4 Feministic Objectification in Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.”
Julia McGrath
EL 2206-002: English Composition II: Science-Fiction Literature
Professor McGovern
20 April, 2018
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Female stereotypes have been an under the radar conflict throughout many books. These pigenholes mimic the ideologies for the roles that women have to play in society. Any woman who is out of place is looked at differently and their problems are not taken seriously by both genders. This is shown throughout Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man as the unnamed narrator is a black man living in a white world, who perceives the social plight of women as being similar to that of black men. The discriminatory objectification of women in the book highlights the intersection of gender in a white patriarchal society.
Female stereotypes are discreetly shown through the story as the narrator depicts women through the lenses of a black man who follows the ideal white female protocal. The women are not shown as the characters who struggle also. White women were above the blacks but not equal to any white men. Carolyn W. Sylvander's scholarly article "Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Female Stereotypes" quotes this problem "they seldom conceive [women] characters possessing the full complex ambiguity of the human... an oversimplified clown, a beast, or an angel (2). Almost all female characters in books are looked at as a sexual object; "the good girl", or the sexual pleaser; "the bad girl." There are very few women characters that really play a significant part other than being a wife, mother, or a rebound for a man.
Furthermore, Sylvander adds in her article that stereotyping is a "dehumanizing idea and psychological justification are carried out unconsciously and carefully in the dominant group's literature" (22). Using women in the sense of a delicate item is horrible because they only cover how strong the men are in the books. The way that Ellison carries out the characters is dehumanizing to prove a point. Female stereotypes can be depicted as their roles in society and the objectification that they experience through both genders.
The objectification women are portrayed as is important because it shows that they are not considered equal to the male gender. The first scene where this takes place is in Battle Royal where the narrator is in a club and sees a blonde dancer. The dancer is described as "...hair was yellow like that of a circus kewpie doll, the face heavily powdered and rogued...I felt a desire to spit upon her as my eyes brushed slowly over her body" (19). The narrator lives in a racist world, but even though he is not considered part of society because he is black, he views women similarly to the white men. The only difference is that he cannot touch the dancer because he is not a white man. The narrator scans her body because she has a promiscuous appearance, even though it is clear that she does not like her role, she has to be dressed up for men for pleasure.
This dancer is the epitome of a "slut" since she is not perceived as innocent like most women should be. She is enslaved to attend the white man's needs but is looked differently for it. It is acceptable for the men to objectify her but it is unacceptable for her to actually enjoy her sexual urges. This is shown in the book when the narrator states, "...to caress her and destroy her, to love her and murder her" (19). This is a form of white idealism because the narrator treats her the same as the white men. He sees her as a delicate, helpless creature but because she is of the opposite gender and is scandalous, he wants to destroy her femininity because she has none for exposing her body. This is because she does not appear how a woman is supposed to be; docile, innocent, weak, virginal. However, she has the American flag tattooed on her stomach, signifying that the narrator cannot touch her.
Secondly, the narrator meets Mr. Norton, a man who created his college. Mr. Norton is driven around to get a tour of the best sights of the college. This is when he brings up his daughter, "she was a being more rare, more beautiful, purer, more perfect...I found it difficult to
believe her my own" (42). Both genders pay attention to a woman's physical appearance because they have to appear to the eye. Girls are judged the moment they are born; women are often juxtaposed with one another because they are supposed to be materialized.
Sylvander's article points this out, "It is because...Ellison's stereotyped females were not deliberate choices, but unconscious choices on his part" (79). The narrator may not have realized that he was being critical and leveled his standards, he was doing what society has been doing; arbritrating which girls are beautiful and which ones are not based on what society deems perfect. The white women are considered more valuable than the black women. The white women are articles of commodities. They are divided by society because of their gender. The narrator admired the white women because they were ideal. They were more accepted than blacks women because of their race, but were still looked down upon because of their gender and role in society.
Thirdly, the narrator does not pay attention to women who do not appear ladylike. This claim is clear when he got off the train, "I bumped against a woman who called me a filthy name, only causing me to increase my speed" (261). He ignored this lady, however, when he was in the basement for a paint plant. He got into a physical altercation with the old man that worked alone, "he's using a knife...I slashed out with my elbow, sharp against his face...his head flying backward and up and down..." (226). He hit an elder but would not second look a female for calling him a "filthy" name. After, he threatened the old man, "I'm going to beat your brains out!" (226). It turns out that the elder had dentures that latched onto him, but he retaliated by being physically abrasive. If it were a female, he would not have reacted in the same manner.
