This blog contains the innermost thoughts, feelings, and interpretations of students at Columbus State University who are studying early African American literature.
Does Hopkins simply incorporate the fallen woman plot into her narrative? Or does she signify on it -- that is, revise, critique, extend it in some way? ( I think I gave you notes on the fallen woman plot when we did Harriet Jacobs.)
Sappho fits the pattern of a fallen woman. From the notes I have on the Fallen Women narrative, Hopkins defiantly signifies on this theme. Sappho’s has a child out of wedlock due to her upbringing in the South. She keeps this part of her life secretive until John figures it out. She is a very innocent young woman, very much like a typical fallen woman. She has two men competing for her. Actually everyman is drawn to her beauty, but John is “the rake” and Will is the good guy. John is a total creep and Sappho is not attracted to him. His jealousy over her affection for Will leads him to find out about her past and try to keep them apart. Will is the “perfect” man for Sappho and, in the end, they are able to be together despite John’s evil plans.
I know this is very basic and only scratching the surface. End of semester pile up! At least I finished the book!!
I would have to agree that Sappho fits into the fallen woman part in this novel. While she does have the whole secretive past and shameful secret thing down, I have a hard time feeling pity for her though, I guess since she seems to have more opporunities than other characters in the story. when she is all about Will, John tries to torture her by letting her know that he knows about her secret, but in the end she is ok despite. I feel that Sappho was definitely Hopkins method of signifying on the fallen woman character through her extreme melodrama that she exhibits which makes her kind of comedic to me. I feel that this dramatic and partially comedic/pathetic display by Sappho was Hopkins using, yet poking fun at the whole idea of the fallen woman themes throughout literature. Does this display by Sappho Hopkins poking cruel fun at the ideal of the beautiful pale mulatto as the victim and the common practice of forgetting the typical darker members of the black race?
Hopkins very beautifully signifies the fallen woman plot. In chapter XIV: Sawyer Speaks to the League, through Luke, Hopkins sets up the fallen woman plot with the story of Mabelle Beaubean. This story follows the fallen woman plot to a tee; young unmarried woman is taken advantage of, becomes pregnant, and ultimately dies during childbirth along with the child. To add another dimension to the plot, the girl is a young teenage raped by her uncle because her mother is a quadroon . As far as the reader knows Hopkins has simply bestowed upon them another 19th century literary technique, but little do we know at first that she would change it around so significantly. As stated before Hopkins use of the fallen woman plot was executed beautifully! She revised the plot by making Mabelle and Sappho the same person. Instead of killing off the stigmatized woman (Mabelle), she turns her into beautiful, posed, and intelligent woman (Sappho) who eventually gets over her past and proudly raises her child.
Hopkins was definitely making a staunch criticism of the fallen woman plot. How ridiculous and unrealistic to kill off a character for a sexual crime which sometimes is not even her fault! Black and mulatto woman have dealt with that reality for hundreds of years. I also see that by reuniting Sappho and her child, Hopkins was being kind of feminist. A young single woman raising a child alone was not a common thing back then. To me, that ideal even being possible seems a little radical and feminist.
I love what Hopkins did with Sappho’s character! She was a strong woman with a dark past but she was courageous enough not to take the easy way out (by being a fallen woman). I was so excited that she and Alphonse both got the love that they so desperately needed!
Dr. Lape, you were right, I really did enjoy this book!!!!
Sappho could be the "fallen woman" character in this narrative. She seems to view her ownself in that way, considering the way she carries herself, being afraid to open up, very timid. You can clearly tell that she has a secret. One way that Hopkins signifies on the fallen woman narrative is through Sappho's conversation with Mrs. Willis. While they are quilting, Sappho asks Mrs. Willis about how human beings can eliminate all the passion from their lives and be pure like Christ? How can she get rid of the guilt that holds her back? I think Mrs. Willis gives a very unconventional response and Hopkins uses her to put a spin on the idea of the fallen woman. Instead of preaching and telling Sappho she should cast down all her sins and forget about having any feelings, and that she's a horrible person, she tells Sappho that it's good to have some passion; that's what helps give you the drive to be successful at what you do, you have to like it. And she answers Sappho's question about the guilt of sin by saying she believes they are "not held responsible for compulsory sin, only the sin that is pleasant to our thoughts and palatable to our appetites" (154). So she's telling Sappho that she can let go of the guilt if she sinned because she had no choice. She no longer has to be "the fallen woman".
