AN ANALYSIS OF THE FEMALE EXPERIENCE IN THE NOVELS OF TONI MORRISON (BLACK, WOMEN)

Recent criticism of black women's novels suggests that a substantial body of recurring images and themes must be identified to speak authoritatively for a black women's literary tradition. My study examines at length a pattern in the processes of self-definition of the major female characters in the novels of Toni Morrison, namely The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1973), Song of Solomon (1977), and Tar Baby (1982). Through a "study of and deep concern for and about people," a character moves from a lack of knowledge of the self, genealogy, history, and little self esteem to an understanding and appreciation of the self, her family, culture, and the ability to accept responsibility for her own life. On the basis of this pattern in the characters' journey toward wholeness, I establish a continuum from which I delineate two major kinds of women characters in Morrison's fiction: the doll baby and the grown-up woman. These terms, which are drawn from a discussion between First Corinthians Dead and her lover Porter in Song of Solomon, provide useful distinctions between the women based on their social class, psychological development, and attitude towards cultural identity. Whereas in general terms the doll baby is one who has lost her "ancient properties," the grown-up woman becomes synonymous with the "tar lady," the woman who in Morrison's words "can hold things together.".;This pattern and the continuum contributes to a more precise terminology with which to describe the development of a black women novelists tradition and some of the commonalities and differences it has with other literary traditions. It, therefore, now needs to be applied first to the works of Morrison's contemporaries and predecessors and then to those of her male counterparts. In addition to providing an approach for examining the ways that Morrison's novels fit into the canon of Afro-American literature and the larger tradition, I also examine several important pedagogical implications that might be useful to teachers and researchers in the areas of American literature and women's studies and in the field of education.