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Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Light in August, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race, Gender, and Transgression
Freedom, Discipline, and Violence
Names and Identity
Strangers, Outcasts, and Belonging
Haunting and the Past
Summary
Analysis
That same Sunday night, Byron tells Hightower about meeting Lena. They then discuss the burning house. Byron tells Hightower that Joe Brown and Joe Christmas lived in a cabin on the property, and that they used it as “headquarters” for their whisky business. Two weeks after Brown quit at the mill, he went downtown one Saturday night drunkenly bragging about a trip he and Christmas took to Memphis. The details are hazy ,but Byron heard that he said something about bringing alcohol from Memphis in the car, and Christmas having a pistol. While Brown was telling the story, Christmas arrived and slapped him, telling him to stop drunkenly bothering everyone.
Brown is clearly a foolish character who behaves in a dangerously irresponsible manner. Rather than making an effort to keep his and Christmas’s bootlegging operation secret (or at least inconspicuous), he goes around town drunkenly bragging about it. Meanwhile, Christmas’s rather extreme reaction indicates that there may be particular secrets he is worried Brown will reveal to others.
Themes
Byron then explains that Brown is the father of Lena’s child. Hightower is stunned, but doesn’t seem judgmental, “as though he were listening to the doings of people of a different race.” Byron expresses his regret about having accidentally revealed that Brown is Lucas. Lena was going to go into town to find Brown, but at that point Byron decided to lie and say that Brown was busy at work. He was worried about Lena confronting Brown in the crowd of people who had gathered to watch Joanna’s house burn.
Although he hardly knows her, Byron feels protective of Lena. This is obviously in part because he has fallen in love with her, yet it is also clear by this point that Byron is a kind, altruistic, and principled person. This puts him in stark opposition to Brown, who appears to have no moral principles whatsoever, and who acts in a way that is entirely selfish.
Themes
Byron is deeply distressed by the whole situation, which Hightower finds odd, because none of it is Byron’s fault. Yet Byron feels responsible for the “evil” simply by virtue of having come across Lena by accident. Up until now, Byron has lived a life of “hard work and celibacy.” He explains that he took Lena to the boarding house, and when they got there, she asked about the things local men were saying about the burning house. Byron replied that there were rumors Joanna was hurt in the fire, but that it’s probably not anything serious. He was lying, and could not bring himself to look Lena in the eye.
This passage further emphasizes the contrast between Byron and Lucas/Brown. Where Lucas refuses to take responsibility for Lena’s pregnancy—something for which he is very much responsible—Byron’s sense of responsibility operates in a kind of overdrive.
Themes
Byron introduced Lena as “Mrs. Burch” to Mrs. Beard, and explained that Lena was waiting for her husband to meet her in town. He asked if she could stay one or two nights at the boarding house while she waited. Byron at first offered his room, but Mrs. Beard said she could put a cot in her own room for Lena to sleep on. Byron agreed, and later that night brought Lena to Mrs. Beard’s room. Meanwhile, the townspeople continued to gossip feverishly about the burning house, Joanna, and the two Joes.
There is a malicious quality to the gossip raging in Jefferson at the moment. As has become clear, the townspeople do not have a lot of sympathy, particularly for those who are outcasts within the community. Gossiping about the house is thus a gleeful activity, wherein the townspeople delight in the misfortune of others.
Themes
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Lena asked Byron if Hightower is still allowed to perform marriages—Byron now tells Hightower this while explaining the whole story of how he met Lena. Hightower says that he knows Byron is withholding something, and Byron admits that it’s a secret about Christmas: he is part black. He continues to explain that the man who originally discovered that Joanna’s house was burning saw that Brown—who was drunk—hadn’t even noticed. The man then went inside the house and found Joanna’s body, with the head cut almost entirely off.
It becomes clear that Byron’s assurances to Lena that Joanna was not seriously hurt were completely false, another way in which Byron was trying to protect Lena. The reality is much darker than it initially appeared, as well as being far more scandalous (particularly the detail about Christmas having black heritage).
Themes
Byron continues his story to Hightower, explaining that Joanna’s body was brought into town and her will was retrieved from the bank. The will listed a nephew in the North, and after hearing about what happened to Joanna, the nephew offered a $1,000 reward for the capture of her killer. Brown and Christmas were initially nowhere to be found. However, by 8 pm Brown appeared in town, acting “wild” and raving about Christmas and Joanna’s relationship and accusing Christmas of killing her. He added that Christmas was “mad” and had previously threatened to kill him. After setting Joanna’s house on fire, Christmas told Brown: “I’ve done it.”
Byron is once again serving as a framing device, narrating recent events to Hightower, but also to the reader. On one hand, this means that the reader gains access to these events in a clear, explanatory way. However, it also creates a shroud of mystery around them, as Byron himself may not have completely accurate information, and may not be reporting this information completely truthfully to Hightower.
Themes
Interrogating Brown, the sheriff pointed out that according to Brown’s own story, he waited three hours before reporting the fire. Brown objected to the idea that they would accuse him but “let the n____ run.” The sheriff was confused, and Brown smugly declared that Christmas fooled everyone in Jefferson for three years, convincing them that he was a “foreigner” when in reality he was black. The marshal, Buck, warned Brown about the gravity of making such an accusation against a white man, even if he is a murderer. However, Brown insisted that Christmas has black heritage. He added that he waited to report the fire because he was scared.
This passage shows how Brown takes advantage of racism—and particularly the heavy bias against black people built into the criminal justice system—to excuse himself of any wrongdoing. Although (as the sheriff points out) Brown’s story is somewhat flimsy, simply by saying that Christmas is black he is able to absolve himself of responsibility.
Themes
Buck commented that he “always thought there was something funny about that fellow [Christmas].” He then led Brown away, but told a nearby crowd of townspeople that Brown is not the murderer. Recounting all this to Hightower, Byron comments that he doesn’t think Brown murdered Joanna, although he might have helped Christmas start the fire in order to cover up the crime. He also thinks Brown isn’t going anywhere while he has the chance to receive the $1,000 reward. Byron hasn’t told Lena any of this yet. He thinks that perhaps this is her chance to marry Lucas/Brown, or perhaps he will try to run from her again.
This passage shows that as much as Byron appears to have an informed perspective on the situation, many of his thoughts are simply speculation. He has no real way of knowing whether Christmas or Brown are guilty, and his naivety (and infatuation with Lena) is revealed at the end of the passage when he imagines that Lena and Brown might still get married.
Themes
