Title

There is Heterosexuality: Jessie Fauset, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the Problem of Desire

Authors

Mason Stokes, Skidmore CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Published In

African American Review

Volume

44

Issue

1/2

Pages

67-83

Recommended Citation

Stokes, Mason. "There Is Heterosexuality: Jessie Fauset, W. E. B. Du Bois, and the Problem of Desire." African American Review, vol. 44, no. 1/2, Spring/Summer 2011, pp. 67-83.

Abstract

Presents literary criticism of the novels "There is Confusion" and "Plum Bun" by Jessie Fauset focusing on their portrayal of the connections between love and desire, heterosexuality, and race in the 1920s U.S. The impact of Fauset's relationship with sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois on the themes of these works is also evaluated. Broadly, the author is concerned with the works' connection to the country's changing sexual climate during this time.

Comments

Copyright © 2011 JHUP. This article first appeared in African American Review 44:1/2, 67-83. Reprinted with permission by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Keywords

Heterosexuality, African Americans, Novels, African American culture, Desire, Narratives, Love, Literary criticism, Renaissance literature, Post World War I period