The novel Love by Toni Morrison

¶ … Toni Morrison

Major Themes in the Novel Love by Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison's novel Love is far from being a simple love story. Instead, it is a novel that delves into several major themes related to the family. This includes issues of child abuse and neglect, issues related to families and extended families, rape and violence against women, the role of the father in a family, and the role of friendship. Each of these major themes will now be considered, with the discussion showing how the novel deals with each theme and what Morrison is suggesting about each of the issues.

Child Abuse and Neglect

The main example of child abuse and neglect is in Bill Cosey's marriage to Heed. This marriage occurs when Heed is eleven, with Cosey buying her from her family. The age of Heed suggests sexual abuse, with it important to note that if Cosey and Heed were not married, Cosey would be classed as a pedophile. However in the text, it is shown that as long as Cosey does take Heed as his wife, their relationship becomes legitimate regardless of her age. It is also important to note that child abuse does not only refer to sexual abuse. The National Center of Child Abuse and Neglect completes studies on the incidence of child abuse and neglect and considers sexual abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, physical abuse, and maltreatment. The age of Heed makes it likely that both emotional neglect and maltreatment are occurring because of the way that Heed is being forced to take on the role of wife at such a young age. Butcher, Mineka, and Holley (550) also noted that child abuse has a major impact on psychological adjustment. In Heed's case, she has been placed in the position of wife at such a young age that this is likely to become her reality. In a larger sense, she is both a child to Cosey and a wife to Cosey. While part of Cosey's motives may be sexual, it seems that his larger motive is to control Heed completely to the point that she is a slave to him. This is reinforced by the way he bought her from her parents and expects her to be trained as a wife. Finally, it must also be noted that there is a suggestion of sexual abuse between Christine and Cosey. This is suggested by the way that Cosey chooses to marry Christine's friend. It seems that Cosey may have a sexual attraction to his granddaughter, while being aware that he cannot pursue it because they are related. He then transfers his feelings onto Heed because his marriage to her can legitimize his sexual needs. This also explains why he rejects Christine completely, with these actions having their basis in a sense of shame he feels for his sexual desire for her.

Child neglect is also seen in the way that Christine is treated when Heed tries to harm her. Since Heed is doing the harm, technically this would be classed as sibling abuse. However, Cosey still should have a responsibility to protect Christine. Instead, he laughs at what Heed has done and shows no concern for the fact that Christine could be seriously harmed. Christine is described thinking about Heed's actions and Cosey's response and her thoughts are narrated as follows,

Christine made up her own mind. He never once looked at her. He had laughed. His cheap little *****-wife had tried to kill her - sort of - and might succeed one day would he laugh then too would he look finally at the charred flesh of his own flesh and settle that also as though it were a guest's bounced check or a no-show musician or a quarrel with a salesman who had shortchanged an order of Scotch whiskey? (Morrison 135).

Christine's description of his complete lack of regard for her suggests neglect, where he does not care for her welfare or safety at all. While it is not known whether harm would have come to her, his attitude and actions do suggest that even if she was harmed, he may have been as unconcerned as she imagined.

Family and Extended Family

One of the interesting things about Cosey's family is how the family is created by Cosey's decisions, while all the members of the family have to live with his decisions. This is clearly seen in Cosey's marriage to Heed, which Christine has to cope with. Christine is Cosey's granddaughter, so she cannot escape being part of Cosey's family. When Cosey decides to marry Heed, Cosey and Heed become linked as family. This relationship is always based on conflict as both women continue to reject each other. Yet as much as they continue to reject each other, they can never escape from each other. Cosey's decisions have linked them as family whether they like it or not. This is made especially clear when Christine is described deciding to leave, with Morrison describing her as thinking "Put on your shoes, old man, and look at me good now, because you will never see me again" (Morrison 135). This is more than just a statement about not seeing Cosey. It is also a statement about leaving her family forever. This is reinforced by the way that Christine constantly seeks independence, as if she can escape her family entirely. However, as the reader can see, despite all her intentions of being independent. she has ended up living in Cosey's house with Heed. In the end then, it is clear that Christine cannot escape from her family. The extended family exists because Cosey created it and none of the family members can escape each other. This is also shown by their living arrangements, where Christine and Heed continue to live in the same house, but live in separate parts of the house and completely avoid each other for most of their lives. The main point is though, that no matter how much they attempt to avoid and ignore each other, they can never escape from each other.

Christine's mother May is also part of the extended family and she also has to cope with Cosey's decisions. The impact of Cosey's decision to marry Heed is described by saying that "in an eye blink she went from defense to war" (Morrison 137). Cosey's decision to marry Heed is also described, with Cosey saying to May, "I'm taking a wife. You know her. Christine's little friend" (Morrison 138). The flippant way that Cosey says this suggests that he has no awareness or concern for the impact this decision will have on everyone else. He seems unaware that the decision has changed the lives of May, Christine, and Heed forever. It is also noted that May is "supposed to teach and train the playmate to take charge of us" (Morrison 138). This shows that not only is the family forced on May, but she is also expected to play an important role in it. To complicate matters further, she is then expected to send her daughter away because of the conflict between Heed and Christine, despite the fact that Christine has done nothing wrong. This shows the extent of the conflict that has been created in the family, with Cosey creating the conflict, and yet himself remaining immune to the conflict. Overall, these situations show the extended family that exists, how it is created by Cosey's decisions, how the family members have to live as part of the extended family whether they like it or not, and how this is a source of deep conflict for all the characters.

