Girl

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1978

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Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

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Character Analysis

Speaker / Mother

The mother figure in this short work of fiction is demanding and strict. She achieves this tone by using the imperative, infinitive forms of verbs to give instructions and educate her daughter on how to behave: what to do and not do in their household and community. For example, she tells her daughter “soak salt fish overnight before you cook it” (Line 12) and “don’t walk bare-head in the hot sun” (Lines 5-6). The mother is also hypercritical of her daughter’s purity and virtue. She questions her daughter “is it true that you sing benna in Sunday school?” (Lines 12-13). Benna is a Caribbean term for a calypso-style genre of music referencing gossip and sexuality. Her fear that her daughter is partaking in this style of music indicates her anxiety over her daughter’s blossoming womanhood and curiosity. This mother figure initially comes across as conservative. She desires her daughter to “walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming” (Line 15). The mother wants to control her daughter’s physical actions in the domestic sphere as well as her sexual expression.

While the mother initially comes across as traditional and conservative, she also has expresses feminist ideals as she tries to imbue her daughter with a sense of self-worth and empowerment. The mother does instruct her daughter in how to interact with men and “love a man” (Line 47), but she also teaches her daughter how to stick up for herself by educating her on how “to bully a man” (Line 46). While the mother in Kincaid’s piece exemplifies domesticity, she also represents feminine authority and self-respect. The mother’s duality surfaces in the conflicting advice she imparts. For example, she instructs the girl how to behave at Sunday school, yet she also shares how to avoid evil spirits and discreetly terminate an unwanted pregnancy. In this way, the mother purports Christian (and by association, British) values yet maintains her own cultural belief system. The mother’s overarching message is to uphold propriety in the home and in the community, but to privately conduct oneself as necessary to maintain one’s independence and well-being.

Girl / Daughter

While the mother is the dominant character in Kincaid’s story, the daughter is the dominated, or inferior character. The mother’s voice overshadows that of the daughter. However, through the mother’s comments and the daughter’s interjections, readers can make their own inferences regarding the daughter’s character. Throughout the text, the mother refers to the daughter as “the slut I know you are so bent on becoming” (Line 15). This comment illustrates the mother’s use of shame to control her daughter and indicates the possibility of the daughter’s freer and more liberal view on sexuality and relationships—a view that differs from her mother’s.

The two italicized phrases in the text represent the daughter’s response to her mother and reflect a more independent mind. In the first instance, the daughter protests, “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school” (Lines 18-19). The daughter pushes back against her mother’s assumptions. Again, the daughter’s defiant retort suggests that she may, in fact, sing benna. It is this independence that the mother fears. The second instance of the daughter’s voice comes at the conclusion of the text, right before the mother conveys her final message. The daughter asks, “but what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?” (Line 51). This response can be interpreted as the daughter’s genuine plea for her mother to help prepare her for future situations. Conversely, the daughter may simply be bucking her mother’s authority. Regardless of intent, the daughter’s meek voice displays a balance of innocence and independence that contrasts with and challenges the mother’s demanding tone.

Father and the Wharf-Rat Boys

The voices of the two female characters dominate the text; however, the speaker makes brief references to two other male characters. The mother warns her daughter not “to speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions” (Lines 16-17). Calling someone a “wharf-rat” carries negative connotations, implying that the individual is idle and a ne’er-do-well. “Wharf-rats,” according to the stereotype, hang around the shipyards or docks and make their living by stealing or through other illegal means. This group of male individuals, according to the mother, is a threat, both physically and sexually. Should the daughter be seen giving them directions, others in the community could misinterpret the action as suggestive.

The other male character directly referenced is the daughter’s father. The mother instructs her daughter on “how to iron your father’s khaki pants so that they don’t have a crease” (Lines 24-25). This statement reinforces the gender expectations of the story’s period and setting. While the wharf-boys are male characters the female characters must avoid, the father-figure is one for whom they must fulfill domestic duties. The mother encourages her daughter to perform her designated domestic role while imploring her to not to satisfy a sexual role.