Toni Morrison (1992)
Genre
Literary Fiction / Historical Fiction
Reading Time
360 min
Key Themes
See below
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In the winter of 1926 Harlem, a door-to-door salesman shoots his teenage lover, leading to his wife attacking the deceased at her funeral and unraveling a story of love, obsession, and Black urban life.
The novel begins in 1926 Harlem, showing the main tragedy: Joe Trace, a fifty-year-old salesman, has shot and killed his eighteen-year-old lover, Dorcas Manfred. At Dorcas's funeral, Joe's wife, Violet Trace, a hairdresser known for being unusual, attends the service. In a shocking act of grief and anger, she tries to slash Dorcas's face with a knife. The mourners, including Dorcas's Aunt Alice Manfred, are horrified and stop Violet. This violence sets the stage for the story, which then looks into the pasts of Joe and Violet, and the events that led to this tragedy, all in the Jazz Age.
After the funeral, Violet Trace enters a period of inner turmoil. She becomes mostly silent, ignoring her hairdressing clients and withdrawing. Her conversations, when they happen, are often with herself or a bird she teaches to say 'I love you.' This withdrawal shows her deep pain, confusion, and the breakdown of her identity after Joe's affair and murder. Joe is also affected, though his grief is a quiet obsession with Dorcas's memory, replaying their time together. Their apartment becomes a place of shared, yet separate, suffering.
The story flashes back to Joe Trace's childhood in rural Vesper County, Virginia. He was raised by foster parents, including True Belle. Joe's origins are a mystery; he believes his mother is a wild woman known only as Wild, who lives in the woods and never speaks. This unresolved connection to his mother affects Joe, leaving him with a lifelong desire for unconditional love. His early life involved sharecropping and racism in the post-Reconstruction South. These experiences shaped his strength and his eventual wish to move North.
The story also looks at Violet's difficult past in Loudoun County, Virginia. She grew up in a large, poor family and experienced the trauma of her mother, Rose Dear's, suicide. Rose Dear, overwhelmed by debt and losing her home, jumped down a well when Violet was young. This event leaves a lasting mark on Violet, fueling her fear of being left alone and her strong will to avoid her mother's fate. Her grandmother, True Belle, helps raise her, giving some stability amid the family's hardships, but her mother's despair remains.
Joe and Violet meet and fall in love in the Virginia countryside. They marry and, like many other African Americans seeking jobs and an escape from the Jim Crow South, they join the Great Migration, moving to New York City in 1906. Their journey north is full of hope for a modern future. Harlem, with its busy streets, music, and freedom, at first offers them a new start. They work hard, Joe as a salesman and Violet as a hairdresser, building a life together and believing they left their past struggles behind. The city itself becomes a character, representing both freedom and new forms of loneliness.
The story details Dorcas Manfred's past, showing why she is guarded and somewhat reckless. As a young girl, Dorcas saw the East St. Louis race riots of 1917, where her parents died in a fire. This event makes her an orphan, and she is raised by her strict, religious aunt, Alice Manfred. Alice tries to protect Dorcas from the perceived dangers of Harlem, especially its jazz music and fast lifestyle. However, Dorcas wants freedom and connection, and she is drawn to the things her aunt forbids, seeking escape from her past trauma and her aunt's control.
Joe Trace, nearing fifty, feels restless in his long marriage to Violet. He senses a growing distance and silence between them, a 'slack' he blames on their not having children and the passing of time. On his sales route, he meets Dorcas Manfred, then a young, impressionable teenager. Drawn to her youth, beauty, and vulnerability, Joe begins an affair with Dorcas. For Joe, Dorcas represents a chance to feel young, desired, and alive again, and perhaps to fill the void left by his absent mother. For Dorcas, Joe offers attention and an escape from her aunt's rules.
Joe's affair with Dorcas grows into an obsession for him. He gives her gifts and attention, seeing her as a reflection of his own youthful desires. However, Dorcas, while enjoying the attention, is also a teenager exploring her own identity. She grows tired of Joe's intensity and seeks independence, becoming interested in a younger man named Acton. When Dorcas chooses to spend time with Acton and ignores Joe, her rejection hurts Joe deeply, leading to a desperate and fatal reaction. Her desire for freedom clashes with Joe's possessive love.
