Giovanni's Room

The setting of Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room is very important to the development of the novel. Primarily taking place in 1950s Paris, this novel has an almost archaic ‘circus feel.’ The bar in the seemingly underbelly of the Paris working class contains characters who call themselves ‘she’ (pg. 27). The talk of the bar seems to be a very close-knit group, to whom outsiders are unwelcome. Only by pretending to be one of them can David interlace himself in their company. Like a circus these types of people are a family. Continuing with the circus like feel of the novel, the novel’s structure adheres to this principle as well. The timeline in which David tells his story fluctuates from present to past and never quite settles. The reader knows via David that Giovanni is set to be hung in the morning, inciting him to recount the events that led up to Giovanni’s demise. While recounting these events, David seems to relive them, thus confusing the timeline even more as he visits Giovanni’s room who has supposedly already parted from this world. I wonder if the fact that David is drinking in the beginning has anything to do with this obscure timeline. Furthermore, the people in David’s life seem to blur together. When David talks about marrying Hella (does her name have anything to do with the way he feels/may feel about women i.e. hell), he all of the sudden introduces Giovanni. This would not be such a hard thing to understand, except for the fact that Giovanni (as we eventually find out is a man). It’s not the relationship that left me confused, but rather the way it was introduced. It’s almost as if David is afraid in writing this to admit he was with another man. All this despite his earlier introduction of Joey whom he admits to having a one night stand. Even these events are a little muddled; one gathers that this event is a precursor to Giovanni, but is unsure. I believe the circus like people and timeline are a reflection of how David ultimately comes to see his own life. At certain points he tries to resist what every one around him already knows - he likes men. However, as he has already joined the circus (albeit pretend), he has come to realize that he is truly one of them. My one question in regards to the setting, is whether or not the American public would be more willing to accept/teach this novel and its gay theme as the novel takes place in a different time and place (for exp. as opposed to Catcher in the Rye which took place in NY). Does the foreign setting allow people to distance themselves?