Perfect Peace

“The high-pitched ringing in her ears reminded her of the incessant chirping outside her screenless window every night, or maybe it resembled the chiming of the church bell on Sunday morning. That, and the fact that everything she reached for seemed to back away from her, made Emma Jean wonder why God didn’t just take her away.”

After being harmed by her mother, the young Emma Jean contemplates why God allows her to suffer. The adult Emma Jean repeats this idea throughout the novel, always wondering why God has never been kind to her, and this morose attitude drives many of her most self-destructive actions.

“Lies never work out the way you think they will.”

After Henrietta lies to Gus and the boys at Emma Jean’s insistence, she is distraught and enraged by Emma Jean’s decision to raise Perfect as a girl. She remembers the words of her mother and believes that the lie she told that let her raise her sister’s daughter as her own is the reason that she is currently suffering. However, this quote also functions as a piece of foreshadowing, hinting that Emma Jean’s lie about Perfect will unravel in a way that she does not expect.

“‘[E]ven when they play wit’ baby dolls,’ Authorly said, ‘they practicin’ how to take care o’ they own kids. That’s de whole point o’ given them dolls in the first place.’”

Mister, Woody, and Authorly discuss why Perfect cannot play with them. Their conversation reveals the gendered expectations that are set upon women from an early age. Here, the author shows that, from infancy, women are expected to grow up as caretakers and mothers, and they are trained for the job from early childhood onward.

“‘But cain’t you be dark and pretty?’ The sisters frowned and said in unison, ‘No.’ Emma Jean’s head fell as though guillotined.”

As children, Emma Jean and her sisters discuss the beauty standards imposed upon the Black community. Emma Jean is not perceived as pretty or beautiful because she has darker skin. This quote emphasizes how the expectations and standards held by one’s community impact individual perceptions of people and can ultimately cause harm when certain people fail to live up to these externally imposed standards of behavior and appearance.

“Something about Perfect felt eerie, but he couldn’t discern what it was. He would find out soon enough.”

From the first time that Bartimaeus holds Perfect, he can tell that something is wrong. This moment is significant because it foreshadows Bartimaeus’s eventual discovery of Perfect’s physical traits through touch. The novel also engages in a common literary trope by implying that in some ways, the character who is physically blind is able to perceive far more than the characters who have their full sight.

“Emma Jean was eighteen then and swore she’d never lay with Gustavus Peace. A year later, after having been ignored by every other man in Swamp Creek, she cried her way to the altar and married the man she loathed. They never talked about love. Their union didn’t require it.”

The exposition of the novel functions to help characterize Emma Jean and highlight the abuse and difficulties that she faced in her adolescence. This quote underscores the complexity of the Peace family and provides a deeper insight into the reasons behind Emma Jean’s highly unconventional choices.

“The more he thought of Olivia, the more enraged he became. Why did Perfect always get everything? […] Obviously Emma Jean preferred Perfect more than she loved the boys, Mister concluded. […] But why was she special just because she was a girl? What was so special about girls? Weren’t boys special, too? At least some of them?”

Perfect’s doll, Olivia, becomes a major source of tension between Mister and Perfect, as it represents the connection that Perfect has with femininity and Emma Jean. Throughout the novel, Olivia represents Perfect’s relationship with femininity and personifies Mister’s jealousy over the special treatment that his sibling receives.

“Caroline stared at Eva Mae like she did her own father whenever he hit her mother. She would have shot him by now, but she couldn’t reach the shotgun hanging on the living room wall. […] All she could do was stare her hatred at him in hopes that the memory of the contempt in her eyes would one day convict his heart.”

One of the most significant themes in the novel is The Role of Family and Community in Shaping Identity. Caroline, who witnesses her father abuse her mother, replicates the same behavior in play that she performs at home; she has learned that domestic violence and violence against women are a normal occurrence, and she replicates this dynamic while playing with her friends.

“Bartimaeus returned, and began praying for Perfect’s safety. He forgot, for the first time in his life, to ask God to restore his sight.”

