Ava's Man

Bragg details how many people in his family followed the traditions and superstitions of the previous generations. One of these traditions was that after a baby was born, the parents would allow a trusted friend or family member to walk the baby around:

[O]ur kin believed that the baby would inherit all that person’s goodness, all their finer nature, all the luck, love and talent in them. It did not mean that the baby would not take after their momma and daddy, but that it would have a little something extra from their kin (117).

However, once Bragg’s mother, Margaret, is born, Charlie breaks this tradition and walks her around himself:

Margaret was the alter ego of Juanita. She was more timid. She was not a fighter. The fair-skinned little girl with that white-blond hair believed that no matter how mean a person was, they would stop if she was just patient enough. […] She fought back only when she was cornered, when there was no way out, and then she clawed and kicked (119).

When Margaret is 3 years old, she is wearing a new dress made from a feed sack, when it catches on fire:

Edna and Ava heard her screams and come running, and caught her just as she breached the door.