Because we wished for a list of the many characters (with brief identifications) as we were reading Paradise, we have compiled the following register for future readers! The entries are generally in the present tense; please see our "Chronology" to check how the characters relate to the order of events. Please email us if you find any errors: Dr. Cathy Waegner

Chapter 1: "Ruby"

Reverend Senior Pulliam, p. 9: As the minister of "Zion Church" (Methodist) he supports the townspeople's principle of isolating themselves from white people. He also disapproves of the Convent women and the new, assertive attitude of the younger people in town, serving as a counter-weight to Rev. Misner.

Reverend Richard Misner, p. 9: The new minister of "Calvary Church" (Baptist) Misner comes from outside the town; he causes trouble by teaching the younger generation about the Civil Rights movement. In his meditations he interprets both the "new" and the traditional standpoints for the reader.

Mother Superior, p. 11 (Mary Magna, 223): Before she becomes Mother Superior she works in Latin American helping "Indian and colored people." In Brazil she kidnaps three children (in 1925), one of them Consolata. On the way back to the States she leaves two of the children in an orphanage and takes Consolata with her to the Indian school in Oklahoma, called the "Convent" for "she had fallen in love with" Consolata. Mary Magna teaches in and runs the school until it closes in 1955. She and Consolata are the only persons who stay at the Convent after that, until Mavis arrives. Consolata keeps Mary Magna alive until 1970 with her power of "stepping in"; M.M. dies at the age of 88, just a day before Gigi/Grace arrives at the Convent.

Ruby Morgan, p. 17: the younger sister of the Morgan twins (Deacon and Steward), the first person to die in the new all-black town (1952). No doctor could be found in the nearby city who would treat an African-American. Her death reinforces the town in its feeling of righteous isolation, and the settlement is thus named after her.

Chapter 2: "Mavis"

Mavis Albright, p. 21: first of the four younger women to join the Convent. She originally leaves her family for California after a terrible accident, in which her baby twins, unattended, suffocated in her hot car. The other children persecute her. She learns to be competent and acquires a positive self-image at the Convent.

Frank Albright, p. 21: Mavis' husband, an alcoholic who beats and abuses his wife. Seems to be the only person in the family who can cope with the children, although he tries to abuse his daughter.

Sal(ly) Albright, p. 21: 11-year old daughter of Mavis and Frank Albright. Mavis is convinced that Sal wants to kill her in revenge for letting the baby twins suffocate in the Cadillac.

Frankie and Billy James Albright, p. 21: sons of Mavis and Frank Albright; seem to side with their father against Mavis.

June, p. 21: the journalist who interviews Mavis Albright after the death of the twin babies. Mavis seems to think June is polite and considerate, but the reader (and Mavis too?) senses the reporter's skepticism.

Birdie Goodroe, p. 30: a pre-school teacher, the mother of Mavis Albright. After leaving her family, Mavis drives from Maryland to Paterson, New Jersey, to seek help from her mother. Mavis is all Birdie has (her sons died), but she does not believe that her daughter is being persecuted by Frank and the children. Although Birdie promises not to tell Frank where Mavis is, Mavis thinks her mother betrays her nonetheless.

Sandra/Dusty, p. 34: the first hitchhiker Mavis picks up. She collects dog tags (= Army identification badges) of her school friends who have been killed in the Vietnam War.

Bennie, p. 34: the last hitchhiker; Mavis likes her best because of her singing, but she disappoints Mavis by stealing two items from her and simply disappearing at a stop.

Connie/Consolata Sosa, p. 38: One of the main characters, the sexually abused Consolata is rescued/kidnapped in Brazil at the age of 11 by Mary Magna, who eventually takes her to an Oklahoma convent, where she leads a chaste life as a kind of servant. At the age of 38 she has a passionate love affair with Deacon Morgan; after years of spiritual love only, she is so starved for the love of a "living man" that he feels as if she wants to devour him. Disgusted, he ends the affair, and Consolata becomes an alcoholic.
     Deacon's son Scout is on the verge of dying after a car accident when Consolata brings him back to life by "stepping in" to his soul. Thus she discovers her supernatural talents: She gains "insight" into souls - but pay for this by gradually losing her eyesight. And by saving Scout she wins the friendship of his mother Soane (whose husband she had the affair with). With her spiritual power she also prolongs the life of her beloved Mary Magna (Mother Superior) until 1970.
     Consolata takes in all the stray women who come to the Convent, giving them shelter, help, and understanding without interrogating them or limiting their freedom.
     In the novel she is the one with the most inner strength; she is also a wonderful nurse, cook, and gardener. After the visit of a mysterious stranger (animus? angel?) she does not only succeed in overcoming her alcoholism, but also becomes a new strong kind of Mother Superior, a therapist who helps the other women come to terms with the traumatic experiences in their pasts. Thus "Consolata" has developed into a "Consolatrix" - the consoled one is a consoler now.
     In the end she is shot by her former lover's twin brother Steward Morgan in the raid on the Convent.

