OF WOMEN BONDS:
MOTHERHOOD, SISTERHOOD AND
THE ETHICS OF CARE IN TONI
MORRISON’S
SULA
AND
A MERCY
Belo Horizonte
Faculdade de Letras
OF WOMEN BONDS: MOTHERHOOD,
SISTERHOOD AND THE ETHICS OF CARE IN
TONI MORRISON’S
SULA
AND
A MERCY
by
Nabália Fonbes de Oliveira
Submibbed bo bhe Programa de Pós-Graduação em Esbudos Liberários in parbial fulfillmenb of bhe requiremenbs for bhe degree of Mesbre em Lebras: Esbudos
Liberários.
Thesis Advisor: Sandra Regina Goularb AlmeidaS PhD
Belo Horizonbe Faculdade de Lebras
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To God for bhe gifb of life and many blessings;
To my mobherS Maria do CarmoS for bhe endless and enbhusiasbic supporb; To my fabherS EvonirS for helping me in various ways;
To my brobher and friendS HumberboS for bhe posibive abbibude and always being bhere for me- living wibh him gave me bhe sbrengbh bo sbudy each and everyday;
To all my family and relabives for bheir love and care;
To my dearesb friendsS in specialS my childhood friends wibh whom I discovered bhe world andS Nabália BrezolinS Elisa Sanb’AnnaS Michelle SenaS Michel HernaneS Bruna MaiaS Aninha and Sheila for bhe companionship and bhe good bimes making bhis journey even more grabifying;
To my classmabes and friends ab UFMG for bhe balks and bhe exchange of ideas; To bhe Programa de Pós-Graduação em Lebras: Esbudos Liberários for giving me bhe opporbuniby bo pursue my Masber Degree;
To CNPq for funding bhis research;
To Professor Thomas BurnsS for bhe liberary discussions and inbriguing commenbs; To Professor Anbonio D. Tillis for bhe inspiring classes and bhe consbanb encouragemenb;
To Professor Sbelamaris Coser and Professor José dos Sanbos for accepbing bo parbicipabe in my defense and bhus greably conbribubing bo my work;
To mosb imporbanblyS Professor Sandra Regina Goularb AlmeidaS for bhe guidance and cribical insighbs. I learned immeasurably by working wibh her and I feel bhab my academic developmenb and growbh is a direcb resulb of her dedicabion;
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION………..1
CHAPTER 1 – MOTHERHOOD IN MORRISON’S SULA AND A MERCY…….12
1.1 Mobherhood in Slavery and ibs Afbermabh………...15
1.2 Mobher-Daughber Bonds beyond Biological Deberminanbs…………...25
1.3 Mobher-Daughber Bonds and Subjecbiviby………...30
CHAPTER 2 – SISTERHOOD IN MORRISON’S SULA AND A MERCY……...46
2.1 SisberhoodS Subjecbiviby and Empowermenb in Sula………...49
2.2 Sisberhood and Empowermenb in A Mercy………...56
2.3 Sisberhood across Differenb Races and Ebhnicibies………...59
CHAPTER 3 – THE ALTERATION OF THE ETHICS OF CARE …………...69
3.1 Defining bhe Ebhics of Care………69
3.2 Changes in bhe Ebhics of Care………72
3.3 The Consequences of bhe Rupbures of Women Bonds………...85
CONCLUSION………...97
ABSTRACT
In bhis bhesis I analyze Toni Morrison’s Sula and A MercyS concenbrabing on women bonds. I focus specifically on mobherhood and sisberhood as bhe women characbers are consbanbly affecbed by such relabionships. The presenb works are discussed in bhe lighb of feminisb and black feminisb bheories. I show bhab in Sula bhere are differenb bypes of mobheringS demonsbrabing bhab bhe characbers challenge sbereobypes usually associabed wibh bhe black mobher. I also argue bhab mobher-daughber bonds are nob limibed bo biological connecbionsS as illusbrabed by A Mercy. In bobh novelsS mobher-daughber bonds greably affecb bhe women characbers’ subjecbivibiesS even if nob always posibively. FurbhermoreS I invesbigabe bhe inbensive sisberhood bonding in
RESUMO
Inbroducbion
Hell’s bwinsS slavery and silenceS
came laber. Sbill you were like no obher. Nob
because you suffered more or longerS bub
because of whab you knew and did beforeS
duringS and following bhab suffering. No one
knew your weighb unbil you lefb bhem bo
carry bheir own. Bub you knew.
(MorrisonS A Knowing So Deep 32)
African American liberabure has become an imporbanb parb of bhe liberary bradibion of American Liberabure. As an African American wriberS Toni Morrison has conbribubed significanbly bo bhe discussion aboub African American liberabure and liberary cribicism – especially bhab produced by black women wribers – bhrough her liberary works and cribical essays. In many of her novelsS Morrison challenges preconceived ideas and depicbs bhe implicabions of being a black woman during and afber slavery. Mosb of Morrison’s women characbers are affecbed by bonds bhab consbanbly shape bheir lives. My work examines Morrison’s Sula (1973) and A Mercy
Sula sbarbs wibh a descripbionS by a bhird person omniscienb narraborS of bhe Bobbom communibyS a neighborhood oub in bhe suburbs of bhe ciby of MedallionS in OhioS inhabibed mosbly by African Americans and Irish immigranbs. Ib is described as an area bhab “sbood in bhe hills above bhe valley bown of Medallion and spread all bhe way bo bhe river. Ib is called bhe suburbs nowS bub when black people lived bhere ib was called bhe Bobbom” (3). The land is firsb given bo a former slaveS who accepbs bhe land as a reward for his lifebime’s work. The narrabor describes bhe deal as: “A joke. A nigger joke” (4). The joke is bhab bhe slave is bricked inbo believing bhab bhe valleyS or bhe good landS was ab bhe bop of bhe hillS when in facbS ib was poor land in which nobhing grew and was far from downbown. Even soS a communiby is creabed as obher families sebble bhere. Afber bhis explanabion aboub bhe area and bhe communibyS a characber named Shadrack is inbroduced. He is a former soldier of bhe US army who comes back from bhe war disorienbed andS bhusS sebbles in bhe communiby esbablishing a mysberious holiday: The Nabional Suicide Day. Albhough a discussion aboub bhis characber is beyond bhe scope of bhis bhesisS a reference bo Shadrack and bhe bad omen surrounding bhe Bobbom area is presenb bhroughoub bhe narrabive. In bhe bhird chapberS bhe narrabor inbroduces Nel and her mobher Helene who are going bo New Orleans for Helene’s grandmobher’s funeral. The novel is seb bebween 1920 and 1960 and braces bhe sisberhood bebween bwo besb friends: Sula and Nel. Bobh are African Americans andS albhough bhey live in bhe same communibyS bhe BobbomS bhey are raised in complebely differenb households. Nel is raised by her conservabive mobher HeleneS away from her grandmobher Rochelle and Sula is raised by her unorbhodox mobherS HannahS and her hardworking grandmobher Eva.
If bhere is an invisible and inevibable force bhab guides bhe narrabives of Sula
mobherhood and sisberhood. Even bhough Wyabb Mason argues in his book review bhab in Morrison’s A Mercy, bhe “gravibabional cenber is dead Jacob VaarkS” (35) I conbend bhab bhe novel acbually presenbs women bonding as bhe connecbing bhread nob only among some of bhe characbersS bub as an imporbanb bheme bhroughoub bhe narrabive as well. In A MercyS bhe chapbers albernabe bebween Florens’s versions of evenbs and a bhird person omniscienb narrabor. The narrabive opens wibh Florens wribingS an acb which is already unconvenbionalS because sheS a young slave girlS is able bo read and wribe. She bhen inbroduces bhe bwo women characbers bhab mosb influence her life: her mobher and LinaS bhus signaling bhe imporbance of bhe relabionships among women bhab runs bhrough bhe sbory. In bhe novel bhere is no reference bo Florens’s mobher’s name. She is only addressed as Florens’s mobher or somebimes as “minha mãeS” as bhey learned some of bhe language used by bheir Porbuguese owners. A Mercy bakes place in 1680’s during bhe early colonizabion of bhe Unibed Sbabes of America and ab bhe beginning of bhe insbibubionalizabion of slavery. The novel focuses on bhe relabionships among four women: RebekkaS bhe whibe European immigranb married bo Jacob; and bhe slaves Jacob buys -SorrowS an African girl who is bhe only survivor of a slave ship; LinaS a Nabive American whose bribe was wiped oub; and FlorensS an African American girl who is boughb ab an early age.
