Spitting in the face of colonialism: The hidden messaging in Jamaica Kincaid’s "Girl"

In Jamaica Kincaid’s "Girl," various pieces of advice are given to a young girl of Afro-Caribbean descent by someone we understand to be her mother, whose advice focuses on the girl’s role in their cultural surroundings. These pieces of advice seem at first to be reinforcing colonial, patriarchal, and misogynistic views; however, clues sprinkled throughout the work indicate that the mother is in actuality teaching the girl ways to preserve their own culture in the environment of colonialism, methods of emancipation from the patriarchal framework, and even signals to communicate with others who hold the same values.

The order of advice given follows a rough chronological timeline, beginning with instructions suitable for a child nearing puberty and ending with advice relevant upon reaching adulthood; for instance, advice on walking in the sun and menstruation appear early in the work, while dealing with relationships and finances is left for the end of the progression of advice. From the very outset, the instructions and advice given seem patriarchal: the mother instructs the daughter on washing clothes, cooking, cleaning, ironing, and table-setting – household chores stereotypically performed by women. The girl also receives reprimands about walking "like a lady" (with the pejorative term "slut") and how she behaves around boys and men (line 10 as delineated by semicolons).

These patriarchal directives accompany and link to colonial elements. The concept of Sunday school, a fundamentally Christian institution, is invoked when the girl is reprimanded for singing benna. The daughter learns different methods of smiling at people, along with different ways of setting a table and sweeping various surfaces. While telling women to smile and expecting them to perform all of the household chores are what we might consider to be "standard" patriarchy from a Western point of view, these elements take on an added dimension when we consider the surrounding colonial context. For instance, the mother doesn’t just instruct the girl on how to set the table for regular meals, she also teaches her how to set the table for "tea" (line 28) – while the plant and drink do exist independently from colonialism, tea is associated with British rule (such as, for example, the context surrounding the Boston Tea Party), and setting aside a dedicated time for drinking tea is a quite stereotypical English tradition. The mother also instructs her in how to iron clothing belonging to her father, in a manifestation of patriarchy; the clothing, however, is specifically khaki - a color that became popular in fashion through colonial British military uniforms, and has even been described as a "colonial aesthetic" (Beyer). Both ironing khaki clothing and setting the table for tea portray the mingling of patriarchy with colonialism, exemplifying how colonialism and patriarchy are inextricably linked in this environment and implying that the patriarchy is itself an aspect of colonialism.

However, distinctions are made that indicate that the mother is not instructing the girl to be as passive in accepting the colonialism and patriarchy as first appears – such as the difference between setting the table normally and when the family has an "important guest" present (Kincaid, line 30). If the girl sets the table differently when an "important guest" is present, this implies that under normal circumstances, the table is set in ways that would not be acceptable to these figures. We can understand, then, that "important guest" may be a euphemism for the local officials or similar colonial individuals, and that the table is normally set in a way that reflects non-colonial traditions. This interpretation gains strength when we consider that as the girl matures, we encounter additional hidden ways of preserving the Afro-Caribbean culture, as well as methods for subverting the patriarchy, providing a framework for emancipation. For instance, that the girl was reprimanded for singing benna in Sunday school displays that she was actually taught how to sing benna – the issue is merely the time and place. Similarly, the mother introduces the girl to traditional ways of preparing foods and remedies – first the foods more acceptable to the colonizers, such as okra, and then the less acceptable remedies, such as the abortion remedy. Eventually, the girl learns traditional Afro-Caribbean beliefs and superstitions, such as not throwing stones as blackbirds because it may "not be a blackbird at all" (line 37) – clearly not in line with the hegemonous Christian religion – or throwing back fish so that something bad "won’t fall on you" (line 44). By learning how to "bully a man" (line 45), as well as discovering that it is okay to give up on loving a man, the girl evens the playing field, subverting the patriarchy, with that emancipation exemplified by spitting up in the air – an action we can reasonably assume would be condemned as "unladylike" by both patriarchal and colonial actors, yet is taught to the girl by her mother despite admonitions about other unladylike behaviors (see line 10).

Why, however, does the mother wait for the girl to mature in order to impart this traditional and emancipatory knowledge? We observe in the order that the advice is given that the mother begins with more colonial elements, such as khaki clothing, Sunday school, and the teatime meal, as well as admonishing the girl about her behavior in public, and only later on moves toward Afro-Caribbean practices, such as traditional beliefs and medications. We infer from the progression from colonial, to outward appearance, and then to the traditional, that the traditional practices are being kept hidden from the colonial authorities. Singing benna in Sunday school has already been highlighted as unacceptable, with the mother receiving reports that the girl has been doing so; in the same vein, those instituting Sunday school are not going to take kindly to supernatural beliefs involving blackbirds, and so the girl cannot be taught these beliefs until she can keep them hidden. The case of setting the table differently when an "important guest" such as a local official is present similarly clues that a different image is presented publicly than what happens in the privacy of the home. These traditions are thus taught only when the child can keep them secret, in order to avoid further incidents such as singing benna in Sunday school.

Evidence exists, on the other hand, that there is a time and place for the traditions to not be kept hidden. The girl learns different ways of smiling based on the level that she "likes" people. There are the different ways of setting the table, as discussed previously. The mother cautions the girl about how she behaves around men who "don’t know you very well" (line 33). All of these instructions, which relate to a change in behavior based on the surrounding individuals, together indicate that these are methods of signaling to those "in the know," who will understand the shibboleths used by the colonized population to communicate within the community.

Finally, the conclusion of the work brings the hidden messaging – in both the work and in the world it depicts - to a peak. When the mother instructs the girl to always "squeeze the bread" (line 50), the girl protests, arguing that she may not be allowed to do so. After having received all of the prior advice relating the signals and shibboleths within the colonized community, the girl’s hesitance implies that she lacks confidence in her ability to effectively signal to the baker that she is part of the community – thus gaining the baker’s trust - despite the instructions given by the girl’s mother. The mother, disappointedly, asks in response if the girl is really planning to be the "kind of woman" the baker won’t let touch the bread (line 52), displaying her dismay that her daughter lacks faith in the underground sub-culture being maintained in secret. If the daughter fails to effectively continue perpetuating the secretly maintained traditions, then all is lost, and their unique culture and heritage will be irrevocably lost to colonization and patriarchy.

In conclusion, while the overall message in "Girl" seems to be, at first glance, reinforcing colonial and patriarchal values, a closer reading reveals the subtle methods of resistance and emancipation from those oppressive frameworks. The subtext of maintaining an underground network preserving traditional Afro-Caribbean practices and values provides a different perspective on the work than we first expect, highlighting the resilience and ingenuity of those preserving their heritage, particularly the women operating in a repressive environment.

Works Cited

Beyer, Anna Lee. "Your khaki pants have a history that may surprise you." National Geographic, National Geographic Partners, June 2024, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/surprising-colonial-history-khakis. Accessed January 2, 2025.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The New Yorker, The New Yorker, June 1978, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/06/26/girl. Accessed December 24, 2024.