Summary

The second chapter of The Devil and Webster, titled “The Tenant of Radclyffe Hall,” introduces the reader to Hannah Rosalind Roth, Naomi’s daughter. Hannah is a sophomore and student activist at Webster, having applied only to Webster, a decision that pleased but confused Naomi. The mother and daughter traditionally meet every Sunday for a vegetarian dinner—vegetarian due to Hannah’s insistence, despite Naomi’s objections—and Naomi decides to make borscht, a root vegetable-based dish, which causes Naomi to consider how Hannah is “the root of [Naomi’s] life” (27). The reader learns that Hannah is physically very different than Naomi, taking after the father whom Naomi refuses to mention. Naomi and Hannah talk about Radclyffe Hall, where Hannah lives, and Naomi remembers that Neil Jones-Givens, after having vacated the dorm ten years before, had...