Section 4 Summary

This section begins by placing the preceding events into the timeline of the past and declaring Mrs. Ellsworth triumphant in her struggle to remove Oceola from Harlem. She moved the girl into the Village, where she met several of Mrs. Ellsworth's other protegee. With her cleared schedule, Oceola spent her days practicing the piano, playing small concerts for her patron's guest audiences, attending concerts, and reading about her art. Oceola did not, however, stop playing for house parties in her old Harlem neighborhood.

Oceola's love for jazz won out over Mrs. Ellsworth's disapproval. The benefactor was not able to appreciate jazz; she found it undignified and inappropriate. She removed Oceola from the city entirely in an attempt to cleanse her of her improvisational tendencies. She brought Oceola to the Berkshires, where they shared a bed in a very popular resort. Mrs. Ellsworth enjoyed...