Set in the US in 1969, Lucy is the story of a 19-year-old who has just moved from the British West Indies for work and school. She becomes an au pere for an affluent family with 4 daughters and attends school briefly for nursing. This novel is her reflection on that year and on herself. One could read it as a sort of coming of age story, about growing up. Lucy is trying to break from her old life and especially from her mother with whom she has had a combative relationship. But this novel is bigger than that, including themes like imperialism and feminism and making it a reflection on the world in the late ’60s, when the action is set, as well as 1990, when the novel was published, and still today.
Lucy narrates her own story with humor, anger and intelligence. When the story begins, it is January and Lucy is on her way from the airport to Mariah and Lewis’ apartment in an unnamed city that experiences harsh winters. Lucy is thrilled to have made a break from her home and her mother, intending never to return. She is surprised by her feelings of homesickness and with the realization that “…I had imagined that with my one swift act — leaving home and coming to this new place — I could leave behind me, as if it were an old garment, never to be worn again, my sad thoughts, my sad feelings, and my discontent with life in general….” This is not to be, as the rest of the novel demonstrates.
Lucy provides cutting commentary on the new affluent world she inhabits, and in these passages, Kincaid draws stark comparisons between the worlds of the haves, imperial powers such as Britain and the US, and the have-nots, such as the former colonies in the developing world. For example, in early summer, Mariah, Lucy and the girls take a train to their summer home somewhere on the Great Lakes. Lucy notices that in the dining car, all of the other diners look like Mariah — white — while all of the waiters look like Lucy — black. Mariah wakes Lucy on the train to look out the window at the beautiful meadow with its plowed fields, one of Mariah’s favorite sights. Lucy, on the other hand, contemplates the amount of work involved cultivating the fields and the hands that had to work it. Mariah’s favorite flower is the daffodil and when they first began to bloom, she takes Lucy to see them. Having grown up in the tropics, Lucy was unaccustomed to the change of seasons and the native flora of her new home. Upon seeing the daffodils, Lucy, without even knowing what they were, had an instinct to kill them. She tells Mariah a story of how, when she was 10, she had to memorize and recite a poem about daffodils, just as she had been forced to sing “Rule Britannia” and loathed it. Where Mariah saw beauty, Lucy saw “sorrow and bitterness” born of a history of colonial rule and slavery. She notes, however, “I was glad at last to have seen what a wretched daffodil looked like.” In another cutting passage, Mariah informs Lucy that she has Indian (Native American) blood. Lucy thinks, “…it is as if she were announcing her possession of a trophy. How do you get to be the sort of victor who can claim to be the vanquished also?”
Despite the socio-economic divide between Lucy and Mariah, Lucy is compassionate toward Mariah. When Mariah and her wealthy friends take on a project to save the wetlands near their summer homes, Lucy sees that these women make no connection between the lifestyles they have and the vanishing wetlands. Yet, “…I couldn’t bring myself to point out to her that if all the things she wanted to save in the world were saved, she might find herself in reduced circumstances.” Lucy sees that Mariah is essentially a kind person but not someone to emulate. Even though Lucy is half Mariah’s age, she seems more mature and worldly than Mariah, and more sure of herself. Lucy thinks, “The smell of Mariah was pleasant. Just that — pleasant. And I thought, But that’s the trouble with Mariah — she smells pleasant. By then I already knew that I wanted to have a powerful odor and would not care if it gave offense.” I find this to be a powerful feminist statement, and the reader can see why Lucy becomes so dissatisfied, so angry about what life has to offer her and ultimately understand the source of her anger at her own mother. There are so many quotes about men and the power they have in society compared to the lack of power and opportunity for women! One of my favorites comes from Mariah’s revelation that her husband is cheating on her and leaving her. She is shocked and hurt, whereas Lucy sees this as business as usual and nothing to really get worked up about. “Everybody knew that man have no morals, they do not know how to behave, they do not know how to treat other people. It was why men like laws so much; it was why they had to invent such things — they need a guide. When they are not sure what to do, they consult this guide. If the guide gives them advice they don’t like, they change the guide.”
I greatly enjoyed reading this short novel. Lucy is a compelling narrator, and her revelations can make the reader laugh while also causing some feelings of discomfort. At the end, I was reminded that she is still a young woman and that working through the pain of one’s past and one’s family can be a lonely and alienating endeavor.
My only exposure to the writing of Jamaica Kincaid came in the form of an excerpt from Annie John entitled “A Walk to the Jetty” read from a tenth grade English class. It is the story of Annie John, a 17 year old from Antigua who is on her way to England to become a nurse. Similar to Lucy, it seems like Annie also has a difficult relationship with her mother.
Annie’s narrative voice seemed so angry and bitter that she turned me off ever wanting to read a full novel by Jamaica Kincaid. Your review, however, just made me change my mind. Thanks for your wonderful analysis and insight.