Native American Literature and the Existence of

Ethnocentrism in White Society

Sofie LaFranchise
Summary of “A Red Girl’s Reasoning”
● The short story, by Pauline Johnson, begins at Hudson Bay Post in Canada
● Christine Johnson, a biracial Native American woman, marries a white man named
Charlie McDonald.
● The story transitions to Ottawa
○ Charlie and Christine attend formal dances with the families of
government officials. Here, Christine experiences a hesitancy from the
white people to discuss her background
● When Christine mentions her parents married without a formal ceremony, the
guests accuse her of being an illegitimate child
● Meanwhile, Charlie becomes anger at Christine for degracing him
○ Charlie confronts Christine back home, where she expresses her disbelief
in his embarrassment of her culture
○ She reveal his hypocrisy by declaring she is no longer his wife by the
beliefs of her culture
● After Christine leaves in the middle of the night, Charlie is left in pain and regret Image courtesy of Encyclopaedia Britannica
● Years later, Charlies locates her, but Christine refuses to forgive him for the sake
of respect for her family.
Theme

The short story “A Red Girl’s Reasoning” by Pauline Johnson,

expresses the consequences of ethnocentrism and cultural erasure on
the ability for native and white people to build healthy relationships.
Johnson conveys this idea when Charlie’s love for Christine fails to
overcome his preconceptions surrounding the ritals behind marriage,
violating his wife’s faith he could understand her culture.
Development of Theme
● Both Charlie and Christine transform over the course of the story
○ Charlie transforms from compassionate, to a critical character, to distressed when he realizes his bias
○ Christine transforms from a victim of racism, to a hero of her culture
● Conflicts between characters reveals how racism prevents Native Americans and white people from choosing unity
○ The white Canada society becomes closed minded to the traditions of Christine family
○ Christine makes the difficult choice to leave Charlie, out of solidarity for her family
○ Charlie is unable to find clarity and consider the value of Christine’s culture
● Symbolism represents the sacrifice of voice if Native Americans choose companionship with white society over standing up for their
culture.
○ Christine struggles to remain silent in the face of racism, as represented by her outward appearance of forgiveness, like velvet
○ The symbol of a panther conveys the misunderstanding of native people in white culture
○ Charlie realizes Christine chooses refuses companionship because of his ethnocentrism, as shown through the dog

Native Americans use elements of characterization, conflicts and

symbolism to illustrate the power of racism against native people.
Cultural Background & Pauline Johnson
Emily Pauline John (Tekahionwake)

● She grew up on Six Nations Reserve in Ontario (near Brantford) as part of the Mohawk
tribe (her father was a chief) (“Emily Pauline Johnson”)
● Her mother was an English missionary (Robinson)
● She wrote poems and short stories, such as “A Red Girl’s Reasoning,” as well as
performed her work. For instance, she got her start in 1892, when she performed her
poem “A Cry From an Indian Wife” at an event in Toronto (Garvin and Ockerbloom)

Mohawk Culture

The culture of the Mohawk tribe, the eastern tribe of the Haudenosaunee territory, originated in
northern New York and southern Canada and Vermont Pauline Johnson. Image Courtesy of The
Canadian Encyclopedia
● The Mohawk prioritize maintaining their language, music, dances, and ceremonies even
in a changing society in the 20th century (“Cultural Preservation”).
○ They believe in the Peacemaker story, which describes the creation of the Great
Law of Peace, and explains how to treat one another and preserve peace and
democracy through reason (Tarbell and Perry).
○ They also value unity through organizing families into clans and providing
different roles, such as the Clan Mother, who ensures all clan members are fed, The Hiawatha Belt reflects the Haudenosaunee tribes
and the Hoyaneh (male leader) (Tarbell and Perry). belief that the Great Law of Peace connects them in
unity. Image courtesy of The National Museum of the
American Indian
 ❖ How does the concept of identity,

including individual, communal,

and cultural identity, manifest in

Essential Native American literature?

Question ❖ How do Native American authors

navigate the complexities of

cultural identity in their works?

Christine’s Navigation of Cultural Identity
The narrator describes Christine as, “She belonged to neither and still to both types of the cultured Indian. The
solemn, silent, almost heavy manner of the one so commingled with the gesticulating Frechniness and vivacity of the
other […]” (Johnson 3).

