First Reader Date

Second Reader Date

as I have traveled thus far along my educational journey. To my husband and children,

without your seemingly endless hours of sacrifice, I would not have accomplished all that

I have to this day. We have struggled through this process together. Odair, thank you for

your love and support, as well as pushing me to finish during the moments I grew most

inmensamente. Mirian y Reinel, gracias por todas sus oraciones y apollo. Mami, sin tu

ayuda, no hubiera podido terminar esta obra. Te agradezco con todo mi corazon y te

quiero un monton.

Chapter One—Introduction: Building a Foundation for the Study of Black Female

Identity Relating to Body Image, Hair, and Clothes in Their Eyes Were Watching God

and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.......…………………….…………………...…….1

Chapter Two—Womanism and the Self…..……………………………………………..11

Chapter Three— Coffee Cream and Mud: Body Image as a Source and Reflection of

Importance of Clothing in Their Eyes and Caged Bird………………………………….63

Chapter Six—Conclusion: Future Scholarship……………….………………………….77

Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………...80

attention over the last century, and a significant portion of African American literature

since 1975 was composed by black female writers. Two such renowned works of

African American women’s literature are Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were

Watching God and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In Their Eyes,

Hurston uses the life and trials of the protagonist, Janie, to demonstrate the resilience and

especially her “firm buttocks” and “pugnacious breasts” (Hurston 2). In a similar vein,

Angelou’s Marguerite in Caged Bird develops from a small child who is self-conscious

of her dark skin and unadorned hair into a young lady who discovers the unique

significance and power of her Blackness. She turns these attributes (her body, skin, and

hair), which others often view unfavorably, into sources of strength. Both Hurston and

Angelou convey powerful relations between body image, hair, and clothes throughout

their works, associations that are indirectly and directly connected to their personal

experiences of moving from bondage to freedom.

lives. Hurston’s strong and independent character is evident in the self-assured state of

Janie at the beginning of the novel. Hurston herself was a dynamic writer from the

Harlem Renaissance period who inspired fellow authors of that day to write about her

unconventional and eccentric ways. Renowned African American writers such as

Langston Hughes and Alice Walker describe Hurston’s unusual behavior and her

splendid writing abilities. Hughes writes about her intelligence and friendliness in his

autobiography, stating, “Miss Hurston was clever, too—a student who didn’t let college

a young black child who was shipped between family members living across the country.

Her unstable family life; the rape she suffered at eight years of age; her flirtation with

drugs, alcohol, and prostitution; and her teen pregnancy are representative of a few of the

adversities that could have withheld her from greatness. Angelou triumphed not only

over these personal issues, but also over the bitter stings of racism and segregation. She

climbed mountainous difficulties that once surrounded her and achieved prominence in

lives, with varying personal trials and hurdles to overcome, and shared components of

themselves in their works.

and triumphs, as well as other thematic ideas. Hurston and Angelou use these elements

to depict African American culture and provide a platform for the African American

female’s voice. This evidence of female solidarity is strongly rooted in womanism.

While some may associate works with such emphasis on female identity

criticism, African American female literature is best associated with the theory of

womanism. Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi, author of “Womanism: The Dynamics of the

Contemporary Black Female Novel in English,” describes the essence of womanism

‘womanist.’ That is, she will recognize that, along with her conscious-ness of sexual

issues, she must incorporate racial, cultural, national, economic, and political

considerations into her philosophy” (64). The world of the African American woman is

distinct from that of the white woman. Because of their different experiences, the

predominantly white feminist theory most often cannot incorporate the unique attributes

of African American female experience and culture that are found in various literary

works written by black women.

Walker provides similar definitions of womanism as Ogunyemi; however, she is

generally accredited with developing the concept of womanism as separate from

feminism. For Walker, womanism not only pertains to the “black feminist or feminist of

color,” but it also “[a]ppreciates and prefers women’s culture, women’s emotional

flexibility. . . and women’s strength” (xi). In addition to these concepts, she presents the

etymological root of womanism—“womanish.” Womanish is contextualized in a

common “black folk expression of mothers to female children, ‘You acting womanish,’”

dissecting their unique journeys toward self-actualization.

provide insights into the nature and scope of triple marginalization, whether overt or

implied, and how these attributes (female body, hair, and clothes) serve as catalysts and

symbols of change. Triple marginalization is most accurately defined as the “triple

oppression of black women” on the “axis of race, class and gender, through which their

the social plight of every African American woman (referenced here as a form of triple

marginalization) when she tells Janie, “Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as

fur as Ah been able tuh find out. . . . So de white man throw down de load and tell de

nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand

it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see”

