by Peter Bruck
veniently collecte d an d re-examined by him. Jean Wagner, Black Poets of the
United States: From Paul Laurence Dunbar to Langston Hughes (London,
1973), pp. 105-111.
8. Black Poets, p. 78.
9. Ibid., p. 108.
10. Willia m Dea n Howells , "Lif e an d Letters, " Harper's Weekly, June 27 ,
(1896).
11. Rober t Bone , Down Home: A History of Afro-American Short Fiction
from its Beginning to the End of the Harlem Renaissance (New York, 1975),
p. 43.
50
12. Darwi n Turner , "Pau l Laurenc e Dunbar : Th e Rejecte d Symbol, " The
Journal of Negro History, 52 (1967), 5.
13. Bernhar d Ostendorf , "Blac k Poetry , Blues , and Folklore : Doubl e Con-
sciousness in Afro-American Ora l Culture," Amerikastudien, 20 (1975), 249.
14. Som e o f thes e letter s an d article s t o newspaper s hav e no w been made
available by Martin. Jay Martin , ed., A Singer in the Dawn: Reinterpretatiom
of Paul Laurence Dunbar (New York, 1976).
15. Pau l Laurence Dunbar, Folks From Dixie (Freeport, rpt. 1971).
16. Singer in the Dawn, p. 25.
17. Folks, p. 211.
18. Pau l Laurence Dunbar, The Strength of Gideon (1900 ; reprint ed., New
York: Arno Press, 1969), p. 333.
19. Ibid., p. 227.
20. Pau l Laurence Dunbar, The Heart of Happy Hollow (New York, 1904).
All subsequent reference s i n th e tex t t o "Th e Scapegoat " will be from thi s
original edition.
21. Marshal l Fishwick , "Uncl e Remu s vs . John Henry : Fol k Tension, " in
Remus, Rastus, Revolution! (Bowling Green, Ohio, no date), p. 75.
22. Singer in the Dawn, p. 29.
23. Strength of Gideon, pp. 87-103.
24. Ibid., p. 96.
51
Udo O.H. Jung
JEAN TOOMER
FERN
(1922)
"Fern" i s from Jea n Toomer' s boo k Cane, which he published i n
1923 an d whic h t o hi s chagri n sol d n o mor e tha n 50 0 copies.1
However, if w e are to believ e th e lat e Dr . Bontemp s "a few sensi-
tive an d perceptiv e peopl e wen t quietl y mad" 2 abou t th e book .
The judgement o f thos e reader s who were more articulate was not
unanimous. Som e o f th e review s that Cane drew an d whic h have
been collecte d b y Joh n M . Reilly i n his bibliographical checklist3
and partl y reprinte d i n Fran k Durham' s Studies in Cane 4 wer e
frankly hostil e (although these constituted onl y a minority). Many
people wer e frustrate d becaus e o f th e intricat e patter n o f th e
stories, poems , an d sketches : Whe n the y praise d th e boo k the y
cloaked their confusion i n highflying but meaningless rhetoric, like
the well-know n an d respecte d criti c Stanle y Braithwait e wh o
wrote: "Can e i s a book o f gol d an d bronze, of dusk and flame, of
ecstasy an d pain , an d Jea n Toome r i s a bright mornin g star o f a
new da y o f the race in literature."5 Th e majority o f reviews hailed
Cane as "a harbinge r o f th e South' s literary maturity" 6 o r as the
beginning o f wha t "soo n thereafte r bega n t o b e calle d a Negr o
Renaissance."7 Fro m ye t anothe r poin t o f vie w th e boo k ha s
caused th e critic s headaches . Ther e ha s bee n som e disput e a s to
which categor y Cane should b e placed into. Is it a mere collection
of poems, stories, and sketches or is it an, albeit, very experimental
form o f th e novel ? I n 195 8 Robert Bone argued the latter case, in
order t o b e able to includ e Cane in his study o f The Negro Novel
in America, bu t th e majorit y o f scholar s have refused t o go along
with him . Ther e exists , however , a n almos t universa l consensu s
that Cane is no t wholl y withou t design . W e have Toomer's ow n
testimony accordin g t o whic h th e book' s desig n is a circle: "Aes -
thetically, fro m simpl e forms to complex ones, and back to simple
forms."8 Regionall y i t als o take s thre e step s t o complet e th e
circle, fro m Sout h u p t o North , an d bac k t o th e Sout h again .
