section & Chapter: Part One, Chapter 12
- Scene: Jim and Marcus see Bonbon’s wife and she watches Marcus
- Draft: Early typescript
- File location: Box 3, folder 15
Discussion Questions
- Gaines edits out the description of how young Louise looks from far away, but actually looks her age when close to her. In the published text, the physical description of Louise does not come until Chapter 25 after Marcus takes a notice in her. What difference does it make to have any defining descriptions of Louise arrive later in the novel?
- Gaines emphasizes through the narrator Jim that Louise is watching Marcus, although Marcus does not notice. Why is this significant? Who is Marcus focused on instead and why?
By then we were passing Bon Bon’s house, and as I glanced toward the house—Bon Bon wasn’t there or I wouldn’t have done so in the first place—I saw his wife Louise sitting on the gallery in the rocking chair. She was looking at the tractor. But I shouldn’t say “the tractor”; I shouldn’t say the two trailors of corn—I shouldn’t even say she was looking at us. She was looking at only one person—Marcus. Marcus wasn’t standing more than two or three feet away from me, and Louise Bon Bon was over a hundred feet, maybe a hundred and fifty feet away from the road, but I could feel that she was looking only at Marcus.
“Ain’t that his wife?” Marcus was saying. He hadn’t noticed the look, he probably hadn’t seen her looking.
“That’s his wife,” I said.
“So he got two, huh? A black one down the quarters and a white one up here?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“And y’all don’t do a thing, don’t even chunk on his house?”
“No, we don’t chunk on his house,” I said. “We were waiting for you to lead us.”
“I’ll tell you what I’m go’n do,” he said. “I’m taking that black woman.”
“Sure,” I said.
He jumped down and opened the gate for me, and after I had parked the two trailors before the crib I put some water and fuel in the tractor and hooked up to the empty ones. Then we went on back down the quarters.
Louise Bon Bon was still on the gallery, still watching the tractor. It looked like she hadn’t even turned her head since the time we went up to the yard. Louise wasn’t a big woman, she looked more like a girl thirteen or fourteen from a distant. Then when you got closer, you could see she was older—twenty-four or twenty-five. But I shouldn’t say the tractor, I should say him. So she was there watching us—I mean him again. I had seen her look at other guys in the quarters (myself included) but I had never seen her watch any one black man like she was watching Marcus now.