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Shedding Some New Light

Now, I'm not sure if this is significant or not, but after chapter 10 in Song of Solomon, this has been on my mind. When Milkman entered the cave, he was "blinded by the absence of light." This struck me because earlier in the same chapter there was mention of "the absence of light" as he entered the Butler place.

I found that this phrase references "a newborn traveling through a birth canal" from the article "Signifying Circe in Toni Morrison's 'Song of Solomon.'" If this is true, that means that Milkman is starting to become a new person as he enters these dark places. In fact, we saw this new character as he realized his selfishness over what he did or didn't "deserve" in chapter 11. After he left the cave, Milkman started encountering the most threatening situations of his life. First, the brawl at the store and then the attempted murder from his lovely best friend Guitar.

But going back to the first mention of an absence of light, I'm going to say that I'm extremely confused by Circe's presence. Was she a hallucination or was she really alive...? And I think that's the point of this passage: to make us confused, just like how Milkman was. This mystery matches the character of the Greek goddess Circe, who's an enchantress. That same article from before compares Macon II to Hades, from which Milkman escapes from to a new life. He has been in the "Underworld" his whole life, which could be connected to their last name: Dead. Mindblowing, right?! So as Milkman encounters magical Circe, he lives a new life, free from Guitar's judgement, Hagar's dangerous love, and, most of all, his family's emotional and financial dependence.

Comments

  1. Alex XuOctober 26, 2019 at 1:10 PM

    Remember back when Milkman dreamed that Ruth was being overgrown by tulips (105), we were told to look out for when Morrison purposefully distorts reality? I think this must be it. There's no way Circe isn't at least a hundred and ten years old - and her having the voice of "a twenty-year-old girl" (240) just confirms that Morrison is indeed bending reality here. It's to get a point across - whether she's alive or dead, or a witch, or a ghost, it doesn't matter. Perhaps it's like how Jake's ghost appeared to Pilate and kept repeating "Sing" - maybe the most reasonable interpretation is that Circe is indeed dead but appears to Milkman to guide him on his journey. I also like how you research every time and tie in outside sources to uncover so many hidden meanings; in this book, it's not a question of whether something that seems significant is (because it surely is), it's a question of what we haven't found yet!

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  2. Julia StarrOctober 27, 2019 at 9:44 AM

    I never really thought that Toni Morrison wanted us to feel lost and confused as Milkman was when Circe was there. I really like your stance on it! I had to read some passages more than a couple times because I thought Circe was dead but she was there and had a voice of a twenty year old made me wonder if he was hallucinating.

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  3. Abby RizkOctober 27, 2019 at 10:00 AM

    I really like how you researched and used an article that we haven't read, it made it a lot more interesting to read. Also, the comparison the Greek gods was very interesting, I never thought of it like that but its pretty accurate! On a side note, I was very confused about Circe as well and I agree that Morrison might've wanted us to feel confused during that passage.

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  4. Apoorva MirjiOctober 27, 2019 at 10:16 AM

    The part about being blinded by the abscense of light really struck me and I didn't really understand its significance. The part about Milkman finding himself in these dark places could also refer to him finding himself in the south without his wealth and power that he had in the north. In the north he is more influenced by white culture, but in the south where he is surrounded by his people (colored people), he starts to find himself. Even in chapter 12 he mentions how he is connected to this place and the people in it. I really enjoyed your analysis and I love the thought you put into it!

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  5. Ajay SureshOctober 27, 2019 at 3:19 PM

    I liked your analysis on this on how Milkman grew as a person. I liked how you found something that we did not analyze in class and gave it a meaning for something that I did not catch. I also liked how you broke down the scene with Circe and that it is meant to be confusing to not know if she was alive or dead. I also thought that Morrison likes to bend the reality in places where she is trying to relay a message to the audience. The example of Circe was a great place for her to do that while not hindering the story in anyway and not taking the audience out of the magic of her book.

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  6. Parvathi N.October 28, 2019 at 3:02 PM

    Such an interesting take on the novel! I love your connections throughout the story on light versus dark in Milkman's life. Circe also struck me as very odd. I was very unsure as to believe whether she was real or not as I was reading. The element of confusion, as you said, added another depth to the story. Nice blog!

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