Ellison's Invisible Man, women are portrayed as either crazy, helpless, motherly figures, or sexual objects. They are all represented in a surface level 2D way, much like they in Wrights Native Son. We never really get to learn each women's story or see them have any character development. In fact, the women are always used as plot twisters, or extra add ons, or even just to set back the narrator, rather than becoming major parts of the story.
For now I'll touch on the Dancer and True Bloods daughter and wife which are the most minor female characters in the novel. The Dancer at the very beginning of the novel was placed into the situation just for entertainment and to throw off the narrator. There was only that brief moment of eye-contact between the two of them where the narrator somehow thinks he can relate to her situation because she looked terrified at what was going on. After that, we hear or see nothing of her again. Next in the story comes True Blood's daughter and wife. These women again are depicted in a way to just get in the way of the narrator. Because of the situation the both of them are in, the narrator did not want Mr Norton to learn of it.
Mary shows up at the narrators biggest time of need, he had just been through an accident at the paint factory and no longer has a job. In her case, Mary is portrayed as a motherly figure and as someone who gives the narrator a place to stay. However, in reality Mary is an independent woman who works to provide for herself and is kind enough to help others in their time of need. Even the narrator takes her for granted by failing to realize she too is struggling yet is still giving him a place to stay. Even though he is living in her house, we don't really get to see a glimpse of who Mary really is as a human being. Even though Mary has done so much for the narrator, once he leaves to take his job with the Brotherhood, Mary's role in the story is pretty much over. While yes, he is instructed to forget his family and personal life, even the narrator himself tries to avoid thinking about Mary at all.
It's hard to tell if Ellison views women this way or if his characters in the novel are made to believe and think that way. The woman from the Brotherhood is a really good example of where it is hard to tell, because it can seem like Ellison thinks feminism is a joke. The most recent addition to female characters in the novel is the woman from the Brotherhood. She is placed into the story to throw the narrator off course, and on top of that she's extremely sexualized. Instead of portraying her as a progressive woman for her time, she's portrayed as this creepy and seductive woman. At multiple times during the narrators interaction with her he thinks she is a spy or someone set to ruin his life from the Brotherhood. It's also ironic that he was sent to deliver this speech on feminism which the narrator clearly knows nothing about. Then ends up going home with this woman from his speech and having a one night stand with her.
Hi, I really liked how you went through every female character (there aren't a lot unfortunately :( ) and broke down how they're merely just objects or elements of a story. You did a good job pointing out that all these women are human beings too, and they have feelings as well - they're not just conveniences or thorns in the path of the narrator. I also agree that the women in Invisible Man who seduces the narrator - she's literally there to take him from one place in town to another. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI think the lack of going in depth about the women in both Invisible Man and Native Son is very prevalent (thats an awkward sentence, but Idk how else to put it). This is especially noticeable with Mary. Mary, for a portion of Invisible Man was a very important character in the Narrators life, and it seemed like she was going to end up being a person that helps the Narrator realize his invisibility, and be present throughout the rest of the Novel. Instead, after the Brotherhood came along. She was pretty much thrown to the side as a character, never to be heard from again, which was surprising. I wonder what Ellison's intentions were when writing Mary and other women in the Novel. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Lili, I think you made very great points in this blog post about the very two-dimensional depiction of women in this novel. I really enjoy the title that you used for this post as well. One could argue that the women in this novel are more invisible than our narrator himself. Their invisibility not only spans to the narrator and other characters in the book, but also Ellison and possibly some readers. We still see this same portrayal of women through many similar works today, whether it be in film, novels, music, etc.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways, the narrator's (and Ellison's) marginalization of Mary is the most surprising of all of these. It's hard to figure out why the narrator is so annoyed by her encouragement that he "play a role" in the community, and there's definite irony in the fact that he's more willing to join a political-activist organization when the offer is made by Brother Jack than he is to pursue any of Mary's suggestions. Her depiction does follow a number of maternal tropes, but she generally seems like such a positive and self-actualized character in this novel who is nothing but kind and generous to the narrator, and he mostly resents her as intrusive and annoying. (At the very end of the story, he is running to try to find her apartment, maybe a kind of "return home" after finally being disillusioned with the Brotherhood, but he never makes it there.)
ReplyDeleteI've seen a few blog posts written about this topic, and I think you make a very clear and strong argument! I agree that Invisible Man portrays women in a non-complex manner and this is also apparent in Native Son. I like how you look at specific characters and examples instead of grouping them all together, and I especially like your observance of Mary's character. I think she is portrayed the most different from the other female characters, however it is still in a very surface level, vague way.
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