A romantic relationship should be based on both honesty and love. Blackmail, the extortion of something of value by threat, is illegal. So naturally it could be assumed that to use blackmail to a accrue a relationship through blackmail is wrong. The whole idea of blackmail is to use force or trick someone into doing what you what them to do. True love being the most pure thing in this world gains a taint and loses its wholesomeness by adding an obligatory stipulation to the equation.
Charles Johnson’s “Middle Passage” puts two characters Calhoun and Isadora in a position where marriage is put to the fence by way of blackmail. Papa pulling Calhoun to the side and saying “Now, a man should pay his debts, it seems to me” (15), clearly sets up this is something of subtle intimidation for Calhoun to see his way. Papa lets him know by cooperating and marrying Miss Bailey all of his debt would be absolved, Calhoun still does not care. He protests acknowledging that he does see the blackmail that is occurring in front of him and then proceeds, “The hell you are! I’m not getting married! Never!” (16). While this whole thing has been planned out from Papa and Isadora’s side, it doesn’t fall in line with what Calhoun has in mind for himself as far as his happiness is concerned.
Eugene Genovese’s historiography “Roll Jordan Roll: The World the Slaves Made” showed the men being the ones doing more of the blackmail through a trade and expectation. White slave owners had a patriarchal role over the black males, black males then felt the need to assert the masculinity over black women. This was often a harmful and detrimental thing to the wholesomeness of the black relationship, though there were some circumstances where wholesomeness was gained. A husband offered women a lot of things including a sense of freedom. “The freedmen, Miss Botume noted, spoke affectionately of their wives, but in such a way to suggest they were property, virtually slaves” (490). This treatment of protection and freedom but still being “slaves” signifies a form of blackmail that does not properly portray honest and pure love.
There was also the idea that marriage was a way of emasculated men. By coercing a man to marry you a dehumanizing and forcing him to inherent a “resistance of struggle for a decent family life as of demoralization” (491). The work the women provided was not enough to counter balance this feeling of less than man. Yeah work was getting done, but with it came a job of trying to protect wife and family from harm and rape, which was very hard.
From both of these excerpts you can see two very different reasons why blackmail does not form a wholesome relationship especially in the black relationship. In Charles Johnson’s piece we see blackmail as keeping a man from being happy which is one of the basic expectations from life. Despite the blackmailing party’s miniscule good intentions it was still encroaching on Calhoun’s self satisfaction and the plan he had set out for himself.
In Genovese’s article blackmail was a driving force for the dysfunction found in the black relationship, and something that can lead to extreme dissatisfaction with life and possibly insanity.
In either case, or as stated in general, blackmail is not the way to go to procure a mate. If a marriage is to last and be filled it bliss, it should start out as bliss. Many experts believe that things should be 50/50 from each contributing partner. When one person brings in more of the load in the beginning in hopes of sailing later the equation can easily become off balance. Having a partner to love and care for you is supposed to keep one from going insane not drive them to insanity. These blackmailing techniques are probably some of the reason for such high divorce rates today. Shotgun weddings are not the way to go, as we have learned from history. Love happens naturally in nature between a man and a woman who’s souls connect magnetically, not with the signing of a contract.
