Becky, Heather, John Group Blog Post

Gender disparities are a common theme throughout Song of Solomon. These differences characterize the dual struggle between civil rights for men and women’s rights along with it. By examining gender roles in the book we can see the importance Robinson places on not “leaving a body.” We interpret this to mean that men should not leave or forget about the women in their lives as they search to define their role in a society that treats them with violence and discrimination. The differences presented in the book are reflections of the violence and struggle we found throughout our research.

Women’s jobs were to maintain the household, a role that was ascribed to them throughout the 20th century. Women were made out to be “delicate flowers” that needed to be protected from the evils of the working world. The cult of domesticity was a southern ideal that held that a modern woman needed to be “domesticated” and elegant, therefore the only suitable position for her was to be submissive to her husband while maintaining the household. This ideal was most common among southern plantation wives. In the north more women took factory jobs to fill shortages brought on by World War II. These all-women factory jobs were considered a way to foster the ideal woman who would still be expected to conform to the norms of the cult of domesticity. These factories offered forms of education, residence within the factory, and strict schedules that the female workers were expected to follow (Watson 38). This was also seen as a way to get women out of their parents’ house until they were married giving them a trade to help them earn extra money. It was not designed to permanently integrate them into the workforce by any means. In the south, if a woman were to take a job she was expected to be a maid in a household, as seen with Corinthians in Song of Solomon. However, most women were simply expected to make the man of the house’s life easier. Southern women were less likely to find themselves in factory work at all as they held onto the ideals of the cult of domesticity more strictly than northern women did. The difference between northern and southern women is a nuanced picture in this book. Images of violence help explain more clearly the roles women played during a time when men were making the rules.

Violence is a major theme of Song of Solomon. Throughout all of America’s history, violence has played a major role in everyday society. This was especially present during the riots that occurred between the 1940’s – 1960’s. Most of these riots occurred because of race and civil rights. Another part of these riots, and all other violence during this time, was who partook in all of these violent acts. “The typical rioter was a young black male,” (Graham 16). Usually the only time women were involved in violent acts during this time was when they committed a non-violent crime such as larceny, or when they were the victim to rape or some sort of sexual harassment. In The Detroit Rioters of 1943: A Reinterpretation, they took a sample of the people who were arrested in the riots to get an idea of what kind of people were involved in these riots. Of the 246 people that they analyzed, almost 88% were African-American, and 95% of them were males (Wilkerson 57). This sample of the people who were involved is very accurate, as blacks were trying to work for their civil rights during this period. Males throughout history have always been seen as more violent, and this sample proves this point. Throughout Song of Solomon violence is seen time and time again, and it can be seen throughout this book the difference in who partakes in these violent events. Every person who is involved in the seven days is a male, and along with this, the only people who partake in the hunt of the bobcat are males. Women’s roles were is essence never defined by them but rather resulted due to the absence of men due to greater world conflicts.

When their husbands went off to fight in World War II, it was necessary for many women to replace them in their jobs. During this time, there was also a huge increase in women working as nurses. After the war, most women stopped working and went back to their roles as housewives, raising children and keeping house. It was the social norm of married women to worry only about their duties in the home, and some employers even prohibited the hiring of married women. Many women did not even want to have a job because it was too difficult to have a job and maintain their job at home. However, some women were motivated by the past decades’ economic turmoil to keep or get a job. Working women held traditionally-female jobs such as secretaries, teachers, in retail, and mostly nurses. Female nurses in the 1950s (primarily white and not married) encouraged other women to work, especially those who had previously worked as nurses. Since there was a need for nurses, employers stopped prohibiting the hiring of married women, and part-time work was introduced into American society. Married mothers were now more open to the idea of working if it meant they could work while their children were in school. This was a major factor in the increase in women’s employment in the 1950s.

Our research shows that American women, especially African American women, had little to no say in their lives. It was common place for many women to feel left behind as their husbands, father, or brothers were allowed to go out into the world and make something of themselves. Women were thought of as pieces of furniture within the household, having no other use outside of that setting. Robinson addresses these ideas through her use of female characters in Song of Solomon. Robinson explicitly addresses this idea during Lena’s long speech in which she chastises Milkman for thinking he has any right to dictate the course of her life.




Faue, Elizabeth. Community of Suffering & Struggle: Women, Men, and the Labor Movement in Minneapolis, 1915-1945. Gender & American culture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991. Print.
Graham, Hugh Davis. The Public Historian. University of California Press, 1980.

