Africana Womanism in Island Beneath the Sea
Over the last 25 years, African women have suffered in various ways. For example, being a slave, to getting raped and being physically and mentally abused by men. In Isabel Allende, innovative work “Island Beneath the Sea”, the predominant female character Zarite has encountered many trials and tribulations as a female slave. Zarite was born into slavery, physically and mentally abused, constantly forced to sleep with her slave master, and had to give up her first child because it was the child of her owner. “Island Beneath the Sea” takes place in the late 1770’s and early 1800’s in the countries of Saint-Domingue (Current day Haiti) and Louisiana. The novel is centered around the intertwined relationship …show more content…
Africana Womanism is the focus of bad experiences, struggles, needs and the desires of African women. African women have encountered many struggles for as long as people can remember. Beginning in the mid- 1500s, mariners or sailors started bringing black Africans to America as slaves and would sell them to rich white people. This process was called the slave trade. However, during the slave trade women were not only purchased for economic responsibilities but for sexual duties. Throughout the slave trade black women were the epitome of immoral or promiscuous. Although, not all images of African American women were so negative, there were many favorable accounts of how attractive black women were. Despite the positive aspects that some people had of black women, it still did not dominate the conceptions of black women at the time. Many Europeans still viewed African women the same way. At first the term originally used was Black Womanism. However, many felt that Black Womanism was not the precise terminology that would best anatomize the total denotation for this concept. Hudson-Weems decided that Africana Womanism was the best terminology used for this concept for two reasons. The first part of the terminology, Africana, specifies the ethnicity of the women that is being considered. The reference to the women ethnicity, establishes her cultural identity which brings African women back to her homeland Africa. The second …show more content…
One character that represented Africana Womanism would be the primary character, Zarite. Zarite or Tete was basically born into slavery. She is the daughter of an African mother whom she never knew. Zarite was brought into slavery by one of the white sailors. At a young age Tete was purchased by Violette, whom is a mixed-race prostitute with upper class or wealthy clients, on behalf of Toulouse Valmorain, a Frenchman who has inherited his sick father sugar plantation. Tete becomes Valmorain’s wife personal slave. Within the novel Valmorain’s wife begins to go crazy, which forces Valmorain to sleep with Zarite. For the next three decades Zarite was raped, degraded, and lives at Valmorain’s mercy, while raising two children and trying to forget the loss of another. In the novel Zarite ends up pregnant and Valmorain is the father but because Zarite is a slave and she was black she could not have this child so Valmorain gives the child to Violette and leaves Zarite with clueless as to where her first child might be. Day and night Zarite would think about her child. An act like this was often done during slavery time. Families would always get separated during the slave trade and would never find one another until years later causing these slaves to become emotionally unstable. According to Isabelle Allende (2009) “We all have an
Over the last 25 years, African women have suffered in various ways. For example, being a slave, to getting raped and being physically and mentally abused by men. In Isabel Allende, innovative work “Island Beneath the Sea”, the predominant female character Zarite has encountered many trials and tribulations as a female slave. Zarite was born into slavery, physically and mentally abused, constantly forced to sleep with her slave master, and had to give up her first child because it was the child of her owner. “Island Beneath the Sea” takes place in the late 1770’s and early 1800’s in the countries of Saint-Domingue (Current day Haiti) and Louisiana. The novel is centered around the intertwined relationship …show more content…
Africana Womanism is the focus of bad experiences, struggles, needs and the desires of African women. African women have encountered many struggles for as long as people can remember. Beginning in the mid- 1500s, mariners or sailors started bringing black Africans to America as slaves and would sell them to rich white people. This process was called the slave trade. However, during the slave trade women were not only purchased for economic responsibilities but for sexual duties. Throughout the slave trade black women were the epitome of immoral or promiscuous. Although, not all images of African American women were so negative, there were many favorable accounts of how attractive black women were. Despite the positive aspects that some people had of black women, it still did not dominate the conceptions of black women at the time. Many Europeans still viewed African women the same way. At first the term originally used was Black Womanism. However, many felt that Black Womanism was not the precise terminology that would best anatomize the total denotation for this concept. Hudson-Weems decided that Africana Womanism was the best terminology used for this concept for two reasons. The first part of the terminology, Africana, specifies the ethnicity of the women that is being considered. The reference to the women ethnicity, establishes her cultural identity which brings African women back to her homeland Africa. The second …show more content…
One character that represented Africana Womanism would be the primary character, Zarite. Zarite or Tete was basically born into slavery. She is the daughter of an African mother whom she never knew. Zarite was brought into slavery by one of the white sailors. At a young age Tete was purchased by Violette, whom is a mixed-race prostitute with upper class or wealthy clients, on behalf of Toulouse Valmorain, a Frenchman who has inherited his sick father sugar plantation. Tete becomes Valmorain’s wife personal slave. Within the novel Valmorain’s wife begins to go crazy, which forces Valmorain to sleep with Zarite. For the next three decades Zarite was raped, degraded, and lives at Valmorain’s mercy, while raising two children and trying to forget the loss of another. In the novel Zarite ends up pregnant and Valmorain is the father but because Zarite is a slave and she was black she could not have this child so Valmorain gives the child to Violette and leaves Zarite with clueless as to where her first child might be. Day and night Zarite would think about her child. An act like this was often done during slavery time. Families would always get separated during the slave trade and would never find one another until years later causing these slaves to become emotionally unstable. According to Isabelle Allende (2009) “We all have an