"Just like Mister Jim": class transformation from Cracker to aristocrat in Hurston's Seraph on the Suwanee.

"Just like Mister Jim": class transformation from Cracker to aristocrat in Hurston's Seraph on the Suwanee. SINCE ITS 1948 PUBLICATION, ZORA NEALE HURSTON'S FOURTH ANDFINAL novel Seraph on the Suwanee has been the subject of intensecritical debate. Scholars disagree most often in their analyses ofprotagonist Arvay Henson's character development. From HerschelBrickell's contemporaneous review of Seraph as the story of "AWoman Saved" to Ancilla Coleman's 1988 assessment of the workas "a tale of love in which a woman is completely fulfilled"(26), certain critics have regarded the novel as an account ofArvay's personal growth from insecurity to confidence in hermarriage to Jim Meserve. (1) Many others, however, read Arvay'smetamorphosis as a descent from assertive independence into dehumanizingsubmission, viewing Hurston's depiction of the couple'smarriage as a subversive attack on the oppression of women. Missing fromthe critical discourse is an extended consideration of Arvay'scharacter development in terms of socioeconomic class. In marrying Jim,Arvay undergoes a major transformation, evolving from an underprivileged"Cracker" to a "quality first-class" benefactress(884). While a number of critics, most notably Susan EdwardsMeisenhelder, have examined how Jim Meserve manipulates power structuresto represent himself as a magnanimous provider to those around him, noscholars thus far have explored the ways in which Arvay herself grows toadopt "Jim's way of handling things" (885) over thecourse of the novel. In fact, Seraph indicates that Arvay'sinferiority complex is slowly replaced by a mindset that parallelsJim's own. A lined-through section in an early typescript draft of Seraph onthe Suwanee housed at the University of Florida indicates that ideasabout power, social privilege, and benevolence were important inHurston's planning of the novel. In this section, which appears onpage eight of the typescript, Hurston describes Arvay's appearance: With the proper clothing and bearing, she might well have been alady-in-waiting at [King Arthur's] court. Her eyes were wide-set,large, and of a morning-sky blue. With a face reflecting an egowell-nourished by the exercise of her own will, that is power, andclothing upon which numerous peasant women had spent many days overtheir needles, Arvay Henson's face would have been calledaristocratic. That means, a certain boldness from a consciousness ofpower, plus a measure of condescension. People can be kind, and they cancondescend when they have wealth and power. (Hambrick 22) At first glance, the Arvay Henson depicted in this passage may seemto be a different person altogether from the painfully insecure youngwoman described in the published novel's opening chapters. However,the passage suggests that while Arvay's beauty marks her potential,she initially lacks the "bearing" and "ego"necessary to practice the kindness and condescension characteristic of a"lady-in-waiting." Jim, in contrast, appears to be endowedwith such capacities from the beginning. The descendant of plantationowners, Jim differs in background and comportment from "the rest ofthe inhabitants of Sawley, who had always been of the poor whites whohad scratched out some kind of an existence in the scrub oaks and pines,far removed from the ease of the big estates" (604), and hisinteractions with Arvay and others accordingly fit the definition of"aristocratic" that Hurston proposes in the early typescript.Furthermore, Jim's many frustrations with Arvay seem to stem, atleast in part, from his deep-seated desire to groom Arvay into the"king's daughter out of a story-book" that he visualizes(838). Jim's efforts in this vein are ultimately successful: overthe course of the novel, Arvay develops from an insecure and sometimeshateful "Cracker" to a more confident and kind, but also moremanipulative and condescending, "aristocrat." As many feminist critics have noted, Jim views himself as"Arvay's knight in shining armor" (Meisenhelder 96). Fromthe beginning of their courtship, Jim offers Arvay his "help"and "protection," telling her that she needs "somebodystronger than you, and that can see further than you, and somebody thatfeels your care, [who] will have to be on hand to look after you"(613). Throughout the novel, Jim consistently provides for his wife, hischildren, and even Arvay's mother, casting himself as Arvay'sgenerous protector; however, many of Jim's actions significantlycomplicate this picture of the couple's relationship. Many