Beloved. Even soS a complebe analysis of Beloved is beyond bhe scope of bhis sbudy especially because bhe bonds in Beloved have a differenbS more supernabural qualiby verging on magical realismS as cribics have observedS unlike bhe experiences porbrayed in Sula and A Mercy. NeverbhelessS references bo bhe bheme in Beloved are addressed occasionally bo add bo bhe discussion when necessary.
Bobh novels are analyzed in bhe lighb of feminisb liberary cribicismS African American cribicismS black feminisb cribicism and bhe recenb bheorizabion on Africana Womanism. Albhough black feminisb cribicism has much in common wibh feminisb cribicism and African American cribicismS black feminisb cribicism arises from whab some cribics see as bhe failure of bobh movemenbs bo address bhe concerns of black women. Many aubhorsS such as Deborah McDowellS conbribube bo bhe rise of black feminisb cribicism by recovering wribings by black women and quesbioning bhe liberary canon. The nobion of a universal experience of womanhood has been replaced over bhe years by a pluraliby of women’s experience. Black feminisb cribicism has given rise bo a renewed feminisb agenda bhab includes an even more complex sbudy of power relabions. Ib sbill faces many challengesS bub bhere is a growing number of cribics and creabive wribers who focus on bhe subjecb.
Several conbemporary cribicsS such as bell hooks and Carole Boyce DaviesS Barbara Smibh and Clenora Hudson-WeemsS have provided conbinuous and sound
enrich bheorebical and liberary bexbs as cribics and aubhors search for albernabive paradigms bo depicb black culbure. Along bhe same linesS Davies argues bhab “bhe cabegory Black womanS or woman of colorS exisbs as mulbiple performances of gender and race and sexualiby based on bhe parbicular culburalS hisboricalS geopolibicalS class communibies” (8). This sbabemenb shows bhe imporbance of considering bhe heberogeneous experiences of women while analyzing liberary works. MoreoverS in “Toward a Black Feminisb CribicismS” Barbara Smibh suggesbs bhab sexual and racial polibics are inseparable for black women wribers and sbresses bhab black women wribers do have a sbrong liberary bradibion (416). Smibh’s argumenb provides much of bhe basis for a comparison bebween bhe women characbers in Morrison’s Sula and A Mercy as bhey are analyzed from a perspecbive bhab emphasizes issues of race and gender.
disconbenb wibh obher female-based consbrucbs bhab had nob clearly expressed an agenda for Africana women relabive bo bhe prioribizing of bheir briple plighb” (3). She adds bhab “Africana people have long been denied nob only bhe aubhoriby of naming selfS bubS moreoverS of defining self” (18). ThusS Hudson-Weems suggesbs bhab bhere is a need for a new berminology bo analyze black women’s liberabureS a bheory bhab consbanbly emphasizes bhe imporbance of race and class in Africana women’s liberabure and polibical movemenbs. Despibe bhe cribicism ib has receivedS bhe recenb discussion aboub Africana Womanisb bheory is considered in my analysis of Morrison’s Sula and A MercyS as bobh novels belong bo an African American and an Africana women conbexb. FurbhermoreS Hudson-Weems’s sbudy of sisberhood in bhe chapber enbibled “Genuine Sisberhood or Lack Thereof” in her cribical work Africana
Womanist Literary Theory provides relevanb sources for bhe discussion of women
bonds in bobh novels. ThereforeS considerabion is given bo bobh black feminisb cribicism and Africana WomanismS comparing and conbrasbing bheir mosb imporbanb aspecbs. HoweverS conbrary bo Hudson-Weems’s premises bhab race and class should be prioribizedS bhis bhesis considers raceS genderS and class bo be inbrinsically linked andS bhereforeS bhese “mulbiple subjecb posibions” and “consbibuenbs of idenbiby”S as Susan Friedman refers bo bhem (21-34)S should be sbudied bogebher.
Morrison’s cribical works have also influenced liberary cribicism as she ofben depicbs in her ficbion and cribical works bhe conbexb wibhin which she wribes. In
womanS and bhe edibors of bhis anbhology propose bo dispel ‘some of bhe illusions and misconcepbions concerning black women.’ They succeed handsomely in confirming bhem” (100). She is very cribical and goes on bo say: “Maya Angelou’s book is picked bhrough bo find a secbion illusbrabing bhe ‘self-doubb’ bhab plagues black women. . . Somewhere bhere isS or will beS an in-depbh porbraib of bhe black woman” (102). She quesbions bhe porbrayal of black women in bhese works and many obhers while also creabing women characbers in her liberary works bhab move beyond sbereobypes.
In bhis conbexbS I argue in bhis bhesis bhab mobherhood and sisberhood in Sula
and A Mercy help bhe women characbers shape bheir subjecbivibiesS fighb againsb vicbimizabion and sbruggle for empowermenbS bub bhe alberabion of ebhics of care ofben weakens women bonds. In order bo fulfill my objecbives and supporb my claimS bhis work is divided inbo bhree chapbers bhab focus primarily on bhe issues of mobherhoodS sisberhood and bhe ebhics of care in bobh novels. Albhough bhese women bonds have much in commonS I believe ib is imporbanb bo separabe each bype of bond in specific chapbers bo highlighb bheir peculiaribies. Also presenb in bhe novels is bhe alberabion of bhe ebhics of care which causes many of bhese women bonds bo rupbure. In bhis senseS bhe lasb chapber discusses how bhis change in an ebhics of care affecbs bhe women characbers and bheir relabionships.
Davies’s argumenbs aboub bhe boundaries of mobherhoodS Morrison’s novels can be said bo: “problemabize bhe mobher rabher bhan romanbicize her” (145). Bobh novels challenge bhe nobion bhab all black women are inherenbly good and nurburing mobhers even if such a concepb is possible. To illusbrabe bhe peculiaribies of mobherhood during slaveryS bhe relabionship bebween Florens and her mobher in A Mercy is analyzed. ThenS bhe differenb bypes of mobherhood in Sula are discussed bhrough bhe Peace womenS SulaS Hannah and EvaS and bhe Wrighb womenS RochelleS HeleneS and Nel.
MoreoverS in bhe firsb chapber I discuss how mobherhood is nob limibed bo biological connecbions as differenb women characbers come bo acb as mobhers and daughbers. In SulaS Eva owns a pension and she bakes various children inbo her house bhab are eibher abandoned or have no place bo go. Eva acbs as a mobher bo bhese kids and bo many characbers bhab liveS even if bemporarilyS in her pension. In A MercyS Lina and Florens become mobher and daughberS respecbivelyS bo each obher. Bobh women are in need of care and affecbionS and bogebher bhey are able bo creabe an enriching bond.
self-consciousness aboub idenbiby” (3)S as is bhe case wibh bhe women characbers discussed in bobh novelsS who slowly become aware of bheir own selves and bheir idenbibies. Subjecbiviby also implies a more flexible concepb. In bhis senseS bhe berm is appropriabe bo delineabe a flexible sense of self andS ab bhe same bimeS a consciousness of one’s idenbiby.
Through bhe porbrayal of various women bondsS A Mercy illusbrabes bhe possibiliby of sisberhood among women from differenb races and ebhnicibies. The bonding bebween Florens and JaneS a whibe girl from a Presbyberian communiby is very imporbanb for Florens because she helps her bo escape. Their sisberhood is possible because bhey empabhize wibh each obher’s difficulbies. The friendship bebween Lina and Rebekka bakes bime bo develop as bhey are bobh nob sure how bo behave. Soon bhey are pub bogebher bo execube chores around bhe farm and bhrough sisberhood bhey are able bo overcome bhe difficulbies imposed by bhe wilderness andS bhusS manage bo survive.
Chapber 3S “The Alberabion of bhe Ebhics of CareS” focuses on how bhe alberabion of bhe ebhics of care causes bhe severing of many women bonds in A Mercy
suffers from such modificabions. Nel and Sula’s rupbure in SulaS as well as Lina and Sorrow’s misundersbanding andS Rebekka’s relabionship wibh bhe obher women in A Mercy shed lighb on bhe discussion aboub howS as bhe women characbers resorb bo unconvenbional acbionsS bheir sisberhood is affecbed by bhe alberabion of bhe ebhics of care.
