Postcolonial Gothic texts? Essay

Before starting this essay, it is important to acknowledge the situation that the b golf-club postcolonial gothic is quite difficult to define accurately. For the virtually part of this essay, I go let out be taking for granted the fact that these texts ar fundamentally postcolonial in planetary anatomy, in so far as they are texts that make water emerged in their exemplify form out of the start out of colonization and take a firm stand themselves by foregrounding the tension with olympian power. 1 It is with this sealedty in mind that I will be looking to a greater extent than specifically at the gothic elements of the partings, which separate the texts from other typically postcolonial flora.Nevertheless, certain distinguishing postcolonial features will arise doneout the essay and this will be especially obvious when I look at the contextual aspects of the pieces. Turcotte identifies the fact that it is certainly come-at-able to argue that the generic qualities of the gothic mode lend themselves to articulating the colonial get word in as much as each emerges out of a look into of deracination and uncertainty, of the long-familiar transposed into unacquainted with(predicate) space.2 As such(prenominal), the idea of dis assignment presents itself illuminely though the two texts. In entire Sargasso Sea for instance, we tonicity a strong sense of Rochesters alienation in Jamaica Is it true, she said, that England is want a dream? Beca drop one of my friends who matrimonial an Englishman wrote and told me so. She said this moorage like London is like a unwarmed dark dream sometimes. I want to wake up. Well, I answered annoyed, that is just now how your beautiful island specifyms to me, quite unreal and like a dream. But how loafer rivers and mountains and the sea be unreal? And how tail end millions of people, their houses and their streets be unreal? (67) He finds it impossible to feel comfortable in Jamaica and it is A ntoinettes equivalent inability to understand England that forms a barrier between the couple. The gulf between their divergent bet ongrounds and upbringings is particularly unequivocal through this conversation and it becomes more and more clear that Rochester insures Antoinette as alien and inaccessible to himI felt real little philia for her, she was a stranger to me, a stranger who did non think or feel as I did. (78) T herefore, we see the postcolonial notion of the other featuring in the novel. When we learn that Rochester views Antoinette in such a manner as that which is unfamiliar and extraneous to a dominant subjectivity3 a certain unease is created, which amplifies the gothic tone of the novel. The lecturer senses his discomfort with her ethnicity, as he talks derogatively about herI did not relish going back to England in the role of rejected suitor jilted by this Creole girl. (65) This prejudice seems to develop into a deep-seated reverence of contaminat ion from the Creole woman with long, dark, sad alien look who looked very much like Amelie. (105) Further concomitanting his discomfort with her ethnic origin is the fact that he insists upon calling her Bertha, despite her objections Bertha is not my name. You are trying to make me into someone else, calling me by another name. (121)His renaming of Antoinette suggests that he wants to make her sound more English and, since she shares her name with her mother, he in addition appears to want to detach her from her family and her Creole heritage. Antoinette is a white creole and throughout the novel, the contributor senses that Rochester feels betrayed by his experience he has gone to Jamaica in holy order to marry a sloshed heiress, whose skin is white like his own. As such, at original sight, things do appear to resemble normality for him and it is only when he gets to know her give out that the differences in their make up doom through.To pin layover this sensation mor e precisely, we need to look at an idea stemming from displacement, that Freud identified as the condition of the un enkindleny, where the home is unhomely where the heimlich becomes unheimlich and yet remains sufficiently familiar to disorient and disempower. 4 This is certainly the situation in which Rochester finds himself and this is epitomised when Rochester begins to see Antoinette as a dame She lifted her eyes. Blank lovely eyes. Mad eyes I scarce recognised her voice. No warmth, no sweetness.The doll had a dolls voice, a breathless but curiously different voice. (140) Freud claimed that a prosperous condition for the un loaferny is when there is uncertainty as to whether an object is animate or not and this is certainly the representation in which Rochester views Antoinette. Therefore, although on the push through everything appears to be normal, all the things around Rochester involve a peculiar foreignness for him. The character of Antoinette also suffers such a lienation when she arrives in England and is confined to her fashion right off they have taken everything away.What am I doing in this place and who am I? (147) The proof ref senses that without her country and the things around her that are familiar to her, she has lost her own identity. The notions of displacement and the uncanny are very upset in essence. They infuse the novel with a sense of unease and a sense of disturbance in the characters that the readers can relate to. Similarly, in Ovando some of these features of displacement and the uncanny are evident and the care and dread that this imposes on the reader is what gives this point its gothic overtones.The character of Ovando symbolises the imperial power in the story and the narrator represents the intrinsic peoples, crushed by the colonisers. The impact of Ovando on the narrators land is profound and the imposition of his European elaboration appears to contribute to this effect He carries with him the follow ing things bibles, cathedrals, museums libraries (3) Although these things represent the treasures of culture in their European environment, the narrator appears to be recognising the fact that these things do not last in their New World environment.Through enforcing these things on the new land, Ovando is conformist to what is described in The imperium Writes Back as the political and heathenish monocentrism of the colonial enterprise of the European world. 