Berenice's Wedding Eve: A Mystery

Berenice Sadie Brown is a character in Carson McCullers' novella, 'The Member of the Wedding'. She is the African-American housekeeper of the Addams family, who also acts as a mother figure to Frankie, the protagonist. Before the wedding of Frankie's brother, Jarvis, Berenice is a source of frustration for Frankie, who is in the throes of adolescence. Frankie is unable to articulate her feelings of restlessness and annoyance, and often acts out by throwing knives and stealing her father's gun. Berenice is a voice of reason in the story, and her stories about her past relationships help to teach Frankie about love and the harsh realities of racism. She is also responsible for raising Frankie, as well as taking care of her nephew, Honey, and an invalid, Big Mama.

Berenice's role as a mother figure to Frankie

Berenice Sadie Brown is the African-American housekeeper of the Addams family and acts as a mother figure to Frankie. She is responsible for running the house and raising Frankie, all for a meagre wage of six dollars a week. She also takes care of Big Mama, an invalid who lives in her house, and supports her nephew, Honey, who is unable to maintain steady employment.

Berenice is a voice of reason in the novel, giving readers a better perspective on the reality that Frankie often overlooks. She is also a foil for Frankie, representing all that the young girl has yet to learn about love, sex, relationships, and the harsh realities of racism. Berenice's physicality, with one dark eye and one glass blue eye, reflects the novel's theme of bifurcation, or the separation between two entities. She discusses with Frankie what it means to be a Black person trapped in a white society, drawing on her own experiences of being divided.

Berenice treats Frankie with a kind of rough love, not shying away from calling her out when needed. She is the first to tell Frankie that her plans to join her brother's wedding and honeymoon are unrealistic and warns her against falling in love with the idea of weddings. She also tries to cheer Frankie up when she is feeling down, such as after the humiliation of the wedding, by suggesting a party with nice finger sandwiches and rowdy guests.

Berenice's method of teaching involves telling slow stories to the children, often about her one true love, Ludie, her first husband, who died after a good marriage. She also shares stories of her subsequent marriages, which turned out to be terrible for her. Through her storytelling, Berenice teaches Frankie about life and the art of storytelling itself.

At the end of the novel, Berenice is left despairing as her nephew has been put in jail, and she has been unable to secure his bail. Additionally, John Henry West, the white child she essentially adopted, has died of meningitis. Frankie, now preoccupied with other things, is unable to recognise the loss of Berenice's absence in her life.

Frankie's feelings of isolation

Frankie Addams is a twelve-year-old girl in the Southern town where the novella is set. She is on the cusp of adolescence, but not quite divorced from childhood yet. She feels isolated and scared, stuck between the childhood of her six-year-old cousin, John Henry West, and the older teenagers who won't play with her. Her best friend has left town, and she has been cut off from the friendship of other girls. Frankie's mother died when she was too young to remember her, and her mother figure is the family's African-American housekeeper, Berenice Sadie Brown, who also acts as a mother to John Henry.

Frankie spends most of her time in the kitchen with Berenice and John Henry, and she often acts out her frustrations with erratic behaviour. She has a wild imagination and a penchant for dressing up and acting out parts she makes up. She also has a short temper, and when she is angry, she throws a knife across the kitchen or marches around with a pan on her head. Frankie is a dramatist, and she longs to be seen and recognised. She feels a sense of connection to the people of the town after she learns of her brother Jarvis's upcoming wedding to Janice Evans, and she becomes what she calls a "member of the wedding". She feels that she finally has a place in the world and is now an active member of society.

However, when the couple rejects her as a member of the wedding, Frankie is devastated. She feels even more isolated and alone, and she doesn't know how to deal with her emotions. She is unable to confront her feelings about the death of John Henry, who passes away from meningitis, and she avoids acknowledging the impending loss of Berenice in her life. Frankie is aware that Berenice will soon be leaving, but she is too young to know what to do about it. She busies herself with sandwiches and talk of her new friend, Mary Littlejohn, instead of facing the reality of Berenice's absence.

