Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- tion en Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen 14 Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Assuming the role of the African American griotte of her generation, Gloria r Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen o Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Naylor seeks to recover and remember the eroded history of female archetypes yl Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- in order to overcome the pain that a patriarchal, misogynist society has caused a tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Dorothea Buehler N for Black women. Through revisiting and revising Biblical master narratives Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen and Judeo-Christian imagery, Naylor sets out to tell the whole story of a ia Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen r Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- truncated history. In great detail, this book throws light on Naylor’s liter- o l tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen ary revisionism against the backdrop of a radical Black Feminist Liberation G Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Theology and a matrifocal Africana Womanism. In an analysis that fuses the of Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen impact of residual oral narration, geo-psychic spaces, and the rediscovery of a y Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- “T ’ W g tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen here s a ay Jungian mother pattern, it becomes clear that characters and plot symbiotically o l Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen enter into the all-encompassing realm of the feminine, creative life force. It o Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen m is here that Naylor carves out a living space for a new generation of African Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- a P ” American women. os tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen To lTer The ain C Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen al Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen n Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- o tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Biblical Revision and African i ct Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Tradition in the Fictional Fi Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- Cosmology of Gloria Naylor’s e h tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Mama Day and Bailey’s Cafe t Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen n Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen n i Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- o tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen i t Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen i d Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen a r Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- T tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen n Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen a c Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen ri Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- Af tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen d n Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen a Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- n tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen o i Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen is Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen ev Relationen ModerMnen Kuolturden Reela-rne R tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen l Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen a Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen c i Relationen Modernen KultureKn Rela- l ulTuren b tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen i B Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen · Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen er Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- hl tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen relaTionen Band 14 Dorothea Buehler is a graduate from the University of Würzburg. She is current- e Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen u Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen ly working at the English Department at Centralia College in Washington State. B Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen G Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen www.peterlang.de ISBN 978-3-631-63382-3 N Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- PeTeR LANG A tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen L Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Rela- tionen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relationen Modernen Kulturen Relatio- nen Modernen Kulturen Relationen “There’s a Way to Alter the Pain” M oderne K ulturen r elationen Herausgegeben von Gerhard Droesser und Michael Hartlieb Band 14 PETER LANG Frankfurt am Main · Berlin · Bern · Bruxelles · New York · Oxford · Wien Dorothea Buehler “t ’ W here s a ay a P ” to lter the ain Biblical Revision and African Tradition in the Fictional Cosmology of Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day and Bailey’s Cafe PETER LANG InternationalerVerlag der Wissenschaften Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. Zugl.: Würzburg, Univ., Diss., 2011 D 20 ISSN 1619-358X ISBN 978-3-631-63382-3 © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Frankfurt am Main 2012 All rights reserved. All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems. www.peterlang.de The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans, 13:12) Acknowledgments I would like to give thanks to Professor Dr. Jochen Achilles for his continuous support in my academic development. He has shown great patience and under- standing in this "transcontinental" cooperation. His openness to new ideas truly provided fertile grounds for this work. I owe special thanks also to Prof. Dr. Ina Bergmann and Prof. Dr. Dr. Gerhard Droesser for their interest and support. Prof. Droesser’s dedication and interest in my research beyond this project give me great strength and hope. Above all, however, I give inestimable thanks to my family, my parents, my brothers and sisters, and my kind, big-hearted husband Matthew for being with me throughout the ups and downs of this journey. You are always with me. My parents are easily the greatest inspiration to complete this work. Their insatiable curiosity, patience, and persistence are simply awe-inspiring. Thank you for your eternal gifts of love. 8 List of Contents Acknowledgements 7 1. Introduction 11 2. New Wine in Old Skins: Revision of Christian Mythology 24 2.1. Biblical Appropriation in the African American Context 25 2.2. Overview of Naylor’s Revisionism 27 3. The Pillars of Naylor’s Fictional Cosmos 41 3.1. Setting the Tone 41 3.1.1. Bailey’s Cafe: Bible meets Blues 43 3.1.2. Mama Day: A "Lost and Ancient" Song 55 3.1.3. Synopsis 67 3.1.3.1. Reader-Text Interaction 67 3.1.3.2. Nommos: The Power of the Spoken Word 71 3.2. The Ties that Bind: of Mothers, Virgins, and Whores 90 3.2.1. The Biblical Quilt 90 3.2.1.1. Mama Day 91 3.2.1.2. Bailey’s Cafe 98 3.2.2. The Mother Pattern 101 3.2.2.1. Mama Day 103 3.2.2.1.1. The Archmother: Sapphira 104 3.2.2.1.2. The Mediator: Mama Day 112 3.2.2.1.3. The Disciple: Cocoa 118 3.2.2.2. Bailey’s Cafe 121 3.2.2.2.1. Archmothers and Controlling Images 121 3.2.2.2.2. The Tragic Loss of Mother 123 3.2.2.3. Synopsis: The "Othermothers" 133 3.2.3. Sexuality: The Virgin-Whore Dichotomy 138 3.2.3.1. The Soloists of Bailey’s Cafe 141 3.2.3.2. Mama Day: Maternal Body 169 3.2.3.3. Between Culprit and Scapegoat: Negotiating the Male 174 3.3. Geo-psychic Spaces 180 3.3.1. Cosmogony 183 9 3.3.2. Spaces of Otherness 187 3.3.2.1. Home in Ruins: Negotiating the Domestic Space 201 3.3.2.2. Sacred Space, Secret Space 209 3.3.3. Synopsis: The Gendered Space 220 4. Telling the Whole Story 232 4.1. Naylor – the Griotte 232 4.2. Every Mother a Daughter 236 4.3. Naylor’s Literary Activism 240 4.4. Redemption in Writing 243 5. Conclusion 248 Bibliography 253