I definitely think that Hopkins signifies on the fallen woman narrative. At the end of the novel we are made certain of what the novel has been hinting at for so long. Sappho is the fallen woman because of her past as Maybelle Beaubean. Although she was brutally raped as a child and had no control over what happened she is still condemned as a fallen woman. She feels a lot of shame throughout the novel which is displayed in her fainting spell at the meeting and in her conversation with Mrs. Willis. Although she knows in her heart that she had no control over what happened to her and it was not her fault, she still feels like she does not deserve love, and rightly so, as many people feel that this makes her a fallen woman and damaged goods. Langley says, "Ambitious men do not marry women with stories like yours!" (320) When Will professes his love to Sappho, she first feels like she does not deserve it, but her heart gives in and accepts his love. She even has a sense of pride. When she looks in the mirror opkins writes, "What would the world say if it could see that brilliant, vivid, flashing beauty that the mirroe gave back to her astonished gaze?" (315) Hopkins also signifies on this theme when we see the union of Sappho and Alphonse. She is no longer ashamed of him and is now able to tell him the truth about herself, that she is his mother, and is actually proud of him. She feels a deep passionate love for him and in that she reverses the role of the shameful fallen woman. Later when we realize that Will does not hold Sappho responsible for what happened and still loves her and wants to be with her, the theme of the fallen woman is again reversed, and the fallen woman, Sappho, is able to come to terms with whhat happened and receive happiness which she truly deserves.
When looking at Hopkins and the fallen woman, I do not think that she signifies on that type of character at all. The fallen woman usually faces her demise from her own hand. The fallen woman gave into seduction into a life of sin. She knew that certain relationships or sex were not good for her, but she craved them and therefore strived for them. She usually was very sexual, and used the sex as a means to destroy not only herself, but the illegitimate child spring forth from that wrongful union. The fallen woman, if she does not die from this hard childbirth, usually descends into the abyss of disappearance, and is never seen again.
Harper on the other hands, transcends the fallen woman narrative by giving the example of Sappho Clark, in saying, yes, she is the fallen woman, but it wasn’t her fault! She was raped at an early age by a man who knew of her purity, her “lily” and “rose” wrapped into one. He knew of her virginity, and watched her and plotted against her to take that virginal robe from her. In the instance of Sappho, she is not a sexual maiden looking for a good time, she is a victim of oppression. Even though she has this illegitimate child, she does die from his birth, rather, she does disappear. In saying this, you could say that Harper borrows from the tradition; however, as we read on in the novel, we see that Sappho not only reappears in her young son’s life, but she regains her position as mother AND she redeems her womanhood AND she finds love and disappears where the story ends, happily married and allows her loving mate’s “sweet hands” to rest inside of her own heart. Sappho is not the fallen woman. She is a victim.
7 comments:
Sappho fits the pattern of a fallen woman. From the notes I have on the Fallen Women narrative, Hopkins defiantly signifies on this theme. Sappho’s has a child out of wedlock due to her upbringing in the South. She keeps this part of her life secretive until John figures it out. She is a very innocent young woman, very much like a typical fallen woman. She has two men competing for her. Actually everyman is drawn to her beauty, but John is “the rake” and Will is the good guy. John is a total creep and Sappho is not attracted to him. His jealousy over her affection for Will leads him to find out about her past and try to keep them apart. Will is the “perfect” man for Sappho and, in the end, they are able to be together despite John’s evil plans.
I know this is very basic and only scratching the surface. End of semester pile up! At least I finished the book!!
I would have to agree that Sappho fits into the fallen woman part in this novel. While she does have the whole secretive past and shameful secret thing down, I have a hard time feeling pity for her though, I guess since she seems to have more opporunities than other characters in the story. when she is all about Will, John tries to torture her by letting her know that he knows about her secret, but in the end she is ok despite. I feel that Sappho was definitely Hopkins method of signifying on the fallen woman character through her extreme melodrama that she exhibits which makes her kind of comedic to me. I feel that this dramatic and partially comedic/pathetic display by Sappho was Hopkins using, yet poking fun at the whole idea of the fallen woman themes throughout literature. Does this display by Sappho Hopkins poking cruel fun at the ideal of the beautiful pale mulatto as the victim and the common practice of forgetting the typical darker members of the black race?
Hopkins very beautifully signifies the fallen woman plot. In chapter XIV: Sawyer Speaks to the League, through Luke, Hopkins sets up the fallen woman plot with the story of Mabelle Beaubean. This story follows the fallen woman plot to a tee; young unmarried woman is taken advantage of, becomes pregnant, and ultimately dies during childbirth along with the child. To add another dimension to the plot, the girl is a young teenage raped by her uncle because her mother is a quadroon . As far as the reader knows Hopkins has simply bestowed upon them another 19th century literary technique, but little do we know at first that she would change it around so significantly. As stated before Hopkins use of the fallen woman plot was executed beautifully! She revised the plot by making Mabelle and Sappho the same person. Instead of killing off the stigmatized woman (Mabelle), she turns her into beautiful, posed, and intelligent woman (Sappho) who eventually gets over her past and proudly raises her child.