scholarswho argue that Jim's character is unequivocally domineering andtyrannical have justifiably focused on his rape of Arvay before theirmarriage; but perhaps even more revealing of the couple'srelational dynamic are the events that immediately follow the rape. WhenArvay realizes what has happened, she is initially "terriblyafraid" because she feels that "She had been taken for afool.... What was to become of her now? Where would she turn forrefuge?" (645). Because Arvay fears that Jim will abandon her, sheis both relieved and grateful when he makes clear that his intentions tomarry her have not changed. Even though the couple was already engaged,Jim's resolution to marry Arvay after the rape seems magnanimous toher; Jim's violent exercise of power defines their relationship,giving his subsequent actions the appearance of kindness despite his ownresponsibility for the circumstances which cause Arvay to fear. Jim's need for power seems to linger just beneath hisconsciousness for much of the novel, and his manipulation andselfishness mix with an apparently genuine, though still extremelycondescending, concern to protect and provide for Arvay and theirchildren. A key instance in which the complexity of Jim'smotivations becomes evident occurs when, at a point early in theirmarriage, he recognizes the couple's severe communication problemsand seriously considers leaving Array: "There was not sufficientunderstanding in his marriage, Jim said inside himself. It could notkeep on like this. He was panging and paining far too much. What helpfor it except by parting from Arvay?" (693). After spending"Minutes and possibly an hour" in mental anguish over thesituation, Jim decides against leaving Arvay; significantly, his firstthought in favor of this choice is that he "wouldn't be cominghome anymore from work of evenings and finding Array doing around in thekitchen fixing him the kind of a supper that she figured he might chooseand fancy" (693), a reflection which has led Janet St. Clair toassert that Jim "stays, not to protect her, as he proclaims, butfor the selfish reasons that he acknowledges to himself" (46).However, St. Clair does not comment on the fact that after his initialappraisal of the benefits of staying with Array, he proceeds to offerhimself additional rationales for his decision, ones more in keepingwith his conception of himself as a generous guardian of his vulnerablewife and family: What would poor helpless Arvay do with a place like this on her hands and nobody to tell her and show her what to do about it? And Arvay herself, what would become of the poor weak thing without the proper person to give her the right care? She needed and required the best that the world could afford. No one understood that but himself. Some other dumb fool might come along, find her forlorn and take the advantage and brutalize her in some way or other. (694) Jim further concludes that leaving Arvay would be impossible forhim because he "had gotten used to the comforts of a home throughArvay, and her tender and loving care .... Arvay was his woman, and itwas his privilege to do for her. It was his part to put in the thinking.He had no business pushing off nothing like that on her" (694).Jim's vacillation between self-focused and service-orienteddeliberations indicates the way in which egotism and altruism areentwined in his psyche. Jim's relationship with his family is not the only way hedemonstrates kindness that seems mixed with a drive for power andcontrol. Several critics have analyzed the complex power dynamics atplay in Jim's relationships with his African American employees,particularly his "pet Negro," Joe Kelsey. Meisenheldercontends that Jim interacts with African Americans in a way that,"despite his good humor and apparent generosity" (113),ultimately exploits their labor and knowledge for his own personalbenefit, all the while endearing himself to them as a benevolent"Boss." Meisenhelder presents as evidence the fact that eachof Jim's financial enterprises, "from his still operation tohis turpentining, citrus groves, development projects, and shrimpingfleet--depends on the expertise and the efforts of black workers";she asserts that "Whereas Jim takes personal credit for clearingthe swamp for the housing development, Hurston points to the black menwho provide the labor, ... who make his dreams real but do notparticipate in them" (113). Delia Caparoso Konzett also exploresJim's white privilege, discussing the novel specifically inrelation to Hurston's 1943 essay on "The 'Pet' NegroSystem." Konzett argues that in Seraph "Hurston articulateswhat