Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1996. [Vol. 3.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 23)

STUDIES - Gabriella Varró: The Theme of Comic Love in Blackface Minstrelsy: The Anatomy of the Grotesque

Darky, the most memorable and lasting grotesqueon the minstrel stage came out of the theme of comic love. From the many comic love clichés that came to be paraded on the minstrel stages all across America, I will focus on the character of the Ugly Female, while also noting the strong presence of two further stereotypes entering the stage with the comic love songs of minstrelsy, and accompanying the figure of the Ugly Female, the Jealous Black Lover and the Seducer. The primary source of the grotesque quality in these character portraits was physical deformity which was vicariously conveyed to the public by means of the minstrel lyrics, or through direct visualization: the images of the sheet music covers and the very appearance of the minstrel performer. While the physical deformity of the male characters was not new to minstrel audiences, since the two core stereotypes were also built largely upon physical grotesque, the comic love theme introduced the black female in addition, to serve as the butt of minstrel jokes. Although much of the humor of the comic love theme derived from situation comedy, the stereotype of the Ugly Female was largely built upon physical ridicule, similarly to the characters of the Happy Plantation Darky and the Dandy Darky. Besides the ludicrous situations the black female was caught up in by the side of her black lover and her secret suitor, the black female was often parodied because of her alleged physical defects. Interestingly enough, as Sam Dennison observes, the exaggerated physical features of the black female were frequently perceived as adding to, rather than decreasing, the desirability of the black woman (Dennison 117). Her form was round, her step was light — But, wan't her bustle heavy?

5 4 "Grotesques" here denotes all the stereotypes represented on the minstrel stages, whose grotesqueness was due to a curious mixture of physical and also often mental deformity and ridiculousness. 5 'The Yaller Gal With A Josey On" quoted in Dennison 120. 96