The Other Dancer as Self: Girlfriend Selfhood in Toni Morrison's Sula and Alice Walker's "The

Color Purple"
Author(s): Kevin Everod Quashie
Source: Meridians, Vol. 2, No. 1 (2001), pp. 187-217
Published by: Indiana University Press
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The OtherDancerAs Self
SelfhoodinToniMorrison'sSula
Girlfriend
and AliceWalker'sTheColorPurple
KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

Near the end of Toni Morrison'sBeloued, Paul D returnsto findSethe

in bed, exhausted,beaten,and almosthopelessfromherstrugglewith
Beloved,memory, and slavery. PaulD beginsan exchangeofwordsabout
their-hisand Sethe's- tomorrow, butSetheis stillfocusedon thetwice-
lost babygirl,who she claims is her best thing.Paul D's responseis
generous,loving,and enchanting:"Youyourbestthing,Sethe.Youare."
His is a complicatedresponse,whichdoes notprecludeSethe'sclaim
ofherlostdaughter(orheraliveone) as herbestthing,evenas itsuggests
thatSethehas a self to be loved,claimed.The incantatory "youyour
bestthing,"especiallyas a signalmomentin a novelofBeloved's literary
proportions, foregrounds theissue of selfhoodthatis centralnot only
totheworldofthisnovel,buttothemanyotherworksand livesitechoes.
Whator who is this"you"?Whatare its boundaries,or,how does one
knowone "you"froman/other? How is an awarenessof this"you"as a
processof selfhood,achieved,sustained,and facilitated, especiallyfor
Blackwomen who historicallydo not as
figure subjects?
The centralconsiderationin this essay is the issue of selfhood,of
identity,a consideration ofsome significance, foras ZoraNeale Hurston
proclaims,self-revelation is "theoldesthumanlonging."1Thoughthe
discourseof self widelyarticulated
is in contemporary criticism
literary
and theory, I wanttofocuson therelationalaspectsofselfhoodevidenced
intwocontemporary Blackwomen'snarratives: ToniMorrison'sSulaand
AliceWalker'sTheColorPurple. In bothtexts,selfhoodis an issue ofcom-
munity, a negotiationofand balance betweentheindividualand thepeo-
ple aroundher.The argument in thisessayis this:througha discourseof

[Meridians:
feminism, 2001, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 187-217]
race,transnationalism
©2001 byWesleyanUniversityPress. All rightsreserved.

187
 otherness(andexploitation ofa binarymodel),MorrisonandWalkerrep-
resentselfhoodas thedynamicrelationship betweenonewomanand her
other,hergirlfriend. This relationshipis dynamicparticularly because
the boundariesof self,metaphorically but also literally, are disrupted,
severed,transcended; theselfand itsgirlfriend becomecontiguousand
sometimesindistinct subjects.This selfhood is volatileandoccursviatwo
levelsof identification betweenselfand other:identification urith,and
identification as. The continuousmovementbetween"with"(wherea
subjectidentifiescomparatively) and "as" wherethe subjectidentifies
also
metonymically represents disidentification, because the subjectis
alwaysbeingdislodged/always dislodgingherselffroma settledidentity
withher other.In these two texts,identity is an "ongoingunsettling
process,"as TrinhT. Minh-ha(1989,40)has termedit,andchallengesthe
materialandspiritualboundariesofself.Identity hereis basedon thepar-
ticularpoliticalvaluesthatmakesan otherone's girlfriend- thesenseof
sisterhood(as bell hooks pronounces)as "politicalsolidarity between
women."2Yetthissolidarity (whichis nota stateor achievement, buta
process; the term is less a noun and more a verb) is contradictory, or at
leastseemsso. On one hand,itextendsbeyonditsown specificity, such
thatthe potencyof negotiatingothernessbetweentwo Black women
servesas a modeland conduitforhowa Blackfemalesubjectcan negoti-
ateheridentity in relationtoothersubjectswhoarenotBlackwomenbut
whoholda similarpoliticalcommitment as thesubject.Andstill,thesol-
idarityis also explicitlycommitted to centering thelivesand experiences
ofBlackwomen,a kindof"selfishness" necessitatedbythesocialimper-
ativeforBlackwomento be selfless.
This investigation of selfhoodis immersedin thelanguageand con-
of
cepts psychoanalysis.3 However,I am determined to exploreselfhood
in a contextthatwill not likelybe compatiblewith psychoanalysis,
especiallyinitsclassicconfigurations. Forone,I am interested inidentity
as a politic,as a personaland nationalpoliticalprocess,thatengages
history, oppressionand revolution as muchas anyotherparadigm.As
ErichFrommarguesin "Politicsand Psychoanalysis," muchof classic
psychoanalysis failsto account for
adequately identity politics,resulting
in a discourseofidentity thatsexes subjectsand evaluatestheirfamilial
relevance,but thathardlyaccountsforgender,race, ethnicity, or the
impactthesestructures haveon an individual'sidentity formation. And
I
though partlyagree with TerryEagleton's defense of Freud in Literary
Theory: AnIntroduction, suggestingthatFreud'swork"makesit possible

188 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

forus to thinkof the developmentof the humanindividualin social
and historicalterms"(163), thereis still a need to interrogate how
psychoanalytic theoriesunconsciously(unwittingly?) relyon and even
revealsubjectsas complicatedand layeredtexts,while simultaneously
ignoringtheneed foranalysisof thepoliticalrelevanceof thoselayers.
This accusationis nottrueofall strainsofpsychoanalysis: forexample,
the revisionsof Lacan thatmanyFrenchfeministthinkershave been
undertaking, revisionsthatarguablyextendfromMelanieKlein'sobject-
relationstheory, compelthedisciplineto considergenderas a distinctly
socialand politicalcategory,as one oftenparalleltobutnotsynonymous
withsex.4Still,as ClaudiaTatenotesinPsychoanalysis andBlackNoucls,not
muchhas been done to makepsychoanalysis relevantto Black cultural
production, and whileI do notwishto undertakethatentireproject,my
interestin selfhooddemandsthatI engageand revisesome keytenetsof
Lacanianpsychoanalysis.5

Sisters,Cousins:
Girlfriends,
MetaphorsofBlackFemaleRelationship

Iftheprocessofselfhoodmanifests as an oscillationbetweenidentifica-
tion "with"and identification "as" (and the requisitedisidentification
impliedin sucha volatileprocess),thenthenarrative construct
through
whichthisprocessoccursis thatofthegirlfriend, theotherBlackwoman
who is a subject'ssister,hergirl.PoetAndreaR. Canaan definesa girl-
friendas thefollowing:

Youknow,thekindofwomanfriendyou
can be a girlwith
YouknowwhatI meana womanyougiggle
withone minuteand can be dead serious
thenext...
The kindoffriendthatyouusually
tellall to and whenyouforgetto tell
hersome secretthatyouhavebeenholding
and casuallymentionitto her,youare
surprisedthatyouhadn'ttoldher.
Youknow,thekindoffriendthatyoucan
go outwithand it's notalwaysdutch....

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 189

 I meanthekindofwomanwho alwayshonors
whatis privateand vulnerableforyou.
Youknow,I meangirlfriends. (1990,302)
I thinkthatAliceWalker'sdefinition of"womanism"offers otherchar-
acteristicsofwhatCanaanhas describedas a girlfriend: is " [a]
a girlfriend
woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually.
Appreciates and prefers women'sculture,women'semotionalflexibility
...and women's strength.Sometimesloves individualmen, sexually
and/ornonsexually. Committed to survival
and wholenessofentirepeo-
ple.... Loveslove and food and roundness. Loves struggle.LovestheFolk.
Lovesherself.Regardless" (1983,xi-xii).Canaan and Walkerare address-
ing both the particular material friendship betweentwowomenand the
largertraditionof Blackwomanlove that such relationshipsreflect,
refract, and inform.In herencyclopedicBlackFeminist Thought, Patricia
Hill Collinsuses theterm"othermothers" to characterizesome non-fil-
ial but far-reaching bonds of sisterhoodbetweenBlackwomen.Other
terms include "sisterfriends,""play sister," "godsister," or even
"cousin." Similarly, BarbaraSmith,in hernow-classicessay"Towarda
BlackFeministCriticism," suggeststhatBlackwomen'saestheticshigh-
the
light relationship between and amongstwomen.6Thoughthisrepre-
sentationofconnectionbetweenwomenis notexclusivetoBlackwomen,
thepopularand contemporary use oftheterm"girlfriend" as representa-
tiveof an intimate(thoughoftennotsexual) connectionlargelyresides
and bearswidespreadrelevancein Blackwomen's culturalproduction
and language.
This idea ofthegirlfriend in Blackwomen'sdiscoursecarriesserious
weight:the girlfriend is someone who makes it possible fora Black
womanto bringall ofherselfintoconsideration, to imagineherselfwild
and adventurous, butalso safelyand oftheshore.7A womanis encour-
aged by hergirlfriend to be herself,radically, evenas theweightof this
beingmightbe too muchfortheconnectionto bear.The girlfriend, the
otherto a Blackwoman's self,offersa rareopportunity forthatBlack
womanto be selfish.
The use ofgirlfriends as a discursiveconceitofBlackwomen'sidenti-
ficationforegrounds the binaryof self and other,and challengesthe
natureoftheconstitution ofselfand otheras distinctand separateenti-
ties. In her shortstory,"Beauty:When the OtherDancer is the Self,"
Walkeroffers a usefulnarrative introduction ofthisidea.Tellingthestory

