"Simply a Menaced Boy": Analogizing Color, Undoing Dominance in James Baldwin's
"Giovanni's Room"
Author(s): Aliyyah I. Abur-Rahman
Source: African American Review, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall, 2007), pp. 477-486
Published by: St. Louis University
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"Simplya Menaced Boy":AnalogizingColor,
UndoingDominancein JamesBaldwin's
Giovanni'sRoom
ofthedeath
anniversary
year2007marksthetwentieth
ofnovelist,
essayist,
politicalspokesperson,
philosopher
I. Abur-Rahmanis
ofBaldwin'scontribution
to20th- Aliyyah
JamesBaldwin.Thesignificance
AssistantProfessorof
Itwas
Americanletters
and politicscannotbe overstated.
century
Englishat Brandeis
Baldwinwhospent40 yearsexamining
and employing
theinterHer areas ofspeUniversity.
as a conceptualframework
for
sectionofraceand sexuality
cializationincludeAfrican
is created,consolidated,
and codified Americanliterature,sexuality
howidentity
understanding
femiintheUnitedStates.Itwas BaldwinwhogaveAfrican
Americans studies,and multiethnic
nisms.
She
is
comcurrently
thewords"unlivable"and "unspeakable"and "unanswerable"
tentapletinga manuscript,
the
as thetermsthatmostapproximate
(whilealwaysadmitting
titled"The Eroticsof
tively
evertrulytodescribe)theexperience
ofbeinga black
incapacity
Race: Identity,
Sexuality,and
Finally,itwas
personintheUS at anypointinitshistory.
Black Figuration."
Dr. Abdurthatthe
Baldwinwhorealizedand persistently
Rahman is the recipientofthe
proclaimed
African
thewoman,and the(so-called)sexualdeviant
American,
2006 DarwinT. Turner
wherethe
aredoomedsymbolsoftheUS culturalimagination,
Award,givento the year's
best essay inAfrican
and fantasies
ofthestraight,
white,bourgeois
fears,fetishes,
aredeposited,and thatthekeytoall humanredemp- AmericanRewew.
mainstream
theirowninnateand complitionis torecognizeinthesefigures
catedhumanity-and toletthemlive.
I daresaythatthisessayborrowsitsfocusfromBaldwin'slife
ofwhatitmeanstobe an American"and
work- "thediscovery
thatthemosteffective
theconviction
pathtorealizingthepotenthose
is toundothosesinister
tialofUS democracy
dichotomies,
and
between
black
citiwhite,
boundaries,
maliciously
mapped
and homosexualon whichAmerican
zen and alien,heterosexual
so assiduouslyrelies.NotonlybecauseBaldwinwas
identity
orbecausehe had tofleethe
"a transatlantic
commuter"
himself
worksso
US tosurviveit,butalso becauseinhisimaginative
the
the
fromprehis
characters
must
do
of
same,
journey
many
and self-detertoself-possessed
identity
predetermined
scriptive,
of
minedselfhoodforBaldwinoccurson theinternal
geography
ofour
thehumanpsycheand heartand on thespatialgeography
in scopeand process.
world.Baldwin'sprojectwas nationalist
influence
Believingthatconceptsofhomeand nationexertcritical
Baldwin'slifeproject
ofindividualidentity,
on thedevelopment
a placefortheblack,the
toforge,
was tolocate,orifnecessary
the
the
the
artist,
gayoppressedand weary"outimpoverished,
sider"- inhisowncountry.
In theessay,"Wordsofa NativeSon,"Baldwindeclares,"We
torealizethatthereis no Negroprobmustmakegreateffort
lem-but simplya menacedboy.Ifwe coulddo this,we could
we couldsave theworld"(Price401).
save thiscountry,
of
thisclaim,thisessayreadsBaldwin'sdepictions
Anatomizing
as
both
and
male
homoeroticism
critiqueof
besiegedmasculinity
Americans
as bothracial
and analogueforthepositionofAfrican
AfricanAmericanReview,Volume41 , Number3
Abdur-Rahman
© 2007
HAZARDS OF EXPATRIATION":RICHARD WRIGHT'S COSMOPOLITANISM IN PROCESS
"THE
USES I.AND
Aliyyah
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477
475
and sexualothersin theUS. I takeas myprincipalfocusGiovanni's
recovRoom,
to
the
racial
the
white
characters
of
ering underlying
antagonisms
putatively
thatAmericanidentity
mostdirectly
is solidified,
argueadditionally
experiifnotreformedtheexperience
ofexpaenced,butalso transformedthrough
I openmyanalysisofGiovanni's
triation.
the
demands
Roombyfirst
explicating
ofracialprotest
fiction
relativeto depictions
ofpersonaldesireinmid-20th-cenI proceedtotracethehistory
about
Americanliterature.
ofcriticism
turyAfrican
Giovanni's
Roomtorevealthatlabel"homosexual
novel"and thecritical
obsessionwiththenovel'swhitecharacters
haveobscuredmanyofthenovelsunderof
the
thatfor
machinations
of
lyingcritiques
finally,
power.Itis mycontention,
Baldwintheexperience
in an unfamiliar
ofexile,oflivingas a stranger
country,
and psychicfragpowerfully
parallels-and analogizes-thesocialalienation
thatAfrican
mentation
Americans
athomein
and/assexualoutsidersexperience
theUnitedStates.1
As a secondnovel,Giovanni's
Roomwas doomedtofail.Itswhitecharacters,
homosexualcontent,
and Parisiansetting
did notmakeita suitablefolexplicit
whichintroduced
Baldwinas themost
low-upto GoTellItontheMountain,
black
novelist
to
arrive
on
the
American
sceneinthemidpromising
literary
twentieth
Baldwinwas warnedthathissecondnovelmightnotwithcentury.
