In James Fenimore Cooper’s fiction, ‘women are of central social significance.
[Cooper’s] theme is society, and he defines women as the nexus of social interaction,’
Nina Baym argues1. She claims that the author is not interested in women’s personhood
or individuality, but rather in their usefulness for society. According to Baym,
matrimony is ‘the chief “statement” of the social language’.2 Therefore, if a woman is
apt for marriage, she is socially utile. One of the main aspects of The Last of the
Mohicans is the dichotomy between the half-sisters Cora and Alice Munro, to whom the
concept of social usefulness can be applied. On the one hand, Fenimore Cooper presents
Alice, who is fair, helpless and infant ile, as marriageable. On other hand, Cora, the dark,
courageous and initiated sister, is considered unsuitable for wifehood. Instead of letting
Cora be united in marriage with the Indian Uncas in the end of the novel, the author
decides to kill both of the m. Many of his contemporaries have urged Cooper to change
the unhappy ending. One critic, for instance, writes:
Every event as we go along points to a favourable termination, when just at the
winding up, the design seems to be capriciously reversed, and [Cora and Uncas]
are most summarily and unnecessarily disposed of. The vessel, having braved all
the dangers of her voyage, sinks as she is floating into smooth water.3
1 Nina Baym, ‘The Women of Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales’, American Quarterly 23
(1971), p. 697.
2 Ibid., p. 698.
3 Unsigned review, The United States Literary Gazette, iv (May 1826), pp 87-94,
reprinted in George Dekker and John P. McWilliams (eds.), Fenimore Cooper the
Critical Heritage, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973, p. 100.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Women in Cooper's Fiction and the Concept of Social Usefulness
2. Contrast of Looks and Racial Heritage Between Cora and Alice Munro
3. Character Dichotomy and Gender Expectations in 18th and 19th Century America
4. Adaptability to the Wilderness and Cora's Relation to Native American Culture
5. Racial Miscegenation and Cooper's Ideology of the New World
6. Conclusion: Racial Doom and the Patriarchal American Nation
Objectives & Topics
This academic essay examines the narrative and ideological reasons behind the death of Cora Munro in James Fenimore Cooper's classic novel The Last of the Mohicans. By exploring why the author preferred killing his heroine over permitting her marriage to either Major Duncan Heyward or the Mohican Uncas, the paper investigates the intersection of 18th- and 19th-century gender norms, racial anxieties, and nation-building ideologies in early American literature.
- Application of Nina Baym's theoretical concept of female social usefulness and marriageability
- The stark physical and behavioral dichotomy between half-sisters Cora and Alice Munro
- Gender role expectations in patriarchal frontier society and the perceived threat of female autonomy
- George Dekker's theory of adaptability regarding survival in aboriginal North America
- Cooper's deep-seated anxieties concerning racial miscegenation and multiracialism in the New World
Excerpt from the Book
Justifying Cora Munro’s Death: Social Usefulness in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans
In James Fenimore Cooper’s fiction, ‘women are of central social significance. [Cooper’s] theme is society, and he defines women as the nexus of social interaction,’ Nina Baym argues. She claims that the author is not interested in women’s personhood or individuality, but rather in their usefulness for society. According to Baym, matrimony is ‘the chief “statement” of the social language’. Therefore, if a woman is apt for marriage, she is socially utile. One of the main aspects of The Last of the Mohicans is the dichotomy between the half-sisters Cora and Alice Munro, to whom the concept of social usefulness can be applied. On the one hand, Fenimore Cooper presents Alice, who is fair, helpless and infantile, as marriageable. On other hand, Cora, the dark, courageous and initiated sister, is considered unsuitable for wifehood. Instead of letting Cora be united in marriage with the Indian Uncas in the end of the novel, the author decides to kill both of them. Many of his contemporaries have urged Cooper to change the unhappy ending.
James Fenimore Cooper, however, ignored such criticism and kept his original ending. Nevertheless, the issue of Cora’s death is still open to controversy. This essay will explain why, to the author, killing his heroine was preferable to letting her marry either Major Heyward or Uncas. The composition will achieve this task by, first of all, comparing Cora to her sister Alice. It will furthermore focus on Baym’s concept of social usefulness in the light of gender expectations of 18th and 19th century America and attitudes towards race. Finally, Cooper’s opinion on multiracialism in the New World will be examined.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: Women in Cooper's Fiction and the Concept of Social Usefulness: Introduces the critical framework of Nina Baym regarding female social utility and outlines the central question of Cora Munro's tragic fate in The Last of the Mohicans.
2. Contrast of Looks and Racial Heritage Between Cora and Alice Munro: Details the physical presentation and family lineage of the half-sisters, revealing Cora's partial African ancestry and Alice's pure white heritage.
3. Character Dichotomy and Gender Expectations in 18th and 19th Century America: Contrasts Cora's rational courage with Alice's infantile helplessness, showing how patriarchal gender expectations deemed independent women unsuitable for white matrimony.
4. Adaptability to the Wilderness and Cora's Relation to Native American Culture: Analyzes Cora's affinity with Native American values through Dekker's adaptability model and explains why she was culturally suited to Uncas.
5. Racial Miscegenation and Cooper's Ideology of the New World: Explores contemporary 19th-century racial prejudices and Cooper's deep aversion to racial blending, which strictly precluded marital unions across racial lines.
6. Conclusion: Racial Doom and the Patriarchal American Nation: Concludes that Cooper sacrificed Cora to maintain strict racial and gender hierarchies, envisioning a purely white-dominated future for the United States.
Keywords
James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, Cora Munro, Alice Munro, Social Usefulness, Nina Baym, Gender Roles, Miscegenation, Racial Prejudice, Uncas, Leatherstocking Tales, American Frontier, Patriarchal Society, Adaptability
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this academic work fundamentally about?
The essay explores the underlying literary, social, and racial reasons for the controversial death of Cora Munro at the end of James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Last of the Mohicans.
What are the central thematic areas addressed in the text?
The central themes include literary analysis of early American fiction, 18th- and 19th-century patriarchal gender expectations, racial purity, and attitudes toward multiracialism in the frontier New World.
What is the primary objective of the essay?
The primary aim is to demonstrate why, from Cooper's perspective and ideological context, killing Cora was preferable to allowing her to marry either Major Heyward or the Native American Uncas.
Which scholarly methodology and theoretical frameworks are used?
The paper utilizes close literary analysis combined with critical feminist and cultural theory, primarily drawing on Nina Baym's concept of female social usefulness and George Dekker's notion of wilderness adaptability.
What is discussed in the main analysis?
The main analysis contrasts the appearance, heritage, and character traits of Cora and Alice Munro, evaluates male expectations of female dependence, and addresses contemporary taboos surrounding miscegenation.
Which key concepts characterize the study?
The study is characterized by concepts such as female matrimonial suitability, the dichotomy of dark and fair heroines, patriarchal protectionism, racial doom, and ideological nation-building.
Why is Cora considered socially useless within white patriarchal society?
Cora's self-reliance, courage, and moral authority disrupt the contemporary masculine ideal wherein men derived their honor and purpose from rescuing and protecting helpless, childlike women like Alice.
Why does Cooper reject the potential marriage between Cora and Uncas?
Although Cora possesses the adaptability and virtues admired by Delaware culture, Cooper was fundamentally averse to racial miscegenation and could not endorse the emergence of a mixed-race American lineage.
- Quote paper
- Nina Dietrich (Author), 2002, Justifying Cora Munro's Death: Social Usefulness in Cooper's Last of the Mohicans, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/19971
