Assault on the Black Female in This Mournable Body- Reagan Russell and Max Santopietro

In this novel Mournable Body, assault on the black female body is a reoccurring theme. So far in the novel, there have been two different physical attacks on two different women. The first woman to be attacked is Gertrude, one of Tambudzai’s hostel mates. She is described as dressing in a promiscuous fashion. Therefore, Tambudzai as well as the other passengers on the combi can rationalize her assault. However, the second attack on Mako, another one of Tambudzai’s housemates, is more confusing to Tambudzai This is because unlike Gertrude, Mako is a devout follower of religion, and wears “baggy sweats”. “With Gertrude, the reason for what happened was clear”(82). However, with Mako, there is no evidence that allows Tambudzai to rationalize this assault. Similar attacks that happened to two different women, encourage Tambudzai to question what drives the assault of the black female body, allowing her to reflect on her role in the assault. She realizes that she too is at risk of becoming a victim of this assault.