standaccusations
ofindecency
and associations
withpornography,
and
Roomwas initially
Giovanni's
rejected
bya numberofNew Yorkpressesand dismissedas a noveloflittleliterary
value.Baldwinwas eventoldbyhiseditorsto
"burnthemanuscript."2
Ofcourse,Baldwinfeltthatin spiteoftheexplicitlove
affair
ofthetwocentralcharacters,
David and Giovanni,themanythematic
preofthenovel- includingmigration,
failedromance,
and
occupations
poverty,
crimesofpassion- wouldappealtoreadersofall racialand sexualidentifications.Butmoreimportant,
Giovanni's
RoomprovidedBaldwintheopportunity
to
unsanctioned
represent
personaldesireand tocontemplate
questionsofidentity
andnationalbelongingoutsideofthetraditional
ofblackprotest
ficparameters
tion.3In Giovanni's
Baldwinfoundan opportunity
bothtodepictthebasic
Room,
humanstruggle
towardself-love
and communalacceptanceand torepresent
sexualalterity
withoutabandoninghiscommitment
tocritiquing
socialasymmetriesinthearenasofraceand class.
Thepolicingofrepresentations
ofracialblackness-particularly
intermsof
and
is
a
in
African
the
sexuality,
family, domesticity- longstanding
practice
American
tradition.
blackliterary
Earlyblacknovelistsendeavoredtorefigure
nessas (hetero)normative
so thatblackAmericans
couldentertheculturalmainstreamand enjoythefullbenefits
ofunqualified
Thepersistence
of
citizenship.
racismand theconcomitant
threatofAfrican
Americans'(literaland psychic)
annihilation
toblacksocialadvancement
and positive
keptthecommitment
racialrepresentation
inAfrican
foremost
Americanexpressive
cultureofthe
mid-twentieth
Whilethereis muchthatis empowering
abouttheinsiscentury.4
tencethatblackliterature
do manifestly
this
has led to
work,
political
injunction
modesofrepresentation
and theemergence
ofculturalstandards
proscriptive
thatdevalueblackliterary
textsthatdo nothighlight
thematerialimpactsof
racismorpromoteexplicitly
blackracialuplift.Thisinjunction
has led,moreofdesireinmid-20™-century
African
over,tothepervasivesuppression
American
And
desire
I
mean
the
the
literary
production.5 by
deeplyinternal,
Desirehere,then,bothcomhuman,and thepersonally
individually
fulfilling.
forsocialequityinthepsychological,
economic,
prisesand exceedstheyearning
and politicalrealms.
Thedisciplining
ofdesireinblackliterature
has resultedinthecensureof
thosetextsthatarenotovertly
politicaland thesuspicionthattheylackbothculturalvalueand racialauthenticity.
Speakingofblackcanonformation
through478
AFRICAN
AMERICAN
REVIEW
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ClaudiaTateargues,"Scholarsand readers
outmuchofthetwentieth
century,
all seemedtacitly
toagreethatsuchworks,whichfocuson theinnerworldsof
withoutmakingtheworldentirely
blackcharacters
dependenton thematerial
and psychological
ofa racistsociety,
werenotblackenough,and
consequences
and theimposiofracialauthenticity
theycastthemaside" (4). Theimperative
dividewithintheblackcommunity
tionofracialstandardscreatean artificial
thatbanishesthosewithunsanctioned
commitpersonaldesires,philosophical
In otherwords,
totheperiphery
ofblackidentity.
ments,and aesthetic
practices
oftheverypossibility
thatone'sselfor
theconsequenceofracialstandards,
ofblacknessin a
one'sartmayfailtobe "blackenough,"is thenormalization
dominant
orderand thegroupexclusionsthat
waythatmimicsthesanctioned,
entails.6
In thefinalanalysis,thosewhofailto
suchnormalization
necessarily
inthedetermination
ofwho and/orwhatqualifiesas authenfigureortomatter
have
to
the
oftheblack-culture-making
black
been
relegated
fringes
tically
machine.
Andmoreoftenthannot,thoseso exiledhavebeenwomenand queersof
standardsofauthentic
blacknessarephallocencolor,forsubtending
qualifying
As
McBride
tricism
and compulsory
heterosexuality. Dwight
argues,"underlysocial
counterpart:
ingmuchofracediscourse[and,I wouldadd,itsimaginative
thatall 'real'blacksubjectsaremaleand hetis theimplication
fiction]
protest
ofcourse,thatthestruggle
erosexual"("QueenSpeak"371).Itis notsurprising,
has beenhistorically
a simultaneous
to
forblacksocialadvancement
struggle
in
and
to
normalize
African
black
(hetero-)patriarchy
reconfigure masculinity
to
Americanculture.As PhillipBrianHarperbrilliantly
elucidates,
"subscription
blackidentity
bespeaksa masculinestatusbecausethe. . . couragetoclaim
whatconstitutes
conventional
is precisely
socialautonomy
manhood,no matter
unimwhattheracialcontext"
(68).In otherwords,theconceptsthatunderwrite
intheUS are
pededculturaland politicalaccessor,moresimply,fullcitizenship
thesameconceptsthatdelineatethemasculinesubject.7
racialstandardization
Nonetheless,
producedundertherubricofa central
differences.
