House of Rougeaux
Page 25
She watched him play, this boy-child that had come from her. Music filled the room.
That evening Eleanor went out with Papa to sit in the back garden. A couple of wooden stools and a tin pail stood at the base of one of Papa’s cherry trees. By now the fruit had been mostly harvested, either eaten or put up in mason jars by Auntie, but a few cherries still clung to the branches here and there. Papa picked a handful and gave them to Eleanor.
“Did you miss these, chère?” The lines around his eyes when he smiled were much deeper now.
“Oh, I did,” she said. “Every summer.”
He sat down on one of the stools and she sat beside him on the grass.
“How is your friend Alma?” Papa asked. Eleanor had mentioned her so often in her letters.
“She and Jack finally made it official,” she said. “Church of City Hall.”
Papa laughed. “That’s nice.”
“How is Mr. Hathaway?” Eleanor hurried to the question before Papa could ask about Hig.
“Just fine,” he said. “Terribly interested in your career, as always. He’ll be over for supper tomorrow, you can tell him everything that’s new.”
It would be good to see Mr. Hathaway. It was good to see everyone, so why did she feel as though her heart were breaking?
“And how are you, Papa?”
“I’m happy,” he said softly. “You are here and I’m very happy.”
She laid her head on his knee. He held her hand and stroked her cheek.
“We’re all happy you’re here.”
“I’m sorry I stayed away,” she said.
“You couldn’t help it, chère” he said. “I know that.”
* * *
Eleanor put aside the letter she was writing to Hig and lay down in her childhood bed. She watched the last of the summer light fade from the window, a breeze playing at the curtain. What was it she had been so afraid of for all these years?
What she could see was that Gerard was a happy and cherished child. Surely that was enough. He wasn’t hers, but maybe they could be friends. If Eleanor could give him anything perhaps it would be to help him in his music. She would speak with Ross and Tilly about it, when they next had the chance. She touched the cool cotton of the pillowcase by her cheek, and the edge with Auntie’s embroidery of tiny blue flowers.
She drifted into sleep.
* * *
Back on the beach on Martinique. The island of her grandmother, the island of flowers, white sand and bending palms, the country of those who return. A child danced at the edge of the water. He splashed and laughed.
His voice echoed as he called, Mama!
Eleanor took his hand and they entered the water, warm, vast.
They swam.
And then it was not Gerard, but a swimming turtle.
A voice said, Lay it down now, Child.
A lone sailboat scuttled over the water, leaving a wake like the undulating veil of a bride.
Lay it all down.
Historical Note
Though House of Rougeaux is a work of fiction, there are a few real historical figures in the book. However, the appearances of these people in the story–the Reverend Charles Este of Montreal, Shadrach Minkins and his wife Mary, Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, the Trinidadian barrister Henry Sylvester Williams, and Jeannette Meyers Thurber, the founder of the National Conservatory of Music–are fictional. In the case of Mary Minkins (called Margaret in this book) nothing is known about her other than that she was Irish, and that the couple’s first two children died from illnesses when they were very young.
Acknowledgments
Heartfelt thanks to Colleen Frary, Leah Catwrangleur, Leora Hoshall, Elena Andrade, Damon Orion, Erin Renwick, Grace Duong, Eunice Martel and Miriam Stzybel for their generous feedback on parts or all of this work. Thanks to my mom Jo-ann Rosen for enthusiastic reading, to my dad Louis Jaeckel for eagle-eyed proofreading, to my father-in-law Bill O’Connor for insider information on Philadelphia in the 1960s, to Anna and Natalie Cal for their guidance on writing about music, Shannon Bodie for the wonderful cover design, and to my partner Chris and child Asa, in particular for Asa’s help in discovering Guillaume Rougeaux’s character, and in general for their ongoing support, skepticism, suggestions, trust and love.
