Love, Relationships, and Independence Theme Analysis

Though no single romantic relationship dominates the play, love and romance are a persistent undercurrent in the plot. This theme often takes a humorous turn: when Boy Willie and Lymon visit Pittsburgh, for example, one of their goals is to find out what Northern women are like and ideally to impress some of them, with decidedly mixed results. At other times, reflection on romance—especially among male characters—indicates a longing for mutual companionship despite sometimes unfaithful behavior. Interestingly, however, the play’s most promising match—that between Avery and Berniece—does not result in an engagement, because Berniece feels ambivalent about committing to Avery despite his faithful devotion. Through characters’ reflections on romance and especially Berniece’s ambivalence, Wilson suggests that romantic partnerships can only succeed when both partners are unambiguously committed—and that, in fact, a person doesn’t require such a relationship in order to be a complete human being.

The men in the play aren’t always exemplary in their attitudes and treatment of women, but they generally acknowledge that a relationship is most worth pursuing when it’s a mutual partnership. Wining Boy wasn’t a very faithful lover and even fought with his longtime partner, Cleotha, over his romantic wanderings, but he still measures the success of his life by the fact that she loved him: “Man that woman was something. I used to thank the Lord. Many a night I sat up and looked out over my life. Said, well, I had Cleotha. […] If ever I go anywhere in this life I done known a good woman. And that used to hold me till the next morning.” Wining Boy acknowledges that even if he hasn’t always been a good man to be with, the love of a good woman has invested him with a certain dignity and sense of accomplishment. Lymon, too, used to take a more libertine attitude about women, but he’s beginning to change his mind. When people sleep around, he suggests, “Mostly they be lonely and looking for somebody to spend the night with them. Sometimes it matters who it is and sometimes it don’t. I used to be the same way. Now it got to matter. […] I like my women to be with me in a nice and easy way. […] We got to see how we fit together. A woman that don’t want to take the time to do that I don’t bother with.” In other words, despite his past indiscretions, Lymon now feels that compatibility and mutuality are important to a meaningful relationship.

Especially compared to Wining Boy and Lymon, Avery is the most exemplary male character in the play, but even his love and faithfulness aren’t enough for Berniece to accept his proposal of marriage. When Avery tries to persuade Berniece to marry him, he claims that she fits his life just right: “I ain’t never found no way through life to a woman I care about like I care about you. I need that. I need somebody on my bond side. I need a woman that fits in my hand.” Berniece replies that she has her hands full caring for her 11-year-old daughter, Maretha. When Avery asks Berniece who will love her, Berniece responds angrily: “You trying to tell me a woman can’t be nothing without a man. But you alright, huh? You can just walk out of here without me—without a woman—and still be a man. That’s alright. Ain’t nobody gonna ask you, ‘Avery, who you got to love you?’ […] But everybody gonna be worried about Berniece.” Whether her reaction to Avery is completely fair or not, Berniece is angered by the implication that she isn’t complete without a man’s love, whereas a man is viewed as complete in himself. Though the evidence in the play suggests that Avery genuinely loves Berniece and desires her partnership in life—and even that he might be right about Berniece’s reluctance to move on from her late husband Crawley’s death three years ago—Berniece seems to be too independent to fully reciprocate that desire. And when Avery’s attempted exorcism of Sutter’s ghost fails, Berniece’s success at summoning the good spirits of her ancestors is a powerful statement of her agency and self-sufficiency. Though he doesn’t resolve things between Berniece and Avery at the end of the play, Wilson suggests that no matter what Berniece decides about their relationship, she’ll do it knowing that she’s fully capable of providing for herself and making herself happy.