Gender and Space in Toni Morrison's Paradise

In a PBS interview with Elizabeth Farnsworth, Toni Morrison stated, "all paradises, all utopias are designed by who is not there, by the people who are not allowed in." In the novel Paradise, Morrison illustrates two very distinct manifestations of the idea of paradise where the people on the outside, impact the lives of those on the inside. In one paradise you have Ruby, the male dominated town characterized by exclusivity. In the other paradise there is the Convent, a female refuge that caters to acceptance. In both Ruby and the Convent, the women are on a quest. Both groups of women are searching for a sense of self that will allow them to be free. This search is aided by the relationships that the women forge. As Patricia Hill Collins discusses in her book Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment, the black woman's journey is unlike any other: "the conceptualization of self that is part of Black women's self-definitions is distinctive. Self is not defined as the increased autonomy gained by separating oneself from others. Instead, self is found in the context of family and community" (Collins 105). The importance of community and family is at the core of the novel Paradise. The dangers of separateness for the sake of unity and the "disallowing" of any group is the first step in the destruction of a community or family. Morrison addresses this issue by focusing on the town's disallowing based on gender and race. In Paradise, Toni Morrison explores the sacredness of motherhood, female community and its necessity in the Black woman's search for self.

The town of Ruby is steeped in history. It was established by the "founding fathers" that transitioned from the all black town of Haven. Led by the Morgan brothers, Ruby is intended to be a secure place free of outside corruption and influence: "Unique and isolated, his was a town justifiably pleased with itself. It neither had nor needed a jail. No criminals had ever come from his town. And the one or two people who acted up, humiliated their families or threatened the town's view of itself were taken good care of. Certainly there wasn't a slack or sloven woman anywhere in town and the reasons, he thought were clear. From the beginning its people were free and protected" (Morrison 8). The desire to escape the discrimination imposed upon them by the white majority and the fair-skinned blacks that barred them from their settlement led the "blue black" founders of Ruby to impose the same discriminatory sanctions on anything that was not like them.

The male inhabitants dominate the town of Ruby by rejecting anything that is not like them. This is exemplified by the conversation between Reverend Misner and Patricia Best. The Reverend questions Patricia about the town of Ruby and inquires on how to gain acceptance there: "'well help me figure this place out. I know I'm an outsider, but I'm not and enemy.' 'No, you're not. But in this town those two words mean the same thing'" (Morrison 212). Reverend Misner is not a member of the 8-rock, pure-blood community and in essence an outsider, never to be fully trusted. Ironically, Patricia can speak first hand about being an outsider in Ruby, because she is one too. Change and difference are not accepted in the town of Ruby. Ruby is built on strict codes and those who do not fit into them are considered outcast: "The citizens of Ruby guard against further oppression by establishing a rigid, isolationist code of behavior that refuses to allow any new ideas, beliefs, or ethnicities to interfere with their sense of racial pride and community" (Romero 415). In the town of Ruby, you are either in or you are out. There is no in between. Critic Elizabeth Yukins, explains the rules of Ruby: "The governing mandate of the town described in Paradise emanates from three principal political beliefs: the sanctity of certain 'founding family' bloodlines, the omnipotent authority of the founding 'fathers' of the town and the corrosive effects of any persons deemed alien to the scripted political genealogical telos of the town (Yukins 240). Any "corrosive effect" is seen as a threat. It is a perceived interference by the women of the Convent that causes the climatic attack that occurs 17 miles outside of Ruby.

Although only separated by a long road, the Convent and Ruby are virtually worlds apart in terms of codes and ethics. The Convent, a former school for Indian girls, has been transformed into a female sanctuary where women who have been victimized go for healing and restoration. Their paradise is free from the male domination and rejection that they encountered on the outside. Consolata is the matronly head of the Convent. Unlike Ruby, The Convent has an open door policy. Consolata has embraced Mavis, Gigi, Seneca and Pallas and she fully accepts them without judgment. Together they maintain a paradise where there is a standard of honestly and truth. The Convent is described as a place where lies are not allowed and "every true thing is okay" (Morrison 38). It is also referred to as "Unjudgemental. Tidy. Ample. Forever" (Morrison 38). Whereas Ruby seeks to exclude, the Convent is the epitome of inclusiveness. Everyone is welcomed at the convent: "These women willingly accept into their house individuals who have been marginalized by the rigid code of behavior in Ruby: adulterers, unmarried pregnant women, alcoholics, and women fighting with their husbands or other authority figures in the community" (Romero 415). The Convent, for the women who reside there and the people they help there, is a place of freedom and purity.

The relationship between Ruby and The Convent is one marked by tension and mistrust. The men and some of the women in Ruby look down on what they believe takes place at the Convent. Ironically, none of the men have actually been inside the Convent before the day of the raid. However, they have preconceived notions about the Convent that cause them to mistreat and mistrust the women who live there. They are mystified by the connection that these women seem to have with each other, and the effect their influence is having on the town of Ruby. The male citizens of Ruby begin to feel threatened by the "alternative sense of community" that the women at the Convent have (Romero 415). The perceived threat is based on nothing more than fear of the unknown. To the women in the Convent, Ruby represents the patriarchal society that they are fleeing. They have no desire to be a part of the town, just as the town seeks to keep them out.

In Part 2, I will discuss silence and domination in Toni Morrison's Paradise.

Sources:

Patricia Hill Collins. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Routladge, Chapman and Hall Inc: New York, 1991

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

Chanette Romero. "Creating the beloved community: Religion, Race and Nation in Toni Morrison;s Paradise" African American Review. 39.3 (2005): 415-31.

Elizabeth Yukins. "Bastard Daughters and the Possession of History in "Corregidora" and "Paradise" Signs. 28.1 (2002): 221-247.