Friday, 8 November 2013
Stockholm Syndrome in The Book if Negroes
In my opinion, Aminata exhibits a few symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome throughout the novel. First, she develops an unusual bond with the medicine man on the slave ship. The other slaves only seemed to interact with him when they were trading sex for good favor. Aminata, on the other hand, learned from him, while receiving food and better living conditions, even though she was uncomfortable being held captive in his sleeping quarters. Over time, her complaints about the sleeping arrangements become fewer and fewer. Although much less severe, I also believe Aminata shows similar symptoms when Mrs. Lindo and her son die, even though she is their "servant".
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I do agree that her relationship with the doctor is odd, but there is also a hint of fear because she doesn't want to face the consequences of his anger, or be thrown with the rest of the women. As for signs of the syndrome with the Lindos, I think it is more evident before the death of Mrs. Lindo, because she was content to live there for 13 years, and it was only when Mr. Lindo started treating her harshly and left her to starve that she reacted badly, even if she stayed for the roof on her head.
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