Bartimaeus realizes that Perfect has male genitalia, and he worries for her safety if anyone finds out. This moment is designed to be ironic since the only character who is unable to see Perfect is also the first to discover the truth of Emma Jean’s lie. This moment is also connected to the foreshadowing in Chapter 7, when Bartimaeus holds the infant Perfect for the first time and feels that there is something “eerie” about her.

“This party was the party she had envisioned forty years earlier. The yellow ribbons, chocolate-frosted cake, neighborhood friends, homemade ice cream…she had dreamed it all. Why couldn’t Mae Helen have done this? […] What mattered was that Perfect had been given the party that Emma Jean had been denied.”

Perfect’s birthday party represents Emma Jean’s desire to give Perfect everything that she was denied as a child, and it also suggests that she is using the party to experience this vicariously through Perfect’s reactions. This passage shows that Emma Jean’s motives for throwing the party are inherently selfish; the party is more about Emma Jean than it is about Perfect, whom she is supposed to be celebrating.

“‘You was born a boy. I made you a girl, but that ain’t what you was suppose to be.’ […]

‘I like bein’ a girl and havin’ pretty things and stuff. You even said yourself that I was a girl and that I was gon’ grow and marry and handsome man and—’”

In this passage, Emma Jean explains that Perfect was assigned male at birth and insists that Perfect now go against eight years of socialization to embody the expectations that come with being a “boy.” The Fluidity of Gender and Sexuality is introduced here as Perfect continues to identify as a young woman despite the social implications of this revelation. Perfect’s gender identity remains the same until she is forced to begin identifying as a boy.

“Perfect submitted, dropping his overalls to the floor.”

This is the first time in the narrative that Perfect is referred to with the masculine series of pronouns. The author employs this sudden change to create a jarring effect, as the shift represents the sudden and aggressive nature in which Perfect is forced to transition to a masculine gender identity without his consent.

“I was strange to Perfect how his world was shifting without his consent. He didn’t feel safe like he once was in his brother’s presence…he felt his previous life ooze away as his brothers ushered him into a more harsh, less sympathetic reality.”

After learning the truth about Emma Jean’s deception, the protagonist’s entire reality changes. He—at this point in the text, Perfect’s pronouns are the masculine series—suddenly finds himself forced to act like a boy. The gender expectations forced upon young men and women in this society are strict and treated as absolute; Perfect’s brothers begin to treat him in a more firm, aggressive manner despite the fact that Perfect is the same person he was before.

“Even he would know soon enough that Bartimaeus had lied or at lied concealed the truth from him, and how would he justify that? I was trying to protect you wouldn’t make sense to the one who got hurt worse when the truth was revealed. And what would the brothers say if they knew he already knew? […] [N]o one would ever trust him again.”

Bartimaeus contemplates telling his siblings that he knew the truth about Perfect. The complicated nature of family dynamics is highlighted by this scene in which Bartimaeus’s good intentions ultimately hurt his relationships with his brothers—and with Perfect in particular.

“Together the combined voices of God and man created a natural, harmonic orchestra, which Sol found at once eerie and intriguing. He told himself that if Gus and Bartimaeus sounded like that each year, maybe he’d start going to the Jordan.”

This quote contemplates two of the main motifs within the story: religion and the Jordan River. In this story, religion functions dually as a restricting force for the characters and as an inspiring, comforting aspect of society that brings people together. The Jordan River is the place where the characters are closest to God and are able to fully be themselves. In this passage, Gus and Bartimaeus allow themselves to break down and feel their emotions in their entirety, and the sound of their cries in combination with the heavenly sound of the Jordan River make for a “harmonic orchestra.”

“God had not told him how to treat a son who acted like a girl. Those had been the only times Chester Sr. had beaten him—when he cried like a girl—and he promised his father, after the last lashing, that he wouldn’t be a sissy. Now he promised himself he would raise one, too.”

