Mrs. Everything

At age six, Josette, known as Jo, and her family move into a new house in a nicer neighborhood outside Detroit, Michigan. They moved from the apartment in central Detroit, which Jo loved, to a brick house, which she doesn’t think is special, despite her parents’ excitement. Jo will miss the different kids in their apartment complex, the various ethnic foods cooking, and hearing Italian, Polish, and other languages. Her kindhearted father, Ken, assures her she will learn to enjoy their new home.

Her younger sister, Bethie, at age five, is thrilled, calling the house a “castle,” and Jo thinks that Bethie is the good one, since she’s always well-mannered and ladylike. On the other hand, Jo is reckless and wild; she prefers to wear pants and play baseball than wear dresses and do chores. Their mother, Sarah, dotes on Bethie and often reprimands Jo for her unladylike behavior.

They move to take a family photo in front of their house. Though Jo pleads to wear pants to their move-in day, Sarah insists she don a dress. Jo’s underwear rides up, and when she tries to pull her panties down to ease the discomfort, she rips her homemade dress. Sarah cries, and Ken sticks up for Jo, his little tomboy, as he always does.

Five-year-old Bethie helps her mother (“Mommy”) with daily chores. Each day is designated for different tasks, such as Mondays for washing and Tuesdays for ironing. A maid named Mae and her daughter, Frieda, are hired to come help with domestic chores; they assist Sarah once a week. Frieda and Jo play wildly together, running, climbing trees, and playing battle games. Bethie thinks their play is too rough and doesn’t understand Jo’s aversion to feminine roles.

On Fridays, the Shabbat, Bethie and Sarah visit Bubbe (grandmother) and Zayde (grandfather) to celebrate Jewish traditions. Since Bubbe and Zayde only speak Yiddish, Sarah helps with chores that require English translations. Together, the family makes traditional challah. On Fridays, Bethie learns about her mother’s parents, who were from Russia, and how to keep their Jewish traditions alive. She loves her grandparents’ doting; they give her candy and teach her how to cook. Growing up, Sarah was taunted for being Jewish. Jo had similar experiences and fought someone in the schoolyard over it, but their parents didn’t chastise Jo for standing up for their religion. Bethie tries to follow their faith and be the best little girl she can.

Each night, Bethie looks forward to stories Jo tells her. In every fairy tale, Bethie is the princess, and Jo invents fantastical adventures for her to overcome. The stories always end with Princess Bethie living happily ever after.

When Jo is about 10, a new maid, Iris, comes to clean the house. Jo is flabbergasted Sarah dismissed sweet Mae and her playful daughter Frieda—Jo’s best friend—and hired the taciturn Iris instead. Sarah and Jo argue about the change; Sarah tells her “birds of a feather must flock together” (24), but Jo doesn’t agree. Jo runs away from home with her suitcase, intent on finding Mae and Frieda. Her mother never approved of Jo and Frieda being best friends since Frieda and Mae are Black.

On Jo’s walk to Mae’s house, Ken pulls up in his car and invites her to attend the local Tigers baseball game. Jo is overjoyed because she and her father only listen to baseball on the radio. She has a close and loving relationship with her father, unlike with her mother. Ken surprises her by bringing her glove along to the stadium so she can try to catch a ball.

In the stands, Jo is mesmerized by the baseball game. When Ken asks her what happened, she states that Sarah hates her and that she always does wrong in her perspective. Ken assures her that Sarah loves her, like he does, and that by hiring Iris she only meant to support fellow Jews. Jo argues that just because Mae and Frieda aren’t Jewish doesn’t mean they aren’t great people or should be avoided. Ken agrees but states that Sarah is trying to support their own first. They enjoy the rest of the game together.

At age 11, Bethie embraces traditional femininity even more as she grows up. She adores putting her hair in curlers, makeup, dresses, cooking, and femininity in general. She has gorgeous brown ringlets like Sarah, and she’s already beautiful. The neighborhood dotes on her for being a lovely, proper girl. Bethie—acting prim, earning good grades, and being kissed by two boys—thrives on the approval.

When her Hebrew school puts on its annual play, Bethie auditions for the role of Queen Esther, who is a strong female character who convinces the king not to kill his Jewish citizens because she’s Jewish. Because Esther had won a beauty contest to become queen, Bethie believes her looks and hard work will earn her the role. She memorizes the whole play and cries emotionally during her audition. Cheryl, a sixth grader (from a wealthy family) who played Esther the past two years, is distraught when Bethie earns the part.

On opening night, Cheryl tries to steal the show by dancing across the stage as Vashti, the king’s first wife, but Bethie, as Queen Esther, stands up to her. With humor, she goes off-script and chastises Vashti. Her family congratulates her and gives her flowers afterward, and Bethie feels joyful about her performance. When Cheryl’s dad confronts them, stating that Bethie embarrassed Cheryl and stole her role, Ken defends his daughter. Bethie feels even prouder.

In high school, Jo walks the track for gym class with her closest friend, Lynnette. Although they’re best friends, the two don’t have much in common; whereas Jo doesn’t conform to girls’ traditional conduct or dress, Lynnette is feminine. They both love to be reckless, skipping school, drinking beer, and pushing each other to take risks. Lynnette and Jo often double date with their boyfriends, but Jo is secretly attracted to Lynnette. She has never felt anything special kissing boys, even with her past boyfriend, Leonard, whom she dated for a year. Lynnette discusses oral sex with her boyfriend, Bobby, and Jo asks for details. After talking more about her physical relationship with Bobby, Lynnette invites Jo over for a surprise at her house.

That evening, Jo and Lynnette are home alone. As Lynnette locks the door and puts on music, Jo becomes nervous. Finally, Lynnette shows her a vibrator. She slowly uses it on Jo, who can’t control her rising emotions. She kisses Lynnette with passion, worried she will pull away and shun her. Instead, Lynnette kisses her back, using the vibrator on Jo until she experiences her first orgasm. Next, Jo pleases Lynnette with the vibrator. She revels in her first sexual awakening.

Since Jo is tall, gangly, and athletic, she plays on both the basketball and tennis teams. Her Black teammates LaDonna and LaDrea invite her to a protest for equality at a local segregated swimming pool. Jo lies to her parents about her plans and attends the protest that weekend.