she sees as the unspoken golden rule of the South and thus laysbare a messy system in which traditional oppositions of perpetrator andvictim, master and slave, white and black, overlap and are at timesindistinguishable from one another" (115). Konzett claims that JoeKelsey empowers himself through racial staging: Kelsey "retains themannerisms of the 'old-time Negro,'" calling Jim"Mr. Meserve," "Mr. Jim," or "Boss," incontrast to Jim, who simply refers to Joe by his first name (115).Nonetheless, in Konzett's reading, such racial staging coexistswith a deep, sincere affection between the two men (123). Whether, as inMeisenhelder's view, Jim deliberately exploits and manipulates hisAfrican American employees, or, as in Konzett's view, he merelycapitalizes on mutually-beneficial friendships within analready-existing social system, Jim's position of power as a whitemale is what ultimately enables him to seem especially kind in hisrelationships with his African American workers. Jim's good-natured friendliness with those of other races andnationalities contrasts sharply with Arvay's own fiercely bigotedoutlook for much of the novel, and Hurston makes clear that the contrastin their attitudes is linked with issues of power and class status.Cynthia Ward argues that Arvay's "secure place in the ethnichierarchy--embraced by her in numerous demonstrations of racism--isthreatened by Jim's class position, which has less need for overtlyracist classification" (81), citing Arvay's angry avowal thatJim looks down on her family as proof of the connection betweenArvay's prejudices and her class inferiority complex: "Youcome from some big high muck-de-mucks, and we ain't nothing butpiney-woods Crackers and poor white trash. Even niggers is better thanwe is, according to your kind" (713). Significantly, several ofJim's most pointed efforts to transform Arvay's attitude tocorrespond with her rising class status involve her interactions withAfrican Americans. In a key scene early in the novel, Jim takes Arvay tosee their new house, which has been built by a construction company from"Colored Town" (673). Hurston's description of thecouple's differing responses upon viewing their new homeunderscores their differing class perspectives. While Jim is happy tofind "all the trash cleaned up and hauled away," Arvay objectsthat the workers have "done toted off all that scrap lumber. Itwould of helped us out quite considerable for stove-wood. You ought togo make 'em put the last piece of it right back on this place"(673). Jim's response to Array highlights both his own aristocratic(as Hurston defines the term) mindset and his desire to alter hiswife's perspective to become more like his: Then I wouldn't be no gentleman no more, Arvay, and that would cost me something. That's like broken food from the table. The help don't look for ladies and gentlemen to trace up a thing like that. If I act like I don't notice it, I got a lot of willing friends, and nobody will ever steal a thing off this place. (673, emphases added) Arvay is keenly aware of the implications of Jim's remarks,but her pride rebels against his condescension: "Arvay felt acomparison in this, and it hurt. Jim just as good as said that shewasn't used to things, and he had to teach her and tell her"(674). Jim's earliest attempt to make a gentlewoman of Arvay thusseems largely unsuccessful. Not until years later does Jim first see a glimmer of hope thatArvay is "finding her way" in the new socioeconomic classwhere he has placed her (704). The circumstances which precipitate thisoccurrence notably involve Arvay's feeling threatened by Jim'sfriendliness with Joe Kelsey and then receiving reassurance of herimportance to Jim. After the Meserves' youngest son Kenny and theKelseys' daughter Belinda embarrass Array by creating a spectacleat the train station, Arvay at first whips both children and declares toJim that Belinda has been "leading [Kenny] astray" (700). Jimlaughs at Arvay's accusations, claiming, "Nobody ain'tapt to do no leading around Kenny Meserve. He's too much like hisold man for that. I take it as a grand insult for you to even say such athing" (701). Arvay's reply to Jim is full of both prejudiceand jealousy: "Belinda being that no-count Joe'syoung'un, I reckon any caper that she might up and cut just have tobe put up with. Look like Joe is the boss on this place" (701). Jimanswers Arvay, "You're my wife, the most precious thing that Igot, and nobody don't compare with you. What's between me andJoe is something different altogether and I wouldn't want you totake a pick at him" (701). After Jim's