Driven by jealousy and despair over Dorcas's rejection, Joe Trace finds her at a party. In a moment of passion, he shoots her. Dorcas does not die right away. She is taken back to her apartment, where she lingers for hours. Dorcas, influenced by romantic ideas of tragic love and perhaps a desire for drama, refuses to identify Joe to the police and, more importantly, refuses medical help that might save her life. She chooses to die slowly, embracing the tragic romance of her situation, believing it makes her more important, and perhaps to avoid the shame of her affair with an older, married man.
After the murder and funeral incident, Violet, needing understanding and healing, begins to seek out Alice Manfred, Dorcas's aunt. At first, their talks are tense, full of unspoken grief and blame. Alice is careful around Violet, seeing her as the cause of the chaos and moral decay she blames for Dorcas's death. However, through awkward but persistent visits, the two women begin to form an unlikely connection. They discuss their lives, pasts, and shared pain, finding common ground as Black women navigating Harlem and the trauma of loss. This relationship becomes a step in Violet's healing.
As Violet and Alice become friends, Joe and Violet slowly begin to repair their own damaged relationship. The initial silence and anger in their apartment gradually give way to hesitant conversations, then shared memories, and eventually, renewed closeness. They face the pain of Joe's affair and the reasons for their marital distance. Through their individual journeys of self-discovery and their shared grief over Dorcas, they find a way back to each other, not to the love they once had, but to a deeper understanding and acceptance. Their reconciliation shows the enduring power of love and the possibility of healing.
A key moment in Joe and Violet's reconciliation is the visits from Felice, Dorcas's best friend. Felice, a sensible young woman, first comes to get a ring Dorcas had borrowed. Her presence in the Trace apartment brings a new view and a clear link to Dorcas. She talks with both Joe and Violet, offering insights into Dorcas's character and the complex dynamics of their relationship. Felice eventually brings a photograph of Dorcas, which, instead of fueling grief or anger, helps Joe and Violet to see Dorcas as a person and move past their idealized or demonized images of her, paving the way for deeper healing.
Throughout the novel, the narrator offers insights and predictions about the characters' futures. However, near the end, the narrator admits her own mistakes and the subjective nature of storytelling. The narrator admits to having misjudged Joe and Violet, especially in predicting they couldn't recover from their trauma. This self-correction highlights the novel's meta-narrative quality, questioning the authority of one voice and emphasizing the complexity of human experience. The narrator's shift from an all-knowing voice to one that admits error shows that true understanding comes from empathy and a willingness to see multiple truths.
By the novel's end, Joe and Violet Trace have found a quiet peace. Their apartment, once silent and sorrowful, now has the sounds of their renewed connection and the music of their shared history. They have moved past the initial shock and anger, learning to forgive each other and themselves. Their love, though scarred, has grown stronger and more understanding. Harlem continues around them, a constant background to their lives, but they have built a sanctuary within it, showing the enduring power of human connection and the possibility of redemption, even after great pain.
The Protagonist
Joe begins as a man consumed by a destructive obsession, but through grief and reflection, he finds a path to reconciliation and a deeper understanding of love with Violet.
The Protagonist
Violet transforms from a woman consumed by rage and self-doubt into one who actively seeks understanding, forging new relationships and mending her marriage.
The Supporting
Dorcas's arc is cut short by her death, but her choices and persona continue to influence the living characters, particularly Joe, Violet, and Alice.
The Supporting
Alice's rigid worldview is challenged by Dorcas's death and her unexpected connection with Violet, leading her to a more nuanced understanding of human nature and love.
The Supporting
Felice observes and influences the healing of Joe and Violet, acting as a bridge to understanding Dorcas's character.
The Supporting
True Belle's influence is foundational to the characters' early lives, shaping their understanding of family and survival.
The Mentioned
Her tragic death is a foundational trauma for Violet, shaping her character and fears.