Forexamriskstheocclusionofintraracial
blackmalepositionality
the
"In
the
name
of
ofracial
Thomas
Kendall
warns,
unity,
imagined
politics
ple,
antidemocratic
has givenrisetoan aggressive,
impulse.Thispoliauthenticity
racialidentity
ticshas obscuredtheinflections
of,and antagonisms
within,
proand thelike"
ofethnicity,
ducedbydifferences
class,gender,religion,
sexuality,
inracialproscriptions
(129).The"antidemocratic
maybe
impulse"obtaining
and ofpatriarchy
ofheterosexuality
as a finalendorsement
understood
because,
theblackpeoplewhocomeundersuspicionoflackingauthenticity
mostoften,
arethosewhosebodiesand desiresarenotinkeepingwiththecultural(read:
national)standard.
ofGiovanni's
Roomfromthe
Theprincipalreason,then,forthebanishment
ofBaldwin'sown
canonis itsemphasison desire,itsdramatization
blackliterary
In the50 years
at racialtranscendence.
and thenovel'sriskyattempt
queerness,
ifnotmanifestly
havehad an ambivalent,
critics
sinceitspublication,
hostile,
Room
reaction
tothenovel.RobertBone,forexample,wrotein 1965:"Giovanni's
arevagueand disis byfartheweakestofBaldwin'snovels.... Thecharacters
thanvivified"
thecolorsbleachedrather
embodied,thethemeshalf-digested,
Theterms
are
themselves
Bone's
criticisms
in
Holland
105).
racially-coded.
(qtd.
inthenoveland
tothewhitecharacters
"bleached"and "disembodied"refer
at all,particforchoosingto depicthomoeroticism
toBaldwinhimself
implicitly
whiteness.
of
in
the
space
imaginative
ularly
Mae G. Hendersonpositsthat"the
In a recentreadingofGiovanni's
Room,
in racialdrag"(299).Henderson'spostucharacters
Room]perform
[inGiovanni's
in thatitinsinuates
a crilationis notonlyastutebutalso critically
paramount
ANALOGIZINGCOLOR, UNDOING DOMINANCE IN JAMES BALDWIN'S GIOVANNI'S ROOM
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479
ofgenderdisruptobearconsiderations
tiqueofracialauthenticity
bybringing
tionand homoeroticism.
HendersonagreeswithSharonPatriciaHolland's
assessment
ofthecharacters
in Giovanni's
Room:"basically,
theseareblackcharactersinwhiteface"
(105).Whilemyownanalysisofthenovelbuildson the
workofbothHendersonand Holland,I takecarenottodismissthe
important
whiteness
ofthecharacters
toaccesstheirputativeblackness.Myconcernis to
avoidreiteratingorassigningtoBaldwin-thelogicthatin therealmofpropauthentic
In other
is a "whitething/'
blackness,
erlyperformed,
homosexuality
Baldwindepictssexual alterity
and the humanstruggle
forself-loveand communalacceptance
withoutabandoninghis commitment
to a
of
social
of
race
and
class.
critique
asymmetries
thatBaldwinbelievedhisrepresentation
words,I wishtoresisttheassumption
ofhomoerotism
necessitated
a transfiguring
ofracebecauseofa prevailing
belief
inAfrican
Americancommunities
thattheproperlocaleforsame-sexdesiringis
toemphasize,instead,is thecomplicated
amongwhites.WhatI wouldprefer
ofpowerhierarchies
thatbothincludeand exceedracialdifference
in
rendering
Giovanni's
Room.In otherwords,myfocusis on Baldwin'scritiqueofwhiteness,
hissubtleallusionstotheracializing
effects
ofqueerness.
specifically
through
and Europeancharacters,
Giovanni's
RoomcentralDespiteitsFrenchsetting
izes issuesofraceand racialhierarchy
withina capitalist
economyand stratified
socialsphere.As Baldwinbiographer
David Leemingwrites,
Baldwin"merges
thequestionofracismwiththequestionofself-identity,
whichhad alwaysbeen
hisconcernand whichhad beenmostfullytreatedinthecontext
ofhomosexualRoom"(117).As I discussbelow,thatnoneofthecentralcharacityin Giovanni's
tersinthetextareofFrenchdescentbutall liveinrelativepoverty
and obscurity
inFrancesuggeststhatquestionsoflineage,ofprivilege,
and ofnationalbelongofsocialand racialidentity
butnonequitereducibletorace- are
ing-all factors
thewhiteness
oftheprotagonist
pursuedinthenovelas well.Byestablishing
David as hisfirst
authorialactin thisnovel,Baldwinsetsup race,thoughnot
African
Americanidentity,
as a primary
In the
concernofhisnarrative.
explicitly
of
Giovanni's
David
stands
at
the
at
Room,
window,
openingpassage
glaring his
ownreflection,
and declares:"I watchmyreflection
inthedarkening
gleamof
thewindowpane.Myreflection
is tall,perhapsrather
likean arrow,myblond
hairgleams.Myfaceis likea faceyouhaveseenmanytimes.Myancestors
cona
across
death-laden
until
came
to
an
continent,
quered
pushing
plains,
they
oceanwhichfacedawayfromEurope'sdarkerpast"(221).David's whiteness,
initstypicality
("likea facethatyouhaveseenmanytimes")and its
particularly
contrast
withtheknownblackracialidentity
oftheauthor,suggeststhat
Baldwin'simaginative
endeavorin Giovanni's
Roomis tointerrogate
subjective
in
the
social
context
of
fixed
racial
David's invocadevelopment
positionalities.
tionofthe"darkerpast"ofEuropeindicatesDavid's dawning,subtleidentificationwithcolorand,thereby,
beginsBaldwin'sworkinthetextofundoing
whiteness.
