Representation of Motherhood in African American Literature: A Socio-Cultural and Gender Analysis

Abstract

The research entitled "Representation of Motherhood in African American Literature: A Socio-cultural and Gender Analysis" examines the socio-cultural construction of motherhood and its representation in African American literature. It explores how dominant ideologies, the beliefs and ideas shared by the majority of people such as white supremacist ideology, male supremacist ideology, etc., define the role and responsibilities of black women/mothers. Focusing on the socio-cultural stereotypes that construct the concept of motherhood, this study attempts to inspect the changing values and notions of motherhood over the course of history in literary works. The exploration of the notion and perception of motherhood in African American society and the social construction of black woman's identity as reflected in African American literature, unveil larger contextual issues regarding the interrelationships between race and gender and their implications for understanding the situation of black mothers in contemporary society. This research, therefore, aims at evaluating black mother‘s representation in African American literature from slave narratives to postmodern literary writings, through race and gender dimensions. It explores the meaning and representation of motherhood through the explication, analysis, and assessment of African American literary writings of different historical phases ranging from Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's "The Slave Mother" (1854) to Alice Walker's The Color Purple (1982), where motherhood is a recurrent theme and lifelong commitment. The selected texts deal with social, cultural, race and gender issues that assist in exploring and understanding the construction of motherhood. Using a qualitative methodology while analyzing the narrative events, it utilizes narrative inquiry approach for analyzing and interpreting the selected primary sources. The research employs socio-cultural, race, and feminist insights, especially drawn from black feminist theories, which help explain the intricacies of black mothers. Each theory presents a distinct idea to explore the social and cultural representation of black women/mothers in literary works. In addition, it applies black feminism for sharing the experiences of black women, black mothers in particular. The representation of black motherhood along the historical lines has affected the way black people idealize black mothers in American society. The examination of the works of African American literature reveals motherhood as a social construct and the notion of motherhood changes with changing socio-cultural values. Reflecting on the close association between black motherhood and black family life, this research unfolds changing ideologies from domesticated motherhood to liberated motherhood during different phases of literary and historical development. The study attempts to reveal the evolution of black motherhood from a subjugated and voiceless subject to a vocal source of inspiration for empowerment, and force of resistance for black women to encourage them to struggle against structural racism and sexism.