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... Macon, Macon (Jake) and Sing, Milkman and Hagar, The Seven Days and the black culture, Pilate and Macon (Jake) along with Macon her brother, and most combinations of any characters that are within the novel. Love is what carries them to do the awful things they do and the marvelous actions they take part it. The biblical Song of Solomon demonstrates the love King Solomon once had. He fell in love with a Shulammite girl and decides to marry her. From the description in scripture it is explained that he married the girl on the day of his coronation. "Come out, you daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon wearing the crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced" (Life in the Spirit, Song Sol. 3. 11).
This is simply to prove that at the time of these writings Solomon was in more of an innocent stage. He had yet to be involved with 700 wives and 300 concubines because this girl was his first wife (Life in the Spirit 973). The way King Solomon and the Shulammite girl speak and treat each other is a reminder of the relationship that Milkman and Sweet had. In their case it may not have been a situation of marriage or longevity but the respect and affection they show one another is in the same form of passion as King Solomon. Milkman does things for Sweet that he has never done for anyone else ever before. He makes the bed, bathes her and washes dishes, among other things (285).
Milkman has never taken the time to care for anyone but himself and in this case he did. King Solomon and the girl write some of the most passionate lyrics to each other to express their love. It is a kind and gentle way of showing their adoration for their lover. Solomon speaks of his beloved in the highest respect, "How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! You eyes behind you veil are doves.
You hair is like a flock of goats... All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you" (Life in the Spirit, Song Sol. 4. 1 - 7). In the biblical book, "Solomon paints a vivid picture of idyllic romantic courtship and physical consummation... the celebration of their love is more about openness to love itself than it is about mere physical pleasure, as is sometimes assumed" (Glickman 61). The love involved in the biblical Song of Solomon is a passionate devotion to another lover which is primarily the case in Morrison's novel. The basis of most of the characters actions are based on love; although, in a different form.
Macon has an intense love for money and power that drives him to be an angry man and to only care about the envy of other people. "Macon is obsessive and authoritarian, a collector driven by what seems an utterly ruthless need to possess property and people" (Bryant). This is especially shown in situations such as when he takes his family out in the Packard on Sunday afternoons. This is not even an enjoyable experience for the family it has become a ritual to show off his family and his wonderful car. He believes that he will receive more respect because of this "amazing" car he is driving. He simply goes to 'display and parade his children and wife like a valuable hood ornament on his vintage Hudson automobile" (Bryant). Macon even passes on his lust for wealth to others "whose only advice to his son to get ahead is to 'Own things.
And let the things you own own other things. Then you " ll own yourself and other people too'" (Buehrer). Ruth had a twisted love for her father that was definitely an inappropriate relationship. After her mother died, Ruth was the woman of the house which led to unsettling circumstances.
Dr. Foster even knew of the improper behavior: "Her steady beam of love was unsettling, and she had never dropped those expressions of affection... so lovable in her childhood. The good-night kiss was itself a masterpiece of slow-wickedness on her part and discomfort on his. At sixteen, she still insisted on having him come to her at night... and plant a kiss on her lips.
Perhaps it was the loud silence of his dead wife... Ruth's disturbing resemblance to her mother... probably it was the ecstasy that always seemed to be shining in Ruth's face when he bent to kiss her-an ecstasy he felt inappropriate to the occasion. " Dr. Foster knew that this was a disturbance of nature that was not suitable for their relationship, but he continued on anyway.
This was deep love for both characters, although clearly wrong. Then there is the special case of The Seven Days. Guitar, Milkman's best friend, is in the group called 'The Seven Days whose goal is to seek retribution for the random killings of blacks by whites" (Buehrer). This group of men kills white people because of the extreme loyalty and affection to their race. When a black person is murdered one man in the group has to go and kill a white person on the same day of the week. They do this to ensure that the ratio stays the same; that they are not being killed off.
Guitar explains it to Milkman as, "What I'm doing ain't about hating white people. It's about loving us. About loving you. My whole life is love" (159). Even if what they are doing is a criminal act, they see it as pure devotion and dedication to their race.
Love is present all throughout the novel and in the biblical book of the same name. The difference is simply the act caused by the love. While King Solomon was writing to depict his affection for his lover, in the novel they kill or act irrationally, in a conventional sense, for love. In their minds every action is justified by the love that they feel, whether it is for power and wealth, closeness, or maintaining the race. Love is all around them and drives them to be the people that they are.
In all cases, including biblical, they cling to the love that inspires even the most absurd of actions and live their lives to fulfill their needs. Works Cited Bryant, Cedric Gael. 'Every Goodbye Ain't Gone: The Semiotics of Death, Mourning, and Closure Practice in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon. ' MELUS 24. 3 (1999): 97 +. Buehrer, David. "American History X, Morrison's Song of Solomon, and the Psychological Intersections of Race, Class, and Place in Contemporary America. " Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 25. 1 (2004): 18 +. Glickman, Craig. "Solomon's Song of Love: Let a Song of Songs Inspire Your Own Romantic Story. " Publishers Weekly 250. 47: 60 - 61. Holy Bible: Authorized King James Version. Michigan: Zondervan, 1994.
Life in the Spirit: Study Bible. Donald C. Stamps, gen. ed. Michigan: Zondervan, 2003. Morrison, Toni.
Song of Solomon. New York: Vintage, 2004
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