52 pages • 1 hour read
Mary MonroeMrs. Wiggins
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 2, Chapters 27-39Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2: “1936-1939”
Part 2, Chapter 27 Summary
Maggie calls Daisy and arranges to go blackberry picking with her. Daisy instructs Maggie to come in the back door when she arrives but later calls to cancel their meeting. That night, Claude comes to the house with a torn shirt and a wound on his head. He saw Daisy at the bootlegger with another man, and when Claude questioned her activities, Daisy attacked him. On another occasion, when he objected to her going out drinking, Daisy held a gun to Claude’s head. Although Maggie and Hubert are upset, Claude says if Daisy wanted to do him real harm, she would have done so already.
Part 2, Chapter 28 Summary
Claude, believing Daisy is sorry, decides to return to her house. Maggie calls Daisy, who says that Claude apologized for making her mad. They arrange to go blackberry picking the next day, but Daisy asks that Maggie not tell anyone about it. Daisy admits she was ready to make Claude cut all ties with his family, and Maggie feels murderous.
Part 2, Chapter 29 Summary
Maggie has never been the type to hurt someone, not even the kids who picked on her at school, but she sees killing Daisy as the only way to protect her son. She is convinced Claude is not a healthy love and he is looking for a way to leave Daisy. She decides to make use of one of the city’s abandoned wells that are not properly covered. Ma Wiggins calls and Maggie, though she feels uncomfortable lying, pretends she is ill and staying home. She arrives at Daisy’s house and is surprised to find it tidy.
Part 2, Chapter 30 Summary
Maggie is nervous as they set out. Daisy reminds Maggie that she is in control of Claude now and as such, “he’s going to mind me. I ain’t never let no man get the upper hand, and I ain’t going to start now” (175). She believes that if she has Claude’s baby, he’ll be easier to control. When they reach the site with blackberries, Maggie takes off the boards that are covering the well and strikes Daisy on the head with a plank, then strikes her again with a rock. The sight of Daisy’s brain surprises Maggie, and she reflects, “It was a shame she hadn’t used it to make better decisions” (177). She drags Daisy’s body to the well and pushes her in. At Daisy’s house, Maggie gathers some of Daisy’s clothes into a suitcase, then forges a note from Daisy saying that she’s gone north to locate her ex. Maggie carries the suitcase home, deciding on a cover story if she’s seen.
Part 2, Chapter 31 Summary
Her neighbor, Mason Burris, glares at Maggie when she arrives home. Maggie burns Daisy’s clothes and hides the suitcase. Claude calls to report that Daisy has run off. He’s not surprised she abandoned her kids but wonders who she left him for. Maggie says she saw Daisy get into a car with a man in a mustache. Hubert brings Claude home.
Part 2, Chapter 32 Summary
Hubert’s parents are also relieved to hear Daisy is gone, and Pa Wiggins credits his prayer chain. Maggie enjoys a pleasant dinner with her husband and son and feels reborn the next morning. Jessie visits with gossip. She has a black eye from Orville throwing an ashtray at her. She’s frightened to leave him because he’s threatened to find her and kill her if she does. Jessie and Maggie discuss how to deal with Oswald’s racism. Jessie shares how Orville used to work for a man who was in the Ku Klux Klan but had no personal problems with Orville because Orville showed the man’s deference. Later, when Maggie asks Claude about the coworker causing problems at the mill, Claude asks her to let him fix his problems.
Part 2, Chapter 33 Summary
On Monday, with Mrs. Dowler absent from the house, Oswald approaches Maggie. He claims that he paid for sex with Jeannette, Maggie’s mother, and suggests he can make Maggie’s job even more profitable. Mrs. Dowler returns, and Maggie is relieved to get away from him.
Part 2, Chapter 34 Summary
Maggie is upset about Oswald but focuses on her family. Jessie praises Maggie for her sense, calling hers “white folk sense” (194), but Maggie says it is simply common sense. Jessie muses that Hubert must be a satisfying husband. Orville refuses to let Jessie spend money on her son but instead takes her earnings to buy gifts for his girlfriends. He’s threatened that if Jessie tries to leave him, he’ll hurt her mother. Jessie wishes he were dead. Jessie believes Maggie has “the perfect family and the perfect job” (197).
Part 2, Chapter 35 Summary
Maggie brings her gumbo to Sunday dinner with her in-laws. Claude is happy Daisy is out of his life. Maggie goes to Mrs. Dowler’s to work on the Fourth of July. Oswald wants sex from Maggie and wheedles, then threatens, then slaps her when she refuses. He says she should be flattered by attention from a white man and threatens to lie about her behavior to Mrs. Dowler if Maggie doesn’t submit to sex with him. Maggie fears losing her job, so she complies.
Part 2, Chapter 36 Summary
Maggie is upset by Oswald’s assault but, at home, pretends nothing is wrong. When Jessie says she wishes she were in Maggie’s shoes, Maggie replies, “Be careful what you wish for […] My shoes don’t fit like they used to” (206). Claude suggests going to a movie, but Maggie objects because Black moviegoers must sit on the balcony and aren’t permitted to buy concessions. Claude and Hubert persuade her to eat out in Mobile. The restaurant is run by Black business owners, but Maggie notices half of the customers are white, and she wonders why white people will patronize Black-owned businesses but “still not allow us to patronize theirs without a hassle” (208). As she waits in line to use the outhouse, as Black patrons aren’t permitted to use the indoor restrooms, Maggie recognizes Randolph, Claude’s birth father.
