The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

By the end of the summer, Callie’s mother is dismayed that she has been spending more time studying science than anything else. In her grandfather’s library, she asks Granddaddy what kind of food her caterpillar eats. Granddaddy tells her to figure that out on her own, hinting that they found Petey on a leaf. Callie finds some similar leaves for him to eat. She wonders if caterpillars can choose their sex like wasps can, asserting that she wishes she had the option to choose her sex because she would have chosen to be a boy. Callie’s mother dislikes having Petey in the house, but she allows it because she believes that Petey will eventually become something beautiful. Callie is overjoyed when Petey creates a cocoon and is ready to become a butterfly. This transformation reminds Callie of the transition between life and death, and she asks Harry to take her to the next funeral in town so that she can observe death firsthand. Harry finds this odd and again asks what she does with their grandfather. Callie tells Harry what she has learned. At dinner, the family discusses new names for Petey’s butterfly form.

After the new school year begins, Petey becomes a giant moth, not a butterfly. Callie and her brothers contemplate what to do with Petey because their mother will not be happy to see a moth instead of a butterfly. When Callie returns home, she grabs Petey’s jar and begins to walk toward her grandfather’s library, but she is stopped by Harry, who is shocked to see what Petey has become. As the siblings talk, their mother approaches behind them, and she is horrified by the sight of Petey and orders Callie to get rid of her moth. When Callie finally arrives in her grandfather’s library, he tells her that Petey is a very interesting specimen. Callie tells him that he was right; she shouldn’t have named him because she has become attached to him. She is unable to kill Petey or collect him as a specimen, so she decides to let him go instead. That evening, Callie, her brothers, and their grandfather sit on the porch and prepare to release Petey into the air. When Callie opens Petey’s jar, she finds that he is having difficulty flying because he has not yet used his wings. Suddenly, Ajax, the family’s dog, charges at Petey. Callie holds Ajax off until Petey can fly away.

Callie thinks about her best friend, Lula Gates, who is very pretty. Despite their close relationship, Callie and Lula are very different. Lula enjoys needlework and romance novels, while Callie prefers to be outside collecting specimens. Three of Callie’s brothers—Lamar, Sam Houston, and Travis—have crushes on Lula, but Callie does not want to get involved. At school, Callie’s brothers constantly stare at Lula. Callie becomes extremely distracted by their interests in her friend, and she is punished for not paying attention in class. At lunch, Lula notices that Travis is sitting alone and invites him to join them despite Callie’s protests. Travis offers to share his lunch with Lula and tells her all about the kittens that he has been raising. He offers to give one to Lula, and she tells him that she will come after school the next day to get it. Callie is astonished, and as they all walk home together, she observes that her other brothers—Sam Houston and Lamar—are very angry at Travis.

At home, Travis asks Callie if she thinks that Lula will want to take his favorite kitten, Jesse James. Callie reassures him that Lula would never do that. At dinner, the family shares details about their days, and Lamar tells their mother that Callie got into trouble at school. Callie’s mother tells her that she would expect that kind of behavior from her brothers, but since it was Callie, it is a “blot on the family name” (145). Callie tells her that it isn’t fair for her mother to hold her to those standards, and the entire family is shocked; Callie’s grandfather bursts out laughing, which breaks the tension. After dinner, Callie tries to explain to Travis that both Lamar and Sam Houston have crushes on Lula.

On the way home from school the next day, Lamar approaches Callie, Lula, and Travis. He berates Travis and asks Lula if she wants to walk with a “real man” instead. Travis runs at his brother and shoves him before running home in tears. Lula decides to walk home by herself. Callie threatens to tell their mother about Lamar’s actions, and they bicker all the way home. Once they get inside, their mother demands to know what happened to Travis, who is still crying. Callie is hesitant to say anything, but her mother insists. After Callie explains, their mother’s anger softens and they all get very light punishments. A few more days pass, and Callie becomes fed up with the constant anxiety that her brothers are causing her and Lula. Lula eventually comes to get a kitten from Travis. Callie comes up with a plan, and she tells her brothers that they each get to walk to and from school with her and Lula on separate days of the week. The boys silently agree.

Callie’s mother decides to teach Callie to knit socks. Callie is initially apprehensive but finds herself calmed by the monotonous motions. Her mother tells her to knit socks for all the men in her family—her six brothers, her father, and her grandfather—for Christmas. Callie tells her mother that her eyes are “strained” and quickly heads to her grandfather’s laboratory. Later, when she complains to Granddaddy that she is tired of knitting, he tells her that he and the men in his regiment learned how to knit due to the harsh winter conditions. This story reframes Callie’s understanding of some of the domestic tasks that she is being forced to learn, and she comes to believe that it is important to learn skills that are vital to her survival. Callie asks how Viola can stand cooking all day, and Granddaddy states that it is what she knows. He says that her life would be “much harder” if she worked in the field; some of her aunts and uncles work in Bastrop cutting cotton with a short hoe. Callie asks why her father does not allow the short hoe to be used in their fields, and Granddaddy says that he made her father do an experiment. He was tasked with working in the field with a short hoe and seeing if he could do it every day.

