In West Mills

Otis Lee Loving is Knot’s neighbor who, as his last name suggests, becomes her most devoted friend. Physically, Otis Lee is short and neither attractive to nor attracted by Knot, who prefers tall men. He tends to think of her as a sister. A man of strong convictions, Otis Lee is quick to offer advice and direction to others, which can make him seem bossy, but he also backs his words with action. These same qualities also make him somewhat judgmental and prone to hold grudges, as he does against Essie until he comes to understand her past. His traditional, religiously-influenced views on family life also lead him to push Knot towards a traditional family life and to distance himself from Valley since he is gay. His own family life is a generally happy one, with Otis Lee remaining consistent in his love for Pep, his wife. Professionally, Otis Lee is a manual laborer at Pennington Farm, where he works from 1927 until his retirement. He shows little interest in learning to read or pursuing intellectual pursuits, preferring simpler pleasures.

Otis Lee does not undergo a radical transformation in the narrative. He does, however, learn to deal with emotional baggage from his past. Growing up thinking that his mother is his sister and that she betrayed his family, he only comes to the truth late in life. Seeing Knot give birth to two children and then give them away prepares him for the realization that his mother did the same. He also comes to terms with his strong care and concern for Knot, despite some pressure from others including Pep, to let Knot fend for herself. Instead, he solidifies his resolve never to give up on her, even if it means crossing some boundaries into less socially acceptable territory.

Otis Lee’s wife, Pep, is also Knot’s friend, though she is not as close to Knot as Otis Lee is. On occasion, she is more openly critical and resentful towards Knot, whom she sees as trying to shirk her responsibilities while taking Otis Lee’s attention away from her and Breezy. In many ways, Pep is a foil character to Knot. Physically, Pep is heavyset while Knot is thin, and, as a midwife who delivered her own son by herself, Pep has strong views about social and familial responsibility. She interprets Knot’s attempts at secrecy as a ploy to avoid responsibility and tries to make her face the consequences of her actions. She exposes Knot as a mother both to her parents and to her children. This puts her into conflict with her husband, who tries to shield Knot from pain and discomfort. In the end, she comes to regret some but not all of her behavior towards Knot, just as Knot regrets some of hers. This suggests that both could benefit from a more moderate approach.

If Otis Lee is Knot’s most dependable friend, Valley is her closest confidante. A construction worker who meets Knot while working on the schoolhouse, Valley immediately impresses her for the precision with which he performs his work. As a gay man in a socially conservative community, Valley knows what it is like to be judged and excluded by others. As a result, he is open and accepting towards Knot. While such an approach may seem overly lenient, Valley proves to be as much or more of a catalyst for personal change in Knot’s life as Otis Lee does, since Valley’s laidback nature makes the rare occasions when he offers advice even more convincing, as when he suggests that Knot let her daughters do as they choose.

Like several other characters, Valley is not raised by his biological parents. Instead, he is adopted by Otis Lee’s aunt Gertrude, who brings him from New York to West Mills. When she dies, he inherits her house. Though he has various lovers over the years, none of them ever settles with him in West Mills. At least for as much time as he spends there, he becomes part of Knot’s provisional family, and his depth of regard for her is evident in his thoughtful gifts—including a Dickens novel—and his rising to her defense when Guppy insults her in Miss Goldie’s Place.

Pratt is Knot’s main romantic interest. A tall pianist with a limp, Pratt asks Knot to marry him. She likes him but turns down him down because, among other things, “he didn’t have much to talk about” (4). For her, a relationship with Pratt represents the traditional kind of life that her parents and friends urge her to accept. However, it also represents a loss of independence and a risk of disappointment. After she rejects him, Pratt leaves West Mills for more than three decades, serving in the military and getting married in the meantime, but he returns in the mid-1970s when his nieces decide to sell their land. Pratt reconnects with Knot, who slowly lets him back into her life.

Unknown to Pratt, Knot gave birth to his child after he left, but she delays telling him this. When the truth comes out, he is angry that she didn’t tell him sooner, but he happily integrates himself into the life of his daughter, Fran. In the end, though Pratt and Knot’s relationship is more mundane than romantic, their ability to reunite and come together with their daughter as a functional family demonstrates that at least some of Knot’s fears were overstated.