"Fern" wit h its Southern setting clearly belongs in the first statio n
53
of this pilgrimage.
There ha s also been som e disput e whethe r Jean Toomer should
have a legitimate place in a Negro Renaissance, since he himself gave
rise t o th e questio n o f whethe r h e wa s an Afro-American o r not ,
when h e refuse d Jame s Weldon Johnson permissio n t o includ e
some poem s o f his in the second edition of The Book of American
Negro Poetry, o r whe n h e declared , "Thougl i I am intereste d i n
and deepl y valu e th e Negro , I am no t a Negro,"9 whic h led some
people t o declar e tha t Toome r ha d — as th e sayin g goe s —
"passed."10 A n authoritativ e biograph y o f Toome r i s a grea t
desideratum. Fortunatel y severa l scholar s ar e a t wor k t o provid e
just this. 11 Th e biographica l materia l about Toomer that has been
published t o dat e i s sufficient, though , t o draw a rough and ready
sketch of his person and personality.
The produc t o f racia l intermingling , Jea n Toome r wa s tall ,
handsome, and what is more, fair-skinned. Chameleon-like he could
take o n "th e color of whatever group"12 h e chose to belong to. In
1922 th e editor s o f th e Doubledealer an d th e Liberator, Joh n
McClure an d Claud e McKay , were uniforml y advise d b y hi m tha t
he had seven blood mixtures: French, Dutch, Welsh, Negro, German,
Jewish, and Italian . However, Toome r believed , paradoxically an d
significantly, tha t h e woul d be classed as a Negro by the American
public. To th e averag e American of Toomer'stime,used t o pigeon-
holing people according to a handful o f racial and other categories,
this seeme d onl y to o natural , fo r Natha n Eugen e Pinchbac k
Toomer wa s born i n 189 4 to Creole-Negro parents. The boy spent
most o f hi s childhoo d an d adolescenc e i n th e Washingto n D.C .
home o f hi s grandfather, th e legendar y P.B.S . Pinchback, wh o in
his heyda y ha d bee n actin g governor o f Louisian a an d ha d accu -
mulated considerabl e wealth . Bu t i n lin e wit h th e politica l an d
economic post-bellum situation of the race as a whole13 th e fortune
of Toomer's grandparents had slowly dwindled away.
At th e outbrea k o f Worl d Wa r I Jean Toome r graduate d fro m
Dunbar High School and enrolled at the University of Wisconsin to
study agriculture . Neithe r th e Universit y o f Wisconsi n no r agri -
cultural studie s wer e t o hi s liking, so he quit . I n rapi d successio n
he trie d th e Massachusett s Colleg e o f Agriculture , th e America n
College o f Physica l Training in Chicago, New York University and
the City Colleg e o f Ne w York, all to no avail. In the course of this
odyssey, however, he became acquainted wit h the works of one of
54
America's leadin g sociologists , Leste r F . Ward , whos e Dynamic
Society Toome r is said to have devoured, and with Socialist lawyer
Clarence Darrow , wh o later acted as counsel for the defense o f the
famous Scottsbor o boys . Finall y givin g u p al l though t o f a n
academic career
, Toome r worke d a t a n amazin g arra y o f jobs :
"selling papers, delivery boy, soda clerk, salesman, shipyard worker,
librarian-assistant, physica l director , schoo l teacher , grocery clerk,
and God knows what all,"14 t o use his own words. In the spring of
1920 Toome r cam e into th e possessio n o f som e six hundred dol -
lars.15 Th e leisur e tim e whic h thi s sum o f mone y bough t him, he
spent i n th e compan y o f a Ne w Yor k crow d o f people , such as
Waldo Frank , Lol a Ridg e an d Edwi n Arlingto n Robinson . Th e
next yea r sa w Toomer working at the Howard Theatre in Washing-
ton, an d i n th e fal l h e made a trip t o Georgia . Fo r 4 months h e
taught schoo l a t th e Georgi a Norma l an d Industria l Institut e i n
Sparta.