190 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

ofhowshelostsightinone eyeas a childandtracingherstruggletoa pos-
itivesenseofselfafterthatloss,Walkerremembersthemomentwhenher
young daughterfirstnotices the scarredtissue that is her eye. She
(Walker)is afraidofwhatactofrepulsionand scornherdaughtermight
respondwith,forWalkerhas becomeused to hereyebeingthesiteofan
uncommonnessthatclearlymarksheras other.But herdaughtersur-
prisesherand,insteadofscorn,Rebecca
studiesmyfaceintently as we stand,herinsideand me outsideher
crib.She evenholds myface maternally betweenher dimpledlittle
hands.Then,lookingeverybitas seriousand lawyerlike as herfather,
as
she says, ifitmayjustpossiblyhaveslippedmyattention: "Mommy,
there'sa worldin youreyes."(As in, "Don't be alarmed,or do some-
thingcrazy.")And then,gently,but withgreatinterest:"Mommy,
wheredidyougetthatworldinyoureye?"
Forthemostpart,thepainleftthen.(1983,286)

Rebecca'sactofsightandlovesendshermotherintoa potentmoment
one whereshe meetsherself:
and celebration,
ofself-reverie

ThatnightI dreamI am dancingtoStevieWonder'ssong"Always"(the

nameof thesong is really"As,"butI hearit as "Always").AsI dance,
andjoyous,happier
whirling thanI'veeverbeeninmylife,another bright-faced
dancer
joinsme.We danceand kisseachotherandhold eachother throughthe
Theother
night. dancerhasobviouslycomethroughallright,
as I havedone.She
whole
isbeautiful, And
andjree. sheisalsome.(1983,287,emphasisadded)
Walkerhereuniteswithherotherself,a selfshe experiences materially
Thismeetingoftheselfis joyous,an actofmutuality
and spiritually. that
suggests thatthehuman for
yearning companionship is in
fulfilled the
meetingof a selfthatis one's self,but also not one's self- thisother
danceris botha distinctselffromWalker,butis alsoher.
Walker'simage is an effective metaphorforreadingSula and Nel's
of
process identity in Morrison's
Sula.The twowomenare dancingoth-
ers,girlfriendswholoveeachotherundertherubricofan "always."Their
meeting occursin a momentofsubconscioustwo-nessthatis character-
similartoWalker'sdancingreverie:
istically
...itwas in dreamsthatthetwogirlshad firstmet.Long beforeEdna
Finch'sMellowHouse opened...theyhad alreadymade each other's
acquaintancein thedeliriumoftheirnoon dreams.Theyweresolitary

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF igi

 littlegirlswhose lonelinesswas so profounditintoxicated
themand
sentthemstumblingintoTechnicolored visionsthatalwaysincluded
a presence,
a someone,
whoquitelikethedreamer, ofthedream.
sharedthedelight
(1982,51,emphasisadded)

This presence,this someone,is the girlfriend,the otherwho is so

much the selfthatthe boundariesbetweenthe two become fluidand
sometimescollapse.The deliriumoftheirmeetingmirrorsthefantasti-
cal qualityof Walker'sdance and evokesa similarjoy.It is an ecstatic
experience,one thatis simultaneouslyin and out of thematerialbody,
consciousand not.
The descriptionMorrisonoffersofNel and Sula in theiryouthful days
furtherexpandsthisidea ofthepresenceofa someone:

WhenNel,an onlychild,saton thestepsofherbackporchsurrounded

bythehighsilenceofhermother'sincredibly orderedhouse,shestud-
ied thepoplarsand felleasilyintoa pictureofherselflyingon a flow-
eredbed, tangledin herown hair,waitingforsome fiery prince.He
approachedbutneverquitearrived. Butalways,watchingthedream along
withher,were somesmiling
sympathetic Someone
eyes. as interested
as sheher-
selfin theflowof herimaginedhair,thethicknessof themattressof
flowers,the voile sleeves that closed below her elbows in gold-
threadedcuffs.(51,emphasisadded)

Nel's fallingintoa pictureofherselfis a surrender

to companionship,
an embracingof theyearningformutuality and the othereyeswhich
would be "as interestedas she herself"in her (NePs) livingbreath.
"Similarly,Sula...spenthoursin theatticbehinda rollof linoleumgal-
lopingthroughherown mindon a gray-and-white horsetastingsugar
and smelling roses infull viewofa someonewhosharedboththetasteand the
speed"(51-2, emphasis added). Sula is NePs fieryprince,as Barbara
Smith'sessay"Towarda BlackFeministCriticism" evidences;and Nel is
thatsomeonewho sees Sula's actionsand is enough(like)Sula toexperi-
encethepace and texture oftheride.
The descriptionof theirgirlfriendness continues,and the political
imperative of theirunionbecomes evident:
"So whentheymet,...theyfelt
theease and comfortof old friends.Because each had discoveredyears
beforethattheywereneitherwhitenormale,and thatall freedomand
triumph was forbiddento them,theyhad set aboutcreatingsomething
else to be" (52). Theyare girlfriends,
dancers,each other'ssomeone,

192 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

something, my-thing, me-thing."Theirmeetingwas fortunate, foritlet
themuse each otherto growon....theyfoundin each other'seyesthe
intimacytheywerelookingfor"(52). Theirintimacyis a self-centered
process,forit facilitateseach girl'sprocess of self.Theylook at each
otherand theyknow,notthroughocularproof,butin somethingelse-
theirdreams,theirfeelingofeach other-a visceral,corporealexchange
ofyearning anddesireandfearlessness. In thisway,theyknoweachother
to be theotherpiece,theselftheyhavebeenlookingforand maybeeven
missing.Theirfriendship developsnotjustas a bondingoftwopeoplein
a union,butas a beingin thecompanyofone's ownself,in thewaythat
Walkermeetsherbeautiful, bright-faced dancingself.In a keymoment
in thenovel,Sula and Nel areplayingin theyard,diggingholes,working
"untilthetwoholeswereone and thesame" (58). Thismutuality is char-
acteristicof theirfriendship, whichwas "so close, theythemselveshad
difficultydistinguishing one's thoughtsfromtheother's"(83). The need
forself-distinction is mutedby the deliberatenessof theirunion,the
politicalcharacter oftwoyoungBlackwomenwho chooseto be together
against impossibleoftheworldaroundthem.Andthoughtheirunion
the
is chosen,itis also surrender, similarto fallingin a dream,a callingand
a sway,a seductioneven,as well as a measuredstrut.Poetically, their
meetingis a choiced surrenderto the girlfriend: a meetingof one's
(other) self at the a
river, meeting made possiblebyfirstchoosingto go
to the river,as well as choosingto be open to the encounterof one's
(other)self. This openness yieldsto an outstretched hand, and then
anotherhand,a holdingthatis intimateand political,an actso powerful
thatiturges(each) selfto loveevenwhenshe has longsincelefttheriver
and is in a placewherelovingis normally veryhard.It is a chosenmeet-
a
ing, looking notbecause she has to,but because she chose,chooses,to;
itis thepracticing ofwhatlooking(and seeing)bringsforth.
This representation of Nel and Sula as beingbothlikeeach otheras
well as being each other,also suggestsdisruptionsin the connection
betweentheirchosencoupling."She [Sula] had clungto Nel as theclos-
estthingtobothan otheranda self,onlytodiscoverthatsheandNelwere
notone and thesame thing,"thenarrator writesas bothwomenattempt
to makesense outof Sula's momentary affairwithJude(119).8The cen-
tralexample of disidentificationbetween Nel and Sula is probablythe
momentof Nel's marriageto Jude.It is in thismomentthattherepre-
sentationofthebinary(selfand other)evokesa thirdwoman- someone
who is neitherNel or Sula butinsteadis theproductoftheirconnection.

