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The Two Grandmothers by Olive Senior

SETTING

Olive Senior, author of 'The Two

Grandmothers', was born in Trelawney,
Jamaica. She attended Montego Bay High
School, 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.

The story occurs in three places; rural Jamaica,

Kingston and Clearwater in the USA.
The story occurs in the 1980's.

SUMMARY
The story opens with a little girl telling her
mother about her experiences with her two
grandmothers; Grandma Dell and Grandma
Elaine a.k.a Touser. Grandma Dell is her
'country' grandmother who lives in rural
Jamaica, raises life stock, caters to her
community, takes her granddaughter to
church and is enamored by her
granddaughters 'pretty' skin and hair.
Grandma Elaine, on the other hand, is her
'town' grandmother. She has had multiple
marriages, is a socialite who dates wealthy
men, travels, and is very concerned about
her physical appearance. The granddaughter,
initially, prefers her country grandmother,
who is very attentive to her needs and loved
to 'show her off' to her friends and
neighbors. However, as the story progresses,
and the narrator ages and matures, she
begins to prefer her town grandmother, who
is more cosmopolitan and appreciative of
material things. With her change in attitude
to Grandma Dell, however, also comes a
change in attitude to her country friends.
They are no longer figures who inspire awe,
but girls to look down on as 'less than'. The
story closes with the teenage narrator
proposing that her family should spend a
day with her country grandmother - then she
would be taken care of until next year ensuring that they have more time to spend
with Touser (Grandma Elaine) as well as
pursue more interesting exploits.

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 mindNarrator (1st
person)
The readers first meets 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, 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
every-one else.
She appears, by the end of the story, to be
confused about how to feel about her physical
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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/
Touser 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 grand daughter 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,
highlights 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
course, 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 who's 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 Jezebellot 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 communityfor 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
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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 grand daughter'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 views no longer align.
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. Undoubtadley, 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 off 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 status' and
financial backgrounds in the , and all of them
contribute to this theme. Grandma Elaine is of a
high social status and she treats grandma Del,
who is of a 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 matures 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