Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Piano Lesson, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Self-determination
Spirituality and the Supernatural
Grief, Hope, and History
Love, Relationships, and Independence
Summary
Analysis
Berniece has set up a tub in the kitchen and is heating water for her bath when Avery knocks. Today Avery secured a building for his church, and he tells Berniece he’s been thinking that it’s better for a congregation if their preacher is settled and married. He tells Berniece that he’s never cared about a woman like he cares about her, and that he needs someone by his side. But Berniece says that she isn’t ready to get married—besides, she has to take care of Maretha.
Avery’s solemn proposal contrasts with the wilder romantic hopes and reminiscences of the previous scene. Avery’s conventional desire to settle down also contrasts with the sense of upheaval in Berniece’s life, and Avery seems somewhat oblivious to the persistence of Berniece’s pain.
Themes
Avery asks Berniece who is loving her, and Berniece retorts that Avery is telling her that a woman can’t be anything without a man. Avery thinks Berniece’s problem is that she is still carrying Crawley around with her. Life is going to pass her by, and he can’t promise he’ll still be waiting for her when she changes her mind.
Berniece tells Avery they can talk about this again once he’s gotten his church established. Right now, she has too much going on. She tells him about Maretha seeing Sutter’s ghost and asks him if he might be able to bless the house. Avery is uncertain. Berniece figures Sutter’s ghost might leave when Boy Willie does, since she thinks he pushed Sutter into his well. Avery doubts this; he thinks God is the “Great Causer” and that the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog might be the hand of God.
Berniece is using Avery as a way to get out of her difficulty with the ghost—allowing her to avoid too much soul-searching about Sutter’s presence. Berniece also persists in assuming that the ghost’s haunting has to do with Boy Willie, not with the piano. Avery sees a bigger spiritual power behind all these events, and in his mind, there’s no conflict between the “Ghosts” and God.
Themes
Avery suggests that Berniece could start a church choir. If Boy Willie saw that Berniece was using the piano for that, perhaps he would change his mind about selling it. Berniece says that she hasn’t played the piano since Mama Ola died, and that she only ever played it for her. Mama Ola used to say that when Berniece played, she could hear Boy Charles talking to her. Berniece could hear her mother talking to her ancestors’ spirits at night and vowed that would never happen to her.
Avery continues to see the solutions to Berniece’s problems in terms of his own goals of starting his church. Meanwhile, Berniece reveals more of the source of her pain regarding the piano: she fears that by playing it, she will set her ancestors’ spirits free, and she doesn’t want to interact with them the way her mother did. She’d sooner avoid the past altogether.
Themes
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Berniece says that Maretha doesn’t know anything about the piano’s history. Berniece doesn’t want to burden her with it. Berniece hopes that Maretha will have opportunities that she never had and will go on to become a schoolteacher or something like that. Avery tells Berniece that she needs to put these things behind her. If she walked over to the piano right now and played it, God would go with her. He opens the piano and encourages Berniece to play a hymn and “make it into a celebration.” But Berniece refuses, just wanting to take her bath. Avery promises to return tomorrow and bless the house.
Avery’s suggestions aren’t off base: treating playing the piano as a celebratory or spiritual activity would likely help Berniece to move on from her family’s past traumas. But doing so will only be effective if Berniece takes initiative and finds meaning in playing on her own. This aligns with Wilson’s argument that each individual must encounter the supernatural on his or her own terms. It also highlights Berniece’s strong independence, which Avery underestimates.
Themes
