44 pages • 1 hour read
Gem of the Ocean
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Themes
The Nature of Freedom
Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses racism, enslavement, and racialized violence.
The nature of freedom is Gem of the Ocean’s most overt theme. Each of the characters, in their own way, wrestles with what it means to be a free Black person in America at the turn of the 20th century. Through the characters’ complex interrogations of freedom, Wilson illustrates the difficulties that Black people faced even after emancipation: They struggled to find work and housing; they were poorly treated by white Americans in both the South and the North. These hardships dominated life for many Black people in the years following the Civil War, which, by the time of Gem of the Ocean, had been over for only four decades.
Gem of the Ocean depicts the struggles of this era both through its representation of labor and housing practices in Pittsburgh and through the dire conditions for African American characters trying to leave the South. The tin mill that employs both Garret Brown and Citizen Barlow is emblematic of the racism that Black people faced in the North. Although legally free, the workers are subject to unfair and exploitative regulations that mire them in debt. Because they owe so much to their employers, they are unable to leave. This system, while perfectly legal, is akin to enslavement and illustrates how America maintained a climate of segregation and oppression even after emancipation. Wilson also depicts the struggles faced by Black people who live in the South. Solly’s sister is afraid to make her way to Pittsburgh because white locals have established roadblocks to prevent Black Alabamans from leaving. Dependent on cheap labor, white southerners were loath to let Black people seek better lives in the North. In both the South and the North, Black people’s freedom was threatened by discrimination and systemic racism. Emancipation did not immediately mean ease, happiness, or success for many Black people, and Gem of the Ocean helps explain why.
Solly’s character spends the most time ruminating on the nature of freedom, although he is not the only character to do so. He notes the importance that the promise of freedom held to his enslaved father, and muses that although he himself is free, he is not sure what that means or what his purpose should be now as a free man. He experienced great difficulties leaving the South, and has lived with racism his entire free life. His community, although strong, does not thrive as nearby white communities do. Although he does not quite make the connection, Solly has found his purpose: He works in service of other Black people. Before emancipation he guided enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War he assisted the Union Army. Now, in Pittsburgh, he supports the mill workers, and even risks his life when he goes back to rescue the imprisoned rather than flee town. Solly’s uses his freedom to free others, and through that depiction Wilson suggests that true freedom means freedom for all.
Racism and the Law
Racism and the law is a key theme in several Century Cycle plays, including Gem of the Ocean. As Gem of the Ocean illustrates, what is legal is not necessarily moral or just, especially when racism is at the core of the law. The American legal system has historically worked in service of white supremacy and oppression—enslavement was itself a racist but legal practice in the American South—and racist practices continued after emancipation in the form of Jim Crow laws and segregation. The set of laws, practices, and state-sanctioned prejudices referred to in Gem of the Ocean amount to what is now termed institutional racism. Institutional racism is distinguished from person-to-person prejudice by its pervasiveness and scale: It underpins national and local policy, the judicial system, and the carceral state.
Aunt Ester’s Bill of Sale is a key symbol that speaks to this theme. Showing the paper to Caesar, she points out that it was at one time a legally binding document. However, enslavement was deeply, horrifically wrong. She is trying to show Caesar that legality does not always equate to morality. Caesar, of course, does not understand, for he himself upholds unjust laws as a police officer. With the law behind him, Caesar arrests the poor, the idle, the suspicious, and the exploited. For example, he jails mill workers for attempting to use their collective power to fight for fair working conditions. Caesar perceives himself to be in the right because he is enforcing the law, but by criminalizing poverty and helping to perpetuate labor practices that bear a striking resemblance to enslavement, he actually demonstrates the inherent racism in laws and regulatory powers. Black people in the post-emancipation period struggled to find economic success because of entrenched white supremacy in society, both in the South and the North. The mill workers in Gem of the Ocean are a case in point. As a largely Black workforce, they are subject to labor practices that, although racist and unethical, were nonetheless legal.
Redemption and Spiritual Healing
Redemption and spiritual healing are key elements of the plot and one of the drama’s central themes. Citizen Barlow seeks out Aunt Ester because she is known as a washer of souls, a spiritual guide who can lead people toward healing and redemption. Although he is initially only willing to share the cause of his spiritual anguish with Aunt Ester, Wilson soon reveals Citizen Barlow as the actual thief of the bucket of nails from the tin mill. Because Garret Brown was accused of the theft and committed suicide rather than be falsely imprisoned, Citizen believes himself to be the cause of Brown’s death. Citizen does not yet understand exactly what he wants from Aunt Ester, nor can he even name his sadness. The closest he comes to identifying it is by saying that he has “a hole” in himself, and that he’s pouring out of it, day by day. Through a figurative journey across the Atlantic to the City of Bones, Citizen finds his redemption. Interestingly, “redemption” for Citizen is threefold: First, through taking part in the ceremony he understands that he is part of a long history of enslaved people. This gives him a sense of collective identity. Second, through admitting his guilt to a ghostly Garret Brown, he is once again able to live in with truth and integrity. Because he has found his place within a broader cultural history and made amends to the fellow Black man he harmed, he is able to see himself as part of a community of free Black people in Pittsburgh. This change in perspective leads to the third aspect of his redemption: his decision to take Solly’s place and journey to Alabama to help Eliza make her way north to safety. Citizen’s journey toward redemption and spiritual healing goes hand in hand with a journey toward community.
The Strength of Black Community
The strength of Black community is a theme that runs through many of the plays in the Century Cycle. Through depicting communities of individuals who love, value, and respect one another and work together to achieve common goals, Wilson illustrates how Black people have found resiliency in the face of racism, oppression, and adversity.
The strength of Black community is first evidenced through Aunt Ester’s household. The three residents at 1839 Wylie Avenue are a microcosm for the Black community as a whole in the Hill District. They care for one another, work effectively as a team, and find strength in their common bonds. They share the same values, beliefs, and history. Although not related by blood, the three do form a family of sorts, and they are stronger together than they would be alone.
The mill workers, too, evidence the strength of Black community. Although the mill owners seek to disempower their workers through manipulation, overwork, and debt, the workers collectively rise up against the cruelty of these labor practices. They do so initially through work stoppage—following the funeral of Garret Brown, they refuse to continue working. They use their shared power to disrupt production at the tin mill, and in so doing show that their strength lies in their numbers, and in their ability to work together to resist. When the police attempt to intervene and force the workers back to their jobs, they riot, pelting the officers with bottles and stones, and some are arrested. Together, they make their voices heard.
The strength of Black community is most on display in the resolution of Citizen’s spiritual journey, for it is through realizing his position both as a member of the African American community that he redeems himself. For Citizen, community is where he finds healing, purpose, and unity. After Citizen makes amends to Garret and returns from the City of Bones, he heads south to rescue Solly’s sister, after which he plans to return to Black Mary. In multiple ways, Citizen is now fully embedded within the Hill District’s Black community. Alone, he was lost, vulnerable, and spiritually empty. As part of a larger community of Black people, his life has new meaning.
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