Seth Holly, the owner of the boarding house, is in his early fifties, and has been married to Bertha for over twenty-five years. The son of a Northern freeman, Seth inherited the house from his father. Seth takes pride in his ability to “take these hands and make something out of nothing” through metalworking, another legacy from his father which supplements his income from the factory (61). As Bertha observes, the only time Seth is truly satisfied is when he is making his pots and pans.

Even though he is a generation removed from the immediate legacy of slavery, Seth clearly suffers the effects of racial discrimination: “White fellow come over and in six months got more than what I got” (11). Although frustrated by injustice, Seth stays focused on the practical. Seth has a strong sense of self and his place in the world, and is seeking a greater degree of independence in the form of a loan to start his own business, which would free him from the white boss who arbitrarily put him on the night shift. However, the only loan he can obtain requires the boarding house as collateral, an offer Seth is too savvy to accept.