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 193

 It is up to Nel and Sula to claimthisthirdwomanforand as themselves
(becauseofcourseshe is them).Nel's marriagetoJudeimpairsthework
of diggingthatshe and Sula were doing- how theywere seeing each
other,whichwas also seeingthemselves. Judeliterally becomesa disrup-
tion of NePs process of self-reflection (her relationshipwith Sula).
it is
Tellingly, Jude'sinability to land a job and therefore perform neces-
saryactsofmaleness,thatpromptshimtomarry Nel: "...itwas rage,rage
and a determination to takeon a man's roleanyhowthatmadehimpress
Nel about settlingdown. He neededsome of his appetitesfilled,some
postureofadulthoodrecognized,butmostlyhe wantedsomeoneto care
abouthishurt...The twoofthemtogether wouldmakeoneJude"(82-3).
In theabsence of jobs, marriageto Nel becomesJude'saffirmation of
(his) masculinity, an affirmation thatdoes littleforNel. ButSula remains
Nel's "always,"hervolatilepartnerofdynamicself-tension, even:"When
[Nel] raisedhereyesto [Jude]forone morelook ofreassurance,she saw
throughtheopen doora slimfigurein blue,gliding,withjusta hintofa
strut,downthepathtowardtheroad" (85). Literally, Nel is watchingher
otherself,Sula, leave; but she is also seeingherown selfleave as she
commitsto helpingmake"one Jude."Thatthewomanwho is leavingis
un-namedsuggeststhatshe is an icon ofself.A literalreadingindicates
thatshe is Sula, butshe also represents Nel's unionwithSula,whichis
arguably over as thecasualty of the marriage.Andstill,thiswomanis Nel
because herleavingis metaphorically Nel's leavingdue to thecarefully
articulated history of her twoness with Sula. Therefore, thedeparture of
Sula, whichleads to the dissolutionof the connectionwithSula, also
means the expirationof Nel (or at least a versionof Nel). That is, the
womanis Sula,is Nel and Sula's friendship, and is Nel's own (sense of)
self(materialized). Thisglidingblueis a repeatingand multiplesubject.
The complicatedwayin whichI am trying to readthiswomanreveals
thatthirdtermoftheSula-Nelbinary:9 itis notSula herselforNel's rela-
tionshipwithSula thatis materialselfhoodforNel. Instead,itis thethird
womanwho represents materialselfhood;thisthirdwomanis, forNel,
Nel; andforSula,Sula.Thiswomanis the"always,"there-assurance that
does notoverwhelm nordemandsuccumbing;she is the"you"of Paul
D's lovingincantation, "Youyourbestthing."
In TheColorPurple, Celie's achievement of selfis the resultof a long
seriesofidentifications withandas otherwomen.Hersexualexperiences
withAlbertofferan earlymomentofgirlfriend identification thatbrings
hercloserto herself/selves: "I laytherethinking boutNettiewhilehe on

194 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

topofme,wonderifshe safe.AndthenI thinkboutShugAvery. I know
whathe doingto me he done to ShugAvery and maybeshe likeit.I put
myarmaroundhim" (Walker1982,13). Celie thinksfirstofNettie,her
sister,and wishesforNettie'ssafetyevenas she Celie is experiencing an
act ofviolenceunderAlbert.Thenshe thinksof Shug,a womannother
blood sister,butwho is thesistershe also lovesphysically and sexually.
Shugis hergirlfriend ineverysenseoftheword.Herthinking aboutShug
brings her closer to her own self,for she recognizes the sameness ofher
and Shug (bothhavinglain withAlbert).The gestureof affectionshe
makesis nottowardAlbert, who is barelyan objectin Celie's reverie, but
insteadtowardherself,towardShug, and towardthe growingunion
betweenherand Shug (a unionthatis at leastpartially Celie's creation,
especiallyin thisfantasymoment).Celie is actinglike,evenbecoming,
Shugin puttingherarmsaroundAlbert(performing thesassiness that
she Celie is notallowedto exhibit)as wellas pretending to putherarms
aroundShug(imaginingShugas thebodythatreplacesAlbert's).Celieis
also performing a more significantact of self(ish)nessand agency,
because- consideringthatthis whole momentis poweredby Celie's
imagination-itis arguablethatCelieis puttingherarmsaroundherown
imagination(or whather imaginationhas made). This small scene in
Walker'snovelis a multivalent momentof (un)clarity betweenat least
threesubjects(and none of themis Albert):self,an/other, and theself
thatquiteliterally materializesfromthisprocessbetweenselfand other.
The manifestation of the selfas an/other woman is an intermediary
structure thatMorrisonandWalkeruse in theirnarrative articulation ofa
Blackwoman's willful selfishlove for an
herself, intermediary made nec-
essaryby the cultural and social imperatives againstself-love,and the
dangerand daring that self-loveis. This loveof theother(whichis what
women,especiallyBlack women,are supposedly"inherently" capable
for
of) is a lovethatmanifests an/other woman who is the self- an iden-
tification withand as theotherwoman.Withand as identifications also
employdisidentification, representedby the to
progression repeating
momentswhenthereis reallyno otherwoman,or at leastwherethere
is no otherwoman exceptone's abilityto be thatotherwoman. This
realizationis a slowpractice:beginningwiththesubject'schoicetobe in
solidarity (a choicethatrevealsa levelofagency),andcontinuing through
the subject'srepeatedcapacityto hold tightthe unionwithher other
self (even in the absence of the other self). This capacityreveals
moreabout thesubjectthanit does about herother.In thiscontext,a

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 195

 self-centered identitydevelopsas a subjectmoves betweenan identi-
ficationwithy whichsustainstheindividuation ofcorpus,and an identifi-
cationasywheretheself(dis)integrates intoan amorphoustextuality that
is less boundariedbutno less precisein itsethic.
This couplingofwomenas girlfriends a spiritual,emotional,
reflects
and
material, politicalchoice,workingagainst Black women'shistoric
responsibility for everyoneelse beforethemselves,a conditionthat
Nanny in Hurston's TheirEyesWere Watching Goddescribesas "de muleuh
de world."10Againstthebackdropof Blackwomen'sexpectedselfless-
ness, Celie's engagementof girlfriend selfhoodis selfish.However,no
character oftheworksthusfardiscussedbehavesmoreselfishly thanSula
who understands thatas a Blackwoman,she has to fightto loveherself,
a lovethatis neitherencouragednorcondonedin social culture.When
Judeis complainingabouttheattacksmadeon his subjectivity as a Black
man,Sula rattlesoffa listofreasonswhyBlackmenarewidely"loved,"a
termshe uses looselyand somewhathumorously.11 Sula hereis asserting
herrelationship withNel bysignifying on and ridiculingJude.Butshe is
also givingattentionto theinvisibility of Blackwomen'sselflessness-
thesame Blackwomenwho are, in herdescription, "worrying]them-
selvesintobad healthjusttrying to hangon to" Blackmen's cuffs(103).
Sula's assertionbearsrelevancenotonlyto theworldofMedallionbutto
thelargersocialreality ofBlackwomen.Forexample,considerthatinthe
lastthirty years,ithas beenrepresentations ofBlackwomenlovingeach
other(in acts of sisterhood)thathavespurredvariousattacksbysome
Blackmenon theworksofBlackwomenwriters.12 Andwhilethesehave
notbeentheonlyattacks,theyareones thatcarrya particular sting.
In theabove context,thismodel of Black femaleselfhoodis revolu-
tionaryin thesame mannerthatJosephBeam proclaimedBlackmen's
mutuallovetobe revolutionary- itis a practicethatis donecountertothe
intentions ofsocialoppression.However,Beam's claimalso impliesthat
Blacksame-genderloveperforms resistancebecause it is a love of self.
His is not a narcissisticconceptualizationof same-genderlove but
insteadechoesWalker'sdefinition ofwomanismas wellas thecommonly
held idea thata Blackpersonwho, undercolonization,chooses to love
anyotherBlackperson,is in factevidencinga loveofself.13ForCelie to
love Shug,and Nel Sula, requiresan act of self,will,evenwillfullness;
thereis hardlyanysocial rewardforsuch love. The identification that
generates from thislove is and
powerful self-reflexive, though not nar-
cissistic.WhenNel at theclose ofSularealizeswho Sula was to her,she

196 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

whispersto herselfand to thewind"weweregirls."Atthatmoment,the
fullnessof one Blackwoman's loveforanotherBlackwomanis revived
in Nel, a momentthatis evocatively inscribedbytheswirlingof breeze
and the settingof the sun. Whatis so potentin Nel's lovelycryis its
recognition, its culminationof a process of seeing and unseeing;Nel
realizesthatherrelationship withSula is reallyherrelationship withher-
self.Her couplingwithSula is centerednotonlyin havingtherelation-
shipwithanotherBlackwoman,butalso in engagingthatrelationship
as an "ongoingunsettlingprocess" towardher embraceof her own
volatileself.
The girlfriend alliance,whichis unconsciousas well as conscious,is
neithera foregoneconclusionnora stableprocess.Itunalliesas muchas
it allies and demandsof thesubjectagency:firstto choose thealliance,
and thento be able to notrelyon it (figuratively, to "unchoose"it). This
gatherand scatteroftheidentification is whereitsself-intimacy lies. An
example from The ColorPurpleis indicativehere: Celie's earliestcomments
are about how she feelsabout men,particularly Mr. , whom she is
afraidtolookatforwhatthelookmightinvite.Ofwomen,Celiewrites"I
lookatwomen,tho,cause I'm notscaredofthem"(7). ForCelie,women
representa possibilityof being girlfriends, therebybeing engaged by
an/other in a waythatdoes notviolateand renderherabject,norfillher
withfearas do relationships withsome Blackmenand mostwhitepeo-
ple. Celie's act of "looking"at womenrequiresherown (self) engage-
ment;"looking"is an actofdiscernment, and Celiehas to makesenseof
whatshe discerns,whichis thebeginningof herchoosingto connect
withShug,Sofia,and otherwomen.In thisexample,themomentofgirl-
friendconnection yieldsa self-intimacy;itsfocusandinterest aretheself.
BlackwomanlovingBlackwomanis seriousbusiness,dangerous,rig-
orousand necessarybusiness.Revolutionary business.
WhatCelie,Shug,Sula, Nel and Walker's"otherdancer"represent is
the phenomenaldialecticbetweenself and other,the oscillationthat
becomes a process of Blackwoman-centered identification. That this
modelexploitsa binaryis conversant withsome recentliterary criticism
and theory, especiallypsychoanalytic and laterpostcolonial discourses.
The workofJacquesLacan,a Frenchpsychoanalyst and philosopher,is
perhaps the most-cited and most relevant to my discussion ofidentity. In
"TheMirrorStage,"Lacanpositsidentity as relatedtotheimpossibility of
He
language. argues that the young child moves from object-relations
identification (primarily with itsmother) to identificationwiththeimage

