Girl

Kincaid’s experimental short story is technically a single sentence predominantly comprised of a compilation of instructions, with all 53 phrases separated by semicolons. The writing, although direct and simplistic, is lyrical, and the text is considered a prose poem. Within this single sentence, Kincaid employs several literary devices, including repetition, imagery, and metaphor, to provide commentary on mother-daughter relationships, gender dynamics, women’s rights, and transitioning from childhood to adulthood. One interpretation of the text is that the main speaker is the mother addressing her daughter in real time. However, another interpretation is that the main speaker is actually the daughter recalling the advice passed on to her by her mother. Kincaid intentionally omits any details of the characters as well as a clear linear timeline so that the reader must infer the story’s thematic message:

[Kincaid’s] style, which, at times, borrows the surrealistic tones of magical realism, blurs the boundaries between literary genres and also between personal stories and history. In spite of the author’s stress on open emotional revelations, her books also remain deeply elusive as they consciously omit information, thus repeatedly calling on the readers to make sense of the characters’ emotional and psychological predicaments (“Jamaica Kincaid.” British Council, 2022).

The narrative does not introduce the speaker and immediately begins with the speaker’s domineering and censuring tone. The imperative items in the list all begin with the commanding, infinitive form of verbs, such as “Wash” (Line 1), “soak” (Line 8), and “eat” (Line 13). The syntax for the items in the list changes about a third of the way through the work. Instead of beginning each item in the list with an imperative verb, each item begins with the phrase “this is how.” Even though the phrasing and syntax changes, each item listed still maintains its instructional and strict tone.

One other similarity connecting all the items in the list is the domestic nature of the demands and instructions. Each listed phrase pertains to how to fulfill traditional, stereotyped domestic chores, from maintaining the household, to cooking, to taking care of family members, etc. Recurring motifs of food and clothing represent both the domestic and the sexual. For example, the speaker instructs, “this is how you iron your father’s khaki pants so that they don’t have a crease” (Lines 24-25) and “this is how you set a table for dinner with an important guest” (Lines 33-34). Because the instructions given by the speaker are focused on caring for the male members of a household and maintaining the sphere of the home, readers can infer that the speaker is a mother. We can also infer from this instructional tone that the speaker addresses her daughter, giving her the information that she will need in order to become a successful wife and mother herself, and therefore to succeed in their community.

The conversational aspect of the piece becomes clear when readers closely analyze the pronouns used by the speaker. The speaker uses second-person pronouns such as “you,” “your” and “yourself” to refer to the addressee. The speaker also use “I” to refer back to themselves: “like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming” (Line 15). This addresser/addressee relationship is expressed early in the work when the speaker firmly states, “when buying cotton to make yourself a nice blouse, be sure that it doesn’t have gum in it, because that way it won’t hold up well after a wash” (Line 11). By specifically using the noun “blouse,” an article of clothing typically worn by women, the speaker hints that the intended audience is a woman. The speaker’s didactic tone and plethora of domestic details confirms that the “you” referred to is a younger, inexperienced woman. The reference to “your father’s khaki shirt” (Line 23) later in the text confirms that the audience is the speaker’s daughter.

The educational tone breaks as the voice of the daughter interjects. These responses are italicized, drawing the reader’s attention to the fact that they originate in a different persona. In response to the main speaker commanding “don’t sing benna in Sunday school” (Line 16), the second persona states, “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school” (Lines 19-20). The response provides more characterization for the daughter and gives readers a hint at how the daughter views her mother’s advice. The daughter questions the veracity of her mother’s statements, pushing back against the mother’s authority. It is inferred that the mother is so intent on conveying these instructions to her daughter because she wants to curb the daughter’s unruly behavior. Benna symbolizes liberal behavior, while the act of singing benna represents defiance; it serves as a threat that could possibly infiltrate the domestic sphere.

The period in which the story takes place, with consideration of the domestic nature of the instructions and commands, suggests a conservative and traditional society that places “women’s work” squarely within the home. Another indication of conservative social mores is the attempted preservation of women’s sexuality and virtue. The main speaker directly addresses the feminine nature and behavior (or lack thereof) of the daughter. The mother directs, “on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming” (Lines 14-15). The mother promotes proper conduct and demeanor in an attempt to curb what she sees as her daughter’s lascivious behavior. Whether her daughter is truly acting in an overtly sexual nature or whether the mother just fears that this may occur in the future is left up to readers. However, by calling her daughter a “slut,” a term reserved for a woman with multiple sexual partners, the mother’s fear regarding her daughter’s sexual activity and impurity becomes blatant.

The text also addresses gender dynamics. By placing the two speakers in a traditional, conservative domestic setting and having them care for the male member(s) of their household, Kincaid sets up women as seemingly subservient to men. This social construct represented in the text is one that would also be deemed as outdated and antiquated by our modern contextualization. The mother seems to want to instill a sense of fear in her daughter against men. In one instance, the mother warns, “you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions” (Lines 16-17). In another instance, the mother instructs, “this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” (Lines 34-35). The constant reference to her daughter becoming a “slut” indicates through its sheer repetition that this is one of the mother’s greatest anxieties. Historically, women have held more “value” for a marriage if they are a virgin. The mother could be anxious that the daughter preserves herself for a beneficial marriage, or she could simply see men as threatening and desire to keep her daughter away from them.

This wariness of female sexuality and assertiveness shifts by the end of the monologue. The mother figure does not want her daughter to be manipulated by the men around her. While her daughter should preserve her sexuality, she should also have self-respect and dignity. The mother describes, “this is how to bully a man; this is how a man bullies you” (Line 46). While the mother acknowledges that there may be times when men assert their dominance over her or the daughter, this is no reason to simply accept the bullying. The instruction includes how to return this bullying back to the male figures. While the women characters may be relegated to a domestic setting, there is no reason the women cannot assert their own worth and authority. Similarly, the mother elaborates, “this is how to love a man, and if this doesn’t work there are other ways, and if they don’t work don’t feel too bad about giving up” (Lines 47-48). While in the earlier lines, the mother warns her daughter against becoming a “slut,” here she instructs her on proper sexual expression. Taking this into account, the mother does not seem to be totally against sexual expression, but she desires its moderation and proper application.

One other nuance provided by the text is the aspect of multiculturalism. The text contains different words and references that may be unfamiliar to the average reader. For example, the speaker makes multiple references to singing “benna” (Lines 13 and 16). Benna is a genre of music specific to Antigua and other Caribbean areas. The music has calypso characteristics, can be sexually suggestive, and can imitate or include gossip-like traits or topics. The fear the mother has of her daughter singing this type of music on Sunday parallels her anxiety surrounding her daughter’s sexuality. Other words which may seem foreign to readers are “dasheen” (Line 26), which is another term for the tropical taro root plant, and “doukana” (Line 41), a Caribbean pudding dish. Using these terms has two possible results. On the one hand, readers already familiar with them and the Caribbean culture may feel like insiders in the story, like more intimate participants and observers of this domestic scene. On the other hand, those readers unfamiliar with the terms may feel more like outsiders viewing a completely new and different culture. The incorporation of regional terms solidifies the story’s setting in the West Indies and suggests an autobiographical element to the work.