Three Books, Three Stereotypes: Mothers and the Ghosts of Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire in Contemporary African American Literature

Authors

Christine E. Eck, Brigham Young UniversityFollow

Keywords

African American Literature, Mothers, Stereotypes, Sapphire, Mammy, Jezebel

Abstract

The stereotypes of Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire are still being dealt with in contemporary African American literature. In the representation of black mothers, nonfiction is ideal to portray mothers who do not represent these stereotypes; fiction is ideal to favorably represent mothers who embody some aspects of these stereotypes. Jezmyn Ward's Salvage the Bones, Margo Jefferson's Negroland, and Tracy K. Smith's Ordinary Light are used as case studies.

Issue and Volume

Vol. 11, no. 1

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Eck, Christine E. (2018) "Three Books, Three Stereotypes: Mothers and the Ghosts of Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire in Contemporary African American Literature," Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism: Vol. 11: Iss. 1, Article 5.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/criterion/vol11/iss1/5