(14). Not only is the Negro woman marginalized because of her social standing in the

lowest tier on the tower of labor, but also because her plight is greater than that of white

and black men as a result of her gender and race. Janie is treated as a mule by her first

husband but goes on to surmount this tragic dominance at the end of the text. Her

individual triumph epitomizes a victory for all of her black sisters. This movement from

equality and greatness.

academia with a deeper understanding of the significance of body image, hair, and

clothes in formulating a distinctly African American stable self-concept by researching

the aspects of these elements as related to black female identity evidenced in the

development of Janie and Marguerite. As one literary scholar, Florence Howe, states,

move forward as a community—male and female—while specifically celebrating the

strength, fortitude, and progress of the female. Interestingly, Deborah McDowell

recognizes the significance of black males in black feminist

relationships with the women around them. As evidence of this female solidarity,

another of Walker’s definitions of womanism is “a woman who loves other women,

sexually and/or nonsexually” (xi). Lovalerie King expounds upon this description of

womanist solidarity, proclaiming, “. . .Walker’s womanist aesthetic describes the

womanist vis-à-vis her relationships with others and with herself [and] stresses

connectedness over separatism. . .” (238). This love between women is evident in Their

“An equally challenging and necessary task ahead of the Black feminist critic is a

thoroughgoing examination of the works of Black male writers” (418). While she

attempts to draw attention to the black female writers who do not receive critical attention

from black male scholars, she does not support the complete separation of the “countless

thematic, stylistic, and imagistic parallels between Black male and female writers” (418).

Therefore, the promotion of African American females does not supplant the black male

but “assumes [womanist inquiry] can talk both effectively and productively about men”

Eyes in the relationship between Nanny and Janie and is epitomized in the scene where

the elderly grandmother obligates the young adolescent to marry Logan Killicks. After

Nanny discovers Janie has been prematurely ushered into what she considers womanhood

after kissing young Johnny Taylor, she fears for Janie’s purity and wellbeing and,

consequently, orders Janie to marry immediately. While Nanny’s behavior could be

considered a marginalization of Janie’s worth as an individual by relegating her to an

unwanted arranged marriage and indicating that Janie’s safety and value in life depend

upon a man, the grandmother believes her actions are in the girl’s best interests. Upon

hearing Janie’s protests, Nanny claims that she does not wish for Janie to marry Killicks

but wants her to have “[marriage]’s protections” and longs to “see [her] safe in life”

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does not love. Therefore, the elderly soul acts in favor of the girl’s wellbeing and does so

as a result of her love for Janie, and in reciprocation of Nanny’s love for her, Janie

ultimately accepts the will of her grandmother. While they are wrapped in one another’s

arms, Janie sobbing and Nanny tenderly comforting her with “soothing pats of the hand,”

Nanny assures Janie of her love, uttering, “Ah loves yuh a whole heap more’n Ah do yo

mama, de one Ah did birth” (15). From this moment forward, Janie only continues to sob

but makes no further protests against the marriage. She understands her grandmother’s

rather misguided intentions come from love, and Janie in turn demonstrates her love for

Nanny by submitting to the elderly woman’s desires. The love these women share

significantly influences Janie’s future and the concept of selfhood she develops.

Demonstrations of female love and questions about the wholesomeness of certain

forms of this love are found in the relationships between Marguerite and Momma, as well

as Marguerite and her mother, and the adolescent’s concerns about lesbianism in Caged

throughout her childhood and adolescence, such as Mrs. Flowers and Miss Kirwin,

Momma, Marguerite’s grandmother, and the woman the young girl simply refers to as

This financial independence and ability to invest during a time of severe poverty

throughout the nation is reflective of Momma’s dedication to responsibility, hard work,

and conscientious thrift. These attributes instill a determination in Marguerite

exemplified by her refusal to be denied the opportunity to work on the streetcars years

later, when she becomes the first African American streetcar worker in San Francisco.

Part of Momma’s scrupulousness with finances is also evident in her emphasis on

sometimes more than twice a day.

ethic and cleanliness in Marguerite, but she also raises the child with religious principles.

Every morning “[d]uring the picking season [Momma] would get out of bed at four

o’clock. . . and creak down to her knees and chant” her prayers “in a sleep-filled voice”

(Angelou 7). She is dedicated to her religion and expects strict compliance from her

grandchildren, who attend church every Sunday, as well as the periodical tent revivals.

