by Cathryn Conroy (Dublin, Ohio): This 1980 short story by Toni Morrison—the only one she ever wrote—is a kind of puzzle game for readers that will make each of us examine our deepest stereotypes about race.
This is the story of Twyla and Roberta, who are both eight years old, frightened, and lonely. Their mothers have taken them (or in the girls’ parlance, dumped them) to the St. Bonaventure shelter for what amounts to four months. They arrive the same day, and unlike all the others there, they are not orphans; their mothers are still alive. Twyla and Roberta become roommates, and because they are shunned by the others, they become fast friends. The story continues far into the future when the girls meet again by chance four times as adults—the first time passing rudely like strangers and the rest of the times like the best friends they were all those years earlier.
This is the puzzle for readers: One of the girls is White. And the other is Black. But Morrison never tells us which is which, and so many of the “hints” she provides could go either way. She explicitly intended to remove all racial codes from the narrative.
The introduction by Zadie Smith is longer than the short story, but do take the time to read it. Because it appears before the story, I read it first, but I wish now that I had read it later. It is filled with much wisdom and smart analysis, but it also sets up the story a bit too well, a bit too thoroughly. Translation: There are some spoilers.
Smith says that Morrison called “Recitatif” an experiment, and the subject of that experiment is us—the readers. Both girls seem to be White and then Black and then White again. It all depends on your personal perception. Smith wisely asserts that a reader’s attempts to figure it out says more about the reader than the character.
This is interesting: In the footnotes, Smith cites literary critic Elizabeth Abel, who claims that most White readers see Twyla as White, while most Black readers see Twyla as Black. Well, which is it? You get to decide.
Smith asserts, and I heartily agree, that “Recitatif” is a perfect short story—in the same league as Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”—and something that should be read by everyone.