comforting, Arvayexperiences "a great feeling of power and victory" at therealization that "As much as Jim thought of Joe, she had more powerof her husband than Joe had" (702). Arvay is so"uplifted" by this realization that she is "extranice" to Joe's wife and children the next day, first givingBelinda "all of Angeline's clothes that her daughter hadoutgrown" (702) and then going to town to buy fabric to make aSunday dress for the little girl. A few days later, Arvay is watching when a "white man"comes to the house to make a delivery of cement and pretends that hedoes not know who Kenny and Belinda are. After Kenny boasts that he is"Jim Meserve's son" and that "My Daddy can lick anyman in the world" (702-03), the driver asks Belinda, "Andwhose little girl are you?" (703). Hurston explains that"Belinda wanted to come off as well as Kenny had, and was obviouslystumped for an answer for a moment. She shuffled her bare feet in thesand, then flung up her head and said, 'I'm Miss Arvay'slittle girl, that's who'" (703). The driver makes fun ofBelinda, which prompts the girl to protest, on the verge of tears,"'Yes I is, too. She gived me a pretty white dress for SundaySchool,' and Belinda spread her skirts to illustrate, 'and apretty pink ribbon for my head. Yes I is her little girl so!'"(703). Arvay's response to Belinda is sympathetic: "Arvay sawBelinda about to cry and understood. Belinda valued her and counted onher care and wanted to be loved by her. Arvay knew that feeling"(703). Indeed, Arvay's sense of responsibility for Belindaparallels Jim's attitude toward Arvay herself, and the words sheuses in reply to the driver similarly echo Jim's language about hiswife: "'Yes indeed, Belinda is my little girl,' Arvaysaid with conviction as she came slowly down the steps to direct thedelivery of the cement. 'Born right here on the place, and Iwouldn't take a play-pretty for her either, I'm a'tellingyou!'" (703). Arvay's rush to Belinda's defense isboth well-intentioned and well-received, leaving the girl "happyand triumphant" and the woman "very light-hearted for the restof the afternoon" (703); nonetheless, the feelings of both areproblematic because only in a racist society would Belinda's desireto "come off as well as Kenny had" lead her to claim to be thedaughter of a white woman (who up until a few days before had never evenshown her kindness) rather than the child of her own mother. When Arvaytells Jim about the incident with Belinda and the cement deliveryman, heresponds with approval and excitement that he had known "from thevery first time that I saw you, Little-Bits, that you was allheart" (704). Jim goes to bed that night "feeling veryencouraged" because it "looked as if Arvay was finding herway" (704). However, Jim continues to be haunted by the sense thatArvay needs him to guide her: "The only snag was, could he make herunderstand that there was a way and that it was necessary for her tofind it? How was he to bring a thing like that about? He had tried everyway that he knew how and had only temporary results" (704). ThoughHurston does not designate specifically what Jim means in his referencesto the "way" which Arvay must find, the context of Jim'sreflections suggests that class considerations are a key part of hisconcern for her development. Jim's anger and frustration at Arvay's inability to liveup to his expectations finally culminate in a fuming tirade in which heresolves to leave her. Jim's speech to her highlights hispreoccupation with enhancing her class status and convincing her that a"higher place" in life is indeed where she belongs: [W]ith you to care for, and loving you like I did, I got off of that teppentime still just as quick as I could, so as to make a better life for you. I knew that that was all that you had ever been used to, Arvay, but I saw you as due a much higher place. So I got out from there and moved you up a notch by coming down here.... All I ever wanted to hear from you was that you realized that I was doing out of love, and thought of you so high, that I wanted to see you pomped away up there. I never have seen you as a teppentime Cracker like you have thrown in my face time and again. I saw you like a king's daughter out of a story-book with your long, soft golden hair. You were deserving, and noble, and all I ever wanted to do was to have the chance to do for you and protect you. But never one time have I heard you mention that you understood all that. (838) Despite his anger, Jim still does not give up all hope that Arvaywill one day "meet [him] on some high place" (840); hedeclares before he leaves