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AN EXAMINATION OF SISTERHOOD AS AN EMANCIPATIVE CONCEPT IN ALICE WALKER'S NOVELS: MERIDIAN AND THE COLOR PURPLE
Corresponding Author(s) : Kamran Ahmadgoli
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 7 No. 6 (2019): November
Abstract
Purpose of the study: The study aims to examine the concept of sisterhood as an emancipative endeavor to empower and free the Afro-American women in Alice Walker's (1942) novels: Meridian and the Color Purple, through the liberal treatment of Black Feminism.
Methodology: Qualitative research aims to form speculations or facts that are derived from secondary sources. It tries to understand Walker's liberal treatment of sisterhood, in the selected novels, through the radical black feminism, and the feminist liberal lens of bell hooks. The study considered other related critics and scholars to help further illuminate the emancipative notion of sisterhood. The study is a library-based drawn on literary and critical books and articles.
Main finding: The study clarifies the emancipative notion of hooks on Walker's feminist attitude of sisterhood in the selected novels as a privilege to enhance black women's growth and to strengthen the social bond to achieve women's liberation. Simultaneously, the study criticizes the Western oppressive authority as well as the traditional one-sided thinking of mainstream feminism. By a new and liberal reading of hooks' perspective, the study illuminates that the collective power and mass struggle of Afro-American women lead to self-realization and identity.
Implication: This study can be used by scholars and activists to understand how Afro-American women have been undergoing a long process of transformation by radical feminist thinking, from exploitation, domination, and oppression toward the center of social, political and cultural focus.
Originality/Novelty: A new reading of Walker's novels is utilized by the light of bell hooks' emancipative notion of sisterhood.
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- Austin, R. (1992). "Black women, Sisterhood, and the Difference/Deviance Divide". New Eng: Faculty Scholarship. Paper 1342: http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship
- Beauboeuf, L.T. (2003). "Strong and Large Black Women? Exploring Relationships between Deviant Woman-hood and Weight." Gender & Society 17.1 111-121.â€Press. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243202238981 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243202238981
- Bloom, H. (Ed.).(1982). Alice Walker. Chelsea House Publishers.â€
- Collins, P. H. (2002). Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Routledge.†https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203900055 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203900055
- Erikson, E. H. (1993). Childhood and Society. WW Norton & Company.â€
- Freeman, J. (1975). The Politics of Women'sLiberation. New York, David McKay Company.
- Harris, C. (2017). "The Loathsome Den: Sexual Assault on the Plantation" President Lincoln’s Cottage.Vol.1.
- Harley, S.& Rosalyn T.P. (1978).The Afro-American Woman. New York: Kennikat Press.
- Hooks, B. (1982). Ain't I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism. London. Winchester: Pluto Press.â€
- Hooks, B. (2002). Communion: The Female Search for Love. New York: William Morrow, Imprint CollinsPublishers.
- Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for Everybody: South End Press Cambridge, MA.â€
- Hooks, B. (1984). Feminist Theory: Feminist Theory From Margin. Boston: South End Press.
- Hooks, B. (2015). Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315743110 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315743110
- King, C. S.& Pascoe, L. (1969). My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.â€
- McDowell, D. E. (1981): "THE SELF IN BLOOM: ALICE WALKER'S" MERIDIAN". CLA.journal 24.3: 262-275.†https://www.jstor.org/stable/44324839
- O'Reilly, A. (2004). Toni Morrison and Motherhood: A politics of the heart. Sunday Press.
- Schoonmaker, M. E.(1983). "Bringing Up Baby,"In These Times.12-22
- Stein, F. Karen (2014). "Meridian: Alice Walker's Critique of Revolution Author". Black American Literature Forum. Vol. 20, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2904556.
- Tandon, N.(2008). Feminism: A paradigm Shift. Atlantic Publishers & Dist.â€
- Walker, A. (2011). Meridian. New York: Integrated Media.â€
- Walker, A. (2004). In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.â€
- Walker, A. (1982). The Color Purple. New York: Pocket Books.
- Walker, A. (1988). The Third Life of Grange Copeland. New York: Integrated Media.â€
- Willis, S. (1987). Specifying: Black Women Writing the American Experience. University of Wisconsin Press.â€
- Winnicott, D. W. (2018). The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of EmotionalDevelopment. Routledge, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429482410 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429482410
References
Austin, R. (1992). "Black women, Sisterhood, and the Difference/Deviance Divide". New Eng: Faculty Scholarship. Paper 1342: http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship
Beauboeuf, L.T. (2003). "Strong and Large Black Women? Exploring Relationships between Deviant Woman-hood and Weight." Gender & Society 17.1 111-121.â€Press. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243202238981 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243202238981
Bloom, H. (Ed.).(1982). Alice Walker. Chelsea House Publishers.â€
Collins, P. H. (2002). Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Routledge.†https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203900055 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203900055
Erikson, E. H. (1993). Childhood and Society. WW Norton & Company.â€
Freeman, J. (1975). The Politics of Women'sLiberation. New York, David McKay Company.
Harris, C. (2017). "The Loathsome Den: Sexual Assault on the Plantation" President Lincoln’s Cottage.Vol.1.
Harley, S.& Rosalyn T.P. (1978).The Afro-American Woman. New York: Kennikat Press.
Hooks, B. (1982). Ain't I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism. London. Winchester: Pluto Press.â€
Hooks, B. (2002). Communion: The Female Search for Love. New York: William Morrow, Imprint CollinsPublishers.
Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for Everybody: South End Press Cambridge, MA.â€
Hooks, B. (1984). Feminist Theory: Feminist Theory From Margin. Boston: South End Press.
Hooks, B. (2015). Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315743110 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315743110
King, C. S.& Pascoe, L. (1969). My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.â€
McDowell, D. E. (1981): "THE SELF IN BLOOM: ALICE WALKER'S" MERIDIAN". CLA.journal 24.3: 262-275.†https://www.jstor.org/stable/44324839
O'Reilly, A. (2004). Toni Morrison and Motherhood: A politics of the heart. Sunday Press.
Schoonmaker, M. E.(1983). "Bringing Up Baby,"In These Times.12-22
Stein, F. Karen (2014). "Meridian: Alice Walker's Critique of Revolution Author". Black American Literature Forum. Vol. 20, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2904556.
Tandon, N.(2008). Feminism: A paradigm Shift. Atlantic Publishers & Dist.â€
Walker, A. (2011). Meridian. New York: Integrated Media.â€
Walker, A. (2004). In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.â€
Walker, A. (1982). The Color Purple. New York: Pocket Books.
Walker, A. (1988). The Third Life of Grange Copeland. New York: Integrated Media.â€
Willis, S. (1987). Specifying: Black Women Writing the American Experience. University of Wisconsin Press.â€
Winnicott, D. W. (2018). The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of EmotionalDevelopment. Routledge, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429482410 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429482410