The pair turn their conversation to the mutant hairy vetch that they collected. Grandaddy thinks that it is an entirely new species because he can’t find this specific mutation anywhere. Callie and Granddaddy celebrate; Granddaddy offers her some of his special Kentucky bourbon, and she politely places the glass to the side. Granddaddy instructs Callie to find the jar with the specimen, but they realize that Callie has forgotten to mark the location where they found the sample. Callie is distraught and Granddaddy is disappointed. Callie promises that she will find the plant, but he stops her from going outside since the sun has almost set.

Callie does not sleep that night, and she tries to remember where she found the plant. She cannot focus in class, and her brothers notice this change in behavior. Suddenly, Callie remembers that she found the plant right next to a badger’s burrow. She runs into the dense brush that surrounds her family’s property and begins to hunt for the burrow. Three hours into her search, Callie accidentally steps into the burrow, hurting her ankle. She finds the plant and quickly runs home, arriving just as she hears Viola ring the dinner bell. Despite knowing that she will be punished for being late to dinner, Callie goes into her grandfather’s laboratory and places the plant in a jar filled with water. Viola finds her as she enters the house and helps her wash up, warning her that her mother is angry. She tells her younger brother about her discovery, and she continuously looks at her grandfather, hoping to make him proud. He suddenly asks to be excused from the table, surprising the whole family. After dinner, Callie is forced to sit at the table for an extra hour as punishment for being late. After her time is up, she rushes outside to find her grandfather sitting on the steps. Callie notes that there is a clear divide in front of her: the domestic noises of the house behind her and the sounds of a bird in flight. Her grandfather asks her to join him outside.

The following weekend, Callie and her grandfather go to Lockhart with the mutant specimen jar. They ask a photographer to take two photos of the plant so that they can send the images to the Smithsonian. After a few moments, the photographer returns with two amazing photos of the plant. Granddaddy suddenly asks the man for one more photo: a photo of him and Callie holding the specimen. After they take the photo, Granddaddy asks the photographer to place his seal on the back of the photos so the world can know who took them when they become parts of a scientific exhibit.

The pair return home just in time for dinner. Their family is dismissive of their discovery, which angers Callie. For the first time, she thinks that her family is ignorant. After dinner, Callie watches Granddaddy write and seal the photos of the plant alongside a letter describing the plant’s mutation. Callie smiles as she sees her name placed right next to her grandfather’s on the letter’s signature. He tells Callie that they will have to wait and see what happens next. Callie is ecstatic to have earned the title of “my girl” by her grandfather.

After 12 days, Callie and Granddaddy receive a letter from the photographer telling them that he placed a copy of the photo of their plant in the window of his shop; many people have been asking about it. He also asks if they have heard anything from the Smithsonian. Granddaddy instructs Callie to write a letter telling the photographer that it will be another few weeks until they hear anything. Callie quickly writes the letter and leaves for the post office.

At the post office, Callie speaks to Mr. Grassel, who has always pretended to like the Tate family but clearly does not. He interrogates Callie about the letter, asking her who is getting their photo taken and why. He asks if the whole family is getting their picture taken, and Callie, anxious and overwhelmed, responds that they are before running out of the post office. She does not want to tell anyone about her and her grandfather’s discovery in case they are wrong, but she forces herself to believe that they have indeed discovered something entirely new.

One day, Callie decides to focus on a new experiment. She finds herself thinking about the story that Granddaddy had told her about her father using the short hoe in the field, and she decides to try to replicate that experiment. Callie walks to the closest row of cotton and begins to use the hoe to dislodge the cotton. She finds the work exhausting and wonders how the older people with rheumatism could work like this. Suddenly, Viola yells at Callie and pulls her into the house. She tells Callie that it would have been a scandal to see a white girl—let alone a Tate girl—cutting cotton. Callie helps Viola calm down despite being confused about why she is so angry. Viola tells Callie that she cannot behave in this manner because her mother wants her to “come out” in a few years; she needs to build and maintain her reputation to become a proper debutante. Callie doesn’t understand what it means to be a debutante, but she thinks that she doesn’t want any part of it. Viola says that she has to comply because her mother didn’t get to become a debutante herself due to the war. When Callie asks her to elaborate, Viola instructs her to ask her mother.

As Callie leaves Viola, she wonders if she is a disappointment to her mother and family because she doesn’t enjoy making tea, cooking, or doing needle work. She thinks about her place in the world but finds no conclusions. She becomes so anxious that she breaks out into hives. The next morning, Callie finds her mother tending to her garden. As Callie speaks with her, it becomes clear that Viola hadn’t told her mother about the incident with her previous experiment.

Callie asks her mother why she hadn’t “come out” in society even though she wanted to. Her mother explains that because of the war, many families were financially ruined. She says she was lucky to meet Callie’s father, but some women, like her sister Agatha, weren’t so lucky; Agatha now lives alone in a house that “smelled of cats and mildew” (194). She explains that “coming out” describes the moment when a young woman from a good family is introduced to young men from other good families. Callie asks her mother if she would like her to “come out,” and her mother tells her that she wants Callie to have the chance that she didn’t. Callie decides to stop pursuing the matter since it can wait a few years. She idly wonders what her grandfather would think about her “coming out.”