Momma’s dedication to hard labor and gratefulness to her god for the blessings of each

day

Marguerite’s mother often encourages her to develop her intellectual

dealing cards, over working as a maid or cook. Marguerite proudly describes her

mother’s resolution to use intelligence before physical strength when she proclaims, “She

wouldn’t bust suds for anybody nor be anyone’s kitchen bitch. The good Lord gave her a

mind and she intended to use it to support her mother and her children” (206). Mother

appears to be the precise opposite of Momma in regards to knowledge and manual labor,

and perhaps it is an amalgamation of these two characteristics in each woman that incites

subconsciously impacts her throughout the text.

Marguerite’s desire to work as a conductorette for the San Francisco streetcar system—a

position that balances physical and intellectual labor.

holds dear. Mother makes various references to praying and god; however, she does not

business partner several times

enough to leave him just this side of death” for cursing her (66). While both of these men

survive their encounters with Mother, Mr. Freeman, Marguerite’s rapist, is allegedly

“kicked to death” by her uncles, and one may safely assume that if Mother does not

personally drive her heel into his body, then she is intimately involved with the scheme

emotions and sensations that lead to a sense of insecurity and doubt about her sexual

orientation. Influenced by the idea that sexual preference is a biological trait with which

one is born, her fears grow stronger as the physical makeup of her body changes,

particularly her “heavy. . . dron[ing] and drummm[ing]” voice (274) and “growing. . .

vagina” (276).

“pocketbook” (275), Marguerite’s fears are assuaged until she sees a female friend’s

naked breasts and the questions return. Interestingly, the adolescent’s fears about

becoming one of the “true freaks, the ‘women lovers’” (273) disappear from the text once

she discovers her pregnancy by the young man she deliberately seduces in order to prove

her “normalcy,” which was “still in question” (282). Perhaps Marguerite simply gives

voice to concerns that rise from a deep-seated discomfort with her body,

In addition to these concepts of womanism, Walker presents the etymological root

of the term, “womanish.” She contexualizes womanish as a common “black folk

expression of mothers to female children, ‘You acting womanish,’” which normally

“refer[s] to outrageous, audacious, courageous, or willful [sexual] behavior” (xi). The

negative connotation of womanish behavior is particularly applicable to Janie’s

father-figure throughout her childhood, or the rape she experiences at eight-years-old;

however, once the consequences of her sexual experiment become reality, the question of

her sexuality and the concern about the emotions she possibly feels toward other females

identity, as a woman and a mother.

10

experience after she permits the young admirer’s “lacerating” kiss (Hurston12). Nanny’s

sudden decision that Janie is “uh ’oman, now. . .” because she demonstrates what the

grandmother considers willful intention to experience sexually impassioned emotions and

sensations of a woman (11). The kiss is innocent in Janie’s mind; however, Nanny

operates under the influence of years as a slave and recently freed black woman living in

a racially-charged environment. Nanny’s affair with her master forces her and the

slaveholder’s newborn child, Janie’s mother, to flee the plantation and hide in the swamp

until news arrives that the Civil War will soon end, and when her daughter, Leafy, is only

seventeen years old, she is raped by her school teacher and left with a child of her own

for which she must care and provide, a responsibility she ultimately abnegates. As a

fears about the girl’s future, Nanny’s decision also results from her intolerance for

ignorant of the life-altering consequences that soon result from this womanishness.

Womanish behavior by a young girl is also unfavorable in the Deep South setting

of Momma’s country store in Caged Bird. After the rape, Marguerite is changed and

now considers herself a woman, which she reveals in the words, “I was eight and grown”

unassuredness in these statements; her young mind, while not comprehending the entire

situation, knows she is different and equates the sexual act with transformation into

womanhood. Despite the fact that Marguerite is too young to understand all of the

progressive changes that lead a female from childlike immaturity to mature womanhood,

she recognizes the physical and emotional changes forced upon her by Freeman.

However, Marguerite struggles with how to behave after the incident occurs and fears the

repercussions of appearing womanish in front of adult females. While she emotionally

feels like their equals, she knows that her age separates her from them, and Marguerite

worries about the negative consequences if one of them, particularly Momma, interprets

her actions as womanish. As a result of this fear, Marguerite decides to find a different

if she refuses her grandmother, then “[Momma] might have thought [she] was trying to

be ‘womanish’ and might have remembered St. Louis” (97). In this instance, Marguerite

is not only alarmed by the consequences resulting from acting womanishly, but also

struggles with the shame

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ten” (139).

at her through a critical lens shaded by the rape. The shame she carries and the fears she

endures not only result from Freeman’s violation, but also the general cultural treatment

of young girls behaving in a manner beyond their years.

