ABSTRACT

The expected characteristics of the familiar mammy figure and her roles associated with work and responsibility in the context of the ideal white female undergo a shift when we turn to the works of early black female writers. Images now emanate from the perspective of the black female. Aspects of subservience still surround the older black woman, but in many instances these aspects are associated with roles of resistance rather than complicity. In the works of early black women writers, the older black woman emerges as the foremother figure. The construction of the foremother figure is a symbol of resistance in her subversion of the stereotypical mammy image. The position of the foremother, now in the context of the mulatta heroine, reveals a figure of empowerment. The strength of her ability to subvert is thus magnified. Whether the foremother is ideal or flawed, whether she is physically free or enslaved, her powerful language frames the foremother-mulatta relationship in the works of early black female writers.