49 pages • 1-hour read
Junie
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Background
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism.
Historical Context: Antebellum South
Junie is set during the historical period in American history known as the Antebellum Period, the era between the War of 1812 and the start of the Civil War in 1861. This time “was characterized by the rise of abolition and the gradual polarization of the country between abolitionists and supporters of slavery” (“The Antebellum Period: What Happened in America Before the Civil War.” HistoryNet). The South was defensive of its practice of enslaving African Americans because enslaved people supported the South’s cotton economy. However, in the latter decade of the Antebellum Period, debates surrounding the American slave trade began to arise around the nation. These debates led to the Abolitionist Movement, Abraham Lincoln’s presidential election, and, eventually, Southern secession and the American Civil War. These tensions are brewing during Junie’s story, even before she becomes aware of them.
Junie’s story is set in the final year of the Antebellum Period, 1861, on the eve of the South’s secession. Because Junie’s life is dictated by her enslavement, she knows little of the conflict between the Northern and Southern states that precedes the start of the war. She doesn’t have access to the political goings-on of her region, besides what she overhears from the McQueens and their guests. This facet of Junie’s life aligns with the era and the place in which she lives: As an enslaved person, Junie is given no human rights and has no regular access to information beyond the parameters of her enslaved position on the Bellereine Plantation.
Literary Context: African American Historical Fiction, Southern Gothic, and the Coming-of-Age Novel
Eckstine’s novel combines elements of African American historical fiction, the gothic literary tradition, and the coming-of-age narrative. The novel is set in 1861 in Lowndes County, Alabama. This temporal and geographical backdrop dictates the conflicts and stakes of Junie’s story. While Junie tells the story of an enslaved African American young woman, it also subverts the traditions of African American historical fiction. Eckstine says in her Afterword that with Junie, she wanted “to create a well-rounded and human portrait of an enslaved character” (355); in doing so, Eckstine challenges the often “paternalistic, angelic tropes” and one-dimensional horrific portrayals of enslavement in America (354). Junie’s character has hopes, dreams, sorrows, and longings like any other character might at any other point in history. Eckstine humanizes her in a way that fictional African American enslaved characters often aren’t.
Gothic elements also come into play in the novel through Junie’s encounters with her sister Minnie’s ghost. While these spectral encounters initially unnerve Junie, Minnie’s ghost narratively and thematically opens Junie to new realms of understanding. In the Southern Gothic tradition, elements of the grotesque or the magical expose social deformities. This is true in Junie’s story, too. The images of the burning house and references to ghosts and haunting steep Junie’s world in mystery and horror. However, these same images guide Junie toward truth, helping her to understand the injustices she faces and the courage it will take to liberate herself.
Junie can also be seen as a coming-of-age novel. Coming-of-age novels, or bildungsromans, trace a character’s gradual transition from childhood to adulthood and/or their gradual loss of innocence. This is true for Junie’s story. At the novel’s start, Junie is innocent and hopeful. The more conflicts she faces, the more aware she becomes of the horror that defines her world and the strength she’ll need to set herself free. As she gains awareness, she grows up, discovers herself, and claims her autonomy.
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