The Bluest Eye: Spring

“Their voices blended into a threnody of nostalgia about pain. Rising and falling, complex in harmony, uncertain in pitch, but constant in the recitative of pain. They hugged the memories of illnesses to their bosoms. They licked their lips and clucked their tongues in fond remembrance of pains they had endured…” (137)

This quotation, given as insight from Cholly’s past, reveals to the reader a scene in which Aunt Jimmy’s friends reminisce on their past, more specifically directed toward the aspects of pain and all the memories associated with these feelings. The words embedded throughout this text are noticeably not the typical words associated with thoughts of pain. I think this is because even though these occurrences may have been painful in the moment, when looking back these women realize that this was not the case in context. The vocabulary used is almost lyrical as if they are singing a beautiful, complex song that composes the melody of their past.

I chose this quote because in the opening lines of this section, Claudia describes how when she thinks of spring, she remembers the whippings that have left marks in her mind forever. Soon after this, she discovers Frieda crying in painful thought and later on in the section, we see how pain the Breedloves endured in their youth has tormented their entire lives. It is almost as if these characters are defined by the physical trials they have faced. A definite recurrence in this section is centered around the external and internal pain that each character faces. Much of the characters’ actions are their indirect approaches to dealing with the internal pain that rests deep inside their souls. How each character choses to address the pain they have endured reveals their true being. The author carefully uses this quote to illustrate and give us an understanding behind the actions of the characters as a result of the pain that has had such an impact on their stories.