The Mentioned
Wild's existence and absence drive Joe's deepest motivations and longings throughout his life.
The novel connects the characters' past experiences, especially their lives in the rural South, to their present in Harlem. Joe's search for his mother, Wild, directly influences his obsessive love for Dorcas. Violet's mother's suicide fuels her fears of being left alone and her fierce independence. The trauma of the East St. Louis riots shapes Dorcas's reckless pursuit of freedom. These past traumas and desires appear in their present actions, showing how history is never truly left behind, but always informs the present, even in the Jazz Age.
“It was the past that was waiting for them... the past, a city they had never seen, but had heard rumors of, a place where their families had been broken, where their desires had been thwarted.”
The novel explores the complex and often destructive nature of love, especially how it can become obsession and lead to violence. Joe's love for Dorcas, fueled by his own needs, becomes possessive and fatal. Violet's love for Joe, tied to her insecurities and past traumas, shows as extreme rage at the funeral. The story looks into the psychology of these intense emotions, suggesting that love, without self-awareness, can become destructive. Even Dorcas's 'love' for a tragic romance contributes to her death.
“I loved the City. All the voices of the City. The way it was a woman, and yet it was a man. And then Joe come. And he took it all away. Or I let him. Or I helped him.”
Harlem in the 1920s is shown as an exciting, freeing force, drawing Black migrants from the South with promises of opportunity and culture. The 'City' is almost a character, offering anonymity and reinvention. However, this freedom also brings new forms of loneliness and moral uncertainty. The fast pace, jazz music, and breakdown of old community structures contribute to a feeling of rootlessness and can lead to destructive behaviors, as seen in Dorcas's pursuit of pleasure and Joe's affair. The city offers both escape and new traps, highlighting the dual nature of urban life.
“The City is a woman, and she is a man. It is a place where you can lose yourself and find yourself. It is a place where you can be free, and a place where you can be trapped.”
Many characters in 'Jazz' are on a journey of self-discovery, especially after trauma or big life changes. Joe's lifelong search for his mother is a quest for self-knowledge. Violet's breakdown after the funeral forces her to face her identity, fears, and past. Dorcas, though young, tries to create an identity separate from her aunt's expectations and her traumatic past. Joe and Violet's healing involves a painful but necessary look at who they are individually and as a couple, leading to a more authentic self and a deeper connection.
“She had fallen in love with a man, and then she had fallen in love with herself.”
The novel's structure itself shows this theme, with an all-knowing, often wrong, narrator who puts together memories, rumors, and guesses to build the story. The characters' own memories, both individual and collective, are central to understanding their reasons and pasts. The act of telling and retelling, whether by the narrator or by the characters (e.g., Violet and Alice sharing stories), becomes a way to process trauma, make sense of events, and heal. The narrator's self-correction at the end highlights the subjective nature of truth and the power of narrative to shape understanding.
“I can't say that I did not predict her life. I did. I knew it. But I was wrong.”
An omniscient narrator who occasionally interjects personal opinions and admits to fallibility.
The narrator in 'Jazz' is a highly distinctive and central plot device. While seemingly omniscient, providing deep insight into characters' thoughts and historical context, the narrator also frequently interjects with personal opinions, biases, and even direct addresses to the reader. Crucially, at the end of the novel, the narrator openly admits to having misjudged the characters' outcomes, particularly Joe and Violet's ability to heal. This unreliability challenges the reader to question the authority of the narrative voice and to consider the subjective nature of truth, memory, and storytelling itself, emphasizing the complexity of human experience.
The story jumps back and forth in time, revealing character histories and motivations gradually.
Morrison employs a highly fragmented and non-linear narrative, constantly shifting between the present (1926 Harlem) and various points in the characters' pasts, both in the rural South and earlier in Harlem. This structure mimics the improvisational nature of jazz music, with themes and motifs recurring and developing. It allows the reader to piece together the characters' histories and motivations gradually, rather than through a straightforward chronological account. This device creates suspense, deepens character understanding by revealing the roots of their present actions, and emphasizes how the past continuously informs and shapes the present moment for the characters.
