A Black Woman’s Struggle in Possessing the Secret of Joy

In 1992, Alice Walker wrote a jarring novel called Possessing the Secret of Joy. In this story, a girl named Tashi experiences the loss of her sister who bleeds to death after being genitally mutilated by the tribal circumciser. In the Olinka tribe, the only way for a woman to be of any worth is to be circumcised. Walker describes a circumcision of women as cutting off genital parts, such as the clitoris and labia, and sewing the vaginal hole so that it may become extremely tight. Circumcision is one of Walker’s main themes in this novel. You may ask why these brutal tortures on women are taking place. The unquestioned reason is that “Man is jealous of woman’s pleasure” (Walker 178). The story gives numerous examples of females’ characters who are able to pleasure themselves immensely and don’t require men to achieve this pleasure. This jealousy of quick and easy pleasure makes men feel useless. A good summary of this theory is given by Pierre, Tashi’s husband’s son, who says, “When her outer sex is cut off, and she’s left only the smallest, inelastic opening through which to receive pleasure, he can believe it is only his penis that can reach her inner parts and give her what she craves. But it is only his lust for her conquest that makes the effort worthwhile. And then it is literally a battle, with blood flowing on both sides” (Walker 178).

This mutilation and oppression of women is a major theme that has appeared in numerous discussions in class. Men feel like they need to be the Alpha in relationships, and women shouldn’t be allowed to do anything without men’s approval, including feeling pleasure. Alice Walker’s inspiration for writing this story came from a young African woman who was flown to LA to star in “The Color Purple,” another of Walker’s novels made into a film. This girl came from a country where genital mutilation was still being practiced, and Walker noticed this. It really struck a chord when she realized her ancestors came from that same country and practiced these same traditions in their culture. With the publication of this book, she hoped it would be “used to educate women and girls, men and boys, about the hazardous effects of genital mutilation, not simply on the health and happiness of individuals, but on the whole society in which it is practiced, and the world” (Walker 283). Walker hopes this painful tradition will cease.

Another major theme in Possessing the Secret of Joy is how a place affects one’s culture. Tashi was born and raised in Africa, but claims she is American. She claims, “An American looks like a wounded person whose wound is hidden from others, and sometimes from herself. An American looks like me” (Walker 208). Tashi can’t claim herself as Olinkan, because of the devastation that took place as part of her original culture in Africa. She is scarred, physically and mentally, from relating herself to that place and culture that caused her to become crazy and murder the tribal circumciser decades later. In class, we talked about how a certain place defines a whole culture, which is different for everybody. Tashi’s place and culture is in America, not in Africa where she was born.

In the end, Alice Walker recognizes that RESITENCE IS THE SECRET OF JOY through the character of Tashi as an African-American female.

There is no doubt Alice Walker deserves a fan page. Her desire to save the pain of millions of girls in African countries from being genitally mutilated and oppressed is a brave and huge ordeal to overcome, especially since Walker is able to relate to this experience because it is where her ancestors are from. Her will to resist the traditions of her tribal culture is significant in expressing how strong and individualistic she is as a person. She should be idolized for her courage. This fan page was created to express her priorities to more people so that her achievements will not go unnoticed.

-Nicole Browning

Walker, Alice. Possessing the Secret of Joy. USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.
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