Soane Morgan, p. 43: Deacon's wife and Dovey's sister. The two sisters are married to the twin brothers who dominate the town. Soane has born her two sons Scout and Easter in two succeeding years, and has a miscarriage just after the end of her husband's affair with Consolata. When Consolata saves Scout's life after a car accident, the two women become close friends and from then on continue to help each other.
     In 1969 both her sons die in Vietnam. Although Soane and her husband love each other, their communication deteriorates, as does her health.
     When Consolata is shot, Dovey and Soane have an argument about whether Steward or both their husbands is/are responsible for the murder, and although the two sisters have always been very close, their relationship is irrevocably damaged.

Chapter 3: "Grace"

K.D. Smith, p. 53: As the last "Morgan," K.D. is the town heir. He has a rather weak character and is the local playboy, getting Arnette pregnant and then having an affair with Gigi; when Gigi drops him, he marries Arnette. He is protected by his uncles, Deacon and Steward, particularly the latter.

Arnette Fleetwood, p. 54: As a teenager she has an illegitimate child, fathered by K.D.; after trying to abort the child, she gives birth to it in the Convent, but the baby dies when she refuses to mother it. Arnette leaves Ruby to go to college in Langston. Several years later she returns to Ruby and marries K.D. in a grand wedding, one of the events which polarizes the town. The couple then lives in Dovey's "townhouse" and has a baby.

Arnold Fleetwood, p. 54: Arnette's father; owes K.D.'s uncles money and thus is anxious to use the "insult" incident to obtain concessions from the uncles.

Gigi/Grace Gibson, p. 55: Gigi is a young, wild, and apparently very self-confident girl who participates in anti-War demonstrations and takes drugs. She looks first for a "lovers'" rock formation in the desert, then lovers' trees in Ruby, where she ends up staying in the Convent. She has a love affair with K.D.

Deacon "Deek" Morgan, p. 56: an influential man in Ruby (co-owner of the town bank) as is his twin brother Steward. Deek marries Soane, and they lose their sons in the Vietnam War. As a young husband he has had an affair with Consolata. During the showdown at the Convent it is Deek who gives the orders, but he does not shoot the two women--his twin does. Deek walks barefooted to Rev. Misner's house and confesses to him as the beginning of an atonement.

Steward Morgan, p. 56: owns the bank with his twin brother Deacon. Steward is married to Dovey, but they can have no children. Steward has had many losses throughout his life, but it is still the Morgans who are considered the head family in Ruby. He becomes alienated from his twin by the events in the raid and their differing attitudes toward those events.

Jeff(erson) Fleetwood, p. 57: Arnette's brother, a Vietnam veteran whose children have birth defects because of Jeff's exposure to chemical weapons [according to Morrison's statements in interviews]; he "wants to kill someone"...

Sweetie Fleetwood, p. 58: Jeff's wife, who spends all her time, energy, and affection on her handicapped children. She unconsciously seeks help from the Convent but then rejects it.

Mabel Fleetwood, p. 61: Arnette's mother, who looks after Sweetie and Jeff's ill children during the day shift; according to Arnold she is a proud woman, "the key."

Mikey Rood, p. 63: Gigi's boyfriend who tells her about the magical "black couple" near his hometown of Wish, Arizona, ostensibly a desert rock formation which changes in the light and looks like a couple making love. During a riot, Mikey and Gigi are separated and he is sentenced to 90 days in jail. In the meantime she looks for the town of Wish and the rock formation - in vain. Did he invent both?

