Chapter 6 Summary and Analysis

At the end of the war, GIs return to America praising the European woman's perfect femininity, but Herb, paraphrasing Henry Adams, says it is "culturally impossible for the American woman to be feminine because she has no defining goddessess" (pg. 81.) He angers Granny when he claims there are many counterfeit versions of femininity, like the Southern belle. At first, Granny argues when Mama decides to return to work, but since Mama cannot be dissuaded, she lectures her on the proper way to tell Herb in order to make him think it is his idea. Mama begins her speech but quickly blurts out that she is thinking of going back to work, and Herb says it is up to her so Mama returns to work. At the end of sixth grade, Florence's class is given an IQ test without being told what...