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Iola Leroy, or Shadows Uplifted (Black Women Writers)

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While it might easily be regarded solely as a criticism on slavery, Frances E.W. Harper's Iola Leroy is a novel that tackles an infinite array of issues affecting the black race, and America in general, during the late 19th century. These issues range from gender, to internalized racism among the Negro of lighter skin color, the infamous "Negro question," the hypocrisy of religion, and many others. Tne most undeniable value of the book, is the call that the author makes for literacy, temperance, and the uplifting of the race.

Harper, like Dubois, is optimistic about the future and potential of African-Americans. She sustains that now that the doors of education, religious freedom, and of economy and capitalism are open to the race the expectations are great both on the part of the whites and the blacks themselves.

The undeniable value of the book, is the call that the author makes for literacy, temperance, and the uplifting of the race. This novel deserves extensive study not only as a feminist or ethnic work; it is one of the basic works of American Literature which can be read and enjoyed by anyone interested in social issues and fine reading material.

Harper was a major political, economic, and educational figure in the entire period from the civil war until the turn of the century. The sweep of this book is that entire period. In this way Harper is really registering what is the last in a long dialog of texts about what social power can or did overthrow slavery, and what forces are behind this. Harper's opening chapters about the slaves under slavery, the slaves during the civil war, their actual role in stopping the confederacy, the intelligence of the slaves, and all are not just idle depictions, but responses to those like Delany who felt the slaves were incapable of revoltion. Harper's analysis of the strength and the struggle of the freedmen and freedwomen after slavery tends to also reply to the debate about whether they were worthy of freedom, and whether the fall of reconstruction was inevitable.
At times Harper's concern for these debates weakens the plot as a modern reader would see it. Moreover, though her description of struggle through out the early parts of the book is gripping, as you gets to the close without more to offer than education and social uplift, the book also tends to seem weak to the modern reader trained to more visceral and personalized plotting. When Harper wrote, particularly in the tradition she writes, often the overall message as she delivers it, was seen so much more important than the plot. A message such as this was what the reader bought a book for then.

Like Blake and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl this is a historic document. Unlike so of those texts, this is written with hind sight from decades latter, by one of the last of the pre-civil war Black literary/political intellectuals to survive.

Iola Leroy is a novel that shows the plight of slaves and former slaves around the time of the Civil War. Through stories of several generations, Harper shows how different segments of society react to the notion of freedom. With all the turmoil and strife in this period, Harper still manages to end on a note of hope and optimism.