32. ART AS A THERAPY: A READING OF ALICE WALKER AND ZORA NEALE HURSTON Auteur: KAN-OUAR Eguibowé Viviane & AFAGLA Kodjo  

Black American women's fight for survival in a highly racist and patriarchal American society permeates black American female novels in a way that deserves special critical attention. Focused on Alice Walker's «The Color Purple» (1982) and «Possessing the Secret of Joy» (1992) as well as Zora Neale Hurston's «Their Eyes Were Watching God» (1937), this essay assesses black American women's appeal to cultural strategies to overcome racial and patriarchal oppressions. Relying on Walker's womanist theory, the study reveals that African American heroines successfully implement blues-singing, quilting, weaving and mask- wearing to mitigate the impacts of oppression on their daily lives