The River's Rhetoric: Water as a Symbol of Freedom, Escape, and Redemption” which “Unpacks Water's Symbolic Meaning in the Context of Slavery"

Water has become a potent symbol of freedom, escape, and redemption in the slave context of magical realist literature, forming a powerful metaphor for the uneasy and often fraught relationship between identity, culture, and community. Amidst the cruelties of slavery, water emerges as a liberating power, providing a means of escape, a source of spiritual renewal, and a representation of redemption. Magical realist narratives present water as an agent for the escape of enslaved people, often appearing as an ethereal pathway to freedom. Such is the case of the Ohio River in Morrison’s “Beloved,” which acts as a supernatural barrier between slavery and freedom, the waters of which possess the power to wash away memories and redeem those who are able to cross it. The river’s waters are therefore endowed with the enchanted force capable of cleansing the marks of slavery and imparting a new life to those who dare cross its path. Again, in “Kindred,” water is an instrument carrying the character, Dana, back in time to deal with the intricacies of slavery. Water here also represents freedom, as it gives an outlet to Dana from slavery’s cruelties and also an opportunity to connect with her ancestors. In “Sing, Unburied, Sing,” written by Jesmyn Ward, while waters peel the skin of a slave, they incorporate healing and redemption against the Mississippi River background. Its water seems to contain mystical properties as it soothes the aches of the past and proffers hope and renewal to the weary. More or less in all these renderings, water is used to symbolize freedom, escape, and redemption, becoming almost a metaphor for the extremely complex yet often tumultuous crossroads of identity, culture, and community shaped by slavery. The magical realist manipulation of water in these renderings permits the interrogation of the highly differentiated manners in which enslaved people and their descendants have carried on with the complexities of slavery in a highly charged arena. Through the supernaturalism attached to water, human experiences are presented in such a way as to foreground their complexities and intricacies, providing a vivid and detailed space for an exploration of the many aspects of water as a symbol of freedom, escape, and redemption, within the context of slavery. The water‘s symbolism of freedom, escape, and redemption also puts forth, in a magical realist tradition, a compelling testament to the resilient spirit of humankind, a message of hope and strength amid the trials of oppression and adversity. Water in magical realism is often portrayed with wonderful properties: crossing the extremely thin borders of reality and taking a life of its own. Exceptionally often, stories describe water as having healing and protective powers or as being a transporting agent. These supernatural attributes serve to intensify the symbolic value that water has in these stories, allowing it to be a significant metaphor of human experience.