The 1930's brings us the Great Depression and a time of great uncertainty. In "That Evening Sun Go Down" Faulkner writes about the changes going on in the thirties, with automobiles and street lights everything has changed "even the Negro women who still take in white people's washing after the old custom, fetch and deliver it in automobiles".
He remembers a time in the past, fifteen years ago, when Nancy used to do their families laundry. It was a time after blacks were freed from slavery, but they still were not "free" in the true sense of freedom. The story saddens me that in this era while white women were not treated as equals black women were treated much worse. Black women were forced to endure the violence of others without any recourse. When Nancy attempted to get payment from Mr. Stovall, he attacked her in the street even with a marshal present. She went to jail and he walked away. When she attempted to kill herself she was beaten by the jailer for it.
There was jesting amongst the three children about being scared and not being a nigger through out the story. But Nancy, a black woman, was experiencing real terror about the return of her rage filled husband, she could feel him around her. She was also feeling the despair of being a nigger, something she had no control over. She had been impregnated by a white man, quite possibly not of her choosing. Her husband was angry about the injustice of a white man going into his home and taking what was his, he could not retaliate and he could not go into a white man's home and do the same. That anger festered into a rage that would not go away until he retaliated against Nancy.
Quentin's father, Jason, was only willing to involve himself to a certain degree. He walked her home for several times and allowed her to stay in their home, but in the end separated himself and his family from her. He wasn't willing to do anymore for this black woman who brought this mess upon herself according to him.
"Here We Are" quite honestly made me laugh, I have two sets of these same people in my own life. The couple was on the train to New York for their honeymoon, the woman was frightened by the momentous step she had just taken. She felt alone and isolated, at this time in the 30's women were still kept under the protective wing of their families. How she reacted to these feelings was the kicker for me. She set her husband up to fail her by misleading him with her comments. Her bridesmaid was lovely today, he agreed with her and shortly after "he should have married her friend instead of her". He could not win with her, while he tried in earnest not to lose his temper he did end up arguing back about Joe.
One gets the impression that the two argued before the marriage, and that the couple felt once they were married that would magically disappear. One could not help wondering if she was worried she would be stuck with him forever, or this was how she handled her nervousness. Change is the big theme here, the scariness of changing from me to we. Even today young people who get to know each intimately often well before marriage and live together first have some of those same fears. I can only imagine in the 30's where the exploring of the relationship was much less likely to happen that it could be very frightening. What happens if we are so different that we can not live together? Scary!
No comments:
Post a Comment