5 Furthermore, Ovando enforces his religious beliefs on the natives and this becomes clear when he tries to justify his satisfys by referring to fate and the narrator states I could have brought a stop to what was an invasion to me, a discovery to him after all, I too knew of divinities and eternities and unalterable events. (4)Ovando fails to see that the natives have their own belief systems in place and his ignorance is exemplified by the fact that the narrator appears to realise Ovandos push downfall, acknowledging his ignorance. Although he does not condone the colonisers actions in any(prenominal) way, there is a point in time of understanding on the part of the narrator -who represents the natives that does appear to be present in Ovando To the strangers eye (Ovandos) everything in my world appears as if it were made anew each night as I sleep, by gods in their heavenly chambers (7)The narrator is acknowledging the fact that Ovando and the Imperial powers on the whole failed to realise that the New World ironically named by the imperialists was not in fact new. These countries had their own pasts and their own traditions that the narrow-minded colonisers, who had their eyes half-shut (6), failed to recognise or appreciate. Although of course this narrative is written from the biased emplacement of the natives (Kincaids background supports this fact) the historical accounts of colonisation do essentially support the notion of the blinkered imperialists.As a consequence of this and the lac k of integration into native lifestyle by the colonisers, they fail to see that their European traditions are displaced in this new environment and, through imposing them, they create a disruption between themselves and the natives. More obviously present in Ovando is the notion of the uncanny. stand up alongside this sense of displacement, the presence of the uncanny promotes a very pall and disturbing feel in the piece. Turcotte directs the notion of the uncanny in postcolonial literary works in particular to the notion of corporal perversionwhere nature, it seemed to many, was out of kilter. 6 Throughout this short story, everything is out of kilter in effect. For instance, when Ovando is looking at the map, Kincaid distorts reality and time Using the forefinger of his left hand, he traced on his map a line. Months later his finger came to a stop. It was a point not too far from where he had started. (6) This distortion of time is disorientating to the reader and the narrat or describes other events, which are equally impossible.When for instance the narrator describes the kick put to Ovando about his unfair treatment of the natives, he undergoes a touch of metamorphosis But Ovando could not unwrap me, for by this time his straits had taken the shape of a groundworm, which has no ears. (10) Although the narrator is clearly illustrating his refusal to hear the pleas of the natives, it becomes clear that nothing is impossible in the story. Kincaid writes The moment in which the lyric poem could be said was the moment in which the words would be true. (8) and the reader recognises that whatever is said in the story simply has to be authoritative as the truth.The author gives words an enormous amount of command and imprimatur and, as such, the power of words in this story exceeds the influence of the reader to interpret the events for themselves. Therefore, it could be deemed that Kincaid is confiscating the power of interpretation from the reade r in order to highlight the way in which power was taken away from the natives and the unease and discomfort that this creates adds to the gothic effect of the story. Morrow and McGraph acknowledge that after the 1830 and 40s the gothic became increasingly fascinated with the somebody of the gothic personality.7 This is particularly obvious in Ovando, with Kincaids in-depth exploration of the mental kit and caboodle of the coloniser. The supposed superiority of the European colonisers, over the natives is apparent through the character of Ovando, who insists upon possessing the natives. Similarly, we have insight into the workings of the colonised people. We see their bitter retrospection at their welcoming military posture towards the colonisers Ovando, I said, Ovando, and I smiled at him and threw my arms open to embrace this rancid relic of a person.Many people have said that this was my first big mistake, and I always say, How could it be a mistake to show sympathy to anoth er human cosmos, on first meeting? (3) Although this is not symbolic of the gothic personality in the same way that Ovandos thoughts are, the juxtaposition of this welcoming, warm attitude highlights the deviousness of Ovandos thinking, as he thinkly takes advantage of people who were prepared to share their land with him. In Wide Sargasso Sea, there is no equally explicit goddam gothic personality as there is in Ovando. However, there are dark qualities lurking in both Antoinette and Rochester.With Antoinette, of course, her personality creates an amount of unease in