Consider Morrison’s characterization of Cholly Breedlove. While she clearly condemns his actions, she resists dehumanizing him. If rape of one’s daughter is an “unimaginable” crime, can one at least trace the events (and resulting emotions) that made it possible for Cholly to commit this brutal act?
Just as in today’s societies where we have men in authority who do not show empathy, love nor compassion because of a lack of it during their own childhood. They have no ability to relate to the masses of people who were nurtured as children in healthy ways. So to, the portrayal of Cholly is an exploration of how a lifetime of dehumanization and lovelessness can warp a person’s ability to love and connect with others in healthy ways. Cholly’s mother abandoned him as an infant. His father rejects him when he seeks him. Both create a sense of worthlessness and detachment. White men force Cholly as a boy to have sex with a girl, they watch and laugh causing Cholly to internalize his shame and misdirect his resentment toward the girl. Never having been nurtured, Cholly equates intimacy with power and aggression. His relationships are dysfunctional. Cholly is a broken man, an alcoholic and a self-loathing hollow man. In a twisted way, Cholly mistakes his violent acts toward Pecola as a form of love. Morrison does not ask us to forgive Cholly, only to see him as a man whose brokenness leads him to commit the ultimate betrayal.