Economic and Spatial (Im)Mobility in Mari Evans's Stations: A Question of Ethos

Abstract

This project examines Mari Evans's definition of Ethos as "the environmental laboratory," the literal and figurative space of African American identity where lived and recorded experiences are subject to manipulation and adjustment by the dominant group. By analyzing the events of her theatre piece Stations, I demonstrate that Evans is justified in contesting the popular belief that the African American citizen of Reagan-era America had the freedom in the 1980s to live the American Dream of economic mobility regardless of societal pressures. I further argue that spatial mobility ("freedom of movement") is actually non-existent during this time period as opposed to Evans's belief that it is merely "threatened" by the hegemonic institution of the State. I examine how the Winters family in Stations subverts the stereotype of being untrustworthy citizens and analyze how Ethos has affected their perceptions of themselves and other African Americans.