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Masculinity
Throughout A Lesson Before Dying, masculinity is defined and challenged by different characters. Set during the 1940s in rural South Louisiana, Ernest Gaines asks: What does it mean to be a Black man in the South? The black men of the novel—including Grant and Jefferson—reveal their own answers to this question along with their own definition of what makes a man a man. The overlapping factor in both Grant's and Jefferson’s definitions of Black masculinity involves the subversion of white dominance, including challenging the racial stereotypes and patriarchal ideologies set forth by the systematically racist town of Bayonne. The first half of this entry will offer a brief overview of Black masculinity and discuss its impact on the Black men of Bayonne, with an eye toward Grant in particular. The second half of this entry will focus on the portrayal of women in A Lesson including the impact they have on the men and the social systems of the town.
Black Masculinity Defined
Before discussing Black masculinity’s relation to the novel, we must first answer the question: What is Black masculinity? The answer to this question varies depending on the lens we choose. White men in the novel view Black masculinity through the lens of stereotypes. For example, Jefferson is convicted of murder simply because he is a Black man, and Black men are associated with violence. In the perspective of Black women—including Vivian, Lou, and Miss Emma—Black masculinity defines a Black man’s role in the household (father, breadwinner, lover). Lastly, there is the definition of Black masculinity from Black men themselves. In its simplest terms, Black masculinity can be identified as a kind of masculinity that acts in subversion of white masculinity’s dominance. Gaines dramatizes this definition of Black masculinity by representing a socially-constructed masculinity in Bayonne that depends upon Black men proving their manhood to white people—including Henri Pichot, Sheriff Guidry, and others—who are determined to emasculate them (Magill 62).One example of this idea of Black masculinity as the subversion of white dominance can be observed early in the novel during an argument between Grant and his Aunt Lou. Grant expresses his frustration with the recurring humiliation he faces when interacting with the Pichots and the policemen at the jail. Emasculation, for Grant, can be defined as any instance when white supremacy prevents him from expressing his full intelligence and equality. The main instances of Grant’s humiliation are likened to practices that date back to the antebellum South. At the Pichots, Grant is required to enter their home through a rear entrance. During the time of slavery, a common practice on plantations was that slaves were strictly forbidden from entering into the plantation owner’s home through the front door; this entrance was reserved for whites only. The practice of Black people using a separate entrance and other forms of segregation (including Jim Crow Laws) was a major social issue and racial barrier for Blacks during the historical setting of the novel. Segregation also structures the jail where Jefferson is detained. When Miss Emma and Grant pay their first visit, Grant notes that the jail has separate sections for white and Black prisoners (71). The deputy locks them into Jefferson's cell during the visit, in effect treating Grant and Miss Emma as criminals as well. That treatment starts as early as the screening process where the deputy rifles through the food Miss Emma packed for Jefferson, pats Grant down, and scowls at him while rehearsing forbidden objects: "No hatpins, no pocket knives, no razor blades, no ice picks" (70). Visitors might easily bring hatpins and pocket knives by mistake, but the inclusion of razor blades and ice picks signals that the deputy remains suspicious of their intentions. Here again we see how the white police officers view Grant through the lens of a stereotype that views Black men as violent. Subjecting himself to their authority chafes against Grant's pride and sense of manhood.
