Essay: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man

In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the author portrays a world in which black men are dominated by a white, racist patriarchy. With this, Ellison draws a connection between both the plight of women and black men—both are oppressed by white males. The author repeatedly portrays women’s suffering from invisibility by continuously erasing their human presence throughout the novel since they only function as devices for men to use. More-so, Ellison depicts how men—including the narrator himself—undermine women in society. The narrator, in the beginning of the novel, is forced to submit into white men’s presumption and oppression of women, yet he realizes women’s placement under the hands of white men. Though towards the end of the novel he himself rejects women as human and, differing from his previous considerations, is unable to notice the effects of a male-dominated society. All in all, Ellison shows the narrator’s progression—from having minor recognition for women to having none after drawing closer to his own manhood. In the end, the narrator of the novel ultimately submits to the white man’s world—a critique of Ellison’s.
The Battle of Royal scene from the beginning of the novel marks the start of the narrator’s encounters with women. One of the first female characters introduced in the novel is a blonde, nude “exotic” dancer. The white men use the woman as a tool to shame the black young men for they force the black men to stare at her and threaten them if they do or do not; yet, this scene also shows the woman’s oppression. The female character is naked with an American flag painted on her stomach and described in a way that only suits men’s portrayal of women: “The hair was yellow like that of a circus kewpie doll, the face heavily powdered and rouged, as though to form an abstract” (Ellison, 18). The female character is described as anything but human; she is the fantasy of men’s desires. The dancer is the product of white men—a sexualized object only esteemed for parts of her body. However, the narrator is unsure of how to react or feel towards this nude woman. He states, “I wanted at one and the same time to run from the room…to caress her and destroy her, to love her and murder her, to hide from her, and yet to stroke [her]” (Ellison, 19). The narrator can stare at the woman, yet he cannot act on his desires. This is a display of his own invisibility.
In the beginning, the woman is portrayed as making the black boys feel powerless since it “is” forbidden for a black man to even gaze at a white woman. At first, the narrator believes she takes pleasure in this power stating: “And the blond continued dancing, smiling faintly at the big shots who watched her with fascination, and faintly smiling at our fear” (Ellison, 20). The narrator believes that she enjoys how her sexuality, and her whiteness, works to render the men as powerless—that she smiles at their fear, enjoying her authority over them.
Yet, the narrator’s viewpoint shifts as he realizes the woman too is a pawn in a white society led by men. Thus, he then recognizes the woman’s suffering since she is only seen as an object of entertainment used to castrate the black young men. Both the woman and the black men in this scene are treated as pieces without feelings and emotions. The narrator understands he was mistaken in his belief that the woman enjoyed the men watching her dance nude for he states:
“They caught her just as she reached a door, raised her from the floor, and tossed her as college boys are tossed at a hazing, and above her red, fixed-smiling lips I saw terror and disgust in her eyes, almost like my own terror and that which I saw in some of the other boys” (Ellison, 20).
Consequently, the narrator sympathizes with the woman for she is only merely performing for the men. He recognizes her “terror” may be similar to his. The woman does not express genuine pleasure in the scene, but rather she has an ingenious “fixed” smile (Ellison, 20).
Nonetheless, after joining the Brotherhood, the “Invisible Man” fails to recognize that woman’s “terror” still may be similar to his own. During a party held by the Brotherhood, the narrator decides to enact revenge on the Brotherhood (for the narrator struggles with his own invisibility in the group). Therefore, to undermine the group, the narrator seeks to possess a white woman named Sybil. Sybil feels “neglected” by her husband and the narrator describes her as “lonely;” this makes Sybil a perfect, vulnerable victim. The narrator invites her to his place after ensuring she drinks “enough.”
In this instance, the narrator is not forced to face this woman, Sybil. Rather, he treats Sybil as an object for his own use. However, Sybil rather becomes the seducer instead of the seduced, who fantasizes about a black man brutally assaulting her for such an act happened to her friend. Sybil shows this sexual desire without concern. Due to this, the narrator has a negative reaction: “I laughed inwardly. She would soon be a biddy, stout, with a little double chin and a three-ply girdle” (Ellison, 519). Sybil is unaware she is being mocked and laughed at for her actions. Additionally, Sybil makes a comment about women’s position in society, stating: “Men have repressed us too much. We’re expected to pass up too many human things” (Ellison, 519).
However, Sybil herself in return stereotypes black men as she also only sees black men as sexual objects. The narrator becomes more aware of this stereotype placed upon him and therefore sends Sybil on her way. Yet, the narrator only sees Sybil as an object, too. Both characters are unaware of how and why they operate under the white patriarchy. Nonetheless, Sybil is the ultimate image and symbol of the narrator’s transition from having a slight recognition for women’s social position in society to having none. Further, this scene also depicts the narrator’s insensitivity to women: “Maybe a great number secretly want it; maybe that’s why they scream when it’s farthest from possibility…” (Ellison, 560).
All in all, Invisible Man, centered around the invisibility of black men, also highlights the invisibility of women. Ralph Ellison illustrates the parallel between the societal struggles of race and gender; both are victims of the oppressive, white patriarchy and ignorant to how they cooperate in favor of the oppressors. Yet, the narrator—who once sympathized with women for they too face oppression—later in the novel lacks individuality and, thus, has no recognition for women as an equal counterpart to men. Ellison further portrays this for neither the nude blonde or Sybil interact with other female figures. With this, since the novel is through the lens of a man, Ellison works to subtly critique women’s oppressed place in society for he excludes any well-developed female characters; the women that are depicted are only shown to be for the gratification of men. All in all, the female silence emphasizes the novel’s main presenting issue: invisibility.