Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-8-2025
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Beth Spencer
Second Advisor
Kesicia A. Dickinson
Third Advisor
Annette Trefzer
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis examines how Eudora Welty employs an intersectional approach in her writing and photography to represent the complex identities of elderly Black women in the American South during the Great Depression. Using intersectionality as a framework, this project analyzes how Welty’s work acknowledges the overlapping forces of race, gender, age, and class that shape her subjects’ lived experiences. While documenting adversity, Welty also highlights resilience, agency, and communal empowerment. The study focuses on Welty’s literary works “A Worn Path,” “Ida M’Toy,” “A Pageant of Birds,” and “Cindy and the Joyful Noise,” alongside her Depression-era photographs from One Time, One Place and photographs taken in the same settings as those in the collection. Through these pairings, Welty’s layered understanding of individual and collective identity emerges.
The first chapter explores “Ida M’Toy” (personal essay) and “A Worn Path” (fiction) in relation to her portraits “Ida M’Toy, retired midwife / Jackson” and “Ida M’Toy.” These works reveal how Welty portrays intersectionality within an individual life—depicting Mrs. M’Toy’s simultaneous vulnerability to systemic oppression and her role as a source of wisdom and strength in her community. The second chapter discusses “A Pageant of Birds,” a first-person testimonial, alongside Welty’s photographs of Holiness Church women, including “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord” and “Untitled. Holiness Church.” This section highlights intersectionality within communities, focusing on the collective spiritual and social empowerment found in faith-based gatherings of elderly Black women. The third chapter turns to “Cindy and the Joyful Noise,” paired with Welty’s images “Untitled. Ellen of Cindy’s Band” and “A slave’s apron showing souls in progress to Heaven or Hell.” This analysis examines the ways personal and communal resilience are expressed through storytelling, symbolism, and cultural memory. The final chapter draws from Welty’s self-reflective essays in Photographs and One Writer’s Beginnings, analyzing her thoughts on the ethical responsibilities of representation and the intersections between race, gender, and class. This chapter argues that Welty’s intersectional lens was not only present in her creative work but also consciously considered in her artistic practice. Ultimately, this thesis argues that Welty’s representations of elderly Black women reveal both the systemic challenges they faced and their enduring resilience and agency.
Recommended Citation
McCutchen, Caroline, "Exposing Lived Experiences: Eudora Welty's Intersectional Approach to Writing and Photography" (2025). Honors Theses. 3293.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3293
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