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James Baldwin and Black Womenʼs Fiction -DPHV%DOGZLQDQG%ODFN:RPHQ૷V)LFWLRQ &RXUWQH\7KRUVVRQ African American Review, Volume 46, Number 4, Winter 2013, pp. 615-631 (Article) 3XEOLVKHGE\-RKQV+RSNLQV8QLYHUVLW\3UHVV For additional information about this article http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/afa/summary/v046/46.4.thorsson.html Access provided by University of Oregon (4 Apr 2016 15:47 GMT) Thorsson_Thorsson 7/23/2014 4:40 PM Page 615 Courtney Thorsson James Baldwin and Black Women’s Fiction fricanAmericanwomennovelistsofrecentdecadesrecognizeJamesBaldwin Aasacrucialinfluence.AliceWalkerwritesthatafterencountering abookrackcompletelyfilledwithcopiesof Another Country in1963....Baldwin’sworld becamemyprivacy...heprovedseveralthingstomethatI needed tobeproved;thatbeing blackaddedtreasuretothealreadyrichartofwritingwell;thattobevulnerablewithone’s selfisagiftothersdesperatelyneed;andthatitwasindeedpossibletobeblack,awriter, andsomeonewhocouldmakealivingbeingboth.(“Typescript”) Manywomenwritersrecollectexperiencingsimilarlyintimateconnectionsupon readingBaldwin’swords.ReflectionsonBaldwinaroundthetimeofhisdeathare particularlythickwithcelebrationsofhisworkandlife.ToniCadeBambara,Paule Marshall,MayaAngelou,andSoniaSanchezparticipatedinthefinalcelebrationof Baldwin’slife(Smith77).HisfuneralprogramlistsMarshall,VertamaeGrosvenor, RosaGuy,andLouiseMeriwetheramonghis“honorarypallbearers.”Inhereulogyfor Baldwin,ToniMorrisonsays,“Yougavemealanguagetodwellin,agiftsoperfectit seemsmyowninvention....Youwentintothatforbiddenterritoryanddecolonized it...un-gateditforblackpeoplesothatinyourwakewecouldenterit,occupyit, restructureitinordertoaccommodateourcomplicatedpassion”(“Life”76). ThereisnoquestionthatBaldwinmeanssomethingimportanttocontemporary blackwomenwriters.Iaminterestedhereinhowhisinfluenceshapestheirliterary strategiesforwritingaboutsame-sexdesireamongwomen.Thislegacydemands thatwegrapplewithtwoapparentdissonancesbetweenBaldwin’sfictionandthat ofhisfemaledescendants.First,authorsincludingGaylJones,GloriaNaylor,and MorrisonevokeBaldwinasatouchstonefortheirdepictionsofcharactersandrela - tionships,whichissurprisingbecauseBaldwingenerallyportrayswomeninless nuancedtermsthanmen. 1 Second,Baldwiniscelebratedasaqueerorgaywriter, butsomewhoclaimhimasaliteraryancestorofferdeeplytroublingdepictionsof same-sexfemaledesire,fromCatandJeffyinJones’s Corregidora (1975)to“TheTwo” inNaylor’s The Women of Brewster Place (1980),orfailtodepictlesbiansamongother - wisewildlyvariedwomen,asinMorrison’snovels.Jones,Naylor,andMorrison inheritBaldwin’susesofmusic,hisstrugglewithtermsforidentity,andhiscareful effortstodepictloveandsex.UnlikeBaldwin,theyusetheseliterarystrategiesto struggletowardwhatMichaelAwkwardcalls“redemptivepossibilitiesoffemale coalescence”(98).Awkward’s“coalescence”involvesa“femaleunity”ofbotha femalecharacter’sprivateandpublicselvesandhercommunityofwomen(98). Coalescencehelpsusunderstandcontemporaryblackwomen’snovelsbecausethis notionofagroupofwomenworkingforsocialchangeisalwaysagoal,alwaysin process,andrarelysustainable. 