Motherhood Under Chains: The Impact of Slavery on Maternal Bonds in Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing

Abstract

Slavery, a phenomenon that has existed for centuries, has secured a permanent spot in literature, with numerous writers including Yaa Gyasi, using it as a premise to creatively tell stories. This paper departs from existing conversations on how the narrative structure of Homegoing enables readers to view racialization as a result of lived experiences, how the symbolism of water, fire, and stone in the novel highlights themes of healing and diasporic migration, and how home can be problematic. Rather, it focuses mainly on the novel's portrayal of how slavery fractured motherhood by replacing the natural bonds between mother and child with continual loss, absence, silence, pain, and trauma. A close reading of the novel reveals many instances in which mothers are unable to love their children because of the circumstances into which they were born or because their maternal love is overshadowed by traumatic experiences caused by slavery. These examples suggest that, within a more conducive environment, such bonds would be able to flourish without obstruction. Therefore, this paper offers readers a lens through which to look beyond the fictional characters in Homegoing and recognize that the experiences of the mothers and children in the novel reflect historical realities, encouraging an appreciation for the love that can be freely expressed and the maternal bonds that can be nurtured.