Akinbileje, 1 Oluwakemi Akinbileje Elizabeth McHenry December 10, 2013 18th and 19th Century African American Literature

Final Paper Empowering Both Sides of the Equation Family and cultural values allow us to hold on to our personal identity, and they give us a clear direction in which to move our lives. In Iola Leroy by Frances Harper, a free-turnedenslaved African-American woman is forced to redraw these self-identifying factors as her life as a mulatto is rapidly altered after her black heritage is revealed. Iola Leroy is the story of a young adult who is struggling to move out of or adapt to the socio-cultural boundaries of slavery. Her transition in social status from a free person of mixed race into an enslaved person of mixed race results in complex inner conflict imposed by institutional slavery in the United States during the 19th century. Iola Leroy presents certain themes on African-American social adaptation during slavery and some of these are parallel to themes presented in the Souls of Black Men by W.E.B DuBois, and The House Behind the Cedars, by Charles Chesnutt. As an enslaved mulatto woman during the 18the century, Iola struggles with at least two significant social adaptations. First, she faced inner conflicts to self-identify with her racial heritage, and second she struggled with being able to identify with members of the non-white community, after having passed for white during her childhood. For example, Iola sought to affirm her self -identity as being part African- American by choosing to marry only an AfricanAmerican man, even though she had the option of marrying a white man. Her choice of a husband and the expressed reasons for that choice shows that she is aware of her personal

Akinbileje, 2 acceptance an African-American and her identity with that group. Iolas conscious awareness of her personal identity as a person of mixed race during slavery times parallels the metaphor of the veil in The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois. Du Bois defines the veil as what lies between double consciousness: It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at ones self through the eyes of others, of measuring ones soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness,an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. (9). Iola shows that she is constantly aware of her twoness, or biracial heritage, but unpin initially dissevering this, is not really at ease with it. Institutionalized slavery created constant conflicts and challenges for Iola when she identified with the Blacks in her community, both within and outside of slavery. For example, her parents raised her to expect a certain type of marital partner and relationship. She would be a housewife, to be cared for and doted on by a white husband, be a conveyor wife, and not be forced to do hard labor like the slaves. After her enslavement, however, those ideals became unrealistic, because institutional slavery denied her the right to fulfill those expectations. Her position as a slave did not afford her a free choice, as white women had, in choosing a spouse. As she considered marriage, she faced a conflict: she did not want to have to question her role as a black woman leading a white womans life like her mother did. When Dr. Gresham proposes to her she replies: Doctor, were I your wife, are there not people who would caress me as a white woman who would shrink from me in scorn if they knew I had one drop of negro blood in my veins? When mistaken for a white woman, I should hear things alleged against the race at which

Akinbileje, 3 my blood would boil. No, Doctor, I am not willing to live under a shadow of concealment which I thoroughly hate as if the blood in my veins were an undetected crime of my soul. (389) She is saying that if she had married the white man she would not have been able to carry out the roles and expectations that a typical white wife would, such as being a hostess, or socializing with other whites. Yet, she did not want to disown her black heritage by settling into lifestyle that excluded or denied other African-Americans access to equal rights and privileges that white people had. To marry the doctor shed have to repress her efforts to help the African American and feminist community. She rejects the role of the tragic mulatto; that some man removes her from the conditions of slavery where she can live secretly in his home. Iolas ultimate decision greatly contrasts not only her mothers decision, but also that of Molly Walden from Charles Chesnutts, The House Behind the Cedars, who is a mixed race African American woman who marries a white man because he can do things for her and protect hera situation where she is very comfortable. The marriage of convenience affords her economic and social opportunities. Lastly, the idea of being looked upon as property and having a lack of identity presented conflict and pain for Iola. Before Iola was forced into slavery, she was hurdled onto the white woman conveyor belt. Her parents made sure she was well educated, and even she had a trouble understanding why slavery as an institution had any opposition: Iola, being a Southern girl and a slave-holder's daughter, always defended slavery when it was under discussion. "Slavery can't be wrong," she would say, "for my father is a slave-holder, and my mother is as good to our servants as she can be. (161) It was not until she was ripped off of this conveyor belt and was looked at as a black woman that she understood the unfairness and lack of identity that came with slavery.

Akinbileje, 4 One could almost claim that her induction into slavery was demonstrated by her first encounter with Bastine, the man who was sent to bring her from the North: From this dream of bliss she was awakened by a burning kiss pressed on her lips, and a strong arm encircling her her face flushed to the roots of her hair, her voice shaken with excitement, and every nerve trembling with angry emotion. In some slave narratives, it almost seems as if the black womans official induction to slavery is a violation of her privacy. There is a new concept that she has to get used to: she is now someone elses property. Which, for an African American slave woman also suggests that she is now subject to sexual treatment and pleasure for a white man. Iola, however, manages to combat this idea that black women can only be used for sex when she states, I have a theory that every woman ought to know how to earn her own living. I believe that a great amount of sin and misery springs from the weakness and inefficiency of women. (339) She demonstrates that black women can be worth much more and claim their own independence. From Iolas Induction into slavery, to her leadership and support for African American rights and feminism, Iola and her family underwent a vast change in social status. Iola had the option of rejecting their black heritage or clinging on to the white status that her family held before. She chose to embrace her blackness and use her clot from each realm to inspire success and empowerment within the African American community. She and her family chose to take positive turns and accept their newfound identities, and in the process, were subject to great success and good fortune. Some would argue that like, Iola Leroy, some contemporary African Americans may struggle or have struggled with their identity but on a different level. Though slavery does not exist, some may find it more comfortable and racially acceptable to identify as white. It would be

Akinbileje, 5 of interest to know if those who identify as African American feel, as Iola did, that they are more accepted and free to express themselves as a part of the group that accepts them. Also, like Iola Leroy, it would be of interest to know to what extent persons of mixed race attempt to work in African American communities side by side with all members to assist them with civil rights or community development.

Works Cited Chesnutt, Charles W. The House behind the Cedars. Ridgewood, NJ: Gregg, 1968. Print. Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. New York: n.p., 1990. Print. Harper, Frances Ellen Watkins., and Hollis Robbins. Iola Leroy. N.p.: n.p., 2010. Print.