A Visit to Grandmother

Conflict is ultimately what powers the plot in “A Visit to Grandmother.” The conflict lies in the long-standing resentment that Charles has toward his mother, who he feels preferred his younger brother, GL, over him. Despite leaving home as a teenager, Charles’s feelings of abandonment were never addressed by his mother. The conflict is initially concealed, simmering beneath the surface, hinted at by the changes in Charles’s behavior. Chig notices as his father shifts his kind, warm demeanor to a silent, detached one. Charles’s interactions with his family reawaken his feelings of abandonment and result in a growing sense of tension between him and his mother. With this, William Melvin Kelley employs foreshadowing in the first scene, allowing tension to build gradually and creating a sense of anticipation. The coming of a significant event can be felt, but it is unclear when it will happen, which sets the stage for the conflict to reach its explosive conclusion.

The point of view from which the story is told helps shape the understanding of the events and characters. Kelley chose to build the story from Chig’s perspective by utilizing the third-person limited. As Chig is not directly involved in the main conflict, he serves as a neutral observer of the events taking place, which offers a unique perspective on the strained relationship between his father and grandmother. Chig slowly begins to comprehend the intricate family dynamics that have contributed to their estrangement. This choice, alongside the indirect characterization Kelley opts for, allows not only for a more open interpretation of the characters involved but also contributes to the overall tension since discoveries are made at a gradual pace.

The story is structured around Charles and Chig’s visit to Eva’s house, with the confrontation between them serving as its climactic moment. The narrative never leaves the confines of family life, contrasting the life Charles has created for himself with his wife and children in New York and his past family dynamics. The juxtaposition between the urban and the rural environment, New York and Nashville, is added to other antagonistic aspects in the story. In terms of the nature of Charles’s relationships, though his bond with Chig is not fully explored, their easy acceptance of each other’s company suggests spending time together is a common occurrence. Indeed, Chig’s perceptiveness over Charles’s change of behavior highlights he is much more familiar with his father’s kindness and warmth than he is with the detached persona Charles reveals while in the presence of his mother, Eva.

Chig and Charles have distinctly different attitudes toward parental figures. Whatever familial problems might have happened during Charles’s childhood, he chooses to remain secretive and disengages from any further comment on his family’s dynamics, including the reason for his departure from home at age 15. In contrast, his son does “most of the talking” (56) and shows a keen interest in his relative’s personal stories. While it could be expected that Charles’s uneasiness around his mother and brother would translate to him showcasing similar behavior with his children and repeating a cycle of estrangement, that is not the case. Charles’s multifaceted characterization allows him to be understood simultaneously as a neglected son and a loving parent. This contrast is further emphasized by Kelley’s decision to name both father and son “Charles,” even though Chig prefers to go by his nickname.

The main juxtaposition the story features is between Charles and his brother, GL. While Charles has always been seen as an exceptional child, being considered “smarter” and more mature and eventually becoming a doctor, he has not felt privileged. He noticed that his mother favors GL, a “con man” and “joker” (54), despite his reckless and unruly behavior. Charles attributes his mother’s preference to GL’s lighter complexion: “GL was light-skinned and had good hair and looked almost white and you loved him for that” (63). The opposition between GL’s light skin and Charles’s dark skin, embodied in Charles’s accusation of his mother’s colorism, emphasizes the impact racial tensions have on the main themes in the story. Colorism perpetuates the belief that light skin is more desirable or superior to dark skin, often translating into social advantages, as it can affect how likely someone is to be accepted in society. Charles states GL looks “almost white” (63), which in turn deepens his feelings of inferiority and inadequacy and strengthens his conviction in his brother’s preferential treatment.

Though themes related to racial tension are not as explicitly depicted in “A Visit to Grandmother” as they are in some of Kelley’s other works, the fear and consequences associated with navigating a racialized world are featured in the story. During the story Eva tells the family about a time GL brought a horse home, she mentions his request to ride in a buggy her late husband had brought home. Eva’s husband “was to take it back that day” (59), and being seen in the buggy could lead to dire consequences. When asked to ride along with GL, Eva hesitates, saying: “Them white folks’ll burn us alive if we use their buggy” (59). Her apprehension speaks to the deeply ingrained fear common among African Americans during the Jim Crow era. This fear is not only a personal one but also a collective one. Kelley’s decision to include this moment in the story serves as a reminder of the pervasive and ever-present violence African Americans faced during this period.

Without a resolution to Charles and Eva’s conflict, the narrative ends with Charles storming out of the dinner table after revealing his long-held resentment in his argument with his mother. Tension is left in the air and their conflict remains unaddressed, which suggests that the issues that led to their estrangement are deeply ingrained and cannot be easily resolved. This is particularly evident in the way Charles reacts to his mother’s attempts to reconcile with him. He refuses to believe his mother’s explanations, stating first they “can’t be true” and finally breaking away from Eva’s apologies by asserting she is “about thirty years late” (63). However, the Dunford family appears in many of Kelley’s other works; while this familial conflict is not easily resolved in “A Visit to Grandmother,” the family is given other chances at resolution and growth.