Feminine Power in Claiming Christianity as a Community of Women in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, Paradise, and A Mercy

The numerous female communities in Toni Morrison’s novels gain power and agency through many sources, particularly through their spirituality, practice of religion, and the communities themselves. The opportunity to share... [ view full abstract ]

The numerous female communities in Toni Morrison’s novels gain power and agency through many sources, particularly through their spirituality, practice of religion, and the communities themselves. The opportunity to share and convene in religion and spiritual beliefs, particularly those of Christianity, gives these women the power and agency to form individuality and isolate themselves from the ever-pervasive male sphere. Since Christianity is a historically patriarchal institution, the point of power for these women lies in their control over their race and gender through their adaptation of the oppressive tendencies of orthodox Christianity. In each novel, women interact with both the patriarchal and dominating forms of Christianity as well as create their own liberating and powerful practice of the religion. The intricacies of these communities differ across time and place, however through feminine spiritual isolation, Morrison’s women have the chance to transform and adapt their religious experience and grow both as a community and as individuals. In my thesis, I focus on the women in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon (1977), Paradise (1997), and A Mercy (2008) as representations of the power of female religious individuality and community.