Maud Martha

This chapter is a collection of reflections on the various people living in Maud’s building. The first couple is Oberto, a happy grocer, and his lovely but adulterous wife Marie. But even Oberto is grateful to have married Marie rather than someone more boisterous and less elegant. Marie may not be a domestic goddess, but Oberto enjoys watching her primp in front of a mirror.

Mr. and Mrs. Banks live on the third floor next to Maud and Paul. Eugena Banks is a white woman, and Mr. Banks is a West Indian man. Eugena visits Maud when she’s looking for advice as to “what special technique was to be used in dealing with a Negro man” (113). She confesses to Maud that marrying a Black man seemed exciting and adventurous, but she struggles with the routine of marriage, and now she questions whether the match was a mistake.

There’s also Richard, who doesn’t come home one day after enduring a cycle of decreased wages at work and increased pressures at home. Mr. and Mrs. Whitestripe, in contrast, are Maud’s idea of an ideal romantic relationship. Paul warns Maud that he’ll never live up to the expectation set by Coopie Whitestripe, and Maud agrees easily.