Essay On Deborah Baldwin

Most, if not all, of Baldwin’s female characters inhibit a certain characteristic that at the time was not socially accepted for the role of a “women”. For example, in Baldwin’s character Deborah we begin to see the conflicts and stigmas that come with rape and the pure women. In the book, Deborah was judged and marginalized as an outsider due to the fact that white men took advantage of her. Baldwin does an exceptional job of explaining to the reader the stigmas that Deborah had to face from society after everyone knew that she had been raped. Baldwin explains that black men were afraid to approach her and believed that she had been choked with the white men’s milk (Baldwin, 121). Baldwin further critiques this notion of the pure women by
unraveling the destructive relationship between Gabriel and Deborah (Baldwin, 124). With their relationship, Baldwin teaches readers that women at the time who were considered “spoiled” were no longer able to show affectionate and could only be loved by those men brave enough to marry these impure women. Baldwin then further continues critiquing commonly accepted notions of gender and sexuality through his character Esther. Esther in the novel was known for her carelessness and affectionate towards many men (Baldwin, 133). During the time period of the book, 1930s, women were expected to act a certain way that portrayed them as reserved and monogamous. These notions were further applied to women who were religious and followed the biblical teachings of man over women (as seen in Genesis 3:16). Baldwin argues against these notions through Esther by creating this character who is not ashamed of the attention she receives by men and her freedom to express her own drives and needs.
Finally, Baldwin uses his character of Elizabeth to further critique accepted notions of gender and sexuality. As seen in biblical teachings and earlier history, women were expected to marry and were exceptionally expected to not have kids without marrying a proper man first. In the book, Go Tell It On The Mountain, Elizabeth contradicts these notions by moving in with a man who she had not married yet (Baldwin, 189). Elizabeth then goes on and has a baby, John, after Richard dies and is left alone. In the book, readers can experience the consequence that Elizabeth faced when she opposed the societal norms. Gabriel begins to push Elizabeth into believing that John was an accident and she had to ask for forgiveness, but Elizabeth refused.