Road to Review - Mrs. Wiggins (Chapters 15-18)

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

OK, SO BOOM!

Claude and Maggie’s mother-son relationship grows stronger. She strives to be a firm and supportive parent to her only child. In comparison to Jessie, Maggie feels proud and extremely blessed with the family and image she’s created for herself.

Jessie’s son, Earl, is noticeably delayed in speaking and walking. She takes him to the doctor and finds out he is cognitively impaired. She’s upset with the diagnosis because she knows her husband, Orville, will surely blame her for Earl’s impairment, which he does.

In the process of blaming each other, hot tea is spilled, Honey! Orville has another son. Disclosing this confirms that he’s been having extramarital affairs and children outside his and Jessie’s marriage.

Eventually, the fuss between them dies down once Maggie inserts herself. She knows she can smooth over just about anything with her renowned gumbo. After Maggie leaves, she returns with the gumbo and consoles Jessie. Their conversation takes a turn when Jessie mentions that one good thing about Earl’s impairment is that he will never leave her. She also notes that sooner than later, Maggie will have to worry about Claude getting married, implying that whoever becomes his wife will replace Maggie. This comment alarms Maggie, but she remains hopeful and determined to be the most important woman in Claude’s life.

For chapters 16-18, we fast forward 13 years and land in the middle of a recession, now known as The Great Depression in U.S. history. Claude has matriculated from high school and Maggie is recently unemployed. She finds herself between jobs, but not for long, as a recently retired church member refers her to apply for the position she retired from.

Maggie jumps at this opportunity and immediately contacts Mrs. Fern Dowler about the position. Mrs. Dowler doesn’t ask many questions or require previous employer contacts for referrals. The only referral that mattered was Mrs. King’s, the lady who retired from working for Mrs. Dowler.

In little to no time, Maggie meets Mrs. Dowler, an 87-year-old, well-to-do, white woman with more money than she knows what to do with. Maggie barely gets a word in as Mrs. Dowler rushes through the job responsibilities. We soon find out that the job requires more than taking care of laundry. Mrs. Dowler has a garden that has a pest problem. She needs someone to tend to the pests by spreading arsenic. Maggie has no problem with this additional duty. This pleases Mrs. Dowler and further encourages her to continue speaking with Maggie about anything and everything that comes to her mind.

Maggie is excited to start working for Mrs. Dowler and is relieved that money is no longer an issue. Mrs. Dowler offers to pay her double whatever Maggie earned at her previous employer and insists that Maggie use the front door when entering and exiting her house. These small but impactful gestures suggest that among being personable and generous, Mrs. Dowler is more progressive than the average white person would be at this time in history. Working for Mrs. Dowler proves to be more than a financial increase for Maggie. By proxy, the generosity of Mrs. Dowler improves Maggie’s social status in her community.

Maggie’s life feels like it’s in perfect alignment. She has a husband, son, and job she’s proud of. This must be what it’s like to experience euphoric contentment, and it was until Jessie opened her mouth. It’s 1939, three years since Maggie started working with Mrs. Dowler and Claude’s high school graduation. Orville is still a butt. Hubert continues to see his friends. Nothing has changed much. Jessie and Maggie’s friendship is still intact. Jessie is a faithful gossiper and on this particular day, while visiting each other, Jessie’s tea is about Claude. She didn’t want to spill it, but Maggie’s curiosity drags it out. Maggie’s son, Claude, is what the jowls are clapping around town about because he’s 21 and dating a 32-year-old woman with four children. Just like that, Maggie’s upright world which she’s carefully curated, starts to tilt on an unbalanced plane.

Will Maggie tell Hubert about Claude? Will Claude tell his parents about him and Daisy? What do you think will happen next?

Share your thoughts! Let me know in the comments below.

Look for me in your rear-view mirror. I’ll see you all in the next Road to Review.

If you will be purchasing a physical copy of the book, please consider purchasing through my Bookshop.org shop. If you purchase from there, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Plus, you’ll be supporting your local bookstores. It’s a win all around.

Keep up with everything related to this buddy read. Links will be available as they become LIVE. Come see and join me!