An Interpretation Of "Grace" From The Perspective Of Postcolonial Feminism

In her ninth novel-A Mercy, Toni Morrison, a famous black female writer describes the sad fates and growth of the females with different races and different identities on the early colonies in the 17th century. In A Mercy, Morrison not only focuses on the endless struggles and difficulties of the black people, but also reveals the reason—slavery that causes the racial discrimination imposed on the whole black nation. In the period of colony, the white people, the native Indians and the black people are all reduced to the slaves. According to Homi Bhabha’s post-colonial concepts, different races’ coexistence results in cultural integration and identity crisis. From the post-colonial feminist point of view, white colonists make other races to be the "other" in order to build a colonial discourse power of which the center is the white people; while women are identified as the "other" by patriarchal discourse power. The black females and Indian females suffer from the mental imprisonment and double oppression composed of colonialism and patriarchy which make them become the "subalterns", so it is difficult to form their self-awareness. A Mercy proposes that females should fight for their fates to get rid of the oppression and mental imprisonment to complete oneself.