Faces in the Moon is an autobiographical novel written by Betty Louise Bell. It was published in 1994. Bell describes this work as "essentially autobiographical fiction, except I [Bell] have nine siblings and my mother was still alive when the book was written. Otherwise, it's pretty much from my life."Voices from the Gaps: Women Artists and Writers of Color, An International Website. ©2004 Regents of the University of Minnesota. http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Critique/review_fiction/faces_in_the_moon_by_betty_louise_bell.html Accessed 20 April 2008. The work describes Lucie Evers' homecoming and examines how she reestablishes connections with her past, her heritage, and her family.Bataille, Gretchen M. and Laurie Lisa, Ed. Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Garland, 1993.
Plot summary
The novel begins in present time. Lucie returns to her mother's house when Gracie has fallen ill. While her mother is in the hospital, Lucie stays at Gracies house, and her memories take her back to different parts of her childhood. We are offered a glimpse into a very bleak reality. Lucie is required, at the age of four, to make breakfast for Gracie and her current boyfriend, J.D. One morning while Gracie is sleeping off the drinking from the previous night, J.D. begins to verbally abuse Lucie. He mimics her; he tells her shes trash and so is her mother. All of this is being said while the four-year-old makes him breakfast. After J.D. sexually molests her, Gracie decides to take Lucie to the farm to stay with Lizzie. Unaware of the abuse, she only sees that J.D. is upset with Lucies lack of respect for two years, and most of the novel takes place during this time. It is here that Lucie hears more stories of her heritage. Arriving a child wise beyond her years to the pain of the world, Lucie's time at the farm allows her to learn how to be a child, to play, to pretend.Voices from the Gaps: Women Artists and Writers of Color, An International Website. ©2004 Regents of the University of Minnesota. http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Critique/review_fiction/faces_in_the_moon_by_betty_louise_bell.html Accessed 20 April 2008.
It is Lizzie, a "full-blooded" woman, who mediates the young girl's relationship to the traditional past. Lizzie not only represents an alternative to Gracie's dissolute lifestyle, but she also helps preserve the history and meaning of the lives of the women in the family by telling and retelling stories imbued with what she thinks it means to be an Indian woman. Years later, when Gracie is hospitalized, Lucie returns to Oklahoma, and with her return come the memories of childhood.Sanchez, Greg. American Indian Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Spring, 1995), pp. 268-269. University of Nebraska Press, 1994.
Character synopsis Helen Evers- Helen is a full blood Cherokee Indian woman. She was her father's only girl and his favorite. Helen spent much of her childhood with Lizzie, Emmie, and their mother. She is Gracie and Rozella's mother and Lucie's grandmother. She got pregnant by a Scotch preacher who left her after Rozella was born. Helen and her daughters lived in an abandoned car. She worked during The Great Depression in order to make a living for her family. Helen and Lucie are linked through their love of the story of Quanah Parker. The title of the book refers to Helen's face; Lucie, as a child and as an adult, comments that she sees Helen's face in the moon. Gracie Evers- Gracie is Lucie's mother, Rozella's sister, Helen's daughter, and Lizzie's niece. Gracie represents internalized white, mainstream culture. She has been through numerous husbands and has altered her appearance to look as far from native as possible. She sends Lucie to live with Lizzie at the request of J.D. It is Gracie's death that summons Lucie back to Oklahoma. As an older woman, Gracie stores numerous cans of food in an attempt to ensure she is never hungry like she was as a child. Lucie Evers- Lucie Gracie's daughter and is the protagonist of the story. She is a mixed-blood (Cherokee and Scotch) that is trying to cope with an identity crisis. Lucie is taken to her Aunt Lizzie's house around the age of four and lives with her for the majority of her childhood. She escapes to California and lives there as an adult. However, she returns to Oklahoma when she learns her mother is ill. Lucie is often described as looking like her grandmother Helen. Her memories and experiences are the substance of the book. In an autobiographical fiction context, Betty Louise Bell and Lucie are synonymous. Rozella- Rozella is Gracie's younger sister, Helen's daughter, and Lucie's "Auney." She has been through four marriages yet never divorced. When she grows bored with her husband, she always goes to Gracie for comfort. Lucie describes her as "silent and placid, she told no tales and didn't hit" (11). She is a heavy smoker who always seemed to marry heavy drinkers. When she dies, she leaves Lucie a lighter and a letter (written by Gracie) telling her how proud she was of her. Lizzie Evers- Lizzie is a full-blood Cherokee Indian woman. She is a sister-in-law to Helen Evers. Lizzie is Gracie's aunt and Lucie's great-aunt. She takes care of Lucie after the incident with J.D and introduces her to the native heritage that her mother (Gracie) has suppressed. Lizzie suffers, and eventually dies, from tuberculosis. She represents the traditional culture of Native Americans and serves as a foil character to Gracie. Uncle Jerry- Uncle Jerry is Lizzie's husband that suffers from war-induced post traumatic stress syndrome. He constantly talks to his radio. At the end of the novel, he uses the money Lizzie saved for her burial to buy a television set. Jeeter- "Old man Jeeter" is the man Helen married to ensure a home and food for her children. He is not represented in a very positive way. Gracie says she and her sister talked to their mother "about old man Jeeter and the hard life they had without her" (18). Nevertheless, the Gracie and Rozella stayed with him after Helen's death. Mabel- Mabel is Gracie's landlady and the woman who tells Lucie of her mother's illness. She is often represented as the prying neighbor. J.D.