Who are the characters in Sister Outsider?

Audre Lorde herself is the primary character in Sister Outsider, which is a collection of speeches and essays she wrote in the 1970s and 1980s. While other people appear—mostly in anecdotes or recollections—Lorde's own experience is what defines the narrative of each essay.

Lorde was born in 1934 in New York City. She was extremely nearsighted and was considered legally blind. She was married to a male attorney; they had two children and divorced...

Audre Lorde herself is the primary character in Sister Outsider, which is a collection of speeches and essays she wrote in the 1970s and 1980s. While other people appear—mostly in anecdotes or recollections—Lorde's own experience is what defines the narrative of each essay.

Lorde was born in 1934 in New York City. She was extremely nearsighted and was considered legally blind. She was married to a male attorney; they had two children and divorced in 1970. While she wrote Sister Outsider, she was in a relationship with Frances Clayton. Clayton was white and a psychology professor. Lorde often writes about both the experience of being in an interracial relationship and being a mother to a boy and a girl.

Several other prominent people appear in Sister Outsider as well. These include:

• Mary Daly. Daly was a prominent feminist scholar who wrote Gyn/Ecology. One of Lorde's essays was a response to Daly. In it, Lorde said Daly excluded women of color from her perspective.


• Adrienne Rich, a poet and essayist. Rich interviewed Lorde in 1979. One of the chapters is a transcript of this interview. 


• Robert Staples, a black sociologist. She responds to an article he published in The Black Scholar in "Sexism: An American Disease in Blackface." She says he attempted to open dialogue between black men and black women by attacking black feminists.


• Helen. Helen is Lorde's guide when she visits Russia. She's described as a "large-boned young woman in her thirties." She answers questions about Russia and Russian culture for Lorde.


• Jonathan, her young son. She writes at one point about her relationship with him, her sexuality, and his own growing sexual identity. 


• Beth, her daughter. She's a year and a half older than Jonathan.