Preface Chapter I "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens" : Alice Walker's Activism and Writing1.1 Striving for the Womanist Ideal1.2 "Living by the Word"1.3 Striving through the Word Chapter II Beyond Measure: Critical Responses to Alice Walker's Novels2.1 Researches in the Western World2.2 Researches in China Chapter III From Lavender to Purple: The Formation of the Womanist Theory3.1 Womanism, and Feminism and Black Feminism3.2 The Emergence of Womanism3.3 Womanist TheoryChapter IV In Pursuit of Manhood and Humanity: The Transformation of the Male Images4.1 The Limitations of the Stereotypes of Black Males4.2 The Process of Self-improvement: Shaking off the Confines of Supremacist Patriarchy Chapter V Over the Racial and Patriarchal Hegemony: Lesbianism and Sisterhood within Black Women5.1 Lesbianism: The Sexual Subversion of the Male Dominance5.2 Sisterhood: The Possibility of Black Women's Autonomy Chapter VI Toward Cosmopolitanism: Humanity and Harmony in the Later Novels6.1 The Pursuit of Harmonious Union in The Temple of My Familiar6.2 The Humanistic Concern in By the Light of My Father's Smile6.3 The Quest for Harmony in Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart Chapter VII Within the Black Folklore: The Common Bond between Hurston and Walker7.1 The Literary Folkloric Materials in Hurston's and Walker's Fiction7.2 The Linguistic Folkloric Materials in Hurston's and Walker's Fiction7.3 The Religious Folkloric Materials in Hurston's and Walker's Fiction7.4 The Artistic Folkloric Materials in Hurston's and Walker's Fiction Bibliography Appendix I Appendix II Afterword