Corinthian Dead of Song of Solomon might be viewed as a mid aged woman that's been living off of her parents her whole life due to her laziness. It might look like she's snobby, entitled, and the kind of person that's never had anyone deny her anything before. Maybe she is (or once was), but all the blame shouldn't be thrown on her. Everyone is a product of their environment, and in this case Corinthian is a direct product of the environment created by her parents core beliefs. She has a mother who treats her like her whole life is a resume for a prospective husband, and a father who constantly emphasizes their family's high status in society.
Most of the time, people eventually move out, and once they are exposed to the real world without their parents presence and opinions I'm assuming, (since I still live with my parents) they are able to form their own opinions without any outside opinions, and decide if what matters to their parents, matters to them. Obviously, Corinthian never moved out and experienced this, however upon deeper evaluation it is clear Corinthian did eventually reach the point of having her own beliefs, though it took roughly forty years.
She eventually comes to the realization that she is too old to depend on marriage to turn her life around, and realizes for the first time that her life will not change unless she does something, and that she, in fact does have some form of control over her life. She becomes so desperate for change she doesn't even care if it doesn't utilize her college education, she just wants to feel that "... lift.." ( 190, Morrison) when she works hard and earns her own money rather than " receiving allowance like a child." (190, Morrison) It is a pivotal moment for Corinthian, who finally realizes she has been treated as a child for far too long. So yes, she probably was snobby and entitled, but at least she eventually found the brains, and courage, to start having her own opinions and beliefs.
In Song of Solomon, Corinthian's aunt Pilate, characterizes Corinthian's family as dead inside. So even though she keeps her maid work a secret from her family, Corinthian Dead has overcome the impossible, and has finally found out how to really live in the midst of a "dead" family, as she has discovered what she truly values, and embodies it in her everyday life, just like Pilate.
I love your character analysis of Corinthians! I agree that the moment she realizes that she had been given allowance like a child. is like a climax for her character arc. Also, though I don't exactly think that she is k=now just like Pilate, she was gaining more control over her life until Milkman told their father her affair with Porter.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you analyzed Corinthians and how she eventually comes to this realization that things just don't change fast enough. I feel like that's how it is with most of us: we're stuck in whatever life we have, going down some road that we may not even want to be going down, but by the time we realize it, it's almost too late. We are the product of our environments, like you said, the product of what other people have decided for us, and it's hard to step out of these expectations. With Corinthians, even though it took her a long time, it's still nice to see that she managed to become her own person, through her job and her relationship.
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