In her novel Sassafrass, Cypress, and Indigo, Shange employs lyricism as a persuasive mechanism for showcasing black female artistry. She does so by juxtaposing lyrical descriptions of Indigo’s creative outlets (as well as those of the women around her) with the prosaic consciousness brought on by gender-charged violence.
The scene in which Indigo gets her first period highlights the intergenerational transmission of black female tradition. Here, Shange utilizes lyricism to underscore the integral role of artistry in these ceremonies. The scene opens with Indigo baking bread with Sister Mary, before taking a dramatic turn resulting in both women on the floor in a pool of Indigo’s menstrual blood. In the following moments of radiant joy, Sister Mary bathes Indigo in a tub of rose petals, before sending her out back with a garland of flowers. She says to Indigo, “’there in the garden, among God’s other beauties, you should spend these first hours. Eve’s curse threw us out the garden… Take your blessings and let your blood flow among the roses’… Indigo sat bleeding among the roses, fragrant and filled with grace” (Shange, 15-16). Shange emphasizes the theme of nature in this ceremony, grounding the organic process occurring within Indigo in the delicacy of mother nature. In doing so, her words and teachings are transformed from mere forms of communication to expressions of self-love, self-appreciation, and cultural production.
Indigo’s bloody transition into womanhood is also marked by violence, creating a tension between her creative spirit and the threats posed by those seeking to take advantage of such purity. Shange highlights this juxtaposition with a change in her narrative technique. As opposed to the poetic verses of artistry, she engages with prosaic intentionality. Before Indigo—who, in the eyes of her mother, is consumed in naivety—goes to the pharmacy, her mother warns her, “white men roam these parts with evil in their blood, and every single thought they have about a colored woman is dangerous. You have gotta stop living this make-believe. Please, do that for your mother” (Shange, 18). In this moment, Shange trades lyricism in for prose, emphasizing a level of gravity tied to these new (and mostly unwelcome) responsibilities of womanhood.
Critical Discussion Question: How does Shange offer an understanding of womanhood through an appeal to vision?
In reading your post, the religious aspect of Eve and the garden really sparked my interest as I feel religion is not a large theme in the novel. And this idea that being in the garden while menstruating was a way to take back some feminine power after God had taken it away from. I think the call back to the bible and the lyricism you mention are used purposefully as a way to add to the Bible. To create one’s own chapter through poetry and lyricism. It is very remincisenqt of the poetic nature of the Bible. And in creating this new chapter, it is both going against the accepting Christian dogma and also changing it, creating a new interpretation or understanding. In a way, creating a new religion that is infused with the culture of the women doing this ceremony.