I Wasn’t Born With This Scar: Trauma and Healing Through the Lens of “Violet.”
First off, I want to say that Violet is a relatable story for those with body-related insecurities based on shape/weight/size, gender, ability/injury, or otherwise. The story has hit home for me for a long time, so I wanted to start September (my birth month and the month in which the show takes place) by looking at Violet.
The score is excellent. Much like Caroline, Or Change, Violet showcases Jeanine Tesori’s ability to become a chameleon into the piece's sound world.
The show's beginning juxtaposes the moments leading up to Violet’s accident and where she is in the present day, taking inventory of her appearance before she sets out to fix herself. The lyrics of “Water in the Well” focus on a male gaze of women’s beauty.
She begins interacting with the other people in her town and those traveling in the song “Surprised” into “On My Way,” and while the other characters are taken aback by her scar, the audience can’t see one at all.
The old woman who sits next to her tries to be nice, but when Violet attempts to explain her past, the old woman practically shouts, “Well, I’m going to Nashville,” to change the subject. So violet travels from Spruce Pine, North Carolina, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to meet a televangelist to heal her face.
We hear the other people’s various insecurities during “On My Way,” but all Violet can think about is her appearance and how she needs to change.
Violet meets some soldiers on the bus, and they play poker at the bus stop. At the same time, we see her younger self learning to play with her father. At this moment, we see her confidence in a way we don’t when she is preoccupied with her appearance. The boys stick close to her for the rest of their journey from this moment after she wins poker. They know what we know, which is that this preacher can’t magically fix her scar. Monty tries to start warning her that she needs a reality check, but her faith holds firm.
As they get to know each other, she regales them in “All to Pieces” with just how she hopes to look after healing. Most musicals have an “I want” song. “Surprised” might seem like this show’s since it’s our introduction to the idea that she wants the preacher to heal her face. Still, I’d make a case for “All to Pieces” because of the very last line: “All I need is someone to wonder, ‘who is she?’, to ask how to meet me, to love me all to pieces,” and by that point, the boys are no longer paying attention because she’s been going on and on about looks, but it is at that moment where she says what she needs, which is to feel differently. Yes, she is interested in the approval of others, but she wants to stop being in pain more than anything else.
Next, we see the televangelist act and how much Violet believes it will help her when she gets to Tulsa. The song that follows, though, Flick’s first big song, is an exciting shift. Flick gives her perspective with the theme “Let It Sing.” He is rooting for Violet to be confident and free. We see how Flick is a significant influence on her. It is precisely at that moment that Monty starts swooping in. He’s going to sleep with her first since Flick and Monty are very competitive.
Now would also be a critical moment for context. The time in which Violet takes place is 1964. The setting is the southern United States. Monty and Violet are white, and Flick is Black. Flick is very clearly falling in love with Violet, but at this time, it was dangerous to be an interracial couple.
When the soldiers and Violet are about to part, Flick is heartbroken and ready to say goodbye, and Monty unexpectedly decides to ask Violet to come back and meet him after she’s healed. Meanwhile, Violet is skeptical of Monty as she should be because she’s gotten herself entangled with these strange men on her journey. Still, Flick is so jealous and sings to himself, “I’ve been waiting for a lifetime for someone simply to look and see me the way that I see you.” Flick feels a closeness to Violet that few people have ever gotten to, and she’s distracted by the exterior as she always is.
Violet gets to Tulsa, and we see a rehearsal for the church service and then a flashback to the aftermath of her accident.
The preacher tells Violet, “you realize there’s nothing really wrong with you.”
And there it is. And Violet demands to have the service, so she goes through the motions.
And she stops midway to sing “Look At Me,” and she clarifies that it’s so hard to be strong when others are uncomfortable with her. She later prays to be given “something of (her) own, so (she) won’t be ashamed when (she) finds a man.” And at that moment, she reveals she’s scared that the accident may have been intentional, and Violet thinks through her insecurities about whose fault it was, and she confronts her father’s voice in her head. Finally, she makes peace with him, and with the accident, and therefore with herself.
After the chapel, Violet doesn’t look in the mirror, and she’s convinced that she’s healed. Monty feels terrible when she arrives at the station because she hasn’t, and she turns his marriage proposal down. Flick is there to check on her, and he sees the inner healing she has done and begs her to be with him. And finally, he tells her what he felt along which is that the two of them see one another.
The last words of the musical are, “If I show you the darkness I hold inside, will you bring me to light?” Violet and Flick have a healing relationship. The quickest fix for Violet is to stop trying to fix herself, and to be her whole self with someone who cares about her.