2 Thesimultaneityof“redemptivepossibilities”ontheonehandandtheconstant threatthatsuchacommunitywilldissolveontheothermakescoalescenceespecially usefulfordescribinghowcontemporaryblackwomennovelistsdepictsame-sex relationships,sexualornot.Awkwarddoesnotuse“femalecoalescence”to describelesbianrelationships,buthistermforwomen’salliancesprovesusefulin understandingtherepresentationoflesbiansincontemporaryblackwomen’snovels. African American Review 46.4 (Winter 2013): 615-631 © 2014 Johns Hopkins University Press and Saint Louis University 615 Thorsson_Thorsson 7/23/2014 4:40 PM Page 616 Theseparticularfemalealliancesbothofferthepossibilityofsocialchangeandmake failuresofcommunityvisible.Baldwinshowscharactersworkingoutindividual identityinrelationshipsthatarefrequentlyinterracialandoftenamongmen.Later womenwriters useBaldwin’slanguageandnarrativestrategiestodepictcommunal identityinintra racialrelationships,oftenamongwomen.WhiletheNewYorkand ParisofBaldwin’s Another Country aremultiracial,Jones’s Corregidora ,Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place , andMorrison’s Love (2003)takeplaceinexclusivelyblack communities.Indiscussing thesefournovels,Iwillexplorehowwomenauthors seizeonBaldwin’slanguagetodepictafemalecoalescencethatcreates,defines,and alsolimitscommunity.Communityinthesewomen’snovelssucceedsorfailsalmost directlyaccordingtoitsabilitytomakeroomforromanticrelationshipsamong women. Awordaboutmyuseof Another Country ratherthan Giovanni’s Room (1956)isin orderhere.AlthoughthematicconcernsconnectallofBaldwin’snovelswithcontem - por ary AfricanAmericanwomen’swriting,Iexplorefourparticularnovelsinthis essaybecauseoftheirformalaswellasthematicties.Forexample,bothBaldwin’s Giovanni’s Room andNaylor’s Linden Hills (1985)showthedangerandimpossibility ofagaymanattemptingtostructurehislifearoundheterosexualmarriage,butI ammoreinterestedinthemultiplepointsofviewfromanensemblecastthatappear inboth Another Country and The Women of Brewster Place .While Giovanni’s Room employsawhite,first-personnarrator,noneofthenovelsItreatinthisessayrely onasinglevoiceandallofthemfocusexclusivelyonAfricanAmericancharacters. Even Corregidora ,toldinthefirstperson,makesroomonthepageforpastgenera - tionsofwomentotelltheirownstories.While Giovanni’s Room isexplicitlyabouta gayprotagonistfailingtocometotermswithhissexuality,both Another Country and Morrison’s Love areinterestedincomplexfriendshipsthatsometimeshaveasexual valence(acharactercouldcomeoutoftheclosetin Giovanni’s Room ,butcoming outwouldmakenosenseinthecontextof Another Country or Love ).Troubledand productivefriendships,polyvocality,andmultiplepointsofviewaredefinitionalfor AfricanAmericanwomen’snovels,particularlyinthelastfewdecadesofthetwentieth century.ItracesomeofthesestrategiesbacktoBaldwinaspartofmyinvestigation intohisliterarylegacyofdepictingsame-sexdesire. SohowdidBaldwin’slegacybecomeoneofmakinglittle,no,ordeeplyprob - lematicroomforsame-sexdesireinwomen’scommunities?Toanswerthatquestion, IwilldiscussBaldwin’sfictionusing Another Country andattempttograpplewithhis legacyinnovelsbyJones,Naylor,andMorrison.ThestakesofBaldwin’s Another Country aresurvival;thetitleconjuresupanalternativeworldwherethejazzmusician Rufuscouldhavelivedratherthankillinghimself.Blackwomennovelistsarealso concernedwiththedifficultyoffindingroominacommunityforallwould-be members,butinthecontextofblackwomen’scommunities: