History's traumatic effects on African-American women's sexuality and womanhood in twentieth-century fiction

Abstract

My dissertation will draw out the themes of sexuality, womanhood, motherhood, and trauma by deeply analysing multiple female characters in the three chosen novels, Corregidora, Dessa Rose, and A Mercy. In order to properly understand the roots of black women’s identity, I will begin by evoking the historical trauma that first plagued their ancestors. My dissertation made use of Ursa’s, Dessa’s, and Florens’s past in order to understand their identity and truth as black women. I referred to the works of multiple African-American female scholars in order to highlight the atrocities of slavery, just like African-American women writers had done before. This dissertation challenges the cliché and stereotypical ideas that surround African women, especially as slavery itself was built on a preconceived biased myth. I will also attempt to unearth the unspoken truths of what it means to be a black mother, as well as the forced sexual submissiveness towards their white owners.