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Abstract:Ecofeminists believe that there is a close relationship between women and nature, and this relationship is often embodied in literature works. In Tar Baby, Toni Morrison displays the close relationship between women and nature.
Key words:women nature relationship
According to ecofeminists, women and nature are connected with each other. In literature works, the relationship between women and nature is often embodied through the use of symbolic statements. Women are often endowed with the characteristics of nature, and nature is also given the characteristics of women. For example, a woman is often compared to a rose and snow is related to purity. The relationship between women and nature in Tar Baby is vividly depicted by Toni Morrison.
1 Water-lady and the Maiden Aunts
In the novel, Morrison reveals the close relationship between women and nature by endowing nature with the characteristics of women. At the beginning of the novel, when Son struggles to swim in the sea, a gentle push from the water makes him feel safe.
… when he tore open the water in front of him, he felt a gentle but firm pressure along his chest, stomach, and down his thighs. Like the hand of an insistent woman it pushed him. (P4)
Morrison compares water pressure to “the hand of an insistent woman” and endows water with the gentleness and firmness of women. When Son continues to swim to Queen of France (an island), “the water-lady cupped him in the palm of her hand, and nudged him out to sea.” And “suddenly the water-lady removed her hand and the man swam toward the boat anchored in blue water and not the green.” (P2) Here the water is compared to a “lady”, who gives Son a feeling of comfort and safety. By comparing water to a “lady”, Morrison indicates the similarity between women and nature. In addition, Morrison compares fog to a maiden. “Fog came to that place in wisps sometimes, like the hair of maiden aunts. Hair so thin and pale it went unnoticed until masses of it gathered around the house and threw back one’s own reflection from the windows.” (P62) Morrison compares fog to “the hair of maiden aunts”, endowing fog with the characteristics of a maiden—vivacious and lovely, and thus naturally relates nature to women.
2 Swamp Women, Jadine and Trees
When Jadine and Son go out to the woods for a picnic, Jadine almost sinks into the swamp, she grabs “the waist of a tree which shivered in her arms and swayed as though it wished to dance with her.” “She tightened her arms around the tree.” Jadine and the trees “[cleave] together like lovers”, “[press] together like man and wife.” (P182) Swamp women are “hanging in the trees and looking down at her.” These are symbolic statements of the close relationship between women and nature. Swamp women and trees are closely related, and so are Jadine and trees. Trees are part of nature; therefore swamp women, Jadine and nature are related. This is an indication of the relationship between women and nature.
3 Therese: Archetypal “Mother Earth”
Therese is a very special character in this novel. She is a magic black woman who has a close relationship to nature. She often comes to Valerian’s villa L’Arbe de la Croix with the yardman Gideon and helps with the household chores. People in the villa call her “Mary”. According to Sydney, she might be Gideon’s wife, his mother, his daughter, his sister, his woman, his aunt or even his next door neighbor. (P40) She has so many identities because, instead of giving her a fixed identity, Morrison wants to endow her with the role of “Mother Earth”. She has “magical breasts” and “hundreds of French babies used to nurse at her magical breasts” (P112) Her breasts are so “magical” that they “go on giving”(P154) even if when she is about sixty. She tells Son that she gets milk until today. Gideon says that she is a “wet-nurse” and she makes “her living from white babies”(P154). In the novel there is no evidence that she has any child herself but she nurtures hundreds of white babies. It is incredible that a woman has such magical breasts, so the possible interpretation is that Morrison consciously creates such a magic woman to build a relationship between women and nature. Therese is the archetypal “Mother Earth”. She has magical power of “Mother Earth”: on the one hand, as a black, Therese is the mother who nurtures black people with her “milk”—the blacks’ ancient properties；on the other hand, she is the “Mother Earth” who nurtures all human beings. According to ecofeminists, women and nature are biologically similar in their experience of childbirth and nurturing. As a woman who nurtures hundreds of white babies, Therese plays a role of “Mother Earth”. In addition to her magical breasts, Therese has other magic powers which reinforce her close relationship to nature. For example, she smells Son’s presence. After Son gets to the island, he takes some food from the kitchen of Valerian’s villa—L’Arbe de la Croix and thus leaves his smell behind. Therese catches this smell. She tells Gideon that somebody is “starving to death round here” because “he left the unmistakable one of his smell.” “Like a beast who loses his animal smell after too long a diet of cooked food, a man’s smell is altered by a fast.” “It was the smell of human afterbirth that only humans could produce. A smell they reproduced when they were down to nothing for food.” (P105) Therese loves nature and cares about everything in nature. She can “hear the soldier ants” in the march toward the greenhouse. (P104) She is almost blind— “blind as a bat” (P302)—just as Gideon says. When Son insists to find Jadine on Isle des Chevaliers, Therese offers to take him there by boat. She says she can “see better in the dark” and “know that crossing too well” (P302) When they get to the island, they are in the mist. Son cannot see his way but Therese tells him not to “see” but to “feel”. She says, “You can feel your way.” (P304) She knows about nature very well. Just as Susan Griffin (1978) states in her poem: “…woman speaks with nature, that she hears voices from under the earth. That wind blows in her ears and trees whisper to her.”
Toni Morrison displays the close relationship between women and nature in Tar Baby by use of symbolic statements. In the novel, nature is endowed with the characteristics of women.
Reference:
[1]Morrison, Toni. Tar Baby. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981.
