Seraph on the Suwanee (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Zora Neale Hurston
- First Published: 1948
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: The early twentieth century
- Setting: Rural Florida
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
- Subjects: Sex or sexuality, South or Southerners, Twentieth century, Marriage, Religion, Guilt, Poverty or poor people, Rape, Adultery, Fantasy, Florida, Disabilities or physically challenged persons, Mental retardation
- Locales: Florida
Characters Discussed
Arvay Henson Meserve, the protagonist, a woman whose insecurities and irrational fears dominate the novel. A lissome, delicately formed woman, Arvay fails to recognize that what she sees as faults are really indicative of her innate superiority over her “cracker” family. Unable to reconcile her initial sexual attraction to her brother-in-law, Arvay allows her feelings of sexual guilt and social inferiority to affect her marriage even though she truly loves her husband.
Jim Meserve, Arvay’s husband, an enterprising, rakishly handsome man of...
[The entire page is 759 words long]
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