Relationships are a very complicated and multifaceted aspect of life. What makes them so hard to manage at times is that certain conflicts and misunderstandings require context. Unfortunately, at times one side or both may be reluctant to explain the truth behind a certain dispute or their side of the story. This leads to the further escalation of the poor assessment of the conflict and may sometimes deteriorate a relationship that could otherwise be rather stable and reliable.
In her short story Recitatif, Toni Morrison told the story of Twyla and Roberta, two young girls who were sent to an orphanage by their living mothers. They shared many things in common: poor grades, parental abandonment and the status of outcasts in the orphanage (Morrison, 2021). As Twyla, who is the narrator of the story, says: “We didn’t like each other all that much at first”. The relationship between the two children previously seemed quite rough.
Eventually, Twyla and Roberta started bonding, as they both started spending more time together and feared the same people. However, they later meet one person, who would later indirectly cause a conflict between them (Morrison, 2021). Maggie used to be bullied by the older orphans in the orchard. Sadly, the two main characters contributed to the harassment as well, as Twyla said: “And it shames me even now to think there was somebody in there after all who heard us call her those names and couldn’t tell on us”. Alas, at that time, the children had a poor understanding of their actions.
Even the conflict between their mothers did not affect their friendship by any means. Although at the time, Roberta was not able to comprehend the concept of bigotry, she still felt remorseful about the awkward situation caused by her mother (Morrison, 2021). Alas, the girl would leave the orphanage in May, and Twyla feared the consequence of her departure: “I thought I would die in that room of four beds without her…” It was unclear whether the two would meet again or not.
Their first reunion was rather unpleasant to Twyla, as Roberta seemed to act very cold towards her for no clear reason. The young girl that the narrator used to know behaved as though they barely knew each other: “There was this silence that came down right after I laughed. A silence it was her turn to fill up” (Morrison, 2021). There was still no explanation for Roberta’s odd behavior.
The second reunion seemed more peaceful, as the girl would act very kind towards the narrator, as if the former had not previously avoided talking to her. This meet-up felt more comforting for the two girls, as it felt like the good old days: “twenty years disappeared and all of it came rushing back”. Alas, it was then darkened by Roberta believing that they had bullied Maggie as well (Morrison, 2021). The remorse Twyla felt after the things her former friend told her ruined everything.
The third reunion was as awkward as the first one, as Roberta mentioned Maggie again and started distancing herself from the narrator one more time. For some previously unknown reason, while Twyla’s car was being rocked, not only did the woman passively watch the harassment, she claimed that the narrator was a bigot as well, saying that Maggie was a black woman: “You kicked a black lady and you have the nerve to call me a bigot” (Morrison, 2021). This odd claim baffled Twyla; however, she would still attempt to confront Roberta again, but to no avail.
The fourth and last reunion finally cleared up the conflict between them. Twyla met her former friend once again, and everything was explained. Roberta has confessed that neither of the girls had beaten Maggie. However, the girl still felt rather guilty, as she believed that “wanting to is doing it”. This important detail has finally revealed why Roberta’s behaviour was so odd. Thus, they were at peace and the story concluded with them reminiscing the past.
References
Morrison, T. (2021). Recitatif. In Ancestral House (pp. 422-436). Routledge.