Trauma and Empowerment in Tina McElroy Ansa’s Ugly Ways

Abstract

Ugly Ways (1993) by Tina McElroy Ansa has been overlooked as a significant contribution to African American feminist literary fiction. This paper performs a close reading examining the novel’s thematic intersection of Black feminist theory and trauma theory. Part one of this essay defines Black feminist theory and outlines key concepts of Black feminist thought. Parts two and three focus on the protagonist, Esther “Mudear” Lovejoy, and analyze her “change” through the lenses of Black feminist theory and trauma theory, respectively, highlighting the ways in which Ugly Ways articulates a conception of Black womanhood defined in equal parts by empowerment and psychic pain. Part four argues that Black feminist theory and trauma theory are not just compatible, but consonant. Ultimately, Ugly Ways depicts African American women as complex human subjects and moves beyond conventional historical, literary, and popular representations.