- J.D. is a supply sergeant stationed at Fort Hill. He is a heavy drinker and steals cigarettes, alcohol, and food from the government. J.D. dislikes Lucie and teases her constantly. He is also very abusive, hitting both Lucie and her mother. In a horrible incident when Lucie is only four years old, J.D. rapes her in the kitchen while Gracie sleeps. He threatens to leave Gracie if she does not get Lucie out of the house. Donny Khatib- Donny is a Lebanese hairdresser and Gracie's third husband. He came to the United States in his late forties. He and Gracie originally set up barber's chairs in the corner of a laundromat to make a living. Donny physically abuses Gracie throughout their marriage. He served seven years in prison after assaulting a teenage boy for making a racist comment against him. Johnnie Bevis- Johnnie is Gracie's current boyfriend. Johnnie is known for dating Indian women. He has children with an Indian woman named Delores but is now interested in Gracie. Uncle Henry- Uncle Henry is Bertha's husband. He spent time in an Indian Boarding School run by Southern Baptists. He and Bertha have ten children who all went to college. Uncle Henry has one leg due to an injury sustained in World War I. Gracie calls him an "uppity Indian" (43). Aunt Bertha- Aunt Bertha is Henry's Choctaw wife. She is short and plump with a round face. In an important part of the novel, Aunt Bertha makes the comment, alluding to Lucie, that mixed bloods are beautiful people. Melvin- Melvin is Lucie's ex-husband. He and his family did not respond kindly to Gracie when she came to Melvin and Lucie's wedding. Emmie- Emmie is Lizzie's sister. Lizzie makes brief reference to her when she describes Helen to Lucie.
Major themes Oral storytelling Oral storytelling is prevalent throughout Faces in the Moon. Oral storytelling is very important in Cherokee culture because it is a communal activity. Gracie and Rozella sit around the kitchen table and tell stories. Lizzie tells stories to Lucie. Although Gracie constantly reminds readers that Lucie does not have a story, Lucie is in fact telling her own story through the novel. Lucie often complains that she is tired of living in the past through stories. However, she acknowledges their importance in her life and says, "no matter how great my desire to run away from home, to live in a place and history free from secrets, I always take up my position at the table" (5). The novel itself also sounds like the spoken word. Readers get the sense that they are listening in on a conversation, maybe even participating at times, rather than having limited participation as outsiders. The book is dense with women's voices. Perhaps this is Bell's way of giving agency back to women after their voices had been left out due to colonization.
Identity crisis The best example of identity crisis can be seen through Lucie, the character representing the youngest generation. A cause of her identity crisis is through naming. As a child, she lived with an aunt who "never bothered with divorce, she simply lived in one married name until the opportunity for another came along" (11). Not only was it her aunt that did this, but her mother switched names as well. Her mother and aunt constantly moving from man to man and name to name is consistent with how the Cherokee's culture was changing as a result of their removal. This leads Lucie to confusion, and she asks to be baptized as Antoinette. Since she is so young, one may think making up a name is childish play, but baptism is not usually an act taken lightly. It is also important to notice that neither Lucie nor the reader knows her last name, adding to her confused identity.
Confusion regarding Cherokee heritage Bell makes her characters question their Cherokee heritage. Lucie can be seen as a victim of this confusion because she cannot relate to her non-native or her native side. Gracie and Auney send mixed signals by choosing "high heels over moccasins, blue eyes over black eyes" (58). They alter their looks to seem less Cherokee but claim to be Cherokee. The women are also mixed bloods (Scotch and Cherokee). Because of the mixed signals from her relatives, Lucie struggles with the notion of whether she is Cherokee or not because she knows she too is of mixed blood and she has conflicting identities. To complicate things even further, she hears Reverend Tom Cottonmouth say, "if youse got Cherokee blood a-running through your veins, no matter how distant, no matter how pre-e-e posterous, no matter how recent, the Cherokee loves y'all"(57). He makes a mockery of the Cherokee saying "For a ten dollar bill, no checks please, we'll send ya a authentic certificate of Cherokee blood. And wait Indian brothers and sisters, ifn ya do that 'fore midnight tonight, we'll send ya a genuine rock from the Cherokee nation"(57). Reverend Cottonmouth's claim is so ridiculous that it makes being Cherokee seem accessible for everyone. It's like the ultimate slap on the face for true Cherokee who suffered through the Indian Removal. This leaves Lucie confused because there is nothing she can relate to.
Traditional vs. new