46 pages • 1 hour read
Charles W. ChesnuttThe Marrow of Tradition
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1901A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 28-31Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 28 Summary: “In Season and Out”
Tom is never charged for the crime, but he ceases to call on Clara. Major Carteret takes on Sandy as his butler as “a sort of vicarious atonement” (154). Although the lynching never occurs, the next election reveals the strong current of anti-Black sentiment that Major Carteret and his cronies sought to draw out. A new wave of laws—like the “grandfather clause”—finds ways to deny voting rights to Black men. However, the laws will not take effect in Virginia for two years, and Major Carteret and his friends find themselves frustrated. As they discuss a new strategy, Jerry enters the office, now with his face “splotched” and his hair oily. He has been buying products meant to change his appearance. In their next encounter, Major Carteret strongly suggests to Jerry that he not vote, and Jerry understands that his job is contingent upon his compliance.
Chapter 29 Summary: “Mutterings of the Storm”
Major Carteret finally republishes the article from the Afro-American Banner that decries lynching for interracial relationships. A sudden and quiet shift takes place between Black and white citizens of Wellington: The white people become noticeably less friendly. Belmont states that it’s time for the “final act of this drama” (162). Major Carteret expresses that he does not advocate murder, while McBane states that he is “not so particular” (162). They agree that they will ask the current administration—including the white mayor—to resign and will drive prominent Black citizens like Mr. Watson out of town. Dr. Miller will be allowed to stay, as he does not involve himself in politics and works for the betterment of the community.
Chapter 30 Summary: “The Missing Papers”
Oliva finds the missing papers Mrs. Ochiltree told her about. Before opening the envelope, she asks her husband if a will granting property to a Black child could ever be upheld. Her husband tells her it could not be. Thus reassured, she opens the envelope to find a will granting Janet Miller (née Merkell) $10,000, as well as a certificate proving their father’s marriage to Julia. In a fit of anger, she burns both. Once she collects herself, she reads her father’s letter to Mr. Delamere. She tries to dismiss the papers from her mind but remembers one white man who married a Black woman during the military occupation of the state: No one ever questioned the legality of their marriage. Conferring with her husband once again, she realizes that the marriage had been legal and that without a will, Janet is entitled to half the estate—much more than $10,000. As she struggles with the question, she becomes nervous and eventually ill.
Chapter 31 Summary: “The Shadow of a Dream”
Olivia dreams that she and Dodie are sailing when a storm hits their boat. She sees Janet approaching in a small boat that turns away. She wakes up to find Dodie “breathing heavily.” Thinking over Janet’s fate, she comforts herself with the knowledge that Janet received an education, made a good marriage, and became rich. She decides to assuage her anxiety by donating $10,000 to Dr. Miller’s hospital without ever revealing to Janet that she was legitimate or that her father left her the same sum in his will. The next day, she continues to worry over Dodie’s breathing, especially when her husband warns her to remain inside due to a “little political demonstration” (177). She sends for Mammy Jane.
Chapters 28-31 Analysis
These chapters speed ahead to the final results of Major Carteret’s long campaign wielding The Power of the Press. Sandy is cleared and no lynching occurs, but the prejudice displayed by Major Carteret, Belmont, McBane, and others is widespread: Now, the white people of Wellington are prepared to take up arms to achieve their cause. They do so without an understanding of their own interdependence with the Black people of their community, as is emphasized by Dodie’s need for Mammy Jane just as the uprising is about to begin.
Paralleling these events is Olivia’s discovery. While she was once able to disregard Mrs. Ochiltree’s words, she finally has the means to discover the truth. She is so consumed with anger at the idea of Janet’s legitimacy that she immediately burns the marriage certificate and will that would entitle her to $10,000—without pausing to consider that she may cost herself more. She considers herself a “good woman” yet she is utterly unable to uphold her deceased father’s wishes or tell the truth.
Olivia’s actions also develop the theme of The “Poetry” of Racism Versus the Reality of Racism as it relates to the law and stolen inheritances. Janet is in the relatively unusual position of having the law on her side (though she does not know it), yet Olivia still manages to deprive her of her rightful property. Her flagrant disregard for legality exposes the similarly sordid nature of measures that disenfranchise Black Americans under the guise of the law.
Related Titles
By Charles W. Chesnutt
