The Bluest Eye: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Bluest Eye: Analysis of Major Characters" offers a deeply nuanced exploration of key figures in Toni Morrison's novel, highlighting their complex interrelations and the societal challenges they face. The story is primarily narrated by Claudia MacTeer, a nine-year-old black girl whose perspective frames the tragic experiences of Pecola Breedlove, the novel's protagonist. Pecola's journey is marked by her desperate longing for acceptance and beauty, symbolized by her wish for blue eyes, which reflects broader themes of racial self-loathing and societal neglect. Her mother, Pauline Breedlove, struggles with her own sense of worth, often directing her care towards the white families she serves rather than her own children.
Cholly Breedlove, Pecola's father, presents a multifaceted character, wrestling with his past trauma and societal pressures, which ultimately lead him to commit horrific acts against his daughter. Claudia's sister, Frieda, serves as a protective figure, embodying a more mature perspective as she navigates her own understanding of love and responsibility. Other characters, like Soaphead Church and Maureen Peel, further complicate the narrative, representing varying responses to the community's dynamics of race and beauty. Together, these characters illustrate the painful realities of a society that devalues black identity, inviting readers to reflect on the broader implications of their struggles.
The Bluest Eye: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Toni Morrison
First published: 1970
Genre: Novel
Locale: Lorain, Ohio
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: 1940–1941
Claudia MacTeer, the nine-year-old black girl who possesses the most consistent narrative voice in a novel resonant with several different narrative voices, all used to reveal the personal histories of significant characters. Claudia tells the story of Pecola Breedlove as both child narrator, present at critical moments in Pecola's life, and as reflective adult looking back at particular events and signs. Psychologically and emotionally healthy, sturdy, loyal, and compassionate, Claudia and her sister function as dramatic counterparts to Pecola Breedlove. Both girls befriend Pecola, and both apparently are the only characters who can feel sorrow or pity for her.
Pecola Breedlove, the novel's tragic, unassuming protagonist and ultimate victim. At the age of eleven, Pecola, her family, and virtually everyone she meets, except the Mac-Teers, is convinced of her alleged ugliness. Her lack of self-esteem is generated by the destructive idea that no one values a black child and also by the contempt heaped on her by others. A pathetic figure, abused by her parents, denied by other adults, and the target of vicious attacks from other children, Pecola believes that acquiring blue eyes will lessen her loneliness and cause others to see her in an entirely new and more appreciative light. At the novel's close, she has been raped by her father and driven into madness and into a quest for “the bluest eyes.”
Pauline (Polly) Breedlove, Pecola's mother, a maid and frustrated artist who prefers keeping order in the homes of the whites for whom she works rather than attempting to do so in her own home. A complex character suffering from both physical and emotional disabilities, Pauline is still a young woman, in her early thirties, when she is introduced. She works hard and attends church regularly, but just as regularly she initiates arguments that typically degenerate into fights with her husband, Cholly. Seldom deliberately physically abusive, Pauline nevertheless is an emotionally abusive parent who can neither show love nor demonstrate affection or concern for her own children or her husband. The only people she nurtures are the whites who employ her. Convinced of her own ugliness by images from films, Pauline has internalized this belief, acts it out daily, and has transferred it to her family.
Cholly Breedlove, Pecola's father and the father of the child she bears. Although he has committed incest, Cholly is not a one-dimensional villain. A strong young man despite the trauma of his childhood and youth, Cholly took his young wife north in an effort to better their lives. Even in Ohio, however, he finds himself frustrated, burned out, and embittered by the demands of marriage and the social conditions facing black men. He turns to drinking and fighting with Pauline to escape the limitations surrounding him. He can neither be the dependable romantic hero Pauline wants nor the full economic provider his family needs. His first sin is that he causes his family to be placed “outdoors”; his worst sin is the drunken but “tender” rape of his daughter.
Frieda MacTeer, Claudia's ten-year-old sister. She is the more knowledgeable, more mature, and more sophisticated sibling. Frieda knows what menstruation is and is able to explain to Pecola and Claudia that this change in a girl's body permits her to have a baby, as long as the girl has “somebody to love” her. A woman-child, Frieda is the quintessential elder sister who makes most of the decisions about actions and activities she and Claudia undertake. She is also more judicious, knowing when to fight for the protection of another child and what to do when her own rights are about to be violated. Both Frieda and Claudia remain supportive and loyal to Pecola despite her misfortunes.
Micah Elihue Whitcomb, called Soaphead Church, a misanthropic odd old man who, despite his antipathy toward hu-mankind, ironically works in professions designed to assist people. Soaphead, so called because of the texture of his hair, emigrated from the West Indies. He collects things and has a tortured family history that includes a brief marriage. Despite perverse sexual leanings (he is a pedophile), Soaphead was an Anglican priest; currently, he makes his living as a psychic reader or spiritual adviser and healer. In this capacity, it is Soaphead Church who, for a fee, grants Pecola's wish for blue eyes by convincing her that she has them and subsequently writes a letter to God indicating why he took this action.
Maureen Peel, a newcomer in the town who creates havoc at school. Well to do and considered pretty because of her relatively light skin and long hair, Maureen upsets relationships between children and has a largely negative psychological impact. She is far more acceptable to most adults, to teachers, and to other students at school than the darker-skinned Pecola. She causes conflicting emotions in the MacTeer sisters, who are jealous of her preferred status yet want to be her friend.