RACE, HOME AND RELATIONSHIPS IN GLORIA NAYLOR’S THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE

Abstract

The Women of Brewster Place established Gloria Naylor on the literary map in the 1980s. Written in the continual black female tradition, the novel explores black women’s inner and outer being as they navigate their lives and relationships in the urban environment. The work’s narrative structure has been of particular interest to many scholars and ordinary readers. This paper will step in a different direction and try to analyze the connection that exists between the characters’ race and the opportunities they have for a home and, going further, how that affects their romantic prospects. The various relationships, times and spaces chart the invisible thread which connects all African Americans throughout history.