Hurston’s story of a young couple, deeply in love with each other to the point of comfort takes a turn after she has us settled into a warm and comfortable romantic mood. But as we all know, the climax is what the foreplay is about.
We tend to forget Joe and Missie May’s obsession with Otis Slemmons, and Hurston brings the character back in to upset their happy lives. Joe arrives home early from work one evening, content and yearning for Missie May under the influence of “a lean moon (which) rode the lake in a silver boat.” I see this as further sexual metaphor for disaster, both in the contrast of silver and the gold that is Slemmons’ attraction and the obvious nature of silver to sink, rather than ride or float upon a lake.
Joe walks into his bedroom to find Slemmons’hurriedly dressing and Missie crying in the bed. A scuffle ensues, and Joe controls his rage, but manages to grab Slemmons’gold watch and stickpin. These turn out to be no more than gilded pieces, the irony of which is not lost on Joe, nor Missie.
The couple do manage eventually to get themselves over this serious conflict in their marriage, although things are different. For Missie May, “with this strange man in her bed, she felt embarrassed to get up and dress.” She desperately tries to regain his trust and love, and Joe remains stoic and faithful, the only sign of contempt are his attempts to give Missie May the “gold” she sold them out to gain. Their sexual activity is halted for three months, and when youth prevails, Missie wakes to find the gold under her pillow. Another point Hurston makes is that along with the easygoing teasing they once enjoyed, Joe no longer brings Missie the silver coins that he customarily showered upon her clean floor every Saturday. Missie gets pregnant and delivers a boy, and it seems obvious that Joe has planned it so that there would be no doubt that a child born would be his.
The baby is a healing salve for the scar that has slowly closed over the gap caused by Missie’s infidelity. In a final show of closure and forgiveness, Joe uses the gilded money to purchase the candy he always used to buy for Missie May, and when he brings it home, once again tosses silver coins on the floor for her to hear. Life catches back up to its pace, wiser for the time spent in the learning.
Hurston’s magic with words takes a simple, common tale and colors it with meaningful metaphorical paints: white, black, silver, and gold all play a most important role in
The Gilded Six-Bits.
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