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A review by lorhart
Iola Leroy: Shadows Uplifted by Frances E.W. Harper
4.0
I loved this book! I read it for my English class, which definitely aided my enjoyment because we had to dissect and discuss the ideas that Harper presents (I think anytime you can discuss a book with someone, in a critical manner or otherwise, it multiplies your enjoyment 100%). But everything we talked about was rooted in the ideas and conversations that Harper introduced, so it's definitely worth the read.
The story is mostly told through dialogue between characters, and the writing is pretty much what I'd expect from a 19th-century novel. There is a fair amount of strong dialect, which I think added to the story, but it will be difficult to pick up for people who have never encountered it before. The best advice I can give is to take your time and read it aloud. The words are spelled phonetically according to their accent, so hearing it will make more sense than seeing it.
There's a fair amount of wish-fulfillment in the plot, but honestly, it works. It's a sentimental romance, so it's meant to be all gushy and stuff, but Harper does a serious critique of the genre and uses it to capture her audience (19th-century women) and confront them with ideas of Christianity, marriage, and racism that they may not ordinarily question. What's more, I think that the African-American portion of her audience deserves to have that kind of representation and hope. Reading is a form of escapism, even if the author is trying to show you harsh realities and promote critical thought; I certainly believe they can exist side-by-side. After all, "Shadows Uplifted" is in the title. Maybe it means that this book, with all its hope and promise and encouragement, is trying to uplift the heavy, foreboding shadows of the future for people who were and would continue to be discriminated against by a government that's supposed to protect them. I know there are many interpretations of the title, but I think that could be one of them.
The characters. Oh boy. They were awesome! So dynamic. Every character had multiple sides and contradictions, and most importantly, reasons for why they make their choices. Harper gave many conflicting viewpoints of a variety of issues, and the characters who delivered them were always called into question. And what a leading lady Iola Leroy turned out to be! A lot of media nowadays tend to rely on tropes for minority characters, particularly "strong independent woman who don't need no man," "fat, loud, unappealing caregiver" (also known as "mammy"), and "evil vixen who will always be passed up in the end" for black women. Iola Leroy both embodied and subverted these tropes, but most importantly, was a real person with real problems. She had been through a lot that made her strong, but it also deeply affected her and her view of the world. She didn't need a man to complete her, but she fell in love with one who helped her achieve her goals. She was caring, but that drove her to help her community and find her family. She was desired by most men in the novel, but part of that was showing the sexual vulnerability of enslaved women, and the other part was just a straight up romance you'd find in any book. And all that aside, she was so much more than these tropes, subverted or not. I don't know if Harper intended on doing that, but people should definitely look to Iola Leroy as an example of a dynamic character.
That being said, there were some things that Harper didn't call into question, like the superiority of America and Christianity over everything else, but overall, it was a really good read. There's so much more that can be said and discussed, so if you've read this book too (regardless of whether you enjoyed it), or maybe would like to read it, I'm always open to a good conversation.
The story is mostly told through dialogue between characters, and the writing is pretty much what I'd expect from a 19th-century novel. There is a fair amount of strong dialect, which I think added to the story, but it will be difficult to pick up for people who have never encountered it before. The best advice I can give is to take your time and read it aloud. The words are spelled phonetically according to their accent, so hearing it will make more sense than seeing it.
There's a fair amount of wish-fulfillment in the plot, but honestly, it works. It's a sentimental romance, so it's meant to be all gushy and stuff, but Harper does a serious critique of the genre and uses it to capture her audience (19th-century women) and confront them with ideas of Christianity, marriage, and racism that they may not ordinarily question. What's more, I think that the African-American portion of her audience deserves to have that kind of representation and hope. Reading is a form of escapism, even if the author is trying to show you harsh realities and promote critical thought; I certainly believe they can exist side-by-side. After all, "Shadows Uplifted" is in the title. Maybe it means that this book, with all its hope and promise and encouragement, is trying to uplift the heavy, foreboding shadows of the future for people who were and would continue to be discriminated against by a government that's supposed to protect them. I know there are many interpretations of the title, but I think that could be one of them.
The characters. Oh boy. They were awesome! So dynamic. Every character had multiple sides and contradictions, and most importantly, reasons for why they make their choices. Harper gave many conflicting viewpoints of a variety of issues, and the characters who delivered them were always called into question. And what a leading lady Iola Leroy turned out to be! A lot of media nowadays tend to rely on tropes for minority characters, particularly "strong independent woman who don't need no man," "fat, loud, unappealing caregiver" (also known as "mammy"), and "evil vixen who will always be passed up in the end" for black women. Iola Leroy both embodied and subverted these tropes, but most importantly, was a real person with real problems. She had been through a lot that made her strong, but it also deeply affected her and her view of the world. She didn't need a man to complete her, but she fell in love with one who helped her achieve her goals. She was caring, but that drove her to help her community and find her family. She was desired by most men in the novel, but part of that was showing the sexual vulnerability of enslaved women, and the other part was just a straight up romance you'd find in any book. And all that aside, she was so much more than these tropes, subverted or not. I don't know if Harper intended on doing that, but people should definitely look to Iola Leroy as an example of a dynamic character.
That being said, there were some things that Harper didn't call into question, like the superiority of America and Christianity over everything else, but overall, it was a really good read. There's so much more that can be said and discussed, so if you've read this book too (regardless of whether you enjoyed it), or maybe would like to read it, I'm always open to a good conversation.