Special thanks to Dr. Tracy Butts, Rebecca Alderson, Vanessa Winn, and Nadine Ijaz, for their invaluable insights and perspectives. Inexpressible thanks to Erika Lunder for making a place in the world for this book and guiding its creation in myriad ways, and to Neesa Sonoquie, my editorial Kung Fu master, who kicked my arse until the book arrived at its true self.
Of the many books and articles I read for this project I am especially indebted to the painstakingly researched and impeccably written Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire, by Andrea Stuart (Random House 2012); and the extremely informative The Road to Now, A History of Blacks in Montreal 1628 - 1986, by Dorothy Williams (Véhicule Press 1998).
About the Author
Jenny Jaeckel’s previous titles include For the Love of Meat: Nine Illustrated Stories, Siberiak: My Cold War Adventure on the River Ob, and the graphic memoir Spot 12: Five Months in the Neonatal ICU, which was the winner of the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Originally from California, Jenny Jaeckel lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with her husband and child. Find out more about Jenny Jaeckel at www.jennyjaeckel.com.
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Book Club Discussion Questions
1)While many of the characters in the novel fulfill traditional familial and gender roles, others depart from traditions in striking ways. Discuss how the mix of these different roles affect the shape of the story and the family. What freedoms or difficulties do the characters encounter as they stay or break with tradition?
* * *
2)Many members of the Rougeaux family struggle with personal conflict, loss, and survival in the face of violence and social systems designed to oppress them. How do these struggles reveal the character of the individuals and of the family as a whole?
* * *
3)Sister and brother relationships, Abeje and Adunbi, Rosalie and Junior, Guillaume and Josephine, are another important theme in the novel. How do these relationships compare with others between members of the family? Are they different from relationships between same-sex siblings, or cousins such as Nelie and Azzie?
* * *
4)Healing and the supernatural play an important role in the novel. Beginning with Abeje and then showing up in other women in the Rougeaux family line, the ability to access psychic or spiritual realms for healing purposes affects many of the family members. Discuss the different ways these healings appear in the story and the impact they have on the characters.
* * *
5)Certain characters in the novel experience early loss of their mother, or early loss of a child. Discuss how these losses affect the course of their lives. Are there ways that these losses translate into personal strengths or weaknesses?
* * *
6)Birds, flowers, trees, the sea and other bodies of water, may represent important symbols in the novel. Discuss how the landscape and elements of nature figure into the story, and what they might represent beyond setting.
* * *
7)Given that there are several protagonists in the novel, whom do you most identify with? Do you see any of your own struggles reflected in the lives of these characters? Do you have hopes, dreams or relationships that are similar?
* * *
8)Though most of the important relationships in the novel are between the family members, there are certain interracial relationships that are also important, Hetty and Margaret, Guillaume and Francis Hathaway, as well as some of the minor relationships. What limits or difficulties do the characters experience crossing the lines of race in these relationships? How does Hetty’s relationship with Margaret differ from her relationship with
the Belcourt girls?
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9)Some of the characters in the novel we meet at different stages in their lives. The elderly sisters Martine and Elodie first appear in Rosalie’s story, in 1964, then again as young women in 1925. We meet Hetty at age 10, then in middle age, and later as an old woman; Josephine as a child, a teenager, and in her middle age; Nelie as a child and as a young woman. Discuss how the characters change or stay the same in different life stages. How does meeting them at different points in their lives affect your view of their characters?
* * *
10)Consider the different kinds of white characters in the novel. While some are kind and sympathetic, others play the role of the oppressor, either in overt or in subtle ways. What are the roles of empathy and power inherent in these characters? When do empathy and power imbalance collide or coexist?
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11)While food is not a theme that stands out in the novel, descriptions of food are important to the story. What do the descriptions of food tell us about the lives of the characters? Are there any mentions of food that seem particularly significant?
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12)Music is another principal theme in the novel. Several characters are musicians, and others have different, but still important, relationships to music. How does playing music shape the lives of certain characters in the book? What freedoms, benefits or limits do the different musicians encounter in their musical lives?