David's acknowledgement
thathisidentity
as a white
Moreover,
American
manis borneofEuropeanimperialism
and domination
establishes
a
cruciallinkbetweenEuropeand theUnitedStatesthatallowsEuropetoserve
as a suitablesetting
forBaldwin'sinterrogation
ofUS ethosand rampant
inequalities.
480
AFRICAN
AMERICAN
REVIEW
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In spiteofthegenericqualityofDavid's whiteness,
itsconformity
tocultural
the
standardsofattractiveness
about
of
white
bodies
registers
anxiety
placement
in a malehomosexualcontext.
in theeconomiesofsexand romance,
particularly
a "straight"
David associateshisstaturewith"an arrow/'registering
sexualorientation
thatis beliedbyhissame-sexwantingandbehavior.As David studies
inthe"darkening
hisreflection
gleamofthewindowpane,"hisinitialdeclarais undermined
darknessframing
hisvisage,
tionofwhiteness
bytheperceptual
at
himself.
Even
as
David
claims
whiteness
the
his
view
of
of
framing
beginning
thatis simultaneously
itsend,he has enduredthegrittiness
a narrative
oflife
becomesthematerialofblackness.
and lustthat,oncerepressedand repudiated,
codesand as sexual
In otherwords,as he constantly
violatesheteronormative
ofthesociallyoustedblack(ordark)figure,
varianceis perceivedas theproperty
"racialization"
Giovanni's
Roomthat
David undergoesa progressive
throughout
intoquestion.
throwshisavowedwhiteness
withGiovanni,
he
EvenbeforeDavid getstoParisandbeginsa loveaffair
homoerotic
makeslovewitha "brown"boynamedJoey.This,hisfirst
act,terriafterhisandJoey'slovemaking:
fieshim.He describesthemorning
We werebothnakedand thesheetthatwe had used as a coverwas tangledaroundour
I had seenuntilthen.
creation
feet.Joey'sbodywas brown,was sweaty,themostbeautiful
I wouldhavetouchedhimtowakehimbutsomething
stoppedme.I was suddenlyafraid.
andthedesirewhichwas risingin
. . . Myownbodysuddenlyseemedgrossand crushing
mesuddenlyseemedmonstrous.
But,aboveall,I was afraid.(225-26)
and crossdesirethatis buddinginDavid is bothhomoerotic
Themonstrous
intwo
ofpanicis a result,then,ofhisparticipation
racial.David's experience
hisclaimtouncontaminated
whiteness.
outlawedsexualbehaviorsthatthreaten
interracial
loveis themoresocially
In thehierarchy
ofdebasedsexualities,
toDavid's whiteidentity.
Thisgreater
deploredand,thus,themorethreatening
before
he notices
racial
difference
is evidentinDavid's registering
threat
Joey's
basisofDavid's mascumalesameness.Thattheheterosexual
theiranatomical
has becomeundoneoccurstohimonlyafterhe has beguntoconlineidentity
realizesthatJoeyis "a
desire.He finally
themeaningofhisinterracial
front
narrates:
David
boy."
in hisarms,in hislooselycurledfists.Thepower
I saw suddenlythepowerin histhighs,
and thepromiseofthatbodymademe suddenlyafraid.Thatbodysuddenlyseemedthe
tillmadnesscame,in whichI
blackopeningof a cavernin whichI would be tortured
testified
toitsvileness.. . .
wouldlosemymanhood.. . . Theverybed,initssweetdisorder
ofhalf-heard,
A cavernopenedin mymind,black,fullofrumor,
half-forgotsuggestion,
inthatcavern.I
I saw myfuture
fullofdirtywords.I thought
stories,
ten,half-understood
howthiscouldhavehappenedtome,howthiscould
was afraid... fornotunderstanding
havehappenedinme.(226)
David describeshisdesireforthemalebodyas beingdrawnintoa darkcaventered.
As a
totheanushe wantstoenter/has
ern-an obviousreference
him
in
and
to
castrate
sucks
the
cavern
for
fallen
only
masculinity,
metaphor
him.Moreover,
eventhoughDavid findsJoeybeautiful,
thentocharacterize
Joey'sbodyis theveryopeningofthecavern.A numberofwordsthatDavid
uses todescribesame-sexdesirehaveracialconnotations:
black,half-forgotten,
then-hisbeingracedmadness,half-understood,
dirty.Itis Joey'sbrownness
toDavid,so thatDavid imagineshisdesire
and contagion
thatis bothpollutant
toand desireforJoey's
BothDavid's proximity
forJoeymakeshima monster.
tomasculinity,
and to
hisclaimstoheteronormativity,
brownbodyundermine
a
is simultaneously
as David's descentintointra-gender
whiteness,
sexuality
torecoverhiswhitemasdecentintoracialblackness.Notably,David attempts
thesmallnessofJoey'sbodytothelargenessofhisown
bycomparing
culinity
In otherwords,
ofhisdesireas dominance.
ofthefulfillment
andbythinking
ANALOGIZINGCOLOR, UNDOING DOMINANCE IN JAMES BALDWIN'S GIOVANNI'S ROOM
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481
David momentarily
forgets
Joey'sconsenttotheirsexualexchangeand refigures
itas an actofracialaggression,
ofwhichso strongly
thehistory
groundswhite
maleidentity.
