The Beet Queen

The events in this novel take place between 1932 and 1972—a period of immense change not only for the characters but also for the world at large. While the book rarely addresses world events directly or in detail, they hover in the background, providing context for the characters’ development, choices, and struggles.

For example, the economic devastation of the Great Depression drives Adelaide to the desperate act of abandoning her children. The stock market crash of 1929 plunged the nation into a devastating depression and left families fractured, hungry, and in despair. Mary herself realizes, even as a child, that external forces beyond the family’s control lead to its demise. Besides the tragic loss of her father, “without the year 1929, [her] family would probably have gone on living comfortably in a lonely and isolated white house on the edge of Prairie Lake” (5). For a time, Adelaide steals to feed her children, but the birth of yet another mouth to feed propels her to leave them behind.

War is a constant threat throughout these decades, and every character’s life is in some way shaped by it. Russell Kashpaw, Celestine’s half-brother, is a decorated veteran, having served in World War II and in the Korean War, where he was “wounded in action” (69). Russell’s descent into isolation and substance use disorder are the result, at least in part, of his long periods of deployment. He bears the scars of his ordeal quite literally, as well; his face is marred by scars “like claw marks, angry and long, even running past his temples and parting his hair crooked” (70). These scars are only the visible ones, of course. By the end of the novel, the Vietnam War looms in the background, though Argus is not a town roiled by protests or buffeted by politics.

Finally, society itself changes as the years roll by, and characters’ decisions reflect changing social mores. For example, Sita’s anxiety over not being married at 30 is typical of the early 1950s, an era that valorized the traditional nuclear family and its rigidly defined gender roles. Celestine’s choice to marry Karl after Dot is born, even though she has no intention of living with him, can also be explained by the pressures of the era. This repressive atmosphere is also a factor in Wallace’s decision to hide his sexual orientation; in the 1950s, the “lavender scare” was in full swing, and LGBTQ people were subject to intense animosity and discrimination.

Still, Argus is not a time capsule, and the beet brings with it not only financial prosperity but also a bit of social evolution. Mary’s old Catholic school, for example, has stopped requiring daily mass attendance by the time Dot arrives there. By the end of the novel, Karl and Wallace decide to embark upon a relationship, though the book does not say how open that relationship will be. The new bypass that runs through town brings with it all sorts of new ideas and peoples.