Mrs. Wiggins

Content Warning: This section depicts sexual assault, anti-gay bias, anti-Black racism, lynching, intimate partner violence, graphic violence, murder, termination of a pregnancy, and death by suicide. The source text uses the period-specific term “colored” to refer to Black characters and employs period-specific language to describe sexual orientation, mental health, and intellectual disability.

Maggie’s gumbo is a symbol of Maggie’s influence on and place in her community. It is her signature recipe, the dish she is known and admired for, and becomes closely aligned with her reputation. Gumbo is also associated with the American South, with the recipe evolving to blend flavors characteristic of West African, Indigenous American, and European cultural dishes.

In one respect, the gumbo represents Maggie’s contribution to the communal table as well as her nurturing ability, in that she feeds her family, neighbors, and friends with this dish. In her consideration for others, she remembers that Claude and Hubert don’t like as much spice, so she reserves them bowls that contain less cayenne pepper. It pleases Maggie when others see her as generous, praising her when she shares her gumbo with the neighbors. She also uses the gumbo to have a pacifying effect on the occasions that she offers Orville gumbo soup to distract him from dissatisfaction with Jessie.