Imitation of Life

by Fannie Hurst

Book Overview

A bestseller in 1933, and subsequently adapted into two beloved and controversial films, Imitation of Life has played a vital role in ongoing conversations about race, femininity, and the American Dream. Bea Pullman, a white single mother, and her African American maid, Delilah Johnston, also a single mother, rear their daughters together and become business partners. Combining Bea's business savvy with Delilah's irresistible southern recipes,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822333244
• ISBN13: 9780822333241
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 19 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

LIMITATION OF LIFE...

This is an oldie but a goodie, and although it may seem somewhat anachronistic, in fact, almost embarrassingly and offensively so, it is well worth reading. A best selling novel when it was first released in 1933, the reader should keep in mind that much of what is in the book would today be perceived as racist. The book is reflective of a paternalistic view of African-Americans that was prevalent at the time in which this book was written. It is certainly a view that is jarring in these more enlightened times, as the books reflects the nature of the racism that was then inherent in our society. This is not a book that would be written today, as modern society, though still racist in many ways, would view it as being totally politically incorrect. That being said, the book focuses on two female characters, Bea Pullman, a white teenage widow living in Atlantic City, New Jersey with her elderly father and a baby daughter named Jessie, and Delilah Johnston, a young black widow with a light-skinned baby daughter named Peola. Both women are struggling to survive in pre-World War I society, where the lot of widows in a man's world could be a difficult one. When they join forces, an alliance born of necessity is forged. Delilah becomes Bea's housekeeper and caregiver, taking on the traditional woman's role, while Bea struggles to be the breadwinner in a world not yet hospitable to the idea of a business woman. When Delilah's culinary talents merge with Bea's innate business acumen, they are both on their way to fame and fortune. Before you know it, Bea is making a mint with Delilah's recipes, running a successful chain of B. Pullman waffle emporiums, which are presided over by a mammy figure imitative of Delilah, as well as a successful line of candy called Delilah's hearts, bearing Delilah's beaming image on the box. Delilah, thus, becomes a beloved icon, a sort of revered mammy, but a mammy, nonetheless. Bea, on the other hand, remains somewhat of a behind-the-scene enigma, eventually branching out into real estate development and becoming a phenomenon for a woman of that time. Meanwhile, Delilah continues to remain with Bea, living with her and waiting on her, always the perennial mammy. While Bea always treats Delilah with affection and care, there is not a level playing field between the two. Delilah treats Bea with worshipping servitude, while Bea treats Delilah as if she were a beloved family retainer. There is something reminiscent of the old master/slave dichotomy in their relationship. Moreover, while Bea is cognizant of Delilah's contribution to her financial success, they are not contractual business partners, as Bea pays Delilah a salary, though a lesser one than Bea would like, as Delilah refuses raises. Moreover, although there is great affection between the two, the issue of color is always there, both overtly and covertly. Meanwhile, the years have passed, and Delilah's light-skinned daughter, Peola, clearly knows the score. She

Oldie but goodie

I bought this movie for my mum, every once in a while when it comes on tv she would just sit there and watch it. and then bit by bit we would watch it with her. it is a good movie, its black and white but you dont always need colour. there is a lot of colour issues in the movie so just enjoy it plain and simple

LIMITATION OF LIFE...

This is an oldie but a goodie, and although it may seem somewhat anachronistic, in fact, almost embarrassingly and offensively so, it is well worth reading. A best selling novel when it was first released in 1933, the reader should keep in mind that much of what is in the book would today be perceived as racist. The book is reflective of a paternalistic view of African-Americans that was prevalent at the time in which this book was written. It is certainly a view that is jarring in these more enlightened times, as the books reflects the nature of the racism that was then inherent in our society. This is not a book that would be written today, as modern society, though still racist in many ways, would view it as being totally politically incorrect. That being said, the book focuses on two female characters, Bea Pullman, a white teenage widow living in Atlantic City, New Jersey with her elderly father and a baby daughter named Jessie, and Delilah Johnston, a young black widow with a light-skinned baby daughter named Peola. Both women are struggling to survive in pre-World War I society, where the lot of widows in a man's world could be a difficult one. When they join forces, an alliance born of necessity is forged. Delilah becomes Bea's housekeeper and caregiver, taking on the traditional woman's role, while Bea struggles to be the breadwinner in a world not yet hospitable to the idea of a business woman. When Delilah's culinary talents merge with Bea's innate business acumen, they are both on their way to fame and fortune. Before you know it, Bea is making a mint with Delilah's recipes, running a successful chain of B. Pullman waffle emporiums, which are presided over by a mammy figure imitative of Delilah, as well as a successful line of candy called Delilah's hearts, bearing Delilah's beaming image on the box. Delilah, thus, becomes a beloved icon, a sort of revered mammy, but a mammy, nonetheless. Bea, on the other hand, remains somewhat of a behind-the-scene enigma, eventually branching out into real estate development and becoming a phenomenon for a woman of that time. Meanwhile, Delilah continues to remain with Bea, living with her and waiting on her, always the perennial mammy. While Bea always treats Delilah with affection and care, there is not a level playing field between the two. Delilah treats Bea with worshipping servitude, while Bea treats Delilah as if she were a beloved family retainer. There is something reminiscent of the old master/slave dichotomy in their relationship. Moreover, while Bea is cognizant of Delilah's contribution to her financial success, they are not contractual business partners, as Bea pays Delilah a salary, though a lesser one than Bea would like, as Delilah refuses raises. Moreover, although there is great affection between the two, the issue of color is always there, both overtly and covertly. Meanwhile, the years have passed, and Delilah's light-skinned daughter, Peola, clearly knows the score. She

