The Chinaberry Tree: A Novel of American Life: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Chinaberry Tree: A Novel of American Life" explores the complexities of identity, family, and societal expectations through the lives of its major characters. The story centers on Laurentine Strange, a 24-year-old middle-class Black woman who has struggled to engage fully with life, largely shaped by her mother's scandalous past involving a white colonel. Her world begins to expand when her vibrant teenage cousin, Melissa Paul, moves in, bringing new energy and social dynamics into the household. As Melissa navigates her teenage years in Red Brook, she engages in two pivotal relationships that reveal her character's growth and the challenges of young love.
Laurentine's journey toward self-acceptance is significantly influenced by Dr. Stephen Denleigh, a compassionate outsider who sees past her family's history and encourages her to embrace life. Meanwhile, the contrasting suitors of Melissa, Asshur Lane and Malory Forten, highlight different approaches to love and social expectations within their community. The narrative also features Sarah Strange, Laurentine's mother, who maintains her dignity despite community ostracism due to her past. The interactions among these characters offer a window into the social fabric of their lives, emphasizing themes of resilience and the quest for belonging in a world filled with judgment and prejudice.
The Chinaberry Tree: A Novel of American Life: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Jessie Redmon Fauset
First published: 1931
Genre: Novel
Locale: Red Brook, New Jersey
Plot: Social realism
Time: 1930–1931
Laurentine Strange, a coprotagonist, a beautiful, middle-class black woman of twenty-four who has quietly and stubbornly refused to live fully. When her younger cousin comes to live with her, Laurentine is exposed to a number of new experiences and people that assist her in slowly emerging from a self-and other-created shell. For years, Laurentine and her mother, Sarah, have been the talk of the black community of Red Brook, New Jersey, because Laurentine is the product of Sarah's well-known affair with the married and white Colonel Francis Halloway. It is only when Laurentine meets Dr. Stephen Denleigh, a newcomer to Red Brook who can accept her and her “bad blood,” that she begins to participate fully in life.
Melissa Paul, a coprotagonist, Laurentine's sixteen-year-old cousin. She comes to live with the Stranges when her mother, Judy, Sarah's sister, marries and moves from Philadelphia to Chicago. Judy thinks Melissa will be better off with Sarah. Melissa likes the middle-class lifestyle in Red Brook and is immediately popular at school. She makes the Strange household temporarily come alive with people and events. Melissa, a typical flirtatious teenager, has two memorable relationships in the novel, one with Asshur Lane and one with Malory Forten.
Sarah Strange, also called Aunt Sal, Laurentine's mother and Melissa's aunt. She is forty-five years old. Somewhat like Laurentine, Sarah has limited her living, but unlike her daughter, she has experienced real love, in her scandalous affair with the late Colonel Halloway. Because Sal has known real love, she does not let the community's ostracism of her destroy her sense of self.
Dr. Stephen Denleigh, Laurentine's suitor, who is forty years old and an outsider to Red Brook. He falls in love with Laurentine shortly after their first meeting and does not let the community's assessment of the Stranges become his own. He supports Laurentine and urges her to resist the community's assault on her and her family.
Asshur Lane, Melissa's first suitor, a young man who follows the convictions of his heart, not the standards of the community. He is moral, strong, steady, outgoing, and pleasant. He is a “black-next-door-neighbor” type.
Malory Forten, Melissa's second suitor. He is handsome, intelligent, moody, withdrawn, pretentious, and snobbish. When he meets Melissa, he thinks he has at last found his soulmate. Even before the events of the novel reveal that Melissa cannot be the one for him, he finds several “faults” with her.
Millie Ismay, Laurentine's friend and confidante. She helps Laurentine to gain entrance to a group of upper-class blacks who do not hold Laurentine's birth and parentage against her. Mrs. Ismay is Bostonian by birth, married to a doctor, and a bit unconventional.