Corregidora banishesthe lesbiancharactersfromitspages,Naylor’sneighborhoodin Brewster Place includes lesbiansbutdoesn’tletthemsurviveandMorrison’s Paradise (1998), Love ,and A Mercy (2008) depictfemalehouseholdsinwhichtherearenoclearlyeroticrelationships. TheseauthorsuseBaldwin’slayeredcharacterizationoflove,butremakeittodepict femalecoalescenceastheessentialelementdeterminingwhetherblackcommunities thriveorfracture.JonestakesupBaldwin’susesofmusictoconveysexualidentity. NaylorexploreswhatBaldwincalls“thedisastrouslyexplicitmediumoflanguage” (“AutobiographicalNotes”7-8)toextendhisvisionoflovetoincludefemalecom - munity.Morrison,themostvocalofthesethreeauthorsaboutBaldwin’sinfluence onherwriting,createsnocharacterswhomwemighteasilyidentifyaslesbians.This tooisaninheritancefromBaldwin,butoneMorrisonremakestoemphasizebonds amongwomen. 616 AFRICAN AMERICAN REVIEW Thorsson_Thorsson 7/23/2014 4:40 PM Page 617 Another Country nother Country offersseveralfictionaltacticsthatbecameimportanttoAfrican AAmericanswritinginhiswake.Thenovelusescomplexcharacterization,music, andanabsenceoftermssuchas“black,”“white,”“gay,”and“straight”toresistfixed notionsofidentity. Another Country bridgeswhatEveSedgwickcalls“theradically discontinuousrelationofmalehomosocialandhomosexualbonds”(5)toopenup awiderrangeofrelationships.ForbothSedgwickandBaldwinthisenterpriseis aboutrelationshipsamongmen.Wefindnosexualrelationshipsamongwomenin Baldwin’sfiction.AsTrudierHarrisnotes,“Aslovers,Baldwin’swomenarealways engagedinheterosexualaffairs;lesbianismasaconceptdoesnotsurfaceinhis books”(8). 3 Scholarsof Another Country understandablyfollowBaldwin’sleadand equatethequeerandthegayalmostexclusivelywithmen. 4 Invarioussexual encounters, Another Country assertsthatsexwithwomenendangersmasculinity, whilesexbetweenmenoffersthepowertorestorecomplexmasculinitytotwo malebodies.Heterosexualrelationships,regardlessofrace,areneverspacesof possibilityinthenovel:IdaandVivaldobetrayandresentoneanother,Rufusrapes Leonathefirsttimetheymeet,andCassandRichardlivetheirdaysinapainfuland tensemarriage. ForBaldwin,concretetermsforidentitymakeself-definitionimpossible.Labels suchas“gay”and“straight”comewithculturallyconstructedsetsofideas.This meansthatthetermshavebeensetbeforethesubjecthastheopportunitytodevelop heridentity. Another Country rejectssomeofthesetermstointerrogatemasculinity, aprescientstrategyintheeraofcivilrightsandjustbeforetheriseofBlackPower— twomovementswhosegenderpoliticswouldsoonfaceextensivecriticism.Baldwin asserts,“We’retrappedinlanguage,ofcourse.Buthomosexualisnotanoun.At leastnotinmybook....Perhapsaverb.Yousee,Icanonlytalkaboutmyownlife. Ilovedafewpeopleandtheylovedme.Ithadnothingtodowiththeselabels” (Goldstein183-84).Thereisfreedominlivingas“averb,”ratherthanbeing“trapped” asa“noun.”Inthissense,Baldwin’svisionofsexualityisqueer;hedisruptsand destabilizesidentityinthemodeofqueerstudies.WhilewemustvalueBaldwin’s resistanceto“labels,”wemustalsorecognizehisrefusaltousesuchtermsasan impedimenttopoliticalaction(ifonedoesnot,forexample,believethereissucha thingasbeinggay,onecannotactforgaycivilrights).PhillipBrianHarperdescribes thisdifficultywithlanguage:“itispreciselytheindeterminatecharacterofqueer
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