Development of the black female self and the journey toward self-actualization

are directly connected with the womanist elements thematized in the novels. Janie’s

journey toward developing a strong female identity and self-actualization progresses

throughout the novel; however, evidence of the fulfillment of this transformation

manifests when Janie arrives home in the evening at the beginning of the text. The time

Janie returns home is significant because the community is its liveliest just before sunset.

In the morning, townspeople presumably wipe the sleep from their eyes, eat a warm

may be intimidating for some women to arrive at a point when the steaming pressure

from the stares of men and women may possibly rise to the point of explosive

embarrassment, Janie is unperturbed by the challenge. She has experienced the world

beyond the small town and has reached a level of maturity, self-understanding, and

individuality that is unaffected by those around her. Janie’s return to the home she left as

a younger woman in bondage and dependent upon a man she did not love is simply a

triumphant stroll through the town’s main streets, which is achieved by a cool disregard

for the barrage of attacks from the revived “skins.”

The willingness with which Janie is ready to face the ridicule of the townspeople

as she walks back to her house is yet another example of her actualized self. Because of

her experiences beyond the simple lives of her former friends and companions, Janie has

a broader perspective on the important matters of life. Therefore, their venomous

chitchat about her, which one can only imagine is all too audible to Janie’s ears, is unable

to permeate the barrier of experience and independence that shields her from attack.

Their “killing tools . . . of laugh[ter]” and “mass cruelty” neither affect Janie’s spirits, nor

persuade her to engage in their battle (2). She refuses to give the other women the

Meisenhelder emphasizes, “Janie’s wisdom and strength—even her regal, almost haughty

indifference toward the gossip of the porch-talkers—indicate a woman. . .not destroyed

by the tragedy of her life but able to transform it” (79). Her state of self-actualization

allows Janie to rise above the petty assailments of the other women and convert her

negative experiences into a teaching tool.

consequently, a fraction higher on the “scale of being” than those valued as livestock.

Whites also regarded mulattoes as a necessary industrial asset, “whose presence reduced

racial tensions, especially in areas where Negroes outnumbered Whites” (15). While the

mulatto’s existence did seem to bring the two races together to some extent (physically

and socially), ebony-hued Blacks grew tired of the favoritism their lighter counterparts

received. Not only did the mulatto slaves have less demanding jobs, but they also “had

access to hand-me-down clothes, better food, education, and sometimes even the promise

of freedom upon the master’s death” (Byrd and Tharps 18). The tension of preferential

treatment by Whites and the resulting bitterness by Blacks trapped mulattoes in the midst

of racial friction that continued to exist over the ensuing centuries. Coard, Breland, and

21

While this colorism exists within the African American population as a whole, the

African American female is particularly touched by its effects. Hill quotes researchers

Neal and Wilson: “Compared to Black males, Black females have been more profoundly

affected by the prejudicial fallout surrounding issues of skin color, facial features, and

hair” (78). The stigmas related to colorism transfer over time and both protagonists of

the novels must recognize and overcome its lasting effects. Consequently, a historical

understanding of the origins related to racial relations between White and Black

populations, as well as within the African American community, illuminates the role of

difference from the Whites surrounding her through a photograph. Because she is raised

in a home with white children and a white family, Janie does not distinguish herself as an

“other”;

herself as the “dark chile” in the image

house helps the young girl find herself in the photograph, pointing to the picture and

saying, “Dat’s you, Alphabet, don’t you know yo’ ownself” (9). After another moment,

the revelation ensues: “Aw, aw! Ah’m colored!” (9). This realization separates Janie

from the people she once saw as her equals. Interestingly, soon after this incident, Janie

and her grandmother move to a different home and physically separate themselves from

such close involvement with the white community for which Nanny works. The

relocation results from a compilation of racially and class-charged events, including how

Janie is treated by the other black children;

white woman forces Janie’s recognition and acceptance of her Blackness and opens a

chasm between races in the child’s mind. While Janie is separated from the Whites as a

child because of her darkness, she encounters a form of segregation within the Black

depiction of Janie’s skin tone beyond the fact that she is most likely a quadroon;

racially-charged hostility the children most likely felt toward her as well. For them, Janie is a light-skinned

folks.

however, it is significant that this information is revealed at a period when Hurston

27

father are white men.

chooses to openly explore racial relationships among African Americans in her depiction

of Janie’s encounter with Mrs. Turner and the occurrences of the murder trial.

differences that separate them

claims are “holdin’ [them]

race of African Americans for their mannerisms, such as their robust laughter;

of dress, with “all dem loud colors” (141); and appearance, comparing a black baby in a

