Dussie Mae

Dussie Mae is Ma Rainey’s intimate companion and traveling partner in the recording-session drama. Young and dark-skinned, she enters the studio in a fur jacket and tight-fitting canary-yellow dress, carrying a sensual presence that Levee notices and tries to turn to his advantage. Yet her part is not simply to be looked at: in her exchanges with Ma and Levee, she expresses her own interests, asks questions, and sets limits on physical attention.

Identity and Arrival

Dussie Mae enters with Ma Rainey, the policeman, and Sylvester Brown after Ma’s delayed arrival has already unsettled the studio. Her fur jacket and close-fitting yellow dress make her appearance conspicuous, while the description of sensual energy establishes why Levee will soon approach her. The stage description also places her in Ma’s company from the outset, rather than among the musicians waiting to record.

Her first words inside the studio register that it is unfamiliar territory. She says that the place feels spooky and asks where the band is, explaining that she has never been in a recording studio before. Ma tells her the musicians are rehearsing and that Irvin has gone off with Sturdyvant. Dussie Mae’s questions therefore give the audience a view of the studio as a strange, divided workplace: musicians are elsewhere, business is being conducted out of sight, and Ma is left waiting.

Life with Ma Rainey

Ma attends closely to Dussie Mae’s appearance. She calls her over, tugs at the waist of her dress to assess the fit, and praises it. The gesture is practical and intimate at once: Ma is not merely admiring a look but preparing Dussie Mae for the show’s travel. She promises to take her shopping the next day, explaining that Chicago has clothes unavailable in Memphis, and says that someone traveling with the show needs to look nice. Dussie Mae answers with a concrete concern of her own: she needs more shoes because the pair she has hurts her feet.

Their exchange shows care expressed through clothing, but also places that care within the demands of performance and travel. Ma plans what Dussie Mae will wear and where they will go; Dussie Mae, meanwhile, names the discomfort of her current shoes. The scene makes their connection legible through small acts rather than an explanation of their history. Later, after signing the recording forms, Ma tells Dussie Mae to come along as she leaves, confirming that Dussie Mae remains with her through the session’s business and departure.

The Recording Studio and Its Conflicts

Dussie Mae’s curiosity about the studio contrasts with Ma’s familiarity and wariness. She has never been in such a room; Ma has been recording since childhood and understands the power struggle around the session. In a conversation with Cutler, Ma describes how recording-company representatives want her voice captured on machines while neglecting to treat her as a person. She complains that they will not even buy her a Coca-Cola and says that, after obtaining her voice, they may have no further use for her. Dussie Mae is not identified as a participant in that conversation, but the contrast clarifies the different positions they occupy: the studio is new to her, while Ma recognizes the commercial bargain and insists on her own authority within it.

That authority has practical consequences for the people accompanying Ma. When Irvin reports that Sturdyvant will take twenty-five dollars from Ma’s money and give it to Sylvester Brown, Ma objects that Sylvester should be paid in his own right. She signs the forms, warns that another mistake could lead her to record elsewhere, and then leaves with Dussie Mae. Dussie Mae does not speak in this negotiation, but her presence alongside Ma links the session’s business to the travelling company and to Ma’s personal circle.

Levee’s Advances and Dussie Mae’s Boundaries

Levee treats Dussie Mae as a possible future partner in the life he hopes to build. He promises that, when they reach Memphis, he will take her out and show her that he knows how to treat a woman. When she asks when he will have his own band, he says it will happen as soon as Sturdyvant agrees, adding that he has already chosen musicians. His promise of romance is thus tied to an unrealized professional ambition: the independent band is still conditional on the approval of the recording-company owner.

Dussie Mae does not accept Levee’s advances on the strength of that promise. When he moves closer and tries to put an arm around her, she moves away and tells him she does not like pawing; perhaps they can discuss what he is proposing after he has his own band. The exchange gives her a measure of control over the terms of his approach. Levee answers by boasting about his appeal to women, but his self-description does not change her position.

Later, when Levee tries to kiss her again, Dussie Mae refuses, says she has to go, and warns that he will get her in trouble. She pulls away and exits up the stairs while Levee watches her. The scene ends not with his promised future but with her departure. Across these encounters, Dussie Mae remains distinct from the ambitions men project onto her: she travels with Ma, attends to her own discomfort, and declines Levee’s physical advances unless and until the condition she has named is met.