The Downstairs Girl

The opening set of chapters establishes the sociocultural milieu of 1890s Atlanta, Jo’s unique voice, as well as the touching relationship between Jo and her adoptive father Old Gin. From the very onset, Jo’s language and manner of speaking are filled with personality and wit, such as when she notes “being nice is like leaving your door wide-open. Eventually, someone’s going to mosey in and steal your best hat” (1). Later she observes that Mrs. English’s shop is full of mauve hats, since “mauve is having a moment” (3).

The pithiness of Jo’s voice and the sharpness of her observations underscore the irony that, as a young Chinese girl in 1890s Atlanta, Jo is not supposed to have a voice at all. This sets up a narrative tension between Jo’s voice and society’s demand that she be voiceless, introducing the theme of Being Heard Versus Being Invisible. When Jo does receive attention in her social context, it is for all the wrong reasons: her being Chinese and dressed in western clothes or her being a young woman out of the house to work for a living.

The racist and sexist attitudes toward Jo are evident through her interaction with Mrs. English, her employer who dismisses Jo because she doesn’t keep her opinions to herself. Jo notes inwardly that Lizzie, the other assistant—who is white—is as opinionated as she is, but she is not required to be voiceless like Jo. Mrs. English tells Jo she is better suited to a job as a lady’s maid, thus showing Jo her place in society’s hierarchy. Jo’s voicelessness and invisibility recur in the novel, with even her way home being described as a journey undertaken by a “common pickpocket” (20), keeping herself “compact and unnoticeable” (20). The basement in which she and Old Gin secretly stay is a metaphor for Jo’s forced invisibility (See: Symbols & Motifs)—since southern society and its laws have little place for her and Old Gin, they are literally forced into a basement.

The basement is also symbolic of the union between non-white people in Atlanta, since it was originally a part of the Underground Railroad, a system of safe houses for people escaping enslavement. That it is now a sanctuary for Chinese people shows the need for non-white individuals to stick together, highlighting the persistence of racism in American society and introducing The Importance of Intersectionality for Political Change. The text’s stance on unity between Black people and other people of color is also highlighted through the relationship between Jo and Robby Withers, as well as the camaraderie between Jo, Etta Rae, and Noemi. Simultaneously, the text does not attempt to group all people of color under one umbrella: Jo is aware that every group and all individuals have unique challenges. She notes that Old Gin was “a former schoolteacher” (22) in China, which is why she is educated. Many Chinese were brought to the US as indentured laborers and may have been unlettered. Thus, being in the care of Old Gin is itself a privilege.

Though Jo is forced to hide because of the triple forces of racism, sexism, and class bias, the text establishes that she is not passive. Jo is determined to create space for herself and her voice, which is why she decides to write the Miss Sweetie column. Jo’s alias of “Miss Sweetie” is her way of turning a perceived disadvantage into a strength. As she wryly notes to herself: “If I am such a saucebox, maybe I would make a good agony aunt” (39). As the text progresses Miss Sweetie takes on a life of her own, becoming Jo’s alter ego. When Jo sometimes feels cowed, she calls on Miss Sweetie to stand up for her. Thus, as Jo uses more of her unafraid voice in print, the more courageous she becomes in real life.

One of the narrative devices used by the author is that chapters are often preceded by a Miss Sweetie question-and-answer. This setup showcases Miss Sweetie’s brave, progressive voice, and also offers great insights into the manners, etiquette, parochial values, and social compulsions that govern the society in which Jo lives, evoking The Power of Secrets and Social Etiquette. For example, when one reader asks Jo how to improve their neighborhood when a Jewish family with the “oddest” (9) customs have moved next door, Miss Sweetie dryly answers, “You could move” (9).

This section also lays many “easter eggs” to which the plot will later return. One of these is hints about the relationship between Jo and Mrs. Payne. Both Jo and Mrs. Payne are described as slim with a straight bearing, and Jo notices that Mrs. Payne has a “beadlike protrusion in the center of her upper lip—same as mine” (61). Jo often describes Mrs. Payne as cool and a cipher, with her impeccable manners hiding something. Thus, the text foreshadows its biggest reveals from the beginning, showing dense plotting.

While Jo is forced to deal with class-conscious and racist people like Mrs. Bell and Caroline, she has a support system in the form of Old Gin, Robby, the household staff at the Paynes, and even the Bells, who at this point don’t know of her existence. The Bells have nourished Jo through their love of words, and the kindness she overhears in their exchanges. Old Gin has been a good parent to her, helping her cultivate her unique wisdom. Jo’s wisdom, which she displays in the Miss Sweetie column, is partly a function of spending time with Old Gin and his gentlemen friends like Lucky Yip and Hammer Foot. Jo often recalls nuggets of advice from these older men: When she is confronted by Bear, Nathan’s sheepdog, she recalls “Hammer Foot always said do not engage an adversary; feed it” (35). The wisdom of Miss Sweetie is therefore a continuum of the knowledge provided by the older Chinese men, showing the centrality of Chinese culture in Jo’s life and the text.

The advice dispensed by the men is not, however, presented as gnomic utterances meant to exoticize the text or perpetuate the cliché of the wise eastern person. Rather, the advice is framed in the context of the hard life these men have had in America, trying to make a living in a racially divided society that makes it illegal for them to even rent a house. The advice is not mere words; it forms the principles by which the Chinese Americans negotiate Atlanta society, and through which Jo survives as a young working-class Chinese woman.