This is the first novel I have read by Morrison, but I was aware of her iconic status as a writer before reading The Bluest Eye. Prior to reading this book, I read and was thoroughly impressed by “Red at the Bone” by Woodson. Woodson wrote that she was influenced and inspired by Morrison, which is primarily what led me to The Bluest Eye.
Morrison’s legendary reputation is well earned. Her writing is superb and original. If someone gave me an excerpt written by Morrison, likely I could guess the author. Her writing is rich in description and raw truth. She does not placate or sugar coat. Morrison instead shocks and assaults the reader by shining a spotlight on the harsh truth. The Bluest Eye is uncomfortable, thought provoking and powerful.
If you are considering reading The Bluest Eye, be aware there are some potentially triggering themes, including: incest, child molestation, one of the characters is a child predator, and some of the characters are sex workers.
The major theme throughout the novel are the effects of pressure on women and young girls to conform to cultural and societal standards of beauty. Using a multi-generational storyline and a cast of female characters, Morrison challenges readers to think about where women get their sense of value and worth, and how that is impacted by the standards of beauty that are programmed into all of society. Morrison assumes the bitter truth that meeting societal standards of beauty results in better treatment and a higher social status. The story tackles how women’s lives are negatively affected if they cannot meet the beauty standard (such as having blue eyes, hence the novel’s title). In short, this novel offer rich social commentary about how we value people. I understand and agree wholeheartedly with the social commentary being made by Morrison.
In summary, the story is about Pecola Breedlove, an 11-year-old black girl. Her mother, who she calls Mrs. Breedlove, works as a housekeeper and nanny for a wealthy white family. Her father, Cholly, is a drunk and does not work. The story begins and ends with Pecola, but Morrison gives extensive background on Pecola’s parents.
Mrs. Breedlove was born and raised in the south and comes from a large family of origin. As a young woman, Mrs. Breedlove is a hard worker who cares for her family of origin despite it not being easy for her because she is born with a deformed foot. When she marries Pecola’s father and starts her own family, they move north. In her new community, Mrs. Breedlove feels isolated and alone. She is not accepted by the northern women who have different accents, clothes, and behavior expectations than where she came from in the south.
When Mrs. Breedlove becomes pregnant with Sam, Pecola’s brother, during her pregnancy she loses two of her teeth. Once she loses her teeth, all hope of fitting in and belonging is lost to Mrs. Breedlove. In this pivotal event, she becomes resigned to the idea that she will never have friends.
Mrs. Breedlove escapes into her work. Her only sense of belonging is with the family that pays her to clean their home and care for their daughter. There Mrs. Breedlove feels she has acceptance, appreciation, and control. In her own chaotic and unstable home, she feels out of control. In her employer’s home, she can adequately provide a safe, comfortable, organized, and orderly life. As a result, she comes to feel her own family and home are a nuisance to be endured, rather than a blessing. She sees her family as a burden and prefers caring for the white wealthy family’s home and daughter over her own home and children.
Pecola’s father, Cholly Breedlove, had a traumatic childhood. His mother abandoned him on a trash heap when he was nine days old and likely was mentally ill. His father likely never knew about his existence, until Cholly seeks him out later when he’s a young adult, but his father summarily dismisses him with cursing. Spoiler alert - Cholly commits incest with Pecola while drunk and impregnates Pecola.
With Pecola’s mother and father largely absent from her life and abusive when they are present, Pecola befriends and regularly visits sex workers that live nearby. They treat her to outings and food. The sex workers and some of her peers are her friends through whom she temporarily finds some comfort. However, through a mixture of media, friends, family, and cultural messaging Pecola is programmed to believe that she is “ugly.” She absorbs the cultural messaging that blue eyes are the prettiest eyes, and that hers do not meet the beauty standards. She learns to hate the way she looks.
Woven throughout the story it is indicated how desperately Mrs. Breedlove and Pecola desire to possess the societal standard for physical beauty. Each are convinced it would change their lives if they could achieve having blue eyes and perfect teeth, for example. At one point, Pecola even approaches a former “Reverend “who is rumored to have a special connection with God, to request that she be given blue eyes. In what is arguably the weirdest scene in the book, the “Reverend” instead gives Pecola some poison, and tells her to feed it to a dog. When Pecola does this, the dog dies causing her even further trauma.
Morrison does not spare Pecola and drives her point into readers until the end. Pecola eventually becomes unhinged and disengages from reality. Pecola’s former friends abandon her. She can no longer tell what is real and she creates a pretend friend who eventually abandons her too.
Morrison is relentless in making her point and the tone of this novel is sad, hopeless, and desperate. She does not show her characters mercy in her pursuit to illustrate how the standards of beauty effect women and young girls. There are few redeeming characters, and no characters are spared the impact of the damage of not meeting societal beauty standards. Some characters that start out with some redeeming qualities are stripped of them by the end of the novel. This is not a light read but it is a literary wonder and may expose readers to new ways of seeing the world if they are brave enough to consider the raw perspectives of the characters.
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