Thus,evenbeforeGiovannienterstheactionofthenovel,itis
David will
inwhiteness
and dominant
clearthatforhisinvestment
masculinity,
abandonhisdarker-skinned
Italianlover- whooperatesinthenovelas boththe
figureoftheblackand thefigureofthehomosexual.
and
In thesuperficially
all-white
context
ofthenovel,bothnationalidentity
skincolorstandinforracialdifference
and illustrate
howsexualbehaviorsand
withinracialideologies.Baldwincolor-codes
classlocationsareimplicated
to
desiretouncoverthewaysthatwhiteness
itselfdependson heterosexuality
universal
standard.
and
its
status
as
the
its
own
of
perpetuate
myth normalcy
racial
tosignify
AnalyzingBaldwin'suse ofethnictypesand skincomplexion
in Giovanni's
and sexualdifferences
MarlonRosswrites:
Room,
situaBaldwin. . . refers
as a wayoflocatingthecultural
tocolorand racialcharacteristics
tionofthecharacters.
ratherthanmerelyas uncritical,
Butby takingthesecuesseriously
we mightarguethatin
detailsforestablishing
the"look"ofhis characters,
descriptive
Giovanni's
Room,Baldwinexamineshow desirebecomesencodedand enactedamonga
love
towardssex,romance,
particular
groupofmenwhoseracialheritage
shapesattitudes
andfriendship.
... In thisreading,
sexualidentity
thatmakes
itis notonlyeachcharacter's
himrepresentative
hisracialidentity,
codedas ethnicand sexuoruniquebutalso/instead
al identity.
(26)
In thetext,Giovanni,David's darker,
executed
poorer,abused,and finally
Italianlover,undergoestheclassicexperiences
ofthedegradedfigureofboth
theAfrican
Americanand thehomosexual.In termsofrace,Giovanni'sdislocationinParis,hisfailuretobelong,and theextreme
he facesemblematize
poverty
thealienation
thatAfrican
wherever
Americans
theyareon the
experience
In termsofsexuin
and
the
of
their
births
globe,including
citizenship.8
country
withintheheteroand inability
tofunction
ality,Giovanni'sfailedmasculinity
sexualmatrix
is evidencedevenbeforehe arrivesinParis.After
hischildis stillin a
born,he abandonshiswifeinItaly.Whenin Paris,he worksas a bartender
barfrequented
Parisian
men.
Like
the
black
female
byolderand wealthier
gay
concubineorprostitute,
Giovanniis theconstant
objectoflustand commercial
The
in
men
who
the
bar
which
Giovanniworkslookathim
exchange.
frequent
as "a valuableracehorseora rarebitofchina"(245).According
toRobertReidofhis
Pharr,"One mightargue,infact,thatGiovannibecomessimplya creature
ofsexand desire,bywhichothermenareabletogaugetheir
body,a creature
ownhumanity"
(388).Giovanniis thedarkfigureinthenovelwhoservesas a
forthelongingsand theanxieties
Itis against
ofthewhitecharacters.
repository
himthattheydefineand measureboththeirhumanity
and theirwhiteness.
David internalizes
hisnativecountry's
and thishomophobia
homophobia,
in turncharacterizes
himas a whiteAmerican
man.As he conceivesofhisintiwithGiovanni.
so David thinksofhisloveaffair
macywithJoeyas "dirty,"
of
their
and
their
sex
David tells
their
cohabitation,
acts,
romance,
Speaking
ForDavid,homoGiovanni,"Peoplehavedirtywordsfor-forthesituation."
is notonlydegenerate,
itis criminal.
He adds that"itis a crime-inmy
sexuality
and,afterall,I didn'tgrowup here,I grewup there"
(286).In citinghis
country,
of
embrace
to
his
to
homoerotic
romancewholecountry origin justify inability
David admitstheextenttowhichhe has imbibedAmericansexual
heartedly,
mores.Thesemoresgroundhismasculinity
and lendcoherence
tohisfeltsense
ofnationalidentity.
Baldwinillustrates
an accountofDavid's upbringing.
thispointthrough
After
David's motherdieswhenhe is five,David is raisedbyhisfather
andhis
is infantilized,
and theirrelationDavid's father
aunt,Ellen.Ellenis overbearing,
Ellenactslikea wifeto
shipis sexuallytense.Althoughtheyaresiblings,
David's father,
staying
up latetowaitforhimand chidinghimforhisalco482
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In theirhousehold,Ellenfillsthespacevacatedbyher
holismand promiscuity.
Herbehaviorconforms
dead sister-in-law.
tothe19th-century
idealofwomanhoodthatmadewomenresponsible
forthesexualbehaviorsofmen;expectedto
exerta moraland "civilizing"
women'srolemandatedtheirpolicing
influence,
In an argument
malesexualappetitesand activities.
onenight,David's father
tellsEllenthathe wantsDavid to "growup tobe a man.AndwhenI sayman,
oftheSunday
Ellen,I don'tmeana Sundayschoolteacher"(231).Theoffice
schoolteacheris presumably
notonlyby
Ellen's,as sheis herself
implicated
addressedbutalso bybeingdirectly
namedinDavid's father's
beingdirectly
David's father
wantshimtodevelopa strong,
exhortation.
sexual
straight
To
otherwise
is tobecomefeminized.
appetite. develop
thatwomenfunction
as regulators
Thegenderexpectation
and disciplinarians inmen'ssexuallivesdatesbackto 19th-century
idealsoftruewomanhood.It
assumesthatwomenhaveno sexualappetitesoftheirownand,moreover,
it
In otherwords,withwomenfiguring
coversup malesexualpractices.
foremost
inturn(white)menas sexualrepressors
as thesociety'ssexuallyrepressed,
can- as do David and hisfather-engageinexcessiveand evenpredatory
sexual behaviorwithouteverhavingtoacceptresponsibility
forit.David recognizes
Lackofresponsibility
fortheirsexuality
thisdynamicwithinhisfamily.
keeps
and seeminginnocence.
menina stateofperpetualimmaturity,
insincerity,
David describeshisfather
as "boyishand expansive,"
whileEllenis depictedas
Even
David's
who
looks
outon thehousehold
and
mother,
domineering.
aged
is depictedas a haunting
authorialpresence.AfterEllenhas
froma photograph,
died,David's father
speaksofbothwomenintermsmoreapplicabletoone's
and Baldwindepicts,this
thanone'sspouseorsister.David recognizes,
mother
familial
drama
as
a
national
one.