[2]Griffin, Susan. Women and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her. New York: Harper & Row, 1978.
Key words:women nature relationship
According to ecofeminists, women and nature are connected with each other. In literature works, the relationship between women and nature is often embodied through the use of symbolic statements. Women are often endowed with the characteristics of nature, and nature is also given the characteristics of women. For example, a woman is often compared to a rose and snow is related to purity. The relationship between women and nature in Tar Baby is vividly depicted by Toni Morrison.
1 Water-lady and the Maiden Aunts
In the novel, Morrison reveals the close relationship between women and nature by endowing nature with the characteristics of women. At the beginning of the novel, when Son struggles to swim in the sea, a gentle push from the water makes him feel safe.
… when he tore open the water in front of him, he felt a gentle but firm pressure along his chest, stomach, and down his thighs. Like the hand of an insistent woman it pushed him. (P4)
Morrison compares water pressure to “the hand of an insistent woman” and endows water with the gentleness and firmness of women. When Son continues to swim to Queen of France (an island), “the water-lady cupped him in the palm of her hand, and nudged him out to sea.” And “suddenly the water-lady removed her hand and the man swam toward the boat anchored in blue water and not the green.” (P2) Here the water is compared to a “lady”, who gives Son a feeling of comfort and safety. By comparing water to a “lady”, Morrison indicates the similarity between women and nature. In addition, Morrison compares fog to a maiden. “Fog came to that place in wisps sometimes, like the hair of maiden aunts. Hair so thin and pale it went unnoticed until masses of it gathered around the house and threw back one’s own reflection from the windows.” (P62) Morrison compares fog to “the hair of maiden aunts”, endowing fog with the characteristics of a maiden—vivacious and lovely, and thus naturally relates nature to women.
2 Swamp Women, Jadine and Trees
When Jadine and Son go out to the woods for a picnic, Jadine almost sinks into the swamp, she grabs “the waist of a tree which shivered in her arms and swayed as though it wished to dance with her.” “She tightened her arms around the tree.” Jadine and the trees “[cleave] together like lovers”, “[press] together like man and wife.” (P182) Swamp women are “hanging in the trees and looking down at her.” These are symbolic statements of the close relationship between women and nature. Swamp women and trees are closely related, and so are Jadine and trees. Trees are part of nature; therefore swamp women, Jadine and nature are related. This is an indication of the relationship between women and nature.
3 Therese: Archetypal “Mother Earth”
Therese is a very special character in this novel. She is a magic black woman who has a close relationship to nature. She often comes to Valerian’s villa L’Arbe de la Croix with the yardman Gideon and helps with the household chores. People in the villa call her “Mary”. According to Sydney, she might be Gideon’s wife, his mother, his daughter, his sister, his woman, his aunt or even his next door neighbor. (P40) She has so many identities because, instead of giving her a fixed identity, Morrison wants to endow her with the role of “Mother Earth”. She has “magical breasts” and “hundreds of French babies used to nurse at her magical breasts” (P112) Her breasts are so “magical” that they “go on giving”(P154) even if when she is about sixty. She tells Son that she gets milk until today. Gideon says that she is a “wet-nurse” and she makes “her living from white babies”(P154). In the novel there is no evidence that she has any child herself but she nurtures hundreds of white babies. It is incredible that a woman has such magical breasts, so the possible interpretation is that Morrison consciously creates such a magic woman to build a relationship between women and nature. Therese is the archetypal “Mother Earth”. She has magical power of “Mother Earth”: on the one hand, as a black, Therese is the mother who nurtures black people with her “milk”—the blacks’ ancient properties；on the other hand, she is the “Mother Earth” who nurtures all human beings. According to ecofeminists, women and nature are biologically similar in their experience of childbirth and nurturing. As a woman who nurtures hundreds of white babies, Therese plays a role of “Mother Earth”. In addition to her magical breasts, Therese has other magic powers which reinforce her close relationship to nature. For example, she smells Son’s presence. After Son gets to the island, he takes some food from the kitchen of Valerian’s villa—L’Arbe de la Croix and thus leaves his smell behind. Therese catches this smell. She tells Gideon that somebody is “starving to death round here” because “he left the unmistakable one of his smell.” “Like a beast who loses his animal smell after too long a diet of cooked food, a man’s smell is altered by a fast.” “It was the smell of human afterbirth that only humans could produce. A smell they reproduced when they were down to nothing for food.” (P105) Therese loves nature and cares about everything in nature. She can “hear the soldier ants” in the march toward the greenhouse. (P104) She is almost blind— “blind as a bat” (P302)—just as Gideon says. When Son insists to find Jadine on Isle des Chevaliers, Therese offers to take him there by boat. She says she can “see better in the dark” and “know that crossing too well” (P302) When they get to the island, they are in the mist. Son cannot see his way but Therese tells him not to “see” but to “feel”. She says, “You can feel your way.” (P304) She knows about nature very well. Just as Susan Griffin (1978) states in her poem: “…woman speaks with nature, that she hears voices from under the earth. That wind blows in her ears and trees whisper to her.”
Toni Morrison displays the close relationship between women and nature in Tar Baby by use of symbolic statements. In the novel, nature is endowed with the characteristics of women.
Reference:
[1]Morrison, Toni. Tar Baby. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981.
[2]Griffin, Susan. Women and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her. New York: Harper & Row, 1978.