Perfect Peace

In the spring of 1957, Woody announces his wedding to a woman. He states that God told him to marry her and rushes to do so even though the rest of the family finds her ugly. At the wedding reception, Paul tells Eva Mae that he thinks that Christina wants to marry him. Eva Mae tells him to be careful because he isn’t like other people and because he looks at Johnny Ray all the time. Paul relents, and Eva Mae reveals that on the day that they both played together for the first time, she had been purposefully walking around by his house to see if he would eventually come out.

Bartimaeus and Caroline get married in the Peace family’s living room in a small, quiet ceremony. Once married, Bartimaeus finds it difficult to sleep next to someone else. He listens to Caroline snore and thinks about the time she told him that Paul likes Johnny Ray in a romantic sense. He worries about Paul, but Caroline comforts him, saying that nothing will happen to Paul. Bartimaeus decides not to complain to Caroline about her snoring or about how much food she eats because he doesn’t want her to think that he is “unsatisfied” with her.

Emma Jean begins working for Henrietta. Her hands ache from cutting fabric all day, but she continues to work without pause. By the time her day has finished, Emma Jean is exhausted. By the end of the first month, Emma Jean realizes that the worst part of her job is the silence. Silence—now personified by Emma Jean’s slowly deteriorating mental health—has never had power over her before, and now she doesn’t know how to handle it. She thinks about all of her past mistakes and begins to argue with “Silence,” who tells her that she should not have rejected Claude Lovejoy. Henrietta overhears her speaking to herself and asks what she is talking about, but Emma Jean dismisses her. By Christmas of 1958, Emma Jean’s mental health has fallen apart. Henrietta recommends that she sit and rock on her hands to help with her arthritis and to show everyone that she is losing her rationality.

Henrietta opens her own boutique in March of 1959, which becomes popular with the white community in Swamps Creek and forces Emma Jean to work twice as hard. Silence has begun to “visit” Emma Jean more often, questioning her about the choices she has made as a mother—especially her choices to raise Paul as Perfect and to take Sol out of school. As the weeks pass, Silence terrorizes Emma Jean, causing her to scream at nothing. One morning, Silence makes Emma Jean scream and cry uncontrollably by forcing her to admit the truth: that she is a bad mother and has hurt several people. Emma Jean reverts to a child-like mindset and speaks to Silence as though she is speaking to her mother, Mae Helen. Witnessing this, Henrietta runs to get Gus and tells him the full story about Emma Jean’s blackmail, their secret, and her revenge. Gus does not blame Henrietta and takes Emma Jean home. Henrietta states that she is “done” with Emma Jean.

Emma Jean never recovers her mental health. At Paul’s high school graduation, she sits rocking on her hands and mumbling apologies while the rest of the church congregation looks at her. After Paul’s graduation ceremony, he encounters Johnny Ray, who expresses his sympathy for Emma Jean’s condition. Later that evening, Johnny Ray knocks on the door to the Peace family’s house and asks to speak with Mister. Mister follows Johnny Ray outside onto the porch.

Johnny Ray tells Mister that he is moving to Atlanta to join a prominent civil rights organization there. He will take the bus on Monday, and he asks Mister to come with him. Mister desperately wants to join Johnny Ray, but he refuses, stating that he cannot miss his mother’s party. (Gus has planned a birthday party for Emma Jean that is similar to the one that she put on for Perfect, hoping to help her feel better.) Johnny Ray insists that Emma Jean will be fine without him, but Mister maintains his stance. Mister tells Johnny Ray that he will always love him, and the pair embrace, crying in each other’s arms. Johnny Ray promises never to love anyone else and says that he will be waiting for Mister at the bus station in the hopes that he will change his mind. As Johnny Ray leaves, Mister carves “MP LOVES JRY” into a nearby cypress tree (320). Paul has been watching the scene, and he hopes that with Mister out of the picture, Johnny Ray will come to love him instead.

On Emma Jean’s birthday, Gus instructs the boys to help prepare the house for a party. Paul puts up yellow ribbons; they are the same as the ribbons that he used to decorate the home when he identified as Perfect. Emma Jean sees this and begins to whisper to Paul about how undeserving she is of the party. She apologizes to Paul while simultaneously yelling at Silence, who keeps talking to her. Paul watches his mother sadly and reassures her that he is strong and loves her. He tells her that the thing he regrets the most is that after he transitioned from Perfect to Paul, he never got to remain close to his mother. Emma Jean states that it had to be that way since Paul is a boy and that everything that happened was necessary. Paul becomes angry and asks his mother if the beatings he received were necessary. The pair agree to move on to a different topic.

Silence speaks to Emma Jean after Paul walks away, telling her that they are glad she told the truth. Emma Jean speaks to Silence as though they are her mother, and she begs them to understand that she “needed” to have a baby girl. Silence reminds her that she wanted a girl but didn’t need one. Emma Jean reluctantly agrees with Silence and admits that all she really needs is for Paul to be loved. Silence states that “no one can guarantee love” (325).

The atmosphere at Emma Jean’s party is gloomy and awkward. After everyone eats, Gus thanks everyone for coming to show Emma Jean their support. Emma Jean listens silently; she is afraid that Silence will return and contradict her. Suddenly, Paul hears singing in the distance that he recognizes as the voice of his brother Sol. Everyone but Paul and Emma Jean rushes to welcome Sol home. Paul waits until Sol acknowledges him before jumping into his brother’s arms. Authorly has informed Sol about Emma Jean’s condition. He approaches her and decides to relinquish his resentment toward her. She tries to speak to Sol, but Silence repeatedly interrupts her. Sol looks at his brothers, confused. Emma Jean tells Sol not to hate her, and although he reassures her, she yells that she was wrong for taking him out of school. He urges her to let it go. Miss Mamie, who has been watching, tries to comfort them both. Emma Jean yells at Miss Mamie, who declares that Emma Jean is not in her “right mind.” Emma Jean grows more agitated, and Gus tells their guests to go outside. Emma Jean tells Silence to leave her alone, and they agree. Emma Jean is shocked by Silence’s absence.

Emma Jean looks at everyone through the window and cries; they are all enjoying themselves without her. Emma Jean leaves the house and walks to the Jordan River, thinking about her relationship with her mother. Silence promises to love Emma Jean forever if she comes to “be with” them. Without hesitation, Emma Jean throws herself into the Jordan River’s sharp current and dies.

Later that evening, unaware of Emma Jean’s actions, Paul and Sol sit on the porch and talk about her condition. Sol offers Paul advice about accepting the life that he has been given. They begin to talk about their respective love lives, and Sol asks Paul quietly about the boy he likes. Sol tells Paul not to “give others the power” to destroy him and asks about Paul’s plans for his future (336). Paul admits that he has a fascination with clothing and would like to make his own. Sol wholeheartedly supports him and tells him to remember that he is strong “because of” his family and not “in spite” of it.

At night, the boys and Gus go looking for Emma Jean but cannot find her. A broader search commences, and several days later, Sugar Baby finds her body downstream. In May of 1959, Emma Jean is buried in Bartimaeus’s old casket. Paul cries throughout the ceremony, remembering the time he spent with his mother before he transitioned to Paul. The next morning, the family awakens to find that Mister has gone to live in Atlanta; his note states that he has left something for Paul in the barn. Paul and Gus enter the barn to find Olivia, the doll that Emma Jean gave Paul years ago. Paul places the doll on top of a pile of garbage that Gus was burning; he decides to do the same to Olivia that Emma Jean did to the rest of Perfect’s belongings so long ago.