Hopkins was definitely making a staunch criticism of the fallen woman plot. How ridiculous and unrealistic to kill off a character for a sexual crime which sometimes is not even her fault! Black and mulatto woman have dealt with that reality for hundreds of years. I also see that by reuniting Sappho and her child, Hopkins was being kind of feminist. A young single woman raising a child alone was not a common thing back then. To me, that ideal even being possible seems a little radical and feminist.
I love what Hopkins did with Sappho’s character! She was a strong woman with a dark past but she was courageous enough not to take the easy way out (by being a fallen woman). I was so excited that she and Alphonse both got the love that they so desperately needed!
Dr. Lape, you were right, I really did enjoy this book!!!!
Sappho could be the "fallen woman" character in this narrative. She seems to view her ownself in that way, considering the way she carries herself, being afraid to open up, very timid. You can clearly tell that she has a secret. One way that Hopkins signifies on the fallen woman narrative is through Sappho's conversation with Mrs. Willis. While they are quilting, Sappho asks Mrs. Willis about how human beings can eliminate all the passion from their lives and be pure like Christ? How can she get rid of the guilt that holds her back? I think Mrs. Willis gives a very unconventional response and Hopkins uses her to put a spin on the idea of the fallen woman. Instead of preaching and telling Sappho she should cast down all her sins and forget about having any feelings, and that she's a horrible person, she tells Sappho that it's good to have some passion; that's what helps give you the drive to be successful at what you do, you have to like it. And she answers Sappho's question about the guilt of sin by saying she believes they are "not held responsible for compulsory sin, only the sin that is pleasant to our thoughts and palatable to our appetites" (154). So she's telling Sappho that she can let go of the guilt if she sinned because she had no choice. She no longer has to be "the fallen woman".
I definitely think that Hopkins signifies on the fallen woman narrative. At the end of the novel we are made certain of what the novel has been hinting at for so long. Sappho is the fallen woman because of her past as Maybelle Beaubean. Although she was brutally raped as a child and had no control over what happened she is still condemned as a fallen woman. She feels a lot of shame throughout the novel which is displayed in her fainting spell at the meeting and in her conversation with Mrs. Willis. Although she knows in her heart that she had no control over what happened to her and it was not her fault, she still feels like she does not deserve love, and rightly so, as many people feel that this makes her a fallen woman and damaged goods. Langley says, "Ambitious men do not marry women with stories like yours!" (320) When Will professes his love to Sappho, she first feels like she does not deserve it, but her heart gives in and accepts his love. She even has a sense of pride. When she looks in the mirror opkins writes, "What would the world say if it could see that brilliant, vivid, flashing beauty that the mirroe gave back to her astonished gaze?" (315)
Hopkins also signifies on this theme when we see the union of Sappho and Alphonse. She is no longer ashamed of him and is now able to tell him the truth about herself, that she is his mother, and is actually proud of him. She feels a deep passionate love for him and in that she reverses the role of the shameful fallen woman.
Later when we realize that Will does not hold Sappho responsible for what happened and still loves her and wants to be with her, the theme of the fallen woman is again reversed, and the fallen woman, Sappho, is able to come to terms with whhat happened and receive happiness which she truly deserves.
When looking at Hopkins and the fallen woman, I do not think that she signifies on that type of character at all. The fallen woman usually faces her demise from her own hand. The fallen woman gave into seduction into a life of sin. She knew that certain relationships or sex were not good for her, but she craved them and therefore strived for them. She usually was very sexual, and used the sex as a means to destroy not only herself, but the illegitimate child spring forth from that wrongful union. The fallen woman, if she does not die from this hard childbirth, usually descends into the abyss of disappearance, and is never seen again.
Harper on the other hands, transcends the fallen woman narrative by giving the example of Sappho Clark, in saying, yes, she is the fallen woman, but it wasn’t her fault! She was raped at an early age by a man who knew of her purity, her “lily” and “rose” wrapped into one. He knew of her virginity, and watched her and plotted against her to take that virginal robe from her. In the instance of Sappho, she is not a sexual maiden looking for a good time, she is a victim of oppression. Even though she has this illegitimate child, she does die from his birth, rather, she does disappear. In saying this, you could say that Harper borrows from the tradition; however, as we read on in the novel, we see that Sappho not only reappears in her young son’s life, but she regains her position as mother AND she redeems her womanhood AND she finds love and disappears where the story ends, happily married and allows her loving mate’s “sweet hands” to rest inside of her own heart. Sappho is not the fallen woman. She is a victim.
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