The Downstairs Girl

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2019

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-9

Chapters 10-18

Chapters 19-27

Chapters 28-36

Chapter 37-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapter 37-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 37 Summary

Jo returns to the Payne house where Etta Rae tells her Mrs. Payne and Shang would meet in the cemetery close to the estate. When people got wind of a Chinese man meeting a white woman, they assumed the man was a criminal, giving rise to the legend of the “Rabid-Eyes Rapist” (305). Shang left Georgia, but another Chinese man paid for the supposed crime with his life. Mr. Payne had wanted Mrs. Payne’s illegitimate child to be sent to an orphanage; Mrs. Payne had Etta take the baby to Old Gin instead. Mrs. Payne told her husband the baby was a boy.

Jo tells Noemi that Old Gin was beaten up by Billy Riggs’s henchman. To her surprise, Noemi curses her “no-account brother” (307), revealing she and Riggs are half-siblings.

Chapter 38 Summary

Riggs’s father was a white man, which is why “Billy came out fair as a lily” (308). Given Billy was white-passing, his father stole him from Noemi’s mother and made him join their family’s crime business. Noemi resolves to take Jo to Riggs later so she can confront him for assaulting Old Gin.

Jo tells Mrs. Payne about Old Gin dropping out of the race. She would still like to board Sweet Potato at the Payne stables so she can take him out for exercise. Mrs. Payne agrees and says they will need to bring in another horse to replace Sweet Potato as the Suffragists are sponsoring her spot. Noemi makes a gesture to Jo. Jo catches on and tells Mrs. Payne she will be riding Sweet Potato in the race.

Chapter 39 Summary

Mrs. Payne dismisses Jo’s suggestion at first, but when Jo and Noemi press on, she gives in. Jo tells Mrs. Payne that she wants the witch-hunt against Miss Sweetie to end, as “she is not the only one wearing a mask” (314).

At the Bells’ home, Jo offers to help Mrs. Bell with the chores to thank her for hosting her and Old Gin. The Bells offer Jo a typesetting and research job with the newspaper instead, in addition to syndicating the Miss Sweetie column. Jo worries that this is breaking the law, since only white people can work in white-collar jobs, but Mr. Bell says that no one cares who is writing the advice, as long as the advice is good. Nevertheless, it is also a fact that Jo will have to keep her identity hidden for some more time. Meanwhile, Jo tells Nathan she has a unique story angle on the races for him, which is her participation. Nathan seems upset at the news and goes away. Jo asks Bear to take her to Nathan’s Avalon.

Chapter 40 Summary

Nathan’s Avalon or hideaway is a spot by a stream far from the city. Jo and Bear join him, and Nathan tells her he doesn’t know if he should be impressed by Jo’s bravery or worried for her. As they talk, Jo wonders inwardly if she can ever live with Nathan’s family officially, since interracial marriages are illegal. She decides that though marriages can be illegal, “no one can legislate family, friendship, or love” (326). Jo and Nathan kiss.

Chapter 41 Summary

Noemi takes Jo to Riggs’s “cathouse” (327), or the brothel he runs, and accuses him of roughing up Old Gin. Riggs protests that Knucks only meant to scare Old Gin, but when the elderly man beat him up badly, Knucks attacked him in self-defense. Jo has newfound respect for Old Gin.

According to Riggs, it was Old Gin who approached him to buy back a jade bottle Shang had pawned with him many years ago. Jo asks him to return her the bottle in exchange for some crucial information. She will be the 13th contestant in the race, racing Sweet Potato, so no odds will be taken on her entry. Riggs can use this information to boost his betting odds in the race. Riggs says that if she can beat an enemy of his in the race, the vase will be hers. The enemy is Mr. Q. and the horse is Thief.

