Junie

Minnie is one of the novel’s primary characters. Because Minnie died the December before the novel starts, her character primarily appears on the page in the form of her ghostly presence and Junie’s memories of her. Junie and Minnie are sisters and have always been close, but their relationship is not one dimensional. Rather, Junie often feels as if Minnie is the better sister, and she feels incapable of meeting up to the behavioral standards that Minnie has set, setting Minnie up to act as a foil for Junie, particularly within her family dynamic. It is painful for Junie to hear her family members remembering Minnie after her death, recollections that augment Junie’s tenuous sense of self-worth. For example, the way that Muh describes Minnie conveys how different she was from Junie:

She was always a helper, even when she was little. Always looking after everybody and everything. You never had to tell that girl something more than once, and she never complained. And so pretty, with them nice eyes, like she was made for workin’ in a house. Got that toughness from her momma (33).

Junie appreciates that Minnie had different strengths than she does, but she also feels frustrated that her family constantly compares her to her late sister. Such comparisons intensify Junie’s insecurities and augment her guilt over Minnie’s death.

When Minnie’s ghost appears to Junie, Junie receives the opportunity to make amends with her sister after her death. Through Minnie’s ghost, Junie learns that she is not at fault for Minnie’s death. Rather, Minnie died by suicide after she discovered that Innis McQueen burned her freedom papers. She explains to Junie that she was feeling so hopeless that dying by suicide felt like her only chance at liberating herself. These revelations break Junie’s heart, but they also free her from her own sense of culpability. Further, communicating with Minnie’s ghost offers Junie the clarity and wisdom to free herself from Bellereine. Minnie acts as Junie’s archetypal guide throughout the novel, giving her instructions, encouraging her emotionally, and reminding her of her own strength.

Caleb is another of the novel’s primary characters. He and Junie meet when the Taylors visit Bellereine for the first time. He is Beau Taylor’s 17-year-old coachman and stays at Bellereine whenever the Taylors are in town. When he and Junie first meet, she finds Caleb frustrating and irritating. He seems to appear beside her whenever she wants to be alone. He pesters her with questions, teases her about loving poetry, and interrogates her relationship with Violet McQueen. Over time, however, Junie softens to Caleb. She comes to realize that his seeming nosiness into her life is evidence of his affection for her.

Caleb is a dynamic character who changes over the course of the novel. At the novel’s start, Caleb is set in his ways. He is convinced that there is no way to change his circumstances and that opening himself to love will only cause more loss and heartache. However, the closer he and Junie become, the more Caleb’s outlook changes. He remains fearful of taking risks, but he also learns that accepting his enslavement will never give him the life he wants. When Caleb agrees to flee Bellereine with Junie, he displays newfound courage and strength and a willingness to risk everything for freedom and love.

Violet is a primary character and Innis and William McQueen’s daughter. She is the same age as Junie, and the two have grown up together. In the narrative present, Junie is enslaved as Violet’s housemaid. Despite the inherent power dynamic that defines their relationship, Junie is convinced that Violet is her friend. When Caleb asserts that all white people are soulless, Junie argues that “Violet’s different.” She not only “lets [Junie] read whenever [she] want[s]” but also cares for Junie the way that Junie cares for her (120). However, Junie’s belief in Violet’s love is more a sign of Junie’s goodness than of Violet’s. Even when Violet betrays or mistreats Junie, Junie tries to suspend disbelief and sympathizes with Violet’s experience. She imagines what it would be like to have Violet’s difficult parents or to be forced into a marriage she didn’t want. She also shows Violet understanding and keeps her secret when Violet tells her that she’s in love with Bea Taylor. Junie is this way with Violet because she wants to believe that their history together means something.

Over time, however, Violet takes advantage of Junie. When Junie starts to push back at Violet—or to behave in ways that Violet doesn’t like or expect—Violet scolds or threatens her. She wants to be close to Junie, but she also believes that it is her right to define the parameters of this closeness. This is why Violet forsakes Junie when she becomes involved with Bea. In the end, Junie realizes that she is ultimately disposable to Violet because she sees her as her property.

Violet’s character has antagonistic qualities, but she does exhibit some signs of change by the novel’s end. Eckstine isn’t interested in redeeming Violet, but she does create room for Violet to recognize her abuse and violence toward Junie and attempt to make amends. This awakening happens after the two free themselves from the burning house. When they part ways, Violet says, “You are the best friend I could ever have, Junie. And I’ll be sorry until my grave that I wasted it” (340). These lines of dialogue suggest that Violet is not void of humanity—she is able to recognize her cruelty to Junie, even if Junie will never forgive her, and her words convey how deeply she regrets her treatment of Junie.

Beau is one of the novel’s antagonists. He is a wealthy merchant from New Orleans and a potential match for Violet. Innis and William are determined to arrange this marriage for their daughter because they need Beau’s money to keep Bellereine from financial devastation. Despite his alleged charm, Junie dislikes Beau as soon as he arrives at Bellereine.

Beau is a bigoted character who firmly believes in the enslavement of African Americans. He not only exhibits displays of verbal violence but also takes any opportunity he can to physically brutalize enslaved people. In these ways, he poses a threat to the other characters. Junie is shocked that Violet would be interested in a man like Beau and soon realizes that his presence at Bellereine will only worsen conditions for herself and her community. Beau also physically, emotionally, and sexually abuses Violet after they’re married. His behavior develops his character as lacking in humanity.

Despite his wickedness, Beau doesn’t explicitly face justice by the novel’s end. Junie and Caleb are hopeful that he died in the house fire, but they soon discover that he survived. Caleb faces off with him on the riverbank so that Junie can go free. The novel’s end does not reveal whether Beau survives this encounter or kills Caleb, leaving him in the position of an ongoing antagonist.