The body as spectacle: beauty and biraciality in American literature and film, 1852-2002【翻译】

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ABSTRACT
This project discusses the aesthetic representations of biracial (i.e. African
American and Anglo-American) femininity that have persistently occurred in fiction,
non-fiction, magazine and film from the antebellum era through the turn of the twentyfirst
century. It spans the first novel published by an African American (Clotel by
William Wells Brown, 1852) through the Oscar-winning movie Monster’s Ball (2001),
for which the biracial Halle Berry became the first self-identified African American to
win the Best Actress award. Various chapters scrutinize biracial characters that appear in
nineteenth and twentieth century novels and memoirs, while others contemplate landmark
but often controversial films from later generations. Finally, it concludes with an analysis
of the memoirs of several emerging contemporary writers and public figures who accept
and who ultimately embrace all of what they are (e.g. Sadie and Bessie Delany, Having
Our Say, 1993, Bliss Broyard, One Drop, 2007, Danzy Senna, Where Did You Sleep Last
Night, 2009).
While the “tragedy” of the “tragic” mulatta’s existence more obviously connotes
the heroine’s inner torment over her inability to racially “belong,” this project focuses on
interpreting “tragedy” in the literal, visceral sense, via the heroine’s untimely and often
brutal death, and any abuses that she may suffer. Existent research on the tragic mulatta
has minimally addressed the role of appearance and visceral suffering in the heroine’s
life; the causes and consequences of the heroine’s actual, visceral demise are less studied
than the metaphorical or psychological implications of “tragedy.”
2
Abstract Approved: ____________________________________
Horace A. Porter
____________________________________
Title and Department
____________________________________
Date
THE BODY AS SPECTACLE: BEAUTY AND BIRACIALITY IN AMERICAN
LITERATURE AND FILM, 1852-2002
by
Marta Alaina Holliday
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in English
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 2011
Thesis Supervisor: Professor Horace A. Porter
Copyright by
MARTA ALAINA HOLLIDAY
2011
All Rights Reserved
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
_______________________
MASTER'S THESIS
_______________
This is to certify that the Master's thesis of
Marta Alaina Holliday
has been approved by the Examining Committee
for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy
degree in English at the May 2011 graduation.
Thesis Committee: _____________________________________
Horace A. Porter, Thesis Supervisor
_____________________________________
Harilaos Stecopoulos
_____________________________________
Claire F. Fox
_____________________________________
Miriam Thaggert
_____________________________________
Aimee Carrillo-Rowe
ii
This work is dedicated to:
My beloved parents, Marta and Terrance Holliday
My best friend and inspiration, Marissa Manzino
And finally, to the love of my life, Nii Ogyadu Larkai
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing this dissertation was a true labor of love for me, and it has been one of the most
meaningful milestones in my life. Perhaps like any English major, I am always in search of the
perfect words to most eloquently express my ideas and thoughts on paper. However, no two
words that I could put on any page are more beautiful or more sincere than a genuine thank you.
So many people have influenced and inspired me during these past two years, and to all my
mentors, friends and loved ones, I say thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
First and foremost, thank you to my advisor and mentor, Dr. Horace A. Porter. Thank you
so much for your advice and your inspiration. Thank you for encouraging me, as you always
have, to think about the big picture, for helping me to navigate the sometimes uncertain transition
from student to scholar. Above all, thank you for believing in me, for seeing me not merely as
your student, but as someone who can and will eventually make her mark on the academic world.
You were the teacher who saw potential in the seminar paper that I wrote on Passing and the
tragic mulatta archetype, which I first submitted to you in your course on black literary criticism.
You were the teacher who encouraged and inspired me to think about turning that paper into a
larger, long term project, i.e. the dissertation and, after the dissertation, a book-length project.
You have truly inspired me to go far. I am also especially grateful to my other committee
members for their feedback, input, advice and above all their genuine support during the research
and writing process.
To my other committee members, I say thank you so much for everything. To Claire Fox
and Harry Stecopoulos, I have known you and studied under you since my first year at the
University of Iowa. Thank you for being a constant source of support and guidance throughout
my entire life in graduate school. To Miriam Thaggert, thank you for reading drafts of my
chapters, and to helping me navigate the postdoctoral and job market process. To Aimee Carrillo
Rowe, thank you for helping this once shy student realize that she had a beautiful voice that
needed to be heard, loud and clear.
iv
I also send a sincere word of thanks to the innumerable Rhetoric and Literature Students
who have entered my classroom during my six years as a teaching assistant at the University of
Iowa (2005-2011). I have learned so much from you. As the old saying goes, “Some people come
and go from our life quickly; others leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same.”
You are all beautiful, unique and talented individuals. You all have stellar futures ahead of you,
and I expect to hear nothing but great things in your futures. You have all changed my life in
ways that you cannot imagine.
I am indebted to the Dean’s College Fellowship program at the University of Iowa, for
endowing me with much needed financial support throughout my graduate career here. I also
send a heartfelt thank you to everyone at the Sisters of the Academy, including my mentor Dr.
Denise Davis-Maye. I will never forget the SOTA Boot Camp of the summer of 2005, when you
all first came into my life. Thank you for being my cheerleaders, for helping me to keep my head
above water—we made it this far! Thank you also to the mentors of the Yale University Summer
Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program, the Leadership Alliance. Thank you for
making the summer of 2002 so special, and so memorable. It was because of these experiences,
almost one decade ago, that I was even inspired to seriously think about pursuing a PhD.
