The Downstairs Girl

“At least we have a home. It’s dry, warm, and rent-free, one of the perks of living secretly in someone else’s basement. As long as you have a home, you have a place to plan and dream.”

Jo is sensitive enough to know that even in her poverty, she is not at the bottommost rung of society. Her comment about private physical space being essential to introspection and plans is something women of the 19th century were beginning to realize.

“I have been blacklisted. Servants are routinely blacklisted when their services come to an end, even when they have done nothing to deserve it, except working their fingers to the breaking point each day, coming in early, leaving late, cleaning up other people's messes.”

Stacey Lee uses historical research to enrich her fictional world. Jo’s observation here about the state of servants in her milieu are close to historical truth. The South in 1890s was a highly hierarchical society, with class biases stronger than ever. Domestics and other employees fell at the bottom of the social ladder and had little work rights. Their disenfranchisement speaks to the theme of Being Heard Versus Being Invisible.

“Why put a second horse in a race when you can put in a dragon, which not only flies but eats horses for breakfast?”

Jo combines her love for metaphors with her love for Chinese symbols in a single statement. Miss Sweetie is the dragon of change who will not only fly where horses would run, but eat up whole horses. In other words, Miss Sweetie will achieve what other agony aunts cannot.

“As Hammer Foot always said, it is better to look out a window than into a looking glass, otherwise all you see is yourself and what’s behind you.”

Jo frequently recalls and applies insightful advice given to her by Old Gin, Lucky Yip, and Hammer Foot. This advice is central in shaping her sense of self and her Miss Sweetie persona. Here, Caroline’s obsession with the mirror reminds Jo that it is better to look outward at the world than indulge in vanity, since looking outward provides richer opportunities for growth than self-obsession.

“Motherhood is a most noble calling. My own mother was only sixteen when she married, but she raised two good sons.”

Marriage and motherhood are tremendous social expectations on young women, as Old Gin’s innocent statement shows. Old Gin means no harm when he is transferring acquired wisdom to Jo, but even a simple statement valorizing mothers reflects the social norms and restrictions placed upon women in Jo’s time period, when marriage and motherhood are considered the only legitimate aims of a respectable woman’s life.

“With the proper training and advantage, I think any horse can be great. Family name is a burden unique to humans.”

Jo often uses horses as symbols and examples from riding in her speech. This is partly because Old Gin is an expert stable hand, and Jo has been around horses from an early age. This statement is also an “easter egg” in the plot, which reveals more meaning on a second reading. Jo also loves horses because Mrs. Payne, her biological mother, comes from a family of horse-breeders. Jo’s comment about the human nature of a “family name” retrospectively shows that not being Mrs. Payne’s official daughter is a good thing for Jo, because it freed her from social expectations to be ladylike.

“It is one thing to speak under the safety of Miss Sweetie’s name. Quite another to take a public stance under Jo Kuan.”

Jo understands that anonymity offers her safety, reflecting the debate of Being Heard Versus Being Invisible. The same views can be seen completely differently when they are associated with a Chinese name and appearance rather than a white-passing guise like Miss Sweetie. Jo’s journey as a character will involve learning that the Jo Kuan and Miss Sweetie personas must merge for her to be her true self.

“She reminds me of another filly I used to have, Savannah Joy, named for the city in which she was born […] she was a beauty, just like her mama. Good natured, too. A good nature can make or break a horse, not just in a race, but in life.”

Mrs. Payne often speaks in riddles and refers to strange stories which Jo cannot reconcile. This particular story is an analogy for her giving up Jo, her beautiful “filly.” The fact that she continues to allude to the incident shows that Mrs. Payne has still not made peace with leaving Jo. Statements such as these show Mrs. Payne is a complicated character, who cannot be classified as wholly unsympathetic.

“Trying to understand Mrs. Payne is like trying to unfold a wet newspaper, impossible to do without tearing the pages.”

Even before Jo knows the truth about her parentage, she intuitively senses Mrs. Payne holds deep secrets, reflecting The Power of Secrets and Social Etiquette. This shows Jo’s intelligence and canny understanding of human nature.

“The lady is bold. Well, there is something else you can offer […] I’ve always wanted to feel a China girl’s hair.”

Riggs’s remarks to Jo are laced with lewd aggression. He first makes the vulgar suggestion Jo can offer him something—a euphemism for a sexual favor—in return for information. Subsequently, he makes the favor clear: He wants to feel her hair, as if she were a doll. His words and actions are designed to make Jo feel small on account of both her gender and race.

“Mrs. Crump rakes her gaze down my fallen braid and then her spine straightens. ‘But how does this…creature…know you, Mr. Bell?’”

An example of the cruel, casual racism that Jo faces every day, Mrs. Crump’s comment is deliberately dehumanizing. While Nathan is “Mr. Bell,” Jo is referred to as “this creature.” What bothers Mrs. Crump even more than seeing Jo is seeing Jo with Nathan.

“As Old Gin likes to say, not all horses are meant to race, but all horses are meant to run. If Caroline is happy, are you not happy for her?”

When Mr. Payne asks Jo her opinion of the Miss Sweetie column suggesting not all women are meant for marriage, Jo speaks her mind candidly. Jo’s growing sense of confidence indicates Jo is increasingly comfortable being Miss Sweetie in public. Her use of the horse analogy is an example of her wit. Jo’s defense of Caroline also reflects The Importance of Intersectionality for Political Change.