Charlie later tells her, “‘Christie—you are worse than blasphemous; such a profane remark shows how little you
understand the sanctity of the christian faith—’” (Johnson 10)

● Johnson reveals the complexity of cultural identity by expressing how others assign you an identity based on
how they want you to behave. Charlie wants Christine to embody the white cultural identity, so he puts
pressure on her to practice the “sanctity” of Christianity, and calls her actions “profane”

● However, Christine maintain respect for her family tradition surrounding marriage, despite her decision to
marry Charlie through the church with a priest

○ Christine defends her culture to Charlies by explaining, “‘Our priest is purity, and our law is honor’”
(Johnson 10).
○ Native American literature manifests culture identity by demonstrating Native Americans maintain their
strong devotion to their cultural roots, no matter how removed they are from their traditions.
 ❖ What is the role of historical

trauma and the legacy of

Essential colonization in shaping the

Question themes and perspectives

presented in contemporary

Native American literature?

Generational Trauma within Christine’s Family
● Christine contemplates her mother’s frustration, after marrying by the Native American rites and
starting a family, only to have Christianity forced on her by a missionary (Johnson 10)
● Christine expresses her disbelief in Charlie’s lack of compassion, by saying,
“ ‘Do you mean to say that all my forefathers, for hundreds of years back, have been illegally born?
[...]’ ”(Johnson 9).
● Finally, Christine asks Charlie, “‘How do I know when another nation will come and conquer you
as you white men conquered us?’” (Johnson 11)

● Christine’s point of view as a Native American protagonist reveals generational trauma, including
the fear of:
○ the continuation of erasure their religious rites through Christianity,
○ accusations of their people committing a crime through practicing their traditions,
○ and future displacement, as white people “conquered” Native Americans years before
Image courtesy of RapidFireArt

Characterizations

Image courtesy of Clipart Library

Charlie McDonald
The narrator describes Charlie as, “It was a happy, fair face, good to look at, with a certain
ripple of dimples somewhere about the mouth, and eyes that laughed out the very
sunniness of their owner’s soul” (Johnson 2).

● The description of Charlie’s face as having eyes with a “sunniness” which reflects his
“soul,” suggests Charlie has a welcoming and kind personality.

Charlie refuses to believe Christine ends their marriage, and “He caught her by the wrists;
his small white teeth were locked tightly, his blue eyes blazed into hers” (Johnson 10)

● However, Charlie is unable to control his anger and his violent side that emerges
which contrasts with the warm nature describe in the beginning, demonstrating the
impact of prejudice on his actions.
Christine Robinson
When the narrator introduces Christine, they note her “[...] olive-complexioned,
gray-eyed, black-haired, with figure slight and delicate, [...]” (Johnson 3)
● The physical description of Christine conveys her as stoic, vulnerable, and reserved.
● With her dull “gray” eyes, and small frame, she seems as though she would keep to
herself.

When Charlie tells Christine she has disgraced him, she says, “Why should I be ashamed
of the customs of yours—of a marriage more sacred and holy than half of your white
man’s mockeries” (Johnson 9).
● In contrast, Christine demonstrates her bravery and devotion to her family through
boldly confront Charlie and white society’s hypocrisy.
Joe McDonald
Joe explains to Charlie that Christine loves so easily, “‘Because that girl has but two possibilities
regarding humanity—love or hate’” (Johnson 5)

● Joe’s ability to recognize Christine’s difficult choice in trusting white society, and not
restorting to hatred, reveals his intuition of her family’s struggles

When Christine struggles to understand Charlie’s anger, Joe comforts her: “He tucked a poor
shivering, pallid little woman into a cab, and wound her bare throat up in the scarlet velvet cloak
that was handing uselessly over her arm [...]” (Johnson 8)

● Joe’s comforting actions towards Christine conveys his compassion and motivation to
protect her
● In addition, he takes on the role of her husband in his absence, making him a foil to Charlie
and revealing the impact of preconceptions on relationships
Image courtesy Shutterstock
Conflicts

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

Christine vs. White Society
When Christine tells the white Americans her tribe did not have a priest,
“There was a peculiar expression of interrogation in the eyes of her listeners,
and the girl’s blood leapt angrily up into her temples as she said hurriedly, ‘I
know what you mean; I know what you are thinking. You are wondering how
my parents were married—’” (Johnson 7)

● When the white American assume her parents could not be married
without a priest, they practice racism towards Christine
● So, Christine can not find acceptance because of the white people lack
of willingness to consider her culture as valid.
Christine vs. Charlie, and Internal Conflicts
As a result, Charlie tries to conform to white society’s social norm of a priest officiating a marriage, resulting in an
unhealthy relationship when he attempt to control Christine.
Charlie
Christine