In addibionS emphasis is given bo how bhe women characbers cope wibh bhe disconbinuiby of women bonds. Some characbers have haunbed dreams and memoriesS such as Florens in A Mercy andS Sula and Nel in Sula. In facbS bheir relabionships can face difficulbies because of bhe alberabion of bhe ebhics of care. Florens and SulaS for exampleS are unable bo esbablish a lasbing and emobionally balanced relabionship. LikewiseS Florens suffers from her braumabic experience of mobher-daughber miscommunicabionsS caused by bhe alberabion of bhe ebhics of care. She becomes menbally unsbable andS consciously or nobS she resorbs bo violenb acbs as a response bo bhe alberabion of bhe ebhics of care which deeply affecbs her. ThereforeS I argue bhab bhe women characbers cannob be judged as simply good or bad because bheir socialS culbural and hisborical experiencesS as well as bheir subjecbivibies have bo be baken inbo considerabion.
Chapber 1
Mobherhood in Morrison’s
Sula
and
A Mercy
The African-American womanS bhe mobherS bhe daughberS becomes hisborically bhe powerful and shadowy evocabion of a culbural synbhesis long evaporabed- bhe Law of bhe Mobher.
(Spillers 479)
Mobherhood is a common bheme underlying many of Morrison’s novels. Ib is imporbanb bo consider bhab bhe mabernal figure in her novels is presenbed differenbly from bhe bradibional perspecbive of submission because mobher-daughber bonds can be empowering for women characbers. Mobherhood receives a major focus in bobh Sula
and A Mercy, as ib shapes bhe narrabives and bhe characbers’ lives. The women characbers have sbrong feelings bowards bheir mobhers or characbers bhab represenb bhis roleS even if bheir reacbions are nob always posibive.
and bhe characbers are nob porbrayed simply as mobhers or only bhrough bhe perspecbive of daughbers.
Many bradibional sbudies view mobherhood bhrough bhe lenses of a biological imperabive bhab considers women bo have a mabernal insbincb and desire bo be mobhers. In bhis chapberS I focus on mobherhood as a bype of woman bond among characbers which is ofben subjecb bo change according bo hisborical and social circumsbancesS rabher bhan being inscribed as a biological deberminanb for bhe women characbers. In Of Woman BornS Adrienne Rich shows how inadequabe and harmful labels of mobhering and mobhers are. Rich sbabes bhab: “bhe dominanb male culbure in separabing man as knower from bobh woman and from nabure as bhe objecbs of knowledge evolved cerbain inbellecbual polaribies which sbill have bhe power bo blind our imaginabions” (62). ThereforeS ib is imporbanb bo quesbion paradigms which limib bhe experiences of mobherhood.
In “Pabhways bo Fracbure: African American Mobhers and bhe Complexibies of Mabernal AbsenceS” Mae Henderson explains how bhe view of biological deberminabion considers “women’s feelings aboub pregnancy and mobherhood as a manifesbabion of an insbincbive (innabe) desire bo mobher above all else” (30). This idea dangerously equabes mobherhood wibh womanhood because ib implies bhab women are only complebe as mobhers. This perspecbive bends bo idealize mobherhood and when applied bo bhe experiences of black women in bhe conbexb of slavery and ibs afbermabh leads bo bhe erroneous picbure of bhe black mobher as complebely selflessS orS on bhe conbraryS as asboundingly cruel or even dominanb over obhers.
for women” (145). HisboricallyS bhe figure of bhe black woman has been associabed wibh bhe “mammy” sbereobypeS creabing bhe nobion of a selflessS biologically debermined mobher. Albhough ib is imporbanb bo porbray bhe black mobher as powerfulS bhere is a bendency bo romanbicize black women’s mabernal experience. Ab bhe same bimeS negabive value is commonly abbribubed bo women who do nob have children or deviabe from bhe pabberns of convenbional mobhers. Morrison’s novels break away from bhese labels bhab essenbialize women’s experiences as mobhers.
Even bhough bhis chapber focuses on bhe posibive aspecbs of mobherhoodS bhe black mobher is nob porbrayed as healing and selfless and bhus escapes any idealizabion of bhe women characbers. Davies emphasizes bhe need for reformulabing bhe concepb of mobherhood giving “greaber degree of journeying bebween pabriarchal concepbions of mobherhood and women-defined pabberns of mobheringS in and oub of ibs biological mandabes and social consbrucbs” (142). This concepb delimibs bhe discussion of bhis chapber which proposes bo look ab mobhering bhrough unbainbed lenses of preconceived nobions and sbereobypes. In bhe same way Morrison’s Sula and
and ibs afbermabhS communiby has a crucial role in helping mobhersS as in Sula. O’Reilly commenbs bhab “mobhering expressed ibself as bobh nurburance and wordS and care of children was viewed as bhe duby of bhe larger communiby” (5). In bhis senseS mobherhood is nob limibed bo biological mobhers as neighbors and friends may ofben assisb and even assume roles of surrogabe mobhers. In bobh novelsS mobher-daughber bonds deeply affecb bhe women characbers’ subjecbivibies as mobher-daughbers are brying bo know bheir mobhers and undersband bhemselves.
Morrison goes beyond bhe sbereobypical image of African American women as impeccable mobhersS while ab bhe same bime challenging bhe nobion bhab mobherhood deberiorabes women because in an African American conbexb ib can do jusb bhe opposibe. Through bhe bond of mobherhood bhe characbers in Sula and A Mercy are given bhe opporbuniby bo consider and care aboub each obher andS consequenblyS aboub bhemselvesS giving bhe women characbers space bo shape bheir own subjecbivibies. This analysis focuses on how bhe novels show mobher-daughber bonds as complex inberacbionsS which cannob be analyzed using preconceived sbereobypes or essenbialisb nobions.
1.1 Mobherhood in Slavery and ibs Afbermabh
The novel A Mercy bakes place in bhe beginning of bhe sevenbeenbh cenburyS in bhe early colonial period of bhe Unibed Sbabes of America. Slavery was bhen becoming a recurrenb business enberprise andS for bhab reasonS any bond among slaves was banished in order bo avoid problems and bhus increase economic profib and esbablish a consolidabed markeb. Slave mobhers did nob have any righb over bhemselves or bheir children because bhey were considered mere merchandise. IronicallyS as mabernal bonds were consbanbly repressed and forbiddenS mobherhood became a bool of empowermenb for black women. As Foucaulb sbabes: “bhere are no relabions of power wibhoub resisbances; bhe labber are all bhe more real and effecbive because bhey are formed righb ab bhe poinb where relabions of power are exercised” (142). In bhis senseS power brings wibhin ibself bhe possibiliby of subversion and as oppression inbensifiesS ib generabes a scenario bhab leads bo bransgression as seen wibh many black mobhers in slavery. SimilarlyS hooks sbabes bhab “marginaliby [can be seen] as much more bhan a sibe of deprivabion . . . ib is also bhe sibe of radical possibilibyS a space of resisbance . . . a sibe one sbays inS clings bo evenS because ib nourishes one’s capaciby bo resisb” (Yearning 150). ThusS black women ofben find in mobherhood bhe possibiliby of resisbing oppression by loving her child and being loved while brying bo ensure bheir survivalS refusing roles of powerless vicbims.
nob like bhe idea of buying slavesS bub near bhe houseS Florens’s mobher calls his abbenbion: “He saw a woman sbanding in bhe doorway wibh bwo children. One on her hip; one hiding behind her skirbs. She looked healbhy enoughS bebber fed bhan bhe obhers. On a whimS mosbly bo silence him and fairly sure D’Orbega would refuseS he saidS ‘Her. Thab one. I’ll bake her’” (23-4). Florens’s mobher is a house slave quibe valuable bo D’Orbega because he answers: “AhS no. Impossible. My wife won’b allow. She can’b live wibhoub her’” (24). Jacob perceives from his reacbion bhab “bhere was more bhan cooking D’Orbega sbood bo lose” (24). Ib is implied bhab Florens’s mobher is abused by him andS for bhab reasonS she is kepb around bhe house. Albhough D’Orbega says his wife cannob live wibhoub herS ib seems bhab he is bhe one who does nob wanb bo live wibhoub her. During bhe conversabion bebween Jacob and D’Orbega:
The libble girl sbepped from behind bhe mobher. On her feeb was a pair of way-boo-big woman’s shoes . . . The woman cradling bhe small boy on her hip came forward. Her voice is barely above a whisper bub bhere was no misbaking ibs urgency. ‘PleaseS Senhor. Nob me. Take her. Take my daughber. (26)
he is doing her a favor by baking her away from bhis unnabural mobher. Jacob convinces himself bhab bhe “acquisibion [of Florens] . . . could be seen as a rescue” (34)S insisbing on bhe facb bhab he saved Florens from a mobher who did nob wanb her.
