The Most Important Points in Carby’s Essay
In Hazel V. Carby’s critical essay, “Slave and Mistress: Ideologies of Womanhood under Slavery,” the author describes how the practices and stereotypes of slavery among women were dismantled. Carby highlights how the prevailing ideology of “white Southern womanhood” perpetuated the idea of purity, chastity, and domesticity as the defining characteristics of ideal womanhood (20).
The influence of this concept shaped the prevailing social and cultural norms of the time to which all women were subjected. At the same time, it gave impetus to the development of two opposite worlds of white and black women, which influenced their role as mothers and understanding of their sexuality. White women had to embody an idealized image of purity and virtue, while black women were often shown as hypersexual and lacking the same moral standards.
Literature often discusses how enslaved women were subjected to even greater objectification than enslaved men. That ultimately influenced the methods of combating inhumane treatment and slavery in general. Carby emphasizes the role of black women writers in subverting the day’s dominant ideologies. She states, “black women, as writers, addressed, used, transformed, and on occasion, subverted the dominant ideological codes” (Carby 20-21). Through their stories, these women sought to redefine and reclaim their identities, challenging the stereotypes and oppressive narratives imposed on them. Their works were a form of resistance and a means of asserting their free will and autonomy.
Connections Between Carby’s Work on Slavery and Abolitionist Movement
The topics raised in the chapter can be compared to some of the readings we covered in the course. I want to focus on the abolitionist movement, which sought an immediate end to slavery. It involved activists who used a variety of literary forms, including speeches, pamphlets, and essays, to challenge the institution of slavery.
However, it is interesting that their typical narrative was a “black message inside a white shell,” just as most black women were forced to conform to standards of white femininity (Gates and Smith 83). However, with time, black slaves, particularly women, increasingly spoke about their identity, boldly expressing it and challenging white people. Thus, blacks used various methods as a powerful tool to challenge and subvert the oppressive ideologies of the time.
Works Cited
Carby, Hazel V. “Slave and Mistress: Ideologies of Womanhood under Slavery.” Reconstructing Womanhood: The Emergence of the Afro-American Woman Novelist, Oxford University Press, New York.
Gates, Henry Louis, and Valerie Smith. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. W.W. Norton & Company, 2014.
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