ABSTRACT In this project, I theorize the implications of maternal loss in novels by contemporary African American female novelists. Maternal loss in this project is used to describe a separation of mother and child, specifically daughter, due to a disconnection in communication, death or dislocation. I argue that maternal loss symbolizes loss figuratively and literally. It symbolizes the loss of a distant African past, the loss of freedom, a loss of historical records and a literal/literary loss of black mothers. I note that the experience of maternal loss in the novels causes protagonists to search for Mother. The character must seek a connection with an enabling, maternal figure. Black motherhood has historically been laden with numerous challenges. Discussed by black feminist scholars such as bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins and Angela Davis, these challenges include mothers being disconnected from their children during and after the slave trade, poverty, various forms of abuse and efforts to overcome negative images set forth by dominant society. Contemporary African American female authors examine these challenges in the context of maternal loss, re-memory and third space. They look at the past to see how it impacts the present. However, they also face challenges in writing the maternal stories of the past. The primary challenge they face is trying to write in a void. They attempt to write/rewrite a history that has limited written records and the records that do exist are often thwarted or told from a biased point of view. Thus, black motherhood becomes a site for re-memory. This project examines the use of maternal loss, re-memory and third space to reconstruct black motherhood in Toni Morrison's Sula, Gayl Jones' Corregidora, Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Gloria Naylor's Bailey's Café, and Tina McElroy Ansa's Ugly Ways. It focuses on the use of history and its merge with an idealized space for maternal figures. The maternal figures contemporary black female novelists reconstruct can be linked with a distant African past and vestiges of the rural south. Yet, they are empowered and positioned to reject the historical mandates that have been placed upon them by patriarchal society and male dominance. Through the use of maternal loss, re-memory and third space, contemporary black female novelists create maternal figures that are able to mother on their own terms and in their own way. / A Dissertation submitted to the Program in Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 26, 2012. / Maternal figure, Maternal loss, Motherhood / Includes bibliographical references. / Dennis Moore, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183114 |
| Contributors | Thaxton-Simmons, Andreia (authoraut), Moore, Dennis (committee member), Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities (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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