Pandora's Box

In the Mee Street Chronicles: Straight up Stories of a Black Women’s Life, Pandora’s Box takes place on a Saturday morning in Farmer’s Market. The narrator faces the conflict of whether or not to tell her family or friends about being a lesbian. She was afraid of their acceptance of who she really was, which caused a fear of being different. Frankie was stuck in a dilemma, because when she told her friend Pete about coming out of the closet he tried to convince her otherwise. He would constantly ask her the same reoccurring questions, which were “What does the truth buy you, dear” and “Why open Pandora’s Box.” Pete’s remarks created flashbacks to when she was an adolescent. When Frankie was in the old Mee Street kitchen with her Auntie, her aunt said “Nobody wants a sassy girl like you.” It brought back memories of her Auntie telling her “Nobody, not even a girl would want you”, which caused Frankie to think about her sexual identity. In Evansville, Frankie decided to be with men, but that had changed when she had met Jay. When that relationship did not work out, Frankie knew that women had become “the lodestar of her universe”, which meant she was attracted to women more than men.

During Frankie’s adulthood, gays and lesbians were coming out of the closet around the world. They did not care about what people had thought of them, because they needed to accept them for who they were. There were certain gays and lesbians, such as Pete, who were afraid and would rather blend in trying to hide their sexual identity. Frankie thought that camouflaging took away her freedom, which would make her feel enslaved. This brought great conflict to Frankie, because she could either tell everyone and hope they accept her for who she is or she could keep quiet, while living day to day trying to hide who she really is.

While Frankie was trying to make her decision, Pete’s question came back again, which was “But why open Pandora’s Box?” He had been referring to the Greek myth of an old story with two different endings. The ending you would favor depended on your perspective about life. To Frankie the real question was, “Did she buy into it?” At that point Frankie was doubtful with the fact of dealing with the twelve monkeys all over again, but she decided to overpower the urge to go back to her old ways. She built up the courage to finally take a risk, but was still unsure if she was really ready to come out and say that she was a lesbian.

Frankie had remembered the words of Reverend Bean, which were “You are not a mistake. You are God’s creation, made in the image and likeness of The Creator. So, love yourself.” With those words, she than realized that she was not a mistake and she needed to live free of disguise. Frankie decided to resolve her conflict by calling Aunt Avice. As they spoke, she felt a sense of hope and reassurance of something solid beneath her foot. This meant that her fear of being accepted was going to no longer be an issue and she would not have to live each day hiding who she really was.