1 Introduction
In literary criticism Sherley Anne Williams’ novel Dessa Rose is often argued to be “a story of a woman’s triumph in a (white) man’s world” (Beaulieu 40) and the “story of a woman’s passage from slavery to freedom (McDowell 147). The novel, as a postmodern neo-slave narrative, stands as a counter-text to master texts and the slave narratives of the 18th and 19th century and presents “a series of reversals, contradicting conventional expectations with regard to both race and gender” (Beaulieu 31). As McDowell notes, the novel stages the oppositions of “slavery and freedom, orality and literacy, fact and fiction [...] in an untidy network of social and material specifities” (147).
This paper is concerned with the power relations expressed through the “relationship between orality and textuality, between the spoken word that enlivens and the written one that captivates” and their reversal (Rushdy 2004, 99). As a novel, dealing with “oppressive literacy” and “emancipatory orality” Dessa Rose is a novel that directs our attention to the disparity in access to power between those who write master texts and those who produce slave narratives [...]” (Rushdy 1993, 366; 1999, 136).
In this paper this interesting discrepant relationship is going to be analysed on three different levels. On the level of the story of Dessa Rose it is going to be analysed how the southern white author Adam Nehemiah attempts to assume mastery over the slave woman Dessa and how Dessa refuses to be subject to his efforts of subjugation. It will be shown how Nehemiah “reads” Dessa according to his own terms and appropriates her (hi)story in his writing. Furthermore, it will be revealed how Dessa seizes the power of her own voice, how she resists being captivated in Nehemiah’s book and how she eventually makes use of the written word herself. On the level of narrative transmission, it will be described how this struggle between literacy and orality is mirrored and at the same time deconstructed by the way the narrative is mediated. Finally, it will be discussed how Williams’ novel reverses the conventions of the traditional slave narrative and thereby hints at the power disparity that the authors of traditional slave narratives faced in their effort to tell their own stories. As such, this paper is concerned with “the power relations in literary institutions” and “the significance of individual writers’ acts of appropriation” (Rushdy 1999, 135).
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Defying the Power of Literacy
2.1 Adam Nehemiah's Master Text in Dessa Rose
2.2 Dessa's Seizing of the Power of the Word
2.3 Resisting the Prescriptive Pen
3 Exercising the Power of Orality
3.1 The Power of Listening and Speaking
3.2 The Power of Humming and Singing
3.3 Dessa's Final Victory by the Use of Orality and Literacy
4 Reversing Power Relations through Narrative Form
4.1 The Deconstruction of Nehemiah's Master Text through Narrative Transmission
4.2 The Reversal of Slave Narrative Conventions
5 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper examines the power dynamics between orality and literacy in Sherley Anne Williams' novel Dessa Rose, focusing on how the protagonist reclaims her own narrative agency against the oppressive, patriarchal structures represented by the character Adam Nehemiah.
- The subversion of master narratives through oral resistance and song.
- The transformation of memory and identity in neo-slave narratives.
- The deconstruction of traditional slave narrative conventions and power hierarchies.
- The reclamation of voice by the enslaved through communicative acts.
Excerpt from the Book
2.2 Dessa's Seizing of the Power of the Word
In the text of “The Darky” it becomes clear that there is more to Dessa than what Nehemiah reconstructs in his master text. It is apparent through the depiction of Dessa's own thoughts and ideas that she has her very own motives for speaking to Nehemiah.
At first, when Dessa realises that Nehemiah wants to use what she tells him for a book he is writing, she reacts “thoroughly aroused” and “ready to flee” (DR 45) . Her distrust in his writing and literacy in general represents the fear of “the written word” as it often was used as “a potent weapon against people of African descent” (Rushdy 2004, 99), something which Nehemiah also expresses when he attempts to calm Dessa with the words that his notes about her “cannot hurt you now. You've already been tried and judged” (DR 45). Although she is distrustful of Nehemiah's writing and also does not see how her story can “help peoples be happy in the life they sent” as she herself is not “happy when I live it” (ibid. 50), she starts “to look forward to the talks with the white man” (ibid. 53). For Dessa, “they made a break in the monotony of her days” and “[t]alking with the white kept her, for those brief periods, from counting and recounting the cost” of the dreadful violence she and her friends had to resort to during the uprising of the slave coffle to save their own lives (ibid. 54).
Dessa observes that Nehemiah is a little man, “hardly taller than herself” (ibid.) and always keeping “a careful distance between them”, sitting on his chair “always above her, behind her”, thereby displaying his higher hierarchical status and assuming the role of mastering Dessa and getting her in his book (ibid. 56, cf. Basu 391). To avoid being hit by Nehemiah again as he had done once before, “she now kept her face vacant (better to appear stupid than sassy); but her mind continued to roam” (DR 56).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter introduces the novel as a postmodern neo-slave narrative and establishes the focus on power relations between orality and literacy.
2 Defying the Power of Literacy: The chapter analyzes how Adam Nehemiah attempts to control Dessa through his written records and how she actively resists this domestication.
3 Exercising the Power of Orality: This section details how Dessa utilizes speech, humming, and singing to communicate with other enslaved individuals and foster her own freedom.
4 Reversing Power Relations through Narrative Form: The chapter explores how Williams employs polyphonic narrative structures and memory to subvert traditional conventions of the slave narrative.
5 Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes how the novel achieves a total reversal of power, leaving Nehemiah powerless while Dessa secures her own history.
Keywords
Dessa Rose, Sherley Anne Williams, neo-slave narrative, orality, literacy, power relations, Adam Nehemiah, narrative form, deconstruction, memory, agency, slave narratives, subversion, voice, identity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental subject of this research paper?
The paper explores the power struggle between the written word and oral tradition within the context of the American neo-slave narrative, specifically focusing on Sherley Anne Williams' Dessa Rose.
What are the central thematic fields?
The core themes include the tension between literacy and orality, the subversion of master texts, the preservation of individual memory, and the reclamation of agency by enslaved women.
What is the primary objective of the work?
The primary objective is to analyze how Dessa Rose reclaims her own voice and identity by resisting the master's attempts to "reconstruct" her life story through his own distorted, written accounts.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author uses literary analysis, specifically focusing on narrative theory, deconstruction of discourse, and historical context, to examine the power dynamics portrayed in the novel.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main sections cover Nehemiah's attempts to control Dessa through writing, Dessa's use of oral resistance, the role of community in song and speech, and the technical narrative structure that undermines white supremacy.
Which keywords best characterize the research?
Key terms include Dessa Rose, neo-slave narrative, orality, literacy, power relations, and narrative subversion.
How does Dessa Rose use "singing" as a form of resistance?
Dessa uses song as a coded communicative tool that her master cannot understand, allowing her to coordinate with others and assert her agency without Nehemiah's awareness.
How does the novel handle the concept of "truth" in slave narratives?
The novel challenges the certainty of "truth" by contrasting the master's unreliable, institutionalized writing with the protagonist's personal, re-collected, and patterned memories.
In what way does the character of Adam Nehemiah serve as an antagonist?
Nehemiah embodies patriarchal and scientific racism; he attempts to fix Dessa into a predefined, powerless category through his "master text," ultimately failing as his work is discredited.
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- Christina Gieseler (Autor:in), 2012, The Reversal of Power Relations in "Dessa Rose", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/196427