Grandaddy, p. 65: Gigi's grandfather who lives in Alcorn, Mississippi. A down-to-earth person, he thinks she should come home from all her idealistic adventures, because the world has "changed enough". He tells her about all the recent assassinations. Is he African-American, and does that thus make Grace black?

Dice, p. 66: a unusual, dwarf-like, African-American traveler wearing gold jewelry who tells Gigi about the lovers' trees in Ruby. (Each of the young Convent dwellers encounters one person associated with gold who re-directs their way, thus helping them end up in the Convent). His name is linked to "paradise"; he says his name is "Dice...Like pair of."

Roger Best, p. 68: although a descendant from one of the old families, a semi-outsider to the town because he has married a light-skinned African-American from Tennessee. All of his career plans and business ventures seem to fail, and he is generally gone when he is needed. His van, which serves as both an ambulance and a hearse, is seldom needed, and as an undertaker he even loses the business of preparing the Convent women's bodies because they have disappeared.

Chapter 4: "Seneca"

Dovey Morgan, p. 81: Steward Morgan's wife, Soane Morgan's sister. Dovey and Steward cannot have any children, and Dovey compensates for the emptiness of their marriage by conversing with a mysterious friend who walks through the yard of her "townhouse." Her relationship to her sister is irrevocably damaged after the raid over the question of which twin-husband was at fault.

Menus Jury, p. 83: psychologically damaged by the Vietnam War and even more so by the rejection of the light-skinned girl he wanted to marry.He becomes an alcoholic and loses his house (which becomes Dovey's "townhouse") to the bank. Goes through a traumatic "drying up" phase in the Convent, but turns on the women by taking part in the raid, in which he is badly injured.

Billie Delia Cato, p. 83: Roger Best's granddaughter who is an outsider in town because of her light skin and an overrated event in her childhood which branded her as sexually loose. She is not at all what others (including her mother) think of her. She has links to the Convent.

Anna Flood, p. 83: Close friend and - at the end of the novel - wife of Rev. Misner. Anna has inherited her father's store close to the Oven. In spite of belonging to one of the founding families of Haven, Anna is critical of Steward and Deacon Morgan.

Miss Esther; p. 83: Having been present as a five-year-old child at the initial dedication of the Oven (1891), she claims the remaining words on it ("Furrow of His Brow") were originally preceeded by "Beware the ...." In the 1970s the young people of the town would like to disregard the legendary matriarch's memory and restore the motto on the Oven as "Be the Furrow of His Brow."

Roy(al) and Destry Beauchamp, p. 84: sons of Luther and Helen Beauchamp. Although the Beauchamps belong to the founding families of Haven, Royal and Destry are leaders of the young people who want to change the interpretation of the Oven motto, defying the older inhabitants. The younger generation wants the town to relate to the movements happening outside of Ruby (e.g. assertion of Civil Rights), instead of secluding itself.

Sargeant Person, p. 84: a close friend of the Morgan twins. Person has leased farming land from the Convent women. He is among the men who drive out/kill those women. His reasons for this seem mostly economic: he will no longer have to pay to lease the land and can easily acquire it once the women are gone. The men eat a ritualistic sort of "last supper" at his place before they start the raid.

Harper Jury, p. 84: He opposes the new trends in the town and is very vocal in the debate on how to interpret the Oven motto. He remains uncontrite after the raid, in which he receives a head wound which "like a medal" makes him consider himself a "bloodied but unbowed warrior against evil" (299). Surely he is largely to blame for his son's dissipation.

Luther and Helen Beauchamp, p. 85: the parents of the outspoken boys Royal and Destry. The town thinks they do not have enough authority over their children.

Dovey's Friend, p. 87: one of the numerous inexplicable helpers in the novel, a young man who passes through her yard. Their first meeting seems to be heralded by an unusual swarm of orange butterflies. Unlike her husband, he listens intently to Dovey, seeming to find her topics and views interesting and important, and she makes the flower beds in her backyard "lovely enough to receive him" (93).