to live on his shrimp boat that "if Iever see any signs of you coming to be the woman I married you for, whythen I'll be only too glad and willing to try it again" (841).The woman he married her for, of course, is the queenly spouse heenvisions. Hurston frames her protagonist's final reunion with herhusband as the conclusion of the metamorphosis that Arvay undergoes overthe course of the novel, a metamorphosis through which she finallyovercomes her debilitating sense of inferiority. As Arvay gainsconfidence in her position as Jim Meserve's wife, she no longerfeels the need to quell her own feelings of inferiority by entertainingracist thoughts about ethnic minorities or hateful thoughts about thelower-class members of her own family. However, as Arvay outgrows hermost glaring prejudices and her periodic retreats into spitefulness, shegains an aristocratic mindset comparable to Jim's own in itscondescension and sense of entitlement. Two key instances when thismindset surfaces in Arvay occur during her return visits to Sawley. Onlytwice over the course of the novel does Hurston show Array returning toher Florida Cracker home for any extended period of time. Both ofArvay's extended visits to Sawley come at points of significanttrouble in her relationship with her husband. Rather than viewing thetroubles in her marriage as the results of either Jim's abuses orher own inferiority complex, Arvay attributes these problems to thecouple's differences in class background. Consequently, Arvayanticipates each of her trips home as a return to the lower-classculture where she believes she belongs, but each time, her hopes offinding genuine community are sorely disappointed. Though Arvay'sfamily history prevents her from feeling at home in Jim's world formuch of the novel, her new class status and corresponding new habits andprejudices also preclude the possibility that Array will ever againtruly fit in with her Florida Cracker family. Anger and hurt at Jim's request that they "put away"their son Earl to prevent him from causing harm to himself or othersprompt Arvay's first return visit to Sawley (712). Arvay eagerlyanticipates returning to a place "where nobody looked down on her,and nobody would be talking about putting poor Earl away," but her"ardent championship of her background and her family got aset-back as soon as she stepped off the train. Sawley looked poor andshabby and mean.... Everything seemed to have shrunk up since she movedaway" (718). Arvay compares her family's house to her new homein Citrabelle, finding the former "too awful for words" (719).In a display of open if unwitting derision, Arvay begins to loudlycriticize her mother's house and ways, asking, "Mama, whydon't you put on one of those housedresses that I sent you? Why youwant to go around in them old raggedy things?" (719). Arvaydisdains eating from the Hensons' cracked dishes, spends two days"cleaning piles of old junk and mess out of the house and burningit over her mother's protest," and wonders that "her barnat home" was more sanitary than her childhood abode (719). When shesees her sister Larraine's family, the Middletons, for the firsttime since her return to Sawley, she reflects on her relatives that"Some changes had been made. Either they had changed or shehad" and furthermore mentally deems Larraine's family "anawful gang of Crackers" who are "too poor for anybody to likethem too much" (719). Enraged and unsettled at this glimpse of herrelations as she presumes Jim must see them, Array lashes out byflaunting her expensive clothes in front of Larraine. Moreover, Arvayplays the part of a generous patroness with her sister's children:"Off-hand-like, she handed Earl five dollars to go into town withhis cousins and treat them to ice cream and things" (720). Arvaylater continues with her attempts to make the house "fairly cleanand orderly" (720), never appearing to recognize the condescensionsuch efforts exhibit toward her mother. Arvay's new view of the people and conditions of herupbringing inspires her to new gratitude toward Jim. Her trip home alsoprovides the impetus for her first major instance of followingJim's pattern of manipulating to make self-centered actions seemmagnanimous. Arvay writes a letter to Jim under guise of concern for hermother: "What she wrote was that her father being dead now, and hermother getting old, would he mind if she left Earl up there with hermother for a while to keep her company? Maria really ought not to bethere in the house all by herself" (721). However, Arvay's ownreflections reveal that her motivation for leaving Earl in Sawley