The Bean Trees

Taylor learns that her mother plans to marry a man named Harland Elleston. She complains to Lou Ann as they sit in Roosevelt Park, often derided by local kids as “Dog Doo Park” because of its sparse vegetation and ugliness. Lou Ann accuses Taylor of disliking all men and not being understanding about why woman want relationships. Taylor admits that she likes Estevan, although he’s already married. They go to pick up Dwayne Ray and Turtle from Edna Poppy and Virgie Parsons’s house. Lou Ann admits that if Angel wanted to get back together, she would take him back.

Later, Taylor sees Estevan waiting at the bus stop and apologizes to him about the rude comments Edna and Mrs. Parson made about immigrants being drug dealers. Their comments still upset her. Estevan points out that US citizens think this way as a form of self-protection, assuming that when terrible things happen to someone, they must have deserved it. Later, after noticing a doctor visiting some of the migrants who stay with Mattie, Taylor learns that many of them have cigarette burns on their backs or exhibit other signs of torture and abuse.

Taylor takes Turtle to the doctor for a checkup, claiming to be her foster parent. The doctor initially thinks that Turtle is two years old, but X-rays reveal that she has had many broken bones, and physical abuse has stunted her growth—a condition known as failure to thrive. Horrified and upset by this, Taylor watches a bird outside making a nest in the dangerous side of a cactus.

After the doctor visit, Taylor meets Lou Ann at the zoo. Lou Ann is crying because Angel plans to leave town and rejoin the rodeo. Lou Ann feels that Taylor isn’t taking her side, but Taylor explains that if she does and Lou Ann later decides to get back together with Angel, she wouldn’t want their friendship to become awkward because Taylor previously derided him. As they talk, they notice that Turtle looks up every time they say “April,” and Lou Ann speculates that this was her given name. The giant tortoises at the zoo begin to mate, and many people leave or look away. Lou Ann and Taylor begin to laugh.

Esperanza attempts to die by suicide, consuming a whole bottle of baby aspirin. While Mattie takes her to the hospital, Estevan comes over to stay with Taylor. Lou Ann is away visiting her mother-in-law, who doesn’t believe in divorce because of her Catholic faith and thus still considers Lou Ann and Angel married.

Taylor recounts the story of a student at her high school named Scotty who was very intelligent but died by suicide at age 16 because he didn’t fit into any established group. Taylor was one of the poor farm kids, called the “Nutters,” who had each other as friends despite their low social status. She doesn’t understand why Esperanza would attempt to die by suicide, because she has Estevan.

Estevan explains that back in Guatemala, he was part of a teacher’s union that defied the dictatorship. Many of his colleagues were killed or electrically tortured for speaking out against the government. Because he and Esperanza knew the names of 17 other people involved in the union, the government took their daughter, Ismene. In Guatemala, children are sometimes taken as hostages and often given to government officials’ families to be raised. Estevan and Esperanza decided to lose their daughter in order to protect the 17 other union members before fleeing to the US.

Taylor begins to cry, realizing that while she thought her life was hard, other people experience much worse. The things she feared most, motherhood and tires, have turned out to be the best parts of her life in Tucson.

Turtle hears her crying and comes out of her bedroom, looking like she did on the first night that Taylor saw her. Taylor hugs her and lets her fall asleep in her arms again. Estevan asks Taylor what “Nutters” meant, and she reveals it referred to how the poor farmers, in order to afford new clothes, had to sell walnuts, which stained their hands black. Estevan falls asleep on the couch. Despite her crush on him, Taylor has more empathy for Esperanza now and goes to sleep in her own room.

The next morning, Mattie calls to tell them that Esperanza is okay and will come home from the hospital without needing to have her stomach pumped. Lou Ann returns from the Ruiz family’s reunion happy, having realized that Angel’s family is much nicer than he is. Many of them are planning to move to California, but Lou Ann can’t because she’s afraid of an earthquake destroying the coast. Lou Ann and Taylor’s house is becoming increasingly full of baby things, filling the gaps left by Angel’s possessions. They turn the screen porch into a playroom for the children, and Turtle notices seed pods growing on the wisteria vines, calling them “bean trees” (193).

Lou Ann begins hunting for a job and goes to an interview while Taylor visits Lee Sing’s market. She runs into Edna Poppy there, shopping by herself since Virgie Parsons is sick. Edna asks Taylor to help her determine if she has picked up limes or lemons, and Taylor belatedly realizes that Edna is blind. She tells this to Lou Ann, who feels guilty for often asking Edna to “watch” or “keep an eye” on the kids. Taylor suggests that Edna has her own ways of seeing the world, like her hands or her friend Virgie Parsons.

Taylor goes to visit Esperanza at Mattie’s house. She notices that Mattie keeps a lot of mementos of her late husband upstairs, as well as photos given to her by refugees of their lives and of the conflicts they have experienced. Esperanza doesn’t speak to her but seems to understand her words. Taylor tells her that she should live up to her name, which means “to hope” or “to wait” in Spanish, and tells her that she knows about Ismene and feels compassion for her situation. Esperanza still seems unable to overcome her despair.

As Taylor leaves the tire shop, she sees Lou Ann returning from her job interview. Lou Ann describes how the interviewer was a creep who told her that the business often experiences armed robbery attempts and belittled her for her gender. They discuss their shared distaste for the nearby strip club, Fanny Heaven, and its door, which depicts a woman with the door handle placed over her genitalia. Taylor encourages Lou Ann to feel angry rather than humiliated when she sees this evidence of cultural misogyny.