Frankie's desire to be a 'member of the wedding'

Frankie Addams is a twelve-year-old girl in the Southern town where the novella is set. She is on the cusp of adolescence and is struggling to leave her childhood behind. She feels isolated and frustrated, cut off from her peers and without a mother figure, as her mother died when she was too young to remember her.

The narrative centres on Frankie's desire to be included, to be seen as an adult, and to escape what she feels is a stifling existence. She is in a state of limbo, no longer a child but not yet a teenager, and this is reflected in her name changes throughout the novella: from Frankie, to F. Jasmine, and then Frances.

The upcoming wedding of her brother, Jarvis, and his fiancée, Janice Evans, becomes a focal point for Frankie's desires. She designates herself a 'member of the wedding' and plans to travel with the couple, imagining that she will finally be part of something important. She goes so far as to buy a dress for the wedding and offer to give blood to the Red Cross to help the war effort. However, her dreams are dashed when the couple rejects her as a member of the wedding.

Despite this setback, Frankie remains resilient. She forms a new friendship with Mary Littlejohn, who is two years older, and at the end of the novella, she is scheming to see the world and become a 'member of the world'.

Throughout the story, Frankie's housekeeper, Berenice Sadie Brown, acts as a mother figure and a voice of truth for Frankie. She tries to provide love, comfort, and discipline, but Frankie is a handful, acting out in erratic ways. Berenice is also a foil for Frankie, representing all that Frankie has yet to learn about love, sex, and the harsh realities of racism. She serves as a reality check for Frankie, always questioning her motives and explaining her feelings to her.

Frankie's confusion about sex

Frankie Addams is a twelve-year-old girl in the throes of adolescence. She is confused about sex and her sexuality, and this confusion is a central theme of the novella.

Frankie is in a state of limbo between childhood and adulthood. She is disconnected from everyone around her and spends the novella searching for a way to connect with other people. She has lofty fantasies about escaping what she feels is a stifling existence, but her naïveté and lack of awareness of the adult world, particularly when it comes to matters of sex and relationships, hold her back.

Her confusion about sex is evident in her interactions with her friend Barney MacKean, with whom she "committed a queer sin" in his garage. This experience brings forth Frankie's wrath against Barney, suggesting that she is both ignorant and afraid of what they did. She is also confused about her own body and the changes it is undergoing as she enters puberty. This is suggested by the author's use of colour as a motif, with the colour red implying a fear of menstruation.

Throughout the novella, Frankie struggles to understand her own sexuality and how it fits into the larger world around her. She is in a state of flux, caught between childhood and adulthood, and this confusion about her own identity and place in the world is a central theme of the story.

Frankie's relationship with John Henry

Frankie Addams, the protagonist of Carson McCullers' novella, "The Member of the Wedding", has a complex relationship with her six-year-old cousin, John Henry West. John Henry is described as intelligent beyond his years, with a calm demeanour that contrasts Frankie's hysterical behaviour. He is her constant companion and spends much of his time at the Addams house, where Frankie's father, a widower, employs John Henry's great-aunt, Berenice Sadie Brown, as a housekeeper.

John Henry serves as a foil to Frankie's character as she struggles to find her identity, highlighting the childish things she wishes to leave behind. For example, while Frankie has moved on from dressing up in costumes, John Henry still enjoys wearing ridiculous outfits and playing with other children. However, John Henry also enhances Frankie's awareness of the adult world. When he contracts meningitis, Frankie does not understand the severity of his illness, seeing it as another instance of playacting. But when he dies, she is forced to confront death—an undeniably adult concept.

John Henry's death symbolises the end of Frankie's childhood. His calm and innocent nature is juxtaposed with the violence of his death, representing the fundamental injustice of the world. Frankie is deeply affected by his passing, and it is this new "hush" to her character that demonstrates her maturation. While she continues to fantasise about the future, she is now aware of her own mortality and the preciousness of life.

Overall, Frankie's relationship with John Henry is a key element of "The Member of the Wedding", highlighting her journey from childhood to adolescence and the complexities of growing up.

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