The impact of organized religion on the social status of women in Alice Walker’s "By the Light of My Father’s Smile"

Abstract

Alice Walker’s novel By the Light of my Father’s Smile (1998), as her prose in general, addresses issues of religious, ecology, feminism and sexuality. The article discusses the novel’s depiction of the impact of organized religion on the social status of women with reference to both the novel’s cultural settings and Alice Walker’s personal experience. By deliberately breaking taboos about speaking openly of the sexual experience of women of color, the author intends to make her readers aware of the harm organized religion often causes to women all over the world. In her opinion, patriarchy unethically uses gender norms, as a way to benefit men over women. Walker thus commits herself to encouraging men who have been misguided by patriarchy to change their behaviour and righting their wrongs. She also strives to give oppressed women more confidence and courage to defend their freedom and independence.