“Dear Miss Sweetie, My sisters and I wonder, why must women suffer a few days each month?

Sincerely, Bloated, Crampy, and Spotty.

Dear Bloated, Crampy, and Spotty, Because the alternative is worse, although they do get to vote.

Sincerely, Miss Sweetie”

Miss Sweetie’s arch tone and succinct, funny advice on a taboo subject like menstruation proves why she is the most happening agony aunt in town. In one stone of a sentence, she kills two birds: She addresses a taboo topic without shame and she champions suffrage for women.

“Miss Sweetie, Agony Aunt or Ant-Agonist? […] Perhaps those who know Miss Sweetie’s identity would do our fair city a favor to expose her for the troublemaker she is.”

One important aspect of the Being Heard Versus Being Invisible theme is that taking any stand does invite a reaction at some point. However, fear of the reaction should not prevent one from standing up for righteous things. Here, Mrs. Payne’s paper publishes a column asking for a witch hunt to unmask Miss Sweetie.

“I rather like being a coquet. It’s a good life you ladies have. I don’t know why these suffragists are so hell-bent upon being men.”

Even a relatively harmless man like Merritt can make a myopic statement about gender. For Merritt, a woman’s life is easy and frivolous, and the suffragist cause is about becoming a man. He cannot see the irony in his point of view, or look beyond surfaces. That he is making this statement to a poor Chinese American girl working as his sister’s maid paints him to be an even more insensitive person.

“‘You do an injury to goats. I heard they recite Shakespeare when no one’s watching […] To bleat or not to bleat that is the question.’ I let out a tiny smile […] ‘Cud you find it in your heart to forgive me?’”

This conversation between Nathan and Jo highlights their playful, childlike banter, as well as their shared love of language. Abounding in playful puns like “to bleat” for “to be” and “cud” for “could,” the conversation shows how both allow themselves to be uninhibited around the other.

“Troubles are like weeds, and the longer you avoid them, the bigger they grow.”

One of the distinctive ways in which Lee uses language in The Downstairs Girl is through aphorisms. Here, Jo notes that avoiding one’s troubles is useless, which is an important lesson for her in the midst of the dilemmas concerning Being Heard Versus Being Invisible.

“A crow lands on the ground in front of us, and Noemi lunges towards it, growling. The crow flaps away with a squawk, and she continues on her way. ‘But each of our personal roads got crows on them. With every crow we meet, we get better at shooing them away, the filthy flying rats. And guess what's at the end of the road?’

‘Pearl gates?’

She tsks her tongue. ‘Not that road, that's on a different map. Vic-to-ry.’ [...] ‘Do you understand me?’

‘No. What is this victory?’

‘It is knowing your worth no matter what the crows tell you. Victory is waiting for us. We have to be bold enough to snatch it.’”

Noemi’s striking, emphatic comments illustrate her bravery and tenacity. As a Black woman, she knows that she cannot give up fighting for justice. The meddling “crows” she mentions are analogous to Jim Crow laws. The appearance of “crows”—obstacles and prejudices—cannot faze travelers like Jo and Noemi because to cross the victory line, they must traverse the road.

“The two words that will change your life are ‘thank you.’ Like a candle that can light a thousand more without shortening its own life, appreciation is a gift that, when given, can set the whole world aglow.”

This passage from Miss Sweetie’s advice column reflects Jo’s occasionally sentimental side. This particular advice on saying thank you is a veiled comment on Jo’s own life, where she feels infinitely grateful for everything Old Gin has done for her.

“We’ve always worn only plain colors so we don’t stand out.”

Jo reflects that Old Gin has always worn beige or khaki to blend in, but now maybe the time has come for him to wear colors, such as the orange of peaches. The color symbolism marks Jo and Old Gin’s movement from the shadows to visibility, thereby overcoming the challenges of Being Heard Versus Being Invisible.

“The river travels fastest around the stones. But sometimes, the stones must be faced head-on. Who knows? With enough momentum, path may clear, hm?”

Old Gin’s statement shows how far his character has travelled over the course of the novel. His former advice was for the river to flow around stones, but he now advocates that some stones must be smashed by the river. The analogy is of course about taking a stand instead of remaining passive in the face of injustices, which echoes the novel’s thematic preoccupation with The Importance of Intersectionality for Political Change.

“But unlike my mother, I do not live in a gilded cage, and like Sweet Potato, whose mother also rejected her, somehow I will find a way to thrive.”

The “gilded cage” is Lee’s tongue-in-cheek pun on the Gilded Age, the era in which the novel is set (See: Background). While it was an age of economic boom, it was also an age of social injustice and an overt reliance on social appearances. Unlike Mrs. Payne, who is trapped in a “gilded cage”—her marriage and lifestyle—Jo is free of the burden of name and class. She will make her own destiny.

“What is the job of a parent but to teach a child that she has worth so that one day she can transform herself into whatever she wants.”

Jo’s warm, heartfelt comment is a fine definition of an ideal parent. Like Old Gin, the best parent is someone who empowers and gives space, rather than demand and control like Mr. Payne. Old Gin has made Jo believe she can be Miss Sweetie, win a horse race, and be an expert milliner. It is significant that an elderly grandfather who has raised Jo in less-than-ideal circumstances is a better parent than the most privileged folk in the book, or even Jo’s own biological mother, suggesting that true parenthood is a matter of love and loyalty above all else (See: Symbols & Motifs).