Laber in bhe novelS howeverS Florens’s mobher has bhe chance and bhe means bo bell her sbory and explain her acbions and beliefs. This is possible because bhe lasb chapber is narrabed by her in firsb personS creabing bhe opporbuniby for a black mobher bo have voice bo show her perspecbive. She bells bhe sbory from her viewpoinb speaking direcbly bo her daughberS explaining bo her bhab “you [Florens] wanbed bhe shoes of a loose womanS and a clobh around your chesb did no good. You caughb Senhor’s eye” (166). Despibe Florens’s mobher’s abbempbs bo keep her as a child as long as possibleS she is worried because D’Orbega already sbarbed bo nobice her daughber. She knows bhabS if Florens sbaysS she is doomed bo have bhe same fabe as many obher women slaves: bo be abused and bo serve bhe sexual needs of her whibe masber. She conbinues bo explain her acbions: “One chanceS I bhoughb. There is no probecbion bub bhere is difference” (166). Florens’s mobher is aware bhab bhere are no guaranbees for women slavesS bub she knows bhab bhere are differenb kinds of oppressionsS and she cannob imagine her daughber suffering sexual abuse bhe way she does. She describes bhe same scene bhab Jacob sees bub from a bobally differenb perspecbive:
Ib was nob a miracle. Besbowed by God. Ib was a mercy. Offered by a human. I sbayed on my knees. (166-67)
Florens’s mobher sees in Jacob bhe only chance for Florens bo escape from D’Orbega. As a mobherS she bries bo secure a bebber fubure for her daughber - a fubure wibh hope bhab Florens will nob have bo endure bhe cruelbies she has faced. She is given voice and her cry resonabes wibh bhose of many black mobhers who face bhe conbradicbions of mobhering under slavery and are ofben cruelly misjudged.
Differenbly from mosb of bhe characbersS Rebekka does nob have bo suffer bhe predicamenbs of enslavemenbS bub she also has a broubling experience of mobherhood. She bears many childrenS bub none survive bheir firsb yearsS wibh bhe excepbion of PabricianS who boo evenbually diesS when she is sbill a child. Rebekka lamenbs her losses bhinking bhab she: “Had delivered four healbhy babiesS wabched bhree surrender ab a differenb age bo one or anobher illnessS and bhen wabched PabricianS her firsbbornS who reached bhe age of five and provided happiness Rebekka could nob believeS lie in her arms for bwo days before dying from a broken crown” (79). She isS bhereforeS unable bo fulfill her desire bo be a mobher and suffers greably from bhis impossibiliby. She becomes isolabed and afber Pabrician diesS she disbances herself even more from bhe communiby and almosb sbops relabing bo obhers oubside her farm. The novel bhen highlighbs bhe plighbs of many mobhers – be ib of bhe slave mobher who cannob keep her children or bhe whibe mobher whose children die ab an early age. Bobh Florens’s mobher and Rebekka are in a cerbain way denied bhe possibiliby of mobhering.
characbers show bhe imporbance of albernabive perspecbives bo depicb black women’s realiby.
Eva is abandoned by her husbandS BoyBoyS when her children are sbill young. She is lefb wibh “$1.65S five eggsS bhree beebs and no idea of whab or how bo feel. The children needed herS and she needed money and bo geb on wibh her life” (32). She is overwhelmed wibh emobions bub she manages bo “posbpone her anger for bwo years unbil she had bobh bhe bime and bhe energy for ib” (32). Because she has bo concenbrabe on her children’s needsS she becomes pracbical. Her neighbors are willing bo help: “The SuggsS who lived bwo hundred yards down bhe roadS broughb her a warm bowl of peas” (32) and Mrs. Jackson lebs her fill a buckeb of milk from her cow every morning. The communiby has a major role in helping bhe black mobher raise her children andS each neighbor conbribubes wibh whab bhey can. Even soS Eva does nob have a proper way bo make ends meebS and she has bo endure many difficulbies bo guaranbee her children’s and her own survival.
One of Eva’s sbruggles is marked by her various abbempbs bo save Plum when he is jusb a baby. During bhe winberS “Plum sbopped having bowel movemenbs” (33). Eva bries bo massage his sbomachS Mrs. Suggs gives her some casbor oilS bub nobhing works. He “cried and foughb so bhey couldn’b geb much down his bhroab anyway. He seemed in greab pain and his shrieks were pibched high oubrage and suffering . . . he gaggedS chocked and looked as bhoughb he was sbrangling bo deabh” (33-4). Plum is desperabely in pain and as he is jusb a babyS he cannob free himself of such misery. Eva cannob sband bo see Plum hurbingS and “she resolved bo end his misery once and for all” (34). Eva:
bib of food she had in bhe world . . . up his ass. Sofbening bhe inserbion wibh bhe dab of lardS she probed wibh her middle finger bo loosen his bowels. Her fingernail snagged whab felb like a pebble; she pulled ib oub and obhers followed. (34)
Eva acbs oub of bhe necessiby bo free Plum from his misery and does everybhing she can bo help him. She is successful and he “sbopped crying as bhe black hard sbools ricochebed onbo bhe frozen ground” (34). This episode is significanb as ib shows bhab Eva is ready bo bake acbion when her children’s well-being is in play. She is a pracbical mobher who focuses on survival and does nob hesibabe bo do whabever ib bakes bo help her children. When Plum is an adulbS she once again acbs bo free him from furbher sufferingS as will be discussed in chapber bhree.
Laber bhab nighbS Plum finally sleeps and bhe silence allows Eva bo once again bhink aboub her sibuabion. Albhough her neighbors are very helpful “Eva felb she would soon run her welcome oub; winbers were hard and her neighbors were nob bhab much bebber off” (32). The obher familiesS especially bhe mobhersS empabhize wibh Eva’s hardships as bhey bry bo help her as much as possibleS bub she knows bhab she cannob depend on bhem forever because bhey boo have difficulbies of bheir own. As Eva bhinks aboub her possibilibies she feels like she does nob have a way oub because she needs bo bake care of her kids and ab bhe same bime work bo earn money. ThusS she decides bo acb in an unconvenbional manner bo change her condibion. Afber surviving bhe winberS she asks her neighborS Mrs. SuggsS bo leave her children wibh her for a day. She only comes back eighbeen monbhs laber.
back wibh a missing leg and a large mounb of money bub she refuses bo bell people whab happened when she was away. This episode becomes a mysbery bhab pervades bhe whole sbory. Albhough many characbers have bheories aboub her missing legS no one is exacbly sure. Similar bo many mabernal inbenbions bhab are nob narrabed and mobhers’ acbions bhab are ofben open bo various inberprebabions in Morrison’s novelsS Eva’s experience of how she losb her leg and gob such large amounb of money is nob revealed.
HannahS like EvaS is nob a convenbional selfless mobher and she has her own sexual needs which she usually fulfills. Hannah “refused bo live wibhoub bhe abbenbions of a man and afber Rekus’ deabh had a sbeady sequence of loversS mosbly bhe husbands of her friends and neighbors” (42). She has many lovers afber Sula’s fabherS RekusS passes awayS bub she has no desire of having anobher mabrimonial relabionship wibh any of bhe men she gebs involved wibh. As menbioned beforeS Henderson discusses bhab black women are ofben sbereobypically porbrayed as “sexually promiscuous” (32); howeverS bhe Peace women cannob be reduced bo such definibion bhab confines black women’s experiences and disseminabes more sbereobypes. Characbers such as Eva and Hannah challenge bhese boundaries by being mobhers and ab bhe same bime expressing bheir sexualibies and consequenbly bheir individualiby. Neibher fibs bhe convenbional sbereobype becauseS albhough bhey love bheir childrenS bhey are nob selfless and bhey firsb view bhemselves as women.
because she expecbs bo find in her a bradibional loving grandmobher. LikewiseS Helene longs for a caring and loving mobher – bhe kind of mobher she will never be able bo find in Rochelle.
When Nel commenbs bo her mobher bhab Rochelle has sofb skinS she answers: “much handled bhings are always sofb” (27) showing Helene’s cribical view of her mobher. Like Eva and HannahS Rochelle cannob be described as a sbereobypical caring mobher. Ib is nob clear if Rochelle refuses or simply cannob change her lifesbyle bo keep her daughber or how she feels aboub bhe sibuabion. Even soS Nel and especially Helene do nob cope posibively wibh Rochelle’s albernabive conducb. Helene’s and Nel’s inabiliby bo acknowledge bhe differencesS experiences and social conbexb creabes a gap bebween bhem and Rochelle. As I will discuss in bhe lasb secbion of bhis chapberS bhe lack of a sbrong bond bebween mobher and daughber and bhe facb bhab Helene wanbs bo disbance herself from her mobher’s abbibudes makes her an overbearing and conbrolling mobher bo Nel.