intruth has nothing to do with consideration for Maria but rather stemsfrom her desire to reunite with Jim: "The sacrifice of parting fromEarl was almost more than she could bear, but the call of Jim could nomore be resisted than the sun-flower can help turning its face to thesun" (722). Array manipulates the situation to convince herself andpresumably others that leaving Earl in Sawley is an act of goodwilltoward her mother rather than what it really is: an attempt to improveher relationship with Jim by removing Earl from their presence. Inimplementing this plan, Arvay displays seemingly no regard for theincreased responsibility for her mother and changes in lifestyle forEarl that will be involved. While Arvay's decision might be viewedas a way to prevent Earl from being put away, concern for the harm Earlmay cause to himself or others plays no apparent role in her choice, andJim expresses no apprehension that his son may hurt himself or any ofthe inhabitants of his new locale. Despite his generous provision forhis mother-in-law, Jim--and, by extension, Arvay--seems to value thesafety of the Crackers of Sawley less than that of the Corregios andother inhabitants of Citrabelle. Though Arvay soon grows so worried forher son that she makes an overnight journey to Sawley to bring Earlback, her initial plan to leave him in Sawley reveals the subtleinfluence that Jim has had on her ways of thinking and acting. During her first long trip home to Sawley, Arvay clearly feelssuperior to her relations, but many of her acts of condescension seemmotivated at least in part by her sense of inferiority to Jim and herconsequent resentment of her heritage. Not until her final visit to herhometown does Arvay emerge as the full-fledged "aristocrat"that Hurston anticipates in the early typescript of the novel. After Jimleaves her and she receives word of her mother's sickness, Arvayagain returns to Sawley with hopes of finding a place she truly belongs.However, in contrast to her first return home, when she deliberatelyflaunted her possessions to spite Larraine, this time she is not evenconscious of her wealth: as she packs to return home, "it did notenter her mind that this assembly of luggage had cost Kenny more than aturpentine worker ever handled in a year" (846). Rather than herearlier outrage at Larraine for the "commonness" of theMiddletons, Arvay exhibits only a dispassionate pity for hersister's family. Significantly, upon seeing two of Larraine'sgrown daughters, Arvay reflects, "Even in a croker-sack, Angelinewould look like their mistress" (849). When Larraine purports to beupset because she "ain't got a thing to bury Maw with"(855), Arvay assures her that she will pay for the beautiful funeral shepromised her mother. As Larraine continues to reiterate herfamily's dire financial straits, Arvay becomes "Fired withsisterly concern and pity" and "opened the bill-fold, riffledthrough until she came to some smaller bills and impulsively handedLarraine a ten. From little economies, from Jim, from Kenny, fromAngeline and Hatton, Arvay had over a thousand dollars in herpocket-book" (856). The contrast between the amount of money Arvayhas and the amount she gives to Larraine underscores theprotagonist's self-deception in believing in her own generosity.The Middletons, however, are not fooled, and their resentment manifestsitself in their destruction of Maria's "memory-things"(875), most notably all the gifts and keepsakes the Meserves sent herover the years. In the wake of this destruction, Arvay burns herfamily's home to the ground and, symbolically, destroys herlower-class background once and for all. With this obliteration of thelast connection to her Cracker past, Arvay is finally able to viewherself as worthy of Jim and move to save her marriage. When Arvay returns from her final visit to Sawley, her attitude andinteractions with those around her are permanently changed. For JeffKelsey, Joe's son, and Jeff's wife Janie, Arvay brings giftsto "Let them know that she appreciated them too" (871). WhenArvay gives the couple their presents, Janie remarks, "I declare,Miss Arvay, but you sure is folks," and Jeff agrees that Arvay is"Just like Mister Jim, ain't she, Janie? And everybody knowsthat Mister Jim is quality first-class. Knows how to carry hisself, andthen how to treat everybody. Miss Arvay's done come to be just likehim" (884). Ann duCille explains the significance of Arvay'sactions at this critical juncture in the narrative by noting that"the new, improved Arvay has learned" both "deviousnessand duplicity": Her new skills are evident in the way