The Tobacco Wives

At the Summer Solstice, Mr. Winston addresses the crowd and extols the accomplishments of the town’s most prominent members. He encourages everyone to try the MOMints, especially young mothers, and recognizes the doctor, Dr. Robert Hale, involved in their creation. The whole town centers on the tobacco production, with even the Reverend thanking God in prayer for “the blessings you’ve bestowed upon our fair town, for the sun and rain, for every seedling and leaf that puts food on our tables and roofs over our heads” (69). On Etta’s instruction, Maddie visits the fair’s exhibits, all focused on tobacco, which credit the birth of the yellow tobacco leaf for which Bright Leaf got its name to a plantation owner and not an enslaved person. When Maddie sees this injustice, she is remined of her father’s words about how times are changing, and she can be part of the change.

Maddie feels out of place amongst all the wealthy people and self-conscious wearing such an expensive gown when she was used to rationing fabric during the war. As Mitzy introduces Maddie to other prominent Bright Leaf ladies and brags about Maddie, Maddie is unnerved by Mitzy’s level of familiarity, remembering Daddy’s words that there is no such thing as a free lunch.