Lorna Goodison. The Baby Mother and the King of Swords. Longman, 1990. 84 pages. pb.


In this, her first collection of short stories, internationally-acclaimed poet Lorna Goodison examines the relationships between ordinary Caribbean men and women, poignantly focusing on the betrayals and the hurts that are suffered as a part of those relationships. Appropriately named, the collection The Baby Mother and the King of Swords is explicit about the burdens or responsibilities which are borne by the females in relationships, and the cutting, incisive cruelties which are inflicted by the male partners: "There must be a limit to how much hurt the human heart can accept, how much betrayal the spirit can take, before it twists into something dark and poisonous."
Goodison, well-known for her poetry collections, Tamarind Season and On Becoming My Mother, skillfully uses the poet's ability to paint a graphic picture with an economy of words to depict the cruelties to which we subject each other. In the very first paragraph of the first short story in the collection, "The King of Swords," just two words, "those shoes," sum up the insensitivity and its effect on the psyche of the partner. But this collection of stories is far more than mere tales of betrayals by men and the cruelties they inflict. Goodison speaks of love and pride and poverty and strength with the understanding and compassion which have characterized her earlier works.
The themes which Goodison has chosen for this collection are not unfamiliar to Caribbean peoples since they are part of their daily existence, and are continually being expressed in the literature. "By love possessed," the all-consuming need for a woman to be loved and the non-reciprocal love she lavishes on her partner is an all too common situation, as is the parent going off to America to seek a better life for the family, but at the same time destroying the wholeness of the family unit. Goodison speaks to the sexual harassment of women and the exploitation of the artist and his craft by would-be producers. She interweaves the creativity of children with the rituals of life, and the confusion often caused children by the inconsistent behavior of adults. She examines the socialization of women and their need for a male partner, however inadequate, for fulfillment because that is what society demands. She looks at some essential differences between Caribbean men and women: the man's need to be, to have, to control and the emasculation experienced when those needs are unfulfilled. She contrasts this to the ability of women to dream and from those dreams gain strength to deal with the reality of their existences. She also takes us back to some of the first stirrings of sexuality and reminds us of the childhood games we played, canceling the letters of our names with those on whom we had fixed our affections.
Goodison's characters are also typical, half-Indian Angelita and her father who grow their own produce and sell in the marketplace; the industrious Chinese "Miss Chin" who sees what is happening to everyone else but not to her own daughter; the minister who condemns under the guise of offering charity; the headmistress who blinds with words rather than encourages learning; and the male who does not understand that the same qualities which he finds dull and familiar in a wife are the very ones which the mistress must have. However, the compassion with which she draws the characters makes the reader empathize, rather than condemn. No matter how harsh the crime, the reader feels sorry for both victim and victimized.
The greatest achievement of Goodison's collection is that while exploring the hopes and fears of her characters, she also points the way forward. She shows us the places where our strength is renewed, through family, through religion, through pride, through accomplishment, etc. She demonstrates the need to confront our fears in order to finally overcome them: "I say to him, you are the King of Swords. I have identified him . . . their hold over me will decline." She teaches hope for the future and certain victory, "I know one thing—I come through."