Julia Munusami Grade 10NS

Analysis of “the two Grandmothers” by Olive Senior

Olive Senior, the author of ‘The Two Grandmothers’, was born in Trelawney, Jamaica. She attended
Montego Bay High School, and then went on to study journalism in Cardiff, Wales. She then studied at
Carlton University in Ottowa. She currently lives in Canada but visits Jamaica regularly.

SUMMARY

Grandma Dell and Grandma Elaine a.k.a. Towser are the two grandmothers in the narrative, and the
story begins with a little girl telling her mother about her experiences with them.

Grandma Dell is her ‘country’ grandma, who lives in rural Jamaica, keeps cattle, serves her community,
attends church with her granddaughter, and adores her granddaughter’s ‘beautiful’ complexion and hair.

Her ‘town’ grandma, on the other hand, is Grandma Elaine.

She has been married several times, is a socialite who dates affluent men, travels often, and is highly
conscious of her physical beauty. Initially, the granddaughter favours her rural grandma, who was always
attentive to her needs and ‘enjoyed showing her off to her friends and neighbours.’

However, as the novel unfolds and the narrator becomes older and wiser, she comes to appreciate her
town grandma, who is more cosmopolitan and materially minded. Her new attitude toward Grandma
Dell, on the other hand, coincides with a new attitude toward her rural pals. They are no longer awe-
inspiring figures, but females who are looked down upon as ‘less than.’ The novel concludes with the
adolescent narrator suggesting that her family spend a day with her rural grandmother, after which she
would be looked after until next year, allowing them to spend more time with Towser (Grandma Elaine)
and engage in more exciting adventures.

SETTING

• The story occurs in three places; rural Jamaica, Kingston and Clearwater in the USA.

• The story occurs in the 1980s.

CHARACTERS

Grandma Dell

• Traditional/ old fashion

• Christian-minded and simple in her approach to life

• Altruistic

• Never married

• Never dates

• Prejudiced

• Hypocrite

Grandma Elaine (Towser)

• Non-traditional/ Socialite

• Materialistic

• Narcissistic

• Married multiple times

• Goes on dates

• Prejudiced

• Blunt and speaks her mind

Narrator (1st person)

• The readers first meet her when she is a little girl.

• She grows and matures as the story progresses, by the end of the story she appears to be a teenager.

• She initially prefers the company of Grandma Del, but as she grows up, she begins to show a
preference for Touser.

• She reports a lot of sensitive information, for example – the ‘fall’ of grandma Del, Pearlie’s home
situation, and Eulalie and Ermandine’s pregnancies – but does not appear to understand the gravity of
the various situations.

• As she grows up, she appears to become more materialistic in her desires, she wants to be like
everyone else.

• She appears, by the end of the story, to be confused about how to feel about her physical appearance.

• She cannot be bothered with her country grandmother, grandma Dell, by the end of the story.
• She begins to appreciate her hip socialite grandma Elaine, aka Touser, by the end of the story.

THEMES

Racial Prejudice

This theme is highlighted by Grandma Elaine/ Towser and the Clearwater relatives. Grandma Elaine
highlights this theme by her reference to the narrator’s hair; ‘your mother had better start to do
something about your hair from now it’s almost as tough as your father’s …. If you were my child I would
cut it off to get some of the kinks out.’ (Senior, 119) and skin tone; ‘Joyce says Grandma is sorry I came
out dark because she is almost a white lady and I am really dark.’ (Senior, 120). The grandmother’s
preoccupation with the fact that her granddaughter has predominantly black features highlights the
theme of racial discrimination. She sees these features as flaws and passes this sentiment on to her
grandchild. We see the child questioning if being dark is a bad thing ‘Is dark really bad, Mummy?’
(Senior, 120).

This is in contrast to the country grandmother, Grandma Del, who re-enforces the very opposite view of
Grandma Elaine. She believes that her grandchild’s hair is beautiful ‘Grandma loves to comb my hair she
says it’s so long and thick and she rubs it with castor oil every night.’ (Senior, 117) and her skin is
beautiful as well ‘Grandma Del says my skin is beautiful like honey’ (Senior, 117). Despite this positive re-
enforcement by Grandma Del, it still comes from a place of prejudice. She too, like Grandma Elaine,
believes that being too dark and having too much ‘kink’ in one’s hair is a bad thing. The two
grandmothers only differ in terms of their idea of what is ‘too dark’, or ‘too kinky’.

