Motherhood In Morrison's A Mercy By Toni Morrison

The social code of the Victorian era places women in a role of obedience. They are expected to fulfill duties such as a mother, keeper of a house, and to be a quiet and “behaved” spouse. The narrator in this story is an obedient spouse, who has become a new mother that experiences postpartum depression. The change in her role sparks a change in her demeanor, causing a “nervous condition”, in which her husband dictates her treatment. John’s treatment of his wife represents the powerless-ness and repression of women during the late nineteenth-century.” (Wilson). John’s authority over her treatment, mimics that of patient to doctor relationship, and further reminds her of her secondary status during the era.

In "A Sorrowful Woman" the wife is depressed with her life, so much so, "The sight of them made her so sad and sick she did not want to see them ever again"(p.1). This wife and mother has come to detest her life, the sight of her family,

While Morrison depicts myriad abuses of slavery like brutal beatings and lynching, the depictions of and allusions to rape are of primary importance; each in some way helps explain the infanticide that marks the beginnings of Sethe’s story as a free woman. Sethe kills her child so that no white man will ever “dirty” her, so that no young man with “mossy teeth” will ever hold the child down and suck her breast (Pamela E. Barnett 193)

One of the most important attributes seldom attributed to women is the innate ability to keep the family as a cohesive whole. Women are the rock in the midst of familial turmoil, the solid foundation on which a husband or head of a household can stand firm. Fully assured that womanhood will stand back of the ranks and take care of domestic needs. Women have qualities that keep the family strong, these unique attributes can divided into several standards. One being the physical aspect of “mother” nature, two virginity representing the religious type of the standard, three is the young bitch who represent the physical state while four is the old bitch who also has a spiritual side of the woman standard. In the Grapes of Wrath by J.

American Literature has always been about men and for men. In this essay, we are going to analyze the women’s role in the book, as inferior and weaker gender.

In a world in which abortion is considered either a woman's right or a sin against God, the poem "The Mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks gives a voice to a mother lamenting her aborted children through three stanzas in which a warning is given to mothers, an admission of guilt is made, and an apology to the dead is given. The poet-speaker, the mother, as part of her memory addresses the children that she "got that [she] did not get" (2). The shift in voice from stanza to stanza allows Brooks to capture the grief associated with an abortion by not condemning her actions, nor excusing them; she merely grieves for what might have been. The narrator's longing and regret over the children she will never have is highlighted by the change in tone

Morrison, through Sorrow’s experience, portrays how motherhood can be salvation for those trying to assimilate into the codified characteristics of the feminine gender. Morrison describes Sorrow with unfavorable imagery marked by a history of misery. Sorrow grew up on a ship, and was the only one that survived the shipwreck. She was later found by the Sawyer and his wife. The wife tried to make Sorrow “mind the geese” (Morrison 140), but this resulted in more trouble than assistance; therefore, the wife put her to “simple cleaning tasks” (Morrison 141), which was still was to no avail. Sorrow’s inability to complete these traditionally feminine tasks conveys that she grew up around very few, if any, women while on the ship and was not trained

Oppression will not last forever. Sooner or later, the oppressed subject will stand up against the oppressor someday and finally attains freedom, dignity, and respect. Mary Wilkins wrote her short story, “The Revolt of ‘Mother’” which mainly focused on a woman to stand up against her authoritarian husband. She wrote it during the time when women had no voice and counted as a second class citizen if not a slave. The writer realized that speaking out was the only chain breaker, especially for the one who was acting as Sara Penn to free others and herself from the cage since she was not treated better than her husband’s cow. Mr. Adoniram, husband of Mrs. Penn, built a new barn for his animals while his wife stayed in an old, wall-paper torn and dilapidated roof home. Moreover, he promised to build her a decent home but he did not fulfill his promise for forty years. In “The Revolt of ‘Mother,’” Mary Wilkins portrays the voiceless wife as mother, second and confided citizen, and protagonist role of women clearly.