“buggy” to “uh fly in buttermilk” (141). She also has the audacity to question Janie’s

motives for marrying such a dark Negro as Tea Cake, assuming that Janie must have

married him for financial security.

comments and acts as a sounding board, rather than participant, of numerous points of

mulatto dissatisfaction, particularly the anxiety over their general association with dark

Negroes. Nonetheless, Mrs. Turner equates Janie with an even “better”

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Negroes than herself because Janie is lighter than she is, and “[a]nyone who looked more

31

white folk-ish than herself was better than she was in her criteria” (144). While her skin

tone is not the only attribute that contributes to Janie’s Caucasian-like appearance, her

light exterior is an obvious characteristic of her similarity to Whites. When Janie

disregards Mrs. Turner’s attempts to form a friendship, the woman believes Janie is

justifiably ignoring her and has the “right. . . [to] be cruel to her at times” because her

appearance elevates her in the social hierarchy that resembles the “pecking-order in a

chicken yard” (144). Mrs. Turner has succumbed to the White supremacist ideal that

lighter is better; however, Hurston uses this character to demonstrate the ridiculous nature

of such notions. Naomi Pabst contends the “cacklingly humorous” light in which

Hurston portrays the colorist

transposed during the murder trial. Janie is initially accepted by the nomadic people

living “on de muck” and harvesting crops (Hurston 128), but when the crisis with Tea

Cake arises and she is forced to shoot him in order to save herself from his rabid

in the everglades, the dark Negroes in the area demonstrate suspicion of Janie during the

murder trial because of their personal emotional pain and her affinity with Whites.

back of the courtroom and pass their own form of judgment over Janie with “their

tongues cocked and loaded,” which are “the only killing tool[s] they are allowed to use in

the presence of white folks” (186). The white lawyers, judge, and jury members hold the

legal power to decide Janie’s fate, but the Negroes have already decided her guilt. She

shot the man they loved, their friend and workmate, and they make repeated attempts to

testify to how much Tea Cake loved her, his adoring treatment of her, and Janie’s alleged

adulterous behavior; for her betrayal, “[h]anging was too good” (186). The narrator later

recognizes their actions result from their love for Tea Cake, pain at his death, and

misunderstanding of the situation (189); however, their immediate turn against Janie

arguably derives from the racially-charged atmosphere of the courtroom. Susan

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affinity with the White world, “astutely recognize[ing] that race has played a role in her

trial” (Meisenhelder 83). After the judgment, the men complain to one another, “Aw you

know dem white mens wuzn’t gointuh do nothin’ tuh no woman dat look lak her” (189).

In their minds, the white man will not convict a woman who looks so similar to

themselves for doing something most of them want to carry out. While Janie is rejected

by the black people filling the courtroom, she receives affectionate concern from the

Whites, particularly the white women.

spectating, defend Janie’s innocence throughout the trial. Janie notices before the event

begins that the women “d[o]n’t seem too mad” and wishes she could convince the white

women of her story. Meisenhelder purports that these women are swayed in favor of

Janie’s innocence because of the white man’s sympathetic speech that casts her as “an

adoring wife who took her loving husband out of his misery” (81). While the defense of

Janie’s situation undoubtedly affects the audience, Janie notices their friendliness and

immediate sympathy toward her before the trial begins. Perhaps they already heard

women demonstrate a physical alliance with Janie and commiserate with the pain of her

loss when they “[stand] around her like a protecting wall” after the trial (188). Beyond

the natural reliance upon the intelligence of mulattoes and the white population’s

propensity to bond with those that look more physically similar to themselves, the white

people see a woman who has experienced the traumatic pain of shooting the man she

passionately loves because of a debilitating disease. The Whites come to Janie’s defense

not emotionally tied to Tea Cake; additionally, and the white people have a corporeal

connection with Janie. After a short interval of time, Janie’s black oppressors realize the

folly of their conviction and make amends with her at Tea Cake’s funeral. They accept

her back into the fold but only after their emotions subside and their perceptions of Janie

are founded upon the friendships of the past, not the racism of skin tone differences

exposed in the courtroom.

demonstrates the segregation and lack of belonging she faces as a light-skinned mulatto,

Marguerite encounters racism based on her darkness. Marguerite experiences various

forms of oppression throughout Cage Bird because of her skin tone. She, unlike Janie,

Eyes, the narrator expounds upon the racially-charged atmosphere; however, the reader

does not receive much information about Janie’s thoughts and perspective concerning the

issues of racism.

around her, Marguerite’s ebony color forces her to struggle for a positive self-concept.

