In chapter 16, a very ironic character is introduced to the novel. Her name is Mrs. Turner. Mrs. Turner is African American, yet she does not have the black pride with which so many other people in this book have. Mrs. Turner loves to be around with Janie because of her physical likeness to white poeple( which we know is because of her grandmother's past with white men). The narrator shows this white obsession by stating "So she didnt cling to Janie the woman. She paid homage to Janie's Caucasian characteristics as such. And when she was with Janie she had a feeling of transmutation, as if she herself had become whiter and with straighter hair" (p 145). Not only is Mrs. Turner using Janie for her white characteristics, but she does not even admire the actual strong inner person Jaine is. Mrs. Turner is identified as how many whites believed African Americans to be.
This character is obsessed with the dream of being white and having a better life. Of course this dream will never be fulfilled yet she holds on to it for her dear life. At the beginning of the novel Hurston talks about "ships at a distance" which relates to impossible dreams of many characters in this novel. This idea connects to the quote saying Mrs. Turner "like all the other believers had built an altar to the unattainable,” (p 145). This perspective of race shows the ideal belief from this time preiod. Hurston creates this character because it reflects how other people saw black people, including various black people. This absurd idea of white people being higher than African Americans clearly is rubbed off on many poeple of that time period, including blacks.
What mystifies me about the character, Mrs. Turner, is why Hurston created her. Mrs. Turner is clearly racist against her own poeple. I remember reading about how Hurston was very proud of her culture and especially the folk stories. This character goes against what she believes in. Maybe she uses this character as an example of white racism, yet why she would choose a black person for this role is puzzling.
I feel that Mrs. Turner's presence as a black woman was to show the harsh reality of many blacks feelings of inferiority to whites and also to bring out and accentuate Janie's whiteness. Janie has many white characteristics during the novel and when Mrs. Turner comments on them it makes this even more clear.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Mrs. Turner is a very ironic individual. She is peculiar because she has a dream that sails out on the horizon, never coming to shore. The peculiar part is that Hurston stated that it was men whose dreams sail forever, not the women's. This reinforces how Mrs. Turner is the dominant partner in her marriage, an unlikely happening in the novel.
ReplyDeleteLilly, I also found the character of Mrs. Turner an extremely interesting individual. She bothered me so much!!! I think Hurston also included Mrs. Turner to bring out characteristics in Janie and Tea Cake. Mrs. Turner causes Janie to defend Tea Cake, showing the depth of Janie and Tea Cake's relationship. Mrs. Turner's comments about Janie and her brother also bring out the jealous tendencies in Tea Cake, showing the variety of purposes Mrs. Turner serves.
ReplyDeleteI also don't understand why Mrs. Turner is introduced into the book. She's simply just a random character that enjoys criticizing Blacks and their culture, which is what you said and I agree. Personally, I think Mrs. Turner is a greedy woman who has no appreciation to her Black heritage.
ReplyDeleteI also found her character extremely ironic and unexpected. It is a mystery why she would be so inadequate with her sense of self, but as you said she is a great example of someone who will never achieve her dream. Perhaps that is the purpose of her character: to almost make fun of those that set their dreams to the impossible?
ReplyDeleteI think in any minority group, or group that is discriminated against, there are people like Mrs. Turner. Unlike Hurston, who is confident in the knowledge that the races are equal, whether they are treated that way or not, Mrs. Turner tries to elevate herself above other black people by deriding black culture. The sad thing about the "Mrs. Turner's" of the world is that they will never be accepted into the group they are trying to assimilate into, and they are only hating and harming themselves. I think that this character, as well as being used as a plot device, as others have pointed out, is Hurston's symbol for the black writers and intellectuals during the Harlem Renaissance, who derided and abandoned black culture in order to prove themselves equal to whites.
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