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Elizabeth319's picture

Delayed Response to Sojourner Truth's Plate

Submitted by Elizabeth319 on Fri, 09/07/2007 - 11:30pm.

There is so much pressure to be one of the last to respond to a topic that has already been discussed in such great detail. I studied the plate prior to reading any other reactions so that what stood out to me would not be swayed.

The immense depiction of suffering and pain hit me the hardest. This plate does not celebrate the feminine beauty yet emphasizes the hardships and agony that women go through whether it is political suffering or an internal anguish.

There appears to be a sense of hidden pain and secrecy of such anguish. There are silent tears. The woman's mouth is not open and her eyes are closed. The face to the right appears to be waving for attention, waving for rights and justice yet no sound escapes her mouth. The face in the center depicts a controlled exterior with little emotion. The face in the center is what the world sees of the same woman who is drowning in suffering and not being heard when she asks for help. Why  bother expressing the emotion if no one is going to reach out and respond?

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