Marguerite journeys through the process of discovering her racial identity and gradually

living with Momma, her paternal grandmother, in Stamps, Arkansas. At this stage of life

she laments the fact that the wrong color dress can make her “skin look dirty like mud”

and fantasizes about waking “out of [her] black ugly dream” (2). bell hooks attributes

this rejection of the physical self to the idea that “black children have tremendous

difficulty feeling good about their looks” (71), which results from cultural indications

that “blackness is not beautiful” (70). Marguerite also distinguishes her “real hair,”

clothing style, and appetite from the Black population that surrounds her by internally

proclaiming her Whiteness.

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toward Blackness as a small child is negative because “physical beauty has been assessed

in accordance with White aesthetic standards,” and color-based “trauma for black

(22). Consequently, the lack of positive reinforcement or affirmation from adults and the

negative attention she gains from other children result in a low self-concept;

consequently, Marguerite envisions herself as an “ideal” white girl. This preference of

white skin is further heightened when Marguerite visits her birthmother and maternal

grandmother for the first time, both of whom are light-skinned mulatto women.

skin as a “fresh-butter color [that] look[s] see-through clean” (60). Even though the

narrator describes Mother’s other beautiful attributes, such as her smile, the text focuses

on elucidating her skin. Shortly after the description of her mother, the narrator goes on

to describe the skin tone of Grandmother Baxter, who is “a quadroon or an octoroon,

ceremony and the battle against the San Francisco streetcar company. Before the

ceremony begins, the narrator describes a scene of children rushing around in their new

dresses and finely combed hair and reveling in the joy of this distinguishing moment in

their young lives. On her way to the ceremony, Marguerite recognizes that “[t]he faded

beige of former times had been replaced with strong and sure colors” (Angelou 172).

. . nearly white” (61). Grandmother Baxter is a powerful and influential woman who has

political and constabulary sway. The speaker attributes this authority to a variety of

factors, including her pince-nez and “six mean children” (62); however, “her white skin. .

. brought her a great deal of respect” (62). Until this stage of her life, Marguerite has

learned that Whiteness or light-skinned Blackness is preferred and her darkness is

The excitement of the moment floods her with delight, and her perspective changes. She

37

meaningless conversation with insatiable gossips or the communal absence of privacy.

There is no rush in her manner; she effortlessly strides toward her house at just the right

pace—fast enough for onlookers to know she has no intention of explaining where she

has been or what she has done, yet she is slow enough for every man to “sav[e] with the

mind what they lost with the eye” (2). Despite the manly clothes, the confidence

manifested through her body and movements makes her more attractive than ever.

through her body, Marguerite begins developing a positive self-concept of her body and

exploring how to express her budding sexuality. The change in how Marguerite

perceives her body begins when she moves back to Momma’s house after the rape. After

factors leading to this transformation (such as hair growth, the compliment, and racial

very few such words of praise” (159). Her developing self-perception and the affirming

admiration of an adult female, coupled with the ensuing revelation she has about her

racial identity as an African American at the graduation mark the beginning of her

maturation into adolescence and growing adulthood.

with her body once she begins dance lessons. Throughout the text, she continually refers

to herself as awkward and at one point refers to her “cucumber-shaped body with its

knobs for knees, knobs for elbows and, alas, knobs for breasts” (217). Bailey convinces

her to take dance lessons by assuring her “the exercise would make [her] legs big and

widen [her] hips” (217). The thought of improving her physical appeal is irresistible, and

once Marguerite enters dance classes, her fascination with the ability to control bodily

movement and deliberately “occupy space” through fluid motion captivates her (218).

The knowledge and self-discipline she gains through dance give Marguerite new

confidence. She calls dance one of the “allegiances” of her life at the time, an outlet that

gives birth to new forms of self-expression.

arise. Marguerite’s “heavy” voice, large hands and feet, and shapeless figure contribute

to her self-conscious sexuality, and she wonders whether she is one of the “true freaks”—

a lesbian (273).

orientation, Marguerite decides to seduce a young man; however, her resolution not only

derives from confusion about sexuality, but also from her desire to manifest control over

48

that sexuality. What was once abused and ravished by an “[o]ld, black, nasty thing”

to define herself through patriarchal affirmation of her sexuality. While the thought that

she can use her sexuality at her discretion is empowering and brings a new sense of

bodily ownership, her actions are hasty and immature. Henke analyzes the intent of the

sex act when she contends, “When the boy she propositions eagerly complies, Marguerite

at first feels delighted by her successful initiation into heterosexuality, then becomes

through a positive self-concept of her skin tone, body movement, and sexual discretion,

her immaturity and self-violation prohibit total corporeal self-actualization.

the prime of childhood (85), Marguerite now determines to use at her own discretion.