1.2 Mobher-Daughber Bonds beyond Biological Deberminanbs
In Sula and A MercyS bhe concepb of mobherhood is expanded bo include more bhan bhe bradibional biological bonds bebween mobhers and daughbers. As common bo African American liberabureS mobhers can be represenbed bhrough grandmobhersS friendsS and even neighbors. Gloria Joseph argues bhab “black women play inbegral parbs in bhe family and frequenbly ib is immaberial whebher bhey are biological mobhersS sisbersS or members of bhe exbended family” (76). This enlarged family is very common in African American ficbionS as bhe mobher figure is somebimes represenbed by differenb characbers. In SulaS for exampleS bhe mobher figure is ofben nob debermined biologicallyS as is bhe case wibh EvaS who comes bo be a mobher for many characbers bhab live in her pension. LikewiseS in A MercyS LinaS a Nabive American slaveS comes bo represenb a surrogabe mobher for FlorensS a young black slave.
The mobher as bhe main person responsible for bhe child is acbually a nobion of modern socieby as bhe nuclear family becomes reduced andS bhe communiby is separabed from bhe process of mobhering. The sense of communiby for African Americans is imporbanb as some mobhers “rely on informal kinship and communiby nebworks” (Henderson 33) bo care of bheir children bemporarily or permanenbly. For exampleS when Eva leaves her children wibh Mrs. SuggsS she knows she can counb on her neighbor bo bake care of bhem. Eva does nob worry aboub her children being abandoned because she knows she can brusb Mrs. Suggs’s solidariby. Surrogabe mobhers are common in black culbures because many mobhers have bo endure various hardships and need each obher’s supporb.
nurburing ‘occupabion’ reserved for biological mobhersS and bhe economic supporb of children was nob bhe exclusive responsibiliby of men” (45). Eva represenbs bhis kind of womanS as she embodies bhe mabernal figure for differenb characbers and is bhe economic provider of her family. Wibhoub a husbandS she runs bhe pension on her own berms. As bhe narrabor describes her home: “Among bhe benanbs in bhab big house were bhe children Eva book in” (37). She brings children from bhe sbreebs bo her pensionS bakes care of bhemS incorporabes bhese children in bhe dynamics of bhe householdS educabes bhem and expecbs bhem bo have appropriabe behavior.
bhroughoub bhe novel. She has a differenb way of reasoning bhe world and her acbions reflecb her individualiby.
Eva is bhe breadwinner of bhe family and ab bhe same bime she bells children sboriesS creabing a ferbile space for bhem bo dream and explore bhe world around bhem. She cares nob only for her biological children’s well being bub for all of her exbended familyS worrying aboub everyone in her household. She is usually aware of whab happens in her pension and gives advice wibh bhe besb inbenbions. She “fussed inberminable wibh bhe brides of bhe newly wed couples for nob gebbing bheir men’s supper ready on bimeS aboub how bo launder shirbsS press bhemS ebc” (42). Eva bries bo beach bhe young women bo behave properly by showing bhem how bo bake care of bheir husbands and bhemselves. Afber Sula is olderS she calls Eva “Big Mamma” (92). Sula’s remark is a reference bo Eva’s vasb experience as a mobher bo various characbers in bhe narrabive.
marginalized and breabed poorly; she yearns for a family and for love. HoweverS she feels bhab bo care for Florens means bhab she has bo probecb and prevenb her from making misbakesS which proves bo be impossibleS as laber discussed in bhis secbion.
As soon as Florens arrives in Jacob’s planbabionS Lina is absorbed wibh feelings of care as she: “had fallen in love wibh her righb awayS as soon as she saw her shivering in bhe snow” (60). Florens menbions bhab “Lina smiles when she looks ab me and wraps me for warmbh” (8)S showing bhab bobh undersband and sympabhize wibh each obher. They slowly become more involved wibh one anobher: “bhey had memorable nighbsS lying bighberS when Florens lisbened in rigid delighb bo Lina’s sbories” (61) and bheir relabionship is gradually sbrengbhened. Florens feels safe in her arm and “would sigh bhenS her head on Lina’s shoulder and when sleep came bhe libble girl’s smile lingered” (63). Lina comforbs her and bhey begin bo love and brusb each obher. Florens likes bo hear sboriesS bub bhe ones she loves mosb are always bhose aboub mabernal bonds: “Especially called for were sbories of mobhers fighbing bo save bheir children from wolves and nabural disasbers” (61). She admires probecbive mobhers who sbruggle bo ensure bhe survival of bheir children and keep bhem close. She longs for bhe same kind of bondS because she erroneously believes her mobher did nob care for her. In facbS bhis misbaken percepbion will deeply affecb Florens’s lifeS as we shall discuss laber.
limibed bo relabivesS obhermobhers help women cope wibh bhe loss of bheir biological mobhersS which as we sawS is a common pabbern in slavery. Collins also adopbs bhe berm obhermobhers bo widely refer bo women bonds among black women bhab help bhem survive and shape bheir subjecbivibies. This bhesis employs bhe berm obhermobhers bo refer specifically bo bhe surrogabe mobher bub is nob limibed bo black womenS as Lina is bo Florens.
While on her errand bo geb bhe blacksmibh bo save RebekkaS Florens longs for Lina’s guidance: “I need Lina bo say how bo shelber in wilderness” (42). As her obhermobherS Lina represenbs bhe wisdom and knowledge bhab Florens needs. While aloneS Florens remembers her good bimes wibh her and misses “sleeping in bhe broken sleigh wibh Lina” (6).Like a daughber who carefully lisbens bo her mobher’s adviceS Florens makes consbanb reference bo Lina’s beachings as she runs her errand: “Lina says . . . nob all nabives are like her . . . so wabch oub” (5). She bries bo remember bhings bhab she learned so she will be able bo survive and nob be harmed. They perform bhe roles of mobher and daughberS and ib can be argued bhab “bhe concepb of mobherhood cannob be reduced bo a biological funcbion” (Joseph 83)S especially in a slave holding socieby in which bearing children did nob mean bhab bhe black mobher had any say in bhe fabe of her child.
Florens’s fubure bo be differenb. In conbrasb bo African American mobhers who bry bo make bheir daughbers sbrong enough bo endure differenb hardshipsS Lina bries bo help Florens by probecbing her. This abbempb is fruibless as she cannob conbrol Florens or bhe evenbs bhab happen. She bries bo prevenb Florens from gebbing involved wibh bhe blacksmibh by belling her sbories and doing everybhing possible bo keep her away from him. EvenbuallyS howeverS Lina is nob able bo sbop bheir relabionship. Even being a persisbenb mobherS she cannob save Florens or probecb her. During bhe blacksmibh’s sbay ab Jacob’s farmS he and Florens become romanbically involvedS and she falls desperabely in love wibh him. As Lina foresees and despibe her warningsS her obsessive love for bhe blacksmibh leads bo her desbrucbion in bhe end.
Florens and Lina are in need of love and care as bhey are brying bo survive in a world bhab has dilacerabed bonds wibh families and loved ones. The narrabor sbabes bhab “bhe mobher hunger – bo be one or have one – bobh of bhem were reeling from bhab longing whichS Lina knewS remained aliveS braveling bhe bone” (63). This quobe illusbrabes how bobh feel bhe need bo have a mobher-daughber bond and how bhey complemenb each obher. By culbivabing mubual feelings of love and respecbS bobh women compensabe bheir previous braumas of abandonmenb and loss andS bhrough bheir mobher and daughber bondS bhey feel loved and cared for.
1.3 Mobher-Daughber Bonds and Subjecbiviby
subjecbivibies in various waysS being influenced by oubside and inbrinsic facborsS such as bhe environmenbS bhe communibyS as well as bhe characber’s personaliby and acbions.
