Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South is Pauline Hopkins' first major work and debut novel, published in 1900.

Hopkins, a child of free parents of color, imprinted her "own evasive and unsettling maternal family history, which linked her to the Atlantic slave trade, the West Indies, and the American South",[1] providing a vivid portrayal of the shared struggles endured by both enslaved and free individuals during that time period.

Ultimately, Hopkins expresses her admiration for her race's achievements and her desire to encourage and strengthen African American communities through her writing.

The novel's setting mostly revolves around the city of Boston, painting a rich portrayal of African American life during this period.

While Sappho is reserved about her past, she gradually integrates into the community, showcasing her musical talent by playing the organ at church.

Langley is up for a position as City Solicitor of the American Colored League and promises to suppress any outspoken passion at the upcoming indignation meeting.

Speaker Lycurgus Sawyer tells a personal story about being born to free African Americans and witnessing the murder of his own family.

When Will awakens the next morning, excited to share the news of his engagement, Dora shows him the letter Sappho left behind, explaining the truth of her past, and Langley's threat.

Dora decides to break her engagement to Langley, and Will leaves to confront him, leading to a physical fight that marks the end of their friendship.

A victim of sexual abuse, Sappho Clark redefines what is means to be a mother, as she is separated from her illegitimate child for a large portion of the text.

Allison Berg notes that Hopkins' "intervention in these ideologies [of what nineteenth-century, white notions of True Womanhood is] thus involves not only telling the ‘real' story of black mothers .

but also interrogating contemporary racial and sexual discourses that contributed to black women's subjugation and limited their efficacy and mothers,"[3] pointing out the intersectionality of Hopkins' embedded feminism, as she describes the problems of discrimination against gender, class, race, and so forth.

Hopkins' decision to design an ending in which Sappho is able to overcome the rape of her half-uncle and threats by John Langley, and to marry Will Smith while reclaiming her son, has also allowed several scholars to view this novel as a pro-feminist text.

Throughout the novel, examples of racism serve as poignant reminders of the widespread injustice and discrimination that African Americans faced in the late 19th century.

Sappho's journey highlights the systematic racism embedded in society, from her abduction and rape by her white uncle and forced labor to the job discrimination and social isolation she faces.

Hortense Spillers observes that many critics fail to identify that the female slave "is not only the target of rape," but also "the topic of specifically externalized acts of torture"[4] executed by other males.

From the beginning, readers are introduced to Grace Montfort, a woman who is allegedly of African American ancestry and ultimately faces tragedy.

Sappho and Grace's stories highlight how racism and gender inequality are intertwined, and how African American women are more likely to both sexual assaults and acts of violence motivated by race.

Contending Forces garnered mixed reviews from modern readers, especially in regard to the issues with gender embedded within the novel.

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks wrote that Hopkins' novels revealed the author to be "a brain-washed slave [who] reveres the modes and idolatries of the master", a position which has generated much debate.

[6] While there are conflicting interpretations of the treatment of women in the text, contemporary critics often praise Hopkins' ability to "raise the stigma" of her race.