the reader, particularly since we aware of the fate of the character she is rooted in from Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre. Additionally, with Rochesters unease about the fact that her mother was mad (129), the reader is constantly haunted by the notion that she will turn out like her mother. Obviously, these anxieties turn out to be justified as we see her realisation of her supposed responsibility I was outside holdi ng my candle. Now at last I know why I was brought here and what I have to do. (155-6).Antoinette burns down the house, believing in her failure that this is her destiny. This, in itself, is quite a morbid notion that amplifies her state of discouragement and gloom. McGraph and Morrow acknowledge that the new gothicist would take as a starting place the concern with interior entropy spiritual and emotional breakdown 8 Therefore the recognition of Antoinettes despair means that, although this insight into her psyche does not mirror the horror and gruesomeness of the gothic personality in Ovando, the extent of her despair instils a deep sense of dismay in the reader and supports the gothic nature of the text.The respective writers also employ versatile literary techniques in the pieces, which indicate that the texts are postcolonial gothic in nature. For instance, the entire notion of gothic literature is suggestive of horror, madness, monstrosity, death, disease, threat, evil an d weird sex activity9 and many of these qualities are prevalent in Ovando. The chainry apply in Ovando conforms to these horrific characteristics customary in gothic literature and the fleshly appearance of Ovando corresponds to this in particularNot a shred of contour was left on his bones he was a complete physique except for his brain, which remained, and was growing smaller by the millennium. He stank (3) This gruesome image of Ovando can only provoke horror and disgust in the reader and the nightmarish qualities of such gothic literature present themselves clearly here. Similarly, the physical appearance of Ovando continues to worsen into the form of the devil He had also boastful horns on either side of his head, and from these he hung various instruments of torture his dialect he made forked. (9)This demonic image is possibly one of the darkest images that can be drawn upon and, as such, Kincaid is portraying the character of Ovando in the most evil way possible. The idea that he personally made his diction forked also draws to mind images of masochism that, again, are dark in nature. This use of graphic and disturbing imagery draws all the qualities of horror, madness, monstrosity together to form a deeply disturbing text conforming to the conventions of gothic writing. The anatomical structure of Ovando also allows the piece to fit into the music genre of gothic literature successfully.The piece is dreamlike in that it has no fixed structure and it moves through the action with no real sense of succession at all. Events do not lead into one another, but the reader gets the sense of dreamlike disoblige with the physical world constantly changing. It is this constant flux in the story that creates a disturbing sense of indisposition in the piece, which, no doubt, reflects the disorder created by the invasion of the colonisers. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys uses some very graphic images that are disturbing in nature and as such conform to the gothic style.During the fire, we hear Antoinettes retelling of events, as she realises that their pet repeat is stuck in the burning house I opened my eyes, everybody was looking up and pointing at Coco on the glacis railings with his feathers alight. He made an effort to vaporize down but his clipped wings failed him and he fell down screeching. He was all on fire. (36) This horrific image of the bird being burned alive equates to the burning images of the devil in Ovando and highlights the notion of slimy in the text.The colonial experience clearly caused suffering and anguish and this transit of pain is an stiff means of expressing this. Rhys also refers frequently to the notion of obeah, which relates to dense magic and spirit theft. Antoinette accuses Rochester of obeah, through trying to change her name, but she is also guilty of its practice when she puts a love potion in his wine. This exploration of the apart(p) and the ghosts that Christophine knows about, although that is not what she calls them (113) creates an eerie and supernatural dimension in the piece.The use of such ideas by Rhys is concordant with the daunting elements that define the gothic genre. In Ovando in particular, the gothic literary technique of inversion is also employed throughout. McGraph and essence identify the use of inversion as a gothic effect, where terror and unreason subverted consensus and rationality, where passion was transformed into disgust, love turned to hatred and equitable scramed evil. 10 The narrator appears to acknowledge throughout that good can engender evil. When Ovando arrived on the island, of course, the narrator was eager to accept himFor I loved him then, not the way I would love my mother, or my child, but with that more general and spontaneous kind of love that I feel when I see any human being. (3) The good in Ovando, however, is overtaken by greed and self-love, epitomised in the masturbation episode where Ovando gently passes his hand s down his own back, through the crevices of his private parts (11-12). Therefore, the reader senses that the imperial powers were all subjected to this inversion dictated by greed in effect, and this literary technique is an effective way of mirroring this inversion of good to bad in human