Published at the height of the Civil Rights movement, Keepers of the House (1964) is probably Shirley Ann Grau's most notable work. The story chronicles many generations of the Howland family, a Southern “dynasty” by any definition. For years and years, the family has “kept” the same house, passed through the Howland patriarchs, all named William. The story settles on the latest William and his rather controversial lifestyle. Set in the early to mid- twentieth century South, it is unheard of that an affluent and prominent white man would have an involvement with a black housekeeper. Yet William continues his 30-year love affair with his servant, Margaret, of which she bore three children, and he two more from a previous marriage. Williams and Margaret wanted the best for their children, so they tried their best their entire lives to pass them off as white, sending them to various parts of the country to pursue a life as a prejudice-free white. All three children go in completely different directions. Robert marries a white woman in Seattle; Nina marries a black man in the North. The youngest of the three, Crissy, lives in Paris and is able to accept her interracial identity more freely than any of her siblings.
Meanwhile, William's granddaughter Abigail, who is full-blooded white from the previous marriage-line, has returned from England and marries an up-an-coming politician, who is noted for his staunch segregationist platform, and has three children. As she learns of her grandfather's true nature and identity, she struggles with her own feelings on blacks, torn between superiority, resentment, and indifference. She looks upon her own mixed family with a cold nature.
Soon, the public learns of the illegitimate marriage between Robert and Margaret. At this point, both were dead, but is still a source of much controversy. As a result, Robert returns from Seattle and attracts much attention and press. Abigail is infuriated, and threatens to reveal to Robert's white wife his true family identity. Meanwhile, Abigail's husband's career is put in jeopardy, and he lives his wife and three children to continue his pursuit for public office. Soon after Abigail's husband leaves her, she is visited by an angry mob outside her home who wreak havoc on the property. In a backlash, she and her faithful black housekeeper, Oliver, set fire to the vigilantes' cars.
It seems by the end of the story Abigail has gained a new perspective (maybe even pride?) in her interracial family. Abigail takes revenge on the city that has betrayed her and her Howland name by shutting down many major businesses around the town that her family had acquired over the years. As a result, the town enters economic hell.
This story is quite dynamic and parallels many of the stories we have read in this class. Abigail initial attitude towards blacks remind me of Manon in Property, yet it seems she evolves considering the potentially strong opinion-shaping events that take place in The Keepers of the House. Moreover, many of the stories we've read dealt with the white supremacy and the struggle for blacks to gain upward mobility, using interracial affairs and mixed origins in order to “pass-off” as white. As mentioned, this is Grau's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, which caused quite a rift in Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Segregationalists backlashed, while progressives praised. In this auspicious work, Grau highlights the hypocrisy and lunacy of the Southern racist culture.
Photograph provided by randomhouse.com
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