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A mammy or mammie〔''Contemporary Caribbean Women's Poetry: Making Style'' by Denise DeCaires Narain; p.87; "''() the continued commodification of the black woman as 'mammie' figure.''"〕 is a Southern United States archetype for a black woman who worked as a nanny and/or general housekeeper that, often in a white family, nursed the family's children.〔(Merriam-Webster Dictionary )〕 The word "mammie" is a variant on the word ''mamma'' (''momma'', "mom"), and roughly means "mommy" in Dutch. ==History== One of the earliest fictionalized versions of the mammy figure was Aunt Chloe in Harriet Beecher Stowe's ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'', which was first published in 1852.〔(Mythification of the Mammy Figure )〕 As the mammy figure progressed into the 20th century, the persona was sacrificed to the demands of the white majority, who widely mythologized the figure. Memoirs that describe the roles of mammies from the 1890s to the 1920s downplayed the mammy's relationship with her family.〔 The background to the Mammy figure was the history of slavery in the United States. African American female slaves were tasked with the duties of domestic workers in White American households. Their duties included preparing meals, cleaning homes, and nursing and rearing their owners' children. The homeowners depended on them. Out of these circumstances arose the image of the mammy. 〔Walker-Barnes (2014), p. 85-88〕 While originating in the slavery period, the mammy figure rose to prominence during the Reconstruction Era. In the Southern United States, the mammy played a role in historical revisionism efforts to reinterpret and legitimize their legacy of chattel slavery and racial oppression. The mammy image endured there to the 20th century. In 1923, the United Daughters of the Confederacy proposed the erection of a mammy statue on National Mall. The proposed statue would be dedicated to "The Black Mammy of the South". 〔Walker-Barnes (2014), p. 85-88〕 The historicity of the mammy figure is questionable. Historical accounts point to the identity of most female domestic servants as teenagers and young adults, not "grandmotherly types" such as the mammy. According to Black Feminist Thought (1990) by Patricia Hill Collins, the life expectancy of enslaved women was 33.6 years, meaning that they died at too young an age to fit the mammy portrayal. Melissa Harris-Perry has argued that the mammy was a creation of the imagination of the White supremacy, which reimagined the powerless, coerced slave girls as soothing, comfortable, and consenting women. 〔Walker-Barnes (2014), p. 85-88〕 In 1981, Andy Warhol included the mammy in his Myths series, alongside other mythological and folklore characters such as Santa Claus, Mickey Mouse, and Superman. 〔Walker-Barnes (2014), p. 85-88〕 In ''Mammy. A Century of Race, Gender, and Southern Memory'' (2008), Kimberly Wallace-Sanders argued that the mammy's stereotypical attributes point to the source of her inspiration: "a long lasting and troubled marriage of racial and gender essentialism, mythology, and southern nostalgia. 〔Walker-Barnes (2014), p. 85-88〕 The romanticized mammy image survives in the popular imagination of the modern United States. Chanequa Walker-Barnes, a licensed psychologist, argues that political correctness has led to the mammy figure being less prevalent in the 21st century culture, but the mammy archetype still influences the portrayal of African American women in fiction. Women portrayed as good caretakers, nurturing, selfless, strong, and supportive. Playing the supporting characters to white protagonists. She cites as examples Miranda Bailey, Mercedes Jones, and Ivy Wentz. 〔Walker-Barnes (2014), p. 85-88〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「mammy archetype」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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