The mammy, the matriarch, the Jezebel: beyond controlling images of black female subjects in Their eyes were watching god, Sula, and The women of Brewster Place

Abstract

The present thesis aims at examining how the novels 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' by Zora Neale Hurston, 'Sula' by Toni Morrison, and 'The Women of Brewster Place' by Gloria Naylor, deconstruct long-held controlling images of black women, particularly the Mammy, the Matriarch, and the Jezebel images. In spite of the fact that these works were published in different decades - especially Huston's - their authors tend to dispel the controlling images created by white patriarchy, at the same time they help creating opportunities for new expressions of black womanhood. In order to investigate the deconstruction of these controlling images in the novels, it was first necessary to re-examine Black Feminist theory, advocating that controlling images are created by a patriarchal and racist system, with the purpose of subjugating and demonizing black female bodies. Black feminists such as Patricia Hill Collins, stress the necessity of eradicating derogatory stereotypes and constructing new images based on black women's plural roles in society, therefore opening possibilities for a liberating experience of black womanhood. Characters such as Nanny and Janie, Eva, Hannah and Sula, Mattie Michael and Etta Mae provide this work with powerful illustrations of black women who denied - partially or completely - the places reserved in society for them, consequently deconstructing controlling images white society imposes on them. In sum, all three novels show that, despite all oppression, black women try to live their lives the best way they can, and are not afraid of being who they really are.