Sanctuary

Ruby serves dinner to the men, including Benbow. Lee Goodwin, Ruby’s common-law husband who runs the bootlegging operation out of the Old Frenchman place, joins them. After dinner, the men return to the porch, and Ruby sits down to eat her own meal. She listens to the men drink and talk. Benbow quickly becomes inebriated and starts telling the other men about an argument he had with his stepdaughter. Ruby thinks about how foolish he sounds.

Benbow continues to talk, saying he became fed up with his family and his life and just walked out. He took no money with him and made no plans, hitchhiking and walking until he arrived at the Old Frenchman place. Benbow enters the kitchen and starts talking to Ruby, telling her to go back to the city and leave this place, and that she is still young. Ruby asks about why he left his wife, and Benbow talks about picking up shrimp for her every Friday and how he felt like he was fading away. Ruby reveals that she has a small child. Benbow leaves the house with one of the other men, Tommy, and they head toward the truck that will take Benbow into town. They discuss the bootlegging operation, and Popeye, who unsettles Benbow. Benbow gets into the truck, which heads toward Jefferson.

Benbow is at his sister’s house the next day. Narcissa is a widow who lives just outside Jefferson with her 10-year-old son and her husband’s great-aunt Jenny. Benbow and Miss Jenny watch from the window as Narcissa walks with a man, Gowan Stevens, in the garden. They discuss Narcissa’s beaus, and Benbow expresses his distaste for Gowan, whom he feels puts on airs after attending the University of Virginia, claiming to be a Southern gentleman. Narcissa and Gowan return to the house, and Gowan and Benbow have a brief and hostile discussion about which universities they attended.

Narcissa asks how Benbow’s wife and stepdaughter, Belle and Little Belle, are doing. Miss Jenny speaks before Benbow can respond and says she should stop expecting Benbow to abandon his family because one day he actually might. Benbow and Gowan continue to butt heads until Narcissa leads Gowan out. Miss Jenny and Benbow sit down to supper, and Narcissa and her son return. Narcissa says that Gowan is taking a girl to the university dance and that he couldn’t stay for dinner.

This chapter introduces Temple Drake, a collegiate party girl who goes out almost every night of the week. She is described as beautiful and popular amongst both the town boys and the university boys. This particular night it is revealed she was the girl Gowan Stevens was taking to the university dance. Gowan and Temple leave the dance and make plans to go to Starkville together the next day to see a baseball game. Gowan is looking for a drink, and three local boys share some of their alcohol with him. He becomes extremely intoxicated and passes out, missing the train he and Temple were supposed to take together the next day.

He drives to pick Temple up at the next stop, and she tells him off for his disheveled appearance and drunkenness but gets in the car. It quickly becomes clear that Gowan cannot function without alcohol, and he insists on stopping at the Old Frenchman place to buy a drink on the way. Gowan begins to berate Temple for going out with many different guys. Drunk, he crashes the car into a tree. Temple, having been thrown from the car, sees two men staring at them.

The two men offer to lead Temple and Gowan to the Old Frenchman place. One of them is particularly interested in Temple, making many comments about how pretty she is, and about her body and figure. When they arrive, Temple is put off by the appearance of the house and says she will wait in the car, but the man insists she come inside. Gowan asks where Ruby is and is told she’s around. The man who has been guiding them introduces himself as Tommy. Temple remains uneasy as Gowan talks to Goodwin. She sees an old man on the porch and is startled, running inside to the kitchen while Popeye watches her.

Gowan, Popeye, and Tommy have a conversation on the porch that ends with Tommy offering Gowan another drink. When Gowan returns to the house, he is drunk again, to Temple’s horror. He ignores her and continues to the barn to drink more with Tommy until Popeye finds them. When they emerge from the barn, Temple runs down to them. She has been hiding in the kitchen with Ruby. She tells Gowan that she’s scared and asks if he’s drunk again.

Gowan ignores Temple’s fears. She tells him that Ruby told her not to stay after dark and that they had to get to a town before then. Temple says that one of the Black men working for Goodwin would quickly drive them to Jefferson. Gowan tells Temple that they’re not leaving until he speaks to Goodwin and that he doesn’t want to ride in a car with a Black man. She tries to convince Popeye to take them into town, but he ignores her. Gowan tells her to lay off, and she realizes that he is scared of Popeye and runs into the kitchen again. She holds Ruby’s baby and tries to pray but can’t think of a prayer, instead repeating that her father is a judge to herself under her breath over and over. Goodwin enters the kitchen and asks Temple what she’s doing there.

Temple hides in the kitchen as Gowan continues drinking. She tells Ruby about her father and her brothers and the prestigious jobs they all have. Ruby tells her she should have left during the day and describes how hard she has to work. Temple tells Ruby how many times Gowan has gotten drunk since they first met up and how nonsensical he becomes. She frets over Ruby’s situation and asks to hold the baby again. Temple nervously asks Ruby if Goodwin will take them into town again, repeating lines about her family’s wealth and connections as she worries out loud about being hurt. She reassures herself that “things like that don’t happen” (54).

Temple’s condescending attitude irritates Ruby, who asks how she ended up in the situation. Temple tells her about the drinking and how she wasn’t supposed to get in a car with a boy because she was already on probation at the university but that Gowan wouldn’t listen to her. Ruby tells Temple off for being so full of herself, saying that when things go wrong, people like Temple go to common people like Ruby for help. She tells Temple a story about her father shooting her beau and calling her a “whore.” Temple says she has been called the same. Ruby continues to tell Temple off, saying that Temple can’t just show up to a place and start ordering people around.

Ruby tells Temple about Goodwin getting arrested during the war and that she had to turn to sex work to get him out. She tells Temple that she has never been wanted by a real man and that Temple should be grateful because if a real man wanted her, she’d degrade herself over him. She asks if Temple will leave if she arranges a car, and Temple says yes. Ruby says she has degraded herself for Goodwin, and Temple isn’t brave enough to really be in love. Temple tries to bribe Ruby to get a car, and Ruby laughs at her, telling her to go eat her dinner.

Temple enters the dining room and starts to sit by Tommy, but Gowan stops her. One of the other men, Van, pulls her onto his lap, but Goodwin makes him let her up. Temple runs out to the porch to get away from them. Tommy brings her something to eat and sits with her, wanting to protect her from the other men. Van continues to pester Temple, but Ruby shoos him off. Goodwin, Van, and Gowan drink together and almost fight over Temple. Tommy tells Goodwin that the men should leave Temple alone, but Goodwin says it isn’t any of his business.

Temple hides in a back room and bars the door with a chair. Tommy watches her from the window as she paces and gets undressed for bed. Temple is obviously nervous and goes to bed wearing her coat, her clothes on the bed next to her. Popeye comes back and beats Gowan for still being there. Van breaks down the door to Temple’s room to put the unconscious Gowan inside. Van tries to undress Temple, but Goodwin stops him. Popeye also tries to touch Temple but stops when Goodwin says to. Ruby arrives and berates Goodwin for her circumstances, implying that he is about to sleep with Temple. Goodwin and the other men leave to prepare a delivery to Memphis. Tommy watches Popeye, worried that he is going to hurt Temple, but the group departs without further incident.