Midnight At The Blackbird Cafe

Natalie Linden Walker is the deuteragonist of the novel. Deuteragonists are sometimes described as “side-kick” characters, but that is not entirely accurate. Natalie’s character has a development arc of its own, but her function in the novel is as a helping force for Anna Kate’s character’s development. Her character arc is a primary vehicle through which the narrative examines the theme of Grief and Guilt. Natalie is a recent widow who struggles with the anger phase of grief, the result of her deceased husband’s death, and the secrets he kept from her. She also struggles to understand how he died. Natalie turns to Zee’s pies to find her answer, but as fate would have it, the pies are not available to Natalie. While the tenets of magical realism are useful devices for examining the relationships between the living and those they lose to death, Natalie’s character uses therapy to address the fresh grief of her husband’s death  

At the same time that Natalie struggles with her grief, she reflects on her childhood. A different kind of grief over her mother’s inability to be a loving mother to her in the aftermath of AJ’s death prompts a comparison and a contrast between Seelie’s experiences with grief and Natalie’s. The way each woman reacts to grief is similar, but neither woman can initially see this similarity.

Natalie remains static early in the novel because she refuses to see the connection between her grief and her mother’s, and how that grief could potentially impede her relationship with her young daughter, Ollie. Although her mother recognizes this issue and takes action to fix it, Natalie cannot see the benefit in her mother’s logic. However, as Natalie develops a relationship with Cam Kolbaugh, she begins to see her grief from a different point of view. Cam teaches her how to see the motivations of other people and that forgiveness is a choice. This advice changes Natalie’s view of her grief, and it begins to alter her view of her relationship with her mother based on her new understanding of grief.

Natalie’s relationship with Anna Kate is an important aspect of the plot because Natalie is Anna Kate’s initial connection to the Linden family. Anna Kate and Natalie share a lack of knowledge and understanding of the car accident that killed AJ and have both suffered the consequences of this accident their whole lives. For Anna Kate, the accident left her a mother burdened by grief and a desire to no longer be a part of the living world. For Natalie, the accident changed her relationship with her mother and left her feeling as though she could never measure up to an older brother she never knew.

As Natalie’s relationships with Cam and Anna Kate develop, she approaches her relationship with her mother with a different point of view as well. Natalie begins to see her mother through the guise of her grief and begins to understand why her mother grew distant and cold when she was a child. This understanding allows Natalie to welcome her mother’s attempts to repair their relationship, which illustrates the growth Natalie experiences through the course of the novel. In the end, Natalie is a happier woman, able to confront her grief without anger. She learns to use therapy to help her heal. She opens herself to love from her mother and Cam. Finally, she learns to forgive her mother for her part in the damage their relationship experienced throughout Natalie’s childhood.

Seelie Earl Linden is the antagonist of the novel, but unlike conventional antagonists, her character experiences a redemption arc. Seelie’s character operates in the role of the villain in classic Southern Gothic style. She hides behind her belief that she is the victim, not the villain. Seelie, in an attempt to do what she believed was best for her son, gave him an ultimatum and tried to force him to break up with his girlfriend, Eden, of whom Seelie disapproved. Her disapproval is based on class prejudice. Seelie’s ultimatum set off a chain of events that led to AJ’s death. Seelie blames this chain of events on Eden. Seelie believes that AJ chose college, that he chose Seelie’s point of view and broke up with Eden. Seelie thinks that Eden, in a fit of anger, caused the car accident to hurt AJ in retaliation for, as Seelie believed, he did not choose her over his mother’s ultimatum. Later, when Anna Kate comes to Wicklow, Seelie accuses Eden of keeping Anna Kate away in retaliation against the Linden family. She again paints herself as the victim when in reality, Eden’s choice to move and keep Anna Kate away from the Lindens was rooted in the deep fear that Seelie would try to take Anna Kate from her rather than a desire for revenge.

Seelie’s actions in the time before AJ’s death stem from a mother’s desire to give her only son—her only child until he was 15—the best in life, but they are tainted by her class prejudices. Seelie’s actions after AJ’s death are rooted in grief but still colored by prejudice. Just as Natalie got stuck in the anger stage of grief, Seelie wrapped anger around herself as an armor against her pain. In the days after the accident, she lashed out against the fresh pain of losing her son with accusations against Eden. This anger, when its target disappeared, morphed into an irrational fear for the life of her remaining child. This fear caused Seelie to become cold and distant, which is similar to Anna Kate’s attempts to keep herself distant from those around her to prevent the pain of separation when she moves on again. This fear broke the relationship between Seelie and Natalie, which led to an unhappy childhood for Natalie and a new source of grief for Seelie.

When Seelie meets Anna Kate, her reaction is to finally let go of her anger and fear. Seelie is freed from her grief by the realization that a part of her beloved son continues to live. This change in Seelie not only allows for character growth, but it promotes a change in her relationships with Natalie, Doc, and Anna Kate. Over time, Seelie proves to each of her loved ones that she can address the hurt of the past and make amends for her mistakes. This not only shows character growth, but it allows a change that helps these other characters grow and find new meaning in their lives as well.