Irons, Charles F. The Cult of Domesticity, Southern Style. Reviews in American History 38.2 (2010): 253-258. Project MUSE. Madison, WI. 18 Aug. 2010 < http://muse.jhu.edu/>.

Watson, JH. Cult of Domesticity and the Lifestyle of Victorian American-women. Nineteenth Century, 7.4 (1982): 37-39.

Wilkerson, Martha, and Dominic J. Capeci Jr. The Detroit Rioters of 1943: A Reinterpretation. Michigan Historical Review. Central Michigan University, 1990.

Tony Morrison’s Song of Solomon reiterates the concept of violence throughout the novel. The reader witnesses violence as force that is motivated by a myriad of emotions, ranging from love to a rudimentary desire for balance and equity, as expressed by Guitar’s actions involving the Seven Days. These actions are those somewhat paralleled by real-world events, but can be seen most apparently in White mob violence and Black retaliation.

In addition to the historical significance of racial violence, one can observe equally intriguing (and admittedly horrifying) philosophical connotations that stem from racial tension. While it is indisputable that the majority of race related violence is a result of bigotry and ignorance, the underlying motivations for these acts of violence echo philosophical musings concerning social dynamics. When viewed in terms of Hobbesian theory, racial violence assumes an interesting role as a form of “extra-legal justice” (Austin 162), acting as a means of social control implemented by a racial majority. If one considers post-Reconstruction lynching, for example, it is clear that these instances of violence were, in part, motivated by a desire to subjugate African Americans and restrict their movement. These actions are conspicuous, tangible representations of Hobbes’ conception of human nature as a struggle for dominance. In the same manner that displays of violent dominance are used as a means of subjugation, one must also consider their role as a means of liberation. Retaliatory violence can thus be seen as the corollary to racial violence – a response that is reminiscent of the Seven Days organization in Morrison’s novel.

Among the frequent reasons that have been cited by African Americans as motivation for violent action, the reason of self-defense is relatively common. In history, African American communities were constantly put under the threat of racial violence. One threat that African Americans faced is lynching, an extrajudicial execution carried out by mobs in most cases due to racial prejudices. As a result, African Americans tried to resist and protect their families, often fleeing in order to avoid confrontation with White mobs, which could result in deaths of their friends or relatives who might be targeted by lynching. In most cases they were caught by the mob while trying to escape. Due to their lack of social and legal influence, they did not have many choices but to fight back fiercely to protect themselves. In another case, in Little Italy, Cleveland, Ohio an African American fatally shot a White American because of the fear of being attacked. This event happened shortly after the Hough Riot, which killed four African Americans and critically injured another thirty. After this event, African American men in the community met and established and armed guard force to cruise around during the night to protect the community and they were all highly alerted about the possibility of being attacked by Whites.

Black response to white mob violence was a very controversial topic even into the mid-1900s. Many cases where violence was used, ended in the prosecution of a member of the Black community, often with denial of any legal action afterwards. In the case of Rosa Lee Ingram, who claimed to be the victim of unwanted sexual advances from a white man, her retelling of the incident was completely ignored. Upon denying his advances, the man drew his gun; at which point her sons attacked the man to defend their mother. The sons were tried and convicted of murder, and were eventually given the sentence of life in prison, though they received parole in 1959. Events such as this tie heavily into Song of Solomon, as the text outlines situations where Whites who committed heinous, unjustifiable crimes (such as the murder of Macon Dead) go unpunished, contrasting with the real world where perfectly justifiable Black defense to White violence is, with no contemplation, sentenced heavily. In the case of Jim Robinson, police raided his church due to accusations that he preached hoodoo and held “wild orgies”. During the raid, a struggle occurred in defense of Robison between two Black men and a White police officer, ending with the officer being shot and killed. In response, the two men were executed, and though he escaped the event, Robinson was later caught and killed as well. Events such as this show the horrid and violent crimes of Whites being ignored in spite of the fact that Blacks took action in self-defense.

Racial violence depicted in Tony Morrison’s Song of Solomon roots from racial tension and reveals philosophical connotations of desire to impose control on African Americans using extrajudicial systems. The violence, which results in the self-defense efforts of African Americans, ultimately evolved into retaliation from African Americans. These preemptive “self-defense” actions from African American unknowingly gave sympathy to White crimes against Blacks in the same period. To make sure this issue won’t be repeated in the future, an effective legal system must be enforced to protect African Americans and the government should support the Black community to establish their social position.

