Pretty Little Slavegirl

In the last two class discussions we’ve had, I’ve been struck by the conversations about art and the representation of slaves in these works.  We saw this in the picture of the kneeling woman with the text, “Am I not a woman and sister?” written above her.  While this is a pro-freedom image, it reinforces notions of slaves as submissive and in need of guidance from the white population rather than strong and forceful in their quest for freedom.  This point was reinforced today when we discussed the sculpture featured in the novel which was owned by the abolitionists and portrayed a black person in a position of servitude with the line “At  Yo’ Service.”  I think that knowing these modes of representation of slaves are important to understanding the novel because they are part of that master narrative which Morrison seeks to dismantle.  Understanding these artistic representations is important because they remind the reader what this novel is pushing against.  Sethe’s associations between the abolitionists and slave owners may seem misguided but it actually reinforces the complexity of racial relationships and Morrison’s refusal to adhere to conventional notions of history.  Instead, Morrison explores the dark and morally ambiguous center of a slave community.  As flawed as her way of coping with being a slave mother is, Sethe’s actions could not possibly be mistaken for being supportive of a system designed to benefit the white slave owners.  Morrison does not represent Sethe as pleading for help from these whites.  Instead, Sethe takes control of her situation by deciding her baby’s destiny will not include life as a slave.  Morrison wrote, “…a pretty little slavegirl had recognized a hat, and split to the woodshed to kill her children.”  This is significant because of Morrison’s description of Sethe as a pretty little slavegirl.  This phrase would have you believe Sethe to be an innocent child, not a woman capable of making a murderous decision.  This contrast serves to heighten the moral ambiguity of Sethe’s character.  This is an ambiguity, which was completely ignored in the artistic representations of slaves that we have discussed.