Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral

Angela’s sister, Virginia (nicknamed Jinny), is not only physically distinct from Angela with her darker skin, but also temperamentally quite different. Virginia enjoys the simplicity and security of everyday routine, and she takes comfort in the repetition of family and religious rituals. All she desires is that her family be happy and be together. Yet she picks up on her sister’s restlessness and subtle defiance, dreaming of her family marching into eternity together but losing sight of Angela on the way.

The chapter is set against the Sunday rituals of church and the everyday rhythms of stable family life. While church bores Angela, she occasionally gives in to the comforts of the family unit, singing hymns together while Jinny plays the piano. Junius and Mattie have a strong and loving marriage, idealized by both daughters, especially Virginia. Mattie muses that she has nothing to fear from death for she will always, even in eternity, have her husband by her side.

Mattie’s marital bliss is in stark contrast to her early years of deprivation and service to white people.

For a time, Mattie worked as a laundress for a privileged white family and was subject to their patronizing and degrading comments, before finding a job as a personal servant to an actress. That job offered less in the way of humiliation but more in the way of moral peril. Mattie was vulnerable to the unreasonable, even sinister, demands of the wealthy white men who crossed her path.

After Junius Murray saved her from the encroaching advances of a well-connected white politician, she fell in love with him despite his dark skin: “in her eyes his colour meant safety” (31). Mattie sees their marriage like the ending of a fairy tale, “happily ever after” (33), even 15 years later. It is her wish that her daughters become schoolteachers, independent and self-sufficient, so they will never be subject to the same kinds of humiliating experiences that she had. Neither daughter relishes the thought—Angela points out that there aren’t any Black teachers in Philadelphia—but they both want to placate their mother. At the end of the chapter, Angela appears unusually listless and brooding.

We learn what led to Angela’s distressed mood: her friend and classmate, Mary Hastings, discovered that Angela is, in fact, Black and was dismayed that Angela hadn’t previously told her.

Mary was new to the school at the beginning of the year, and through her good looks and confidence quickly became one of the most popular girls in the class. Angela, as the only Black girl in her class, was previously left out of most extracurricular activities and had nobody to call a friend. Mary took a liking to Angela, and the two enjoyed popularity together—until jealousy interrupted.

A school magazine is formed, and the classes are to vote who will be in charge; there will be a chief administrator and an assistant who will see to subscriptions and such. Mary’s popularity wins her the chief position, and she chooses Angela to be her assistant, which prompts the other girls in the class (all of them white) to out Angela as Black. They suggest that Angela might steal the money from subscriptions.

Mary is taken aback, and Angela is understandably hurt. She decides to end the friendship with Mary before Mary can do it herself. Later, Mary tries to mend the friendship, but the damage is done. Angela wonders, “which was more important, a patent insistence on the fact of colour or an acceptance of the good things of life which could come to you in America if either you were not coloured or the fact of your racial connections was not made known” (46).

Time elapses as the sisters grow up, secure teaching positions, and pursue love interests. Attitudes and demographics change in Philadelphia, meaning that there are now predominately Black schools where Black teachers can acceptably teach, according to the mores of the time. Even though Angela doesn’t enjoy the job, she is happy to be somewhat independent. The extra income allows her to take classes at the local art academy.

Junius decides to buy a car—the ultimate marker of success and upwardly mobile comfort—and the family delights in learning to drive. Angela and Virginia have some friends over, and they all discuss their prospects now that they are young adults. The discussion turns to the subject of race and how it limits their opportunities. Angela exclaims that she is sick of such debates, declaring that being Black was a “nothing short of a curse” (53).

Amidst all of the responsibilities of being a young adult, Angela has little time to spend on white-passing excursions with her mother. When an opportunity finally presents itself to resume these trips, Mattie and Angela traipse about town in a whirl of activity. Mattie suddenly takes ill and faints; she is transported to the nearest hospital where Junius, because he is Black, is not permitted to enter. He is made to wait outside until she is released. Mattie recovers, but Junius does not, having contracted pneumonia while forced to stand in the cold, wet weather. After Junius’s funeral, Mattie begs her daughters to forgive her as she wills herself to die, too. She refuses to live without Junius.

Angela throws herself into her work at the art academy, bringing an accomplished sketch of her neighbor to show to the class. The sketch elicits a discussion on race, and it is again revealed that Angela is Black. Some of her fellow students were unaware and are offended when they find out. This blatant injustice infuriates and hurts Angela: Why should it matter if she is Black? Why is it incumbent upon her to inform everyone she meets?

Following this incident, Angela reluctantly agrees to go out on a date with Matthew Henson. While Virginia has always secretly had a crush on Matthew, he has always been sweet on Angela. During the date, Matthew is refused entry to the theatre—Angela, mistaken for white, has bought the tickets—and she feels terrible for his embarrassment. This leads her to conclude that “it isn’t being coloured that makes the difference, it’s letting it be known” (78). This hardens her resolve to leave Philadelphia, to all but sever her ties with Virginia, and to make a new life for herself in New York as a white woman.