THE CHURCH, THE BIBLE, AND
THE METAPHOR OF THE BLACK FEMALE BONDSERVANT
IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
Within American culture, historical images of Black female characters were primarily thought of as: jezebels, mammies or sapphires. They were as well thought of as caretakers. Since Black women were frequently thought of as such, I decided to specifically explore more how Black female characters have been portrayed by the church of the United States, as caretakers. I will explore their cultural and religious identity as bondservants, in American literature and bring it to the arena of the church, with its own space and debate. This unique study, will create a theoretical framework that can greatly enrich more studies for the humanities. I will …show more content…
Robert Kendrick, in his article “Remembering America: Phillis Wheatley’s Intertextual Epic,” states that “the issue of race occupies a privileged position in…Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, which addresses the ‘marginalization’ at the hands of her ‘masters’, and demands attention” (Kendrick 71.) Critic Arthur Riss claims in his essay “Racial Essentialism and Family Values in Uncle Tom’s Cabin” that: “by the time Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published, essential racial differences was considered a self – evident fact” (Riss 520 – 21). In his famous essay published in 1949, “Everybody’s Protest Novel,” James Baldwin called Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin “a very bad novel, having, in its self – righteous virtuous sentimentality, much in common with Little Women” (The Norton Anthology of African American Literature 1654). Curtis Evans, states in his article “The Chief Glory of God…,” that: Uncle Tom’s Cabin “leaves little doubt that Stowe’s desire is to defeat the institution of slavery, to do so, she creates radically different understandings of Christianity between blacks and whites, grounded in innate …show more content…
I chose to explore this particular writer; because, helps to understand why his literary connection allowed Black female characters to revisit the moments in their past, which led them to their communal present. I will explore Baldwin’s female characters by putting them into two categories: “true believers,” or “hypocrites.” These subdivisions affected how he delicately crafted each of his female characters, in a bondservant role. For example, Deborah in Go Tell it on the Mountain is portrayed straightforwardly; but, Sister Daniels (in the same novel) is presented slightly derogatory (7). This research specifically relates to my dissertation, because, it allows me to explore further Baldwin’s treatment of freeing Black women from the fundamentalist
THE METAPHOR OF THE BLACK FEMALE BONDSERVANT
IN AMERICAN LITERATURE
Within American culture, historical images of Black female characters were primarily thought of as: jezebels, mammies or sapphires. They were as well thought of as caretakers. Since Black women were frequently thought of as such, I decided to specifically explore more how Black female characters have been portrayed by the church of the United States, as caretakers. I will explore their cultural and religious identity as bondservants, in American literature and bring it to the arena of the church, with its own space and debate. This unique study, will create a theoretical framework that can greatly enrich more studies for the humanities. I will …show more content…
Robert Kendrick, in his article “Remembering America: Phillis Wheatley’s Intertextual Epic,” states that “the issue of race occupies a privileged position in…Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, which addresses the ‘marginalization’ at the hands of her ‘masters’, and demands attention” (Kendrick 71.) Critic Arthur Riss claims in his essay “Racial Essentialism and Family Values in Uncle Tom’s Cabin” that: “by the time Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published, essential racial differences was considered a self – evident fact” (Riss 520 – 21). In his famous essay published in 1949, “Everybody’s Protest Novel,” James Baldwin called Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin “a very bad novel, having, in its self – righteous virtuous sentimentality, much in common with Little Women” (The Norton Anthology of African American Literature 1654). Curtis Evans, states in his article “The Chief Glory of God…,” that: Uncle Tom’s Cabin “leaves little doubt that Stowe’s desire is to defeat the institution of slavery, to do so, she creates radically different understandings of Christianity between blacks and whites, grounded in innate …show more content…
I chose to explore this particular writer; because, helps to understand why his literary connection allowed Black female characters to revisit the moments in their past, which led them to their communal present. I will explore Baldwin’s female characters by putting them into two categories: “true believers,” or “hypocrites.” These subdivisions affected how he delicately crafted each of his female characters, in a bondservant role. For example, Deborah in Go Tell it on the Mountain is portrayed straightforwardly; but, Sister Daniels (in the same novel) is presented slightly derogatory (7). This research specifically relates to my dissertation, because, it allows me to explore further Baldwin’s treatment of freeing Black women from the fundamentalist