Unpacking Society's Constraints in James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room

The novel Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin has done much to mirror our societies’ expectations regarding sexuality, gender, sexuality, class and relationships. Society has a set of established norms that anyone who goes against them is frowned upon and regarded as an outcast or rebel. These norms have dictated the direction our lives take for the longest time and have also been fraught with controversy due to their limitations to people living their lives independently and with the freedom to make choices.

Sexuality

In society, both traditional and modern, sexuality is a thorny issue that is not mostly discussed in the open. However, society has been developed to be accepting of heterosexuality, which is between a man and a woman. This form of sexuality dates back to traditions where a family is composed of a man, a woman, and their children. It is largely expected for all people to follow and practice this form of sexuality. On the other hand, homosexuality is regarded as abnormal and is greatly discouraged. People are brought up to shun homosexuality as a dirty and gross practice.

In the novel, David, an American currently in Paris, is in a state of confusion over his sexuality. He is in an entanglement with Giovanni, but feels that the sexual relations they have are illegal and should not continue. He fantasizes about the security that a heterosexual union brings about, even as his girlfriend Herro thinks about his marriage proposal. He sees heterosexual unions as sites for safety, warmth, and certainty in life (Meg Wesling, 2019). David is also on record for having asked Giovanni what kind of life two men could possibly have. This is a perfect reflection of the low opinion that society has on men engaging in queer relationships.

Similarly, society has, in a way, criminalized the act of homosexuality. Men found engaging in such have been known to have been arrested and discriminated against by the justice systems we have. In the novel, they are the first suspects whenever a crime is committed. In the novel, after the murder of Guillaume, the young men who were in queer relationships with him were wholly rounded up as suspects. Eventually, Giovanni was killed on the same suspicion, without the course of true justice being followed (Meg Wesling, 2019). This highlights society’s discrimination towards the queer community. Similarly, most gay establishments were raided and closed down, not forgetting the fact that Guillame himself was a proprietor to one and a gay man himself.

It is also well noted that society would not want to associate prominent people with any other form of sexuality that is not heterosexuality. Homosexuality and queerness are only left as the reserves for the poor and immigrants (Meg Wesling, 2019). This is notable after Guillaume’s death, where is stated that he was a man who died at the hands of the poor and immigrants, not as a man who was homosexual. The fact that he was a proprietor of a gay bar was also well concealed. The state made sure that any controversial information about his sexuality was kept well under wraps. This was not the same case for Giovanni, who was labeled a queer man as a way of justifying his death.

It is also to be noted how prominent men who had queer relations wanted the case of Guillaume’s death to be concluded as fast as possible. This was in a bid to make sure that their names would not be mentioned anywhere. They wanted so hard to have the story blow over to keep their reputations intact and their secret lives secret. This was also due to the fact that homosexual and queer relationships have been put as the highest forms of immorality in society (Meg Wesling, 2019).

Gender

In the novel, the two genders, male and female, have specific roles. Men are the dominant gender, while women are the dominated gender. Men are supposed to be the providers and protectors of their families, while women are supposed to be the anchors of their families. They are supposed to take care of their children and make sure that the home runs seamlessly.

David, in the novel, sees his masculinity being threatened by the fact that he is starting to develop queer sexual desires. He starts doubting himself, and that leads to him feeling like he is violating himself due to his newly discovered sexuality.  When he starts having relations with Giovanni, he is uncomfortable with the idea of Giovanni going out to be the provider and him staying in and cleaning up the nasty room and doing dishes like Giovanni’s little girl. He likens such roles to being feminine, and he is not ready to take it up. This is in contrast to his original relation with young Joey, where he was the dominant one and Joey was the dominated party (Dragulescu et al., 2006).

Similarly, men in society are supposed to be heterosexual. Homosexual men have been victimized for not being men enough due to their not-too-common sexual desires. They are looked down upon and treated as second-class citizens. This has made some men like David to not be openly queer, in order to escape the shame and immorality tag which is associated with homosexuality.

In the novel, women have sadly been depicted as the weaker gender in society. More so, women of different nationalities and races have been subjected to plenty of use, abuse, and discrimination by society. We have seen them work with very little or no pay at all just because they are women. On the other hand, white women have been portrayed as the anchors and support system of society. They are tasked with the roles of performing domestic duties and ensuring that the children and their husbands are well taken care of. David is a product of such a woman. He is raised by his aunt Ellen after his mother’s death. Ellen also takes up the responsibility of policing David’s father after he takes up drinking alcohol and engaging in promiscuous behavior. Ellen is on record for having castigated him for coming home at odd hours after his escapades. David’s father instead castigates her and mocks her by saying that he wants his son to grow up and be a real man, not a Sunday school teacher. This was mocking Ellen in a way since she was a Sunday school teacher and had no family of her own save for her brother and her nephew. (Aliyyah I. Abur-Rahman).

