The world doesn’t revolve around you! Many children, and plenty of adults too, have heard this from parents, friends or partners. It’s easy and kinda satisfying to view others around you as minor characters in the drama of your life. But Paula Moya wants us to recognize that this arrogant self-centredness can lead people to believe that everyone else is just there to serve them. Paula argues that Toni Morrison’s novel A Mercy not only depicts harmful arrogance among its characters, but also teaches readers to be less arrogant in their own lives.
Bonus clip
Click here to listen to a bonus clip about how Toni Morrison’s novel Sula depicts a character who’s perceived arrogantly by her husband as well as by her best friend.
Works mentioned
– María Lugones, “Playfulness, “World”-Travelling, and Loving Perception”
– Marilyn Frye, “In and Out of Harm’s Way: Arrogance and Love”
– Toni Morrison, A Mercy
– Toni Morrison, Sula
Further reading
Paula Moya talk The Social Imperative: Race, Close Reading, and Contemporary Literary Criticism
Namwali Serpell at Slate – On Black Difficulty: Toni Morrison and the thrill of imperiousness
Elizabeth Spelman at London Review of Books – How do they see you?
Beatrice Alba at The Conversation – Still serving guests while your male relatives relax? Everyday sexism like this hurts women’s mental health
Edan Lepucki at The Millions – Reading and Race: On Slavery in Fiction
Kris Cohen at Public Books – Impossible Belonging