“Then she stopped staring at the green chairs, at the delivery truck; she went to the movies instead. There in the dark her memory was refreshed, and she succumbed to her earlier dreams. Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another – physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion. In equating physical beauty with virtue, she stripped her mind, bound it, and collected self-contempt by the heap.” (122)
This excerpt provides vital insight into Mrs. Breedlove’s character, revealing the source of her distorted outlook on life. The movies expose Pauline to a world of beauty, luxury, and romance that she is now doomed to compare everyone and everything to. Unsatisfied with her own life in the shadow of the cinema’s manufactured image of perfection, Pauline’s relationship with her family disintegrates. As she realizes that Cholly can never live up to the romantic ideal set by film actors, her love for him gives way to exploitation of his faults for her own selfish gain. Having determined that her missing front tooth will never allow her to be “beautiful” like Jean Harlow, Pauline is forced to seek acceptance in her community through other means. In an effort to appear more righteous than her peers, she portrays herself as a martyr who has been commanded by God to punish Cholly for his sins. Cholly, in turn, uses Pauline as a receptacle for his hatred. This mutual manipulation creates a dysfunctional home environment that eventually destroys the family entirely.
When Pecola is born, Pauline immediately labels her as “ugly” and, since she associates physical beauty with value, is never able to truly love her. This supposed ugliness haunts Pecola throughout her childhood and undermines her self-esteem. Instead of taking care of her own home and family, Pauline begins to live vicariously through the white family she works for; she perfects their lavish household and dotes on their beautiful blonde daughter while neglecting her own. Pauline’s welcome acceptance of the nickname “Polly” bestowed upon her by her white employers also mirrors the rejection of her own “ugly” black identity. The unattainable standards set by the movies prove devastating to both Pauline’s own self-esteem and that of her family, reiterating the novel’s theme of the danger of equating whiteness with beauty.
Q: Do the unfortunate circumstances that shaped Pauline’s and Cholly’s lives excuse them for their cruel actions, or should they be held accountable for the damage they inflicted upon Pecola?
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