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In the colonial days of British North America,agriculture was the cornerstone ofthe colony’s economy.With the expansion of the tobacco industry and thedevelopment of plantations,the demand for labor has increased dramatically.As thecolonists sought large numbers of laborers,black slavery gradually took shape.Asearly as 1661,slavery became legal in the Virginia colony.The lives of slaves underslavery were extremely miserable,and female slaves were even more difficult andpainful than black male slaves.Female slaves had to endure the pain of childbirth andsexual abuse in addition to the same compulsory physical labor as black male slaves.

Black female slaves were engaged in two types of work,either working in thefields or providing domestic services to their masters.The former worked throughoutthe day in the fields,and their working hours could reach 14 hours.In the summer,they planted cotton,sugarcane,paddy,tobacco,etc.In the winter,they built roads,burned bushes and set fences.The life of a black female slave was nothing but work.Hannah Davidson,a former slave,recalled her hardships in Kentucky,“Work,work,work,”she said,“I been so exhausted working,I worked till I thought another lickwould kill me”(Jones,1985:13).

In contrast to the female slaves who worked on the plantations,those whoworked in domestic service were in a slightly better position;at least they did not have to suffer from bad weather.Nevertheless,equally,they had to work day andnight.The kitchen was the central space of activity for female slaves.They had tocook three meals a day and wait at the table for their masters.They also had to mendand clean the floors and furniture.In addition to this,they fed,bathed and cared forbabies,enabling the mistress to do her shopping,visiting,reading or writing.

1.2 Kitchens and African American women in American Literature

A kitchen is commonplace for African Americans in the literature.AfricanAmerican women are often seen being active in the kitchen,either cooking orcommunicating.In American literature,one of the most emblematic images of aAfrican American woman is the black female cook.There are many examples inliterature,such as Aunt Chloe in Uncle Tom’s Cabin,and Ondine in Tar Baby.

Aunt Chloe is the head cook on the plantation in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.There aretwo kitchens on the plantation.The master’s kitchen is in the house,while the slave’skitchen is a small cabin building next to the house.This cabin is both the kitchen andbedroom of Tom and Aunt Chloe.There is a bed in one corner of the cabin as well aspans and other cooking utensils in another corner.Aunt Chloe spends her daysshuttling between the two kitchens,providing food for her owner and her family.Before the abolition of slavery,the black female cooks and their family usually livedin the kitchen.In Lefebvre’s view,space is political.The ruling class achieves theirgoals by controlling space.In the novel,white slave owners make Tom and AuntChloe live in the kitchen to get the most profits by compressing the living space ofAfrican Americans.

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