37 pages • 1 hour read
James BaldwinThe Amen Corner
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1954A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Music
Baldwin uses music to symbolize the two different men in Margaret’s life: David and Luke. The very thing Margaret values most in David, his musical abilities, is the very thing she loathes in Luke and what eventually pushes David from her life.
Margaret prides herself on having a son that plays the piano so well in church. She makes an arbitrary distinction between David and Luke’s musicality. She is convinced that David’s relationship with music is something purer than Luke’s, imbued with God. She says, “You got a natural gift for music, David […] the Lord give it to you, you didn’t learn it in no school” (19). Margaret doesn’t see the seeds of him wanting to leave the church that are already there.
Music is the one thing that truly connects Luke and David after so many years apart. Margaret did her best to keep David away from Luke’s music and is stunned when she hears it coming from the phonograph. When she asks what it is, David replies, “It’s one of Daddy’s old records. That you never let me play” (56). This is not only a moment of defiance but also a reminder that Margaret kept Luke, and anything related to him, out of David’s life.
Music is shown to exude power. As David tells Luke, “A few months ago some guys come in the church and they heard me playing piano and they kept coming back all the time. Mama said it was the Holy Ghost drawing them in. But it wasn’t” (42). David starts to find freedom in music that is different from when he plays the piano for church. By the end of the play, he decides to leave home to follow it.
The Frigidaire
The Frigidaire reflects how Margaret appears to be above human suffering but how, in reality, she is as human as anyone else. When the Frigidaire first appears, it is clear that there is something special about it. Brother Boxer says, “This ain’t no icebox, this is a Frigidaire. Westinghouse. Amen!” (20). To him, and the rest of the congregation, it’s a symbol that all is right and in control under the leadership of Margaret.
When the truth about Margaret leaving Luke is revealed, the Frigidaire casts Margaret in a suspicious light. As Sister Moore sarcastically says, “[O]ne of the saints was saying to me how much trouble she have with her old refrigerator and she say it sure done her heart good to know her pastor had a nice, new frigidaire” (39). The line illuminates the church’s thoughts about the contrast between Margaret’s appearance of financial ease and the church members’ socioeconomic struggle. The church ultimately learns that Margaret isn’t using the church’s money for herself, but what they don’t know is that they are in greater financial need than they thought.
At the end of the play, it is revealed that the church is not just struggling financially; they are suffering. Odessa tells Margaret, “We ain’t got money to go no place. We ain’t paid the rent for this month. We ain’t even finished paying for this Frigidaire” (81). The Frigidaire gave the illusion that the church was prosperous and growing. In reality, they can’t afford to pay for it and maintain the illusion of grandeur, just like Margaret can no longer keep up the illusion of holiness.
The White Robe
The white robe reflects how Margaret uses religion as a way to hide from her pain and suffering. She wears it around the church, literally covering her old self and more normal clothes. The robe is a visual representation of her retreat toward God and an avoidance of anything that isn’t “pure.” She literally hides her true self.
The robe also represents Margaret’s hypocrisy. She pretends as if her life has no human troubles; when Luke shows up to remind her that she does, she flees. The church members view Margaret’s robe as an extension of her elitism. For example, after Margaret leaves for Philadelphia, Sister Boxer says to the other church members, “Last Sunday she acted like she didn’t think that man was good enough to touch the hem of that white robe of her’n. And, you know, that ain’t no way to treat a man who knowed one time what you was like with no robe on” (35).
Brother Boxer evokes the robe to make it clear that Margaret still has feelings for Luke. He mocks, “You trying to get back into that man’s arms, Sister Margaret? What do you want him to do for you—you want him to take off that long white robe?” (83). When it is clear that Margaret regrets not spending those 10 years with Luke, the church members use that information against her. She preaches that they aren’t allowed to put anyone or anything before God, and they see this as evidence that she doesn’t practice what she teaches.
The final gesture of the play finds Margaret leaving her white robe behind. The stage directions read, “Without a word to Margaret, [Odessa] goes through Luke’s room, taking off her robe as she goes” (88). After spending 10 years trying to hide from her pain, Margaret is ready to take off the robe and embrace her authentic self. Grief makes her human. Margaret no longer feels guilty for loving her family, even if it is too late to love Luke in life.
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