Chapter summaries Memphis Tara M. Stringfellow

Hazel in 1985: Chapter 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.

– Chapter 31: “30. Hazel 1985” –

Summary

In April 1985, Hazel works in her Memphis garden on a bright morning, wearing her familiar overalls, straw hat, and sunflower-dotted gloves. She hums a Nina Simone song and plants seeds—sweet peas, haricots verts, hot peppers, and lettuce—in neat rows. Her thoughts drift to her daughters: August is inside with five-year-old Derek, and Miriam, now thirty and pregnant with her first child, lives at Camp Lejeune with her husband Jax. Hazel had urged Miriam to come home to Memphis for the birth, wanting her grandchild born there.

While weeding, Hazel feels a sudden, sharp pain in her arm and chest. She clutches her heart, which beats with the intensity of a symphony’s final overture. The pain spreads, and she realizes what is happening. Instead of fear, she feels a strange calm. She lies down on the red dirt, lets her head rest softly, and lets her mind wander. She thinks about what the baby might be named. The pain subsides, but her breaths grow shorter. Hazel, who has long struggled with faith—shunning God after Myron’s death and again after August’s father’s assassination—now smiles. She tastes butter pecan ice cream, speaks Myron’s name, and dies with a smile on her face.

An hour later, August finds her mother in the garden. She runs down Locust Street in pink pajamas, screaming for help, for a doctor, for time to turn back, even for God to be punished. But Hazel is gone. August feels that not only her mother but a queen has died, and she tries to calm herself with the thought that Hazel died as any Southern woman raised to love the Lord could hope to—loved, in her warm garden.

When Miriam receives the call, she sinks to the floor, her unborn child inside her. She kneels in silence, then lifts her head to Jax and asks why she should bring a child into a world where her mother will never know her. Jax asks if she thinks it’s a girl. Miriam opens her hand and demands the keys to the Shelby, insisting that her daughter—she rubs her eight-month-swollen belly—will be born in Memphis.

Key Events

  • Hazel plants seeds in her garden on a late April morning, thinking of her daughters and the upcoming birth of Miriam’s child.

  • She feels a sudden, fatal pain in her arm and chest, collapses, and dies peacefully in the garden.

  • August discovers Hazel’s body an hour later and runs for help, screaming in grief.

  • Miriam receives the news and, despite her advanced pregnancy, insists on driving to Memphis so her child will be born there.

  • Hazel’s death is marked by a smile, a taste of butter pecan ice cream, and a final spoken address to her deceased husband Myron.

Character Development

Hazel – In this chapter, Hazel is shown in her element: nurturing life in the garden she and Myron built. Her thoughts reveal a woman who has carried grief and doubt but has also found a measure of peace. Her death is not a tragedy of fear but an acceptance of mortality. She speaks to Myron, still certain of his love, and she smiles at the sun as she passes. Her final moments are a testament to her resilience and her deep connection to the land and her family.

August – August’s reaction to her mother’s death is visceral. She runs through the streets in her pajamas, screaming for help and for God to be punished. Her grief is raw and angry, but she also tries to find comfort in the idea that Hazel died loved and in her garden. This moment solidifies August’s role as the one who must carry on the family’s legacy, even as she mourns.

Miriam – Miriam’s response is immediate and determined. She sinks to the floor, but then she rises with a fierce resolve. Her question—why bring a child into a world without her mother—reveals her deep bond with Hazel. Yet her decision to drive to Memphis, even at eight months pregnant, shows her commitment to honoring her mother’s wish and to giving her child a connection to the family’s roots.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Gardening as Life Cycle – Hazel’s planting of seeds mirrors the cycle of life and death. She is sowing new life even as her own life ends. The garden, built by Myron, becomes a symbol of continuity and memory.

Peaceful Death and Acceptance of Mortality – Hazel’s death is portrayed as serene. She lies down, lets go, and smiles. Her acceptance contrasts with August’s anger and Miriam’s grief, highlighting different ways of confronting loss.

Generational Legacy and Homecoming – Hazel’s insistence that her grandchild be born in Memphis ties birth to place and family history. Miriam’s determination to drive there, even after Hazel’s death, underscores the importance of roots and the passing of legacy.

Faith and Doubt – Hazel’s relationship with God has been a battle. She shunned God after Myron’s death and again after August’s father’s assassination. Yet in her final moments, she smiles and even thinks of calling God a “salty bitch” while tasting butter pecan ice cream—a moment of irreverent, human acceptance.

Music as Memory – Hazel hums a Nina Simone song, “Memphis in June,” which evokes nostalgia and the sweetness of the season. Music becomes a thread connecting her to her past and to the place she loves.

Maternal Determination – Miriam’s refusal to let anything stop her from reaching Memphis, even after her mother’s death, shows the fierce, protective love that defines the women in this family.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point in the novel. It marks the death of the matriarch, Hazel, and sets the stage for the next generation. Hazel’s peaceful passing in the garden she loved reinforces the novel’s themes of resilience, memory, and the cyclical nature of life. Her death also forces August and Miriam to confront their own paths: August must carry the weight of grief and the family’s history, while Miriam must decide where her child will be born. The chapter’s focus on birth and death side by side—Hazel’s death and Miriam’s imminent labor—underscores the novel’s meditation on legacy and the bonds that tie generations together.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Hazel smile in her final moments, despite her lifelong struggle with faith?

Hazel’s smile reflects her acceptance of death. She has spent years wrestling with God, but in the moment of dying, she feels a sense of peace. The taste of butter pecan ice cream and her spoken words to Myron suggest she is comforted by memories and love. Her smile is not a religious epiphany but a human one—she is unafraid and ready to go.

2. How does August’s reaction to Hazel’s death differ from Miriam’s?

August reacts with immediate, outward grief—she runs screaming for help and curses God. Miriam, on the other hand, sinks to the floor in silence, then channels her grief into determination to drive to Memphis. August’s anger is raw and chaotic; Miriam’s resolve is quiet but fierce. Both responses show the depth of their love for Hazel.

3. What does Hazel’s garden symbolize in this chapter?

The garden represents life, continuity, and the family’s roots. Hazel is planting seeds for the future, even as her own life ends. The garden was built by Myron, so it also holds memory and love. Hazel’s death in the garden suggests that she is returning to the earth she nurtured, completing a cycle that will continue with Miriam’s child.

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