Levee and Dussie Mae

This thread follows Levee Green’s flirtation with Dussie Mae, whose guarded interest and connection to Ma Rainey make his pursuit both tempting and dangerous.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Clubside Opening

A First Approach Levee’s interest The band recalls that Levee tried to talk to a woman Ma had brought to the club. She rejected him, saying he would need to turn his money green before he could approach her successfully. A motive for display Levee’s new shoes are linked to his attempt to make an impression. The conversation establishes his habit of treating money, clothing, and charm as tools for winning attention, while also showing that Dussie Mae’s interest cannot simply be assumed.

A Private Audience

Promises of a Band A pitch for the future Dussie Mae comes into the band room and sees Levee’s music. He tells her that he can write songs, that Sturdyvant has heard them, and that he expects to form his own group, Levee Green and his Footstompers. A promise of generosity Levee presents himself as a man who can provide gifts and a good time. Dussie Mae answers that she wants someone who actually brings something to her rather than merely promising it, making clear that his future plans have not yet earned her trust.

A Conditional Invitation

Desire with Conditions Dussie Mae sets terms Levee moves closer and says he will show Dussie Mae how he treats a woman. She moves away and tells him not to paw at her, adding that they might reconsider matters if he gets his own band. Ambition as courtship Her response does not amount to a promise, but Levee treats the possibility as encouragement. The exchange ties his romantic pursuit to his professional ambition: in his telling, becoming a bandleader will make him more desirable and give him access to the life he wants.

A Hidden Kiss

Secrecy in the Basement The encounter deepens Levee presses his flirtation further and Dussie Mae warns that someone may come in. Despite her caution, they kiss while the band is elsewhere and the studio session is delayed. A relationship under watch Slow Drag briefly enters and the pair separate. He says he has come to warm up with a drink, but his arrival reminds them that the room is shared and that their intimacy may be observed. Their secrecy also makes the situation precarious because Dussie Mae is closely associated with Ma.

The Warning Unheeded

Risk Becomes Visible The band’s caution Cutler and Slow Drag warn Levee that Dussie Mae is Ma’s woman and that continuing to pursue her could cost him his place in the band. Levee denies that he has done anything wrong and insists that asking her name is harmless. A choice to disregard consequences Levee refuses the warning, claiming that nothing will happen to him and that he needs no one to advise him. The thread does not end with a visible confrontation between him and Ma over Dussie Mae, but the exchange makes his appetite for risk part of the growing pattern of conflict around him.

The night before the recording session

During the afternoon rehearsal break, after Ma and Sylvester leave the band room

A moment later, during their conversation in the band room

Later that afternoon, while the band waits for Ma’s Coca-Cola

During the band’s break after the first recording attempt fails