Transilvania, 2019 (Anul 125, nr. 1-11)

2019-09-01 / nr. 9

34 past, he argues that every present conflict has deep ast roots and that in order to understand and possibly eals an individual’s present discontent, one needs to familiarize oneself with the past discontent(s) of both this individual and his/her community. There is female frustration due to gender inequality, male frustration due to female rejection, postcolonial frustration due to the West’s colonialist and imperialist past, immigrant frustration due to the impossibility of identity construction - and all these come into play in seemingly individual conflicts which actually have nothing to do with the individuals themselves. A fresh complaint in legal terms is a complaint formulated immediately after the offense occurs - but in this story Prakrti postpones her official complaint for a month, which makes her story less credible10; furthermore the story symbolically alludes to the chronic nature of almost all human complaints, and argues that every present conflict is the result of a past complaint. In addition to this, a postcolonial reading of the story suggests that the complaint’ of colonialism lingers long after colonialism as a geographical reality has vanished - the wounds are still open, the resentment strong, the desire for revenge ever-present. In the end of the story, Matthew tries to erase this shameful episode from his life by deleting the texts between Prakrti and himself, but as he does this he feels as if he is “fingering a wound” (284). His, and the narrator’s, ultimate conclusion is that “these things don’t go away.” (284). The colonial legacy will project its dark shadows over many centuries to come, and past oppression will continue to produce future violent resistance and discontent. The only glimpse of hope in the story’s end is the image of Matthew’s children, Jacob and Hazel, who, in spite of everything, recognize their father in the hotel lobby and run towards him. The west will have to reconcile its present and future to its past if it wants to stand any chance of reconciling itself to the rest of the world. Chronic complaints must be addressed before any fresh ones can be tackled. In the end, the only certainty we have is that we have a moral and historical duty to keep trying. Notes: 1. See also Gurminder K. Bhambras argument according to which Europe is less of a concrete physical space and more of an abstract idea: “Europe has often been understood in terms of being more an idea than a place”. A similar viewpoint is upheld also by Hayden White who states that “Europe has never existed anywhere except in discourse” (67). 2. Consider also Helen Bradford’s discussion of the invisibility of women in imperial historiography: “For a number of years, scholars have been pointing accusing fingers at (...) imperial historiography for widespread neglect of both women and gender. Female invisibility, it has been argued, is the most dominant trend (...).” 3. Identity construction is at the core of both Middlesex and The Virgin Suicides, Eugenides’ most successful novels. 4. See also Salman Rushdie’s brilliant description of the immigrant experience in Imaginary Homelands: “We are not gods but wounded creatures, cracked lenses, capable only of fractured perceptions.” (12) 5. Let us also recall the final scene in Middlesex, where Cal is the one who has to guard the entrance of the house to prevent his father’s spirit from entering it - another symbolical encounter between past and present. Cal, who is designated by the family to fulfill this task (that only a man can take on) is however a hermaphrodite, who was born as Calliope, and whose very existence goes against any concept of tradition. 6. A phrase commonly attributed to the notorious terrorist Osama bin Laden is: “We love death as you love life.” It is often quoted in order to highlight the West’s attachment to earthly existence, as opposed to the Oriental disdain for life and focus on the religious concept of eternal life. Prakrti opposes her love of life with her mother’s passive acceptance of it. 7. See also Elleke Boehmer’s discussion of the “silent, wounded colonial body”: The silenced, wounded body of the colonized is a pervasive figure in colonial and postcolonial discourses, but its valences differ significantly. In the process of postcolonial rewriting the trope of the dumb, oppressed body undergoes significant translations.” 8. See also Sune Borkfelt’s discussion of the interrelation between the way European colonizers viewed the non- European colonized and animals: “Through history, the differences between human bodies have always been used as a means of defining and justifying unequal power relations between different groups of human beings. Not least, bodily differences such as skin colour, height, facial features, dress and supposed sexual or dietary habits, have been used by European powers seeking to justify colonial expansion and imperialism through centuries. Often overlooked in this connection are the intersections between European descriptions and treatment of Non-European humans on one hand and human, especially European, views on and treatment of non-human animals on the other.” 9. See also the case of the Lisbon girls in The Virgin Suicides, who finally commit collective suicide due to their mother’s Puritanical upbringing and her refusal to allow the girls to lead the life of a normal teenager. 10. It is interesting to read Eugenides’ story in light of the recent #metoo movement and the wave of sexual harassment and rape allegations which have flooded Western media - many of these accusations being formulated many years after the supposed sexual assault happened (see also the Blasey-Kavanaugh scandal). TRANSILVANIA 9/2019

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