Leave Taking: Plot Summary (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Leave Taking: Plot Summary

An important step in preparing for your exam is to thoroughly understand the plot of Leave Taking. Once you're familiar with the play, you will feel confident connecting key events to broader themes. Having a deep understanding of the text will boost your confidence in finding relevant references to support your responses.

Below you will find:

• An overview of the play

• A plot summary broken down into sections of the play

Overview

Winsome Pinnock's play, Leave Taking, presents the lives of a Jamaican immigrant family in Britain. Set against the backdrop of the 1980s, the narrative explores identity, cultural heritage, and the generational conflicts that arise for immigrants living in a society that marginalises them.

At the heart of the play are Enid, the matriarchal figure, and her daughters, Delores (Del) and Viv. Together, they wrestle with the emotional and psychological struggles that arise from their experiences as immigrants. The play captures the nuances of their lives and the challenges they face in reconciling their Jamaican roots with the realities of their adopted homeland.

During the play, we see a generational divide between Enid and her daughters. Enid clings to her Jamaican values, but Del and Viv are torn between their cultural heritage and integrating into British society. This tension serves as a catalyst for explorations of identity and belonging. 

Pinnock's play also explores the marginalisation experienced by immigrant communities in Britain. The characters struggle to find acceptance and a sense of belonging in a society that often relegates them to the edges; as such, Leave Taking invites audiences to confront the harsh realities of discrimination and the resilience required to overcome these challenges.

Scene-by-scene plot summary

Scene 1 

• Enid, a Jamaican immigrant living in London, visits Mai, an Obeah woman for a clairvoyant reading:

  • Enid is worried that her daughter, Del, is pregnant

  • Enid is concerned that she is being deceived by her sister, Cynthia, in Jamaica: 

    • Enid suspects that Cynthia may taking money meant for their mother

• There is friction between Del and Enid because of Enid’s suspicions:

  • Del’s sister Viv is the mediator: she tries to stop Del voicing her annoyance

  • Del is fools around and mocks Mai, while Viv tells her to stop 

• Enid leaves, paying Mai despite Mai saying that she “din do nuttin”

• Del tells Mai that this was a “waste of time”; Mai offers to talk, but Del rejects the offer

• Before Del leaves, Mai makes Del return a charm that she had tried to steal

Scene 2

• Enid is preparing the flat for a pastor who is visiting later

• Enid questions Viv, who is studying, about Del's whereabouts, as Del has not been home all night and did not show up for work

• Broderick (Brod), a family friend, arrives to join them for the pastor’s visit; he playfully teases Enid and discusses his identity, and his feelings about Britain and Jamaica

• The audience learns several different things about the characters: 

  • Brod no longer feels British due to mistreatment by the government and racism:

    • He shares the story of Gullyman, a Jamaican man who faced cultural integration struggles and racist abuse, leading to a mental breakdown

• Enid’s foot is damaged because of the manual labour she used to do in Jamaica

• Brod feels as though it is important for the children to know about their heritage

• Del arrives home, leading to a heated argument with Enid about her whereabouts:

  • Del belittles Enid for how she is treated by British people, escalating the argument to the point where Enid slaps Del

  • Del then leaves the flat, followed by Viv

Scene 3

• This scene takes place after the pastor’s visit

• Enid is worried that her daughters’ absence reflected poorly on her

• Viv says that she wants to go to Jamaica to volunteer instead of going to university

• The telephone rings and it is Cynthia, who tells Enid that their mother has died

• The devastated Enid promises to send money for the funeral, and goes out to do so

Scene 4

• The scene opens with Viv finding her grieving mother sitting on the sofa, drinking

• Viv enters and they start to talk about her mother’s childhood and past in Jamaica

• Although Enid is usually depicted as repressing her feelings, in this scene, she expresses how she feels about her mother, Britain and Jamaica

• The audience learns that:

  • She once stole a “pair of stockings” from her uncle’s wife, who was visiting her:

    • Her uncle had emigrated and became wealthy in America

    • Enid was too proud to simply ask for the stockings

  • She wished that she had been able to go to America

  • She feels a strong sense of nostalgia for Jamaica:

    • She reminisces about childhood memories and her mother’s cooking 

  • She has been saving a large sum of money for Viv to go to university 

• At the end of the scene, Enid says that she wants to go back home to Jamaica

Scene 5 

• A few weeks later, Del has moved in with Mai; she is pregnant, as Enid feared

• Viv visits Mai in the hope that Del will come home

• The father of Del’s child has come round to try to find her

• Viv offers the money she has been given for university to Del, who is outraged to find out that Viv has not gone to her English Literature exam:

  • Viv is frustrated by studying literature that does not reflect her reality or culture

• Del pushes Viv out of Mai’s home saying that she should not ruin her chances in life

Scene 6

• Enid visits Mai for a reading; she is worried that she is a bad mother and is anxious about Del as she has not seen her for weeks

• Enid discusses the number of roles she needs to fill for her children: she has to serve as a mother, father and a breadwinner

• After Enid leaves, Del comes into the room and Mai tells her that she should go home

• Del says that Enid hates her; Mai argues that Enid is trying to do what is best for her

• Mai tells Del she must leave by Wednesday

• At the end of the scene, Del goes for a walk

Scene 7

• Brod wakes up in Mai’s bedsit, having been kicked out by Enid

• Viv, who was also evicted by Enid, has gone to stay with a friend

• Brod tells Del that Enid has been depressed since Del left

• Brod tells Del about Viv’s father, explaining that he was originally a loving and hard-working man who was left broken and “empty” by the way he was treated in Britain:

  • He ended up physically abusing Enid, who left him when Del was a baby

• Del is still angry at Enid and does not want to see her mother as a victim

• Del kicks a wall after Brod leaves; Mai thinks that Del may have the gift of the Obeah 

Scene 8

• A few weeks later, Del uses the Obeah equipment to pray for money

• Del has cleaned Mai’s room; they are getting ready for readings

• Del is tested by Mai on her magical skills:

  • She senses that Mai’s heart is failing and tells her to see a doctor

  • Mai already knows this, but refuses to see a doctor

• Mai tells Del that she is good enough to do readings on her own, despite Del’s protests:

  • Mai passes onto Del a handwritten book of spells, and goes out

• Del has her first client, and it is Enid

• Enid reveals that Viv has gone to university to study Black Studies

• Del asks why Enid doesn't like her

• Enid shares her struggles and her sense of fatigue, and explains that she just wanted to prepare Del for the harsh realities of life

• The play ends as Del reads Enid’s palm, just as the mother and daughter seem to be beginning to understand each other more

Source

Pinnock, W. (2018). Leave Taking. NHB Modern Plays.