Popular Culture Review Vol. 14, No. 1, February 2003 | Page 84

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Popular Culture Review

the truth of Pinky’s accusations. In fact, she attempts to make Pinky responsible
for the very racial attitudes that have been projected onto her. Miss Em simply
responds, “Nobody hates you. Pinky.”
Miss Em and Pinky conceivably appear to be both one and the same in their
style and delivery as they emit sharp biting remarks to each other reflecting a
merging of the self and Other. Yet it is the domineering attitude inherent in a hege
mony that attempts to devalue and marginalize blackness that we see Miss Em’s
voice foregrounded while Pinky’s voice is backgrounded, de-centered, even erased,
as Miss Em is rendered the authority figure or political pawn. Miss Em’s transfor
mation into Pinky becomes empowering not only for Miss Em but perhaps also for
Pinky, as she too can vicariously experience a position of empowerment.
The Transformation Is Complete
When Miss Em fakes a fainting spell, she wards off Cousin Melba Wooley’s
attempt to persuade Miss Em to will her property to her. Following the cousin’s
departure, both Miss Em and Pinky appear relieved and laugh; the transformation
is apparent. At this point, the self and Other merge. The third party, the cousin,
represents a force both opposing and merging. In Miss Em’s case, the cousin has
tried to claim her property. As for Pinky, the cousin has tried to reduce her from a
privileged white-position to that of a non-white subordinate, ordering Pinky around,
and accusing her of theft. Yet, as the cousin exploits both women, she is also re
sponsible for facilitating the merging of the self and the Other. Another element
that represents the merging is Miss Em’s imminent death, which parallels the tragic
fate of the mulatto.
Finally, we can observe Miss Em’s transformation into Pinky in the deception
in which both characters partici