Hope In Pursuit Of Selfhood

As one of the most important American black female writers in the20thcentury, PauleMarshall published her first novel Brown Girl, Brownstones in1959. Yet this novel didn’tgain enough popularity after its publication until the Feminist Press reprinted Brown Girl,Brownstones in1981. Since the reprinting of the novel, the book and its author Marshallgradually came into view of critics and readers. In the novel, on the basis of her own lifeexperiences, Paule Marshall tells the strenuous initiation story of a ten-year-old Barbadianblack girl, Selina Boyce, who is a descendent of African immigrants.The thesis adopts spatial criticism, an interdisciplinary literary theory to analyze theprotagonist Selina Boyce’s journey for selfhood in Brown Girl, Brownstones. From threeaspects of the space, familial space, social space and psychological space, it attempts toprobe into all kinds of conflicting and contrasting spaces in this novel which lead to theheroine’s difficult journey from identity crisis, identity seeking to identity construction inher pursuit of selfhood.This thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter One is a brief introduction to theauthor’s family background, life and works, and literary career. Readers can get a summaryof the literature review on Brown Girl, Brownstones. A summary of spatial theory will alsobe included. The body of the thesis is from Chapter Two to Chapter Four, respectivelydiscussing the cultural conflicts which the heroine has gone through and their influences onher journey for selfhood from three aspects: familial space, social space, and psychologicalspace. Chapter Two analyzes how Selina becomes lost in the sharp conflicts of differentfamilial spaces, and how her brown dream is constructed and disillusioned. Furthermore, itexplores how Selina is trapped in the identity crisis. Chapter Three gives a meticulousdiscussion of two kinds of social spaces inside and outside the Barbadian community inwhich Selina has been a wanderer, confused and fluctuated. She is confronted with racismand begins to shape a clear recognition of racism. How she seeks her selfhood with thehelp and guidance of people around her will be explored in this chapter. Chapter Four will discuss the protagonist’s initiation of psychological space and individual space. It exploreshow she goes through the awareness of sexuality and improves the ability to keep betterpersonal relationship. With the maturity of her psychology, the heroine completes theconstruction of her self identity. Chapter Five is the conclusion. It summarizes this paper interms of its successful manipulation and application of spatial changes and conflicts toshow the heroine’s initiation from girlhood to adulthood. The paper also indicates toreaders that Black women should be full of hope for their future life though they, as ethnicminorities, had to suffer many hardships and confusions in the heterogeneous culturebackground at that time.