The House of Eve

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-7

Part 1, Chapters 8-14

Part 2, Chapters 15-23

Part 3, Chapters 24-37

Part 4, Chapter 38-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Maternal Bonds

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses miscarriage, sexual assault (of characters who are minors), and racism.

Maternal bonds take various forms in The House of Eve. Despite their tense relationship, when Ruby gives birth to Grace (Wilhelmina), it is her mother Inez whom she wants, not her more caring Grandma Nene or Aunt Marie. In fact, Inez does not even know that Ruby is pregnant and giving birth. This maternal bond (or lack thereof) is again shown when Ruby goes to Inez’s home after her discharge from the House of Magdalene. Inez has hurt her repeatedly, but she still feels drawn to her. Despite her lack of affection for Ruby, Inez feels differently about her new baby, Lena. Lena provides security in a way that Ruby never could, as Lena’s father, Leap, stays by Inez. Inez relies on Leap, as predatory as he is, to survive—even if he and past boyfriends have exhibited a pattern of sexualizing Ruby. To Inez, Lena doesn’t pose a threat the way Ruby does, so she is able to love Lena. As for Ruby’s once partner, Shimmy, his relationship with his mother, Mrs. Shapiro, is controlling. While Shimmy doesn’t harbor or exhibit intentional racism, his mother does. She calls Ruby a “whore” for having relations with her white son, and pushes her to give up her baby and stay away from the Shapiros. Shimmy claims he loves Ruby, but being a young man, he never truly pushes back against his mother.

On the other hand, Eleanor has a loving relationship with her mother, Lorraine. When Eleanor finds out she is pregnant, she fears disappointing her mother, but Lorraine is still the first person she calls. She wants her mother’s comfort in a difficult moment. Later, when she assumes William has been unfaithful to her, she again goes to her mother. William’s mother Rose recognizes this bond, and because of this, she is able to find Eleanor at Lorraine’s house. Like Shimmy and Mrs. Shapiro, William and Rose’s relationship stems from maternal protection. Rose is proud of her lineage and associates with other wealthy, light-skinned Black people to forge a future for her son in a hostile world. However, unlike Mrs. Shapiro, she respects her son’s feelings and warms up to her daughter-in-law.

The novel’s final maternal bond is that between Ruby and Wilhelmina. Ruby never sees Grace (who is renamed Wilhelmina by Eleanor and William) after she is taken from her. However, their bond still exists. Wilhelmina shares her birth mother’s physical features, and Ruby notices her painting on William’s wall. Ruby recognizes her own love of painting in the piece. The novel’s maternal bonds play out differently because of differing circumstances, but overall, the bond is framed as unbreakable.

The Weaponization of Women’s Bodies

Teenage Ruby’s body makes her uncomfortable at the beginning of the novel, as it poses a threat to her. She is a child, but adult men catcall her on the street partially because of her curves. These comments make her feel unsafe, as she simply wishes to live her life and pursue her goals without having to police men’s predatory behavior. Of no fault of her own, Ruby’s body endangers her in the presence of her mother’s boyfriends. As the novel plays out, it becomes clear that Leap was not the first of Inez’s boyfriends to make sexual advances toward Ruby. Rather than protect her daughter, Inez becomes jealous whenever these advances happen and kicks Ruby out of the house. Leap goes so far as to grope and thrust against Ruby, but this results in her getting permanently kicked out.

When Ruby is sent to the House of Magdalene, she becomes aware that she has to pay a higher price for sex than Shimmy. Shimmy has to face his mother’s wrath, but still gets to live his life after Ruby becomes pregnant. However, Ruby could lose her opportunity to go to college and better her life. To ensure this doesn’t happen, she makes a deal with Shimmy’s mother, Mrs. Shapiro, and goes to a maternity home where she is emotionally and verbally abused and segregated from white residents. She is forced into unconsciousness for a forced delivery, and then has to say goodbye to her baby. Mother Magdalene uses her home to provide married couples with adoptive babies (like Ruby’s daughter) and encourage donations, making the residents commodities in themselves. Meanwhile, Shimmy can avoid such traumatic experiences. The same can be said of the other residents’ sexual partners, such as Loretta’s boyfriend Rucker, who stops writing her, and Georgia Mae’s employer, who took advantage of her twice.

As for Eleanor, the consequences of her pregnancy are not as severe as Ruby’s, but they are still traumatic. In high school, Eleanor had her first miscarriage, but was able to avoid having to raise a baby. She has sex with William, a steadfast man of means who marries her. When she experiences two more miscarriages, she is forced to hide at home to fake her pregnancy until her and William’s adoption process is complete. Eleanor also has to work remotely and is urged to give up her college education—which she rejects. While a more thoughtful partner than Shimmy, William does not face any of these consequences. Throughout the novel, men are shown to face fewer consequences than women due to women’s reproductive abilities and larger society’s misogyny.

The Importance of Second Chances

At the beginning of the novel, Ruby is told by her teacher Mrs. Thomas that girls like her do not get second chances, and that she must take advantage of the chances she does get. As a whole, the novel details characters’ second chances and the ways in which they use them to better their lives. While Ruby’s first chance is the We Rise program, her second chance is given by Shimmy’s mother, Mrs. Shapiro, who sends her to the House of Magdalene in exchange for a scholarship to Cheyney. However, this is not an act of altruism: Mrs. Shapiro doesn’t want Shimmy and Ruby’s baby to affect her family. The nuns at the home preach redemption, a second chance to receive God’s forgiveness for having sex out of wedlock. Ruby endures this treatment for the sake of her future and ends the novel as an optometrist, but is forever haunted by the loss of her daughter. Still, her second chance bore fruit. She followed her heart and Mrs. Thomas’s advice in pursuing a way out of poverty, and did so without looking back.

Before the novel begins, Eleanor is given a second chance. While in high school, she became pregnant but ended up miscarrying. If her baby had lived, she likely would not have been able to go to college and live a more comfortable life than her parents. The miscarriage was traumatizing, but gave Eleanor a second chance to further her education. When she gets pregnant in college, her mother believes the pregnancy could be a second chance for her. It does prove to be just that. Because William genuinely loves Eleanor and is willing to take responsibility, they get married and try to have another baby. Even though her second pregnancy results in a stillbirth, Eleanor lifts herself out of poverty. Whenever tragedy strikes, she and William never stay apart for long, as they take every chance they get to reconcile.

Both Ruby and Eleanor find second chances through adoption. Ruby’s daughter is adopted by the Prides, her second chance at freedom facilitating their second chance at being parents. In turn, this decision lifts both Ruby and her daughter out of poverty, as Wilhelmina is raised by a married couple with wealth and connections. Ruby’s love of painting carries over to Wilhelmina, giving the latter a chance to pursue their shared hobby at her leisure. This shared hobby is also important because Shimmy gifted lavender paint to Ruby as part of his courtship; Wilhelmina brings Shimmy’s wanting a chance to date Ruby full circle. By acting on second chances, the characters are able to achieve their dreams at a price.