moral responsibility, love, and sacrifice transcend the specific, makingMeridian a novel of timely worth.

Meridian traces the moral and psychological development of Walker’s title character, Meridian Hill. Born into a middle-class Southern black family, Meridian is taught to accept the racist and sexist status quo of the 1950’s. She is not encouraged to question segregationist policies, sexist traditions, or her own sexual ignorance—all of which deny her autonomy. Recalling the climate before and during the Civil Rights movement, Meridian brings readers to an awareness of the many relationships between racism and sexism and their consequences for the individual and the community.

The novel begins in the present of the 1970’s, as Truman Held, artist and former civil rights worker, finds himself searching for Meridian in Chicokema, Georgia. She is not difficult to trace, because she is leading a group of children denied entry to a freak show featuring Marilene O’Shay, “One of the Twelve Human Wonders of the World: Dead for Twenty-Five Years, Preserved in Life-Like Condition.” Marilene is further characterized as an “Obedient Daughter, Devoted Wife, and Adoring Mother” predictably “Gone Wrong.” As Truman watches Meridian defy tradition and authority literally to stare down a tank, he marvels at her strength, strength that he has finally come to admire. Walker follows this scene with a flashback when, ten years earlier, Meridian is invited to join a revolutionary group and fails to meet its requirements by being unable to swear that she will kill for the revolution. The novel, weaving backward and forward in time, traces Meridian’s awakening and guides its readers to an understanding of her complex integrity.

Although there is much in her life to encourage conformity, Meridian shows early flashes of individuality and integrity—most notably when, at thirteen, she refuses to be saved by a religion which literally makes no sense to her and later, as an honor student, when she is asked to deliver a speech celebrating “the superiority of the American Way of Life.” By the time she is seventeen, Meridian, unlike the mummified Marilene, has failed her traditional roles. She is a disobedient daughter, failing to accept the traditions which her unreflective mother holds sacred; an indifferent wife, relieved when her husband finds distractions; and a resentful mother, tempted to murder her son. She is literally blasted into political awareness when she watches a newscast about the bombing of a nearby house used by civil rights workers. With only the dimmest sense of direction, Meridian volunteers to work on voter registration. Her education begins in earnest as she joins young people from diverse backgrounds in a fight for racial equality. It continues when she is offered a scholarship to Saxon College in Atlanta. First, however, Meridian is faced with the difficult moral choice of giving up her young son. Although she believes her choice to be best for him, she nevertheless believes that she has failed as a woman, and her mother’s self-righteous reaction intensifies this guilt. Saxon, a black women’s college ironically representative of white, paternalistic traditions, upholds a genteel tradition of “ladyhood” that Meridian finds ludicrous, but she relishes her opportunities for learning. During this period, her sense of conflict between tradition and change intensifies, for as her understanding grows, she is able to see through stale forms and illogical assumptions. She becomes better able to withstand the many forces urging her to conform, particularly the orphic charm of Truman Held, with whom she has fallen in love. Although Meridian finds his intelligence and refined appearance attractive, she rejects his snobbery, racism, and sexism. Wasted by a mysterious illness symbolic of her internal moral conflict, Meridian decides to heal herself by returning to the South.

For ten years, Meridian lives and works among the poor people of the South. During this time she struggles with her conscience, pricked by accusatory letters from her mother and best friend, Anne-Marion. Living close to the people, learning to anticipate their real needs and to admire their strength, helps Meridian grasp an understanding of herself. Finally, she rejects the roles of martyrdom and self-sacrifice and discovers the value of her own life. At last, Meridian understands her role: “to walk behind the real revolutionaries . . . and sing from memory songs they will need once more to hear. For it is the song of the people, transformed by the experiences of each generation, that holds them together.” Her spiritual healing complete, Meridian is able to go forward, leaving behind Truman to deal with his own possibilities.

Truman Held returns to Chickokema, Georgia, to find his former lover Meridian Hill. He stops to ask directions and witnesses Meridian confronting an old military tank, originally purchased by the town during the 1960’s and now functioning as an amusement for poor kids. Truman then goes to Meridian’s stark house, where he and Meridian eventually have a discussion that hints at their past history, both as lovers and as participants in the Civil Rights movement.

Meridian remembers her time as a student at Saxon College, and her story is as follows: Meridian is involved with the Wild Child, an orphaned pregnant girl to whom she shows compassion. Meridian brings the child to her room at college, bathes her, and feeds her. The next morning, the Wild Child runs out of the house and is hit by a car as she crosses the street. College officials refuse to allow a funeral for the Wild Child, so Meridian and her friends riot, in the process chopping down The Sojourner, a symbolic, historical tree central to the campus.

Meridian’s mother and father are religiously legalistic. Her father owns a piece of land with a unique mound called Serpent’s Tail. He deeds the land back to a Cherokee Indian because the Cherokee once owned the land. Eventually, the land is made into a historical site, but is closed to African Americans.

Meridian lacks preparation for love; she is socially ignorant and has no knowledge of sex or sexuality. She eventually becomes pregnant, then marries her boyfriend, Eddie. Given its awkward beginning, her love for Eddie does not last. She also is becoming more keenly aware of social and political tensions. When she unexpectedly gets a scholarship for college, she gives up Eddie and her child for the chance to attend, against the wishes of her mother, Gertrude Hill. Meridian is followed by guilt, but continues to involve herself in political issues. Meridian’s desire for equality is contrasted with the relatively resigned life of her mother.

Meridian falls ill. She collapses and is bed-ridden for a month. She battles this condition for some time, as the illness comes to affect her mood and her energy.

Back in school, Meridian meets Truman, and they become lovers. They spend much of their time and energy registering blacks to vote. Meridian also meets Lynne Rabinowitz, who has come to the South from New York to participate in the Civil Rights movement. Lynne will soon become entangled with Truman, further complicating Meridian’s attempts to find peace and purpose. Lynne is often ignored by the black rights-workers, or is simply taken for granted; she often turns to Meridian for consolation. Later, Lynne is raped by one of Truman’s friends. Truman, meanwhile, moves on to other lovers. He eventually reunites with Meridian, but she refuses his sexual advances.

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated, leading Meridian to reflect on the Civil Rights movement in general and on her personal involvement in the movement and her growth in particular. She remains friends with Truman and seems free from sexual and other kinds of entanglements.

Years later, in the early 1970’s, Meridian is still actively involved in voter registration, political activism, and civil rights organization. She continues working, as the work for social justice continues.