White
American
menaredepictpsychosexual
ed inthenovelas a hordethat"seemedincapableofage,"who "smelledofsoap,
whichseemedindeedtobe theirpreservative
againstthedangersand exigencies
odor"(293).ForBaldwin,then,itis themenwho- despite
ofanymoreintimate
and exploring
thatis putavice- retaintheinnocence
engaginginexploitation
American.9
tivelyso fundamentally
and sexualexploitation
is tiedin Giovanni's
Thelinkageofsexualrepression
and to classprivilege.
Sexualexploitation
Roombothtonationalidentity
proliferfortheirownsexualproateswhenmenfailtoownorarenotheldresponsible
David's father's
and practices.
clivities
womanizingand David's callousand
and
of
both
his
male
femaleloversexemplify
malesexual
handling
neglectful
intheUS context.
Baldwin'sportrayal
ofdecadent,aging,gay
exploitation
connection
betweensexualexploitation,
revealsthesubstantial
Frenchmen
labor,
and globalpoverty.
On thefaceofit,thecharacters
Jacquesand Guillaumeseemtosupporta
in Giovanni's
Room.Thisstrandofthe
as pathology
readingofhomosexuality
criticYasminDeGout.DeGoutarguesthat
is putforth
byliterary
argument
modesinthenovel.On theone
is depictedin dual,counterposed
homosexuality
as innocent,
natural,and curativeforthenovel'smale
hand,itis constructed
as "deviant
and,on theotherhand,sheargues,itis constructed
characters;
and socioeconomic
behaviorthatproceedsfrompsychological
(426).
depravity"
with
ofGiovanni,DeGoutsuggeststhatfailedrelationships
Citingthecharacter
and that
lead menintohomoerotic
womenand severepoverty
entanglements
condemnsthe"tragicfailureofsocietythatproducesdeviant
Baldwinhimself
DeGout'sclaims
behavior"(426).On initialexamination,
[as inhomosexual]
seemtenable.Baldwindoes infactindictsocietalfailuresthatlead individuals
leadsto
enactments
ofdespair.Forexample,desperatepoverty
intopathological
in
that
for
most
he
ends
Giovanni,
notably
up providing
tragicconsequences
sexualfavorstobothJacquesand Guillaumeinexchangeforfoodand a placeto
GiovannikillsGuillaume,whois said tolook"likea receptacle
stay.Eventually,
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483
executed
ofall theworld'sdirtand disease/'forwhichGiovanniis promptly
hereis exactlywhoorwhatqualifiesas depraved
(264).Whatneedsclarification
and why.
tobe deviance
Baldwinneither
norrepresented
homosexuality
proclaimed
whoaccosts
ordepravity
se.
Even
the
of
the
homosexual
per
grotesquefigure
David at thebaronenightis thefigureofabjection,
David's ownrepressedand
in
is notpathology
insidesmaterialized
beforehim.Homosexuality
expurgated
himsexualGiovanni's
Room.Giovanniexactsrevengeon Guillaumeforutilizing
afterGiovanni'ssexutogranthimrespectable
lyand thenrefusing
employment
but
al use has beenexhausted.Giovanniis starved,abandoned,and desperate,
he is notdepraved.Moretothepoint,hisproblemis neither
causednormanifestedbyhishomosexualdesiring.
as Baldwinputsit
Instead,theproblem,
forliesintheeconomicordering
ofsocietythatplaceson sale emaciated,
forth,
be
in
to
and
sexuallyrapaeignboys
purchased
everyway(ab)usedbywealthy,
cious,closetednatives.Jacquesand Guillaumego abouttownbuyingsexual
favorsfromyoungboyswhoarequiteliterally
starvedand thencasttheboys
backintothestreets
oncetheold menhavebeensatiated.Nottheboys'bodies
buttheirhungeracquiescestothedemandsimposedbyJacquesand
Guillaume'slust.BaldwindepictsJacquesand Guillaumeas pathetic,
deplorable
old mennotbecausetheyundotheheterosexuality
but
ofyoungforeigners
becausetheyrobtheseboysoftheirownvolitionand love.In otherwords,
Baldwinindictssocialsystems
thatgrantprotection
and prestige
towealthy,
menin societywithoutregardforthedetriment
powerful
theycausetothose
whoexiston society'sfringes,
within
and withoutregardfortheconditions
whichtheseverelyimpoverished
and politically
disenfranchised
areforcedto
live.
