17세기말 미국의 계급, 인종, 종교와 토니 모리슨의 『자비』

Class, Race, and Religion in the 17th Century America and Toni Morrison's A Mercy

In her 9th novel, A Mercy, Toni Morrison returned to 17th century America to show its early unformed economical, religious, and racial background, which had more flexibility and hybridity, and embraced multi-racial ethnic groups. That era was a time when religion, class, and race were purposefully inter-connected, and slyly separated for the manipulation of the slavery system. To show the chaotic and corrupted new world religion, Morrison portrayed several Christians and religious leaders, who sexually abused ethnic women and a white man indentee, as narrow-minded, sexually repressed and diverted. The main reason why the victims were exposed to sexual exploitations was because of the differences in race and class. Bacon's Rebellion in this novel which was mainly caused by class difference, played a trigger role in white men's legislating further race-related laws in America which helped the slavery system find its justification. Morrison emphasized white men's strange but vicious project which excluded religion from the slavery system. By eliminating the religious factor from the slavery system and racial discrimination, they put in its place visible African Americans' black skin as the main defect and devilish trait, which gave them cause to enslave numerous African Americans for a long time. Morrison artistically demonstrated a parallel between American Indian, Lina and British, Rebekka's religious choices for their individual survivals. Through Lina, Morrison sought to reflect on the syncretic ability and religion of an American Indian whose tribe became extinct because of the Europeans' germ war during which Europeans supplied poisonous blanks filled with smallpox that were taken from European hospitals. Morrison problematized Rebekka's changing, and pretentious religious attitudes because her tricky retreat to the dogmatic and chilling religion might be harmful to herself and other members of her plantation. Through this novel, Morrison wondered aloud if the world has the possibility of finding not only God's mercy, but humanity's mercy as well.