Abandonment and Redemption in Toni Morrison's Paradise

Child abandonment is seen as a sin against motherhood. If motherhood is a symbol of hope, then the abandonment of one's child is the ultimate act of hopelessness. In Toni Morrison's Paradise, several of the women in the Convent are experiencing some aspect of child abandonment. Mavis has abandoned her own children because of her fear that they are trying to harm her. Seneca is abandoned by her mother as a child and blames herself for the rejection. She feels that if she had done something different, her "sister" would have stayed or at least returned. Pallas is betrayed by her mother who has sex with her boyfriend. This act can be viewed as an emotional abandonment. All three women seek solace from their abandonment at the Convent. Along with Gigi and Consolata, they forge a bond that enables them to be healed. Although they do not always get along, as evidenced by the fights and arguments between Mavis and Gigi, the women experience a sense of security at the Convent. In the Convent, they have complete control over their lives, a luxury they lacked when living outside of the Convent. Through their sisterhood inside the Convent, the women have attained peace and autonomy, free of male dominance.

Another relationship that symbolizes the quest for self and female community it the one between Consolata (Connie) and Lone. The two women share a similar background and a special relationship. Both women were stolen as children by well meaning people who thought they could give them a better life. Connie was reared by Mary Magna. Lone was raised as a member of the 8-rock Du Pres family. Morrison explores Lone's history in the section on Patricia: "Lone was one of the stolen babies. Fairy DuPres had noticed her sitting quiet as a rock outside the door of a sod house. The sight of the silent child in a filthy shift could have remained just one more lonely picture they came across, except that the desolation about that place was unforgiving" (Morrison 190) Fairy DuPres took the child, whose mother was dead, and raised her as her own. In Morrison's Paradise both of these women of unknown lineage align themselves with other women in the community and serve as othermothers. Connie fosters the broken women who show up at the Convent. She provides these broken and fragmented women with a sanctuary and allows them to evolve into whole women. She helps them discover themselves and their strength. Lone has dedicated her life to helping babies transition from womb to earth and women from women to mothers. Although both Connie and Lone were taken or abandoned by their birth mothers, they go on the lead lives as nurturers. Each woman has an intense spiritual connection and posses magical powers of healing and restoration that enables them to bring women together. Although abandoned by their own, these women developed into other mothers. They also have their own sisterhood of sorts. It is Lone who teaches Connie to use her magical and spiritual powers. The two of them work together to save the young Morgan boys after their car crashes.

In Paradise, female relationships are portrayed as a source of strength, peace and healing. However, to the men in the novel, female bonds are seen as strange and fearful. They attempt to destroy any and all attempts at female bonding. Their attack on the Convent is the manifestation of the fears that have regarding female empowerment. Ultimately, Morrison is addressing the idea of exclusion. To achieve the utopian paradise that the men desire, the men cannot continue to exclude on the basis of color or gender. At the core, Paradise is a book about the true concept of paradise. God's love for humanity is the only thing that saves the town of Ruby in the end. The women of the Convent, in their transcendental states are able to reconnect with the people that they were running from. Mavis makes amends of sorts with her daughter. Gigi is reunited with her father. Seneca is reunited with her mother, although she does not recognize her. Pallas is seen with her baby by her mother. Even the men of Ruby are given a second chance. Because the bodies of the women are never found, there is no crime. They are saved from the ramifications of their actions. Deacon Morgan has discovered a change in himself and reaches out to Reverend Misner. Most significantly, Billie is given a chance to start a new life outside of Ruby. Everyone is given a second chance.

Sources:

Toni Morrison, Paradise. Plume: New York, 1999.