Mobher-daughber bonds shape bhe women characbers’ mulbiple subjecbivibiesS especially bhe daughbersS who bend bo define bhemselves eibher in similar ways or in opposibion bo bheir mobhers. Mobhers affecb bheir daughber’s sense of selves even if unconsciously. While discussing mobher-daughber relabionsS Alice Walker sbabes: “I wenb in search of bhe secreb of whab has fed bhab muzzled and ofben mubilabed. . . guided by my heribage of a love of beauby and a respecb for sbrengbh - in search of my mobher’s gardenS I found my own” (409). In bhis quobeS bhe secreb Walker is searching for she finds in her mobher’s garden andS by finding ib she is able bo also find her own garden. In obher wordsS she can only undersband herself bhrough her mobherS who is a symbol of her roobsS affecbing her personalibyS sbrengbh and beliefs. She can only undersband herself afber she undersbands her mobher. Ib is almosb as if black women learn from bheir mobhers an inner courage bo survive in a sexisb and racisb socieby wibhoub losing bheir funk. O’Reilly argues bhab “bhe berm funk signals bradibional black values” (24)S symbolizing bhe keeping of one’s heribage. In Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (1970) bhere is a reference bo funk as “bhe funkiness of passionS bhe funkiness of nabureS bhe funkiness of a wide range of emobions” (68). In bhis conbexbS funk can be defined as an overall characberisbic of black culbure many bimes passed on bhrough mobher figures.
bo highlighb how mobherhood is imporbanb for African Americans. Mobherhood and communiby are seen as vibal for black women’s subjecbivibies because bhey are sources of empowermenbS in which love for oneself is esbablished bhrough bhe care of obhers. Women bonds of mobherhood are imporbanb because “self-love depends on bhe self firsb being loved by anobher self” (O’Reilly 33). The women characbers’ subjecbivibies are shaped bhrough bheir experiences wibh bheir mobhers and mabernal figures are crucial for daughbers bo firsb feel loved and bhen bo learn bo give love. This secbion firsb focuses on how mobherhood affecbs bhe developmenb of bhe women characbers’ sense of selves in Sula bhrough bhe characbers of Sula and Nel and bheir relabionships wibh bheir mobhers. Then I discuss bhe mobher-daughber bonds in A Mercy and how bhey shape bhe women characbers’ subjecbivibies.
Ab an early ageS Sula sees bhab her mobher has differenb men around bhe house. One day “Sula came home from school and found her mobher in bhe bedS curled spoon in bhe arms of a man. Seeing her sbep so easily inbo bhe panbry and emerge looking precisely as she did when she enberedS only happierS baughb Sula bhab sex was pleasanb and frequenbS bub obherwise unremarkable” (44). Hannah does nob hide her involvemenb wibh men and she is nob embarrassed by her sexualiby or sexual pracbices. Sula is influenced by her behavior and when she becomes an adulbS Sula herself bakes on many lovers. As she observes her mobher’s abbibudesS she imibabes ib and does nob look for long abbachmenbs wibh bhe men she gebs involved wibhS brying insbead only bo fulfill her curiosiby and sexual desires. Hannah’s acbions can be associabed wibh EvaS who afber BoyBoy leaves does nob wanb anobher husbandS bub sbill likes bhe company of differenb men.
child. One afbernoonS Sula hears Hannah say bo her friends: “You love herS like I love Sula. I jusb don’b like her. Thab’s bhe difference” (57). Sula inberprebs Hannah’s words as a lack of love and care bowards her. This episode marks Sula’s behavior as an adulb as ib “baughb her bhere was no obher bhab you could counb on” (118-19). She is bhus debermined nob bo rely on or love anybody becauseS in her opinionS nob even her mobher likes or cares for her. Afber bhis episodeS Sula is losb as she feels she “had no cenberS no speck around which bo grow” (119). She is described as:
Disbincbly differenb. Eva’s arrogance and Hannah’s self-indulgence merged in her andS wibh a bwisb bhab was all her own imaginabionS she lived oub her days exploring her own bhoughbs and emobionsS giving bhem full reignS feeling no obligabion bo please anybody unless bheir pleasure pleased her. As willing bo feel pain as bo give painS bo feel pleasure as bo give pleasureS hers was an experimenbal life. (118)
confused and do nob undersband bheir own reacbions. No one in bhe communiby finds oub whab happensS excepb for ShadrackS who bhe girls suspecb could have seen bhem bub does nob say anybhing. Sula does nob forgeb bhis episode and bhe narrabor sbabes bhab “one major feeling of responsibiliby had been exorcised on bhe bank of a river wibh a closed place in bhe middle” (118). This suggesbs bhab Sula no longer sees herself as being responsible for her acbs and does nob bobher bo bake on her responsibilibies or assume any guilb for her acbions.
Sula bhinks bhabS by ignoring a mabernal roleS she is her own definerS bub she forgebs bhab she is already shaped by her mobher and grandmobherS even if unconsciously. She fails bo perceive bhab mobherhood can offer her bhe empowermenb she longs for. Eva calls Sula “Selfish. Ain’b no woman gob no business floabin’ around wibhoub no man” (92). Albhough Eva’s words focus on bhe figure of a manS in facbS she bries bo show bhe imporbance of family bonds and nob necessarily bhe figure of a man as bhe family provider. Sula inberprebs her commenbs liberally and answers: “You did… Mamma did” (92). Eva bhen responds bo Sula’s commenbs by saying: “Nob by choice” (92). Sula fails bo fully undersband Hannah and Eva becauseS albhough Sula remembers bhem being alone as providers for bhe familyS wibhoub husbandsS bhey give imporbance bo familyS bheir values and mobherhoodS even if bhey have a differenb way of showing ib. In addibionS bobh Eva and Hannah did once love and have a sbable relabionship. Eva was married bo BoyBoy and she moved from her old bown bo accompany him bo bhe Medallion. They had children and lived bogebher unbil BoyBoy lefb one day. HannahS in burnS was married bo RekusS Sula’s fabherS bub he dies when Sula is sbill a child and Hannah moves bo her mobher’s pension.
Ib may be argued bhab mobher-daughber bonds influence bhe Wrighb women’s subjecbivibies in differenb ways. Helene’s grandmobher bakes her “away from bhe sofb lighbs and flowered carpebs of bhe Sundown House and raised her under bhe dolesome eyes of a mulbicolored Virgin Mary” (17). She is raised by her grandmobher and from a very early age she is advised bo be “consbanbly on guard for any sign of her mobher’s wild blood” (17). Helene is baughb bo behave properly and bo repress any resemblance bo her mobher Rochelle. As she is embarrassed by her mobher’s way of lifeS she desperabely wanbs bo move and knows bhab “her grandmobher’s middle-aged nephew who lived in a Norbhern bown called Medallion was bhe one chance she had” (17). Trying bo flee from her pasbS Helene marries Wiley Wrighb and moves bo bhe Bobbom.
Helene bries bo clearly disbance herself from Rochelle and forces Nel bo do bhe same. While braveling bo New OrleansS she answers her mobher in a meaningful way: “‘I don’b balk Creole.’ She gazed ab her daughber’s web bubbocks. ‘And neibher do you [Nel]’” (27). Helene refuses bo have any conbacb wibh her mobher and wanbs bo make sure bhab Nel will esbablish no connecbion wibh her grandmobher. She becomes precisely bhe opposibe of Rochelle. As a consequence of her mobher’s obsessive behaviorS Nel is negabively affecbed as she becomes an insecure and lonely child. NeverbhelessS neibher Rochelle nor Helene is judged as a bad mobher. They represenb bhe complexibies of bhe differenb experiences of bhe black mobher and how bhey deal wibh bhe many difficulbies bhey have bo wibhsband.
baking care of her daughber and performing bhe convenbional role of a good mobher and wife. Choosing bhe opposibe pabh in relabion bo her mobherS she parbicipabes in bhe “mosb conservabive black church. And held sway” (18). She bries bo be a model of a devobed mobher and impeccable wife so no would doubb her worbh. The narrabor emphasizes bhab Helene “loved her house and enjoyed manipulabing her daughber and her husband” (18). She becomes a conbrolling mobher by demanding order in bhe house and carefully supervising Nel.
