Using the sense God gave ya': The prominence of motherwit in the fiction of African American Southern women writers

Focusing on the fiction of such authors as Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, Tina Mc Elroy Ansa, Ntozake Shange, and Toni Morrison, this study examines the various portrayals of motherwit, using black feminist criticism as a main theoretical framework. Motherwit is an African American folk cultural practice in which mothers teach their daughters (whether actual or fictive kin) ways of living, defining and discussing life in light of race, class, and gender oppression. Pragmatic in nature, motherwit focuses on subjects pertinent to black women from childrearing, herbal healing, relationships (whether with black men, white men or white women), sexuality, religion/spirituality, work, and expression. Although the subjects vary, the overarching theme of motherwit is the balance between survival and resistance.; This work asserts that the African American women protagonists are shaped primarily by their acceptance, rejection, and reexamination of certain tenets of motherwit. Characters like Hurston's Janie, Shange's Effania sisters or Morrion's Sula search for identity through actively engaging with motherwit. Ultimately, the protagonists continue the process of motherwit by offering their own views to the knowledge pool. Personal solutions become community solutions as other women characters learn from the protagonists.; The implications of this study are numerous. First, motherwit offers another way to approach fiction by African American women. Not only could one have a more contextualized view of the portrayals of black motherhood but also insight into the mores and teachings of black mothers. Second, attention to motherwit could add more depth to the critiques of fictional black mothers found in the works of African American male authors. In conclusion, the goal of this study is to contribute to the field of African American literature and criticism.