Identity 2

Another ideentity explored in Part I of the novel was Hannah. Hannah was considered an exotic woman who pleasured any man she could and enjoyed pleasing him. Morrison described her as inviting the men into her private, intimate relationships without entering a brothel. In other words, Hannah was a whore. But Morrision puts these in "gentler" terms. Instead of saying she was pleasing to the eyes of men she would describe her exoticly, "Hannah was carrying a coal scuttle up from the basement, she handled it in such a way that is became a gesture of love. He made no move to help her with it simply because he wanted to see how her thighs looked when she bent to put it down, knowing that she wanted him to see them too," (pg. 43). Hannah is a girl who needs the attention of man to find her own identity. African American women are percieved as exotic creatures who entice men only for intimate pleasures. Morrison's depiction of Hannah verifies this belief. In addition, as Morrison unfolds the truth behind Eva's one leg, she explains that it was a man who unraveled her identity. Men were known to determine the identiy of wome. After all, they are the superior race, right?