The Lines of Divide in Naylor’s

The Women Of Brewster Place

S.D
MA Honors With Research in English
Introduction
● Published in 1982
● “Because one character couldn’t be The
Black woman in America. So I hadseven
different women, all in different
circumstances, encompassing
thecomplexity of our lives, the richness
of our diversity, from skin color on down
toreligious, political and sexual
preferences.” (Gloria Naylor, Interview to
Ebony Magazine, March 1989)
● The structure of the novel.
● “My work is saying that the African
American community is a diverse
people… a community of people who
are both saints and sinners, who have
beauty and blemishes. I don’t glorify the
African American and say we’re all
perfect. We’re all human beings and that
means complexity, that means light
andshadow (Naylor, Interview,
Greenwood Press, 1997)
Characters
● Mattie Michael
● Etta Mae Johnson
● Lucielia Louise Turner
● Cora Lee
● Kiswana Browne
● “The Two”: Theresa and
Lorraine
The Ones That Don’t
Fit In 1. Theresa and Lorraine
2. Kiswana Browne
“the African-American middle class and
the issue of homosexuality allowed to
intrude in the world of impoverished
African American women mistreated by
men” (Ana María Fraile-Marcos, 1997)
 Sexuality
Theresa and Lorraine

● Naylor explicitly studies the effect of difference within the black community
rather than focusing on the effect of white racism
● “that the two in 312 were that way. And they had seemed like such nice girls.
Their regular exits and entrances to the block were viewed with a jaundiced
eye. "
● Difference in their views
● "Maybe it’s not so different,...Maybe that’s why some women get so riled up
about it, ’cause they know deep down it’s not so different after all.
● Lorraine’s ironic acceptance.
 Class
2. Kiswana Browne

● The class divisions between the blacks of Linden Hills and Brewster Place
● The need for her to move to Brewster
● Yet she’s not accepted
● "Cora Lee listened to Kiswana’s musical, clipped accent, looked at the
designer jeans and striped silk blouse, and was surprised she had said that
she lived in this building. What was she doing on a street like Brewster?"
 Sexism of Black Men

1. Sam Michael: “Her silence stole the last sanctuary for his rage. He wanted
to kill the man who had sneaked into his home and distorted the faith and
trust he had in his child.”
2. Reverend Mooreland T Hoods: “Moreland was relieved that she had
made it easy for him…”
3. Eugene: “Babies and bills that’s all you are good for…” (94)
4. The Shadow: "the shadows—who came in the night and showed her the
thing that felt good in the dark" "The thing that felt good in the dark would
sometimes bring the new babies, and that’s all she cared to know"
Conclusion
● Mattie’s Dream Deffered
● “Each of Brewster’s residents has a dream that has been deferred, and
these dreams are referred to throughout as disappointments, life’s plans
and hopes dashed. But in Mattie’s literal dream all the women of Brewster
Place find resolution, solace, and ultimately, vindication” (Understanding
Gloria Naylor Margaret Earley Whitt, 53)
● The women of Brewster Place form a diversifiedand divided community and
illustrate the complexity of African-American womanhood.
Thank You!