Toomer himsel f considere d hi s experience i n th e Sout h as "the
starting poin t o f almos t everythin g o f wort h tha t I have done."16
The eigh t month s tha t followe d upo n hi s stint as a school-teacher
he spen t i n Washingto n writin g feverishl y an d mailin g out manu -
scripts t o th e editor s o f literar y magazines . Joh n McClur e o f th e
New Orlean s Doubledealer was the recipien t o f a batch o f manu -
scripts that containe d among others a short story: "Fern." McClure
wrote bac k a n apologeti c letter , i n whic h h e explained : "'Fern '
and 'Karintha ' ar e excellent, mor e excellen t tha n the other manu-
scripts. W e woul d hav e bee n gla d t o prin t them , bu t w e wer e
frankly afraid . Th e bigotr y an d prejudic e d o permeat e ou r sub -
scription lis t t o a great extent." 17 H e went o n to suggest that th e
editor o f The Dial migh t b e willin g t o publis h th e stor y o r i f
Gilbert Selde s would not have it that Broom migh t accept "Fern. "
At lon g last Margare t C . Anderson's The Little Review, whic h had
been founde d wit h th e intentio n o f "making no compromise with
the publi c taste," 18 printe d th e stor y i n th e fal l o f 1922 . What
deterred th e editors of several magazines from publishin g the story
and stunne d som e o f th e critic s who gave it a more o r less close
reading i n 192 3 whe n i t reappeare d a s par t o f Cane must hav e
been the seemingly frank wa y of dealing with sex.
As first sentences are naturally of the greatest importance, let us
turn ou r attentio n t o ho w an d b y whic h mean s Toomer chos e t o
initiate hi s reader s int o th e worl d o f hi s blac k heroine . "Fac e
55
flowed int o he r eyes, " the narrato r inform s us . Syntactically th e
sentence i s well-formed , i t i s par t o f th e syste m o f th e Englis h
language; semantically i t i s not o r hardly so: people's faces do not
normally flo w int o thei r eyes . In any event this is the kind of first
comment yo u woul d ge t fro m a generative-transformational gram -
marian o f th e Chomskya n Schoo l i n respons e t o a sentence lik e
the one above.19 H e might go on to tell you that modern linguistics
is mostly a matter o f retrievin g the hypothetical deep structure of
sentences fro m materia l i n th e surfac e structure . Aske d fo r a n
example h e coul d cit e th e followin g passag e fro m Jame s Joyce' s
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, "It paine d him that he did
not know well what politics meant and where the universe ended,"
and h e coul d poin t ou t t o yo u that Joyce had deleted for stylistic
reasons what wa s still presen t i n th e dee p structur e version of the
sentence: "I t paine d hi m tha t h e di d no t kno w wel l what politics
meant an d i t paine d hi m tha t h e did not know where the universe
ended."20 Accordin g t o thi s theor y th e reader' s contributio n t o
understanding a sentence ofte n consist s in adding information no t
immediately observable . There seems thus to be a natural tendency
for readers to supplement the input signal.
What ha s bee n prove n t o b e a very usefu l discover y procedur e
for th e analysi s o f speec h utterance s i n th e case of the generative-
transformational approac h migh t easil y tur n ou t t o be a fatal mis-
take i f indulge d i n indiscriminatel y b y th e literar y critic . For in a
literary wor k o f ar t surfac e ca n b e o f prim e importance : allitera -
tion i s suc h a surfac e phenomenon , an d Toome r certainl y kne w
how t o avai l himself o f th e phonologica l properties of the English
language: "Fac e /lowed int o he r eyes. " But th e relevanc e o f th e
argument doe s not sto p here . The sentenc e coul d b e expanded t o
something lik e ".. . whereve r you r glanc e ma y momentaril y hav e
rested, i t immediatel y thereafte r wavere d i n th e directio n o f he r
eyes." A s a matte r o f fact , thi s i s th e large r hal f o f th e secon d
sentence. What has been purposel y omitte d from th e first, viz. the
observer, is explicitly reintroduced. In the first, however, any trace
of a secon d individua l a s a necessar y prerequisit e o f perceptio n
and narratio n ha s been deleted . Properly understoo d we are faced
with th e descriptio n o f a n autonomou s process , autonomou s i n
the sens e tha t i t doe s no t obe y th e law s of physica l nature. The
language expressl y denie s th e existenc e o f a n observer . H e must
not — unconsciously o r otherwise — be superimposed by the reader.