Elder Morgan, p. 94: older brother of Deacon and Steward. Returning home from the battlefields of World War I in 1919, he witnesses a scene in the streets of New York where two young white men attack a black prostitute. He tries to stop the men from beating her, but leaves the woman lying in the street when the crowd starts yelling for the police, and covers his damaged uniform with his army overcoat. Throughout his life he can never erase the sight of "that whiteman's fist in that colored woman's face." When he dies, he is buried as he had requested: in his ruined uniform with the rips on display; he never forgave himself for running away and abandoning the woman.

Susannah Morgan, p. 94: wife of Elder. Objects to her husband being buried in his ripped army uniform and thus punishing himself for his moment of weak behavior, but his brothers insist, liking his uprightness. Elder and Susannah's numerous children move to the North, presumably to escape from the strictness and seclusion of their hometown and its inhabitants.

Zechariah "Big Papa" Morgan, p. 95: Rector Morgan's father; Steward and Deacon's grandfather. Originally called by the slave name "Coffee," he renamed himself and rejected his twin ("Tea") because of their different ways to deal with white oppression.
     Zechariah is the founding Father of Haven and its 'myth', perpetuated from generation to generation. The myth is (re)told as follows: In the third night after the pilgrims had been refused entry to Fairly, Oklahoma, Big Papa awoke his son Rector and told him to follow him into the adjacent pine wood, where they knelt down and prayed the whole night. In the early morning hours the sound of thundering footsteps was heard. Both saw a small man with a satchel walking away from them. Convinced that this 'walking man' would show them the way to their new home, Big Papa told Rector to gather the people and bring them to the place in the wood. The journey continued, the pilgrims following the man only Big Papa, Rector, and sometimes a child could see, for 29 days, until one morning Rector, as he was waiting for his crude rabbit trap to spring, sighted the 'walking man' opening his satchel, removing some items and putting others back. The figure began to fade and the thundering footsteps were heard once more. Miraculously, a guinea fowl was in the trap without its having moved the 'pull string'. Big Papa touched the depression in the grass where the satchel items had been spread out by their mysterious Guide and proclaimed, "This is our place." And so Haven, their very own all-black town, was founded on that very spot.
     Zechariah determined that the first major structure of the town was to be the common cooking oven (the Oven).

Rector "Big Daddy" Morgan, p. 95: Steward and Deacon's father: see preceding entry.

Mindy Flood ("Miss Mindy"), p. 95: Zechariah's wife, one of the women pregnant during the pilgrimage to Oklahoma.

Beck Morgan, p. 95: Rector's wife; like her mother-in-law, pregnant during the journey to the West

'walking man', p. 97: (See the entry for "Zechariah Morgan".) He appears to Big Papa and Rector at a point of desperation and confusion in the pilgrimage to Oklahoma. He guides the people to the place where they then found Haven. A small man dressed in a black suit, a glistening white shirt between broad suspenders, he always holds a satchel in his hands. He is almost like a Moses figure, mystic though, appearing now and then, guiding them through the wilderness. He seems to have been sent by God, and he is represented by the single Wise Man in the children's annual Christmas pageant which conflates the Nativity with the founding of Haven.

Juvenal DuPres, p. 99: one of the original, tough Founding Fathers of Haven.

Easter and Scout Morgan, P. 100: sons of Soane and Deacon, both were killed in Vietnam, first Scout (age 19) and Easter (age 21), within two weeks of each other.

Kate Golightly, p. 101: one of the women who cleaned the "fist, jet black with red fingernails, painted on the back wall of the Oven." Later in the book we are told that she is the organist.

Paster Simon Cary, p. 102: minister of "Holy Redeemer Church"; he sees Ruby as a special settlement reflecting God's bounty and peace; in his opinion the defiance of the young people - if not stopped - could herald the "Last Days."

Pryor Morgan, p. 108: Rector's brother. Travels with him on two tours of other all-black towns in Oklahoma to exchange practical ideas and discuss issues important to all the black communities.

Aaron Poole, p. 114: lives in the country outside Ruby and has a large number of children; he is very upstanding: pays his debts and condemns the Convent raiders, especially K.D. who maintains they were acting in "self-defense" (290).

Able Flood, p. 115: Ace's father and Anna's grandfather; Rector Morgan's (Big Daddy's) partner in the Haven bank.

