Contending Forces

rdf:langString Contending Forces

rdf:langString Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South

rdf:langString Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South

rdf:langString Pauline Hopkins

rdf:langString R. Emmett Owen

rdf:langString The Colored Co-operative Publishing Co.

rdf:langString Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South is the first major novel by Pauline Hopkins, first published in 1900. Contending Forces focuses on African American families in post-Civil War American society. Hopkins, a child of free parents of color, imprinted her "own evasive and unsettling maternal family history, which linked her to the Atlantic slave trade, the West Indies, and the American South" that are described within this text, representing common experiences endured by enslaved and free individuals of this time period. In writing this text, Hopkins notably employs a romance plot and trope to explore social and racial themes, demonstrating an educated and loving African American family who overcome great racially based obstacles to ultimately achieve both occupational and familial success. Hopkins often notes her appreciation for her race's great achievements, writing for the purpose to uplift her race. Contending Forces was published in 1900 by the Colored Co-operative Publishing Company in Boston, Massachusetts, where majority of the text's setting takes place.