Point of View

The Tobacco Wives is told through first-person narration from Maddie’s point of view. This narration style remains consistent throughout the novel. Maddie’s youth, poverty, and general inexperience make her a fascinating lens through which Meyers criticizes societal issues in 1940s America.

Meyers reveals Maddie’s prejudices through narration. For instance, Maddie feels suspicious of Mitzy when Mitzy is so kind to her at the warehouse: “She hardly knew me. It was all too fast and familiar. She’d been so kind to me, so generous, but maybe I was just another charity case. Maybe her generosity to me was just another way for Mitzy to feel good about herself” (145). Maddie is used to Momma’s harsh love, making her wary of Mitzy’s kindness. Maddie’s tendency to think in black-and-white terms often prevents her from understanding the inner complexities and contradictions of...