she goes about winning over Jeff Kelsey--an enemy since the rattlesnake incident--with a ham, a bag of pecans, and a "Hello there, Jeff, you old rascal.... You all look like new money in town to me. I sure am glad to see you." We have never heard Arvay talk to anyone like this before, certainly not to a "nigger," but she wanted Kelsey on her side and a ride to the coast where Jim is. She gets both. (139) When Arvay journeys to the shrimp boats to reunite with Jim,concerns about class continue to linger in her consciousness, asrevealed by the plan she formulates for "how to begin withJim" (913). In searching for the words to communicate her devotionto her husband, Arvay settles upon a passage from the book of Ruth:"What Ruth said to Naomi fitted things more better, but put intowords that fitted just her and Jim" (913). In this passage, awidowed Ruth declares to her mother-in-law Naomi, "Intreat me notto leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thougoest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shallbe my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1.16, King James Version).The message that Arvay resolves to deliver to Jim is alteredsignificantly from the biblical source: "Jim, your loving Arvay hasthrowed off every hindering weight so as to follow you along in a easyway. Whither thou goest, I will go along too. Thy kind of people shallbe my kind of people, and thy God, my God" (913). Arvay'sreference to the "easy way" in which Jim will lead her and herpledge of allegiance to Jim's "kind of people" indicatethat where Ruth dedicates herself to Naomi's people, Arvaydedicates herself to Jim's class and way of life. For better orworse, Arvay ultimately chooses to ascend the throne beside her husbandin a New Southern aristocracy. Works Cited Brickell, Herschel. "A Woman Saved [Review of Seraph on theSuwanee]." 1948. Critical Essays on Zora Neale Hurston. Ed. GloriaL. Cronin. New York: G. K. Hall, 1998. 195-96. Coleman, Ancilla. "Mythological Structure and PsychologicalSignificance in Hurston's Seraph on the Suwanee." Publicationsof the Mississippi Philological Association (1988): 21-27. duCille, Ann. The Coupling Convention: Sex, Text and Tradition inBlack Women's Fiction. New York: Oxford UP, 1993. Hambrick, Doriss H. Shakespeare on the Suwanee: Zora NealeHurston's Use of The Taming of the Shrew as the Framework forSeraph on the Suwanee. MA thesis. Baylor U, 2002. Hurston, Zora Neale. Seraph on the Suwanee. 1948. Zora NealeHurston: Novels and Stories. New York: Library of America, 1995.599-920. Konzett, Delia Caparoso. Ethnic Modernisms: Anzia Yezierska, ZoraNeale Hurston, Jean Rhys, and the Aesthetics of Dislocation. New York:Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. Marsh-Lockett, Carol P. "What Ever Happened to Jochebed?Motherhood as Marginality in Zora Neale Hurston's Seraph on theSuwanee." Southern Mothers: Fact and Fictions in SouthernWomen's Writing. Ed. Nagueyalti Warren and Sally Wolff. BatonRouge: Louisiana State UP, 1999. 100-10. Meisenhelder, Susan Edwards. Hitting a Straight Lick with a CrookedStick: Race and Gender in the Work of Zora Neale Hurston. Tuscaloosa: Uof Alabama P, 1999. Rieger, Christopher. "The Working-Class Pastoral of Zora NealeHurston's Seraph on the Suwanee." Mississippi Quarterly 56.1(2002-2003): 105-24. St. Clair, Janet. "The Courageous Undertow of Zora NealeHurston's Seraph on the Suwanee." Modern Language Quarterly50.1 (1989): 38-57. Ward, Cynthia. "From the Suwanee to Egypt, There's NoPlace Like Home." PMLA 115 (2000): 75-88. ADRIENNE AKINS Baylor University (1) A number of scholars have discussed the class-relatedimplications of Jim's last name, Meserve. Carol Marsh-Lockettvoices the most common interpretation of Hurston's naming choice:"Arvay's oppression in this new middle class existence isunderscored by the symbolic surname (Me-serve) which she assumes uponmarriage to Jim, for events in the marriage indicate that Arvay is toserve herself only through acquiescence and service to Jim" (102).Christopher Rieger contends that another possible reading of the nameMeserve suggests "that Jim serves himself" (118), furtherarguing that in the novel's conclusion "The revelation thatArvay arrives at independently is that she needs to be self-serving--atrue Meserve--and then she can freely choose to offer service to others,a willful commitment to serve rather than a proscribed servitude"(123). Arvay's given name, Henson, also has interestingconnotations related to both class and gender, as the "son"denotes maleness even as the "Hen" suggests both femalenessand privation.