Document Information

• Section & Chapter: Part Three, Chapter 39
• Scene: Marcus meets Louise at her house.
• Draft: Early Manuscript
• File location: Box 3, folder 9

Discussion Questions

1. The deleted lines in the published version of the novel suggest a tension surrounding Mr. Hatley’s private land and the work being done there. What might be the significance of this tension in the context of the characters' relationships, and why might Gaines have decided to exclude it?
2. Why do you think Gaines chose to delete the character of Hatley from the published version of Of Love and Dust? How might the removal of characters such as Hatley alter the thematic focus and interpersonal dynamics of the novel?

Part Three

= Chapter Thirty-Nine =

Five minutes after Bonbon left the house Friday night, the dog started growling. Louise went out into the yard and led the dog to the other side of the house while Marcus came in through the back door. Then Louise came upon the front gallery, passed by Aunt Margaret and Tite, and went in the room where he was.

There wasn’t any noise tonight. No dresser behind the door, no armoire falling. No chairs slamming against the wall; no running, no jumping, no slapping. The room was quiet as the gallery, quiet as the yard, quiet as the whole plantation.

When Tite fell asleep in Aunt Margaret’s arms, Aunt Margaret took her inside and put her to bed. Then she came back on the gallery and sat in her rocker again. Louise came out the bedroom a couple minutes later and went into the kitchen. Aunt Margaret heard her setting things on the stove, and she could smell the food when Louise dished it up and brought it back to the bedroom. Louise didn’t latch the door or put anything behind it, and Aunt Margaret could hear them talking in there.

That was Friday night. Sunday morning Bonbon left the house early to go hunting with his brothers. Louise had found out the day before that he was going hunting, and she had even sent word to Aunt Margaret then to come up there Sunday after church. Aunt Margaret went home and changed clothes as soon as church was over and went up the quarter.

She heard [Illegible] Unc Octave and [Illegible] Pauline sitting on the gallery talking about Jojo and Hatley. She had next heard words of the [Illegible] next she had heard Mr. [Illegible] saying he couldn’t understand [Illegible] for killing off all those [Illegible], ??? he ?? ??? ??? with Jojo who can’t even [Illegible]. Unc Octave said he couldn’t understand it [Illegible] but Hatley [Illegible] had something in mind. And [Illegible] had heard the [Illegible] on the [Illegible].

Document Information

• Section & Chapter: Part Three, Chapter 40
• Scene: Marcus meets Louise at her house.
• Draft: Early typescript
• File location: Box 3, folder 24

Discussion Questions

1. In the published version, Gaines deleted several of the descriptive lines in this passage. How does the revision change the mood and tempo of the passage? Might the deletions create a different impression of tension inside the house?
2. This draft includes more instances of auditory imagery than later drafts and the published version. How does the auditory imagery change the emotional tone or tension between characters? Why would Gaines want to minimize such imagery?

PART THREE

Chapter Forty

Five minutes after Bonbon left the house Friday night, the dog started growling. Louise went out into the yard and led the dog to the other side of the house while Marcus came in through the back door. Then Louise came upon the front gallery, passed by Aunt Margaret and Tite, and went into the room where he was.

There wasn’t any noise tonight. No dresser behind the door, no armoire falling. No chairs slamming against the wall; no running, no jumping, no slapping. The room was quiet as the gallery, quiet as the yard, quiet as the whole plantation.

When Tite fell asleep in Aunt Margaret’s arms, Aunt Margaret took her inside and put her to bed. Then she came back on the gallery and sat in her rocker again. Louise came out the bedroom a couple minutes later and went into the kitchen. Aunt Margaret heard her setting things on the stove, and she could smell the food when Louise dished it up and brought it back to the bedroom. Louise didn’t latch the door or put anything behind it, and Aunt Margaret could hear them talking in there.

That was Friday night. Sunday morning Bonbon left the house early to go hunting with his brothers. Louise found out the day before that he was supposed to go hunting, and she had even sent word to Aunt Margaret then to come up there Sunday after church. Aunt Margaret went home and changed clothes soon as church was over and went up the quarter. When she came into the yard, she found Tite sitting under one of the trees making mud pies. Tite was stirring the mud in a bowl and laying the pies out on a piece of tin in the sun. Aunt Margaret talked with her a while; then she went up on the gallery and sat down. She expected to hear the dog barking a few minutes after she was there, but half an hour went by and still the dog hadn’t made a sound. Then, as she started inside to get a drink of water, she glanced toward the bedroom door. The door was opened just a little, but enough so Aunt Margaret could see there were two people laying on the bed.

“My Master, my Master,” she said. “Aunt that poor child …”

She ran to the door now and slammed it shut. But without the latch on the door, or a chair or something else behind it, the door opened again. It didn’t open much –only a crack—but still enough for somebody to see into the room. She slammed it again, again. But every time she slammed it, it opened just that crack. She moved into the room and slammed it harder.