Silence and Representation

SILENCE AND REPRESENTATION IN SELECTED POSTCOLONIAL TEXTS TIRZAH ZUBEIDAH ZACHARIAH Submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English Studies University of Stirling April 2016 Table of Contents Abstract iii Declaration iv Acknowledgement v Chapter 1 1 The Portrayal of Women In Selected Post-colonial Texts: A Study of Silence and Representation Chapter 2 35 Stories that cannot be told and Storytellers who will not tell: The role of Authorial Silence Chapter 3 61 Silence, Shame, Secrets and Gossip Chapter 4 101 Women’s Choice to Remain Silent : Silence, Characterisation and Narrative Structure Chapter 5 134 Women who are complicit in silencing other women Conclusion 160 Bibliography 168 ABSTRACT This thesis discusses female silence, voice and representation as portrayed in four postcolonial novels written by Asian female writers or those from the Asian diaspora. The novels included in the corpus are The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo, Brick Lane by Monica Ali and Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne. This thesis aims to explore the different strategies adopted by the authors to represent different forms of silence of the type highlighted in theoretical work by Spivak, Olsen and Showalter. The novels analysed open up new contexts in which issues of silence, migration, displacement and multiculturalism, which are central in postcolonial literature, are explored. In its examination of these issues in detail, the thesis has been influenced by postcolonial and diasporic studies, with a focus on women’s issues and feminist thought. Instead of focusing on the role of silence solely in relation to specific characters, the thesis attempts to engage with the complex ways in which these narratives represent various forms, moments and scenes of silence. From the analysis, we can exemplify that the novels can also be used to suggest the ambivalences of speaking/not-speaking via the narrative representations of silence. Authorial silence involves the author’s deliberate refusal to speak directly in the text ; instead, the author utilises several literary devices to convey something indirectly to the reader. Silence is also linked to concepts such as shame, secrets and gossip. One is likely to refrain from speaking if he or she is ashamed, secretive or is the topic of gossip in one’s community. There are also some female characters who are portrayed as not-speaking, or choosing to remain silent so as not to cause problems for the family. A few other characters have been portrayed as refusing to speak out as they have been traumatised into silence. Lastly, women can also be complicit in holding on to patriarchal structures and in the process, attempt to speak out in order to to silence or to cause problems to other women. iii Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own work and that all other critical sources (literary and electronic) have been specifically and properly acknowledged, as and when they occur in the body of my text. Signed: iv Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank Almighty Allah for giving me the patience and strength to complete this dissertation. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Prof David Murphy for his encouragement and guidance throughout this dissertation process. I would also like to thank the academic and administrative staff at University of Stirling for their help during my studies. Special thanks to my family in Malaysia for their moral support and prayers: Mommy, Daddy, Mak, Ayah, my siblings as well as my brothers and sisters-in-law. Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my husband Mohd Nazir and the kids, Danial, Demyan, Eian and Elham for their love and patience. v CHAPTER 1 SILENCE AND REPRESENTATION IN SELECTED POSTCOLONIAL TEXTS This thesis aims to discuss female silence, voice and representation as portrayed in four postcolonial novels written by Asian female writers or those from the Asian diaspora. The novels included in the corpus are The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo, Brick Lane by Monica Ali and Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne.. By looking at a set of representations by ‘Asian’ female authors, this thesis aims to explore the different strategies adopted by the authors to present permutations of not-speaking highlighted by Spivak. We can see a similar pattern in the portrayal of the Asian woman, who is often expected to present herself as quiet and submissive and to honour her husband and family above all things. The novels examined in this thesis open up new contexts in which issues of silence, migration, displacement and multiculturalism, which are central in postcolonial literature, are explored. The act of breaking down certain barriers is a central issue in many situations in the novels. We witness female characters who show their rebellion in various ways ; nevertheless, the women who show such resistance face dire consequences in their community later on, by being ostracised, marginalised or totally silenced. In order to examine these issues in detail, the thesis will be influenced by postcolonial and diasporic studies, with a focus on women’s issues and feminist thought. Instead of focusing on the roles of silence solely in relation to specific characters, the 1 thesis attempts to engage with the narrative representation of various forms, moments and scenes of silence. Some of the ideas which will be discussed are i) shame, ii) secrets, iii) gossip, which can sometimes be used as a form of subverting silence, and sometimes of silencing, iv) the choice to remain silent (or to make noise that is not recognisable as language) as a possible form of empowerment, v) women’s complicity in silencing other women, and lastly vi) authorial silence, which involves an engagement with the author’s choices about what not to tell the reader. This thesis will be situated at the interface between feminist and postcolonial studies. Spivak, among other postcolonial critics, emphasizes the intersections between gender and race. As suggested by Ashcroft et al (1989 :174-175) women ‘share with colonized races and people an intimate experience of the politics of oppression and repression’. Women, like colonized people, have been deprived of an independent voice or space throughout history. Both feminism and postcolonial theory seek to reinstate the marginalized in the face of the dominant. The novels which make up the corpus for this study portray Asian women or women of Asian origin who cannot express their situation to the world. They can be described as voiceless, powerless individuals; a view which was infamously discussed by Spivak in her essay about the subaltern. The term ‘subaltern’ which means of ‘inferior rank’ was first used by Antonio Gramsci to define particular groups in society who may be subject to the hegemony of the ruling elite (Ashcroft et al,198). These groups may include peasants, workers and people who have been denied access to ‘hegemonic’ power. The role of feminism in the largely postcolonial nations of the Global South has been 2 a particularly fraught area of critical debate in recent decades. The feminist movement, which was initiated and dominated by White, Western female writers and theorists and became popular in the 1960s and 1970s, has been challenged and in some instances rejected by women from ‘Third World’ countries. Many activists from Third World countries viewed the feminist project as a rigid construction based on Eurocentric values and views and did not take into account the differences of the Third World women. According to Audre Lorde: By and large within the women's movement today, white women focus upon their oppression as women and ignore differences of race, sexual preferences, class and age. There is a pretense to a homogeneity of experience covered by the word ‘sisterhood’ that does not in fact exist. (116) Writing in the same vein, Mohanty argues that white feminist theorists do not genuinely engage in dialogue with women of colour which has led to a poor understanding of the latter’s experiences. What is needed is an approach which takes into account the needs of black and Third World women to prevent them from becoming the silenced objects of Western analysis. In her view, Third World women writers who write about the politics of feminism should practice writing in the form of ‘storytelling or autobiography’ which would be useful as ‘a discourse of oppositional consciousness and agency’ (39). She further states that in order to change patriarchal ways of thinking and oppressive discourses, it is not enough to publish these stories but it is also vital to think about how they are disseminated and most importantly, heard. 3 Similarly, bell hooks calls for the articulation of marginalised voices and the self-affirmation of these oppressed groups: Moving from silence into speech is for the oppressed, the colonised, the exploited, and those who stand and struggle side by side a gesture of defiance that heals, that makes new life and new growth possible. It is the act of speech, of ‘talking back’, that is no mere gesture of empty words, that is the expression of our movement from object to subject—the liberated voice. (211) Weedon in ‘Key Issues in Postcolonial Feminism : A Western Perspective’ views the project of postcolonial feminism as one that involves women in both the developing and developed world. While Western feminism and its Eurocentric values lead its proponents to view their societies and cultures as models for the rest of the world, Third World countries also have their own active indigenous women’s movements which are concerned with specific issues in their countries. Weedon argues that much of the feminist theory and scholarship produced by Third World women tends to be ignored by Western theorists, although it must also be pointed out that there are also feminists from the Third World who are increasingly making their voices heard due to their location in the West.

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