The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Three days later, Callie sits on her porch making notes on the local wildlife. Her grandfather, whom she calls “Granddaddy,” praises her activities as a “fair start.” He invites her to collect specimens with him at the river, promising to explain some of Darwin’s more complicated concepts. Callie happily agrees. On the way, Callie tells her grandfather that nobody calls her by her full name, insisting that he doesn’t need to either, and Granddaddy tells her that she has a beautiful name; he lists several literary characters and the tree genus Calpurnia to prove it. As they walk, Callie is shocked to see how observant her grandfather is. Granddaddy is disappointed to hear that she doesn’t learn about science in school, only penmanship and deportment. Granddaddy tells her about the scientific method and several famous scientists and theories. He explains that he traveled to Washington to be part of the National Geographic Society, which wanted to “pull the country out of the morass of superstition and backward thinking” (30) that resulted after the Civil War.

Callie and Granddaddy spend hours talking and observing the wildlife. On their way home, they find an old hummingbird's nest, and Callie takes it with her. When they return to the house, Callie’s brother, Jim Bowie, tells her that her mother is furious because Callie has missed her piano lesson. Despite her mother’s anger, Callie is bright and happy. Over the next week, she writes more detailed observations and uses more exact terminology her grandfather has taught her. When she shows her notes to him, he nods in approval.

One evening, Callie sits with her grandfather as he distills liquor from pecans. He tells her that he was never interested in animals until 1865, during the Civil War. Granddaddy tells the story of a bat that he had accidentally caught in his hand while he was giving orders to his troop of soldiers. The bat stayed with him for several days in his tent, leaving during the night and returning during the day. One day, his troop was met with heavy gunfire and thought that they were going to die. A young, illiterate soldier asked Granddaddy to write a letter to his family about how to care for their farm in the event of his death. The soldier died the next day. Granddaddy cries softly as he retells this story, but he shifts his focus back to the bat and tells Callie that although he had to move on from that location, he placed a quarantine flag to ensure that the tent and the bat would not be disturbed. The Civil War ended two days later, and he went to the young man’s farm and helped the family to care for it for several months. Granddaddy apologizes to Callie for telling her this story because she is “too young.” They continue to work together in silence.

Callie states that she has never thought about where their cook, Viola, had come from. Viola seems to have been with them forever, and nobody ever questions her place in their home. Viola works hard to feed the family of 10 each day. Viola lives alone in one of the old buildings that were previously used as quarters for enslaved people. Viola is described as being one-quarter African American; however, by Texas law, that meant the same thing as being a “full-blooded” African American. Callie states that if Viola had been in Austin, she could have “passed” as a white person. (This term is taken from the concept of “racial passing,” in which a person of a specific racial group looks similar enough to another racial group to be mistaken for being a member of that group.) Callie understandings that “passing” is extremely risky, for if discovered, those who try to “pass” might be beaten, sent to jail, or even killed. Viola’s relationship with Callie’s mother is simple and lacks any animosity. Callie believes that her mother is appreciative of Viola’s work. Viola also spends time with the only indoor cat that the family has, Idabelle. Their only indoor dog is Ajax. Callie thinks about how she has never seen her grandfather let anybody in—dog, cat, or person—except her.

One evening in Granddaddy’s laboratory, Granddaddy tells Callie that he has had a breakthrough in distilling his new pecan liquor. He offers Callie a thimbleful of the liquor, and she begins to cough uncontrollably; this is her first experience drinking alcohol. She finds herself with a vicious case of the hiccups. Grandaddy asks her to write her observations in his notebook, and she writes that the batch tastes good. Granddaddy reminds Callie not to lie when she is writing down a scientific observation, and she revises her observation to state that it may cause some coughing when consumed.

When Viola rings the dinner bell, they quickly return to the main house. As they all sit together and begin to say grace, Callie is unable to hold in her hiccups. Her brothers laughs, but her parents are angered by her disruption and send Callie to her room. As she gets up, Callie notices that she feels odd and needs a nap. She falls asleep in her bed and later schemes a way to sneak down to the kitchen to find food. She is interrupted by her younger brother, Travis, knocking on the door and handing her a small kitten named Jesse James. Later, her grandfather gives her a copy of Great Expectations and a large book on Southern Agrarian economics. When she opens the large book, she finds that it has been hollowed out. A sandwich is hidden inside. She happily eats her sandwich as she holds the kitten and begins to read.

Callie hears her father’s voice calling as he knocks on her door. Not wanting to be interrupted, she places the kitten and books under her blanket and pretends to sleep. When her father enters, he blows out the flame of her lamp. After he leaves, Callie is frustrated because she has no matches and is unable to light the lamp. As she goes to sleep, she realizes that she is the first of her siblings to drink alcohol. She states that she would later discover that her mother’s health tonic contained nearly 20% alcohol.

Callie suffers through her piano lessons. Her piano instructor, Miss Brown, is a strict teacher and hits Callie’s knuckles with a ruler whenever the girl makes a mistake. Callie is expected to play in Miss Brown’s annual piano recital, which is held in Lockhart. Viola and Callie’s mother go to great lengths to dress Callie up for the recital. As Viola and Callie’s mother attempt to prep her hair for the next morning, Callie’s mother realizes that her hair is much shorter than it should be. Callie lies, saying that her hair was knotted around sticker burrs, so she had no choice but to cut it off; her mother doesn’t believe her, but she says nothing.

The next day, Viola and Callie’s mother meticulously style Callie’s hair. As the group of children get ready to perform, Callie tries to comfort her best friend, Lula, who is suffering from stage fright. Callie calls the recital a “massacre” because several children performed poorly. Callie notes that her brother Harry seemed to constantly look toward a specific part of the audience for no reason. Afterward, Callie declares that she will never perform at the recital again.

Shortly after the piano recital, Callie notices that Harry often stares into space, deep in thought. One day, he reveals that he has been courting a girl who is visiting from Austin. Callie is worried that this might affect their family dynamics. Callie crafts a plan to convince him not to court her. Seventeen-year-old Harry tells Callie that the young woman is 23 years old and is a member of the Independent Church, which she knows their mother will oppose. (There are two main churches in Caldwell County: the Baptists and the less-approved Independent Church.) That evening at dinner, when Harry asks to take his horse out, Callie forces Harry’s hand by asking if he is going to go see “her.” Upon further questioning from his parents, Harry admits that the girl’s name is Miss Minerva Goodacre and that her uncle is a reverend at the Independent Church. Harry excuses himself from the table and leaves the house. Callie’s mother and father interrogate her for more information after dinner. That night, Callie apologizes to Harry when he returns, but he is too angry to accept her apology.

The next day, Callie’s mother announces that the family will be having guests on Friday evening, including the Goodacres. On Friday, when Miss Minerva Goodacre arrives, Callie finds her unattractive and obnoxious and tells Viola that she is horrible. Later, Granddaddy invites Miss Minerva Goodacre to the library, and she leaves with him silently. When she returns, she seems agitated and soon leaves with her family. The next morning, Callie’s mother receives letters from their guests thanking her for her hospitality. Several days later, Harry tries to “call on” Miss Minerva Goodacre but receives word later that she has returned to Austin. He continues to send letters, but they are returned to him unopened. Harry roams around the house like the “walking wounded.”