African America women of Hester Wyatt's era "protested against gender inequity [by challenging] the ‘silent helpmate' image of women" (Dandridge 153). The goal of these women was to "convince…men that women were equally obliged to advance not only their race and denomination, but themselves" (Dandridge 153). However, such action brought about a new obstacle in the quest for gender equality: African American men became infatuated with these women, obliging them to "accentuate the image of woman as saving force rather than woman as victim" (Dandridge 153). Wyatt is a prime case of such a need to conform to the role of a savior rather than the role of a victim when all women really want is to be seen as human. She is illustrated as a healer from …show more content…
Agape love is Greek concept that refers to a love that is "unconditional, self-sacrificing, and volitional" ("Agape"). Eros love is a Greek concept that refers to a love that is "passionate…[and includes] sensual desire and longing" ("Agape"). Eros can essentially be comprehended as erotic love. From the start of the novel, Jenkins uses the concept of agape love to counter "negative historiography by highlighting [Wyatt's] meaningful agape efforts" (151 Dandridge). Wyatt lives to serve others; she is a moral exemplar of agape love. Her position as a member of the Underground Railroad indicates her self-sacrificing nature and her desire to act on the behalf of others, especially those less fortunate. Jenkins "complicates [Wyatt's] agape efforts with the intervention of eros, embodied” (151 Dandridge) by Vachon, who both challenges the agape-driven side of Wyatt and endorses it by adding to it the sexual enjoyment that accompanies the concept of eros …show more content…
Dandridge stresses how eros love is more physical than spiritual, with a “fervor [that] is often inspired by [the] beauty” of the object of desire. Dandridge highlights that eros love is “selfish, intimate, [and] sometimes even antipathetic or diabolic” (Dandridge 152). A stark contrast to agape love, which Dandridge characterizes as “selfless, public, empathetic, and redemptive” (Dandridge 152). Jenkins accomplishes a rare feat in her novel Indigo, uniting agape love with eros love. While Vachon represents instability in the romance plot with [his] carnal lust”, Wyatt represents stability in the romance plot with her compassion and inclination to put the needs of others ahead of her own. Jenkins undermines the antifeminist perspective through Wyatt’s ability to resist losing her agape-driven nature to Vachon’s oftentimes overwhelming eros-drive nature. When Wyatt “incorporates the carnal nature of eros [love]" and Vachon incorporates the compassionate nature of agape love into their relationship, “successful romantic union” (Dandridge 152) is possible. Synthesis of agape love and eros love within Indigo is evidence that Wyatt has “successfully converted” the mischievous and carnal [Vachon]…into an empathetic and beneficent person…[while naturalizing] her own sexuality in the romance” (Dandridge
In the poems, “EΡΩΣ” by Robert Bridges and “Eros” by Anne Stevenson both have similar yet distinct concepts of the God of love. “EΡΩΣ” describes the concept of love as being conflicted between humans view of Eros as the god of love and lust; where as Stevenson’s poem describes Eros as being bruised and beat up as a result of this constant misunderstanding by humanity. Thus, both poems are similar with their description of Eros’ constant struggles with human nature. “EΡΩΣ” by Robert Bridges has a contradictory concept of what humans view as love, thus the negative and positive comparisons are between Eros different angles in love and lust. For instance, Eros is described as both having “exuberant flesh so fair” yet
Anna Julia Cooper’s, Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress, an excerpt from A Voice from the South, discusses the state of race and gender in America with an emphasis on African American women of the south. She contributes a number of things to the destitute state African American woman became accustom to and believe education and elevation of the black woman would change not only the state of the African American community but the nation as well. Cooper’s analysis is based around three concepts, the merging of the Barbaric with Christianity, the Feudal system, and the regeneration of the black woman.
