The Ties that Bond

Relationships are a complicated, but essential, part of life. Who can say what brings two people together, whether in the bonds of friendship or love? In “The Old Order” by Katherine Anne Porter, I found myself pondering these questions all the more, as I saw Sophia Jane and Nannie’s relationship unfold.

Sophia Jane, later known in the story simply as “Grandmother,” was raised in a seemingly typical upper class Southern house. Her family’s living revolved around the two quintessential pillars of Southern life: land and slaves. Nannie, on the other hand, was a sickly African American, born into a family of slaves. And at a very young age, her life became forfeit when she was sold for a mere twenty dollars to a white man. So how could two people so seemingly different form a lifetime bond of friendship and mutual respect?

When Nannie is first brought to the farm owned by Sophia Jane’s family, Sophia Jane is just a young girl herself. And in her childish state, Sophia Jane begs her father to allow Nannie, “the monkey,” to be her playmate. Here, the father apparently agrees to allow such a friendship. While this may not have been so uncommon, as often younger slaves were put in charge of the care and amusement of plantation owners’ children, what was strange was that this initial bond that was formed as two innocent children did not wane with the years. I found myself mystified at this; how could these two women overcome social rules and barriers to maintain such a loving friendship? And what’s more, why did Sophia Jane’s parents not put a stop to it after she had grown up? This did seem to me to be a very rare occurrence.

Even though this is a fictional account, I cannot help but involve myself in further musings as to why and how this friendship worked. Surely Sophia Jane did not escape public questioning for her friendship with a slave; what made her stand against society and defend her friendship? And all of the other slaves on the farm surely must have been jealous, and possibly even upset, with Nannie. After all, she was being treated much better than any of the other slaves. So how did their friendship withstand the test of time?

I believe one of the biggest things that kept these two unlikely souls tied together was that they both felt a sense of being out of place with the rest of the world. They were both strong, opinionated women, who were not content to simply fulfill their feminine duties. Neither of them was happily married, they both though ill of their children, and they were both fiercely independent. In the early South, these two characters must have stuck out like a sore thumb. They were rebellious to the Southern ideals of what a woman should be. I think this drew them together in a way that nothing else could. They were lone figures, standing amidst a sea of people, and once they were brought together, they were forever bound to each other in a friendship that was so powerful nothing; no person, rules, or regulations, could tear them apart.