Powerhouse

Eudora Welty’s “Powerhouse” certainly seemed to walk a fine line between fascination with the characters and outright racism. Or maybe, it was less racism than a snapshot of what she was seeing, or interpreting from the time. Either way, I find little to take away from this story aside from the incredible detail that went into the character’s appearances and the settings, and or course, the ending of the story. They are all lushly drawn, larger-than-life characters; Powerhouse in particular is aptly named from his description and abilities.
The realities of real life seem to have followed Powerhouse, as he has received a telegram advising him of his wife’s death. He can’t understand why she has jumped to her death, doesn’t know why another man who he knows has signed the message. The more he talks, the more he feels guilty, then upset. His bandmates encourage him to confront the man, until they all realize without saying so that Powerhouse’s wife is probably not dead, but instead has run off with the man. They go back to work, do not mention it again, afraid to mention it again. The band plays and Powerhouse sings, “Somebody loves me, I wonder who!”, and we are left thinking that his words mean more than just words in a song.