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Between Self and History: Trauma and Illusion of the Other in O Tibete de África by Margarida Paredes

2022; Modern Humanities Research Association; Volume: 38; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/port.2022.0005

2222-4270

Lingchen Huang,

Migration, Racism, and Human Rights

Between Self and History:Trauma and Illusion of the Other in O Tibete de África by Margarida Paredes Lingchen Huang Abstract Margarida Paredes presents in her novel O Tibete de África the historical trauma in the postcolonial world by portraying her individual protagonists' psychologies. This article probes postcolonial identity by examining a range of traumatic experiences and their lingering impacts, as well as the potential reparative power of interpersonal relationships. It also aims to reveal the imagined otherness as a reflection of the colonial and imperial remains. An analysis of the tropes of trauma deployed by Paredes can highlight the living history of war and colonialism. O Tibete de África posits a way of overcoming historical trauma by demonstrating the possibility of an open future as is shown in the shifting, hybrid identity of the posttraumatic figure. Resumo Margarida Paredes apresenta no seu romance O Tibete de África (2006) o trauma histórico no mundo pós-colonial ao retratar as psicologias individuais dos seus protagonistas. Este artigo investiga a identidade póscolonial examinando uma série de experiências traumáticas e seus impactos a longo prazo, bem como o potencial poder reparador das relações interpessoais. O artigo também visa revelar a alteridade imaginada como reflexo dos vestígios coloniais e imperiais. A análise dos tropos do trauma proposta por Paredes pode destacar a história viva da guerra e do colonialismo. O Tibete de África propõe uma forma de superar o trauma histórico ao demonstrar a possibilidade de um futuro aberto, como mostra a identidade híbrida e mutante da figura pós-traumática. Keywords Trauma, Luso-tropicalism, psychological novel, postcolonialism, Angola Palavras-chave Trauma, Luso-tropicalismo, romance psicológico, póscolonialismo, Angola Introduction O Tibete de África (2006), a novel set in the Lusophone postcolonial world, is characterized by the strategy of turning inward to represent complex realities. John Rodden suggests that the individuals' stories of their inner worlds can be studied as 'case histories' of society,1 so this article will focus on a reading of the psychologies of the characters and analyse trauma and the problem of othering, which are testament to the lingering impact of Portuguese colonial history and the omnipresent manipulation of the imperial legacy on individuals from different ethnic backgrounds. The link between postcolonial studies and trauma studies has long been observed. Hamish Dalley stresses the significance of history when it comes to studying literature in postcolonial spaces, a literature which is 'subject always to conflict over past events and their meaning for present generations'.2 The application of trauma theory represents an opportunity to probe the problematic and contested history associated with the impact of past experience and human suffering. Placed in the violent independence war in Angola, Paredes's protagonist was unprepared for this transition. This study thus demonstrates the extent to which the self is located as a historical subject. Taking a psychological approach, which 'in postcolonial studies ha[s] often examined the effects of colonisation and decolonisation on the colonised, or formerly colonised, as well as colonisers',3 I argue that Margarida Paredes articulates her characters' personal trajectories with the trauma of their time, and represents trauma in the dramatization of the link between past and present. Furthermore, she portrays the individual's trauma through a voice that cries for connection with others, as Cathy Caruth aptly proposes in her trauma [End Page 95] theory, which associates traumatic experience with the representation of the Other. In Paredes's novel, the otherness seen by those who witness events also reflects a segmented self-image due to an inability to overcome an entrenched mode of colonial thinking and to access a traumatic past. The first section of this article will study how trauma dramatizes the question of past and present time in the case of Ana, a retornada4 from Angola. I will illustrate the narrative of trauma, which disrupts linear time with constant flashbacks and anachronistic scenes, and highlights the influence that social and historical memories have on people's psyche and decision-making. The second section will explore how trauma renders individuals from different backgrounds connected with each...