Maud Martha

Paul agrees to take Maud to a downtown movie house. They rarely venture downtown because Paul typically argues that parking is difficult—and there are too many white people. Maud is in a romantic mood, admiring the faint snowfall and feeling preciously devoted to Paul.

The evening takes an awkward turn when Paul points out that he and Maud are the only colored people at the theater. They’re both uncomfortable, and Paul’s refusal to ask a white girl at a candy counter for directions leaves Maud looking at him as a coward. Paul eventually asks an usher where to purchase tickets, and Maud is relieved when they’re able to go in and watch the movie. Even Paul’s mood returns to a romantic tone once they’re inside the theater and enjoying the movie; he tells Maud they should make outings like this more often. The brief moment of contentment in their marriage is broken when the movie ends and the reality of their aloneness among an all-white theater comes back to light.

Paul still longs to belong the social class that’s just out of his reach. He is invited to visit the Foxy Cats Club and sees the invitation as a confirmation that he is “at last, a social somebody” (79). The party invitation comes while Maud is pregnant, and she assumes he’ll want to leave her at home but knows he’s good enough to take her. Paul works as a grocery clerk and expenses are a concern, so Maud worries about how she’ll find a dress good enough for the party.

Paul has been invited to the party as a guest, but he has not yet been invited to join the social club. He feels the pressure and significance of the invitation. Maud enjoys the early part of their evening together, but Paul leaves her sitting alone after just a few dances, choosing to dance with a beautiful white woman instead. Another male partygoer attempts to entice Maud into a dance, but she’s distracted by Paul and his beautiful dance partner. Maud justifies Paul’s preference for a light-skinned dance partner, deciding that it’s not worth the trouble of raising a fuss with Paul for abandoning her at the dance floor.

Maud feels birth pains at home one evening. She initially insists that it’s only false labor. Paul realizes it’s time to call for help as Maud’s pain intensifies, but he’s unsure of where to go or whom to call. Maud goes into the final stages of labor before she can be taken to the hospital. A neighbor, Mrs. Cray, comes to the apartment to check on the source of the shrieking and stays to assist. Paul is clearly unprepared and uncomfortable in the situation, and he is “glad of an excuse to escape” (94) when Mrs. Cray sends him for a doctor. Belva finally arrives and immediately sees that Maud is too far into labor to move to a hospital; the baby is born in Maud and Paul’s apartment.

Maud’s daughter is born looking gray and greasy, triggering Paul to assume it’s a stillbirth. Mrs. Cray admonishes Paul’s ineptitude, and the doctor confirms the baby girl is just fine. Maud feels well immediately after giving birth; she’s eager to share the news with neighbors who peek in to check on the source of the commotion. Maud greets each neighbor excitedly, thrilled that she’s triumphantly given birth and come through it exceptionally well.

The following vignette follows Maud’s new reflections on love and support in life. Now that she’s a mother, she recognizes that “people must have something to lean on” and that “the love of a single person was not enough” (100). She wonders whether the purpose of life is to find something to lean upon as she muses on the relationship between love and marriage.

Paul and Maud name their daughter Paulette. Paul continues to fall short of his promises of a grand and comfortable life, and his shortcomings become more apparent as Christmas arrives. He works to provide for his wife and daughter, but he continues to fall short of his lofty ambitions for life in a higher social class. Tensions in the marriage intensify as Paul works to feed an additional person and Maud insists on luxuries for the new baby.

The family’s financial concerns are highlighted as their economic situation forces Maud to abandon her childhood Christmas traditions, such as bringing a Christmas tree home and having a decorating party with her siblings. This brings Maud to recall other traditions she held as a child: Easter traditions, fall traditions, and birthday traditions. Christmas with Paulette is nothing like what Maud remembers from her own childhood, and her disappointment with Paul continues.