“Grace thinks of Fiona as that woman. She is from overseas where they have funny ways, like using first names when they don’t even know a person, although of course in Grace’s case she is only the char and so that is her name, which is a pity, for With such a holy name it would be lovely to add a decent title: Miss Grace. As a young girl she used to mouth to herself in the cracked mirror, Miss Grace, and toss her hair, and her mother said, airs and graces, just see it doesn’t all end in disgrace. Imagine, wanting to be called by your first name. Fiona, the woman said the first time, holding out her hand. No, I don’t want to be called Miss McAllister; it takes too long anyway. “

I found it interesting how the relationship and meaning of one’s name are viewed differently amongst these two women. Grace, who has been through hardships, considering the time this was written, sees value in a simple name. It holds a sense of worthiness and acknowledgment on the person. Whereas Fiona, a Scottish woman, sees it as a basic placeholder for the person itself–hits why she thinks Miss McAllister is just a waste of breath. From a psychological perspective, it makes sense for these two women to have different points of view. However, I couldn’t help but make a connection to the last reading of “Black Psychiatrist,” where Gloria, a white lady, actually held deep connections with her “new” name. I would have thought that because both share the same race, they would share the same stance/position regarding ones’ title. But I guess again it is all about one’s history. Gloria had a history she wanted to erase, so her name reflected that Grace had a history of being looked down upon. Hence, she wanted a name that held value, and Fiona had a history where she wanted to reflect simplicity in her name. I personally find names intriguing, so of course, this part of the text really spoke to me.