Nevertheless, her plan to prove her heterosexuality results in dissatisfaction and an

unplanned pregnancy.

Janie and Marguerite experience divergent journeys toward self-actualized body-

concepts. As an adult female who has decades more living experience than Marguerite,

Janie attains self-actualization, whereas the young ebony adolescent gradually progresses

toward that goal. Despite the marginalization Janie receives from the White and Black

finds support in her relationships with the Blacks and Whites surrounding her in the

everglades, a form of racial affirmation. Through her various marriages, Janie’s

corporeal identity is tried and eventually released. Tea Cake, the dark black man she

loves more than herself, affirms her beauty and helps her discover independence of mind

and body, as well as sexual delight, and Janie’s self-love and acceptance is expressed

through her body. Similarly, Marguerite expresses the confidence she gains about her

physicality through her body, particularly with the art of dance. Marguerite learns to

appreciate her outer shell and finds strength in her dark color through identification with

other African Americans. She values the strength and fortitude of her race and is

determined to overcome the Euro-centric, White oppression of her people. Despite the

In Their Eyes Were Watching God and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Janie

husband, Joe Starks, becomes covetous of her beauty and forces Janie to hide her hair

with a restricting head-rag. While Janie battles the oppression of her husband,

Marguerite combats the social stigmas related to Black hair. The hair she characterizes

as “black steel wool” is initially a reflection of the self-hating denigration of her

Blackness (22). Because of the emphasis society places on the beauty of Whiteness and

nearly White (mulatto) physical features, Marguerite must fight to accept her Blackness

and value her physicality through a positive self-concept. A comprehensive

understanding of the historical and cultural significance of African hair and the evolving

treatment of African American hair over time illuminates the oppression Janie and

Marguerite encounter and the significance of their struggles to gain freedom through

positive self-concepts of their hair.

of hair can be traced back to the practices of early African tribes. In Africa, societal

distinctions between classes were evident in how an individual adorned his or her hair.

The various tribes throughout the continent had diverging preferences for such

decoration. Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharps discuss a number of these people groups’

insane”; furthermore, group members frequently changed their hairstyles according to

various purposes, including mourning, “attract[ing] someone of the opposite sex[,] or

signal[ing] a religious ritual” (4). In order to achieve these glorious displays, native

Africans often used wood combing tools to manipulate and palm oil to condition the hair

and scalp. When “Europeans first came in contact with the African natives in the

fifteenth century they were astounded by the complexity of style, texture, and adornment

European’s intrigue concerning the unique beauty of African hair faded with the

beginning of the slave trade.

slavery and shipped around the world. Because hair was a social signifier of status and

more ornate arrangements implied higher social ranking, slave traders often shaved their

captives’ hair, which, according to Byrd and Tharps, “was an unspeakable crime” (10).

Slaves from different tribes around Africa were thrust together in foul ship hulls and sent

to various destinations around the world. While these tribes held different standards of

hair adornment, there was a general respect for the art of hairdressing. Hair styles were,

and continue to be, a form of self-expression. By shaving the slaves’ heads, slave traders

the process of cutting an individual’s hair in early African societies was sacred: “Because

a person’s spirit supposedly nestled in the hair, the hairdresser always held a special place

in community life” (5). The stylist had to be the “most trustworthy individual in the

society” (5), and many times only family members performed the task (6). Hair was

treasured to such an extreme not only because of its aesthetic value, its role as a social

signifier, and its ability to house the human spirit, but also because it was a highly sacred

as perform a variety of other spiritual rituals that could harm an individual. The potential

powers of hair to cause harm instilled skepticism about who was permitted to handle it.

Considering the deep reverence and exultation of hair in many African societies, the

traumatic and lasting effects of shaving the slaves’ hair was considerably detrimental

throughout slavery and the ensuing centuries.

upon arriving in the colonies included assimilation and head wrapping.

argues that “[h]air is the basic, natural symbol of the things people want to be. . . and its

social-cultural significance should not be underestimated” (17). He goes on to contend

that “hair type rapidly became the real symbolic badge of slavery” (61). Slaves who

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themselves a more colonized appearance. They frequently attempted these physical

compliances to White culture in order to gain favor with their masters and avoid the

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head” (Byrd and Tharps 17).

degree of othering the field hands experienced.

