Early twentieth century literature often portrays women as being nervous, sensitive, and vulnerable to hostile environments. Such characterizations reflect a residue of the Victorian concept of female hysteria and apply to black and white women alike.
In section two of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, “A Game of Chess,” an unnamed female speaker says, “My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad.” The stress and commotion of urban life threatens to overwhelm her. She babbles disjointedly while her male companion ignores her.
Similarly, the protagonist of Nella Larsen’s Quicksand, Helga Crane, is frequently described in terms of her ever-shifting emotional states. She is sensitive and impulsive and subject to “frayed nerves.” Helga stumbles into a storefront church. Because “Her nerves were so torn, so aching, her body so wet, so cold” she is hypnotized by the charismatic service.
