Family Dynamics in American Literature: Genesis and Beyond Heidi Ann Marshall

Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2008 Family Dynamics in American Literature: Genesis and Beyond Heidi Ann Marshall Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERISTY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES FAMILY DYNAMICS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE: GENESIS AND BEYOND By HEIDI ANN MARSHALL A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2008 Copyright © 2008 Heidi Ann Marshall All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Heidi Ann Marshall defended on 11 April 2008. ________________________ W.T. Lhamon Professor Directing Dissertation ________________________ John Fenstermaker Committee Member ________________________ Andrew Epstein Committee Member ________________________ Neil Jumonville Outside Committee Member Approved: ____________________________ R. M. Berry, Chair, Department of English The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii To Brent. You are my myth—my perfect story. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Rip Lhamon for believing in me and for agreeing to work with me even after his retirement! It was fate that I took your lore cycles seminar and met you my first semester at FSU. You helped me find my place, thank you. I would also like to thank Richard Bizot for his friendship and mentorship throughout graduate school. Four years ago, you asked me if I would really go through with it. Well, here is your answer. My friends have also been extremely supportive and deserve many thanks. My fellow graduate students, Tatia Jacobson Jordan, Kameelah Martin, Lisa Lakes, Julia Roundtree Livingston, and Molly Hand know first-hand the hard work that goes into a dissertation. As well, I thank my friends, Max and Julie Schafer, for always encouraging me, despite my stress. This dissertation is a culmination of something that started a very long time ago in my life: the love of reading. I want to thank my parents with all my heart for loving me and always surrounding me with books. My dad always made sure I had plenty of bookshelves—thank you for building them. My mom told me to take one step at a time toward my dreams, and here I am. Thank you, guys. It started with you. Ultimately, I am so grateful for the encouragement from both my son, Emory, and my husband, Brent. Eight months ago today, I gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy, and he has inspired me to achieve my dreams and make him proud. Without the two of them—this dissertation would not be possible or worth while. I love you always. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ................................................................................................vi Abstract ......................................................................................................vii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 1. THE AMERICAN GARDEN OF EDEN .............................................18 2. THE BLOOD CRIETH OUT TO US: CAIN AND ABEL ..................45 3. AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AND THE FAMILY ..................78 4. FAMILY VIOLENCE AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE ......................115 5. THE FUTURE FAMILY .........................................................................155 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................186 APPENDIX ................................................................................................190 REFERENCES ................................................................................................191 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................202 v LIST OF FIGURES 1. Charles Barsotti, We’re Slugs, Cartoon .....................................................18 2. Bartolomeo Manfredi, Cain Killing Abel, c. 1610 ......................................22 3. Gustave Doré, The Death of Abel, 1866.......................................................22 4. Marc Chagall, Cain and Abel, 1960 .............................................................23 5. Malcah Zeldis, Cain and Abel, 2002 ............................................................23 vi ABSTRACT The family unit established by Adam and Eve in the first book of the Bible is often rewritten and resurrected in American literature. This dissertation explores that Genesis lore cycle in American literature as an emblem of changing family dynamics in the past two centuries. The family unit established by Adam and Eve is rewritten in order to address American literary themes such as fratricide, incest, marking, and more. I analyze texts ranging from very canonical American pieces, such as John Steinbeck’s East of Eden and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, to contemporary ones like Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog Underdog and Dorothy Allison’s Bastard out of Carolina. The fall, fratricide, and implied incest evident in Genesis appear in American literature amid new families who fail to mirror the utopian nuclear family set forth in the initial Edenic creation. These new American families maintain the lore cycle and combat the connotation that American families fit the Genesis first family mold. This study also incorporates findings from other disciplines, including history, sociology, and psychology. Utilizing this scholarship, I examine the ways in which American writers have resurrected Genesis amid major American historical changes such as civil rights, feminism, and more. vii INTRODUCTION European colonizers explored and conquered the American landscape as if to create a new beginning, a promised land—an Edenic garden, a Genesis. The European intrusion, contrary to such a utopian allusion however, lacks anything but gentle Edenic promises. The west was won; in fact the continent was won, without approval from any remaining native communities. In 1845, John O’Sullivan coined the term “manifest destiny” as the mission of the United States “to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” (Stephanson xi). Using divinity as a source of approval, Americans birthed the American Dream. Deeply tied into our sense of the American Dream is the analogous concept of starting anew, hence a Genesis. American literature, as a reflection of its history and culture, has not forgotten its tie to Genesis and for the past two centuries has alluded to and modified the Genesis creation lore cycle. So why is the myth of the Genesis first family, its utopian garden, and subsequent murder so alive in American literature? An investigation into the nature of the first family (Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel) and its constantly modified appearance in American fiction will unfold within each chapter of this dissertation. Specifically, this dissertation analyzes family dynamics in predominantly twentieth century American literature. I have chosen to analyze a selection of texts through the scrutiny of literary theory as well as other disciplines, including history, sociology, psychology, and more. This multi-disciplinary study will navigate a new understanding of American literature, one that evaluates familial roles, historical changes, and the use of lore cycles such as the Genesis lore cycle. It is not news that American authors constantly allude to Genesis in their writings, however subtle or obvious. Obviously John Steinbeck’s East of Eden 1 somehow relates to Eden. This dissertation analyzes the way American authors slice up the myth of the first family and recreate the tale in an American facet. This is telling of what American literature is and what the family has become. Although the Genesis lore cycle dominates much of American literature, the cycle ultimately leads to a new understanding of what it means to be an American family. By rewriting such an austere myth in the American mindset, writers have opened doors for a broader understanding of the family in general. Civil rights advocated by black, female, and gay communities have all contributed to a new consciousness of what an American family really is, and Americans revise the mold on a daily basis. The first family emulates the model nuclear family: husband, wife, and two children. It is pure, reaches a climactic crisis, falls, and eventually leads to murder. In the opening chapters of Genesis, God creates the world, the animals, and mankind. Although Adam and Eve are warned not to eat from the tree of knowledge (Genesis 2:17), the pair eventually disobey their creator and fall from grace for eating the forbidden fruit. God’s punishment for Eve is twofold: “trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him” (Genesis 3:16). As for Adam, God warns, “the ground will be under a curse. You will have to work hard all your life to make it produce enough food for you” (Genesis 3:17). After being cast out from the pure Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve bear two sons: Cain and Abel. Cain, the farmer, presents an offering to God of his most recent harvest. Abel, the shepherd, presents an offering to God of the first lamb born to one of his sheep. Without explanation, God prefers and praises Abel’s offering (Genesis 4:1-5). Out of anger and jealousy, Cain eventually “turned on his brother

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