References:

Austin, A. "Race and Lethal Forms of Social Control: A Preliminary Investigation into Execution and Self-help in the United States, 1930-1964." Crime Law and Social Change, 45.2 (2006): 155-164.

Hill, Karlos. "Resisting Lynching: Black Grassroots Responses to Lynching in the Mississippi and Arkansas Deltas, 1882-1938." Www.ideals.illinois.edu. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

Race, Violence, and Urban Territoriality : Cleveland's Little Italy and the 1966 Hough Uprising, Todd M. Michney, Journal of Urban History 2006 32: 404

Shapiro, Herbert. White Violence and Black Response: from Reconstruction to Montgomery. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 1988. Books.google.com. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

Katrina, Ryan S. Ryan W. Research Paper

Racism is a central theme in Song of Solomon. The novel takes place in Michigan in the 1930s and understanding the historical context surrounding the novel is critical for understanding the meaning of the story. Michigan has been the center of much turmoil from racism in our nation’s history. Michigan was home to many important figures in black civil rights history such as Ralph Bunche, Fannie Richards, and William Ferguson, and was also the location of the Detroit Riots (Absolute Michigan). According to The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality if Postwar Detroit, by Thomas Sugrue, “The problems of limited housing, racial animosity, and reduced economic opportunity for a segment of the black population in Detroit had led to embitterment,” (260-261). During the early twentieth century, times were difficult for black Americans. The unemployment rate was high, housing opportunities were scarce, and discrimination was high (Sugrue 260-264). Housing conditions were so bad, in fact, that according to Andrew Wiese in Places of Their Own: African American Suburbanization in the Twentieth Century, “Racist application of [land use] regulations closed the door on development for blacks, and the enforcement of sanitary regulations led to the demolition of existing housing,” (97). The Detroit riots also shaped the civil rights landscape of Michigan. The violent riots demonstrated that the discrimination against black population was still great and that these people were growing increasingly discontent (Sugrue 260).

During the 1920’s, Michigan saw a substantial increase in African American population due to the industrial labor movement as a result of Henry Ford’s factories. Along with this migration came an increase in racial violence against African Americans. In 1910, Detroit’s black population was 5,700(1.2%) and reached 81,000(5.9%) by 1925 (Widick 25). Through these years, blacks gained power and black professionals began to leave the ‘Black Bottom’ slums. However, out of fear that a black population would bring down property values, there was frequent violence against these new residents (Boyle 109). The extent of this violence discouraged many blacks from ever leaving the slums, out of fear for their family’s safety. Along with the African American migrants came poor southern whites looking to work in the factories. This created an uneasy environment comparable to that of the south, which attracted Ku Klux Klan activity in the north (Widick 27). During the Great Depression, great numbers of blue-collar workers in Michigan lost jobs. This loss increased job discrimination against blacks as white employers laid off blacks first and hired them back last. The unemployment among Detroit blacks reached 80%(Widick 44). During subsequent black marches demanding employment, police brutality against blacks was common. In some cases, the police fired hundred’s of shots at demonstrators at point-blank range (Widick 49). By the 1930’s, racial violence was commonplace in Michigan due to racism, desire for segregation, and class inequalities.

One of the major themes in the novel Song of Solomon is music. In the book, Toni Morrison used music as an expression of trauma. This can be compared to something known as the “talking cure”, a term first noted by Anna O, a hysteric suffering from trauma. According to the notes recorded by Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer, Anna started off experiencing delusions and hallucinations and by the end of the day, was able to understand what was going on and give a vivid description of her trauma (Vivis 256). The music in the Song of Solomon and other works by Morrison often describe some trauma. For example, the first time a song is used in the book is when Mr. Smith was preparing to jump off of Mercy Hospital. The song could be said to represent the pain and trauma that Mr. Smith was experiencing.

“It was a genuinely clarifying public notice because it gave Southside residents a way to keep their memories alive and please the city legislators as well. They called it Not Doctor Street, and they were inclined to call the charity hospital at the northern end No Mercy Hospital since it was 1931…before the first colored expectant mother was allowed to give birth inside its wards and not on its steps. The reason for this hospital’s generosity to that particular woman was not the fact that she was the only child of the Negro doctor, for during his entire professional life he had never been granted hospital privileges and only two of his patients were ever admitted to Mercy, both white. It must have been Mr. Smith’s leap from the roof over their heads that made them admit her.”