Throughout history, the black woman has always had a multitude of responsibilities thrust upon her shoulders. This was never truer than for southern black women in the period between 1865 and 1885. In this span of twenty years, these women were responsible for their children, their husbands, supporting their families, their fight for freedom as black citizens and as women, their sexual freedom, and various other issues that impacted their lives. All of these aspects of the black woman’s life defined who she was. Each of her experiences and battles shaped the life that she lived, and the way she was perceived by the outside world.
Deborah Gray White was one of the first persons to vigorously attempt to examine the abounding trials and tribulations that the slave women in the south were faced with. Mrs. White used her background skills acquired from participating in the Board of Governors Professor of History and Professor of Women 's and Gender Studies at Rutgers University to research the abundance of stories that she could gather insight from. It was during her studies that she pulled her title from the famous Ain’t I A Woman speech given by Sojourner Truth. In order to accurately report the discriminations that these women endured, White had to research whether the “stories” she was writing about were true or not.
In the city of Akron, Ohio in the year 1851, Sojourner Truth gave a very touching speech at the Women’s Convention that would be remembered for its simplicity, genuineness, and compelling message. Sojourner Truth talked to the Women’s Convention about her personal encounters and difficulties as not only a woman during that time in society, but as an African-American woman. It was her own individual experiences and biblical allusions she used to bond with her listeners and make them respond on both an emotional and intimate scale. By talking about her personal experiences, using repetition in her speech, and making biblical allusions, Sojourner Truth bonds intimately with her listeners to successfully raise a impression of power to beat race and gender discrimination.
In her opinion, white preachers had no idea of how to preach about such trials. Truth was one of America’s first black women to tackle intersectionality before the proper term was even coined more that 100 years later. She challenged, not only white supremacy and slavery as a whole but she also challenged all male abolitionists, white or black. Awareness of the plight of the Black woman was necessary and through Truth’s love for Jesus Christ and her on-fire preaching, she was also able to sprinkle in her intolerance for slavery. Not only did Sojourner Truth forge her way through the abolitionist movement but she also impacted the feminist movement as well. She claimed that the feminist movements in America marginalized Black women and at a women’s suffrage convention, she asked, “Aren’t I a
This passage marks the first of several types of love, and gives us an intuitive
There exists no power as inexplicable as that of love. Love cannot be described in a traditional fashion; it is something that must be experienced in order for one to truly grasp its full enormity. It is the one emotion that can lead human beings to perform acts they are not usually capable of and to make sacrifices with no thought of the outcome or repercussions. Though love is full of unanswered questions and indescribable emotions, one of the most mystifying aspects of love is its timeless nature. Love is the one emotion, unlike superficial sentiments such as lust or jealousy, which can survive for years, or even generations. In the novel The Gargoyle, the author, Andrew Davidson, explores the idea of eternal love between two people, a union that spans over centuries spent both together and apart. Davidson, through the use of flashbacks, intricate plot development and foreshadowing, and dynamic characterization, creates a story that challenges the reader’s preconceived notions regarding whether eternal love can survive even when time’s inevitable grasp separates the individuals in question.
Love, in classical Greek literature, is commonly considered a prominent theme. Love, in present days, always appears in the categories of books, movies, music, etc. Interpreted differently by different people, Love turns into a multi-faceted being. In Plato’s work Symposium, Phaedrus, Pausania, Eryximachus, Aristophane and Agathon, each of them presents a speech to either praise or definite Love. Phaedrus first points out that Love is the primordial god; Pausanias brings the theme of “virtue” into the discussion and categorizes Love into “good” one or “bad” one; Eryximachus introduces the thought of “moderation’ and thinks that Love governs such fields as medicine and music; Aristophanes draws attention to the origin and purposes of Love; Agathon enunciates that the correct way to present an eulogy is first to praise its nature and gifts.
C.S. Lewis, a prestigious author of multiple well-known novels and a former professor at Magdalen College and Cambridge University, furthered his studies at Oxford University. Later on in his life, in fact, the year of the death of his beloved, Joy Davidman, he published a Christian novel, The Four Loves, focused on the four types of human loves, including affection, friendship, Eros, and charity or Agape. According to Lewis, Eros means “being in love” (Lewis 91) and charity refers to selfless giving, while expecting nothing in return. Although the human loves, Eros and charity, are both forms of Godly love, there are differences between the two that set them apart from each other.