Chapter 42 Summary

Old Gin tells Jo the story behind the snuff bottle. It belonged to Sao Yue or Graceful Moon—Old Gin’s wife and Jo’s grandmother. Shang pawned it to Riggs so he could buy hair combs to impress Mrs. Payne. When Old Gin found out, he slapped Shang in a rage and told him to leave. Old Gin wants the bottle—in the shape of a lucky peach—back in the hope that it will bring luck to him and Jo, and perhaps bring back Shang.

At the Paynes’ home, Caroline brings Jo her riding boots so she can wear them to the race. She asks Jo to braid her hair and tells her she wants to learn how to ride a bike. Perhaps Noemi can teach her. Jo feels that though she and Caroline may never be friends, they are beginning to thaw toward each other.

The day of the race, Jo heads off for Piedmont Park in Old Gin’s red riding suit and Caroline’s boots. She notices the crowd includes Black people, which means Mrs. Payne is not following the rules of segregation for today. The Suffragists are there as well, as are Noemi and other women carrying a banner which asks for votes for “all” (342) women. When Jo goes to sign up for the race, the official resists, as only twelve contestants are signed and she is a girl. Merritt intervenes on Jo’s behalf and she checks in.

Chapter 43 Summary

Jo wonders if Merritt knows he is her half-brother. As the 13th contestant, Jo will be racing in the outermost lane, meaning she will have more distance to cover. Mr. Q. and Thief are in lane nine. Thief’s rider is the man Jo dubbed “the leprechaun.” Jo spots the Paynes in the elite boxes and Nathan in the press enclosure. Billy Riggs is present in the stadium too. Jo can hear men laugh at her as she readies for the race, but she ignores them. The riders come to the starting line, and at the signal of a gunshot, the race begins.

Chapter 44 Summary

Sweet Potato charges ahead. The horse in the first lane gets spooked and bolts in the other direction. Riders in lanes four and six crash against the jockeys in lanes three and five, unsettling the horses. Jo can tell they are working in tandem to rig the race. Perhaps Mr. Q. paid them so Thief could win the race.

It begins to rain and more horses get spooked, falling out of the race. Only Jo, 11, Mr. Q, and Johnny Fortune on Ameer remain in the race. As Jo draws close to Thief, the leprechaun hits Jo’s leg with a crop, making it bleed. Sweet Potato retaliates by snapping at the leprechaun. He stumbles and Jo surges ahead. In the final stretch, Jo gathers her energy for the sake of Noemi and Robby, the Bells, Lucky Yip, Hammer Foot, and above all, Old Gin, and sails past Ameer across the finishing line.

Chapter 45 Summary

Even though Jo was ahead of Johnny Fortune, the race is announced as a tie. Jo accepts the verdict, since she knows social norms would never have allowed her to be the sole winner anyway. She performs a victory lap with Johnny Fortune, and is congratulated by the Suffragists, Noemi, and Nathan.

Jo rushes home to share the news of her win with her grandfather, but assumes the worst when she sees the doctor’s wagon outside the Bell house. Thankfully, the doctor has dropped in to play chess with Old Gin. Jo hugs Old Gin and tells him that the bats of good fortune have returned.

Epilogue Summary

Three months after the race, Jo and Old Gin are living in the renovated basement. The peach-shaped snuff bottle is back. Jo’s winnings have made it possible for her to board Sweet Potato at a nearby livery, and for her to save for the future.

The listening tube now functions both ways, with the Bells using it to communicate with Jo and Old Gin. As Jo makes a hat embellishment in the basement, she reflects on her immense gratitude for Old Gin, who has been both mother and father to her. Jo hopes Shang will return some day. Nathan speaks to her via the tube, and Jo tells him she is going to the shops. She will be back in an hour to help Mrs. Bell roast chicken. Nathan looks forward to having Jo over.

Chapter 37-Epilogue Analysis

This final section of the book contains its second climactic episode in the form of the thrilling horse race, bringing the theme of Being Heard Versus Being Invisible to its climax. Jo and Old Gin find a new community and family in the Bells. Though the text’s ending is positive for Jo, it is not entirely obstacle-free. Jo has hope, but few easy resolutions. It is still unclear if Jo will be able to marry Nathan or openly be declared Miss Sweetie.