Women have also been denied the opportunity to be sexually free. They are not allowed to make sexual decisions of their own but instead have to bend to the will of their men. Whereas men are not held accountable for their sexual misbehaviors, women are not accorded the same luxury. They are forced to keep quiet when men in their lives go about having separate sexual lives but cannot call them out on it. This is also well seen when Ellen tries to drive sense into David’s father. The tables turn on her, and she ends up being mocked for not having a sex life of her own and for being a Sunday school teacher (Aliyyah I. Abur-Rahman).

Class

In the novel “Giovanni’s Room”, there has been a lot of stereotypes about the classes. We have two separate classes; the high class represented by the whites and heterosexuals and the low class represented by the homosexuals and people of color (Joseph Armengol). The perfect depiction of the high class is David, who has described himself as white with blonde hair and a face we have all seen before. The lower classes are well represented by Giovanni, who has dark features and dark curly hair.

The use of sexuality to highlight class differences is very apparent. One can argue that James Baldwin did it intentionally to highlight the glaring differences between the classes. The high-class population is mostly expected to be heterosexual since it is the secure and the right thing to do. Because of these societal expectations, they take part in homosexual activities in private and in secret so that their standing and reputation do not get tainted (Meg Wesling, 2019). In the novel, after Guillaume is murdered, the state does its best to conceal his secret life as a gay man and instead claims that he was murdered by a poor man. This was in a bid to keep his image as an upstanding man in society. 

On the other hand, homosexuals like Giovanni bear the full brunt of the law. The fact that he had committed a murder and he was a gay man pretty much sealed his fate. His trial was just but a mere formality because his execution was inevitable. Even after his death, his loss was not felt and was justified by society. The community felt that it was good riddance to bad rubbish since there was one less homosexual man and one less murderer. These double standards highlight the plight of the poor people in that there is no level playing ground for their quest for justice. The fact that Guillaume was a terrible employer to Giovanni and that he did not pay him well for his work as a barman was overlooked during his trial. He was the only guilty one.

Class differences in the novel are also depicted in the races. The whites David represents are the epitome of the high class living in a bubble. They live secret lives because their high standing in society does not allow them to do some things, such as being queer. This was the reason why David felt it was better to be in a safe heterosexual relationship with Hella than to give it to the wrong homosexual desires he had. On the other hand, the poor, represented by Giovanni, had accepted themselves and were living freely with no qualms about their sexuality. This also brings to light the lack of freedom to live that the high class has. They have such high expectations that any form of immoral behavior would cause their downfall.

Relationships

In the novel, heterosexual relationships are depicted as being safe, secure, and right. Everyone longs to have a heterosexual relationship because society deems it the right thing to do. We see David being torn between the safety and normalcy of a heterosexual relationship over immoral and dirty homosexual relationships (Meg Wesling, 2019). He fantasizes about having a woman and children who will ensure that his masculinity is not in question. Even when the touch of a woman repulses him, he feels that there is no way he can be accepted as a queer man. This is the reason why he considers getting married to Hella even when he is not sexually attracted to her. On the other hand, homosexual relationships are depicted as dirty, wrong, immoral, and dramatic. David, on one occasion, asks Giovanni what kind of life two men can actually lead in the society they are in. This is also due to the fact that each gender has its own specified roles. He would not want himself to start carrying out duties that are feminine, such as washing dishes and waiting for another man who has gone out to be the provider.

The novel also highlights the relationships between an employer and his employees. We see the employer in Guillaume being bad and inconsiderate to his employee, Giovanni (Meg Wesling, 2019). He does not pay him well for the job he does as his barman. In the end, he also ends up using him to satisfy his queer sexual needs but with no compensation. The two develop a frosty working relationship, and in a tragic turn of events, Giovanni ends up killing Guillaume when his frustrations with his boss go overboard. We also see several young men engage in male prostitution with older clients with a high social standing, who also do not get paid well for their services. This highlights the plight of the poor in their quest to earn a living.

Conclusion

The novel highlights a touchy issue in the acceptance of homosexuality in society. They have been criminalized and regarded as second-class citizens, even though they are facilitated by the so-called high society men. Their treatment and abuse highlight the intolerance that society has towards them. James Baldwin is very bold in his calling out of the standards meted out towards the homosexuals and the queer.

References

Meg Wesling (2019). Sexuality and statelessness: Queer migrations and national identity in James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 55:3, 323-336, DOI: 10.1080/17449855.2019.1617974

Dragulescu et al. (2006). Into the Room and Out of the Closet:(Homo)Sexuality and Commodification in James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room.

Aliyyah I, Abu-Rahman. "Simply a Menaced Boy": Analogizing Colour, Undoing Dominance in James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room.

Joseph M. Armengol. In the Dark Room: Homosexuality and/as Blackness in James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room.