Drenched in Light

“Everybody in the country, white and colored, knew of Isis Watts, the joyful.”

Hurston positions Isis as the story’s protagonist by illustrating her influence on her surrounding community. Occurring early on in the story, this line reflects how powerful Isis’s exuberant innocence and demeanor are on those around her.

“Now there are certain things that Grandma Potts felt no one of this female persuasion should do—one was to sit with the knees separated, ‘settin’ brazen’ she called it; another was whistling, another playing with boys, neither must a lady cross her legs.”

As this list of rules demonstrates, Grandma Potts expects Isis to be a stereotypical, proper lady. The first and last rules pertain to how a woman should sit or position her body, which not only dictates how a woman must physically appear but also how a woman is expected to be perceived. Grandma Potts adheres to strict stereotypical gender norms because she is focused on her family’s outward appearance.

“Being the only girl in the family, of course she must wash the dishes, which she did in intervals between frolics with the dogs.”

Due to Grandma Potts’s expectations, Isis understands her role in their family home—and subsequently in society—as a domestic figure due to her gender. Her duties are determined by her girlhood, yet she also defies her role by continually acting on her impulses rather than completing her tasks.

“She was lying on her back imagining herself various personages. She wore trailing robes, golden slippers with blue bottoms. She rode white horses with flaring pink nostrils to the horizon, for she still believed that to be the land’s end. She was picturing herself gazing over the edge of the world into the abyss when the spool of cotton fell from Grandma’s lap and rolled away under the whatnot.”

While daydreaming instead of doing her chores, Isis desires to be someone in a fairy tale world rather than a young girl at home. She thinks of riding off toward the horizon in search of new experiences that she does not have access to at home.

“Aw, Isie, you doan know nothin’ ‘bout shavin’ a-tall—but a man lak me—.”

Joel does not take on a prominent role in the story and serves as a plot device that illustrates gendered stereotypes. Joel claims Isis will not know how to use a razor because she is a girl; by establishing his manhood, Joel attempts to establish a hierarchy between them.

“Isis stood on the one side of the chair with the razor clutched cleaver fashion. The niceties of razor-handling had passed over her head. The thing with her was to hold the razor—sufficient in itself.”

While holding the razor, Isis feels as though she is in control of her actions; she has the ability to physically do something that she wants to do. The razor holds the possibility for Isis to act of her own volition.

“Music to Isis meant motion. In a minute, razor and whipping forgotten, she was doing a fair imitation of the Spanish dancer she had seen in a medicine show sometime before. Isis’s feet were gifted—she could dance most anything she saw.”

By employing the use of music and dancing, Hurston illustrates Isis’s free-spirited nature and how magnetic her presence is for other characters. Even before Isis appears at the carnival, the narrator foreshadows the spectacle of her dancing, which will in turn bolster her connection to the community. Isis, as a beacon of light, is full of life and joy, which is emphasized in her love of dance.

“She raced back to the house, then, happier, raced down the white dusty road to the picnic grove, gorgeously clad. People laughed good naturedly at her, the band played and Isis danced because she couldn’t help it. A crowd of children gathered admiringly about her as she wheeled lightly about, hand on hip, flower between her teeth with the red and white fringe of the tablecloth—Grandma’s new tablecloth that she wore in lieu of a Spanish shawl—trailing in the dust. It was too ample for her meager form, but she wore it like a gypsy.”

Isis, despite being in trouble for trying to shave her grandmother’s face, is quickly distracted by the commotion of the band and carnival. She wears her grandmother’s tablecloth and takes on a dancer persona to illustrate her joyous demeanor. Her dancing also shows the connections people make within their community and how shared leisure allows them to develop relationships with each other. The tablecloth symbolizes how despite living in poverty, Isis can still develop her own sense of self and express her identity. It also symbolizes Isis elevating her priorities over her grandmother’s expectations.

“Grandma had returned to the house and missed Isis and straightway sought her at the festivities expecting to find her in her soiled dress, shoeless, gaping at the crowd, but what she saw drove her frantic. Here was her granddaughter dancing before a gaping crowd in her brand new red tablecloth, and reeking of lemon extract, for Isis had added the final touch to her costume. She must have perfume.”

Hurston exemplifies the tension here between Grandma Potts and Isis. Grandma Potts is already upset at the thought of Isis being at the carnival, but once she sees how Isis is at the center of attention, she is angered by the scene. Isis has not only ruined her brand-new tablecloth, but she is making a spectacle of herself. The color red draws attention to Isis, as it is a passionate color with strong meanings. Red typically symbolizes courage, danger, anger, and intense emotions. For Isis, the color depicts courage, whereas for Grandma Potts it represents impropriety.

“Isis got up and waded into the water. She routed out a tiny ‘gator and a huge bullfrog. She splashed and sang, enjoying herself immensely. The purr of a motor struck her ear and she saw a large, powerful car jolting along the rutty road toward her. It stopped at the water’s edge.”

Isis hides in the creek and contemplates dying as an escape from her grandmother’s beating. However, the narrator’s language implies how easily distracted Isis gets, which emphasizes her youth. Isis is attempting to understand her sense of self and the rest of the world at the same time. This moment also indicates how she encompasses both masculine and feminine qualities through singing and being fearless toward alligators. The significance of the car arriving also foreshadows the end of the story and her opportunity to explore life outside her home.

“The door of the car swung open. She was invited to a seat beside the driver. She had often dreamed of riding in one of these heavenly chariots but never thought she would, actually.”

The opportunity to ride in the car allows Isis to access a higher economic class; she glimpses how other people live outside of poverty. By referring to the car as a “chariot,” Isis continues to perceive the world around her in terms of mythological experiences. To her, the car is not simply a vehicle but an opportunity to explore the lives that she creates in her imagination.

“‘Do you wanta keep me?’ Isis brightened. ‘Oh, I wish I could, you shining little morsel. Wait, I’ll try to save you a whipping this time.’ She dismounted with the gaudy lemon flavored culprit and advanced to the gate where Grandma stood glowering, switches in hand.”

Through this interaction, Hurston illustrates how Helen serves as Isis’s opportunity for freedom and salvation. From her perspective, Helen’s willingness to save her from a whipping is an act of voluntary love, and Isis clings to this emotion. This moment shows Isis that there is a real opportunity to leave her grandmother’s control.

“The lady went on: ‘I want brightness and this Isis is joy itself, why she’s drenched in light!’ Isis, for the first time in her life, felt appreciated and danced up and down in an ecstasy of joy for a minute.”

By including the title here, Hurston centers the story on Isis, and the narrator emphasizes that this is the type of relationship she has been craving; she wants to feel seen and heard for who she is rather than who she is not. Grandma Potts fixates on what Isis can do better, as she believes this will help set her up for the future, whereas Helen simply seeks Isis’s company.