Maud Martha

Maud Martha (1953) is a fictional narrative by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks. The book is written in an experimental style combining poetic language and a nonlinear narrative. Each chapter is a vignette, a quick glimpse into an everyday scene in the life of the title character. Brooks’s only novel, Maud Martha was praised for its depiction of ordinary people and everyday life in Chicago. This guide is based upon the 1993 Third World Press edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with Maud at age seven. She’s a dark-skinned African American girl who loves simple beauties in life because they comfort her; if something as common as a dandelion can be beautiful, it gives Maud hope that she can be beautiful as well. A series of vignettes introduce Maud’s family: her older sister Helen, her mother Belva, her working-class father Mr. Brown, and her brother Harry. Maud envies Helen for her light skin and dainty mannerisms, and comparisons between the two sisters continue throughout the novel. Maud’s father struggles to make mortgage payments for the family’s home, but Maud still considers him a good provider for the family.

Race plays a significant role in the novel, and Maud’s awareness of her own racial identity strikes her when a white schoolmate comes to call on her. Despite Helen’s warnings that Maud will never get a boyfriend if she keeps reading so many books, Maud experiences a few romantic encounters before meeting Paul Phillips, whom she marries. Paul is lighter-skinned and promises Maud a classy life, but he proves to be a poor provider, and they struggle financially throughout their marriage.

Things look up briefly for Maud and Paul when he’s invited to a social club, which he takes as a sign of his upcoming ascendance to a higher class. But he’s not selected for membership, and Maud’s attention turns to their newborn daughter as her disappointment with Paul grows. Maud wants to provide their young daughter with all the traditions she had growing up, and this puts more pressure on Paul to be a better provider. He eventually loses his job, which forces Maud to take the first housekeeping position she can find. Nevertheless, Maud does not wallow in misery. She walks away from her toxic and racist work environment, confronts her mother about a lifetime of comparisons to Helen, and finds her voice when faced with uncomfortable moments of racism. The novel closes with Maud feeling full of life as she expects a second child.