Saints, sinners, saviors : strong Black women in African American literature / Trudier Harris.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harris, Trudier.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--African American authors--History and criticism.

American literature.

American literature--African American authors.

Women and literature--United States--History--20th century.

Women and literature.

United States.

History.

American literature--20th century--History and criticism.

African American women in literature.

Women in literature.

Physical Description:

vi, 218 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Palgrave, 2001.

Summary:

"Saints, Sinners, Saviors: Strong Black Women in African American Literature" explores the idea of strength as a frequently contradictory and damaging trait for black women characters in major literary works of the 20th century. Looking at work by Hansberry, Morrison, Bambara, West, Gaines, Reed, and others, Trudier Harris shows how writers draw upon popular images of African American women in producing what they believe to be safe literary representations. She argues forcefully that the portrayal of women's character as strong is problematic in African American literature, and this pattern has become so pronounced that it has stifled the literature.

Contents:

Introduction: the Black female body: seeing, believing and perpetuating popular and literary images

A raisin in the sun: the strong Black woman as acceptable tyrant

Strength and the battle ground of slavery: even parody: Ishmael Reed and Mammy Barracuda

Strength and the battle ground of slavery: survival beyond survival: the price of strength in Beloved

Commanding the universe: more than witch: Bambara's Minnie Ransom ; Tough enough to kill, tough enough to transcend death: J. California Cooper's Clora

Strength as disease bordering on evil: Dorothy West's Cleo Judson

The stubbornness of tradition: do what Big Mama sez: Ernest J. Gaines's A lesson before dying ; New territory, no change: Pearl Cleage's Flyin' west

Balance?: Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the sower

Conclusion: can this mold be broken?.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [201]-208) and index.

ISBN:

0312293003

0312293038

OCLC:

47054735