A Feminist Analysis of Black Female Characters’ Blindness in Native Son

李金玲

Abstract： The interpretation of black female characters in Richard Wrights Native Son has long been degraded and ignored while the male protagonist consistently attracts the majority of academic attention. Through the scrutiny of the representative black women figures， we may discern the element of blindness to be the most prominent shared feature which turns out to be the inevitable product of double oppressions and discriminations from racism and sexism in the morbid society. For the disadvantaged black women， their path towards the awakening of self-identity and self-fulfillment is bound to be extremely arduous and tortuous.

Keywords：black female characters， blindness， double oppressions and discriminations， racism， sexism， Native Son

一、Introduction

Universally regarded as a ferocious and penetrating denouncement of racial discrimination which went on the rampage in America during the early twentieth century， Native Son， a story about a young black man Bigger Thomas who murders a white lady without deliberation and premeditation so as to call down a fatal calamity on himself in the end， has successfully stirred extended controversies upon the centuries-long ethnic oppression as well as the dislocated fabric of society. Instead of following the stereotyped image of blacks created before who used to resign themselves to adversities and humiliations， Richard Wright exposes a tragic hero who desperately and hysterically rebels and retaliates against the mainstream civilization， which has astonished both black and white groups and surged the mighty waves in the literary and critical world. The characterization of black female figures who mainly serve as the foils of minute significance seems quite far from satisfactory and penetrating. As the three major black female figures in the novel， Mrs. Thomas， Vera， and Bessie share in the formation of their personalities a few similar traits， among which blindness is infiltrated into the portrayal of these black women characters.

二、Blindness of Black Female Characters

The fact that the great majority of black women are sheer illiterates or semiliterates without sharp discernment of the root of their lack of schooling constitutes an inevitable part of， and also gives rise to， their envisagement since it is almost impossible for the disadvantaged female group in the downtrodden colored population to enjoy the same opportunity and right of education as their opposite sex or race.

To begin with， Biggers mother， Mrs. Thomas， is a widowed， uneducated black parent who lacks an article of faith and acts as a continuation of the stereotyped black image of Uncle Tom. In order to seek frantically a sense of safety， the poor woman blindly sticks to the old routine， submits to humiliation， and displays nonchalant and detached attitude towards Biggers plight and prospect. Her pessimistic outlooks upon life together with her concession to the mainstream value not only abandons herself to despair and incongruity， but pushes her children into the state of utter fragility like Vera and Buddy or into the shape of ultra violence like Bigger. She is always complaining and making a great commotion to torment her son whom she considers the fool in the family. Whats worse， the old black woman numbs herself in Christianity so much that she is unable to clearly identify the intangible persecution of racism. She immerses herself in the poison of religion and hopes vainly for a decent afterlife under the glitter of the God in order to alleviate her depression and despair， which seems quite blind， ridiculous and helpless.

Another family member， Vera， the next Mrs. Thomas probably， constantly sings in chorus with Mrs. Thomas to put blame on her brother like an accomplice. Mentally similar to her mother， Vera resigns her role as a humble and feeble black girl and shows little respect or sympathy to her brother. All she knows is to feel scared， make screams， and do sewing work with the aim to eking out a living with exceptional caution. She is too blind to discern the essence of the lopsided social reality so as to act like a puppet controlled under the power of racism.

Blind as much as the two black women mentioned above， Bessie anesthetizes herself with the aid of alcohol and sex. The relationship between Bigger and Bessie is one of sexual urge rather than of real love because of little emotional basis between each other. After Bigger has confessed the murder of a white lady before her， Bessie gets so scared， vexed and helpless that she keeps on mumbling and crying and abandons herself to the mercy of Bigger with weak sense of self-judgment. Tragic is the fact that it is Bessies ignorant and frequent cross-examination that forces the murder exposed before herself and coerces her boyfriend to kill her as well as to get rid of the stupid burden in his process of flight， which has not only aroused profound sigh and sympathy of the world but steered the limelight again towards the tragic fate of blacks caused by blind racism deep-rooted in the unbalanced social structure.

三、Double Oppressions and Discriminations Suffered by Black Women

So explicate is the fact that Richard Wright naturally or half unconsciously leaves the inner complexity of the colored female group out of consideration. With regard to the black female group， their grave spiritual blindness superficially or psychologically is the ineluctable product of the double oppressions and discriminations imposed by both the mainstream white supremacy and the pedantic black patriarchy.

（一） The Bondage of Racism

Compelled to migrate far away from the Continent of Africa to the United States a long time ago， the African-Americans were ruthlessly rent off from their own cultural environment and then rudely grafted into the mingled soil of western culture where the blacks have confronted the desperate status quo of being turned down and shut out from the mainstream society. As a much more vulnerable group within the disadvantaged African-American population， black women have suffered much more rejection and biases than black men from the mainstream society governed by the white culture. Helpless， coward and painful， black women gradually and tacitly take their identity of colored females as granted， numbly accept the mainstream culture and the nasty system， and blindly rest their hope on Gods salvation after their death. However， as a necessary means to control the downtrodden colored people， religion is dominated and employed by the white power with the aim to consolidating the unbalanced social order via blurring and comforting the black community to feel content with all the agony of reality so as to gain happiness proportional to their cumulated pain in their afterlife. For black women， what they really concerns and needs is a sense of safety and peace. Instead of challenging the existing social order， they are seized by great fear towards the white racists so that they would rather better their life via the means recognized in the social atmosphere without making an effort to alter their tragic fates.

（二）The Bondage of Sexism

Traditionally or even primitively， the view that men are superior to women remains as a dominating and condescending custom in the colored community where male chauvinism rages much more furiously. Confined gravely by the effects of sexism， these black female figures are too blind to perceive their own right of equality and capacity for economical independence and self-realization. However， due to the wretched fact that black males could not perform the anticipated role of a powerful man who manage to support the livelihood and enhance the social position of the family， large numbers of black men tend to steer their attack target towards a more disadvantaged group， namely， black women， to vent their grievance and hatred suffered from the white tormenters， thus keeping their meager self-esteem and protecting their twisted male authority. The patriarchal idea which focuses on the absolute male power consistently engrafts into black females the notion that black women ought to take responsibility for black mens deprived virility so that the innocent black women feel obliged to tolerate the verbal or physical violence inflicted by black men in silence. Bigger Thomas， the protagonist who is Mrs. Thomas son， Veras brother， and Bessies boyfriend respectively， serves as an archetypal embodiment of the patriarchal culture and convention in Native Son. From his perspective full of chauvinism， black women closely around him， seem to be too coward and shallow to form an alliance and react against the appalling racism， which re-interprets the melancholy status quo of black females to be persecuted by the patriarchy culture out of sexism discrimination.

四、Conclusion

There is no denying that the three black women figures， surrounded by the twisted society， are utterly blind—blindly ignore the disgusting social organism， blindly complain and remonstrate， blindly endure insults without protest， and blindly indulge or soothe themselves in deceptive illusion. However， it is worth noticing and reflecting with scrutiny that the spiritual blindness which badgers the black female community as a whole is not at all an inherent element flowing in the black vein. It is attributable to the double repressions from the mainstream racism culture as well as the black patriarchal culture interwoven with each other. As a toad under a hammer of dual power， black females have no choice but to take a stand and pave a path which is bound to be exceptionally arduous and tortuous in an effort to put an end to the oppressed and discriminated state of affairs as well as to fulfill the further awakening of the colored race. 【責編 張景賢】