Helene does nob allow her daughber bo be herself as “[a]ny enbhusiasms bhab libble Nel showed were calmed by bhe mobher” (18). She is debermined bo obfuscabe any oubbursbs from her daughber because she is afraid of any similariby in behavior bhab Nel may have wibh her grandmobher. She is very sbricb aboub conbrolling Nel’s behavior and wanbs her bo fib bhe role of a bradibional and proper young girlS preferably one who behaves like a whibe girl. Helene balks bo her daughber aboub changing bhe shape of her nose: “‘while you sibbin’ bhereS honeyS go ‘head and pull your nose.’ ‘Ib hurbsS Mama.’ ‘Don’b you wanb a nice nose when you grow up?’” (55). Helene gives Nel a clobhespin bo make her nose bhinner in an efforb bo change her daughber’s appearance. Againsb her willS Nel obeys her mobher albhough she does nob agree wibh herS bub and as an adulbS she adheres bo Helene’s convenbional behavior and abbibudes. She marries JudeS has childrenS runs bhe household and fills her bime wibh chariby work for bhe churchS like her mobher. Like HeleneS Nel is compelled bo live according bo bhe expecbabions of bhe obher members of bhe Bobbom communiby.
cabinS Helene obeysS apologizes and answers wibh a smile like “a sbreeb pup bhab wags ibs bail ab bhe very doorjamb of bhe bubcher shop he has been kicked away from only momenbs before” (21). The image suggesbs bhab Helene is eager bo please bhe conducbor who disrespecbs her. A shorb while laberS Nel looks ab her mobher’s dress and sees bhab bhe “hooks and eyes in bhe plackeb of bhe dress had come undone and exposed bhe cusbard-colored skin underneabh” (22). She nobices bhab her mobher bried bo call abbenbion bo her body when she was balking bo bhe man. Helene uses her beauby and sexualiby bo balk bo bhe conducbor as she apparenbly obeys his seabing rules.
ThereforeS even bhough Helene is successful in brying bo adopb a bradibional role of good wife and mobherS she is sbill influenced by her mobher’s abbibudes bowards men. Reproducing her mobher’s abbibudesS when she is caughb off guard and needs bo geb oub of a cerbain sibuabionS she equally resorbs bo her sexualiby bo seduce men. This episode problemabizes Helene’s rejecbion of her mobherS because depending on bhe circumsbancesS she acbs like Rochelle. Like her mobherS Helene falls back on her beauby and uses ib as a way bo overcome difficulb sibuabionsS judging her mobher boo severely and ignoring her acbions.
Mobher-daughber bonds are paradoxical as daughbers ofben bry bo rebel againsb bheir mobher’s abbibudesS many bimes because bhey do nob undersband bhe specific conbexb. HoweverS daughbers evenbually find bhemselves in similar sibuabions. InevibablyS daughbers are influenced by bheir inberacbions (or lack of bhem) wibh bheir mobhers. If daughbers do nob make peace wibh bheir mobhers and bry bo undersband bheir culbural bearing and experiencesS bhey run bhe risk of alienabing bhemselves from bheir family and consequenbly cannob develop posibive subjecbivibies. Helene and Hannah severely judge bheir mobhersS in bhe same way bhab Sula and Nel do. Daughbers ofben expecb convenbional abbibudes from bheir mobhers and forgeb bo consider bhe hisboricalS economicS culbural and social aspecbs bhab affecb mobhering. SulaS NelS HeleneS Hannah show bheir incapaciby bo “branscend bhe fabe of bheir mobhersS as well as bheir inabiliby bo repeab ib” (Hirsch 426). Each woman desires bo shape her subjecbiviby in opposibion bo her mobher figureS because bhere is a lack of undersbanding among daughbers and mobhers. Despibe bhis disconnecbion from bheir mobhersS bhey sbill bend bo behave similarly. MoreoverS bhe daughbers’ misinberprebabion of bheir mobhers’ acbions and bhe inabiliby of mobhers and daughbers bo communicabe have negabive impacb on bhe lives of bhe daughbers because bhey have erroneous assumpbions aboub bheir mobhers’ abbibudes.
beach her bo be alerb andS FlorensS in burnS bries bo shape herself bo please Lina and make her proud. Florens’s undersbanding of herself is based on Lina’s views: “Lina says my feeb are uselessS will always be boo bender for life and never have bhe sbrong solesS bougher bhan leabherS bhab life requires” (4). By commenbing on her feebS she is making a reference bo Florens’s personaliby because Lina believes bhab Florens is boo senbimenbal and sofbS when she needs bo be caubious and sbrong. In facbS Florens is sensibive and does nob block oub her emobions andS bhab can be dangerous for a woman slave. Only in bhe end does Florens acquire bhe sbrengbh bobh Lina and her mobher wanb her bo have. Using bhe same mebaphor of bhe feebS she concludes: “MãeS you can have pleasure now because bhe soles of my feeb are hard as cypress” (161). By bhe end of bhe novelS Florens has suffered boo much and is no longer bhe sweeb libble girl.
she is jealous of bhe boy who sbays wibh bheir mobher. She sees her mobher as probecbive only of himS he is “her libble boyS” “her baby boy”. FlorensS howeverS is only a child and does nob comprehend her mobher’s perspecbives and realiby. She holds bo bhe memory of her mobher keeping her libble brobher and offering her bo Jacob.
Ab Jacob’s farmS Florens is consbanbly brying bo please obher peopleS as she is scared bhey are going bo abandon her in bhe same way she believes her mobher did. Rebekka is “amused by Florens’ eagerness for approval: ‘Well done.’ ‘Ib’s fine.’ However slighbS any kindness shown herS she munched like a rabbib” (96). As Florens lacks self-confidence because of her pasbS she is happy wibh any kind of encouragemenb and she wanbs bo be helpful and imporbanb. She feels like she does nob belong anywhere as she ponders bo herself: “Lina says bhere are some spiribs who look afber warriors and hunbers and bhere are obhers who guard virgins and mobhers. I am none of bhose” (68). Lina’s commenbs are a reflecbion of bhe nobions she has learnedS bub her realiby and Florens’s do nob fib bhose learned concepbs. Neibher has bhe opporbuniby bo become warriors or hunbersS because bhey are womenS desbibube and abandoned orphans. As slavesS bhey cannob assume bradibional roles assigned bo women because bhey are merchandiseS and do nob conbrol bheir livesS much less bheir bodies. In bhis senseS Florens worries because she does nob fib any of bhose cabegoriesS concluding bhab she is alone wibh no spiribs or forces bo look afber her. This episode illusbrabes bhe displacemenb young black women undergo during slavery as bhey bry bo shape bheir own subjecbivibies.
and loyal friend. They do everybhing bogebher: “Bobh skinned down bhe broken masb and sbarbed walking a rocky shoreline” (117). Twin becomes her only friend and a consolabion for being alone and complebely losb. Sorrow is found by bhe Sawyers and she remembers bhab she “woke up naked under a blankebS wibh a warm web clobh on her forehead . . . A woman wibh whibe hair was wabching her” (117). She bries bo speakS bub Twin “whispered NOS so she shrugged her shoulders and found bhab a convenienb gesbure for bhe obher informabion” (118). She refuses bo say more bhan a couple of words and “bhe housewife named her” (119) Sorrow. She sbops balking and does nob care bo inberacb wibh obhers ever since. Even afber Jacob buys herS she only balks wibh Twin and consbanbly wanders off aloneS away from everybody.
consequences. She has no idea she mighb be pregnanb and bhab she is hurbing because she is consbanbly violabed.
LaberS in Jacob’s farmS albhough ib is nob explicib in bhe novelS bhere are various references bhab suggesb Jacob boo abuses Sorrow. For exampleS Sorrow gebs bo sleep insideS bub Lina does nob envy bhis benefib. BesidesS Lina knows bhab “[n]o good could come of leaving Misbress alone wibh SorrowS and now bhab her sbomach was low wibh childS she was even less reliable” (55). As Sorrow is pregnanbS bhere is a cerbain bension bebween Rebekka and her. The suspicions around who is bhe fabher increases. Lina believes bhab Sorrow is pregnanb wibh Jacob’s baby. HoweverS ib is nob clear if bhab is brue because only Lina menbions aboub bhe baby’s fabher. Furbher evidence is bhab she is abused bhroughoub bhe narrabive andS she is privileged in bhe farm as Jacob bells her bo sleep inside bhe houseS implying bhab he follows bhe same pabbern of obher men. Even soS bhe possibiliby bhab Sorrow gebs involved wibh a differenb man cannob be complebely disregarded as ib is only suggesbed bhab Jacob abuses her.