Thank you to my dear friend Ally Weir. You were the person who first informed me that
Iowa, a state and school that I had never heard of when I was an undergraduate in Westchester
County, New York, was THE best school for English and Writing majors. Had it not been for
you, I never would have come to this school, and so would have never met the wonderful teachers
and friends who changed my life forever.
Thank you, Dr. Leigh Raiford-Cohen. You are one of my dearest cousins, my role
models, my surrogate big sister. Thank you for believing in me. You first encouraged me to apply
to the Yale SURF program, and then to go onto graduate school. Know that I am so proud of you,
and all that you have achieved. Dare I dream to follow in your footsteps one day!
To my kindergarten teacher, Ms. Joan Zatorski, thank you pushing me to challenge
myself. Thank you for never accepting “I can’t” from me. Had it not been for your insistence in
v
the spring of 1988, I would not be where I am today, in the spring of 2011. Thank you to my fifth
grade teacher, Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes. You saw that I had a voice in the many stories,
poems and essays I wrote, and you were the teacher who truly fostered my love of writing.
I send many hugs to my beloved family and friends. To my parents, Marta G. Holliday
and Terrance Holliday, thank you for always being in my corner. You are best friends, and
biggest fans. To my grandmother, Beryl Holliday, thank you so much for your prayers, your
unconditional love through thick and thin. To my aunt Olga Garcia, thanks for always making me
laugh, for seeing that I had something special inside me. To my aunt Beryl, I never forgot how,
when I was ten years old, you told me “You have a beautiful voice—you need to use it!” That
stayed with me forever. To my uncles Rhoderick Holliday and Victor Kay, thanks for giving me a
laugh when I need it. To my cousins, Lindley Farley, and Walter and Rod Holliday, you guys are
my big brothers from another mother. As an only child, that means quite a lot to me.
To Naomi Tesemma, Tiffanny Walsh, Heather Squibb, Jessica Guardino, Adele Holoch,
Wanda Raiford, Jessica Lawson, Dorothy Giannakouros, Amanda Kadrmas, Maggie Pesce, Ram
Wadhwani, Christopher Smith, Mar-li Rollinson, Meaghan McCarthy, Andrea Battle, Felix
Larkai and Dr. Chinwe T. Erike, thank you for your support, your laughter and your love. Thank
you for helping me believe in my dream. You inspire me (and yes, Chinwe, I still promise to give
you an autographed copy of my first book!). To my classmates in the English graduate
department at Iowa, thank you for your encouragement, and your laughter. Thank you for the
many good times we have shared.
To Ina and Jerry Loewenberg, you were the very first new friends I made in Iowa. Thank
you for the countless lunches, Mother’s Day brunches, and outings shared. Thank you for making
Iowa City seem more like a home to me, and for being my surrogate family. I never imagined that
the postgraduate years would fly by so fast, and now it is surreal and bittersweet to know that I
made it to the end of the road!
Marissa Manzino, you are my best friend and little sister. You are the other half of my
heart. You are my best audience and biggest fan, my rock and my shoulder to lean on. We have
vi
been best friends for ten years this year; may we live to see 100 more years of best friendship and
sisterhood. I love you with all my heart.
To Keniyah Larkai, you are the daughter of my heart. Thank you for your sunshine, your
smile, your laughter, your hugs. I am blessed to have you as a part of my life. The sky is your
limit. One day circa 2037 I expect to see you walk across the stage in your velvet robes, with your
doctorate in hand, ready to conquer the world as I know you will.
Lastly, to Nii Larkai. Thank you for being you. You are the very love of my life. You
entered my life, and my life was never the same after. You are my everything. No words could
ever fully express how much you mean to me. You are my rock, my best friend, my other half.
You make me laugh, you hold me when I am sad, and you helped me stay sane when the writer’s
block made me feel like tearing my hair out! I can’t imagine my life without you. I love you
dearly.
vii
ABSTRACT
This project discusses the aesthetic representations of biracial (i.e. African American and Anglo-
American) femininity that have persistently occurred in fiction, non-fiction, magazine and film
from the antebellum era through the turn of the twenty-first century. It spans the first novel
published by an African American (Clotel by William Wells Brown, 1852) through the Oscarwinning
movie Monster’s Ball (2001), for which the biracial Halle Berry became the first selfidentified
African American to win the Best Actress award. Various chapters scrutinize biracial
characters that appear in nineteenth and twentieth century novels and memoirs, while others
contemplate landmark but often controversial films from later generations. Finally, it concludes
with an analysis of the memoirs of several emerging contemporary writers and public figures who
accept and who ultimately embrace all of what they are (e.g. Sadie and Bessie Delany, Having
Our Say, 1993, Bliss Broyard, One Drop, 2007, Danzy Senna, Where Did You Sleep Last Night,
2009).
While the “tragedy” of the “tragic” mulatta’s existence more obviously connotes the
heroine’s inner torment over her inability to racially “belong,” this project focuses on interpreting
“tragedy” in the literal, visceral sense, via the heroine’s untimely and often brutal death, and any
abuses that she may suffer. Existent research on the tragic mulatta has minimally addressed the
role of appearance and visceral suffering in the heroine’s life; the causes and consequences of the
heroine’s actual, visceral demise are less studied than the metaphorical or psychological
implications of “tragedy.”
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER
1. ................................................................................................................................... 22
2. ................................................................................................................................... 52
3. ................................................................................................................................... 92
4. ................................................................................................................................. 136
5. ................................................................................................................................. 166
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 205
WORKS CITED .......................................................................................................................... 233

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