Distortion And Restoration Of Love: A Study Of African-American Females' Growth In Love

African-American woman writer Toni Morrison has been concerned and sympathized with black females marginalized in the mainstream culture. She pays attention to the formation of a complete self and their future fates in the oppressive society characterized by patriarchy and racialism. In the novel Love published in 2003, Morrison focuses on love which has served as the emotional bond among African-Americans under the impact of history, race and sex. Meanwhile, the process of black females'growth is fully explored through the demonstration of the distortion and restoration of love in black families and communities.Initially, this paper illustrates the marginalized position of black females as doubled others by the analysis of the distorted relationships in two marriages, mother-daughter relationship and female friendship. In Love, the harmonious human relationship is distorted as the inevitable consequence of haunting historical shadow and established patriarchy. The distorted love changes the once intimate mother-daughter relationship and the pure friendship into mutual hostility and enmity. Then, this paper illustrates black females'growth by the analysis of the restored friendship. Although distorted love is equipped with destructive power, love as the symbol of black nation's cohesion in the eternal history is eventually returned under the united efforts of black female individuals and black communities. The return of the friendship isn't a simple repetition of the friendship in their childhood but the reflection of love after they transcend themselves and obtain a real self. It's necessary to point out that black females still have a long distance to cover before they possess their positions in the mainstream culture. In the Post-Civil Rights Movement Age, African-Americans should arouse the racial love which has been gradually forgotten and dwell on the real meaning of love, which conveys Morrison's wishes as well as points out the decisive policy to solve the racial and sexual problems.