Now knowing what we do about the historical context of the story regarding violence and racism, and also understanding the historical context of the theme of music, we appreciate better the meaning of this passage in relation to the text. We can now see that a reason for the pregnant woman not being admitted to the hospital was because of the racism and violence that was the relationship between races in Michigan at the time. Mr. Smith’s leap and the music that was sung at the time of this could be an expression of the trauma he has experienced from living in a time surrounded by this discrimination.

Boyle, Kevin. Arc of justice: a saga of race, civil rights, and murder in the Jazz Age. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2004.

“Michigan’s Rich African American Past.” Absolute Michigan. Leelanau Communications Inc., 2010. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. ‌dig/‌michigan/‌michigans-rich-african-american-past/>.

Sugrue, Thomas J. The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit. N.p.: Princeton University Press, 1996. ACLS Humanities E-Book. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. ‌cgi/‌t/‌text/‌text-idx?c=acls;idno=heb00082>.

Visvis, V. "Alternatives to the 'Talking Cure': Black Music as Traumatic Testimony in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon." African American Review, 42.2 (2008): 255-268.

Widick, B. J. Detroit: city of race and class violence. Great Lakes Books, 1972.

Wiese, Andrew. Places of Their Own: African American Suburbanization in the Twentieth Century. N.p.: University of Chicago Press, 2004. Print.

Blog Assignment 2

English 168

10/18/10

Kayla Beckwith

Shane McCauley

Ethan Frost

Blog Number 2

The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance agent promised to fly from Mercy to the other side of lake superiors at three o’clock. Two days before the event was to take place, he tacked a note on the door of his little yellow house.

“At 3:00 P.M. on Wednesday the 18^th of February, 1921 I will take off from Mercy and fly away on my own wings. Please forgive me. I loved you all.”

(Robert Smith. Ins Agent).

The first line of the novel mentions a specific insurance company. We were forced to ask: “Is this a real company?” How is this company important to the message Morrison is trying to convey? As it turns out, the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company is a real company that was started and owned by African Americans and did most of its business with African Americans. This is relevant to the novel because it poses the idea of black business owners/ professionals in a racist/segregated world, and the history of the company itself sheds light on the setting of and characters in the novel. Moreover, NC Mutual’s ideology and mission statement relates closely to the themes and overall message that Morrison is trying to convey.

In 1898, the nation’s largest black insurance company was formed. Its name was North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, and it opened in Durham, North Carolina in 1899.4 The founder, John Merrick, was born into slavery and served as the first president. He was known to mirror Booker T. Washington’s idea of the politics of no politics. Some other presidents include: Asa Spaulding and William J. Kennedy, Jr. and they were represented as Black nationalists.2 Most of the Mutual men within the power structure were upper class or had middle-class craftsman heritage. They were professional, educated, and an advocate of Black Capitalism. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, this company was strictly ran for the African American race and would not employ agents of white people.2 During the first couple of years the company struggled, but by 1921 North Carolina Mutual moved into a six-story office building and had major influences within the black community. It promoted the growth and development of many businesses, including real estate, banking, and publishing. It also influenced decisions within the churches, schools, and civic activities on the local, state, and national levels.1 North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance became the most successful example of a black capitalistic enterprise.4 Not only did the company succeed financially, but also it succeeded in the racial progress distinctive to all black institutions.4 The black people of the south were fighting to improve their economic conditions, but they were also fighting for social and political rights. The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company helped them achieve both.

From its creation, North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance has been a symbol for combating oppression in the black community. By keeping business within the “black community”, NCMLI was thought of as a means for African-Americans to rise up. Flight as a means of escape is a main theme in Song of Solomon, so it is fitting that Morrison chose NCMLI. Their first motto of this company was “Merciful to All” 3 which is ironic since Robert Smith, the insurance agent, jumped off the roof of Mercy Hospital, or as the townspeople referred to it; No Mercy Hospital. Even though Mr. Smith is working for a predominantly black company and has black clients, they all dread his biweekly visits. Furthermore, the company represents the strength of the African American people when they are faced with oppression. NCMLI survived through the Great Depression, segregation, and all sorts of racism and prejudice and grew to be a great company. Likewise, Macon Dead Sr. lived through life as a slave and became a landowner and a successful farmer. Moreover, despite the loss of his parents and poor circumstances Macon Dead Jr. went on to be a successful business owner and contributing member of society, and concurrently works to instill his values and work ethic in his son Milkman.