Before the horse race, Jo glances at Mrs. Payne, perhaps expecting her to be watching her daughter. She sees Mrs. Payne holding out a hand to be kissed by a guest. Thus, Mrs. Payne is too confined in the role of the Southern belle to acknowledge Jo. The Epilogue, which marks the ending section of the narrative, pointedly omits the Paynes, suggesting there is no overt reconciliation between Jo and her mother. Though united by blood ties, they are forever separated by race, class, and a traumatic history. The suggestion in the Epilogue that Sweet Potato is being boarded at a livery shows that, instead of keeping her horse at the Paynes’ stables, Jo is trying to forge a new beginning, away from the Paynes. Thus, the ending is hopeful without being too idealistic.

Jo’s final battle with Riggs is ultimately a battle of will and wit, rather than physical strength. Riggs embodies his Dickensian name in the truest sense in this section, trying to “rig” the race against Jo through a last-minute manipulation. Pretending to be impartial, Riggs has actually made the leprechaun ride Thief to defeat Jo at all costs. The leprechaun not only uses a sexist expletive against Jo, he also hits her so hard on the leg she begins to bleed profusely. The injured leg unites Jo with Sweet Potato, who was born with a crippled leg, and makes Sweet Potato avenge Jo. In the novel’s system of symbols, Sweet Potato has long represented Jo herself, as well as women chafing against society’s restraint.

As Sweet Potato snaps at the leprechaun and bolts ahead, she temporarily signifies the unbridled potential of women, alluding to the novel’s themes of feminism and The Importance of Intersectionality for Political Change. According to the Chinese zodiac, the horse symbolizes freedom and power. The motif of riding in the text stands for taking control of one’s own potential and destiny: One of Old Gin’s sayings is that, “Luck rides a horse named Joy.” Of course, Joy is also a reference to Jo, who was named after Savannah Joy, Mrs. Payne’s favorite filly. The horse race thus brings the novel’s horse and riding symbolism to a satisfying culmination.

An important issue explored in the final section is the idea of “passing.” With Riggs revealed as the son of Noemi’s mother, he too is biracial like Jo. He uses his pale complexion and auburn hair to his advantage, as Noemi notes: “If people thought he had a little color in him, he’d be rotting in jail right now, not clinking glasses with the mayor” (308). Noemi astutely observes that even the legal system works differently depending on one’s racial identity. However, Jo can understand why Riggs uses his appearance to pass as white. Unlike Old Gin and Jo, who try to blend in, Riggs dresses flamboyantly and outrageously so he can distract attention away from his crimes, “not the least of which is the crime of having a great-grandparent who was colored” (354). Riggs goes out of his way to stand out as white because he knows the social cost of being Black is high.

The return of the snuff bottle is symbolic of the return of Old Gin and Jo’s luck, yet, at the same time, Old Gin notes that luck has always been with them in the form of Jo. This stresses the text’s view that people must make their own destiny and carve their own path. Noemi certainly is trying to do so, as she shows through her championing of the new women’s group “The Atlanta Bluebells.” The name is an allusion to southern ladies (“belles”) as well as “bluestockings”—a term for early women’s progressive groups. The Bluebells may call themselves bluebells, but their banner is decorated by “all manner of colorful flowers” (342). If the Suffragist movement will not accommodate Noemi, she will create a movement for herself.

Through the text, Noemi has often stressed to Jo the importance of defending one’s space and rights. That is why she rides a bicycle—to reclaim her space on the sidewalk from which people are trying to push her out, as one of the norms of the time demanded that Blacks give way to whites on pavements. If Black people did not step off the sidewalk promptly to make room for whites, they faced social censure in the best-case scenario and outright violence at worst. Noemi makes the point that staying quiet in the face of such injustice only offers the illusion of safety—an important lesson about Being Heard Versus Being Invisible that Jo, and even Old Gin, are beginning to imbibe by the end of the novel.