From this point forward in the text, the character Perfect is referred to as Paul. In this passage, Gus struggles with understanding how to treat Paul after learning that his son’s gender identity did not match his sex. The theme of The Role of Family and Community in Shaping Identity is displayed when Gus uses his father’s abusive behavior as a template to inform his treatment and expectations of Paul. This decision shows the profound effect that multigenerational family dynamics can have on individual decisions and behavior.

“They had stood and gazed, waiting to see if Paul had what other men have, and when they discovered he did, they immediately began constructing for him a new masculine Self. It was as if the penis were the male identifier, the main thing, the only thing that made a boy a boy.”

With this passage, the author questions what exactly makes a “boy” a boy, highlighting the idea that gender identity is more complex than a person’s genitals. The author plainly confronts the idea that sex defines gender, and the deeper philosophical message of the novel becomes apparent through Paul’s character and through his family’s determination to treat him how a “boy should be” treated.

“[H]e knew his problem wasn’t biological. That had been proven. The trouble was something beyond his comprehension, something grown-ups knew more about than children. All he knew was that he represented an abnormality, a maladjustment, an aberration that the folks of Swamp Creek knew nothing about. […] [A]ll Paul knew to do was pray he could withstand it. If he could, then maybe he could live again.”

Paul contemplates why he is suddenly treated differently now that he is perceived as a boy rather than as a girl. This quote highlights the bias against transgender individuals during the mid-20th century. Paul feels as though something is fundamentally wrong with him simply because of how his father reacts to Emma Jean’s admission of her deception.

“She hadn’t treated him differently and that’s what he wanted. He hadn’t said much since his transformation, but Eva Mae’s unconditional love reignited life in his dying soul.”

Eva Mae’s love for Paul does not waver in the face of the controversy about his gender identity. Eva Mae’s love for Paul emphasizes the importance of having a supportive family and community because this support “reignites” Paul’s soul and keeps him going in the face of adversity.

“His love for women was strictly platonic. That’s why he couldn’t understand when Gus beat him for playing with Eva Mae. What had he done wrong? Paul soon learned that men didn’t mean for him to enjoy the comfort of women; they meant for him to use them for his personal pleasure. He had never thought about women that way.”

Paul contemplates his sexuality and does not feel any sexual or romantic feelings toward women. His understanding of his own sexuality is further complicated by his upbringing as a girl and his complex understanding of his own gender. The Fluidity of Gender and Sexuality is further complicated by social norms, as a gender binary with traditional gender roles creates objectifying and unfair standards.

“He didn’t care what people said anymore. Paul was his son, and if he was a little effeminate, the, hell, that’s simply what he was…Paul had shown him that not all sissies were weak. Now Gus liked him. He didn’t know what would become of the boy, but he felt sure that, from now on, Paul could take care of himself.”

After Paul overcomes his illness, Gus realizes that his previous views of his son were inaccurate. Gus learns to accept that society’s gender expectations are not always fair, and he finally accepts that it is possible to show emotions and act in ways that society more commonly associates with women and still be a man. In rejecting the rigid limitations of society’s labels, he finally accepts his son for who he is.

“That was its purpose, and no one could alter that identity, regardless of what they thought. The Jordan enjoyed a life free from external criticism and that’s what Paul wanted. Isn’t that what everyone wanted?”

The Jordan River is a motif that represents purity and a closeness to God. As Paul sits by the Jordan River, he thinks about how the Jordan is free to be exactly what it is meant to be, and he feels envious of the river. Through the Jordan River, he begins to find solace in the fact that he isn’t the only person to feel out of place.

“[H]e begged God to make those evil boys vanish, but God wouldn’t do it. Was it because he wasn’t saved? […] Salvation to Paul meant that he was protected, guarded, exempted—as it were—from Satan’s plan, and now, he knew he’d never be saved…Now, in the midst of trouble, Paul trembled and apologized for having fallen far short of God’s glory.”

As Paul is sexually assaulted and raped, he wonders why God would allow something so horrible to happen. This moment represents the other side of religion that is being discussed in this novel; the narrative suggests that although faith can be comforting, it can also be used as a way to make people feel abandoned, betrayed, and alienated.