As Charlie walks away from her one last time, after she
rejected his attempt of an apology, “She was conscious of but
two things, the vengeful lie in her soul, and a little space on
her arm that his wet lashes had brushed” (Johnson 16).
● Although Christine makes the decision to stand up for
her family traditions, she struggles with the “lie” of her
remaining love towards Charlie
● Native Americans must end relationships with white
Americans when their culture is threatened, causing
them loss of potential happiness
Before Charlie attempts to reconcile with Christine, he thinks,
“She was simple-minded and awfully ignorant to pitch those
old Indian laws at him in her fury, but he could not blame her;
[...] He had been terribly severe and unreasonable, [...] and he
loved her so” (Johnson 13).
● While Charlie believes her family traditions are inferior
to the Christianity, he also cares about her and begins
to regret his aggression towards her
● Subordination of Native American culture in society
results in turning white Americans against Native
Americans, regardless of their interaction with the
native people.
Symbolism

Image courtesy of ABC Action News

Image courtesy of Kapda Shop

Image courtesy of A-Z Animals
Velvet
After Charlie charges at his wife, Charlie sees, “[...] his wife, clad in the mockery of her
ball dress, her scarlet velvet cloak half covering her bare brown neck and arms, her
eyes like flames of fire [...]” (Johnson 9).
● Velvet represents Christine's “soft” and forgiving appearance, which masks her
internal struggles
● When the “cloak” falls from her shoulder, she reveals her hidden anger, conveyed
by the “flames” behind her eyes
● In addition, the velvet represents silence surrounding the generational trauma for
Native Americans who have become accustomed to their culture being under
appreciated.
Metaphor of a Panther
As Charlie expresses with anger his concern of rumors spreading surrounding the
validity of their marriage, “Something of recklessness rang up through his voice, just as
the panther-likeness crept up from her footsteps and couched herself in hers” (Johnson
10)

● A panther symbolizes mysteriousness, in this case, the mystery of Christine’s

culture to Charlies
● The narrator compares Christine to a panther to convey how as Charlie becomes
anger, he views her as more of a foreigner, than the woman he loves
● Similarly, Native Americans like Christine feel out of place in white society
The Dog
As Charlie realizes his relationship with Christine is finally over, he experiences
despair, until, “He lifted his face then, for his dog, big and clumsy and yellow,
was licking at his sleeve” (Johnson 16)
● The narrator compares the dog, which symbolizes loyalty, to Charlie and his
misjudgements, to represent Charlie’s past self, who pledge loyalty to
Christine, and therefore his remorse in hurting Christine
● The dog also represents the values of companionship and unity in the
Mohawk culture, which addresses Charlie’s failure to look beyond his own
beliefs, and simply appreciate having someone to love.
The Importance of Reading Native American Literature
● Contemporary Native American stories offer a variety of perspectives and evokes compassion for the struggles of

the native people.

● In the case of “Red Girl’s Reasoning,” Johnson reveals how relationships between Native Americans and white

people, although tainted by racism, existed, and highlights the damage of ethnocentrism on that potential to

unify cultures.

● The dialogue offered in the story offers ample opportunity to address both the white and native perspectives on a

personal level. Hence, Johnson educates the reader on bias against Native Americans, and the ways ignorance

causes emotional pain for native communities

● The character of Christine empowers native people to stand up to racism, regardless of their personal loss, for the

possibility of changing the beliefs of white Americans, such as Charlie, and resolving social injustice
 Works Cited
“Culture and History” Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe,

https://www.srmt-nsn.gov/culture_and_history#:~:text=The%20Mohawk%20are%20traditionally%20the,into%20southern%20C

anada%20and%20Vermont. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

“Cultural Preservation.” Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe,

https://www.srmt-nsn.gov/cultural_preservation#:~:text=The%20Mohawk%20people%20strongly%20believe,passed%20on%20

by%20the%20Creator. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

“Emily Pauline Johnson.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-pauline-johnson. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

Garvin, John William and Mary Mark Ockerbloom. “E. Pauline Johnson.” A Celebration of Women Writers, McClelland, Goodchild &

Steward, Publishers, 1916, https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/garvin/poets/johnson.html. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

 Works Cited
Ground, Perry and Reaghan Tarbell. “Haudenosaunee Guide for Educators.” National Museum of the American Indian, NMAI,

Smithsonian Institution, 2009, https://americanindian.si.edu/sites/1/files/pdf/education/HaudenosauneeGuide.pdf. Accessed 8

Feb. 2024.

Johnson, Pauline. “A Red Girl’s Reasoning,” Dominion Illustrated, 1893.

Robinson, Amanda and Andrew McIntosh. “Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake).” The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, 24 Jan

2020, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pauline-johnson. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.