As I began reading the short story about Mary Elizabeth, I had a few questions about her. I was wondering if she was a servant because Sally couldn't make a cup of coffee and seemed very clueless about cooking. Also, I was wondering if Mary Elizabeth was a servant, why she was late or not coming that day and if it would cause her any troubles.
As I read on, I came to realize that Mary Elizabeth was African American. Her "slang" was difficult to understand at times. Many of her words were clustered together, which made the reading choppy at times for me. I had to re-read passages to get an understanding for the stories she was telling. I do think this adds to the story. I think it brightens up Mary Elizabeth's character and gives you a sense of the African American language during this time.
Something that stood out to me was the realationship between Sally and Mary Elizabeth. Sally didn't seem to care much that Mary Elizabeth was late. I would have thought this would have been a problem and could have costed Mar Elizabeth her job or a pay reduction, which could have impacted her and her family. Also, Mary Elizabeth seems very open with Sally and comfortable telling her about her husband and ex-husband, along with her sister, etc. Through stories I have read in the past, I never got the sense that a servant had a relationship with anyone in the household that they were working with. I enjoyed reading the stories Mary Elizabeth told Sally and the energy I felt from her as I read this story. It seems as though Sally just sat back and listened to Mary Elizabeth and enjoyed her company but was also shocked by the things she was saying to her. I also got the feeling that Sally respected Mary Elizabeth and wanted to help her out because she often gave her clothes and seemed quite generous. I think they both appreciated each other but in different ways.
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That’s a very good point. I really felt like Sally and Mary Elizabeth had a sort of mother daughter relationship. Obviously, we find out that both of these women are African American and we find out that Sally has little knowledge of slavery and other hardships, because of her age and upbringing. Sally is obviously fascinated by what Mary Elizabeth has seen and knows, and to some extent I think, feels a need to be kind and help her as much as possible, for the harships she has been through. Such as when she decides to give Mary Elizabeth the dress she was thinking about wearing again.
Yah. I really have no idea the relationship that is between Mary and Sally. Through reading I thought that it was a type of servant and employer relationship, but it seemed that there was something more personal between them. If Mary was a servant, she was in a situation that was very comfortable for her and the relationship was good for the both of them. The story helped strengthen the relationship between Sally and her husband and Mary seemed to get a lot of friendship and support from Sally.
I thought the same thing about mary elizabeth and sally was that they had a good relantionship. She was like part of teh family she wasnt really looked at as teh servant. Another good point was about the way she was talking it was hard to understand but it shows how the servants or african americans talked in that time period. I think that all sally had was mary because her husband didnt seem very nice to her so mary was her friend and her servant.
Mary Elizabeth may have been a servant, but a paid one i think. They have a good relationship her and sally. How come mary elizabeth doesnt come and make the coffee and breakfast if shes the maid? maybe thats what usually happens, but sally should learn how to as well, seems as she has the easy life. i thought that sally and roger were white until the end.... sally seems to pickup much from mary elizabeth, she is more than a servant but a friend, mentor and the "wise counselor" that she needs
I think that was an interesting relationship between Mary Elizabeth and Sally. It made me wonder if this was common to occur in the North- that the lines would be blurred between servant and employer.
I also think it’s interesting that Mary Elizabeth and Sally had such a close, friendly relationship. I always thought that employers and servants relationship was mainly based on getting the work done. They both confided within each other (Mary Elizabeth sharing her family stories and Sally being open about her fight with Roger). I'm curious if this was something more common in the North than in the South.
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