Essay on the Myths of the African American Woman in Song of Solomon

Defying the Myths of the African American Woman in Song of Solomon

Throughout slavery, myths were created that tainted the image of the African American woman. These myths promote the misconceptions that African American women are promiscuous and are virtually useless. These myths caused these women to be degraded in the eyes of others as well as themselves. In Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon womanhood is defined in ways that have destroyed these myths. Womanhood is defined according to one's sexuality, spirituality, beauty, identity, relationships, and motherhood.

Song of Solomon begins with one of the most arresting scenes in our century''s literature: a dreamlike tableau depicting a man poised on a roof, about to fly into the air, while cloth rose petals swirl above the snow-covered ground and, in the astonished crowd below, one woman sings as another enters premature labor. The child born of that labor, Macon (Milkman) Dead, will eventually come to discover, through his complicated progress to maturity, the meaning of the drama that marked his birth. Toni Morrison''s novel is a romance of self-discovery, a retelling of the black experience in America that uncovers the inalienable poetry of that experience, and a family saga luminous in its depth, imaginative generosity, and universality. It is also a tribute to the ways in which, in the hands of a master, the ancient art of storytelling can be used to make the mysterious and invisible aspects of human life apparent, real, and firm to the touch.

Milkman's independent aunt, Pilate, serves as the best but not the only example of the retention and use of African ways and culture. Pilate is seen as a conjure woman and this fact is made evident by her unnatural birth and the distinguishing feature of being born without a navel. This sets her apart from the rest of the community giving her almost immediate supernatural status. Not only can she be seen as a conjure women she should also be seen as a keeper of African cultural ways. She proves to be the the strength and preservation of her heritage and culture. Pilate in keeping with the African Spiritual culture seeks to repair the relationship of Macon and Ruth at Ruth's request. So with this knowledge gained from what seems, another world source, Pilate gives to Macon's wife Ruth a greenish powder to put in Macon's food to induce him to become sexually active with Ruth again.