Minor Characters
Maretha
Maretha is Berniece’s 11-year-old daughter. She is a shy, obedient girl. Maretha is getting extra schooling in hopes of becoming a schoolteacher. Berniece devotes most of her energy to raising Maretha well, hoping that her daughter will have opportunities that she herself never had.
Crawley
Crawley was Berniece’s first husband. He died about three years ago, shot by the sheriff while helping Boy Willie and Lymon haul some wood they’d been hoarding. Though little is said about Crawley, it’s suggested that he was an impulsive but loyal man. Berniece mourns him to this day.
Grace
Grace is a young woman whom Boy Willie meets and brings back to Berniece’s house for a romantic night. She and Lymon later end up together.
Mama Berniece
Mama Berniece was Berniece’s and Boy Willie’s great-grandmother. Along with her son, Papa Boy Charles, she was traded to Joel Nolander in exchange for Ophelia Sutter’s piano. Mama Berniece’s spirit is among those called upon by Berniece for help.
Papa Boy Willie
Papa Boy Willie was Berniece’s and Boy Willie’s great-grandmother, husband of Mama Berniece, and father of Papa Boy Charles. A talented woodworker, Papa Boy Willie carved his wife’s and son’s images onto Ophelia Sutter’s piano after being forcibly separated from his loved ones.
Papa Boy Charles
Papa Boy Charles was Berniece’s and Boy Willie’s grandfather, Mama Berniece’s and Papa Boy Willie’s son. Along with his mother, Mama Berniece, he was traded to Joel Nolander in exchange for Ophelia Sutter’s piano.
Robert Sutter
Robert Sutter was Sutter’s grandfather. He was the ancestor who owned the Charles family as slaves and agreed to trade Mama Berniece and Papa Boy Charles for the piano as a gift for his wife, Ophelia.
Coreen
Coreen is Doaker’s ex-wife who now lives in New York. Doaker claims that he never thinks about her anymore.