Ace Flood, p. 116: Anna's father and grocery store owner in Ruby. Since he has a "mountain-moving" faith (120), he builds his store to last, sturdier than some churches. He keeps it meticulously clean and sweeps up any trash around the Oven. Is not flexible enough to compete with the new, larger stores in Demby, as his daughter Anna is able to after she inherits the grocery store.

Little Mirth, p. 117: one of the young people who is looking for new commitments in and for the community of Ruby

Pat(ricia) Best Cato, p. 118: daughter of Roger and Delia Best. Because of her mother's light skin, Pat is also light and thus marries the "8-Rock" black Billy Cato, although this does not redeem her family in the town's eyes. Pat is the local schoolteacher and writes genealogies of the Ruby families. She burns them all, however, in an apocalyptic moment when she realizes that the town and its history are controlled by narrow-minded, hypocritical patriarchs

Jean, 127: At age 14, Jean has a daughter named Seneca, whom she abandons as a five-year-old. She has told Seneca she is her sister (127) and calls herself Seneca's cousin (316). Later she searches for Seneca and sights her several times, but loses the chance to reveal her identity to her daughter.

Seneca, p. 132: Abandoned by her sister (mother?) as a child, Seneca completely lacks self-confidence and always tries to please others. When Eddie is in jail, she is temporarily hired by a rich, debauched woman to provide sexual amusement. Seneca hitchhikes, ending up at the Convent.

Eddie Turtle, p. 132: Seneca's (ex-)boyfriend who is in jail. He is mean and gives Seneca the feeling that she is incompetent and worthless, no matter how hard she tries to please.

Mrs. Turtle, p. 133: a strict, rather unfriendly woman who knows about her son's selfish character. She mourns for him nonetheless.

David, p. 136: chauffeur of Norma Keene Fox. With perfect propriety he mediates the unsavory job for which Seneca is hired and has Mrs. Fox's complete confidence. - this does not seem to be the first time he has found a girl companion for Mrs. Fox... What is his race?

Norma Keene Fox, p. 136: a rich lady (married, has a son) who knows what she wants. Her appearance is elegant and well-groomed ("coral-painted toenails," "champagne-colored hair"), but her seduction/exploitation of Seneca is damaging, and such activity seems to be a regular pastime for her.

Chapter 5: "Divine"

Nathan DuPres, p. 150, also 204: oldest male in Ruby; married Elder Morgan's daughter Mirth. Even the conservative townsmen call him a "retrograde Negro" who does not progress with the times. Although all of his children are killed in a tornado in 1922, he never regrets having moved West to Oklahoma, and cherishes other people's children. When he lets Billie Delia ride frequently on his horse's bare back, however, he unwittingly permits the event that tarnishes her reputation. He is always the announcer at the children's Christmas pageant.

Lily Cary, p. 155: wife of Pastor Cary; sings duets with her husband.

Brood, Apollo (152), Hurston Poole, p. 157: brothers, "steel-muscled farm boys with sophisticated eyes." Brood and Apollo fight over Arnette, who cannot decide between them.

Timothy Jr. and Spider Seawright, p. 157: teenagers who gather at the Oven, listening to Otis Redding music.

Pallas Truelove, p. 163: the youngest of the Convent women, 16 years old, a "rich and pampered" girl from Los Angeles, and she is pregnant. Pallas has heavy, curly hair and splintered-glass eyes. She is a runaway and had to escape from rapists by hiding in a lake full of "black water" before she was brought to the Convent by Billie Delia.

Milton Truelove, p. 166: Pallas' father, a rich lawyer who is always busy.

Carlos, p. 166: Pallas' boyfriend, an artist/sculpturer who falls in love with Pallas' mother.

DeeDee/Divine Truelove, p. 169: Pallas' mother. She is (probably) divorced and lives in New Mexico now. While she calls herself an artist, Milton calls her an "amoral slut." She has an affair with Carlos, her daughter´s boyfriend.

Chapter 6: "Patricia"

Faustine Best, p. 198: Faustine is the infant daughter of Roger Best and his wife Delia, who are discriminated against in Ruby because of Delia´s light skin color. That is why she does not not readily receive assistance when Faustine is being born, and thus both mother and baby die and are buried together in their backyard. Faustine's sister is Patricia Best Cato.

Billy Cato, p. 198: Billy Cato, an "8-Rock" black, marries Patricia Best, then dies in the Vietnam War. Their daughter is Billie Delia.