Harlem is personified and plays an active role in shaping the characters' lives and desires.
Harlem in the 1920s is not merely a setting but a living, breathing entity that actively influences the characters. The narrator frequently personifies 'the City,' describing its allure, its sounds, its dangers, and its transformative power. It draws migrants from the South with promises of freedom and opportunity, yet it also exposes them to new forms of temptation and alienation. The city's rhythm, particularly the pervasive jazz music, mirrors the emotional landscape of the characters, reflecting their desires, anxieties, and the improvisational nature of their lives. It acts as both a liberator and a potential corruptor, a force that shapes their identities and fates.
The recurring imagery of 'wildness' and nature contrasts with the urban environment.
The motif of 'wildness' permeates the novel, most explicitly through Joe's elusive mother, Wild, who lives in the woods and never speaks. This imagery extends to descriptions of characters' untamed emotions, their primal instincts, and the raw, uninhibited nature of jazz music. This 'wildness' often stands in contrast to the attempts at civilization, order, and social norms, particularly those imposed by figures like Alice Manfred. The tension between instinctual urges and societal constraints is a driving force in the characters' lives, highlighting their internal conflicts and the liberating yet dangerous aspects of embracing one's true nature, even in the heart of the city.
“I’m crazy about this city. New York, New York, New York. Everybody who is anybody is here. The best of everything. You can’t get enough of it. It’s too much for anybody, but it’s just enough for me.”
— The narrator's enthusiastic description of New York City, particularly Harlem, early in the novel, setting the urban backdrop.
“Quiet as it's kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1926. We thought at the time that it was because of the unusually cold weather... But it wasn't the weather. It was the City.”
— The narrator's reflection on the unusual absence of marigolds, subtly hinting at the city's profound and sometimes detrimental influence on nature and human experience.
“But I have to say this: I like the way the women in this city are. They are so free. So strong. So… so… so themselves.”
— Joe Trace's admiration for the independent spirit of women in New York City, contrasting them with women he knew in the South.
“Risky, I’d say, trying to live your life to a jazz track.”
— The narrator's commentary on the unpredictable and often improvisational nature of life in the city, mirroring the structure of jazz music.
“She had been a girl, and then a woman, and both were good things. But the best thing, the thing that made her sing, was to be a woman in the city.”
— Violet Trace's evolving sense of self and liberation upon moving to New York, particularly in contrast to her past in the South.
“The past was an abused woman, and the present was a man who still beat her.”
— A powerful metaphor describing the lingering trauma of the past on the present, particularly in the context of racial history and personal pain.
“It was the music. The dirty, get-on-down music. The music that made them forget where they were and what they were supposed to do.”
— Describing the intoxicating and liberating effect of jazz music on the characters, often leading to impulsive behavior.
“When they fall, they fall like stones, with a sound you can hear for days.”
— A description of the profound and lasting impact of personal tragedies and failures, particularly in the unforgiving urban environment.
“Knowing what to do with a long life is the way to have one.”
— An observation on the importance of purpose and direction in life, particularly as characters grapple with their choices and futures.
“The City had its own ways of talking, and it was mostly in music.”
— The narrator emphasizes the pervasive presence and communicative power of music, especially jazz, as the voice of New York City.
“I’m not saying that a man can’t love two women. I’m just saying that he can’t love two women the same way.”
— Joe Trace's internal struggle and justification for his affections, reflecting on the complexities of love and infidelity.
“The past was something they had to get rid of. The past was a country they had to leave. The past was a body they had to bury.”
— The characters' desperate desire to escape or overcome the painful memories and historical burdens of their past, particularly from the rural South.
“It was impossible to be a woman and not be in love with the world. It was impossible to be a woman and not be in love with the city.”
— Violet Trace's feelings of empowerment and deep connection to her urban environment, highlighting a sense of belonging and joy.
“But I can’t say that I know everything. I can only say that I know what I know. And what I know is that the City is a woman.”
— The narrator's meta-commentary on the limits of their own knowledge, personifying the city as a complex and enigmatic female figure.
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Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison, known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
