Illegitimate Births
In Brewster Place, births are nearly always illegitimate. Every child
we hear about is missing a father, from Mattie’s son to all of Cora’s
children. These children are missing half their identities, and their fates
seem dire—just as the fate of Brewster Place itself seems dire. Brewster
Place’s conception is even referred to as a bastard birth. From the moment
of Brewster Place’s creation, its fate is sealed, the buildings and their
inhabitants destined to live in ever-worsening conditions.
Flight
The men in The Women of Brewster Place are masters at
disappearing. Faced with any hardship or difficulty, men such as Basil,
Eugene, and Butch run from any responsibility. Their flight is in direct
response to any perceived threat to their freedom. Basil disappears when
faced with the remote possibility of going to jail. Eugene disappears once
his responsibilities as a father and husband become too demanding, and Butch
Fuller lives a philosophy dedicated to living in the moment. While the men
in the novel are constantly running away, the women are constantly returning
home to one another.
Blending of Lives
In The Women of Brewster Place, Naylor portrays a
broad spectrum of women to show the similarities and differences between the
experiences of each generation. In every encounter between an older and
younger woman, past and present blend together, and the connection between
generations adds perspective and historical depth to the experiences of
each. For example, despite Kiswana’s dramatic differences of opinion with
her mother, she comes to recognize that her life, in fact, is not so
different after all. She is merely living her own slightly altered version
of the life her mother lived. That realization restores the connection that
had previously been threatened when Kiswana insulted her mother.
