Chapter 23

Our motif of sex is found in many places in Chapter 23. In this chapter the Invisible Man buys a pair of dark green shades and a hat to disguise himself from Ras who now has become more violent. When he puts on the shades and hat he is mistaken for this mysterious man named Rinehart. Rinehart has many different identities that the people of Harlem pay him to be. Rinehart is a gambler, a preacher, a man whose in depth with the police and a pimp.

The first example of sex in chapter 23 is on page 494, the Invisible Man is mistaken for Rinehart the pimp. A woman approaches the Invisible Man and tells him to “Just walk along beside me while I tell you where to meet me.”. The woman hands the Invisible Man money and asks him “Will you be able to meet me tonight?”. This woman is a prostitute and is trying to meet Rinehart or the Invisible Man later that night. This shows how women are objectified through prostitution as we’ve seen early at the Golden Day.

Another example of sex is on page 511 when the Invisible Man is having a dream. In the dream he is fantasizing about one of Rinehart’s women. He says that he remembers “grasping Rinehart’s girl’s hand.” Then he goes on to dream about her “glossy head and ripe breasts”. This shows that women are seen as this untouchable fantasy by the Invisible Man and that white women especially, are something to be seen and not touched by a black man.

The last example of sex in chapter 23 is on page 512. The Invisible Man, waking up from the dream on page 511, realizes that the way to infiltrate the Brotherhood is by the help of one of the leader's wife, girlfriend or secretary. The Invisible man starts reminiscing about his encounter with Emma when hne went to the Brotherhood’s gathering right after the Eviction Speech. The Invisible Man says that Emma was “close, soft against me and the hot swift focusing on my desire and my embarrassment” also the Invisible Man recalls on how Emma, close against him, said “Ah, temptation,” lastly he recalls on how Emma says “You should come up and fence with me some afternoon.” which is a sexual pun. This shows how the Invisible Man will now use white women for power which shows how women and still being objectified.

-Alexis Birl