Reconstruction Of Gender Relations In Gloria Naylor’s Brewster Place Novels From The Perspective Of Postfeminism

Gloria Naylor is widely regarded as one of the most famous and successful writers in contemporary African American literature and her status in African American literature has been further enhanced since the publication of her first novel The Women of Brewster Place (1982). In 1998, Naylor published The Men of Brewster Place, which has also caused a stir in America. Many critics have commented on The Women of Brewster Place from such perspectives as sisterhood, Black Feminism, womanism, postmodernism and the construction of self-identity. However, less attention has been paid to Naylor’s second Brewster Place novel. There are different voices about the Brewster Place novels and these voices will provide a good foundation for the research on gender relations of African Americans.This thesis interprets the Brewster Place novels of Gloria Naylor from the postfeminist perspective, probing into Naylor’s introspection on gender relations embodied in the texts of the two novels, and explicating further the author’s expectation about the reconstruction of harmonious gender relations. In The Women of Brewster Place, Naylor depicts the painful experiences of African American men and women under the unbalanced gender relations. However, in The Men of Brewster Place, Naylor builds up a solid tie that connects African American men and women. This thesis argues that Naylor’s deep reflection on the reconstruction of harmonious gender relations and her ideas all well correspond to the views advocated by postfeminists.The theories of postfeminism are vital and beneficial for the further exploration of Naylor’s introspection on gender relations and the significant theme embedded in the Brewster Place novels. The study will provide a different perspective for the interpretation of Naylor’s Brewster Place novels. Meanwhile, it also has some realistic significance in contemporary society which emphasizes the establishment of harmonious relationship of all people.