The short story The Gilded Six Bits by Zora Neale Hurston is one of love, betrayal, and forgiveness. Describing an African American couple, Missie May and Joe, the reader is given insight into their young and flourishing marriage. They are working-class and living modestly but seem happy together through the little traditions that they have developed among themselves. That is until their marriage is almost uprooted by Joe catching Missie May in infidelity. Choosing to preserve the marriage, the couple goes on living, first with a level of indifference, then periods of reliance on each other, and eventually bearing a child, although unclear who is the father. Eventually, the story ends with Joe demonstrating that he has forgiven his wife, and they have a chance to be happy together again (Hurston). In this paper, it is argued that in The Gilded Six Bits, Hurston attempts to portray marriage as a metaphoric journey, while infidelity is almost symbolic to grief, with the characters undergoing the stages in their overall journey.
The adage ‘marriage is a journey, not a destination’ is not new in the context of human romantic relationships. This is a realization that has been accepted for centuries in virtually every culture. While society often portrays marriage as the final step in a romantic relationship, in fact, it is just the beginning. A great marriage is built, one day at a time, and it is a journey as both partners grow, change, mature, shift their opinions and preferences. Both have to be attuned to each other and work on building the relationship through mutual love and respect (Royall). It is evident that Joe and Missie May are in what is known as the ‘honeymoon’ stage of their relationship, having been married for only a year. They have little fun traditions, they are playful with each other and think of each other constantly. In their first encounter in the story, as Joe comes home, “Shouting, laughing, twisting, turning, tussling, tickling each other in the ribs; Missie May clutching onto Joe and Joe trying, but not too hard, to get away” (Hurston). They are passionate and full of energy, seemingly inseparable.
The Six Gilded Bits in itself is the analysis of marriage, addressing the concepts of marital love, infidelity, and money. Underneath the surface bliss of their marriage, there are warning signs of potential trouble. There can be an issue in the dynamics of the relationship, with Missie May being rather immature, almost childlike, while Joe maintains a superior, parent-like attitude. Some examples include the ‘cute’ behavior of chunking silver dollars at the door for Missie to pick up or giving permission for her to search his pockets, or ‘parading’ his wife in public. These are all indicators of a rather unbalanced and unhealthy relationship. It can be argued that Joe’s actions were the cause of the adultery, as he demonstrates his wife to Otis but at the same time praises his supposed wealth and masculinity. The naivete of Missie May is overwhelmed, making her an easy target for Otis, but also her own reasoning that by committing infidelity, she could make money for Joe to raise his status. She does not see how twisted her excuse is, but at the same time, it may be that Joe only stays with her because he realizes that he is partially at fault.
In psychology, there is a long-established framework of the stages of grief, something that each human goes through when experiencing grief. At its most basic form, the framework identifies the five basic stages that are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Discovering infidelity from a loving partner is highly traumatic for many individuals, and most enter the state of grief. That is because infidelity often leads to either literal loss (break-up) or metaphorical loss (shattering of trust and connection). The partner being cheated on is likely to undergo the stages of grief, seemingly as experiencing a loss (O’Shaughnessy 11).
This paper argues that Joe undergoes these stages of grief. First, there is denial, when the person feels numb and makes it appear unfazed by the discovery, but underneath actually feeling shocked. After discovering the infidelity and kicking Otis out, Joe acts as if nothing happened. The next morning, he asks, “Missie May, ain’t you gonna fix me no breakfus?” (Hurston). Their schedule remains unchanged, and Joe is acting as if nothing happened. The next stage is anger, but the story does not show that, or Joe was able to demonstrate his anger at Otis upon the original encounter. In a way, Joe demonstrates anger by no longer interacting with Missie May the same way, they no longer have playful moments and do make love.
The next step is bargaining, and it is part of reconciliation. The partners attempt to come up with a bargain in an effort to save the relationship, while the partner being cheated upon will feel the need to make the compromise. In the story, this occurs when Joe comes home with back pains from his hard labor and asks Missie May to massage him. This is the first time that they intimately touch and eventually leads to them making love. This occurs several times as Joe realizes that he needs Missie May, and she is grateful for him giving her an opportunity. Finally, the last stage is acceptance, where the grieving partner fully acknowledges the infidelity and releases the emotional burden, choosing to move on regardless of if they choose to forgive or not. Joe finds that acceptance once Missie May gives birth to a child that looks like him. He realizes he wants to build this family with her, and it is assumed by the end that he has forgiven her. The use of the gilded piece to purchase candy for Missie once again is symbolic of the reincarnation of their relationship and the end of grieving for Joe.
By ending the story on this note, Hurston emphasizes the importance of forgiveness in the journey of marriage. It is a strength because it shows that partners are capable of goodwill towards each other, and it generally makes the relationship stronger. During the period of grief and anger, the audience sees Joe torturing Missie May with the gold bit he took from Otis, floundering it, and eventually leaving it on the pillow after a night of sex as if he was paying a prostitute. It was a harsh reminder of the infidelity and arguably a strong insult towards Missie May. However, upon examining it closer and realizing it was a gold-covered fake, she realizes her own mistake, practices patience, and forgives Joe for being so harsh, putting the piece away in his pocket. Later Joe forgives her for she has given birth to his child, a redeeming act. Hurston is potentially attempting to highlight that forgiveness is critical in a marriage. No healthy relationship can be sustained for long periods of time without forgiveness, as both partners will make mistakes and errors that hurt the other, big or small. Forgiveness does not imply absolution, but it is a conscious decision to release the feelings of resentment, which would otherwise poison the relationship from the inside.
It is at these moments that the journey of marriage is best demonstrated because the partners show growth after such difficult challenges for their relationship. While Missie May’s infidelity is wrong, it arguably made the marriage with Joe stronger. They are now more aware of what it felt to almost lose each other, so they will put more effort into preserving the relationship and think twice before doing something that will damage it. African American families at the time when the story was written had a much more difficult life, faced with racism, poverty, and other socioeconomic barriers. The support that marriage partners gave to each other was vital. That is when combined with one other major theme of this story, that not everything that ‘shines’ is truly attractive – it creates temptation, such as when Missie May is attracted to Otis. Hurston highlights this as a social commentary on the state of marriage and culture as well.
In the end, these are the realities of life and relationships, and marriage is difficult, not the fairytale that is first described in the relationship between Missie May and Joe. Hurston seeks to demonstrate that true happiness and love take work and are found beyond the superficial ‘gilded bits’ but in the deep care and respect that partners hold for each other.
Works Cited
Hurston, Zora N. “The Gilded Six Bits.” AALBC, 1933, Web.
O’Shaughnessy, Brendan. “Can Relationships Survive Infidelity?” IJCP, vol. 19, no. 1, 2019, pp. 10–13, Web.
Royall, Taryn. “Marriage Is a Journey, Not the Destination.” TWO, 2018, Web.