Praisesong For The Widow

Avey wakes to find herself inside the house of Lebert Joseph’s daughter, Rosalie Parvay. Avey lies still for a moment, collecting herself. Inside the house, “sacred elements” have been laid out for the Old Parents: “a lighted candle in a holder and, next to it on a plate, a roasted ear of corn fresh from the harvest” (213). Outside, the four corners of the property had been “liberally sprinkled with rum from a bottle of Jack Iron” (213). This is all done to please the Old Parents, who would stop by the homes of their descendants before the Big Drum to “warm their chill bones over the candle flame” and eat the corn (214). First, though, they would have to finish the rum sprinkled across the property.

Now fully conscious, Avey is filled with the same horror and humiliation she felt the day before. Rosalie comes into the room, moving about in the same abrupt, uneven manner as her father. The sight of Rosalie’s gold earrings and head scarf make Avey realize that the slightly younger woman had been keeping watch over her all night. Avey is apologetic and becomes increasingly embarrassed when Rosalie demands to bathe her.