All in all, Toni Morrison’s reference to NCMLI is an appropriate precursor for the story that she proceeds to tell. The story of the Dead family reflects closely to the history of the company. The setting of the book represents opportunity mixed with difficulty; an emancipated North with cultural tensions and remnants of racism, which is also the condition of NCMLI throughout much of it’s 100 year plus history. And lastly, the NCMLI pride of their history and roots provides an interesting contrast to Milkman’s nebulous family history.

---

1 Akin, Edward. "Black Business in the New South: A Social History of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company." Florida Historical Quarterly, 53.4 (1975): 482-483.

2 Bishop, David. "Black Business in the New South: A Social History of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company." Journal of Negro History, 59.4 (1974): 399-400.

3 North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. .

4 Strickland, Arvarh. "Black Business in the New South: A Social History of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company." Journal of American History, 61.3 (1974): 820-821.

Kayla's "Song of Solomon" post for Oct. 14

“He walked there now-strutted is the better word, for he had a high behind and an athlete’s stride-thinking of names. Surely, he thought, he and his sister had some ancestor, some lithe young man with onyx skin legs as straight as cane stalks, who had a name that was real. A name given to him at birth with love and seriousness. A name that was not a joke, nor a disguise, nor a brand name. But who this lithe young man was, and where his cane-stalk legs carried him from or to, could never be known. No. Nor his name. His own parents in some mood of perverseness or resignation, had agreed to abide by a naming done to them by somebody who couldn’t have cared less. Agreed to take and pass on to all their issues this heavy name scrawled in perfect thoughtlessness by a drunken Yankee in the Union Army. A literal slip of the pen handed to his father on a piece of paper and which he handed on to his only son, and his son likewise handed on to his; Macon Dead who begat a second Macon Dead who married Ruth Foster (Dead) and begat Magdalene called Lena dead and First Corinthians Dead and (when he least expected it) another Macon Dead; now known to the part of the world that mattered as Milkman Dead.”

--Song of Solomon. Page 17-18.

In this passage, Macon Dead is reflecting the meaning behind names. He doesn’t believe that names should be jokes or disguises. Instead, he believes that every name has a deeper meaning behind it. He begins to reflect on how he received his name. He explains this history behind it, and how it has been passed down through multiple generations. He is not overly joyous about having the name “Dead”, but interestingly enough, he continues to pass down the name to his only son, now known as Milkman Dead.

As of right now, Macon Dead doesn’t understand the meaning behind the nickname Milkman. To himself, Macon thinks “Milkman” is a dirty name. Filthy. The interesting part is that Macon Dead did not want to know the details. It didn’t matter to him. He knew that his son would find a way to deal with an unfortunate name (like he had to do himself). Macon Dead is very successful, and made something of his name. He expects his son will do the same.

Questions:

1) What is the deeper meaning behind Macon Dead’s name? Why do you think Macon Dead keeps the name going if he doesn’t like it himself?

2) Do you think he was planning on passing down the name, or is he using it as some sort of punishment or test?

3) What do you think about the nickname Milkman? Do you think he will be teased about it forever? Do people think of him differently because of his name?

4) How much power does something as simple as “a name” give somebody?

Shane's Song for Solomon Post

Hurriedly then she began to set the table. As she unfolded the white linen and let it billow over the fine mahogany table, she would look once more at the large water mark she never set the table or passed through the dining room without looking at it. Like a lighthouse keeper drawn to his window to gaze once again at the sea, or a prisoner automatically searching out the sun as he steps into his yard for his hour of exercise, Ruth looked for the water mark several times during the day. She knew it was there, would always be there, but she needed to confirm its presence. Like the keeper of the lighthouse and the prisoner, she regarded it as a mooring, a checkpoint, some stable visual object that assured her that the world was still there; that this was life and not a dream. That she was alive somewhere, inside, which acknowledged to be true only because a thing she knew intimately was out there, outside herself. p11

In this passage Ruth is trying to cover up the water mark, the one blemish on the table. Although the lives of the Deads appear to be normal, and desirable, there are certain small details that make them not as attractive. At this point in her life Ruth is floating through life and is unhappy. She doesn't communicate with her husband Macon and is treated poorly, and they haven't been intimate in 20 years. The things that she once sought comfort in, her father and breast feeding her son, she now no longer can.

What is the significance of the lighthouse keeper and the prisoner? What do they have in common?

Why does Ruth need to connect with the water spot to keep a hold on reality?

