Morrison now turns to another resident of Medallion: Helene Wright, whose first sixteen years were spent in New Orleans with her grandmother, Cecile, in a home filled with strict rules and force-fed religious conventionality, and watched over by the authoritative household statue of the Virgin Mary. In contrast, Helene’s mother, Rochelle, lived in the Sundown House, a red-shuttered whorehouse, and Cecile watched her granddaughter constantly, ready to squash any evidence that she had inherited her mother’s wild blood.
One day, Cecile’s great-nephew, Wiley, knocked on her door and met the teenage Helene. He was enchanted with her, married her, and took her North, where they settled into a solid, respectable life in the Bottom.
In this chapter, Helene is taking her daughter, Nel, by train to New Orleans, hoping to arrive before the very old and gravely ill Cecile dies. Although Nel is only ten years old, she is painfully aware of the simmering hate that seethes within the other black passengers on the train as they watch Helene’s all-too-eager, ready-smiling attempts to please and appease the loud-mouthed, hostile, white conductor.
Helene and Nel arrive too late; Cecile has already died. Unexpectedly, Nel meets her grandmother, the infamous Rochelle, presumably still a prostitute and still working and living in the Sundown House. The exchange between Helene, her mother, and Nel is very brief, but the trip to New Orleans and the image of her grandmother greatly affect Nel, who appears to gain a stronger sense of self from the experience.
After Helene and Nel’s return to the Bottom, Nel befriends a young girl named Sula. At first, Helene is opposed to the girls’ friendship—she doesn’t respect Sula’s mother, Hannah; however, Helene soon grows accustomed to Sula’s playing with Nel.
