First Corinthians and Porter

While searching for the name of the city that Milkman said he'd buy a plane ticket to get out of on Google in order to finish a blog comment, I stumbled across this blog post by an English teacher in Baltimore (read it!).

What the post examines is how First Corinthians is raped by Porter. Now, you might be thinking, really? That's what I thought too, until the author (Mr. Miazga) presented some really convincing evidence, framed in the context of sex. Honestly, it was pretty enlightening (I'm not being sarcastic or ironic or whatever at all)--before reading that post the idea didn't even cross my mind. When Corinthians keeps saying no, I thought she meant she didn't want the things Porter was mentioning, and just wanted him (romantic, right?). But like Mr. Miazga says, "There really isn't any other way to describe what happens above, is there? A woman says "no" four times in a row while a man is inserting his penis into her. There is no consent". When he put things like that, things made a lot more sense. Obviously, I have no idea how Toni Morrison meant for this scene to be read, but this is a pretty compelling interpretation. Something that I figure seems more fitting, if Mr. Miazga's claim is true, would be why Porter is described as "apologetically" asking Corinthians if he can get her something, when she asks where the bathroom is. 

If we accept that Porter does indeed rape Corinthians, then that adds a lot of confusion and complication to what their relationship really is. If it starts with rape, what does it mean for the two and their feelings for each other? What does it mean for our perceptions of the couple and the time they spent together before the rape, and the time they spend together after? 

Personally, I found the chapter with Corinthians and Porter the most moving one out of the entire book. It seems really earnest and desperate, and the sense of urgency and mix of both hopelessness and hope, I think, is extremely powerful. 

"The moment she had put her foot on the step leading up to the porch, she saw her ripeness mellowing and rotting before a heap of red velvet scraps on a round oak table." (not really relevant, but this sentence reminds me of The Bell Jar--which we read in Mr. Mitchell's Coming of Age class last semester--with its language)

"Corinthians continued to make roses, but she hated that stupid hobby and gave Lena any excuse to avoid it. They spoke to her of death. First the death of the man in the blue wings. Now her own. For if Porter did not turn his head and lean toward the door to open it for her, Corinthians believed she would surely die. She banged her knuckles until they ached to get the attention of the living flesh behind the glass, and would have smashed her fist through the window just to touch him, feel his heat, the only thing that could protect her from a smothering death of dry roses."

Isn't this really great writing? Isn't the emotion in it beautiful?

But, when we view this through the lens of before-rape (tacky term, I know, but I'm not sure how else to phrase it), things obviously get a lot more complicated. While Corinthians was feeling all these things, what was Porter feeling? What was he thinking? Was he just as emotional for Corinthians as she was for him? Did he want her to run back? Did he have an idea of what he was going to do if she ran back? Does accepting that Porter raped Corinthians sort of "ruin" the effect here, and make things seem a lot less beautiful or profound (almost a coming-of-age for Corinthians)? Does that matter? These are all questions I don't really know the answer to, and have to think on. 

Of course, we also have to address the aftermath. If Porter did rape Corinthians (which we can't be 100% certain about, but are accepting in this blog post), why do they stay together? Is this another example of "crazy love"? Do the feelings Corinthians has as she's running to Porter's (borrowed) car overpower whatever feelings she has on the rape? Is she okay? Does Porter feel guilty? Do they make up, somehow? Is it possible to make up and accept the rape as a thing that did happen and will be part of their history? I really have no useful insight to offer. 

Like Mr. Miazga, I'll also be ending this post on the topic of rape culture. If I hadn't read his post, I definitely would not have reconsidered the meaning and implications of Corinthians saying no, and definitely would not have spent so much time writing a (pretty long) blog post. What does this mean for me, and my awareness? What does this mean for the society I live in and the people around me, if others also didn't pick up on this idea? And, again, what did Toni Morrison intend for us to take away from that scene? It's complicated stuff!