According to Russell W. Nash's scholarly article, "Stereotypes And Social Types In Ellison's Invisible Man", he explains the dichotomy and what makes it effective. He states, "minority group members tend to be invisible to the majority...appear only when permitted" (6-7). The women are considered a minority because they are not equal to their male counterparts. Women are only looked at when they are considered a sexual object. When the random lady in the street called him names, he ignored it because she was not important enough to be stood up too. If she were a man, the narrator would have reacted variantly.
Later on, the narrator finds success. He was offered a job by a man named Brother Jack. He was at a party with all the employees when a lady came up to him, "'what is your opinion of the state of women's rights?'...[and then]...Brother Jack pushed me along to a group of men" (311). Brother Jack ignored the female and dragged the narrator away. The fact that they went up to a group of men proves that women are not identical to a male when it comes to rights. According to Finn Mackay's 2014 article, "Reclaiming Revolutionary Feminism", she goes into meticulous detail about the cons of feminism and why many women refuse to openly participate. On page 100 of the article, she expatiates, "Some women are afraid of being seen as feminist because they're afraid of men's reaction. I was at a conference recently and this woman was saying—well, why would she go along with feminism, people would think she's unfeminine. So, fear of losing male approval."
This quote demonstrates that even today, most women fear being judged as not "feminine" enough for men and will do anything to be accepted by them, even if it means turning against their own gender. The woman who went up to the narrator was ignored because she was not looked at as ladylike for asking such a question. Women back then were slaves to the men
because they weren't allowed to have opinions; they couldn't have a voice. Even the other women ignored her presence because she goes against societal views of the stereotypical woman. Mackay's article provides the disadvantages that women have even to each other. The majority of the female gender argue with one another to prove that they are worthy enough for men; they have to compete with each other in order to be noticed by men. Dressing in bright colors and flashy clothing will help them appear girly to men, even if they don't like wearing that attire.
Lastly, he was at a bar when he met ways with a woman. The lady's name was Sybil. He kept giving her alcohol and she began to egg him on, "Come on, beat me, daddy....knock me down! Don't you want me?" (522). The narrator wrote on her stomach with lipstick that she was raped. This shows that men have power over women because when a female is raped, she is always blamed for it. Sylvander explains this by saying, "Sybil is an ultimate image of the narrator's growing insensitivity to the humanity of women...Rather, he seeks out because she is "lonely", "misunderstood", "neglected", and "wistful"" (78). The narrator doesn't think much of her state at that moment when he sends her in a taxi alone, forgetting about her. He is desensitized to women because of the culture that he is surrounded by. Since Sybil was raped, he will think of many reasons to blame her for it. Rape victims are always asked about what they were wearing at the time, where they were; clothing and location do not matter.
Female stereotypes have been an under the radar conflict throughout many books. These pigeonholes mimic the ideologies for the roles that women have to play in society. This is shown in the book when Mr. Norton talks about how beautiful his daughter is to the narrator. The narrator looks at the dancer in the club as an object, and when Sybil is raped. Double standards come in when he bumped into a random lady before she called him filthy names and acted like
she didn't exist, but threatened to beat an old man's brains out at work. However, he ignored the woman who went up to him as she wanted his opinion of women's rights. Brother Jack led him away to a group of men, symbolizing that the opinion of the women is not valid or important to them. They are not taken seriously because none of them fit the criteria of a stereotypical female. This takes place today because most females don't want to appear un-ladylike, so they refuse to be equal to a man and submission; hoping to also be a partner in the process.
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Works Cited
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Vintage International, 1995.
Mackay, Finn. "Reclaiming Revolutionary Feminism." Feminist Review, No. 106, revolutions (2014), pp. 95-103 Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24571941
Nash W., Russell. "Stereotypes and Social Types in Ellison's Invisible Man." The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Autumn, 1965), pp. 349-360 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4104975
Sylvander W., Carolyn. "Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Female Stereotypes." Negro American Literature Forum, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Autumn, 1975), pp. 77-79 Published by: African American Review (St. Louis University).
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3041094