56
Observer an d objec t observe d see m to be one, as if the former had
been draw n in , s o t o speak , an d wa s reportin g fro m withi n thi s
totality.
This short discussio n o f th e firs t sentenc e has almost impercep-
tibly involve d u s in th e intricacie s o f narrativ e technique . What is
the narrator' s positio n vi s á vis the character s in th e story ? Wha t
role, i f any , i s the reade r suppose d t o pla y i n th e matte r o f con -
stituting th e characters ? An d th e character s themselve s — wha t is
their contribution of the total picture?
The woma n Fer n i s the produc t o f Jean Toomer's poetic mind,
and wha t th e reade r shoul d lawfull y kno w abou t he r is delimited
by th e informatio n Toome r passe s o n throug h th e mout h o f hi s
narrator an d th e amoun t o f imaginatio n the reader is able to com-
mand i n interacting wit h th e narrator . I f this sounds trivial or like
a contradictio n le t m e explain tha t b y interactio n I do not mea n
the simpl e fac t tha t a sensitiv e reade r i s alway s a necessary pre -
requisite i f literar y personae are t o com e alive . Interactio n her e
means that th e reade r must draw on information fro m outsid e the
story, as it were, and use it to build up the character of this woman
by systematicall y collaboratin g with Toomer's narrator.21 Looke d
at fro m thi s angl e Fer n ha s a simultaneou s existenc e o n a t leas t
two levels.
1. Ther e i s th e Fer n wh o emerges from th e relatio n o f a n un-
named mal e person fro m th e Nort h o n a visit t o a small village in
Georgia, and there is
2. the Fer n whos e characteristic s chang e a s the reaction s of the
reader change s i n respons e t o request s fro m th e nar
rato r t o con -
tribute hi s share: "Your thoughts can help me, and I would like to
know."22
It i s important t o realiz e tha t th e narrato r himsel f — o n whose
testimony alon e ou r ow n renditio n o f th e plo t itsel f wil l have t o
be base d — i s ful l o f prejudice s an d stereotypes . H e will dish u p
such platitude s a s " A ma n i n feve r i s n o triflin g thin g t o sen d
away" (p . 25) o r maintain tha t "whe n a woman seek s ... her eyes
deny" (p . 24) and tha t "me n ar e ap t t o idolize or fear that which
they canno t understand , especiall y i f i t b e woman, " (p . 26). On
occassion, too , h e seem s to b e unable o r unwilling to pas s on in-
formation. H e can preten d to be ignorant: "Why , after noticin g it,
you sough t he r eyes , I cannot tel l you." (p . 24) Sometime s he is
reduced t o guessin g and immediately afterward s he can disclose an
57
extraordinary an d intimat e knowledg e o f a person's inne r life . Or
he wil l unashamedl y interpos e himsel f betwee n th e reade r an d
Fern a s i f t o indicat e tha t onl y b y solvin g the riddl e o f th e nar -
rator's personalit y first ca n th e reader get closer to an understand-
ing o f th e woman : "I f yo u hav e heard a Jewish canto r sing, " he
says, "i f h e ha s touche d yo u an d mad e you r ow n sorro w see m
trivial whe n compare d wit h his , you wil l know my feelin g when /
follow th e curves of her profile, like mobile rivers, to their common
delta." (p . 24 ) What , if th e reader has not? I n short , th e partne r
that you , the reader , must mak e shif t with , is certainly no t thor -
oughly omniscient ; o n th e contrar y h e i s a prejudiced , partl y
ignorant, sometime s undiscipline d everyday-typ e o f a storyteller ,
and onl y afte r havin g detected thes e weaknesse s can his report be
put t o goo d use . Perhap s i t shoul d b e adde d tha t th e narrator' s
account i s ful l o f interjection s an d othe r linguisti c token s o f
attempted dialogue ; h e reall y behave s lik e a story-telle r mos t o f
the time, not like a (short) story writer .
To se t th e recor d straigh t then , Fern , shor t fo r Ferni e Ma y
(Rosen), ha s a Jewis h surnam e an d sh e ha s a n aquiline , Semiti c