Silenced and Overlooked: The Intersectional Struggles of Women of Color in Ann Petry’s the Street
الباحث الأول:
Taif Abdulridha Raheemah
الباحثين الآخرين:
Samira Sasani
المجلة:
USA
تاريخ النشر:
13 أكتوبر، 2024
مختصر البحث:
AbstractThis research investigates Ann Petry's The Street through Kimberlé Crenshaw's intersectional theoretical framework. The study shall try to see how Petry paints a picture of the intertwined forms of oppression—race, gender, class—that build t…
AbstractThis research investigates Ann Petry's The Street through Kimberlé Crenshaw's intersectional theoretical framework. The study shall try to see how Petry paints a picture of the intertwined forms of oppression—race, gender, class—that build the lives of black women in 1940s Harlem through her work. Specifically looking at the protagonist Lutie Johnson, it will be shown how Petry uses naturalistic and gothic elements to reveal the constraints of intersectionality under which Lutie strives as she fights against societal repression. It scrutinizes how black women are silenced and marginalized within discourses that are purportedly designed for their upliftment, along dimensions of feminism, anti-racism, and socio-political speeches. The methodology involves textual analysis concerning some major recurring themes like structural and political intersectionality, sexual violence as well as domestic abuse interconnected with broader issues concerning the American Dream, urban life, and systemic inequality. The findings reveal that Petry's work underscores compound and multidimensional oppression, bringing to light the need for such extensive and specific scholarship on identity and discrimination. The research concludes that Petry’s narrative remains: a powerful critique of racial and gendered social structures with glimpses into the lived complexities of black womanhood.Keywords:Structural intersectionality, political intersectionality, domestic violence, slavery, racial discrimination.1. IntroductionThe Street, authored by Ann Petry, stands as a profoundly significant piece of literature from the twentieth century. In her work, Petry delves into the life of a protagonist constrained by the intersecting limitations present in society. The narrative centers around the experiences of black women confronting the devastating reality of a world stacked against them. According to McBride (2003), Petry utilizes naturalistic techniques and themes to investigate the limitations imposed by social class in Harlem during the 1940s. The realism that defines the world within The Street serves as the foundation for its narrative. As noted by Jackson and Moody Freeman,