Shielded from the atrocities of slavery during her childhood, Jacobs depicts family life among slaves as one that remains intact in a “comfortable home” (29) through the example of her own family. Each member held limited rights along with the ability to work and the privilege to use their earnings as they pleased. It is not until the death of her mistress where she finally begins to feel the effects of slavery in the sudden separation of her family who are “all distributed among her [mistress’s] relatives” (Jacobs 33). The separation of family is one of the most integral subjects of her narrative since “motherhood [plays a great role] in her life” (Wolfe 518). Jacobs appeals to the emotions of her female audiences by contrasting a slave mother’s agonies in her separation from her children with the “happy free women” (40) whose children remain with her since “no hand” (40) has the right to take them away. The separation of families in Douglass’s narrative does call for some pity but the event is not as tragic in comparison to

In Kerstin W Shands’s and Giulia Grillo Mikrut’s collection of essays titled, “Living Language Living Memory Essays on the Works of Toni Morrison” I chose to focus on Lucy Buzacott’s essay “The Black Mother as Murderess: William Faulkner’s Requiem for a Nun and Toni Morrison’s Beloved”. In Lucy Buzacott’s essay she compares Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved to William Faulkner’s Requiem for a Nun. Specifically she compares the similar events that took place in the two novels. The mother and mammy in both novels, who have very different characteristics, murdered the child they were caring for on purpose. She analyzes about what these horrific acts reveal about black maternity after and during slavery. She also discusses what changes when the murder

The outcome of the smallest events, can have an immense impact on an individual's entire life. Toni Morrison's A Mercy, takes place during the late 1600s when the infamous slave trade occurred throughout a majority of the population. The book is told through the perspectives of the slaves, indentured servants, plantation owners, and other individuals present at the Vaark estate. Each of the interracial characters, Florens, Lina, Sorrow, Minha Mae, Jacob, and Rebekka, experienced loneliness and despair from their previous lives, as one simple act of clemency brought them all together in one household. A Mercy best describes Morrison’s book, as it depicts one act of leniency that creates bonds that helps shape the identities of the characters.

Morrison’s Beloved demonstrates the strains of black motherhood under the institution of slavery. Sethe’s identity as an enslaved black woman evokes a double oppression that her black male counterparts failed to receive. Her intersectional identity influences her performance of gender as a black woman. Since she is not white nor free, she lacks the privileges of an Antebellum Southern white woman. Therefore, she must perform gender that is culturally masculine. Southern white women asserted that motherhood was a burden and they lacked control over their lives. Sethe takes control over her life by murdering Beloved to ensure her freedom. Morrison demonstrates slavery’s impact on black motherhood and how Sethe’s treatment of gender and mothering

Toni Morrison’s A Mercy, based in 17th-century America, attempts to highlight systematic issues of religion, slavery, race, motherhood, and more. Morrison illustrates the novel through a plethora of different first-person narratives. Each telling their own story about the challenges of living in 17th-century colonial America. Within the first five pages, Morrison—through Florens narrative—subtly informs the reader of A Mercy’s multiple thematic interpretations. Florens states, “Often there are too many signs…I sort them and try to recall, yet I know I am missing much,” (Morrison, 4). Morrison suggests to the reader that A Mercy is contextually ambiguous, while simultaneously contradictory with each independent

A Mercy, by Toni Morrison, offers a multi dimensional account of institutionalized slavery in early America. The story is developed through a series of diverse perspectives which allow for an effective narration of the socialization of slavery and racial standards. Jacob Vaark, a middle class farmer and the most prominent slaveholder in the novel, presents a critical insight which initiates the discussion of Morrison’s primary objective. While Jacob initially grapples with the concept of forced labor, he ultimately succumbs to slavery when personal ambitions confuse his good virtue. While Jacob hosts numerous slaves, perhaps the most central to the fulfillment of Morrisons message is sixteen year old slave, Florens. Florens too, submits to the construct of slavery as her desires for freedom are extinguished by the manipulations of society. While Morrison discusses countless issues in her novel, the most applicable to the contemporary world is of the surrender of one's identity to an external construct. In the modern context, this surrender is seen through the popular desire to adhere to the formulations of society; just as Florens conforms to the standards of slavehood, people today are expected to conform to the societal construction of gender expectations.

Morrison shows the connection between the importance of finding one’s purpose and interacting with the society. Through Sorrow, Morrison shows how due to the lack of support from others, it is hard to find one's purpose. Sorrow’s lack of motivation stemmed from the lack of engagement she had with other people