“Poison may lurk at the bottom”: The ruin of Jacob Vaark and paradise already lost in Toni Morrison's A Mercy

• Published in: Orbis litterarum Vol. 79; no. 6; pp. 576 - 598
• Main Author: Hillier, Russell M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.12.2024
• Subjects: Early American history; ethics; Jacob Vaark; Morrison, Toni (1931-2019); Senhor D'Ortega and Rebekka Vaark; slavery; Tar Baby and Beloved; Toni Morrison's A Mercy; white male characters

The essay advances a sustained close reading of perhaps the most complete representation of a white male character in Toni Morrison's oeuvre, Jacob Vaark, the Anglo‐Dutch settler portrayed in her ninth novel, A Mercy (2008). Interpretations that comprehend Vaark's conduct as illustrating a...