Pearl Cleage’s What I Learned in Paris (Commentary)

WhatI learned in Atlanta is then, the beauty of becoming a free woman. Evie's character compared to the other two women in the play delivers a woman,completely in control of who she is and what she wants without stepping on thetoes of any other character. She refuses to be the servant or answer to thecommand of any man.  Her vocabulary,dress and overall attitude was that of a beautiful black woman who knows whoshe is and is constantly that person in spite of all the drama, lies and secretsaround her. The play even questions whether in the middle of a social revolutioncan there exist black love. The answer is love can only exist freely between afree man and a free woman who love self completely first. I found the play tobe a delightful take on true love and self-discovery especially for a womanthen and now. Women and black women especially are subjected to so much scrutinythey often lose who they are. The play reinforced the theory of going to abeautiful, faraway place to find or recreate oneself. I find this a necessarytrip of rediscovery especially in America, where black women are often amongthe hardest working people. The play however, was phenomenal in showing positiveimages of African Americans in activism and strong black women.