In the novel The Book of Negroes there is an obvious representation of feminism which is why I chose to look at feminist literary theory in this novel. Aminata’s feelings towards men and women have been fairly equal so far, she has not made a judgment on people based on their sex but rather just how they treat her. She doesn’t like the men that own her or have abused her because they have not treated her right at all. She was very fond of Solomon Lindo’s wife because she treats her well and doesn’t act as if she owns her.
In the novel women are represented as not being as intelligent or worth as much as a man if they are being sold as slaves. They are sexually abused by their owners and are judged based on their ability to have children. Even the wives of the rich men are not given respect by their husbands and are supposed to do what they are told. The men are the workers and the women are sex objects and servants.
In this time period women had little rights and were expected to just have kids and please their husbands so that is why they are being treated this way but Aminata uses her voice and her intelligence to stand up for herself and not let herself get pushed around so much by her owners and uses it to get a more equal relationship with solomon even though they are nowhere near being equal still.
“I remember wondering, within a year or two of taking my first my first steps, why only men sat to drink tea and converse, and why women were always busy. I reasoned that men were weak and needed rest.”(pg 24). This quote shows how Aminata doesn’t believe she is worth any less than men even though she has been living in a society that thinks that way.
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