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 197

 in themirroras itselfnarcissistically. This identification in themirroris
misguided and inaccuratein thatit suggestsa unitythatthechilditself
does notexperiencein thebody;hencetheimageand theexperienceis
imaginary. The child's developmentintoadulthoodcoincideswiththe
recognition thattheblissofunitybetweenselfand imageis false,justas
the unitybetweensignifier(word) and signified(meaning) is false.
Hence,formalechildren, subjectivityis endlessrecognition ofthefailure
oflanguage.Forfemalechildren, thereis no subjectivity becausetheirsis
to bearand nurture malechildrentowardsubjectivity unfulfilled.14
Lacan's essayis a usefulwarningagainsttheeasycorrelation between
selfand other,a solipsismthatcan offer a falsesenseofwholenessatvio-
lentcosttoothersand toone's ownself.The essayis also congruent with
contemporary criticalassertionsofthemultipleandfragmented natureof
existence,selfhood,discourse,and body.Still,thereare twoproblems
withLacan's analysisformydiscussionofsubjectivity: one,itfailstorace
thesubjectsofitsdiscourse,and sincethosesubjectsareclearlygendered
(notjustsexed,butgendered),thentheyoughtto at leastalso be raced;
and two,it leans towarda sense of fragmentation thatabsolvessocial
structures ofresponsibility forthepoliticalandmaterialconditionofpeo-
ple's lives.However,thereis a largerproblemwithLacan's discursive
premises,one thatwarrantsa longerdiscussion:the Lacanianmirror
reliesheavilyon therelationship betweena subject(child)and an object
(mirror/image), foregrounding subject'simageas theprimary
the attrib-
uteofitssense ofself.Butvisualimageis nottheonly,noreventhepre-
dominant,attribute thatsubjectspossess. Nonetheless,thevisualimage
is prominent in Westernknowledgesystemsand is a keycounterpart to
thepropagationofviolence(vianotionsofbeauty)againstwomen,peo-
ple of color,and especiallythose who fall in both broad categories.
Consequently, the mirrorin Lacaniandiscourse,withits emphasison
image, is at least symbolicallyan icon ofWesternsociety'sbeautynarra-
tivesand an impositionofselflessnesson Blackwomen.
Thatsense ofunendingfragmentation and disappointment thatmale
childrenexperiencein Lacan's paradigm,and theabsence of (arguably
white)femalechildrenas fullsubjects,leavesme distrustful thatthemir-
rorwouldbe capableofbeingtoo relevantto a Blackwoman'ssubjectiv-
ity.In fact,it seems thatthemirror'sfunction in Lacanianpsychoanaly-
sis-to initiatetheexploration oflanguageand introduce thesubjectinto
a (futile)processof identification- is performed (albeitdifferently)
by
the otherselfwho mirrorsthe girlfriend in Walker'sand Morrison's

198 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

narrationsof selfhood.That is, in place of themirrorand its cold and
inaccuratereflection is an/other woman whose abilitiesto reflectthe
girlfriend'sselfmightbe no moreaccuratethanthemirror'sbutwhose
presence subject(withfleshand otherattributes),
is a notan imageoran
object;nota signthathas tobe takenforwonder,buta subjectthatisitself
wonder.15 In thisgirlfriend modelofselfhood,itis nottheimagein the
mirrorthatholds the self's gaze; insteadthe self's gaze, or its entire
being,is heldand engagedbyan/other self.A modelofidentity whereself
and imageare negotiatedthroughan objectis profoundly differentthan
thevolatility of identity negotiatedthrough two selves. In I
fact, would
arguethatthelevelof agencyis markedly different:Homi K. Bhabha's
"SignsTakenforWonder,"a cleverpost-colonialre-readingof Lacan's
notionofother,disruptsthebinaryofchildandobjectandintroduces two
subjects into the discourse. Describing the interaction between the
Indian natives,thewhitecolonials,and theBible,Bhabha assertsthat
it is morevolatilethanthatbetweena subjectand an image/object. In
readingBhabha's essay,I have come to make a distinctionbetween
being "othered"and being "other.""Other"is a nominativesubject
positionand sometimesa place ofagency,while"othered,"an adjective,
is metaphorically a (dis)placement,an impositionof identity. In this
way,the"other"is a subject(position)less staticand less marginalthan
the"othered."
Againsta mirroring systemthatleaves Black women widelyunac-
countedfor,girlfriend selfhoodsuggeststhateveryoneis "other,"that
everysubject comes to identityvia a process of being (and loving)
an/other: identity is relationaland thereis no "I" withoutan/other, which
is whatis suggestedbyWalker'sotherdancer,Sula and Nel's relation-
ship,andCelie'sattending toself.Thisprocessofselfhoodoperatesfrom
whatis a "negativepositionin culture,"16 or a deficitposition- thatof
being(considered) "an other"- such that the deficitis neutralized,or at
leastmadenormative.17 Mae G. Hendersonmakesa similarargument in
heressay"SpeakinginTongues":

Whatis at once characteristicand suggestiveabout blackwomen's

or dialogic,character,
writingis itsinterlocutory, notonlya
reflecting
relationship withthe"other(s),"but an internal
dialoguewith theplu-
ralaspectsofselfthatconstitute thematrixofblackfemalesubjectiv-
The
ity. interlocutory characterof blackwomen'swritings is, thus,not
onlya consequenceof a dialogicrelationship withan imaginaryor

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 199

 "generalizedOther,"buta dialoguewiththeaspectsof "otherness"
withintheself.The complexsituatednessof theblackwomanas not
onlythe "Other"of the Same, but also the "other"of the other(s)
implies,as we shallsee,a relationship and identification
ofdifference
withthe"other(s)."(1989,17-8)
Henderson'sarticulation identifies othernessas a keytheoreticalloca-
tionforthinking aboutBlackwomen'sidentity, as
especially represented
in literature;and simultaneously resiststheidea of "otherness"as only
marginal.As imaginedand constructed through variousWesternmodels
(especiallyHegel's), identityis a powerstrugglethatprivilegesone sub-
ject in relationto the other;yetforMorrisonand Walker,identity is
fashionedthrougha processofselfhoodthatdoes notmerelyinvertthe
privileged subjectposition,butinstead"change[s]thedefinition ofwin-
ningso thatno one has to lose."18
To morefullyrevisethecentrality of theimagein theprocessof sub-
let me startwitha narrative
jectivity, scene thatsomewhatawkwardly
involvesa Black man (thisawkwardnesswill be resolvedlater).In an
openingmomentin Sula,itis anything buta mirror thatoffersShadrack
a sustainingsenseofhis self.Shadrackis searchingforhisreflection, for
somethingthatwill let him knowhe exists,a momentthatseemingly
mimicsthe dilemmaof Lacan's child.This searchis motivatedbyhis
fragmented sense ofhis self,especiallyhis body(theendlessshakingof
his hands,thegrotesqueappearanceof new bodyparts),a conditionof
thedementiacausedbyhisparticipation inWorldWarI:
Like moonlightstealingundera windowshade an idea insinuated
itself:his earlierdesireto see his own face.He looked fora mirror;
therewas none.Finally, keepinghishandscarefully behindhisbackhe
madehiswaytothetoiletbowlandpeepedin.Thewaterwas unevenly
litbythesun so he could makenothing out. Returningto his cot,he
took the blanketand coveredhis head, renderingthe waterdark
enoughto see his reflection. Therein thetoiletwaterhe saw a grave
blackface.A blackso definite, so unequivocal,itastonishedhim.He
had beenharboring a skittish
apprehensionthathewas notreal- that
he didn'texistat all. But when the blacknessgreetedhim withits
indisputablepresence,he wantednothing more.(13,emphasisadded)
Morrison'scarefuluse of "nothing"framesthe"indisputable"some-
thingthatShadracksees; "nothing"is its name, not a descriptionof

200 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

its essence. That Shadrackfindsan unshakablesense of self in dark
toiletwater(and notin a mirror)is important, especiallysincehe hardly
sees an image.Instead,whatrendershis once-tremoring hands"courte-
ously still"is nota preciseimage of his face but the impressionthathisface
makesupon his othersensibilities-an impression,a sense, a feeling,
a textuality thatis less visual and moretactile.Perhapshe sees a line
nearhis eyesthatremindshim of a grandmother's struggle,or a war-
woundthatgesturestowardhis survival, or an outlinethatlooks murky
and spirit-like. Whatever he sees, thoughnotprecisein form,is precise
in impact.His processofselfhoodin thismomentforegoesprecisionof
theimagein exchangeforan intensity of theotherattributes thatcon-
stituteself.
The "other"ofthismodelthatprovidesreflection is notan imagebut
a subjectin fullertextuality thanmerelyitsimageor itsrepresentation in
language.This mirroring thatan/other providesis notthefragmented,
flattened, or reversed image ofselfthat Lacan's mirror offers, butinstead
is theactoflooking,and seeing,an/other. The choralrefrain ofthesong
"ThereWereNo Mirrorsin My Nana's House" byvocal group Sweet
Honeyin theRockoffersa mirrorthatresonateswithWalker'smeeting
herotherdancer:"Therewereno mirrorsin mynana's house...and the
beautythatI saw in everything... was in hereyes."A grandmother's eyes
generate a reflectionthat the
complicates subject's sense of individua-
tion,foregoestheracialand genderproblemsofmirrors, and initiatesa
of
process "looking" thatdisrupts the violence of visual culture.Thisis a
selfhoodwherethesubjectis morethanothered,morethantheobjectof
marginalization, morethandisplaced.Andthoughthegirlfriend behold-
ing is in partrelianton thepresenceof an/other subject,and henceas
likelyto offer mis-reflection, being beheld in an/other's eyesis ultimately
a processofbeingbeheldin one's owneyes.19
The relationship of one subjectto an/other is tenseand volatile,and
readilycreates a thirdsubject,as evidencedearlier.This thirdness
highlights theradicalpotentialof subject-to-subject relation,especially
because therelationdependsupon thecrossingof borders(forexam-
ple, boundariesofcorporeality, identity, or propriety). In thistransgres-
sion, the domainsof one's subjectivity are traversed, violated,shared,
complicated and disturbed by an/other. Movement, moregenerally
or
mobility,thenis centraltocreatinga volatilesubjectivity and establishing
a practiceof selfthatextendsbeyondand outsideof social convention.