During his conversation with Vivian at The Rainbow Club, Grant elaborates how Black women perceive the masculinity of men in their communities. At the club, Vivian questions Grant about his relationship with Irene. She thinks Irene is in love with Grant, and seems to feel a tinge of jealousy. Grant brushes off the accusation by equating Irene’s love for him with Miss Emma’s love for Jefferson. Grant explains that what Irene feels for him is not romantic but rather a hope that he will be "the one" who breaks the "cycle" of abandonment and brokenness that he describes as the social condition of Black masculinity since the antebellum era:
Grant’s monologue on Black masculinity is heavily influenced by the women in his life, specifically their expectations of him. While those expectations place heavy burdens on Grant to act as a sort of patriarch to his community, Grant’s own sense of masculinity depends on achieving some autonomy from the expectations of his own community and the stereotypes of the white community. Grant continues his monologue by describing the pressure placed on him by the African American community:We black men have failed to protect our women since the time of slavery. We stay here in the South and are broken, or we run away and leave them alone to look after the children and themselves. So each time a male child is born, they hope he will be the one to change this vicious circle—which he never does … What she wants is for him, Jefferson, and me to change everything that has been going on for three hundred years. She wants it to happen so in case she ever gets out of her bed again, she can go to that little church there in the quarter and say proudly, ‘You see, I told you—I told you he was a man.’ (Gaines 166-167)
Grant contravenes the racist stereotypes impacting white views of Black masculinity, yet he must nonetheless negotiate those stereotypes. Similarly, he tells Vivian, that to be the autonomous Black man unbroken by white supremacy, he must leave Bayonne. In short, he is laying out the social contradiction of Black masculinity under Jim Crow: to avoid being broken by white supremacy, he must leave; to avoid abandoning his community, he must stay. That contradiction comes up again during one of his last visits with Jefferson. He confesses to Jefferson that he wants to run away, but can't bring himself to abrogate his responsibilities. Instead, he asks Jefferson to fulfill his sense of Black masculinity as the power to "chip away at that myth" of white supremacy. "I want you to chip away at that myth by standing," Grant tells Jefferson. "I want you—yes, you—to call them liars. I want you to show them that you are as much a man—more a man than they can ever be" (192). In effect, he asks Jefferson to embody the potential of Black self-actualization by heroically proving his own manhood.For Irene and for others there in the quarter, it’s the same. They look at their fathers, their grandfathers, their uncles, their brothers—all broken. They see me—and I, who grew up on that same plantation, can teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. I can give them something that neither a husband, a father, nor a grandfather ever did, so they want to hold on as long as they can. Not realizing that their holding on will break me too. That in order for me to be what they think I am, what they want me to be, I must run as the others have done in the past. (Gaines 167)
Women’s Roles in A Lesson
If the central theme of A Lesson Before Dying explores how a man should die—or, more importantly, how a man should live—that problem implies the question of women’s roles and expectations in society. In the earlier sections of the novel, Gaines describes life for Black women in Jim Crow Louisiana. Miss Emma and Tante Lou selflessly care for their family, working tirelessly to provide things like food, shelter, and, in Grant’s case, a college education. Reverend Ambrose reveals to Grant the pain and suffering his aunt endured while working around the Plantation: "That's how you got through that university—cheating herself here, cheating herself there, but always telling you she's all right" (218). In the case of Jefferson, although he repeatedly rejects the food that is brought to him in prison, Miss Emma continues cooking large meals for him with the hope that he might eat some. Vivian always puts her children first above all else, ensuring they have someone to look after and care for them. Vivian even puts her children above Grant, which often results in missed plans, trips, and dates that Vivian likely would have enjoyed. Gaines emphasizes how women have had to put their families above all else—even if their sacrifices and good deeds are not always recognized or reciprocated.Because femininity and masculinity are defined against one another, it is worth noting how Gaines portrays women as more sympathetic and gentle than men yet highly influential. For example, both Grant and Vivian are schoolteachers, but Vivian genuinely cares about her students. While Grant feels torn between leaving and staying, Vivian is more steadfast in her duty to the community and helps Grant recognize his own sense of responsibility. That encouragement grows especially important when she supports Grant in his visits with Jefferson, even though these visits negatively affect their relationship—including their sex life. In addition to the Black women in the novel, even Edna Guidry, the sheriff’s wife, comes off as sympathetic—albeit a bit tin-eared—towards Miss Emma’s pain. Edna Guidry agrees to speak to her husband about allowing Miss Emma, Tante Lou, Reverend Ambrose, and Grant to visit Jefferson in the dayroom despite her husband’s misgivings. We see a similar behind-the-scenes roll for women even earlier in the novel when it becomes clear that Grant would not have agreed to the visits with Jefferson if it had not been for the pressure from his Tante Lou and the continued encouragement from Vivian. Although the women of the novel are portrayed as sympathetic and gentle, they are very persuasive in getting the men to act.
As stated previously, most of the male-female character relationships in A Lesson are one-sided, with the female contributing the most to the relationship without reciprocation. Vivian contributes far more to their relationship than Grant. Grant expects Vivian to be there and support him when he is in need. Grant often uses Vivian as an outlet for his frustrations, both emotional and sexual. When Grant vents to Vivian, he often speaks rudely, letting his anger get the best of him. During their argument in Chapter 26 of the novel, Vivian makes it clear that the sex and passion in their relationship are unsatisfactory to her as Grant does not show her “any consideration” (210). Regarding Jefferson and Miss Emma, despite all the hard work she puts into cooking for Jefferson, he refuses to eat out of stubbornness; he does not eat until Grant instructs him to do so. In terms of Grant and Tante Lou, it is evident that Grant does not have much respect for his aunt despite all the sacrifices she has made to ensure Grant has a better life with better opportunities than she was ever given. In the end, it seems clear that if any man can embody Black masculinity by chipping away at the myth of white supremacy, it is because Black women have fulfilled the feminine role of caretaker and support network.
