Aunt Mary

Further names: Mrs. Mason Hayne, Mrs. Hayne

Delia’s Aunt Mary, is actually named Mrs. Mason Hayne. She lives in Boston and due to the fact that she has neither seen her niece in over two years nor received a letter from her, she sends a letter to her. Aunt Mary took care of Delia after Delia’s parents died. Therefore, she had been the main influence on Delia’s youth. Aunt Mary probably belongs to Boston’s Brahmin elite since she is also part of the Boston upper class and lives in a wide brick house, which has been passed down her family, in the famous neighborhood Beacon Hill in Mount Vernon Street. Typically for the Boston Brahmin, Aunt Mary stands for tradition and high social prestige which one can gain for example with being representative in the society. Therefore, Aunt Mary attends committee meetings and reads “reports of the various philanthropic, educational, or political institutions in which she was interested.” (White 12) Moreover, Aunt Mary shows great nationalism since she would never “[…] leave Boston, and her kindergartens, and associated charities, and symphony concerts, and debating club […]”. (White 7) Evidence why Mrs. Mason Haynes belongs to Boston’s Brahmin elite is also the fact that she is “[…] known from Back Bay to the South End […]”, (White 9) which are renowned neighborhoods in Boston. Aunt Mary must be wealthy due to the fact that she has servants such as Cyrus and that she can afford a life in Mount Vernon Street. Moreover, she has paintings by Raphael and Murillo and her brick house is not just any brick house, but a wide brick house. Her domicile is always described with a great amount of space, leading to the fact that the wide expanse can also be an indication of Mrs. Haynes wideness as far as her mind is concerned. Although the description of Aunt Mary’s house and her manner of dress are loaded rather negatively with words like monotony and heavy, it is not that negative as she has a Greek border on her walls, expensive paintings and much marble in her house. Moreover, Aunt Mary is a warm-hearted woman owing to the fact that “[…] there was no reservation in the uncritical warmth of Mrs. Hayne’s welcome, and it was obvious that she was unaffectedly happy in their coming.” (White 11) However, Delia’s aunt had to suffer great losses in her life, such as losing her husband in the Civil War at Bull Run and her soon a little later in the battle at Gettysburg. Consequently, Mrs. Hayne emphasizes the importance of the fact “[…] that every man of her husband’s generation who was neither lame, halt, nor blind should have fought in the war.” (White 15) Due to the fact that Aunt Mary was the main influence on Delia’s youth, Delia is of the same opinion about healthy men serving their country in the war, like her Aunt Mary, leading to the fact that Corbett’s abstinence from the Civil War is inacceptable for her. Although Aunt Mary seems to be a strong independent woman, she is very dependent on other people ever since she has fallen down the stairs during a house inspection bringing water on her knee and leading to the fact that she is imprisoned in her own house on crutches. Not being able to leave the house is an intolerable situation for her. Furthermore, Aunt Mary “had overtaxed her strength and must return for an undetermined period to her lounge.” (White 13) Aunt Mary is happy about her niece’s visit because she can help her being part of the society; as she is handicapped for an undetermined time since. Therefore, Delia reads her beloved reports aloud to her, writes business letters for her, or drives her aunt to committee meetings. Aunt Mary has influenced her niece a lot in her way of thinking and positions with regard to a specific topic, such as the serving of healthy men in the Civil War. Aunt Mary can be seen as Delia’s “lamp of psyche” because it is her who highlights the dark stain on Laurence’s soul by asking Delia about her husband’s past concerning the Civil War. Consequently, the lamp is not of material nature but of human nature; a real person. One could see this in such a way that Delia, due to the fact that her aunt forces her to do so, enters a space in her mind where the truth hides; things she has long forgotten about or things she has never wanted to think about. After the talk with Delia about Laurence’s past, Aunt Mary does not appear in a narrative role in the story anymore. This implies that her function for the story is over.