Stella and Desiree are identical twins who grow up in a fictional town called Mallard, a Louisiana community designed for light-skinned African Americans. The text says that the town was named for the ducks living in the marshes, but when I checked alternate meanings of the word mallard in the Urban Dictionary, my mind went in many directions.
The twins’ early lives are influenced by seeing their father lynched and killed by white men for no apparent reason and witnessing their mother struggle to make ends meet. When their mother insists that they drop out of high school and earn money by cleaning houses, they run away, and shortly after running away together, they part ways, and each lives a very different life. Stella decided to pass for white, and Desiree mainly associates with those who are not white.
As a woman who passes for white, Stella marries a well-bred white man and lives a life of privilege while Desiree marries a dark-skinned African American man who abuses her. Desiree eventually escapes from her abuser and returns with her daughter to her mother’s home in Mallard. Back in Mallard, Desiree reacquaints with Early, a dark-skinned man she knew as a teenager. Early has served a jail term; he hunts “bail jumps” and lives on the road. So, Stella is kept safe and protected by her white husband, and Desiree, her mother, and daughter struggle for sustenance.
Stella’s life changes so drastically when she assumes a white world that she doesn’t think she can ever go back to her family or even admit her background to her husband and daughter. She experiences freedom and an astounding new life through her drastic change in status. Through Stella’s assumed identity, the author provides an insightful depiction of privilege in our society. Stella seemingly vanishes from her old world without leaving much of a trail. While raising her daughter, she realizes that when a person is young and white, there is the ability to be anyone and invent oneself as she did when she escaped from being Black. She is also able to witness firsthand how Blacks experience discrimination and barriers.
Brit Bennett weaves a compelling story that depicts the divisions in America. She provides insights into assumptions and expectations, as well as desires and dreams. The author also has lots to say about family ties and their value at different tiers of society.
