A review by jola_g
There Is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset
3.0
‘TROUBLE ON TROUBLE, PAIN ON PAIN’
The series ‘books with interesting social context and acute observations but disappointing as far as their literary form is concerned’ continues, alas. There Is Confusion (1924) by Jessie Redmon Fauset falls into this category. Great social analysis but not a great novel.
I am very grateful to the author for the eye-opening and profound take on racism. I could see it from many angles, not so obvious included. Tennyson’s motto, There is confusion worse than death, Trouble on trouble, pain on pain, is a succinct summary of Jessie Redmon Fauset's book. After having read this novel I feel downhearted and furious at the same time. It is shocking to realize how many years this situation had lasted until people started to realize there was something wrong and appalling with it. I was perplexed to discover that the Supreme Court ruled racial segregation in American schools unconstitutional on May 17, 1954. Exactly thirty years after the publication of There Is Confusion!
Chicago, 1919.
Prejudices, unfairness, rejection – these are just a few enemies the characters have to constantly fight. Jessie Redmon Fauset shows how deeply racism influences their lives: Now as I look back, I think I realize for the first time what this awful business of color in America does to a man, what it has done for me. If we weren’t so persistently persecuted and harassed that we can think, breathe, do nothing but consider our great obsession, you and I might have been happy long ago.
The racism Joan, Peter and Maggie's families experience is common and multigenerational, not limited only to former slaves' owners. The white people portrayed in the book do not question racial segregation, it is something obvious and natural. The scene which shook me to the core was neither extremely dramatic nor high-note: during a university graduation ceremony, a white girl refuses to sit next to a Black student. As it seems, education is not an effective vaccine against hatred and prejudice.
There Is Confusion is also a love story. The model of relationship this novel is a pean to does not convince me though and I respectfully disagree with Jessie Redmon Fauset’s assumption that women’s task is to bring out the best in men. To be honest, I do not think it is a good idea to confuse love with a therapist-client relationship. And is it possible to respect a flip-flopper who changes according to the partner’s wishes? I think chameleons make adorable pets, not necessarily husbands. Joanna’s relationship with Peter, her constant desire to change him, feels toxic but I am aware that her obsessive ambition was a result of humiliations her family experienced because of the colour of their skin.
As for the literary quality of Jessie Redmon Fauset’s book, well, There Is Confusion indeed. The first part of the novel, depicting Joanna, Peter, Maggie and their friends as kids and teenagers, was engrossing, well-paced and compassionate. Paradoxically, it made me think of Elena Ferrante’s Napoli series, although the time and place were completely different. Then everything changes and the turning point for me was a scene that I will call ‘scalpel attack’ to avoid spoilers. It felt as if the novel’s wings were cut also. Gradually, the book stops being psychologically astute and soap opera vibes begin to dominate. Painfully stereotypical war scenes, obtrusive moralising and the artificial sweetness of the novel ending were deal breakers for me.
There Is Confusion is undoubtfully a valuable and moving testimony on being a person of colour in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Given Jessie Redmon Fauset’s talent, sharp eye and sensitivity, her cool and precise prose, it could have been much more.
Jessie Redmon Fauset
The series ‘books with interesting social context and acute observations but disappointing as far as their literary form is concerned’ continues, alas. There Is Confusion (1924) by Jessie Redmon Fauset falls into this category. Great social analysis but not a great novel.
I am very grateful to the author for the eye-opening and profound take on racism. I could see it from many angles, not so obvious included. Tennyson’s motto, There is confusion worse than death, Trouble on trouble, pain on pain, is a succinct summary of Jessie Redmon Fauset's book. After having read this novel I feel downhearted and furious at the same time. It is shocking to realize how many years this situation had lasted until people started to realize there was something wrong and appalling with it. I was perplexed to discover that the Supreme Court ruled racial segregation in American schools unconstitutional on May 17, 1954. Exactly thirty years after the publication of There Is Confusion!
Chicago, 1919.
Prejudices, unfairness, rejection – these are just a few enemies the characters have to constantly fight. Jessie Redmon Fauset shows how deeply racism influences their lives: Now as I look back, I think I realize for the first time what this awful business of color in America does to a man, what it has done for me. If we weren’t so persistently persecuted and harassed that we can think, breathe, do nothing but consider our great obsession, you and I might have been happy long ago.
The racism Joan, Peter and Maggie's families experience is common and multigenerational, not limited only to former slaves' owners. The white people portrayed in the book do not question racial segregation, it is something obvious and natural. The scene which shook me to the core was neither extremely dramatic nor high-note: during a university graduation ceremony, a white girl refuses to sit next to a Black student. As it seems, education is not an effective vaccine against hatred and prejudice.
There Is Confusion is also a love story. The model of relationship this novel is a pean to does not convince me though and I respectfully disagree with Jessie Redmon Fauset’s assumption that women’s task is to bring out the best in men. To be honest, I do not think it is a good idea to confuse love with a therapist-client relationship. And is it possible to respect a flip-flopper who changes according to the partner’s wishes? I think chameleons make adorable pets, not necessarily husbands. Joanna’s relationship with Peter, her constant desire to change him, feels toxic but I am aware that her obsessive ambition was a result of humiliations her family experienced because of the colour of their skin.
As for the literary quality of Jessie Redmon Fauset’s book, well, There Is Confusion indeed. The first part of the novel, depicting Joanna, Peter, Maggie and their friends as kids and teenagers, was engrossing, well-paced and compassionate. Paradoxically, it made me think of Elena Ferrante’s Napoli series, although the time and place were completely different. Then everything changes and the turning point for me was a scene that I will call ‘scalpel attack’ to avoid spoilers. It felt as if the novel’s wings were cut also. Gradually, the book stops being psychologically astute and soap opera vibes begin to dominate. Painfully stereotypical war scenes, obtrusive moralising and the artificial sweetness of the novel ending were deal breakers for me.
There Is Confusion is undoubtfully a valuable and moving testimony on being a person of colour in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Given Jessie Redmon Fauset’s talent, sharp eye and sensitivity, her cool and precise prose, it could have been much more.
Jessie Redmon Fauset