Corregidora

Mutt is Ursa’s insecure, aggressive first husband. In the opening chapter, Mutt is presented as jealous and dangerous, throwing Ursa down a set of stairs after she refuses to stop singing her set. Mutt’s courtship of Ursa proves to have been equally troubling. He begins by watching her, rather than speaking to her, a move that quickly reveals his refusal to see her as a human and not an object. When he does finally speak to her, he uses intimidation to get her attention, rather than affection. As they get closer, Mutt becomes more and more controlling. Instead of cheering her on from the front row, he leers at the other male audience members from the back row. Mutt also withholds sex from Ursa in an attempt to assert power. He constantly makes her repeat that she is his, relegating her to the role of property. Even after he has caused such obvious physical damage to Ursa, he continues to haunt her life from outside the bar where she works. He sends his cousin, Jimmy, in to talk to her but Ursa refuses Jimmy’s appeals on Mutt’s behalf. For a while, Mutt fades out of Ursa’s life, only to reappear again two decades later, changed in appearance but not in personality, and ready to pick up where he left off.

Tadpole is the owner of Happy’s Bar, where Ursa works at the opening of the book. He initially appears caring and protective, helping her when she gets out of the hospital and keeping Mutt from bothering her. However, it quickly becomes clear that Tadpole is expecting something in return for his kindness. Ursa ends up giving in, and though she won’t say she loves him, agrees to his marriage proposal. Once they are married, Tadpole reveals his true character. Since Ursa is undergoing so many complications from the injuries she received from Mutt, she can’t perform very well sexually. Tadpole responds to this with anger, and eventually with adultery. He tries to make excuses and then to apologize, but Ursa knows a pattern when she sees one and refuses to return to him.

While Great Gram isn’t alive during the narrative present of the novel, her voice resonates as heavily throughout the book as any of her living counterparts. Ripped from the fields for the sole purpose of rape, Great Gram was determined to get back at her slave owner, Old Man Corregidora, by rehashing her story to her relatives, and especially to Ursa, whom she saw as the future propagator of evidence of the miscegenation she was forced to undergo. Great Gram describes being a favorite of Old Man Corregidora and all of the ugly implications that label entailed. She was unable to save her daughter from the same fate, so she appears to get solace from the fact that Corregidora will eventually be outed. She is adamant that his evil ways be revealed to the world, but her obsession is often conflated with a weird passion.

Ursa’s grandmother was born in a toilet and raised as a sex slave to Old Man Corregidora. While slavery was technically abolished as Grandmama was born, Great Gram and Grandmama were forced to stay with Corregidora. Eventually, Great Gram escaped, returning years later to rescue Grandmama, but only after Grandmama had suffered years of sexual abuse. Because they share the same abuser, Great Gram and Grandmama are extremely close; they sleep in the same bed and often trade the same war stories. There is some animosity between Grandmama and Ursa’s mom because of an incident between Grandmama and Ursa’s dad, Martin, in which Grandmama appeared to be trying to sexually arouse him. Never fettered by sexual boundaries before, this behavior by Grandmama makes sense in light of her character.

Ursa’s mother is a quiet, reserved woman. When Ursa visits her mother, her mother is depicted in one of her more vulnerable moments. She reveals how she was tricked and abused by Ursa’s dad and how she has given up on romantic love ever since. When Ursa was a child, her mother did all she could to protect her and continues to voice her concerns for Ursa as an adult, but she appears to feel as if she wields very little power in the world. She moves about her life still haunted by the vivid memories painted by her mother and grandmother.

While Corregidora himself is not living during the novel’s narrative present, he is essentially the reason for all of the action and damage that transpires in this story. A highly-abusive slave owner, he was not completely white himself, and this fact seems to intensify his racism. He raped and pimped out both Great Gram and Grandmama to other white men but made a violent scene if they so much as spoke to a black man on the plantation. He physically, sexually, and psychologically controlled Great Gram and Grandmama, leading to generations of pain and skewed self-perception.

Cat is the neighborhood hairdresser, known for being superstitious and a bit odd. She makes her first appearance when she brings soup to a grateful Ursa. Cat, like many of the people in Ursa’s life, is not what she first appears to be. She urges Ursa to talk to Mutt, despite the fact that she is the only one who is able to tell that Ursa lost a baby as a result of his attack. Then, when Ursa ends up staying at Cat’s house in an attempt to unburden Tadpole, Ursa overhears Cat being abusive to a teen she is supposed to be caring for. Cat later attempts to make amends with Ursa, explaining that she has suffered from a long history of abuse, but Ursa refuses to reconcile. Cat makes one last indirect appearance in the book when Ursa learns years later that Cat lost her hair in a factory accident and was forced into a lifetime of wearing cheap wigs.

Jeffey is the daughter of Lurene, Cat’s neighbor Cat watches Jeffey while Lurene works the night shift. Jeffey, who in Cat and Lurene’s presence appears to be a spunky but typical teen, turns out to be a devious sexual predator who assaults Ursa when she is asleep and reveals where Ursa is hiding to Mutt. When the story advances twenty years into the future, Jeffey is now known as Miss Jeffrene, but she continues to be as lewd and rude as when she was as child.

Martin is Ursa’s deadbeat father. He was a restaurant worker at the place where Ursa’s mom ate lunch, and he slowly seduced her until they had sex. Ursa’s mom planned to never speak to him after this experience, but after she realized she was pregnant, Great Gram made Martin marry Ursa’s mom. Martin was unkind to Ursa’s mom and her family and eventually deserted them. Years later, Martin pretends to want to see Ursa’s mom, only to beat her mother upon arrival. He last appears in the novel screaming at Ursa’s mother as she lugs her bruised body out of his door.

May Alice is Ursa’s childhood best friend.  A few years her senior, May Alice dispenses bad sex and relationship advice to a confused Ursa. Impregnated by a cowardly classmate, May Alice is forced to give birth at a young age, and without the support of Harold, the child’s father. While her situation is one to sympathize with, her continued belittling of Ursa makes her character ultimately unlikable.

Harold is Ursa’s classmate. He at one point threatens to rape her. Later on, he takes on the role of May Alice’s lover, only to abandon her when he impregnates her. His role in the book reminds readers of how early misogyny can start.

Vivian is the 15-year-old singer Tadpole hires to replace Ursa when she gets another job. She looks much older than her age, and Tadpole eventually ends up sleeping with her. When Ursa walks in on Vivian and Tadpole, Vivian all but ignores Ursa. Tadpole tries to excuse his actions by saying that Vivian comes from a poor background and needs someone to take care of her. Vivian and Tadpole remain together long after Ursa and Tadpole separate.

Mr. Grundy is the hairdresser where Ursa grew up. Like Cat, he’s not exactly professional but remains in business for decades due to the lack of competition. By the time Ursa is a middle-aged woman, Mr. Grundy is only retained by the older men of the town.

Lurene is Cat’s neighbor. She works long hours to support her and her daughter, Jeffey. It’s unclear if Lurene is oblivious to, or part of, Jeffey’s sexual problems.

Sal Cooper is a woman who works at Happy’s with Ursa. Ursa initially dislikes her for prying about her ancestry, which is a sensitive subject for Ursa. Sal Cooper reappears in a more positive light when the book shifts twenty years forward, and Sal reveals to Ursa that Mutt is going to come looking for her.

Max owns the Spider, the bar where Ursa gets a second job. He tries to sexually assault Ursa, but she refuses him. He apologizes and the relationship remains professional after that.