Rape and Violence Against Women

The novel also shows how violence against women is treated by the society when it describes the rape of a student volunteer. Since rape is the strongest form of violence against women, the way that rape is treated makes a statement about how violence against women is tolerated. Morrison describes the girl raped begging Christine not to tell anyone, with Morrison describing the girl as having "gone into protection mode" and as being "too ashamed to be angry" (Morrison 156). Christine ignores the girl's wishes and tells everyone, with Morrison noting that Christine was satisfied with her actions. However, it is then revealed that even though everyone knows about the rape, nothing is done to the rapist. The novel describes the situation as follows,

They all took care of the girl, cursed and fumed at what the Comrade had done; promised to speak to, punish, expel him. But didn't. The next time he showed up, it was "Hey, man, how's it going?" (Morrison 156).

This narration suggests that everyone treats the rapist as if he has done something trivial. They clearly recognize that he has done something wrong, since they curse and fume and talk about punishing and expelling him. However, it seems that this passes quickly and is not considered important enough to take any action against. In reading the response to the rape, it appears like the man has done something minor that one can be easily forgiven for. This shows how violence against women and rape are trivialized. It does not seem that rape and violence are accepted, but it does seem like they are tolerated. Further information is provided when Christine is described investigating why no action has been taken. The Comrade's account of the rape is described as follows, it wasn't his fault the girl was all over him braless sitting sloppy he'd even patted her behind to alert her to his interest she giggled instead of breaking his jaw and asked him if he wanted a beer (Morrison 156).

This description paints a picture of a naive girl being taken advantage of and then being blamed for the events. It is important to note that this description suggests that the girl was the one who should have stopped the rape from taking place by becoming violent. In reality, it seems that the man who is older should take responsibility and show self-control. It is also interesting to note that after this event, the student may react differently in a similar situation next time since she is now aware of the outcome. This occurs because she has now lost her naivety, and this reinforces the fact that young naive women are taken advantage of. This also shows how a culture of violence can be created, where the student in a similar situation may become violent. The question this raises is why rape can only be prevented if a woman becomes violent to physically stop it happening. The fact that women have little power against men is also reinforced by the way that Christine is powerless to do anything about the rape. As the text notes, she tells everyone and feels satisfied with the result. However, no action is taken against the rapist and everyone knowing about it does nothing to help the girl. The text also notes that no action is taken because "the girl's violation carried no weight against the sturdier violation of male friendship" (Morrison 156). This shows a situation where two males who are both in the wrong succeed, while the girl raped and Christine who is trying to help her are powerless. Clearly, it is men who have the power and women who are treated as if inferior. This shows the gender issues present in the society, with these gender issues creating a situation where violence against women is trivialized and tolerated.

The Role of the Father

The father is shown to be the major decision-maker in the family, while it is also shown that the father is not expected to take any real responsibility for the children or the family. The father as decision-maker is shown by the way that Bill Cosey has all the power in the family, with the other family members forced to live with his decisions. This is strongly suggested by the situation with May, who supports Cosey, her daughter, and the family, always trying to keep the family functioning. Despite all of her positive efforts, there is nothing May can do when Cosey decides to marry Heed. This shows that Cosey has all the power, while the other family members are powerless and have to live with the family he creates. At the same time, it is also seen that while Cosey has all the power, he does not take responsibility for that power and consider his decisions. It is seen that he acts on whims and puts his own needs first, never really considering the impact his decisions have on the family. He certainly never compromises his own needs for the good of the family. This is strongly suggested in the novel by the way that Cosey isn't even present in the novel, since it recounts the events after his death. Yet even when he has gone, his family have to continue to live with each other. In essence, his family members are left to live with the mess he created based on his own needs.

The role of the father is also seen in the way that Cosey treats Christine once he marries Heed. Christine is Cosey's granddaughter, so it would be expected that he would take on the role of a father figure in her life. However, instead of being a father to her, he puts his new wife first and sends Christine away. This is seen in the situation where May and Christine return to the house to find that Heed has set fire to Christine's bed. Christine and May expect Cosey to take action against Heed, but he laughs about it. May then points out how dangerous it is and says that something must be done, noting that it is dangerous for Christine to live like this. In this situation, it is clear that Heed is at fault and that Christine has become a victim to the situation. The expectation is that Heed will take the punishment. The major decision is described as follows,

He looked at May then, for what seemed an age, and nodded. "You may be right." Then, touching his mustache, "Is there somewhere she can go for a week or two?" (Morrison 135).

At this point, it seems that Cosey has seen reason and will deal with Heed. Instead, Cosey is surprised when May thinks he is talking about sending Heed away and reveals that he meant that Christine should leave. May argues that Heed started the fire and is the guilty one, while Christine is innocent. There is no argument against this point and the reader sees that May is correct. However, Cosey responds by saying that, "I'm not married to Christine, I married Heed" (Morrison 135). In saying this, there is no argument against the fact that Heed is to blame or against the fact that Christine is innocent. Instead, it is only a statement saying that Heed is now his wife and matters more than Christine. This shows that being a father to Christine does not matter. In effect, Christine becomes insignificant as soon as Cosey marries Heed, with Heed's position as wife making her more important. It is also made clear that Heed is more important regardless of how she acts, showing that Christine now is considered lesser in the family. This shows that a man's role as husband is far more important than his role as father. This is also reinforced by the way that Heed is being protected and has become the most important even though marrying her was a quick decision by Cosey and even though she has only been part of the family a short time. This shows that as a granddaughter, Christine's importance is trivialized, even though she has been a member of the family forever and Heed has only just become a family member. This clearly shows that the role of the father is limited, with a man as husband more important than a man as father. Finally, it must be noted that it is May who takes on the role or protecting her daughter. This suggests that it is the mother's responsibility to look after the children, not the father's.