The title of this book comes from the inspiring words spoken by Sojourner Truth at the 1851, nine years prior to the Civil War at a Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. In Deborah Grays White, Ar’n’t I a woman her aim was to enrich the knowledge of antebellum black women and culture to show an unwritten side of history of the American black woman. Being an African- American and being a woman, these are the two principle struggles thrown at the black woman during and after slavery in the United States. Efforts were made by White scholars in 1985 to have a focus on the female slave experience. Deborah Gray White explains her view by categorizing the hardships and interactions between the female slave and the environment in which the slave was born. She starts with the mythology of the female slave by using mythologies such as Jezebel or Mammy, a picture that was painted of false images created by whites in the south. She then moves to differences between male and female slavery the harsh life cycle, the created network among the female community, customs for slave families and the trip from slavery to freedom, as well as differences between the female slave and the white woman, showing that there is more history than myth. (White, 5) Thus, bringing forth the light to the hardships and harassment that the black woman faced in the Antebellum South.
“Love is like the sea. It's a moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it's different with every shore.” The main character in Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford, possesses a seemingly unquenchable thirst for affection, and does not rest until she finds the man who is able to offer her the love she desires and believes to deserve. Janie defines love as a fluid force that is different with every man, and transforms with changing circumstances. Janie does not care to be wealthy, or to have high social standing; she wishes to be submerged in a sea of tenderness and to swim through waters of passion, and to be caressed by captivating waves of lust. Her idealistic conception of love and the corresponding desire for it developed from her sixteen-year-old obsession with a bee pollinating a pear blossom in the back yard of her grandmother’s house.
In the Aeneid, love is depicted as an uncontrollable emotion. Venus and Juno promote the romance between Dido and Aeneas. Dido, the queen of Carthage, begins to fall in love with Aeneas, even though she has vowed to her late husband that she would set her “face against marriage” (Virgil 975). Aeneas falls in love with Dido and remains with her in Carthage, even though he knows that he must continue his travel to Rome. Love is a passion which consumes the soul in spite of its will. It is an “inward fire” (Virgil 976). Juno arranges it so that Dido and Aeneas consummate their love in a cave during a storm. Again, mortals have little or no control over their loves. The gods are the ones who cause people to fall in love.
First, to get back on track, it is important to look at the three separate levels of love, and it would make sense to first look at eros. Eros is a romantic love, the kind of love one would have towards a beautiful object, or person. It is that sexual drive that is most apparent at the early stages of a relationship. This could be considered to be the first definition people would think of when questioned about the meaning of love. In fact in a more layman attempt at understanding eros one can think of the feeling one has during a crush, where a person’s affections are aimed at a single individual.
The meaning of love is as intricate and unique as the purpose that it serves. It seems that the nature of love is found in the mind, the body and the soul. In Plato’s Symposium each member of the drinking party gives their own interpretation of love. As each speaker engages in their discourse, the concept of love is evaluated from different angles. According to Phaedrus, homoerotic love is the highest form of love and that sacrificing oneself for love will result in a multitude of rewards from the gods, while Pausanias believes that there are two forms of love: Commonly and Heavenly. As a physician, Eryximachus claims that love appears in every part of the universe, including plants and animals and that protection results from love. Before starting his speech, Aristophanes tells the group that his discussion about love may seem completely absurd, as he explains that in the beginning one body had two people who were eventually split in half by Zeus. This is meant to explain why people are constantly looking for their “other half”. Moreover Agathon, the poet the symposium is celebrating, critiques the previous speakers by stating that they failed to praise the god of love. He claims that love rejects feebleness and embraces youthfulness while also implying that love creates justice, courage and wisdom.