RESPONSE TO "Suds from a bygone era".

The reason you didn't really get the lesbian connection is because it isn't there. In the book and in both versions of the movie, maids/live-in-housekeepers were the norm and friendship of any kind was rare between the classes, much less the races, ...the whole point of the story! (Bea treating Delilah like a business-woman and business-partner is the more heartwarming part of the story.) You can see this in the 1934 movie by the fact that Delilah is answering a newspaper ad for a colored maid and in the 1959 movie by the fact that they are put up in the room behind the kitchen (Sarah-Jane whines about "why do we always have to sleep behind the kitchen")...servants quarters in smaller houses and apartments were always a small room behind the kitchen, often w/a back entrance (in the 1934 mansion it is a downstairs entrance) near the kitchen so as to be close to where the maid spent most of her time cooking and so as to be out of the way of white guests. Your friends should re-read the book in the context in which it was written in 1933 and not the context in which they wish it to have been written in 2005.

LIMITATION OF LIFE...

This is an oldie but a goodie, and although it may seem somewhat anachronistic, in fact, almost embarrassingly and offensively so, it is well worth reading. A best selling novel when it was first released in 1933, the reader should keep in mind that much of what is in the book would today be perceived as racist. The book is reflective of a paternalistic view of African-Americans that was prevalent at the time in which this book was written. It is certainly a view that is jarring in these more enlightened times, as the books reflects the nature of the racism that was then inherent in our society. This is not a book that would be written today, as modern society, though still racist in many ways, would view it as being totally politically incorrect. That being said, the book focuses on two female characters, Bea Pullman, a white teenage widow living in Atlantic City, New Jersey with her elderly father and a baby daughter named Jessie, and Delilah Johnston, a young black widow with a light-skinned baby daughter named Peola. Both women are struggling to survive in pre-World War I society, where the lot of widows in a man's world could be a difficult one. When they join forces, an alliance born of necessity is forged. Delilah becomes Bea's housekeeper and caregiver, taking on the traditional woman's role, while Bea struggles to be the breadwinner in a world not yet hospitable to the idea of a business woman. When Delilah's culinary talents merge with Bea's innate business acumen, they are both on their way to fame and fortune. Before you know it, Bea is making a mint with Delilah's recipes, running a successful chain of B. Pullman waffle emporiums, which are presided over by a mammy figure imitative of Delilah, as well as a successful line of candy called Delilah's hearts, bearing Delilah's beaming image on the box. Delilah, thus, becomes a beloved icon, a sort of revered mammy, but a mammy, nonetheless. Bea, on the other hand, remains somewhat of a behind-the-scene enigma, eventually branching out into real estate development and becoming a phenomenon for a woman of that time. Meanwhile, Delilah continues to remain with Bea, living with her and waiting on her, always the perennial mammy. While Bea always treats Delilah with affection and care, there is not a level playing field between the two. Delilah treats Bea with worshipping servitude, while Bea treats Delilah as if she were a beloved family retainer. There is something reminiscent of the old master/slave dichotomy in their relationship. Moreover, while Bea is cognizant of Delilah's contribution to her financial success, they are not contractual business partners, as Bea pays Delilah a salary, though a lesser one than Bea would like, as Delilah refuses raises. Moreover, although there is great affection between the two, the issue of color is always there, both overtly and covertly. Meanwhile, the years have passed, and Delilah's light-skinned daughter, Peola, clearly kno