Baldwinblaststhemediaand themainstream
Furthermore,
publicfortheir
collusion.As he reconstructs
forthereadertheeventsthatlead Giovannitocommitmurder,
David pointsoutwithscathing
homosarcasmtheclassist,
nativist,
thatresonatewithinnewsreportage
domiand thatreflect
phobicassumptions
nantopinion.No longerfamiliar
withtheintimate
detailsofGiovanni'sdailylife
and whereabouts,
David followsthereports
in thedailypresses.Thenewspaa pauper"a criminal
... ofthedullestkind"
persmalignGiovannias a foreigner,
inthepressas "a good-hearted,
a per(346)whileGuillaumeis memorialized
to
whohad had thebad judgment
hapssomewhaterratic
philanthropist
befriend
thehardenedand ungrateful
Giovanni"(349-50).
adventurer,
the
"adventurer"
and sexeconomic,
nativist,
Significantly, designation
registers
ual anxietiesaboutGiovanni.David notes:
Itwas remembered
thatthereperishedwithGuillaumeone oftheoldestnamesin France.
wererunon thehistory
ofthefamily;
and hisold,aristocratic
mothSundaysupplements
testified
to thesterling
er,who did notsurvivethemurdertrialofhismurderer,
qualities
ofherson and regretted
thatcorruption
had becomeso vastin Francethatsucha crime
couldgo unpunished.
Withthissentiment
thepopulacewas,ofcourse,morethanreadyto
French
agree.. . . Guillaume'snamebecamefantastically
entangledwithFrenchhistory,
honor,and Frenchglory,and verynearlybecame,indeed,a symbolforFrenchmanhood.
(344)
In castingGuillaumeas botha sexualpredatorand as thesymbolofnational
and
manhood,Baldwinlinksexplicitly
repressedsexuality,
masculinity,
as fundamental
characteristics
ofWestern
nationhood.
exploitation
Although
arethosemostassociatedwithdebauchery
moneyed,
aged,decadentFrenchmen
and classexploitation
in Giovanni's
Baldwindoesnotrepresent
these
Room,
socialillsas especiallyFrenchnationalcharacteristics.
He depictsthem,instead,
as characteristic
oftheWest.David,theprivileged
whiteAmerican
is
traveler,
inthetraffic
in exploitative
sexthatthenovelcondemns.
David,too,
implicated
takesan impoverished,
vulnerable
boyas a loverand thentosseshimoutrather
484
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thanhavehisqueerdesiresexposed.EvenbeforeDavid and Giovannibecome
and David,particularly
betweenhimself
lovers,Jacquespointsoutthesimilarity
theirclandestine
sexualactivities.
He warnsDavid that"thatpoorboy. . . doesn'tknowthatwhenhe looksatyouthewayhe does,he is simplyputting
his
headinthelion'smouth"(265).David actsouthishomosexuality
inthehidden
closetofGiovanni'sroom,farfromthegaze ofhisfamily
and nationalcommunias a "disgusting
bandof
ty.David,Jacques,and Guillaumearelinkedfinally
fairies"
becausetheytreattheirloversas prostitutes
orturnthemintosuch(335).
Thedepictionofmaleprostitution
is centraltoBaldwin'ssocialcritique.
For
example,hisnextnovel,Another
Country,
openswitha depictionoftheprostitutionofitscentral
blackmalecharacter,
Rufus,withintheurbanlandscapeof
America'smostnotorious
New
in a
York.
ForBaldwin,maleprostitution
city:
racializedcontext
is notonlyaboutdirepoverty,
classhierarchy,
and severesexitis also abouthistoric,
ual exploitation;
widespread,insidiousracism.As
Baldwinoftenstated,"Whitepeopleinvented
blackpeopletogivewhitepeople
forBaldwin
(Baldwinand Giovanni88-89).Male prostitution
identity"
signifies
thematerial,
ofan entirepopulationof
ideological,and psychicaldenigration
racedand (oras) sexualothersforthedevelopment
and preservation
ofwhiteforthemaintenance
ofwhiteprivilegeand the
ness,and,morespecifically,
attainment
ofwhitepleasure.
Roomhas notreceivedthecritical
acclaimitmerits,
this
AlthoughGiovanni's
Baldwin
it
second
novel
matters
because
offers
some
of
most
the
by
neglected
ofUS ethosintheperiodbetweenthe
subtle,and astuteobservations
stunning,
endofWorldWarII and the20th-century
CivilRightsmovement.
Baldwin
AmericanpeoplewereundersiegeintheUS,werein
understood
thatAfrican
totheindividualand systemic
assaultsofracehatredand
everywayvulnerable
He also understood
racialdomination.
thesexualcomponent
ofracism,writing
ofsouthern
blackmenin GoTellitontheMountain,
"whichofthemhad notbeen
madetobenddownand drinksomewhiteman'smuddywater?"Baldwinknew
thatthemomentofsexualinterlocking
was ladenwithindividualand collective
buthe also knewthatitcontainedtremendous
forindividhistories,
opportunity
ual correction
and forculturalrenovation.
Roommatters
Giovanni's
becauseitinioftrangressive
tiatesBaldwin'sdeployment
sexualities
tolocatedesireboth
withinand inthespacesbetweenpolarizedidentity
Itis with
categories.
RoomthatBaldwinbeginstheimaginative
Giovanni's
projectthatwouldspanhis
entirelifetime:
thatis,thedismantling
ofdominant
theoriesofrace,ofmasculinitoreconceptualize
and creatively
reconstruct
a morefundaty,and ofsexuality
US.
mentally
egalitarian
Aliyyah I. Abdur-Rahman wishes to thank the reviewers at AAR forvaluable feedback on earlier
drafts of this essay.
of African Americans to establish and locate them1 . By alienation, I referto the historic difficulty
selves in the social milieu of US society. By fragmentation, I referto the Du Boisian concept of double-consciousness, wherein racial interpellation bifurcates the subjectivity of the black person, making itdual.
2. Weatherby gives a detailed account of the initialreception of Giovannis Room by New York
publishers (117-19). Afterbeing published firstin London, the novel was finallypicked up and published by Dell.
