Space Imagery In Three Of Toni Morrison's Novels

Toni Morrison is one of the most prominent and prolific writers in African American literature who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in the year of 1993. As a black woman writer, her works are deeply concerned with the destiny of black people, especially with those black women who undergo double oppression from the white world and the male power. In her works, both the'angels'living in their husband's house and the'monsters'rebelling against patriarchal mechanism are depicted to construct their own space and become the leader of it.This thesis is a tentative endeavor to examine the space imageries in Song of Solomon, Sula and Paradise basing on feminist theory. In addition to the introduction and conclusion parts, this thesis is composed of three chapters.The introduction part introduces Toni Morrison and her novels Song of Solomon, Sula and Paradise as well as the current research of these novels from both domestic and overseas academic spheres. It also briefly introduces the relevant theories and the significance of this thesis.Chapter One explores the submissive heroines'living conditions (or angels'life in Patriarchy ideology). Living under their husband's roof, these women are deprived of power to speak and are placed on marginal position in family. They eventually become the Other of their husband. It is clear that these submissive women have to be confined to their husband's prison-like house.Chapter Two mainly deals with the construction of female world. The rebellious female figures construct matriarchal kingdom eventually through challenging the traditional patriarchal principle and deconstructing the male power. Different from those submissive'angels', women figures in this chapter build a woman space of their own and become the leader of it.Chapter Three focuses on the failure of the woman space. On the surface level, rebellious women seem to construct a utopian women-centered place to enjoy the equity with men. At a deep level all the female spaces collapse in the end with the death of the key member of the matriarchy family. It is not surprising to say that such female space is short-lived.Through the analysis, this thesis reaches the conclusion that no matter passive or active, women can not challenge the authority of men thoroughly: the submissive don't have the ability to construct a woman space; the rebellious figures can not prevent its short-lived destiny, although they can construct a female space. Thus it is fair to argue that there is a long way to go for women to construct their own space where they can enjoy real equality.