In Jayna
Brown’s chapter, “Letting the Flesh Fly,” she primarily explores the
performance of Topsy, a character from the book rendered into play, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. What I found most
fascinating in Brown’s chapter is the discussion of white women in black-face
playing the role of Topsy. Brown claims that the role of Topsy was created by
and for white women, and not male cross-dressers (p. 68). For thirty-five years,
Mrs. Caroline Howard, an adult white woman, played the very young role of
Topsy. Brown explains that women were seen as comparable to children, both
being susceptible to misbehaving and in need of discipline and guidance (p. 71).
White women may have enjoyed playing the role of Topsy because it enabled them
to feel free of “white female duties” (p. 74). But Brown makes an important
distinction between white subjects playing the role of Topsy versus black
subjects. Brown claims that the “playful refusal to behave” that white women
enjoyed “…should not be construed as an act of alliance with unfree black
female subjects,” and instead these performances should be seen as, “white
women’s proprietary access to the black female body, as surrogate, as servant,
as always already available for use” (p. 71).
In one of Brown’s most compelling
statements throughout her chapter, she claims, “The use of the idea of black suffering, an icon for all
types of suffering, does not imply active alliance with black people or their
continued struggles for space and resources” (p. 72). Although later in the
chapter, Brown explains that the body can never actually be owned (p. 85). This
is seen in the way in which Topsy, as played by a black subject, changes the
overall experience of the performance. Brown claims Topsy becomes a trope for
black female expressive resilience and defiance (p. 77); a far more powerful
and meaningful experience than when played by a white subject.
Katie, I gathered similar questions and found some of the same parts just as interesting. I was really perplexed by the body as a vehicle in regard to race and gender. There was also the section that mentioned that if the body does not stop moving it can not be contained. Anyway, interesting we thought similarly.
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