3. Posnock writes that Baldwin's "homosexuality intensified his differentialvision, making him
acutely sensitive to the artificeof bounded identity"(231). Baldwin's feltsense of difference as a
queer person withinthe black community heightened his awareness of individual existence beyond
fixed identitycategories, racial or otherwise.
4. 1cannot make this claim forthright
without complicating it. Afterall, black expressive culture in
the late twentiethcentury is often associated with hip hop culture: with urban musical forms, clothing
ANALOGIZINGCOLOR, UNDOING DOMINANCE IN JAMES BALDWIN'S GIOVANNI'S ROOM
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Notes
485
or by
of novels (publishedindependently
styles,speech patterns,and even a recentproliferation
These books have founda wide
small publishinghouses) thatpurportedly
depictlifeinthe inner-city.
readershipamong youngAfricanAmericanurbanites.I use the barelytenable notionof"high"expressive cultureto designate those worksofartand fictionbyAfricanAmericansthathave made notable
inroadsinthe academy.
5. Naylorconvincingly
blackwomen writers,morethanblack
argues thatover the 20tn-century
male writers,
depictedromantic,sexual, and familialrelationsthatdepartfromsociallysanctioned
norms.One notableexceptionforheris Baldwin:"James Baldwinis the onlyestablished male voice
inthe literary
tradition
to dare to explore black sexuality,and in all itsforms.He gave us the black
family.He gave us men in love withmen and withwomen,black and white.He gave us women in
love withmen,whiteand black"(24).
6. Thomas examines thisissue when he writes,"Inthe retreatto a heterosexistconceptionofblack
thejargon ofracialauthenticity
does notrepudiatebutinstead reveals itsrelianceon the
identity,
whitesupremacistlogicfromwhichitpurportsto declare itsindependence"(Lubiano,ed. 131).
7. Feministscholars have made thisobservationas well,hooks,forexample, writesin"Reflections
on Race and Sex," "The discourse of black resistance has almostalways equated freedomwithmanhood, the economic and materialdominationof black men withcastration,emasculation.Accepting
these sexual metaphorsforgeda bond betweenoppressed black men and theirwhitemale oppressors. They shared the patriarchalbeliefthatrevolutionary
strugglewas reallyabout the erect phallus"
(58).
8. The corollarybetweenthe experienceofexpatriationand AfricanAmericans'feltsense ofalienationinthe US is treatedlucidlyand indepthbyTomlinson.
9. In "ShuckinOfftheAfrican-American
NativeOther,"Lubiano argues convincingly
thatpolitical
innocence masks and preservesthe privilegesofthe dominantgroup(s) in society.
Works
Cited
486
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1998.217-360.
- . The Price ofthe Ticket:Collected Nonfiction,
1948-1985. New York:St. Martin's,1985.
- , and NikkiGiovanni.A Dialogue. Philadelphia:Lippincott,
1975.
Portraitsof HomoeroticLove in Giovanni's
DeGout, Yasmin. "Dividingthe Mind:Contradictory
Room" AfricanAmericanRewew26 (1992): 425-35.
and the ProblemofAfrican-American
Harper,PhillipBrian.Are We Not Men?: Masculine Identity
New York:OxfordUP, 1996.
Identity.
'Racial Drag,' and Homosexual
Henderson,Mae G. "James Baldwin'sGiovanni'sRoom: Expatriation,
Panic." Black Queer Studies: A CriticalAnthology.Eds. E. PatrickJohnsonand Mae G.
Henderson.Durham:Duke UP, 2005. 298-322.
Durham:
Holland,Sharon Patricia.Raising theDead: Readings ofDeath and (Black) Subjectivity.
Duke UP, 2000.
hooks, bell. "Reflectionson Race and Sex." Yearning:Race, Gender,and CulturalPolitics.Ed. Gloria
Watkins.Boston: South End P, 1990. 57-64.
Leeming,David. James Baldwin:A Biography.New York:Knopf,1994.
Lubiano,Wahneema, ed. The House thatRace Built:Black Americans,U.S. Terrain.New York:
Pantheon,1997.
- . "Shuckin'Offthe African-American
NativeOther:What's Po-Mo Got to Do withIt?"Cultural
Critique18 (1991): 149-86.
McBride,Dwight."Can the Queen Speak? Racial Essentialism,Sexualityand the Problemof
Callaloo. 21.2 (1998): 363-79.
Authority."
- , ed. James BaldwinNow. New York:New YorkUP, 1999.
Novel." The Yale Review78A (1989): 19-31.
Naylor,Gloria."Love and Sex inthe Afro-American
and theMakingoftheModernIntellectual.
Posnock, Ross. Colorand Culture:Black Writers
Cambridge:HarvardUP, 1998.
Reid-Pharr,RobertF. "Tearingthe Goat's Flesh: Homosexuality,Abjectionand the Productionofa
Late Twentieth-Century
Black Masculinity."
Studies in theNovel 28.3 (1996): 372-95.
Ross, MarlonB. "WhiteFantasies of Desire: Baldwinand the Racial IdentitiesofSexuality."McBride,
ed., 13-55.
Tate, Claudia. Psychoanalysisand Black Novels: Desire and theProtocolsofRace. New York:
OxfordUP, 1998.
Thomas, Kendall."AintNothin'Likethe Real Thing:Black Masculinity,
Gay Sexuality,and the Jargon
ofAuthenticity."
Lubiano,ed., 116-35.
"
as Personal Experienceand Paradigminthe
Tomlinson,George. 'Payin' One's Dues': Expatriation
WorksofJames Baldwin."AfricanAmericanRewew33 (1999): 135-48.
Weatherby,WilliamJ. James Baldwin:Artiston Fire. New York:Dell, 1989.
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