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 201

 AnnaDeveareSmith,in writingaboutthedynamictensionin herdocu-
playFiresin theMirror, assertsthat"[t]he discoveryof humanbehavior
can happenin motion.It can be a processofmovingfromtheselfto the
otherand theotherto theself(1993,xxxii).It is no accidentthen,that
Walker'san/other is botha dancer, a subjectivityof movement, and also
a a
partly phantasm, corpus of unstable and shiftingmateriality.
Achievinggirlfriend selfhoodrequiresrecklessand phenomenalmove-
ment,hencemotionandmobility-represented as dance,migration, gre-
gariousness,dreaming,fantasy, forexample- are repeatedpartsof the
works'narrative landscapes.
Movementdefinesthis process of identityformationbecause the
engagement ofthedialecticbetweenselfand an/other createsa space for
a subjecttotraversewithouthavingtoliterally go too faroutofher(own)
self,too faraway from her self-centeredness. It is a humanimpulse,and
a healthyone, fora subjectto yearnforadventure,to see the before-
unseen,towander,linger,evento getlost;to be and to becomeunfamil-
iar.Yetthedomainsofadventure andtravelareoftenmasculineones (and
areheavilylimitedtowomen),and also haveparticular dangers;notonly
thedangerofbeinghurt/violated bywhatis outthere,a perpetuity thatall
womenhaveto paysome attention to,especially Black women; but also
thedangeroflosingone's self,ofgoingtoofar,offorgetting whoyouare,
whereyoucamefrom,andjustwhatis yourself-ethos. Suchis theriskof
travel,whichis thelocationofitsagency.
In girlfriendselfhood,the presenceof an/other, introducesspace
betweentheselfand heran/other thatcan be traveled,risked,lingered;
thisspace helpsto preparethesubjectforliteraltravel.Thatis, thespace
forthepsychictravelbetweenselfand an/other does notreplacetheneed
fortraveland venture;nordoes theliteralventuresupercedetheriskand
intensityofthepsychicjourneyand tension.In fact,thelivesofNel and
Celie,which hardlyinvolvetravel,seem to suggestthatthepsychicjour-
neyis a fulcrum ofBlackwomen'sliberating selfhood,and validatesthe
power of interior
spaces, "the highly social character ofinterior lives."20
This commentis not to ignorethatbothwomenrespectively haveSula
and Shug/Nettie in theirlives,womenwho traveledfarand wide, and
oftenwithouttheapprovalofthecommunity. So thereseemstobe a need
fortravelof some kindand especiallyof the interiorlandscape made
betweena selfand heran/other.
This mobilityfacilitates agency,and createsa practiceof negotiating
one's selfthroughspace and time,ofplacingand shifting one's subject

202 KEVIN EVEROD QUASH IE

textualities in relationto an/other. Thatsuch travelcrossesinterior and
exteriorborderswhileremaining alliedtotheethosofself-center, attests
thattheprocessofgirlfriend subjectivity is at once self-focused and self-
specific,and, by virtue of mobility, is also indeterminate and multiple
(thoughnotdisconnectedorfragmented).
Thereis a usefulcontradiction herebetweentheselfhood'sspecificity,
singularity even,and itsmultiplicity. The specificity is theself'scommit-
mentto Black feministethos- to the healthand liberationof Black
women,the acceptanceof the dangerouspoliticalwork requiredfor
Blackwomento lovethemselves;theembraceofa lifepracticethatsur-
rendersthefamiliar powercentersand celebratesagency.The integrity of
thiscommitment is notsecondaryto itstransgressive and mobilechar-
acteristics-girlfriend selfhood's a prioriconditionis to love Black
women.Stilltheidea andpracticeofbeinggirlfriends inthecontextofan
unfailing mobility, is not,cannotbe,exclusivetoan/others whoareBlack
women.Thatis, thenotionofbeinggirlfriends, upon which theidentifi-
cationdepends,is rootedin a politicaland spiritualsolidarity, notmerely
a solidarity based on being,essentially, a Blackwoman.In fact,theulti-
mateethosoftheidentity is againstrelianceon easycoalitionsand sub-
jectivitiesthat are grantedand policedthroughstateand nationappara-
tus. The coalitioningis open to "sistersand thosewho love sisters"-
thosewho are themselvesoutside,marginal,and other,and who are
appreciative oftheurgentneedforBlackwomentocenterand lovethem-
selves.In thisway,theactofa Blackwomanpracticing coalitionswithher
girlfriend is a literalmodelforhercouplingwithotherpeople (who are
not Black women) in girlfriend-relationships, which maintain the
integrity of thecommitment to Blackwomenselfishness.The modelis
notexclusive,and opens to anyonewho is committed tojusticeand love
and thesurvival ofBlackwomen.
I wouldnotwantthiscommentto suggestthatthemodelofselfhood,
whichis committedto Black feministprinciples,is suddenlydepoliti-
cizedandavailabletoanyunspecified subject.The seemingcontradiction
betweenthe model's specificity and its wide-opennessis a recurring
dynamic in Black women's articulations of themselves.For example,
manyBlackfeminist scholarshavearguedthatone oftheflawsofwhite
feministmovementshas been the separationfrommen,whichis less
productivefor Black women whose experienceof racial oppression
solidifiesa bondwithBlackmen.Thisargument suggeststhatthegoal of
identitypolitics,atleastforsomeBlackwomen,is toarticulate strategies

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 203

 andways-of-beingthatarecommitted to Blackwomen,butalso to other
of
groups people, who themselvesarecommitted toantiracist,
antisexist,
and otherliberationactivisms.Perhapsthe best expressionof this is
ofa womanist:
Walker'sdefinition

A woman who loves otherwomen, sexuallyand/ornonsexually....

Sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually.
Committedto survivaland whole of entirepeople, male andfemale.
Not a separatist,exceptperiodically,
forhealth.Traditionally
univer-
salist....(1983,xi)

Walker'sdefinitionassertsthata Black woman-centered model of

identitycan also be a model thatenunciates a survivalpractice can be
that
engagedbythosewho arenotBlackwomen,thoughitis imperative that
thecommitment to "sisters,"to "lovingsisters,"remain.21It is in the
consistency of thislatterqualification thatthepoliticalintegrityis sus-
tained.22A similarconsiderationapplies to the sexual politicsof girl-
friendselfhood,whichis sometimesspecifically lesbian,butis certainly
always woman-centered and woman-loving.23
This fluiditywithingirlfriend selfhoodinvitestransgression (implied
intheprominence ofmobility betweensubjects)andchallengescommon
socialvestigesofgender.Forone, thecouplingofwomenas girlfriends,
sexuallyor nonsexually,in an alliance predicatedon Black woman
self(ish)ness,dislocatesheteronormative raceandgenderideologiesthat
presume Black women's presence for the sake of otherswho are not
themselves.It is a literalre-definition
ofwho (in termsof social subjec-
a
tivity) Black woman a
is, necessaryproject.
The couplingdirectly takeson genderroles,as seen in TheColorPurple
whereCeliedescribesa momentbetweenherselfand Shug:

Shug say,Girlyoulook likea good time,youdo. ThatwhenI notice

howShugtalkand actsometimeslikea man.Mensaystufflike thatto
women,Girl,youlooklikea good time.Womenalwaystalkbouthair
and health.How manybabieslivingordead,orgotteef.Notbouthow
somewomantheyhuggingon looklikea good time.(72)

CelienotesthatShug'sbehaviorextendsoutsideofthethingswomen
do and say,an extensionthatis also at thegenesisofShug'sbeingable to
be Celie's other:notjust teethand babies,butalso a deep, committed
look at and interest
in Celie. This interestis followedbya daring(man-
like)proclamation, "girl,youlooklikea good time,"a proclamation that

204 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

helpsCelie to beginto see herselfin an/otherway.Shug's "good time"
commentis freeof theparticularsexual (and violent)valencethatthe
interestofmenoftenbears.Instead,Shugoffersto Celiewhatshe,Shug
sees,which is notprecisely
whoCelieis (orwhatCeliemightfeellike)but
is partofwho/howCeliemight be. Shug'sofferingopensa doorforCelie
to thinkof herselfas abundantand joy-possessing.Her idea of Celie is
strongenoughto makean impressionupon how Celie thinksofherself
withoutreinforcing masculineand racistperceptions.
Walker'snoveloffers further
commentary on gender-particularbehav-
ior.As Celie and Alberthavea conversationlatein thestory,
he asks her
"whatitis [she] loveso muchboutShug."

