Cora Unashamed

Of all the Studevants, Mrs. Art Studevant takes the most active role in mistreating Cora and escalating the conflict that leads to Jessie’s death. Mrs. Studevant is Jessie’s mother and appears to be the primary manager of the household. Her age is not revealed, nor is much of her personal history. All that is said of her appearance is that she and her husband are beginning to look their age, with “graying hair and sagging stomachs” (9). Authorial interpretation reveals that Mrs. Studevant thinks Jessie is stupid and is ashamed of her. Most of her characterization, however, is revealed through her own actions. When she tells Cora not to bring Josephine to work, it suggests she lacks empathy for Cora. Her neglect of her youngest daughter adds to her unsympathetic portrayal.

Mrs. Studevant’s defining character traits are hypocrisy and bigotry. Because she is “one of the pillars of her church” (10), the reader can assume Mrs. Studevant espouses certain values in public that conflict with forcing her daughter to have an abortion. Instead of being humbled by her own sins, she goes on a “campaign of purity,” aiming to rid the town of foreigners and ethnic minorities under the guise of ousting “objectionable tradespeople and questionable characters” (15). Mrs. Studevant’s reaction to Jessie’s pregnancy shows she is more influenced by fear of scandal than by love for her daughter, a stark contrast to Cora’s motivations. Mrs. Studevant’s actions, which result in Jessie’s death, prompt the turning point in Cora’s character arc, pushing Cora to finally reject her dependence on this racist family.

Jessie’s birth to Mrs. Studevant is relayed in Part I of the story. She is the same age as Cora’s daughter, Josephine, and helps fill the hole in Cora’s heart when Josephine dies. At the beginning of Part II, Jessie is 19 years old and about to graduate high school. She has been a poor student, often failing classes, and is graduating late. Jessie plans to attend Normal, a college devoted to training teachers, but she is still unable to live up to the examples of her successful mother and older siblings. She is described as “a plump, dull, freckled girl, placid and strange” (10). Jessie is afraid of her mother and has no bond with her father, but she feels more comfortable with Cora than anyone else in Melton. Below the surface of her insecurities, Jessie can be talkative and witty, and she can cook wonderfully. Jessie’s presence in Cora’s life gives Cora purpose and brings the older woman the only happiness she knows.

Jessie is a tragic character, defined by her sense of being a failure in her parents’ eyes. Simultaneously, she is a lovable young woman with the possibility of a bright future. Jessie’s dual characterization represents the two worlds in the story—Cora’s and the Studevants’ worlds—and reflects the power of elevating love over shame. In the end, the influence of hate and hypocrisy at the center of her parents’ world proves to have a greater hold on Jessie, and she pays with her life. The bright future she might have had, something that was never really a possibility for Cora, is taken away.