was not a priority; however, when the slave’s desire to resume these practices

resuscitated, little supplies for treating their hair were available and the practice of head

wrapping became prevalent. Even though African “women could spend hours a day

grooming their hair and arranging it in traditional styles, on the plantations they used

scarves or kerchiefs fashioned from coarse fabric scraps provided by stingy masters to

keep their hair well hidden” (Byrd and Tharps 13). While the desire to cover their heads

about the significance of hair in comparison to skin color and the perceptions of slave

owners: “[O[nce Africans were enslaved, their skin color could be ‘tolerated by masters,’

but not their hair. In fact, the curl of the hair was used to justify the subordination of

Africans, which initiated the tension between hair and people of African descent in the

New World” (7). bell hooks also emphasizes the notion that hair results in othering by

western civilization more so than skin, particularly for women, when she states, “The first

body issue that affects black female identity, even more so than color, is hair texture”

(63). Not only did white slave owners strip slaves of their identity by shaving them, but

White culture also oppressed Blacks because of the consistency of their hair and

derived from a need to protect their shaven scalps from the sun and heat, shame became

the predominant catalyst for using the head wrap. Headscarves, head kerchiefs, and

bandannas evolved from the common practice black women held of keeping their heads

continually covered and became “ubiquitous in slave culture” as a symbol of the

oppression they faced (13). The oppression of Black hair from the time of slavery to the

contemporary age is a social trauma among Blacks evident in Their Eyes and Caged Bird.

through the bondage and suffering of slavery, Joe’s insistence that Janie bind her hair in

public takes on layered meanings in Their Eyes. Slavery was a form of White on Black

oppression, and despite the fact that Janie lives decades after the emancipation of black

hair breaks lak day” (Hurston 30). However, once the common routines of marriage are

established and the glow of the newlywed period fades, Joe shifts his focus from basking

in the beauty of his wife toward warding off the impending danger, from the numerous

single men around him, that threatens his marriage. Joe is particularly aware of this

matrimonial peril because of his role in seducing Janie away from her first husband,

Logan Killicks.

comb, intent on caressing her hair with his tender touch. However, Tea Cake does not

simply run his hands through her hair to stimulate his own senses or satisfy his desire to

touch her soft hair; he combs her hair and picks the dandruff from her head, actions that

are a form of maintenance Janie must routinely perform. Therefore, Tea Cake serves her

through affectionate touch. Susan Meisenhelder elaborates on the intimacy of this

moment and its drastic contrast to Joe’s treatment of Janie’s hair: “Whereas Starks sees

Janie’s hair as a symbol of his control of her, Tea Cake combs Janie’s hair in the spirit of

reciprocity that characterizes their relationship, experiencing pleasure in giving it” (70).

Unlike the men of Janie’s past, Tea Cake concerns himself with giving Janie pleasure and

affirming her beauty. Interestingly, Janie is still unable to trust Tea Cake at this time; she

Janie’s hair is a visual representation of this self-actualized state.

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concept of body image and her return to Eatonville.

patriarchal domination ends with the affirmation of an empowering relationship with a

good man; the freedom she finds is reflected in her uninhibited flowing hair. Janie’s

“great rope of black hair swing[s] [to] her waist and unravel[s] in the wind like a plume”

(2). Like her hair floating in the wind, Janie is free.

freedom. The liberty Marguerite finds in a self-actualized perspective of her hair is less

dramatically illustrated than Janie’s experience, but her revelation is no less important.

Marguerite initially rejects her hair as something ugly and longs to have the long flowing

hair that is socially considered “good”; however, as she matures and begins to accept her

ethnicity and take pride in her heritage as an African American, her perspective

concerning her hair evolves as well. The journey toward a self-actualized concept of

Marguerite’s hair begins at her eighth grade graduation. This moment of Black pride and

solidarity impacts Marguerite’s self-acceptance.

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beauty diminishes as her body-concept gradually, albeit slowly, begins to improve. Long

her hair with traditional methods indicates a rejection of the White standards. Her

decision is another indication of Black solidarity, which helps her develop a more

positive self-concept, even though she must still battle the social stigmas concerning hair

texture similar to hers when boys her age primarily admire girls with predominantly

White features, including “hair ‘[that hangs] down like horses’ manes’” (280).

Consequently, Marguerite moves toward full acceptance of body-image, particularly in

relation to her hair, despite and in spite of what her male peers admire.

concepts concerning hair directly relate to the history of African slaves. As black

women, they must deal with the social stigmas that relate to their hair texture, whether

positive or negative, which have been passed down through generations of ante and

postbellum racism. Janie is forced by her husband to hide her hair in the same manner

African women who were embarrassed by their hair used during slavery. This symbol of

shame and oppression thrust upon Janie by a man she once loved causes division within

herself, but she finds reassurance and love through her relationship with Tea Cake, and