He sayhe loveherstyle.He sayto tellthetruth,Shugactmoremanly

thanmostmen.I meanshe upright, honest.Speakhermindand the
deviltake the hindmost,he say.You know Shug will fight,he say.
JustlikeSofia.She boundtoliveherlifeand be herselfno matter
what.
(228)
Celie recognizesthese characteristics as womanist, not masculine,
behavior:"Mr. thinkall thisis stuff mendo. ButHarponotlikethis,I
tell him. You not like this.WhatShug got is womanlyit seem to me.
Speciallysinceshe and Sofiatheones gotit" (228). Celie deemsthatthe
behavioris theresultofa commitment to a kindofliving,nottheresult
ofgenderedessence.24Thisclarification is importantbecauseitinforms
the couplingthatcan happen not onlybetweenwomen but between
womenandtheirmalegirlfriends. Shortly afterCeliemakesthispoint,she
andAlbert"keep...eachothercompanyunderthestars"(230), reflecting
thepossibility thatAlbertcan and has becomea partof Celie's beloved
a
community,community thatpreviously had beenonlywomen.Celieat
thispoint(and perhapsas a resultof theworkthatshe and Alberthave
done) is not"afraid"ofmen.
WhatI havebeendescribingas pairingsofone Blackwomanselfwith
an/other is actuallythecouplingofselfwithmanyotherselves,notonly
BlackwomenwithBlackwomen,and notonlyas a pair.The identifica-
tionis an expressionofnewintimaciesthatchallengesthekindsofrela-
tionshipsthatBlackwomen can havewithotherpeople, forexample,
Blackmen.The couplingofone otherwithan/other is a modelofmutu-
alityand relationality thatis open to anycouplingthatmaintainsthe
integrity sisterhood,anycouplingthatis committed
of to thesurvivalof
Black women. This cultivationof a community of selves oftenexists

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 205

 betweena smallnumber(threeor four);yeteventhissmallcoalitioned
selfhoodradiatesoutwardto involveintimateconnectionswithgreater
numbersof people. Girlfriend selfhood,whichbeginsas meetingand
understanding the other as the a gathering
self,is literally ofcommunity,
one byone. In Sula,theconnectionbetweenSula and Nel is oftenpro-
nouncedby Shadrackand his connectionwithSula. The novelbegins
withShadrack's witnessofwar-causedheadlessnessbecauseShadrackis
keyto selfhoodin thenarrative and is also a "girlfriend" ofSula's. After
she has died,he missesherand thinksof heras "[h]is visitor,his com-
pany,hisguest,hissociallife,hiswoman,hisdaughter, hisfriend"(157).
In fact,itis Shadrackwho calmsSula in a raremomentoffear(aftershe
and Nel havekilledChickenLittle)witha promiseofthe"always"ofher-
self,an assurancethatperhapsonlya girlfriend can make. Medallion
community members marvel at his politepublicgesturesto Sula, and
speculatethatit is onlyappropriatethatShadracktreatSula withsome
modicumofrespect,fortheyare "twodevils"(117).25
As Nel is also Sula's other,thethreearea tripling as muchas Sula/Nel
and Sula/Shadrack are pairings.In one sense, Sula, Nel and Shadrack
formtwopairsthatoverlapin theirsearchforrevelatory self-love.Itis an
uneasytripling because the three live differentlives;yetthey intersectin
keyways,particularly in theirawarenessofand presencewithinthisrisk
of headlessness,and theirurge towarda kind of fearlessnessBlack
womenareknownfor.Further, all threearepartofSulaandNePs epipha-
nies (thedeathofChickenLittle,Sula's at herdeath,NeFs at theend of
thenovel).
However,thetriplefacilitates andrevealsotherconnections.Forexam-
ple, Eva Peace is also a mirroring of Sula (bothwomenmutilatethem-
selvesas actsofsurvival) and Shadrack(bothhaveawakeningexperiences
in toiletsthatinitiatesan unwavering commitment to life).Attheend of
thenovel,withSula dead,itis NePs interaction withEva thatbringsher
back to Sula, a reveriethatcollapses timeand space, and occurs as
Shadrackwatches,wonderingwherehe had seen her(Nel) before.The
community thatNel, Shadrack,Eva and Sula constitute, as well as the
restof Medallion,is cultivatedthroughcouplingas a politicalunitof
identification.
Girlfriend couplingis an intimacybeyondthetwo- or three-and is
a cultivationof community, a gatheringof sisterfriends who one can
identify with as well as against. It is the dynamismof the oscillation
betweenidentifications and disidentification thatcreatestheexpansive-

206 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

ness ofwhatis a self-identity process.Celie's comingto understandher
place in the world throughher relationshipwith Shug exhibitsthis
expandingdynamism. In a keyexample,Celieidentifies Shugas herown
self:"Myearsperkup whentheymentionShugAvery. I feellikeI wantto
talkabouthermyown self" (20). In one sense, Celie wantsto join the
conversation aboutShug,a desirethatis, forCelie,willfuland woman-
ish.In anotherreadingofthestatement though,theword"her"and "my
own self" are appositives;theyrepresentthesame entityand could be
separatedbya comma. Shug is Celie's own self,a readingthatis sup-
portedbyCelie's earlierperformance of Shug-nessin hersexualexperi-
encewithAlbert.Later,Shugcomesto represent thepossibility forCelie
to exploreherrelationships withotherwomen:"I workon herlikeshe a
doll or like she Olivia- or like she mama" (48). In the space of this
description ofwashingShug'sbody,Celietransforms Shugfromherfirst
girlhoodcompanion(a doll), to her daughterOlivia,and thento her
mother.Andstill,Shugis Celie,and thewomanCelieloves.The process
of identificationhereis multivalent and expandsthenatureof thecon-
nectionbetweenthetwogirlfriends. In fact,whenShugmakesup a song
forCelieand namesitafterher("Miss Celie's Song"),she is bothidenti-
fying withCelie (and herstruggle)as well as beingCelie (Shug theper-
former becomesthenarrative "MissCelie").
The expansiveconnectionsfacilitatedby the model of selfhoodare
possible because the couplingis an alliance,a politicaland spiritual
union.26In contradistinction tothediscouplingoftheLacanianchildand
mirror image,theBlackwomanselfofthismodelembracesa fullersub-
ject of her an/otherself,and in a dancingmotion,thetwotraversethe
boundariesofflesh,self,andother,toachievea unionthatoffers an indis-
putable sense ofsomething, and makes possible the cultivationof a com-
munity withotherselves.
Communalidentification achievedthroughwhatis a selfishand self-
specificprocessis, forsome subjects,revelatory. It encouragesa selfto
recognizejusthowmany selves she (and in some cases,he) contains;this
awarenessofseljjullncss repairsthesense of beingmarginaland outside
and small. "Selffiillness"is in facta moreaccuratetermforwhatI have
been intentionally calling "selfishness"(intentionally, because I am
rememberingAnna Quindlen's comment about feminism offering
women a littlehealthyselfishness;and I am also thinkingabout the
culturalassumptionof selflessnessforBlackwomen). In thisselffull-
ness, the "other"is everything,27 or bettersaid, forminga self-defined

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 207

 relationship withothernessconstitutes theexpansivetotality of subjec-
tivity.This of
conceptualization subjectivity revealshow borders (and
being"othered")colonizeand separateselffromself.28
Suchself-centeredness is clarityand self-affirmation and is also poten-
tiallynarcissistic.29 The selfofthismodelis metaphorically similartothe
ravenous andfar-reaching surface thatElizabethGroszdescribesin"Refig-
uringLesbianDesire,"a surfacethatimaginesits contoursto be every-
thingand in touchwitheverything, and is centeredonlybyitsbeingfull
ofself.30The dangerofnarcissismis also thedangerofappropriation-
thatone self's centricity overwhelms, in a damagingway,theselfofthe
other.It is important to reiterate Trinh'sclaimthatidentity is "an ongo-
ingunsettling process," because the movement of girlfriend selfhoodis
unsettling and disruptsthestasisnecessaryforappropriation. This self-
hood further frustrates appropriation the
by ecumenicity of its "other"-
thereis no selfwho is notother,marginal,thereby makinga hierarchy
moredifficult and less fruitful, not
thoughcertainly impossible.
Girlfriend selfhoodis selffiillness throughotherness,an arrogant
assertionin the face of social imaginationsthatintendto limitBlack
women'srighttowillfulself(ish)ness.
The struggleofgirlfriend selfhoodis to "capturetheI in I," to achieve
radicalself-possession.31 This self-possession is propelledbythepoliti-
cal imperative towardrepair-of makingothernessa viablelocationof
identity.The girlfriend is an/other whose subjectivity is her agencyto
facilitatetheothersubject.The modelof girlfriend couplingis a repre-
sentationof othernessnot onlyas subjectivity, but as the agencyof a
mobileselfthatis morethanitsimage,fullofcontradictions, and more
thanitssingularity. This repairis nota reversalbutis literally a re-pair,a
re-joining of the severed self with its other, seeingrecognition a
the of
girlfriend whohas beenotheredbutwhois truly one's an/other.32 The re-
pairedcoupling is not a single unit but is a multiple-textuality is cen-
that
tralizedinitsselffiillness. There-pairis nota cleanhealingbutan attempt
toengageidentity as an unresolved oscillatingrelationship betweena self
and its other-thechiasmicidentification withand as thatis a dynamic
exchange and disengagement between two partsand thatestablishesa
modelforpotentialexchangebetweena selfand (any)otherself.
This model of selfhoodnormalizes"other"as a radicaland political
subjectivity, and situatesloveas an operationalschemaofidentity. Selfis
no longerselfbut is other.And beingother(as well as couplingwith
an/other) is theachievement ofpoliticaland psychicunion.

