Toni Morrison, Paule Marshall, Sherley Anne Williams, and Gayle Jones are contemporary African American women novelists who are keenly aware of and genuinely concerned with Black women and their ability to define themselves. The authors know that Black women live very complex lives and that Black women have been historically removed from that process. Subsequently, their texts enlighten readers about Black women's desire for their own space, a place of refuge fled to by Black women in order to combat the social politics that lead to oppression. Their texts depict and speak to a relatively broad range of Black women's forms of objectification. Sula, Praisesong for the Widow, Dessa Rose, and Corregidora share similar concerns: How does the Black woman respond to an oppressive and patriarchal society? What anti-patriarchal practices are used to combat this oppression? What are some of the specific agents used by Black women implemented to maintain a defined Space? Is obvious accessibility the only reason folklore and vernacular speech are used as a means of self-definition? While many critics and scholars have identified the importance of Black women escaping oppression and objectification, what remains is a more in-depth analysis of the methods involved as the Black women work to define themselves in their own sovereign Space. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2012. / March 19, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references. / Maxine Montgomery, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kathleen Erndl, University Representative; David Johnson, Committee Member; Dennis Moore, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_182791 |
| Contributors | Bryant, Ceron L. (authoraut), Montgomery, Maxine (professor directing dissertation), Erndl, Kathleen (university representative), Johnson, David (committee member), Moore, Dennis (committee member), Department of English (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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