Mirth Morgan DuPres, p. 204: Elder Morgan's daughter, married to Nathan DuPres. All her children are killed in Haven in a tornado in 1922.

Wisdom Poole, p. 207: Brother of Brood, Apollo, and Hurston Poole. 70 family members hold him accountable for scandalizing their forefathers' reputations for his role in the storming of the Convent.

Chapter 7: "Consolata"

Clarissa and Penny, p. 231: two Arapaho girls in the Convent school who whisper to each other in the Native American language they are forbidden to use. They know about Consolata's affair with Deacon, but consider her a confederate because she had also been "stolen" (238).

Consolata's visitor, p. 251: This flirtatious man appears at the Convent when Consolata is in the depths of weariness and despair, and has just called on Christ; after his visit she has the energy to prepare a grand dinner and usher in the period of therapy for the Convent dwellers. This man has features, as well as of Christ and Deacon, of Connie herself (green eyes, tea-colored hair, mirror sunglasses). She seems to see her visitor again during the raid, just before she is shot: "'You're back,' she says, and smiles" (289).

Mama Greer, p. 260: one of Seneca's foster mothers. Kind, but her dismissive reaction to Seneca's story of abuse by a boy (another foster child?) is one of the reasons that Seneca starts her masochistic habit of self-inflicted injuries.

Piedade, pp. 264, 284-5, 318: an African-Brazilian woman who "s[ings] and never s[ays] a word" (264). Like a beneficient Lorelei, there is solace in her songs which are irresistible for all listeners (285).Toni Morrison (AOL Chat, 15 Feb. 1998): Piedade "is Consolata's mother. Obviously a beggar who sang for food. Her ruined fingers [reflect] the labor, the devastation of her life."

Chapter 8: "Lone"

Frances Poole DuPres, p. 280: Wisdom Poole's sister; she and her husband Sut do not see the earnestness of Lone's plea for help in stopping the Convent raiders.

Penelope Person Poole, p. 281: daughter of one of the raiders (Sargeant Person) and wife of another (Wisdom Poole), so Lone does not seek help from her.

Priscilla Person, p. 282: Sargeant Person's wife. Not realizing her husband and his cronies are planning a raid, she offers to help cook a midnight meal for them, but they want no women involved in their manly preparations.

Baby Divine, p. 291: Apparently Pallas' son is called "Divine" by the Convent women, the only living member of the younger generation, a kind of Convent balance to Arnette's and K.D.'s town baby. Consolata left him sleeping in her basement room when she went upstairs to confront the raiders. She tries to tell Soane and Lone about him with her last words, but they misunderstand. It seems that he enters through the door/window in the garden with the Convent women into space between the world of the living and the dead.

Chapter 9: "Save-Marie"

Save-Marie Fleetwood, p. 295: youngest child of Sweet and Jefferson Fleetwood. She is the first genuine Ruby-dweller to die in two decades [maybe the Ruby inhabitants are indeed mortal and need a cemetery!] At the funeral service Rev. Misner says her name sounds like "Save me," and she becomes a symbol for the townspeople's need/chance for redemption.

Manley Gibson, p. 309: father of GiGi Gibson. He has been imprisoned since 1961; had been on death row, but was reprieved and is now a "lifer."

Remember that the nine founding families are Blackhorse, Morgan, Poole, Fleetwood, Beauchamp, Cato, Flood, 2 times DuPres (p. 188).

The nine men who raid the Convent (nameless in chapter 1, named in the final chapters): Sargeant Person, Harper Jury and son Menus Jury, Arnold Fleetwood and son Jefferson Fleetwood, Wisdom Poole, Deacon Morgan & Steward Morgan and their nephew K.D. Smith.

This personae register was complied by many of the participants in the "Interculturality in Modern American Literature" seminar of the University of Siegen:

Yvonne Balser, Ulrich Bauer, Ilka Bewerunge, Annemarie Goez, Dennis Grenzel, Sandra Henrich, Zsuzsa Hildebrand, Karin Lüling, Michaela Malich, Eleanor McCormack, Andreia Mendonça, Nicole Neuburger, Lars Rumpf, Sonja Schüttenhelm, Ines Siebel, Kai Thomsen, Sascha Trauth