208 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

 NOTES
i. ElliottButler-Evans (1990,6) identifies self-fashioning as a keyBlack(and)
feminist discourse.
2. Titleofchapterone ofbellhooks'sFeminist Theory:From Margin toCenter.
3. It bears noting that various readers have resistedthe suggestionthatthedis-
of
cussion identity necessarily engagespsychoanalytic concepts,whileother
readershavefoundsucha designation tobe crucial.Myownpositionis that
thecriticaldiscourseofpsychoanalysis permeates muchacademicscholarship
in the U.S., and while I want to engageconcepts areperhapspsychoana-
that
lyticin their name, I also want to engagetheconceptsmindful ofotherschools
and communities ofthought.
4. MelanieKlein'sworkhighlights therealcorporealother(themother, for
example) that is unarticulated in the Freudian dialecticbetween selfand fan-
tasy/memory, and in this way, is useful here.Jennifer FitzGerald's "Selfhood
andCommunity: Psychoanalysis andDiscourseinBeloved" arguesin favorof
object-relations theory and itsinclusion of social,cultural,andpoliticalforces.
Itis also important the
tosuggestthat relational identity arguedforhereis not
inoppositiontoa positionalone (identity definedbypositionofpowerwithin
socialstructures), as is thecase withmostinterpretations ofobject-relations
theory (see StephenMitchellandMargaret Black'sFreud andBeyond: AHistory0/
Modern Psychoanalytic Thought). In fact,theimperative forthecoalitionis an
understanding ofpositionality. MitchellandBlackalso citeAlfred Adleras a
psychoanalyst whoconsidersthesocialandpoliticalinfluences upona
patient'sexperience ofpsycheand subjectivity. Thisis also thecase withErik
Erikson'sChildhood andSociety inwhichhe considerstheindividual ina histori-
cal momentand culturalcontext.
5. One ofthoserevisions is toconsiderselfhoodas a processparalleltoloveand
thewaythatmanyloveactsinvolvetwosubjectswhoseboundariesofselfare
entangledandnegotiated. I believethatlove,as itmanifests as a philosophical
anddiscursive backdropinMorrison'sandWalker'snovels,facilitates the
retooling ofclassicpsychoanalytic selfhoodso as tobetter accountfor
identity politics.Suchconsiderations arenowbecominga partofcultural
theory; see forexampleKaja Silverman's ThresholdoftheVisibleWorld andAnne
McClintock's Imperial Leather.Myuse oftheword"love"is intendedas a theo-
reticalandacademicconcept,whichfollowsthearcofmycurrent manuscript,
"TheLoveProject:A Cultural TheoryofCriticalHealinginContemporary
BlackWomen'sWriting," thatexploresloveas a Blackfeminist politic.
6. Smith'sessayis notonlya centralinspiration formyworkbutliterally gave
nameand structure toBlackfeminist literaryand culturalscholarship. In her
essay,Smithsetsouttomake"someconnections betweenthepoliticsofblack
women'slives,whatwe writeaboutand oursituation as artists.In ordertodo
thisI willlookat howblackwomenhavebeenviewedcritically byoutsiders,
demonstrate thenecessity forblackfeminist criticism,and trytounderstand
whattheexistenceornonexistence ofblacklesbianwriting revealsaboutthe
stateofblackwomen'scultureand theintensity ofallblackwomen'soppres-

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 209

 sion"(1982,158).Myownessay,especiallyinitsuse ofMorrison'sSulaas sig-
nal text,parallelsSmith'sin theattention tohomosocialBlackfemaleconnec-
tionas a locationofa culturalaesthetic.ButI am differently interested inthe
waythishomosociality is a tropeofselfhood,and therefore howitreflects and
challengesothermanifestations ofselfhoodincriticaltheory. (Thislatter
interestis further evidentin themanuscript fromwhichthisessayis taken,
wheretwosubsequentessaysexplorethisnotionofgirlfriend selfhood.)
Smith'sessay,on theotherhand,is interested in explicitlyjustifying theneed
fora particularBlackwomanapproachtoreadingliterature. In someways,
mineis a partofthelargerprojecttowhichSmithwas pointingattention.
7. 1am playingoffoftheopeningdistinction thatHurstonmakesinTheir Eyes
betweenhowmenandwomendreamdifferently: menliveon thehorizonand
womenaretheshore.Janiein thenovelrepresents an attempt tobringthese
twoperspectives- and thedesirestheycorrelate with-together inone Black
woman'sprocessofselfhood.
8. Anearlyexampleofthisdisidentification is theirdeadlyand dangerousplay
withChickenLittle,afterwhich"there[is] a space,a separateness, between
them"(63). Othermomentsincludetheargument aboutSula's placingEvain
a nursinghome(101),and theconversation theyhaveat Sula's deathbed.
9. 1am drawinghereon HomiK. Bhabha'sworkon thethirdspace,whichI will
discussmoreexplicitly laterinthisessay.See hisessay"Cultural and
Diversity
CulturalDifferences" inThePost-ColonialStudies Reader(an excerpt ofhislonger
work"TheCommitment toTheory"fromNewFormations 5). A similarmedi-
tatedpositionis discernible fromHeleneCixous'srepresentation ofbisexual-
ityin "TheNewlyBornWoman"(84-8). Theproblematizing ofbinariesis also
thegeneralthrust ofdeconstructionist criticalthought.
10.Page14.Theparticularity ofBlackwomen'sexperience as selflessmakesa
modelofselfishBlackfemaleidentity necessary and useful.
11.WhenNel asksJudehowhisdaywent,he proceedstotellherand Sula "a
whineytalethatpeakedsomewhere betweenangeranda lappingdesirefor
comfort. He endeditwiththeobservation thata Negromanhada hardrowto
hoe in thisworld"(103).ButSula does notoffer commiseration. Insteadshe
smilesand says"I mean,I don'tknowwhatthefussis about.I mean,every-
thingintheworldlovesyou.Whitemenloveyou.Theyspendso muchtime
worrying aboutyourpenistheyforget theirown.Theonlythingtheywantto
do is cutoffa nigger'sprivates. Andifthatain'tloveand respectI don'tknow
whatis. Andwhitewomen?Theychaseyouall toevery corneroftheearth,feel
foryouundereverybed.I knewa whitewomanwouldn'tleavethehouseafter
6 o'clockforfearone ofyouwouldsnatchher.Nowain'tthatlove?Theythink
rapesoon's theysee you,andiftheydon'tgettherapetheylookingfor,they
screamitanyway justso thesearchwon'tbe invain.Coloredwomenworry
themselves intobad healthjusttrying tohangon toyourcuffs.Evenlittlechil-
dren-whiteand black,boysandgirls-spendall theirchildhoodeatingtheir
heartsout'cause theythinkyoudon'tlovethem.Andifthatain'tenough,you
loveyourselves. Nothingin thisworldlovesa blackmanmorethananother

210 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

 blackman.Youhearofsolitary whitemen,butniggers?Can'tstayawayfrom
one anothera wholeday.So itlookstomelikeyoutheenvyoftheworld"
(103-4). Sula's commentnotestheviolencethatsurrounds Blackmen,but
also identifiesthehighvisibility
and centrality
(itselfviolent)thatBlackmen
occupy in American imagination and fascination(whichis, shenotes,a form
ofmasculineprivilege).
12.Forexample,RobertStaples'swell-cited criticismofMichelleWallaceand
othersandthegeneralresponsebysomeBlackmentoWalker'sTheColor
Purple (bookandespeciallythemovie).See CalvinHernton'sTheSexual
Mountain andBlackWomen Writers,whichnicelyelaborateson thedisdainful
anddemeaningreception thatthecontemporary explosionofBlackwomen's
literaturehas receivedfromestablished Black male writersand critics(espe-
ciallypages42-8).
13.Forsure,Beam'sproclamation worriedsomepeople,as bestexpressedby
whowondersabouttheessentialist
Issac Julien, natureoftheargument. I
understand Beam'sstatement a
in larger context ofdecolonization, and so
takehiscommentliberally, evenas I am consciousofthepotentialnarcissism
thatis implied.Thisessaywillmakea further commenton narcissism later.
See Issac Julien's
conversation withEssexHemphill, moderated by Don Belton
inSpeakMyName(219).
Teresade Lauretis'sThePractice
14. See especially ofloveand Kaja Silverman's
ThresholdoftheVisible World.
15.1amvibingoffofthetitleofBhabha'sessay"SignsTakenforWonder."
16. SidonieSmith,1987.
17.Variouswriters exploittheideaofotherness, includingbellhooks(especially
"ChoosingtheMargin"inYearnings) , ValerieSmith("BlackFeminist Theory
and theRepresentation ofthe"Other'"),Bhabha,Cixous,Irigaray and
Kristeva. Trinharguesthatwoman(andwomanofcolor)is other(inWoman,
Native, andwritesthat"Otherness
Other) becomesempowerment, criticaldif-
ference whenitis notgivenbutrecreated" (in "NotYou/Like You").
Interestingly,theinspiration toreclaimand redefine othernesscamefromthe
pervasive qualityofitsinstitution againstvariousgroupsofpeople.
18.FromAudreLordeTheCancer Journals.
19.One ofmycontentions withLacangeneratesfromhisrepresentation ofwhole-
nessas contextualized bythemirror: sincethemirror's offeringsareillusory,
thenwholenessandagencyarealso illusory. ThoughLacan's worktodisrupt
theideaofan idealizedandwholeselfis important, theendlessunfulfilling
ofhisframework is less usefulandless accurate.MitchellandBlackwrite,
"AttimesLacanseemstoreify language,granting ita kindoftranspersonal
agency.Thepatientas presented becomesa puzzle,tobe disassembled,so that
therealmeaningsarerevealed"(199),an assessmentthatcorroborates with
Clement'sarguments aboutLacan'swork.Further, fora personso interested
inlanguage,Lacan'smeagerattempt tonamethephallusas a genderless
apparatusis unrealized, especiallybecausetheidea oflanguageas a phallusat
theveryleastputsall womenat a seriousmetaphorical disadvantage, ifnota