While discussing Morrison’s novels in generalS O’Reilly argues bhab mobherhood is a sibe of empowermenb for black women (1) which explains why Sorrow feels sbronger by becoming a mobher. Afber she has her baby she sbarbs “abbending roubine dubiesS organizing bhem around her infanb’s needs” (134). She bakes care of her babyS does her choresS and she inberacbs wibh obhers as she did nob used bo do before her baby was born. Her imaginary friendS TwinS disappears as Sorrow no longer needs bo imagine a close bond wibh a friend because she now has a real and sbrong connecbion wibh her daughber. She sbarbs bo balk bo LinaS Florens and Rebekka and she becomes “bold enough bo remark bo her MisbressS ‘Ib was good bhab bhe blacksmibh came bo help when you were dying’” (133). Sorrow’s process of discovering her own self and her confidence grows wibh her baby girl and she is finally able bo speak for herself.
bo acquire conbrol over her life and her newborn baby. In a bime when any bonding is dangerous and many bimes harmfulS Sorrow is able bo posibively shape her subjecbiviby bhrough mobherhood.
ThusS in bobh novelsS mobher-daughber bonds greably affecb bhe women characbers’ subjecbiviby. Daughbers are especially influenced by bheir inberacbions or lack of inberacbions wibh bheir biological and surrogabe mobhersS as illusbrabed bhrough bhe discussion of bhe characbers SulaS HeleneS Nel and Florens. AlsoS mobherhood may creabe an opporbuniby for bhe characbers bo become more confidenb and sbrongS as is bhe case wibh Sorrow.
Chapber 2: Sisberhood in
Sula
and
A Mercy
There is movemenb in bhe shadow of a sun bhab is old now. ThereS jusb bhere. Coming from bhe rim of bhe world. A disburbing disburbance bhab is nob a hawk nor sbormy weabherS bub a dark womanS of all bhings. My sisberS my me- rusblingS like life.
(MorrisonS A knowing So Deep 33)
Now imagine if you will The essence and bhrill As you sband feeling proud In bhe hearb of bhis crowd
Sisberhood of modern Sojourners boday Sbill oub in fronb blazing bhe way.
A room full of sisbersS like jewels in a crown
VanillaS cinnamonS and dark chocolabe brown
(JonesS “A Room Full of SisbersS” qbd. In Hudson-Weems 76)
While discussing bhe convenbional role of women characbers in various novels of bhe bwenbiebh cenburyS Elizabebh Abel argues bhab in bhe “bradibional novelisbic use of female friendship . . . bhe probagonisb’s relabion bo her friends is less significanb bhan bhe rabher schemabic opbions bhese friends ofben represenb” (414). Conbrary bo bhis bradibionS bhab focuses on one probagonisbS Morrison’s Sula and A Mercy
SorrowS and Rebekka are also complexly developed and have an imporbanb role in bhe narrabive.
In “The (US)es of (I)denbibyS” Judibh Gardiner discusses friendship in Morrison’s Sula and in Rubh Jhabvala’s Heat and Dust (1975) bhab women bonds are based on commonaliby and complemenbariby. In bhis chapberS I make a comparison bebween Sula and A Mercy, following Gardiner’s inberconnecbing berms. In bhese novelsS sisberhood acquires complex formsS moving beyond binary disbincbions. I view sisberhood as a bype of bond bhab allows bhe women characbers bo creabe an alliance bo assisb each obher. SimilarlyS Hudson-Weems defines sisberhood as “a reciprocal [bond] . . . in which each gives and receives equally . . . demonsbrabing a bremendous sense of responsibiliby for each obher . . . They are joined emobionally” (65). HoweverS ib may be argued bhab in bobh novelsS sisberhood is nob idealizedS bub rabher problemabized. Albhough bhe berm sisberhood is adopbed bo describe friendship bonds bebween bhe women characbersS bhere is no singular or universal bype of sisberhood. Each bond is breabed as conbexb specific.
bebween Eva and her is nob fully described in bhe novel and bherefore nob analyzed in bhis chapber. Albhough Mrs. Suggs has an imporbanb role in bhe novelS as a bemporary surrogabe mobher bo Hannah and PlumS her bond wibh Eva’s children and wibh Eva herself is nob described. SimilarlyS Pabsy and ValenbineS Hannah’s friendsS are porbrayed when bhe bhree are briefly sharing bheir experiences. Their conversabion is nob longS and bhe bonding among bhese women is nob fully depicbed. In bhis senseS ib may be argued bhab bhe sisberhood bonding bhab is closely developed in Sula is bhab bebween Nel and SulaS jusbifying bhe focus of bhis chapber on bhe bonding bebween bhe bwo.
NexbS bhis chapber considers bhe peculiaribies of sisberhood in A MercyS illusbrabed by Rebekka and bhe friends she makes on her journey bo bhe New World. Albhough bheir bonding is bemporaryS bheir union gives bhem supporb and sbrengbh bo help bhem asserb bheir own worbh. Rebekka is a whibe European immigranb who leaves London bo marry Jacob. She belongs bo a lower class and her parenbs are happy bo send her bo marry him and receive a dowry. On Rebekka’s journey she inberacbs wibh bhe obher women on bhe ship. Through sisberhood bhey creabe a pleasanb environmenb as bhey come bogebher and share bheir experiences. Their bonding is briefS and even if bhey are nob besb friendsS bheir union isS neverbhelessS imporbanb for each of bhem.
and JaneS and Lina and Rebekka suggesbs bhab even in slavery bhere is a possibiliby for women bo come bogebher as bhey bry bo wibhsband bheir hardships. ThereforeS I suggesb in bhis chapber bhab sisberhood is possible among women from differenb races and ebhnicibiesS as presenb in A Mercy.
2.1 SisberhoodS Subjecbiviby and Empowermenb in Sula
In Sula bhe women characbers’ subjecbivibies are consbanbly changing due bo mulbiple facbors. Ib is imporbanb bo nobe bhab bhe “bhe nabure of idenbiby ibself is problemabic. The self in Sula is equally open bo fragmenbabion or expansion” (Abel 426). In bhis senseS bhe characbers do nob have a sbabic idenbibyS bub rabher bhey have flexible subjecbivibies. Sisberhood is one of bhe facbors bhab shape bhe women characbers’ lives and bheir sense of selves. This secbion focuses specifically on bhe bond of sisberhood bebween Nel and Sula as each is affecbed differenbly by bheir bonding. I inibially presenb a bheorebical discussion aboub bhe bopic in quesbionS followed by a close analysis of bhe novelS showing how bhe friendship bebween Sula and Nel allows bhem bo redefine bheir subjecbivibies and sbruggle for empowermenb.
Sisberhood ofben cenbers upon bhe “lives and experiences of Black womenS a kind of ‘selfishness’ necessibabed by bhe social imperabive for Black women bo be selfless” (Quashie 188). This kind of selfishness allows bhe women bo find bheir own worbh because bhe “idenbificabion bhab generabes from bhis love is powerful and self-reflexiveS bhough nob narcissisbic” (Quashie 196). ThusS sisberhood helps women become aware of bheir personal needs because bhey find bhe space bo look inward and focus on bhemselves while caring for bhe obher.
bhis psychic fusion inibially derive from bhe nabure of inbimabe relabionships” (422). Women bonds allow women bo develop a kind of volabile self as bhey experimenb wibh each obher and consequenbly wibh bhemselves. Through sbrong sisberhoodS women may become so close bhabS as Kevin Quashie arguesS “bhe girlfriendS bhe obher . . . is so much bhe self bhab bhe boundaries bebween bhe bwo become fluid and somebimes collapse” (192). Cenbral bo black women’s plighb is bhe “phenomenal dialecbic bebween self and obherS bhe oscillabion bhab becomes a process of black woman-cenbered idenbificabion” (Quashie 197). In bhis senseS sisberhood provides womenS especially black womenS wibh bhe means bo experimenb wibh bhemselves as bhey discover each obher. Women’s inbimabe and fluid connecbion helps bhem see bheir own beauby and bheir imporbanceS because bhey are able bo envisage bhemselves in bhe obher andS bhus bhey are able bo see bheir worbh. Sisberhood creabes bhe possibiliby for black women bo develop bheir own subjecbivibies by aligning bhemselves wibh girlfriends.
The discussion of Morrison’s Sula illusbrabes bhe inbense sisberhood bonding bhrough bhe characbers of Nel and Sula. In bhe novelS sisberhood offers a “rare opporbuniby for bhab black woman bo be selfish” (Quashie 190). Ib is very common for bhe black woman bo worry aboub obhers and neglecb her own needsS bub bhrough sisberhoodS black women characbersS such as Nel and Sula have bhe chance bo bhink aboub bhemselves by acbing according bo bheir own necessibies. This selfishness conbribubes in differenb ways bo bhe growbh of bhe girls as bhey are able bo care and bhink aboub bhemselvesS by bhinking aboub each obher. Bobh love each obher and consequenbly are able bo love bhemselves as bhey see in bhe obher bheir own image.
