Q- Discuss the context and significance of the women characters in Toni Morrison's novel Jazz?

Jazz
MA English 3rd Term
University of Sargodha

Q- Discuss the context and significance of the women characters in Toni Morrison's novel Jazz?

Toni Morrison being herself a woman portrayed her female characters in full length. Nowhere in her description, we feel suspicious of her personality. Whatever she gives us as an information about the background and psychological growth of female characters is in no sense their advocacy.

In whatever tone she has described the female characters we have no argument to call it a propaganda against menfolk.

In the description of the characters, she has not only kept in her mind the influence of society or City on them but also their own innate deprivations to cope up with men. The characters in her novel speak about themselves in their dialogues. They come with all their inner and outer qualities. Whatever they speak they speak about themselves. The description of character through dialogues in this way becomes independent of the omniscient interference of the writer. This is how we can say Toni Morrison can escape the charge of partiality towards female characters.

The chief female character in the novel, however, is that of Violet Trace. She has given us not only the picture of her physique but also the mind developed in the consciousness of racial complex. In the text of the novel, Toni Morrison has avoided giving any mental picture. Whatever she has given to convey the mind of the characters is through dialogues or their behavior with the other people. She has given the out appearance of Violet in these words:

She is awfully skinny, Violet; fifty but still good looking when she broke up the funeral. You'd think that being thrown out the Church would be the end of it- the shame and all- but it wasn't. Violet is mean enough and good looking enough to think that even without hips or youth she could punish Joe by getting herself a boyfriend and letting him visit in her own house.

Violet wore the same dress each time and Alice was irritated by the thread running loose from her sleeve, as well as the coat lining ripped in at least three places she could see.

To support her opinion about the psychology or mind of Violet Trace she has given two very powerful points or touches in her description of the novel. The first is Violet talking to her parrot and parrot's saying her 'I love you' and second in her decision to beget no children. They leave so powerful an impression of Violet Trace on our minds that we feel no further anxiety to know anything about her. The people living around her had started calling Violet not Violet but Violet.

Though Violet's character is portrayed as a central character or heroine of the novel. The other character equal to her stature both is presentation and significance is that of Dora's Manfred.

Toni Morrison, in fact, has tried to provide us with a full picture of Black life in America. She has given us the picture of nearly all types of people from layman to reasonable middle class. Whatever they do and feel is partly natural and human and partly a mimicry of White people. Her characters range from childhood to adult and old age. In the same way, they belong to nearly all types of minds. They are passionate; they are emotional; they are ferocious and they are cheaters. They are kind as well as the patient.

The character of Dorcas Manfred in this way remains struck to our mind and we do not dare forget it. Her desires to live life fully and her passion for enjoyment leave no doubt in the mind of readers about the forthcoming fate she meets in the progress of narration. Writing about the physical description of Dorcas, Toni Morrison has matchlessly given details we do not feel thirsty of any afterward.

"Dorcas should have been prettier than she was. She just missed. She had all the ingredients of pretty too. Long hair, wavy, half good, half bad. Light skinned. Never used skin bleach. Nice shape. But it missed somehow. If you looked at each thing you would admire that thing- the hair, the color, the shape. All together it didn't fit. Guys looked at her, whistle and called out fresh stuff when we walked down the street."

The description of her mental condition is so perfectly given that we feel bound to accept her as a tragic character. There is no other Black character in the novel we feel so much pity for as we feel for Dorcas. Whatever she receives from Joe Trace she gives to her boyfriend Acton.

What a pity! What a tragedy in the life of Blacks in America. This single point as enough to make Dorcas character an evergreen character in the history of character description. Dorcas meets a tragic death but leaves in our minds an indelible impression for coming years.

Toni Morrison s style of depicting a character is very unique. She gives us the sides or angles of a female character that is not only different from the sides or angles of other characters but also matchless and queer in their own importance. The character of Malvorne, for example, leaves no room for further description. Toni Morrison not only gives her mental picture through her habits but also through her response to Joe Trace's offer.

The character of Alice Manfred is also in the same vein portrayed to its perfection. His reaction on the death of her niece. Dorcas is particular to the psychology of Blacks living under great suppression of Whites. Further, she treats Violet in a very femininity logical way.

Minor characters like Rose Dear and True Belle are not given as ample space in a novel as they leave an equally indelible impression on our minds.True Belle comes to rescue the family when they are penniless and she is one who raises Joe's father Golden Grey. Similarly Rose Dear bears the pressures of trying to provide for her children. She gets so much depressed that she commits suicide by throwing herself down a well.

So we can say that the context of the female character in the novel is that of suppressed Black society. Nearly all the female Black characters are morally strong. They are the representatives of virtue and good in the human soul. Neither the novel nor the society is complete without the Black female characters.