The Romance of Politics: Paule Marshall’s Daughters

Abstract

In an interview just after the publication of Daughters in 1991, Paule Marshall emphasized that one of its major themes was “the need for black men and women to come together in wholeness and unity” (Dance, “Interview” 20).¹ She described the novel as “a plea” to blacks “for dialogue, for a willingness to reach out and support and save each other.” The kind of “reconciliation” that Marshall desires (Dance, “Interview” 4) obviously extends far beyond mere political collaboration. However, politics has a role in that reunification and is a crucial element in the novel.² Interpreted on the political level, Marshall’s words invoke both the Coalition Narrative and the Salvation Narrative of Politics. “Come together,” “support,” “save”—in effect, she calls for salvation through coalition for black women and men. Just as in Bodily Harm, however, Daughters ultimately resists an entirely positive reading in redemptive political terms.

Perhaps we have reached a period in history when this question of the father’s dominance can no longer be avoided.

—Luce Irigaray, Sexes and Genealogies, 11

The psychological toll of being a Black woman and the difficulties this presents in reaching political consciousness and doing political work can never be underestimated.

—Combahee River Collective, 277

Against all the odds (social, political, intellectual) the desire for romance has survived.

—Jackie Stacey and Lynne Pearce, “The Heart,” 11

Until a strong line of love, confirmation, and example stretches from mother to daughter, from woman to woman across the generations, women will still be wandering in the wilderness.

—Adrienne Rich, Of Woman Bom, 246