The Significance Of Female Characters In Invisible Man

In the article “The Significance of Female Characters in Invisible Man,” Albertha Sistrunk-Krakue unravels the position of women in Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man. Sistrunk-Krakue explains that women’s roles make the novel’s “efficacy” more “realistic and authentic,” and to her that also means the difference of roles different races have (Sistrunk-Krakue 1). She describes the relationship the following white women had with the narrator: the lady at Battle Royal, Emma, Sybil, and an unnamed woman. They are all described with characteristics of “forbidden fruit” or “ephemeral patrons [or short-term supporters]” of the narrator (Sistrunk-Krakue 2). She touches upon the cynicism the narrator’s interaction with the naked blonde at Battle Royal, an all male ceremony in which the narrator gives a speech, instills in the him because she is shown to him as a trap – something to desire but punished if pursued; the self-consciousness Jack’s mistress Emma, whom the narrator meets in the Brotherhood party, provokes him by her judgments towards his color and her shrewdness; the reduction of the narrator to that of a stereotypical black “brute 'n boo 'ful buck” by an oppressed and subsequently childish Sybil who wants him to rape her; and lastly the cynicism and primitivism inspired by the unnamed white seductress who brings the narrator to her apartment on false pretenses (Ellison 414). Then, the article switches to black women and reveals Ellison’s lack of sensual description for them. While most of the white women have possessed negative traits, Ellison …show more content…
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a tale of an “invisible” man retelling his journey, and throughout his journey he encounters many different women who impart upon him many self-defining moments. In my opinion, the article emphasizes the importance of their interactions and the importance of the way the women were