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 211

 literaldisadvantage. Lacan:AFeminist
ElizabethGorsz,inJacques Introduction
(1990),writesthatthephallusinLacaniancosmology"signifies whatmen
(thinkthey)haveandwhatwomen(areconsideredto) lack"(125).
20. AngelaDavis(1989,202). I thinkthatthepresenceofpsychictravelis a cri-
tiqueofmasculinetrajectory ofcoming-of-agestoriesin theWesternliterary
culture,a trajectory
thatalso loomslargeinmuchliterature byBlackmenin
Diaspora.Fora clear,summative argumentaboutinferiorityinAfrican-
American women'sculture, see myessay"BlackFeminisms andThe
Autobiography o/MalcoImX."
HomiBhabha,GloriaAnzaldua(Borderlands), and bellhooks(Yearning),
tonamea few,havevariously arguedforthetransgressive that
possibilities
layin mobility. Bhabha'snotionofthirdspaceis especiallycrucialin this
respect.Alsosee CaroleBoyceDavies'ssuccessfulstudyofmigration inBlack
women'ssubjectivity inBlackWomen, WritingandIdentity.
21.1am usingthephrasefrombellhooks'Sisters ojtheYam(6).
22. 1also thinkitis helpfultoremember thatBlackwomen'sspecificcultural
practiceshavewidespreadimpacton individuals and communities who/that
arenotBlackwomen,whichis a logicalextensionofWalker'sargument in her
essay"In SearchofOurMothers'Gardens."Without recklessly
appropriating
Blackwomen'scultures, I am committed toexploring thewaysthatsuchcul-
tures,and theaesthetic, epistemological, andphilosophicalprinciples
literary,
thattheseculturesevidence,aredecisiveand necessary foundations ofcultural
production as a whole.Againsttheinvisibility and erasuretowhichBlack
women'scontributions areoftensubjected,I am trying tosensiblyelucidate
andhighlight theirwidespreadimpact.
Further,thismixofspecificity and inclusivity
is evidentin keyBlackfemi-
nisttexts,forexampletheCombaheeRiverCollective, orMicheleWallace's
"ABlackFeministSearchforSisterhood."
23. Forexample,as Adrienne Richevidencesinherdiscussionofcompulsory
heterosexuality, "lesbian"is botha referentforspecificsexualacts,as wellas
a descriptor ofa less-specificsocial,cultural,
aesthetic,politicalexpression
orcontext(includingthecaveatagainstand riskofdepoliticization). Sexuality
is a matterthatis morethoroughly engagedin subsequentarguments in the
manuscript fromwhichthisessayis taken.See OfWomen Bornand "Compul-
soryHeterosexuality."
24. In Sula,we aretoldthat"thePeacewomensimplylovedmaleness,"(41)which
is boththattheylovedmen,butalso thattheylovedmanlycharacteristics (like
freedom andtriumph) whichSulaandNel recognizewereunavailabletothem
becausetheywereneither malenorwhite[52]. Thesecomments on gender
echowhatAngelaDavisarguesin "TheLegacyofSlavery: Standardsfora New
Womanhood"aboutBlackwomen'sexpectedsocialrolesinconflict with
largernotionsof(whitewomen)femininity. Itis exactly
thesecontradictions
thatSojourner Truthis elucidating
whenshenotesthatshecanworkas much
as a man,whichin factmakeshera woman.Itis theintersection ofgender
andraceina U.S. context-thatgenderforBlackwomenis notbasedon

212 KEVIN EVEROD QUASHIE

 notionsoffragility, domesticity, piety.As Sulalayson herdeathbed,she
revisesTruth's statement, reminding thatbeinga womanand beingBlack
Nel
as
is thesame being a man.
25. See VashtiCrutcher Lewis's"African Tradition inToniMorrison'sSula"that
unfortunately imposes a heteronormalized frame (ofAfrican priestandpriest-
ess) on an otherwise important exploration of the relationship betweenSula
and Shadrack.
26. One interesting commenton thepoliticalinflection ofBlackwomen'sself-
hoodmanifests inDonnaHaraway's idea of a "cyborg," whichshealignswith
thepoliticalandpoliticizedidentity of women ofcolor that "marksouta self-
consciously constructed space that cannot affirm the capacitytoacton the
basisofnaturalidentification, butonly on the basis of consciouscoalition,of
affinity, In
ofpoliticalkinship"(156). spite my of hesitation touse Haraway, I
do findherarticulation a
of politicized coalitional identity forwomen ofcolor
tobe supportive ofmyarguments.
27. Thisideais widelyacknowledged as beingcentraltodeconstructionist theo-
riesandpost-modern thought, yetBlackfeminist criticssuchas bellhooks
havequestionedthewidespreadcentering ofotherness intheoretical models
thatlargely ignorethepoliticalreality ofthosewhoare"othered."(See
Yearning andOutlaw Culture.)ThissenseofothernessthatI am discussinghere
is notmerely fashionable otherness, butotherness as an identity ofagency.
28. Anzalduamakesthisargument aboutbordersand colonizationinBorderlands.
29. Morrisonmakesthecommentinrelationtohercharacter JadineinTarBaby.
See herinterview withGloriaNaylor(194).
30. FromSpace, TimeandPerversions. In talkingabouttheerotogenic surfacesofthe
body(a bodythatshe has refigured toextendbeyondthelimitsofcorporeality
in manypsychoanalytic discourses),Groszwritesthat"therelationship
betweentheseregionsorzonescannotbe understood in termsofdomination,
penetration, controlor mastery, butin termsofjealousy, as one organjealous
ofanother, as thedesireoforgansand zonesfortheintensity and excitations,
theagitationsandtumultuousness ofothers.In orderthatone bodilypart
(whether an orifice, a hollow,a protuberance, a swollenregion,a smooth
surface)intensify itsenergetic expenditure, itmustdrainintensity from
surrounding regions....Eachorganenviestheintensity ofitssurrounding
bodilycontext, cravesenervation, seeksincandescence, wantsitselftobe
chargedwithexcitations" (1995,197).
31.MichelleCliff(1989,50). Cliffis ofcourseechoingtheRastafarian colloquial
exclamation, "I andI."
32. Thereis a momentearlyinTheColor Purple whenHarpois wondering whatto
do aboutSofia'swildspirit.Celiebluntly tellshimtobeather,and does not
recognizeuntillaterthatshehas "sin[ned]againstSofia['s]spirit"(37). The
re(-)pairofCelieand Sofiais notonlycentered on thisviolation, butalso in
Celie'sneedtoclaimSofiaas hersisternowthatNettiehas left.Theactionsof
re(-)pairaresmall,buttheyoccurlargely through one actofsisterhood-the
makingofa quilt(53).

THE OTHER DANCER AS SELF 213

 beaten,itis Celiewhovisitsher,a
WhenSofialandsinjail and is horribly
Celie
and mirrors
visitwhichre(-)pairsSofia'sbodyand theirrelationship,
and Shug'scarefulattention toeachother'sphysicaldetails:

WhenI see SofiaI don'tknowwhyshe stillalive.Theycrackherskull,

theycrackherribs.Theytearhernose loose on one side.Theyblindher
in one eye.She swolefromheadtofoot.Hertonguethesize ofmyarm,
itstickouttweenherteeflikea pieceofrubber.Shecan'ttalk.Andshe
justaboutthecolorofa eggplant.
Scareme so bad I nearboutdropmygrip.ButI don't.I putiton the
floorofthecell,takeouta comband brush,nightgown, witchhazel
andalcoholandI starttoworkon her.Thecoloredtendantboybring
mewatertowashherwith,andI startat hertwolittleslitsforeyes,(yj)

rubslifebackintoSofia'salmost-deadbody,an actofsisterly
Celieliterally
re(-)pair.

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