Beyond conversion: Examining the audience effect of the rhetorical strategies of nineteenth century black female preachers

As black women, the bodies of Jarena Lee and Zilpha Elaw were imbued with a tainted legacy. They faced the dual challenge of racism and sexism as they attempted to claim their right to be preachers. How did they use their narratives to overcome these challenges? In my paper, I reveal the clever rhetorical strategies employed by these nineteenth-century black female preachers that ultimately reclaim their bodies as instruments of God rather than tainted objects.;In my paper, I compare the readings of several critics as well as perform my own close-reading of Lee's and Elaw's narratives to examine the rhetorical strategies employed. Some of their methods -- appropriation of genre and use of dreams and visions -- have been discussed by other critics. Others, such as their pattern of combining self-deprecation with credit to God, have not. However, none of the strategies have been examined in terms of how they work with one another to deconstruct the reader's preconceived notions of Lee and Elaw and evoke a sympathetic response.;Chapter 1 focuses on challenges that Lee and Elaw face as both black and female persons as well as the awareness which they exhibit regarding these obstacles. Chapter 2 provides an in-depth look at four commonly used rhetorical strategies of the two women, expanding on the available literary criticisms. After gathering all of the evidence of the rhetorical strategies Lee and Elaw use, Chapter 3 shows how they apply them in terms of authentication and re-directing the critical gaze under which they find themselves. I also look at the new legacy that they attempt to leave for the black, female preachers who would follow them.