I first encountered If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin in the summer of 2020, during the peak of the pandemic. Those few months felt incredibly intimidating, often cold, and suddenly unsafe. In this novel, I found solace in exquisite writing about a potent romance. Its undeniable beauty served as a promising comfort. This first read forgot analysis at home, sat a chair on the beach, and kissed distraction on the cheek.
In my current read of If Beale Street Could Talk, I have instead tried to stay aware of my reactions in order to source them. A newfound appreciation for Baldwin’s maneuvers in character development and narrative structure has replaced distraction and imagination. In the novel, Baldwin seems to be using Tish’s femininity to empathetically and meticulously analyze Fonny’s masculinity and the implications of racism in the United States.
I initially interpreted Tish’s reflections on Fonny’s situation to be nothing more than an encapsulation of what it means to truly know and love someone. As soon as the narrative introduces Fonny, Tish articulates, “You see: I know him. He’s very proud, and he worries a lot, and, when I think about it, I know – he doesn’t – that that’s the biggest reason he’s in jail” (Baldwin 7). Now, I think that my original admiration for these descriptions was a subtle awareness of the intricacies of Baldwin’s character placement and development. In presenting Fonny through Tish’s gaze, Baldwin allows space for Fonny’s pride to be deconstructed. If the narrative were to come from Fonny, the pride that Tish sees would cloud any awareness of how he ended up in jail or the effects of his situation. Femininity enables an intimate analysis of masculinity.
When I first read the novel, Tish’s nightmares and daily stresses broke my heart and made me want to protect her. However, Tish’s femininity also reveals the external, familial, and emotional ramifications of racism in the United States. Due to conflict and tension between Fonny and a white male police offer, Fonny is wrongfully imprisoned for the rape of a woman that he did not commit. Many novels and essays deem tracking this type of experience enough, and it usually is. I see now that Baldwin’s choice to place the narrative voice in Tish was a way to hold hands with that narrative but to walk in a new direction. “We’re counting on you – Fonny’s counting on you – Fonny’s counting on you, to bring that baby here, safe and well. I held the white bar more firmly. My freezing body shook” (Baldwin 158). Tish’s struggles, notably feminine in her ever-present pregnancy, extract the analysis of racism in the United States from strictly Fonny’s experience and expose the cracks that spread with the jolt of police brutality, wrongful imprisonment, and torture within the prison.
Finally, Baldwin marks Tish’s femininity as Fonny’s solution and salvation. “Every day, when he sees my face, he knows, again, that I love him – and God knows I do, more and more, deeper and deeper, with every hour. But it isn’t only that. It means that others love him, too, love him so much that they have set me free to be there. He is not alone; we are not alone” (Baldwin 223). Baldwin uses Tish’s femininity as a tool to develop and escape Fonny’s masculinity, but her femininity also provides the potential for Fonny to develop and escape, too.
Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. Dial Press, 1974.
Reading about how femininity is used to view masculinity in a more enlightening way in literature, I’d enjoy reading a contrasting analysis of how masculinity is used to view femininity, with whatever conclusions that might bear. I think this could be helpful at the beginning of your thesis as it would shed light on the more common way in which masculine views dictate other literature which you can then explore and deconstruct to form your argument about the significance of the female lens.
Jess, I really enjoyed reading this post. Although I haven’t read this novel, I would be super interested to do so- it was fascinating to hear how Baldwin writes from what seems like the female gaze despite being a male author. This would be really interesting to put in contrast to his pieces on Black masculinity; I wonder if his pieces centering on that are able to achieve this healing that you mention at the end of Beale Street, or if that healing only comes from a feminine perspective. It was interesting as well to hear how Baldwin positions Tish’s femininity as a tool for Fonny to use and escape from reality from; I wonder, is Tish’s love and function within the novel just a “tool” for the male protagonist? Or, does having Tish as the narrative voice give her more agency than this?
Jess, while I have not James Baldwin’s work before, your personal experience and thoughts have made me eager to seek out his literature in the future! The point made of Tish’s perspective being utilized to view Fonny’s situation to deconstruct masculine pride was interesting to read about. I wonder if this choice was also purposeful to comment on the unfair imprisonment of many black men in the United States and point to the aftermath of these situations not just on the men who have to serve time in prison, but to also give insight on the female figures and families that are left behind.