Jake's Housekeeping Post for Oct. 7

They were like the people in old photographs - we did not see them through a veil of knowledge and habit, but simply and plainly, as the were lined or scarred, as they were startled or blank. Like the dead, we could consider their histories complete, and we wondered only what had brought the to transiency, to drifting, since their lives as drifters were like pacings and broodings and skirmishing among ghosts who cannot pay their way across the Styx. However long a postscript to however short a life, it was still no part of a story. (pg. 179)

It seems to me that this passage is Ruth looking into the future if she were to become one of the "transients". She is describing the people that come into Fingerbone. They are unknown and two-dimensional, "old photographs" with no back story. She describes their lives like the pacing, brooding and skirmishing of a ghost unable to cross the Styx, saying that they lived lives of random encounters and reflection, unable to get to where they want to be. If one of them died, their history was complete, and the only questions raised after their death was what had driven them to the life of wandering. But even then the question was irrelevant, Ruth says, "However long a postscript to however short a life, it was still no part of a story", implying that although people may wonder, they didn't really care.

1. What is the importance of the reference to death and the River Styx to the town of Fingerbone?

2. What does this passage reveal about Ruth's feelings towards being a transient?

Paul's Housekeeping Post for Oct. 5

"Lucille would tell this story differently. She would say that I fell asleep, but I did not. I simply let the darkness in the sky become coextensive with the darkness in my skull and bowels and bones. Everything that falls upon the eye is apparition, a sheet dropped over the world's true workings. The nerves and the brain are tricked, and one is left with dreams that these specters loose their hands from ours and walk away, the curve of the back and the swing of the coat so familiar as to imply that they should be permanent fixtures of the world, when in fact nothing is more perishable. Say that my mother was astall as a man, and the she sometimes set me on her shoulders, so that I could splash my hands in the cold leaves above our heads. Say that my grandmother sang in her throat while she sat on her bed and we laced up her big black shoes. Such details are merely accidental. Who could know but us? And since their thoughts are bent upon other ghosts than ours, other darknesses than we had seen, why must we be left, the survivors picking among flotsam, among the small, unnoticed, unvalued clutter that was all that remained when they vanished, that only catastrophe made notable? Darkness is the only solvent. While it was dark, despite Lucille's pacing and whistling, and despite what must have been dreams (since even Sylvie came to haunt me), it seemed to me that there need not be relic, remnant, residue, memento, bequest, memory, thought, track, or trace, if only the darkness could be made perfect and permanent."





--Housekeeping, pg. 116



I read this passage as implying that darkness is a state of being or acceptance that is natural and in tune with the way the world works (as opposed to light, which is a sheet 'dropped over the world's true workings'). We see that darkness is a state of passive, peaceful acceptance by the way Ruth 'simply lets' the darkness outside to join with the natural darkness inside of her body. The fact that darkness is an acceptance of the world's transience is reinforced by way light is described as a trick, that it fools us into believing that everything we see is permanent when, as Ruth has learned (especially with her family) everything changes or fades away. This idea is carried out in several other places in the book, from the way Sylvie (a transient person) continously sits in darkness to the way houses (a symbol of humans trying to create order and permanence) are lit up at night in the darkness. What our author is trying to suggest is that this representation for light is not reality; she presents us with two images of people that have died and ultimately faded from Ruth's life to express this idea. Although Ruth remembers images from her mother and grandmother, ultimately those small details the light revealed to her are not meaningful, much as when Sylvie tried to describe Helen to Ruth using small details she failed to convey any sense of Helen's essence to Ruth. We then hear that "their thoughts were bent upon other ghosts than ours, other darknesses than we had seen", suggesting that loss is universal (Helen lost her father to the lake and Ruth's grandmother lost her husand and her daughter). Ruth asks, if such terrible loss destroyed her mother and grandmother, why should she continuously search through her sorrow, through the 'flotsam' that was all catastrophe left Ruth of Helen and her grandmother. She then suggests that only darkness can act as a 'solvent', something to dissolve away the wreckage, this new state of being that she has entered. While Ruth is in this dark solvent, all of her ghosts, the essences of people she knew or knows (even Sylvie, who hasn't died or left her), visit her, suggesting that she is able to remember the essences of her loved ones without the pain and sorrow of loss.

Questions:

1.) What religious connotations do light and dark invoke? How might these religious ideas relate to the idea of darkness as described in the above passage?

2.) This scene takes place on the edge of the lake near Fingerbone. What does the lake represent in this story, and is its meaning similar or different from the meaning given to darkness?

3.) How is this passage significant to the character of Lucille? Why might it be important that she would tell this story differently than Ruth? What does her reaction to their situation say about the differences between them?