beings.Similarly in Wide Sargasso Sea, some of these features of inversion can also seen to be employed by Rhys. Rochesters worsening feelings towards Antionette indicate this and such an flabbergast in emotions that epitomises the gothic tone and alteration from passion to disgust can be seen when Rochester sleeps with Amelie. No sooner has he slept with her, did he begin to feel discontented with her appearance her skin was darker, her lips thicker than I had thought I had no wish to touch her and she knew it, for she got up at once and began to dress. (115-6)His darkest fears appear to outdoors through her, with his acknowledgement of how native she looks and the hint that he worries fur ther that she could be related to Antoinette. Having previously stated Perhaps they are related, I thought. Its possible, its even probable in this damned place. (105) -the way in which he sees her this morning strongly rouses the deep-seated fear of incestuous dealings in him. These issues in themselves are dark and gothic in that sense, although the fact that these issues are only hinted at makes them far more ominous in some respects.Looking at the works from a contextual perspective, it is evoke to see that Gelder concludes that Postcolonial nations can re-animate the traumas of their colonial pasts to produce Gothic narratives. 11 This can be seen explicitly in Ovando through the character of Frey Nicolas de Ovando. Although he appears to be a fictitious character, he was undoubtedly named after a ordinal century governor in the Dominican Republic. Friar Nicolas de Ovando was governor from 1502 to 1509 and during this time, he was renowned for his cruel treatment of the nat ive Taino tribe.It is reported that, in order to gain more power over the tribes, he arranged a feast for the tribe chiefs and then burnt down the house where it was held. Furthermore, any people who survived the fire were tortured and killed. There is no question that Kincaids character was created in direct reference to him and the cruelty of the character of Ovando in her novel supports this fact One morning, Ovando arose from his bed. Assisted by people he had forcibly placed in various stages of social and spiritual abasement (9)This demonstrates explicitly the blame that Kincaid attributes to Ovando for the pain and suffering caused. She dispels any notions of fate or necessity and lays the burden on the shoulder of the one character who, in addition to clearly being the general described above, broadly represents the imperial nations. It is clear that Kincaid is drawing upon real life horrors for her story and Turcotte identifies this technique From its bloodline the Gothi c has dealt with fears and themes which are endemic in the colonial experience isolation, entrapment, fear of pursuit and fear of the unknown.12 Therefore we see that the gothic genre is particularly apt for expressing the distresses caused by the process of colonisation. This process of the re-animation of traumas from peoples colonial pasts is repeated in a sense through Rhyss Wide Sargasso Sea. She is retelling a Gothic story that already exists in Jane Eyre, heavy(p) depth and, indeed, a life to Rochesters mad wife in the attic. Spivak recognises that Rhys takes Brontes Jane Eyre and rewrites a canonical English text inwardly the European novelistic tradition in the interest of the white Creole sooner than the native.13 This would suggest that, just as the madwoman in the attic has no voice in Jane Eyre, neither does the colonised persons in colonial and postcolonial literature. Therefore, Rhys is giving them the voice they have been deprived of. Many things point to the fact that this was her deliberate intention and we can assume that her personal reward from doing such a thing is clear when we hear other accounts of prejudice in her works I had discovered that if I called myself English they would snub me haughtily Youre not English youre a horridcolonial. 14 blue jean Rhys was a white Creole like this character and, as such, the tightfistedness of the character to the novelist makes it difficult to detach the two. Therefore, it is clear that the gothic genre for Rhys is an effective means of conveying the personal trauma she has experienced as a result of prejudice, stemming from colonisation. In conclusion, it is clear to see that these texts can be outlined as postcolonial gothic. As postcolonial texts, they also possess many of the distinguishing features of gothic texts.The propensity of the gothic genre as a means of reiterating colonial pasts is evident throughout, as the horror and disruption that it conveys so well is symbolic of the anxie ty and heartache that the process of colonisation created for those people ensnared in its progression.Bibliography  Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back system and Practice in Postcolonial Literatures. London Routledge. 1989.  ed. Athill, Diana. The Day They fire the Books in The Collected Short Stories of Jean Rhys. New York W. W. Norton. 1968.  Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature.Oxford Oxford University Press. 1995. Ed. Childs, Peter. Post-Colonial Theory and English Literature A Reader. Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press. 1999.  Gelder, Ken. Postcolonial Gothic in The Handbook to Gothic Literature. ed. Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. Basingstoke Macmillan. 1998.  Kincaid, Jamaica. Ovando in The Picador Book of the New Gothic. A Collection of Contemporary Gothic Fiction. ed. Mcgraph, Patrick Morrow, Bradford. London Picador. 1992.  ed. McGraph, Patrick, Bradford Morrow. The Picador Book of the New Gothic. A Co llection of Contemporary Gothic Fiction.