Part 2, Chapter 37 Summary
Randolph addresses Maggie as Louise and is delighted to see her. She pretends she’s never seen him before. He invites her to visit him again. Maggie convinces Hubert to leave by telling him she saw a rat in the toilet. Claude tells his parents about a girl he met, Maybelle Gardner. She is single and young, and her family are teachers and churchgoers, which impresses Maggie. At Mrs. Dowler’s on Monday, Oswald sexually assaults Maggie again. She thinks Mr. Royster was a tea party in comparison to this violation.
Part 2, Chapter 38 Summary
Maggie thinks things can’t get worse, but Oswald forces her into having sex with him even while Mrs. Dowler is in the house. Maggie is certain if she tried to tell Mrs. Dowler, Oswald would lie, and Mrs. Dowler would believe him over Maggie. He tries to snuggle after raping her, suggesting she could work more days of the week since he enjoys sex with her more than with the cleaning woman.
Maggie decides she will never let him touch her again. She knows Oswald drinks a particular kind of whiskey every night. She decides she will go to the house while Mrs. Dowler is at church and put arsenic in his whiskey. Claude brings Maybelle to dinner on Friday, and Maggie is happy to meet her, though she makes silent judgments about Maybelle’s shape and appetite. Still, Maggie is happy to see Claude in love with a nice girl. She suggests Hubert go out that night to visit his boyfriend.
Part 2, Chapter 39 Summary
Maggie can’t take the car to Mrs. Dowler’s house because Hubert has it, so she drives the hearse, though it scares her. She decides on her cover story in case a neighbor sees her. She gets the can of arsenic out of Mrs. Dowler’s pantry. Oswald is sleeping, but the whiskey bottle is empty. Maggie suffocates him with a pillow instead.
Part 2, Chapters 27-39 Analysis
Though Monroe has established the foundation for the dramatic action of this section, and Maggie’s decision to commit murder is the result of intensifying conflict with both Daisy and Oswald, the murders themselves are shocking events in the narrative. Bodily harm to others seems out of character for Maggie, who has otherwise tried to go along in her life without causing too much conflict. The metaphor of a dog being kicked once too often serves as Maggie’s justification for her decision, however, as she feels pressed to extreme action by escalating fears and discomfort.
Despite the shocking nature of Maggie’s actions, it is also true for the character as Maggie has acted throughout the novel to preserve her family and often declares that Claude is the most important person in her life. Morality and legality are not her concerns at this stage; rather, Maggie rationalizes that she is protecting her son from an abusive relationship and acting to preserve her relationship with him because Daisy voiced her intention to isolate Claude from his family to better control him. While Maggie and Daisy are both acting out of self-interest, they are both attempting to influence Claude’s actions. Both women feel justified in the actions they are taking, demonstrating the role of The Dynamics of Intimacy, Abuse, and Secrets.
The way Maggie plots the murders shows her practical nature, as do her choices in the aftermath about how to construct the fake note from Daisy and the alibi she concocts in case a neighbor sees her walking down the street with a suitcase. This behavior demonstrates The Value of Appearances and Reputation and Maggie’s desire to uphold her respectable social status despite her violent actions. Her fear of her neighbors discovering her is intensified because they tend to be vigilant, as demonstrated by Mason Burris watching Maggie return to her home. Her rationale in planning both Oswald’s and Daisy’s deaths suggests that Maggie does not take pleasure in the act of killing, only in the reprieve from torment these individuals cause her or her loved ones. She reflects on how Mrs. Dowler might feel about the death of her younger brother, showing Maggie still has empathy. However, self-defense and a sense of retribution motivate her decisions, demonstrating the role Justice and Fair Treatment in a Divided Society play in her actions.
Oswald’s abusive treatment of Maggie and Claude’s relationship with Daisy further illustrates The Dynamics of Intimacy, Abuse, and Secrets. Both Oswald and Daisy confuse and conflate intimacy with abuse, seeing sexual relations as a means of control and personal satisfaction. In Daisy’s case, the benefit to her is financial as well; she is frank about the way she has manipulated, threatened, and coerced Claude, though Claude declines to frame her behavior as such while he is still in the relationship. Identifying Claude as her “meal ticket” is depersonalizing and demeaning, showing a lack of regard for Claude’s feelings. Oswald is equally dehumanizing to Maggie, conflating her with her mother, whom he paid to perform sex acts with him, and forcing her to comply with—not consent to—his sexual advances through threats of depriving her of her job. Maggie’s job is not only a financial necessity for her family but also offers a source of pride and the pleasure of companionship and mentorship by Mrs. Dowler, all of which Oswald’s predatory behavior destroys.
Maggie’s startlement at seeing Randolph again highlights the unpredictability and danger around secrets within relationships. Monroe emphasizes the sense of larger danger—that the characters live in a hostile, discriminatory world—by several references to segregation. Maggie’s observations that Black people are expected to comply with white people’s behaviors that range from merely condescending to violent further develops the theme of Justice and Fair Treatment in a Divided Society. Oswald’s conduct and the reference to the Ku Klux Klan being active in Lexington emphasize the hostile, dangerous environment in which Maggie lives, enhancing the urgency of her search for security for herself and her family. The operating principle of irony continues to apply. For instance, Jessie admires Maggie’s good luck and good sense, while Maggie’s reply to the platitude about being in her shoes reflects the dramatic difference that can exist between outward appearances and reality—an ever-present tension within the novel.
