However, Poppy and Joyce are representative of a trend in femininity that attempts to pursue social authority in the contemporary British public sphere by way of degrading the spirit of marginalized persons. Importantly, we are also introduced to Poppy Burt-Jones, a schoolteacher who seeks to portray herself as a morally progressive thinker and advocate for equality among all racial and ethnic groups. I argue that Zadie Smith has crafted White Teeth, in part, as a critique of contemporary British feminism and to show that feminism has been founded on a paradigm that largely seeks to control and hierarchize particular forms of femininity, and categorize these forms according to race, ethnic backgrounds, and sexual orientation. Smith brings satire and humor into the novel to lighten the heavy themes being addressed by showing that although Joyce claims to be a feminist, she symbolizes a tough contradiction, by relying on her husband not only financially, but also to validate how physically attractive she is. Joyce also represents the type of feminist that is troubling to so many women in western culture: the “white,” heteronormative feminist. Midway through Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, we are introduced to Joyce Chalfen, a modern woman who seeks to create her identity as an authorial voice and a “staunch feminist” that successfully advises women on how to grow the perfect English garden, as well as how to become the ideal woman (Smith 324).
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