The Clearwater relatives, particularly Maureen, highlight the theme of racial prejudice. She introduces
the term ‘nigger’ to the story. The narrator questions her beauty based on what she observes as
beautiful around her, and finds herself lacking; ‘how can I be beautiful? My skin is so dark, darker than
yours and Maureen’s and Jason’s and Auntie Rita’s. And my hair is so coarse, not like yours or Maureen’s
but then Maureen’s father is white. Is that why Maureen called me a nigger?’ (Senior, 124). The narrator
declares that she hates Maureen, based on the before-mentioned incident, but, ironically, she wants to
be like Maureen and is even more ashamed of her hair.

Social Prejudice

This theme is highlighted by Grandma Elaine, Grandma Dell, and the narrator. Grandma Elaine has a
distinct disdain for Grandma Dell. She believes that ‘granny Del’ is a country bumpkin from the ‘deepest
darkest country’ (Senior, 118). She sees her as irrelevant and believes that she is brainwashing her
grandchild with information that is not only irrelevant but embarrassing as well. This disdain comes from
the fact that Elaine is a socialite whose world is the direct opposite of the simplistic life that Grandma
Del leads. Grandma Elaine dates rich white men, travels, and ensures that she maintains her beauty. She
views Grandma Dell with scorn because she does not do the same.
The reader receives no Inkling of Grandma Del’s feelings toward Grandma Elaine, but we are treated to
the judgement that she quietly metes out to her neighbours in the country. She views Ermandine and
Eulalie as ‘a disgraceful Jezebel-lot and dry-eye (Senior, 121) because they have disgraced their parents
by getting pregnant. She views them as being beneath her, despite the fact that she also did the same,
and was also shunned by the community for a period of time.

The narrator, in turn, adopts the prejudices of both grandmothers. She starts to dislike going to the
country because ‘there’s nobody but black people’ (Senior, 123) there. She looks down on her friends –
Ermandine, Eulalie and Pearlie – due to their multiple pregnancies and bedraggled state. She starts to
literally avoid them because she does not want them to ask her for some of her clothes. Everything
about being in the country (rural area), from the people to her experiences, annoys her – in her teen
years – because visiting the country is shameful in relation to going to Europe or America. It is not
considered to be a socially relevant activity.

Love and Family Relationships

Both grandmothers love their grandchild, and she loves them in return. Grandma Del shows her love by
combing her granddaughter’s hair, taking her to church, steering her away from negative influences, and
educating her about appropriate behaviour. Initially, this education is appreciated and accepted by the
narrator, but as she grows up and matures, she views this show of love as stifling and irrelevant. The
narrator does not love her grandmother any less, it is just that their point of view no longer aligns.

Grandma Elaine, on the other hand, shows her love for her grandchild by highlighting her flaws and
seeking to improve them. Therefore, she points out that the child’s hair is kinky and her skin is too dark.
Undoubtedly, this is an inappropriate conversation to have with a small child, however, this is her flawed
way of showing her love. She suggests activities for improving the child’s social prospects such as
finishing school and visits of the island. The narrator returns this love by eventually placing Grandma
Elaine as the favoured grandmother. She even adopts, eventually, her materialistic sensibility.

Women in Society

This is a story about women, the values that they pass on, and the way that they treat each other. There
are women of different social statuses and financial backgrounds, and all of them contribute to this
theme. Grandma Elaine is of high social status and she treats grandma Del, who is of lower social status,
with disdain. Grandma Del, in turn, treats Eulalie, Ermandine and Pearlie with disdain for being poor, as
well as victims of their financial, and social, circumstances. The narrator joins this cycle by discriminating
against her ‘country’ friends by viewing herself as better than them. Ironically, she suffers the same
treatment at the hands of her cousin, Maureen, who treats the narrator as ‘less than’ as well. The
possible moral of this tale is that women should try to understand and accept each other.
Innocence vs. Loss of Innocence

As a child, the narrator reports the actions of others without understanding a lot of what is happening.
This is the definition of innocence. She also accepts people for who they are and sees the good in them.
This is seen in her awe at Eulalee’s skills in the kitchen, as well as her acceptance of Ermandine and
Pearlie’s babies. She simply accepted without judgement. This changes as the child mature and she
starts to view herself as better than her friends. This is because her circumstances happen to be better
than theirs. This signifies a loss of innocence that comes with maturity