Toni Morrison's "Beloved" as a Herstory

Inhaltsangabe oder Einleitung

A herstory, contrary to a his-story, is basically history written from a feminist perspective, encompassing and highlighting the truths generally suppressed by male authors or writers. Janet Frame and Sarah Dunant stand as the prime pioneers of this school of narrative fiction and non-fiction.

Apprehending the fact that women in literature are generally represented, instead of being in a position to represent themselves, the novel Beloved by Morrison stands as a herstory, and also fits in the criteria of what eminent feminist Helene Cixous in her article, “Laugh of Medusa” labels as an Ecriture Feminine(880) since she too rightfully believed in the essential need for women to place “themselves into the text” and therefore “into history” (879). Analyzing Morrison’s novel Beloved in this context manifests her aspirations towards not only highlighting the harrowing experience of black slaves in America, but also sheds light upon the gendered American society, where female deviation from social norms was not only deemed a threat to patriarchy but was also an aberration, worth condemnation