Chapter 23: Black Mary Wilkie – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter is a single free-verse poem titled "Black Mary Wilkie." The speaker, a Black woman living in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, describes small moments and routines that define her life: eating lox on the Sabbath, walking her dachshund at night with a lover, watching the sunrise over the East River, answering a landline call, and being caught in the rain which leads to a stolen kiss. She visits the planetarium, noting its strange light and the finite number of answerable questions, and ends the poem thinking of “that scene with the lobster.” Throughout, the tone is one of relative ease and safety, a conscious alternative to the historical or societal constraints suggested by the poem’s title.

Key Events

The speaker identifies herself as a Black girl living in a two-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
She eats lox on the Sabbath, indicating a cultural or religious practice.
She owns a dachshund and feels safe enough to take night walks with her “skinny lover.”
She has spent many dawns at the East River, watching the sun rise above what she calls the “watchtower.”
In midday freedom, she answers her landline once.
Caught in the rain, she experiences a stolen kiss instead of taking shelter to dry her hair.
She visits the planetarium, which is “strangely lit” and contains the universe’s “few answerable questions.”
While biting her nails, she thinks of “that scene with the lobster.”

Character Development

The poem’s sole character is the speaker, a Black woman living in contemporary New York City. The poem does not trace an arc of change; instead, it presents a state of being. The speaker is reflective, observant, and attuned to the textures of her daily life. She is comfortable in her body and her city: she trusts her safety at night, enjoys the intimacy of a partner, and engages in both the mundane (a landline call) and the cosmic (the planetarium). The title “Black Mary Wilkie” invokes a historical or legendary figure—possibly a reference to Mary Wilkie, an enslaved woman in the 18th century—but the speaker claims a modern version of that identity, one marked by mobility, freedom, and self-possession. The development, then, is implicit: the speaker embodies a realized possibility for a Black woman in America, one the historical Mary Wilkie could not have lived.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Safety and Vulnerability: The poem explicitly states “I feel safe enough / to take night / walks with / my skinny lover.” This declaration of safety is a quiet but powerful assertion of a right not always granted to Black women in public space. The stolen kiss in the rain reinforces the idea of a life lived without constant vigilance.
Urban Black Womanhood: The details—UWS apartment, lox on Sabbath, dachshund—signal a specific class and cultural milieu. The speaker is a Black girl who belongs in this neighborhood, occupies it with ease, and enjoys its privileges.
Cosmic vs. Mundane: The planetarium’s “few answerable questions” contrasts with the personal, sensual moment of the stolen kiss. The speaker moves from a scientific, abstract understanding of the universe to a concrete, embodied experience.
The Lobster Reference: The final image is deliberately unclear. A “scene with the lobster” could evoke pop culture (e.g., a romantic or humorous moment from a film), a memory, or a metaphor for something sensuous or alien. The ambiguity underscores the private, associative nature of the speaker’s thoughts.
The Title: “Black Mary Wilkie” invokes a historical Black woman from colonial America, creating a dialogue between past and present. The poem implicitly argues that history is present in the speaker’s life, yet not determinative.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter offers a lyrical counterpoint to other poems in Golden Ax that explore historical trauma, diaspora, or systemic oppression. “Black Mary Wilkie” presents a contemporary moment of relative peace and belonging. It is a portrait of a Black woman who is not fighting for survival, but living fully—with a partner, a pet, a home, and a sense of wonder. The poem grounds the collection’s larger themes in the specificity of one woman’s daily life in Manhattan, showing that joy, safety, and small pleasures are also part of the Black experience. It also complicates any linear narrative of progress by alluding to Mary Wilkie’s past, suggesting that today’s freedoms are won against a backdrop of historical constraint.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the poet establish a sense of safety for the speaker?

The poet uses direct statement (“I feel safe enough / to take night walks”) combined with concrete details: a warm apartment on the Upper West Side, a skinny lover, a dachshund, a landline, and the freedom to be caught in the rain without worry. The accumulation of these small, peaceful details builds a world where the speaker is not threatened, where she can walk at night, kiss in the rain, and spend dawns alone by the river.

2. What is the significance of the planetarium and the “few answerable questions”?

The planetarium represents the known and the unknown. The speaker notes that it is “strangely lit” and contains the universe’s “few answerable questions,” implying that most questions remain mystery. This sets up a contrast: the speaker can contemplate the cosmos, but her real attention quickly returns to the personal—the stolen kiss, the memory of the lobster. The planetarium becomes a backdrop for human intimacy.

3. What does the mention of “that scene with the lobster” suggest about the speaker’s thoughts?

The image is open-ended but likely refers to a specific pop-culture or personal memory. It could be a romantic scene from a movie (e.g., Annie Hall’s lobster scene), a humorous moment of awkwardness, or a private association. The phrase “biting my nails” suggests anxiety or anticipation, so the lobster scene may trigger a feeling of tension or vulnerability. The ambiguity encourages readers to imagine their own associations, mirroring the way memory works.