Customer Reviews

Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow: The Courtship and Marriage of Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Alice Ruth Moore

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To learn about the man behind the legend, it is a must read. As with most people, Paul Dunbar made difficult choices traveling on his life path, and he did make mistakes in his short life time. It is amazing there are schools named in his honor after the things he did to his wife. However, some of a man's faults didn't hinder his celebrity. Searching for love before internet dating, Paul and Alice wrote love letters to each other (something unheard of in the digital age), and with today's man and woman the difficulties of finding one's soul-mate without losing one's self is as relevant as it was during Paul and Alice's life time.

I think that this book was excellent in that it provides a foundation for finding new ways to analyze history, seeing as how the history we are generally taught excludes people who were not members of mainstream society. A history that only focuses on mainstream society does not represent all of society and almost behaves as if other people did not exist or play major roles. Eleanor Alexander acknowledged that while there was not much documentation on the courtship and relations of the African American middle class, she was trying to start from the limited sources that were available to provide a new perspective. In addition, this novel touched upon some very real issues that are known but underplayed, including the racism and self-hatred that was very prevalent among black people and the fact that the patriarchal society was the primary basis for sexism that degraded the value of women.

Dr. Alexander never once claimed that her ideas were facts, but she provided valid reasons to support her claims. For example, she explained the fact that Alice's history is undocumented but she allowed room for the possibility that Alice may have unofficially told of her own history in her short stories. She also presented proof in Alice's own words that Alice disliked darker-skinned blacks and that Paul, a dark-skinned black who exhibited self-hatred because of his color, disliked yet desired light-skinned women, the closest to the American definition of beauty, a white woman. Alexander posed questions that would make the reader think "Was this a possible factor?" If she was critical in her analysis, her criticism was matched by objectivity. In a way, learning negative truths about someone as famous as Paul Laurence Dunbar or his wife is unpleasing, but I appreciate her honesty. Another magnificent thing about this book is its analysis of gender relations and some of the practices that still exist today. The past does shape the present, and an excellent example she used was of rape and how society attributed more blame to the woman, as if the woman somehow did something to deserve it, and that is still a widespread problem today. Therefore, this book demonstrates how essential it is that we are provided with an encompassing presentation of history that allows us to see how many problems arose in the past and why they are still perpetuated today. The ideas that she presents in her novel are accompanied by documented primary sources that urge us to consider at the very least the possible validity of her claims.

It is possible that some may say that she touched upon certain areas but then failed to explore further, but it is important to keep in mind that she stated repeatedly that there was limited documentation and that she was merely trying to provide new possibilies that would stir more people to follow her lead and delve deeper.

How do two African-Americans, who are uncomfortable in the skin they are born in, forge a successful union in the early 1900s if the relationship is doomed from the beginning? Eleanor Alexander depicts the courtship and marriage of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alice Ruth Moore, African-American pioneers in the literary arena.

Paul Dunbar is born in Dayton, Ohio on June 27, 1872 to a doting mother and an abusive father. A sickly child, Paul has an unusually close relationship with his mother, Matilda. He writes his first poem about a problematic marriage at the age of eleven probably based on his parent's relationship. Paul hits it big on the literary scene with tales of plantation Negroes who speak with broken English and are a source of amusement to his white audience. He grows to loathe the tales as his more serious work goes unnoticed. 

Alice Moore is the illegitimate daughter of a woman who washes clothes for a living. Her mother educates her and her sister. Their mother seeks the best for them and they grow into cultured young ladies. Alice and her sister are able to pass for white. This causes her not to identify herself as being Negro. Alice's stories often centers on female characters who are referred to as Mulatto or Creole but never Negro. 

Both Paul and Alice hate their African-American heritage. Paul falls in love with Alice when he sees a picture of her in a magazine. He prefers to date light-skinned or Mulatto woman. Although Alice detest Paul's dark skin but she is drawn to his fame in the literary world and what his fame could potentially do for her writing career.

They keep their courtship private, communicating through letters.  Paul suffers from mental issues and alcoholism. He also holds sexist views, handed down from his father, causing him to be abusive. These factors, added with the extra "burden" of being Negro during this time period, adds to the destruction of their marriage.

Eleanor Alexander recounts an excellent part of history regarding the marriage relationship of a prominent African-American couple. The book is repetitious at times but she gave very extensive information regarding the thoughts and feelings on racism, sexism and class status. This was a fascinating yet tragic love story.

Reviewed by Paula Henderson of Loose Leaves Book Review.