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Chapter on the Haitian Institution of Restavecs SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... The Lazarus Crisis: Subjectivity, Language and Sacrifice in Cultural Narratives A Dissertation Presented by Ketty Thomas to The Graduate School in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature Stony Brook University August 2008 Copyright by Ketty Thomas 2008 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Ketty Thomas We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Robert Harvey, Professor, Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies and European Languages, Dissertation Advisor Ira Livingston, Associate Professor, Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, Chairperson of Defense Sandy Petrey, Professor, Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies & European Languages Geetha Ramanathan, Professor, English and Comparative Literature, West Chester University, Outside Member This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation The Lazarus Crisis: Subjectivity, Language and Sacrifice in Cultural Narratives by Ketty Thomas Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature Stony Brook University 2008 This dissertation combines the biblical story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and the Haitian folklore of the zombie to explore theories of circumscribed subjectivity. I survey a broad range of narratives that reflect the power dynamics involved in identity formations, especially those related to substitution of the self by a language that both defines and informs the associative collective group. The advantages of identity for the group often comes at the expense of the individual, as illustrated in the second chapter on the Haitian institution of Restavecs. A close look at how a single word can make over three hundred thousand children disappear from the social landscape while, simultaneously, affording its members the use of those children for personal gain, I focus on the excluded presence of the human being reflected in language. Jean Robert Cadet’s autobiographical account illustrates that, for the individual, identity formations can become the artificial consciousness that informs, not only the language used, but also the self. This three ring circus (the community, the authority of language, and the individual) reflects a pattern repeated in a broad range of narrative mediums. Alongside biblical, mythological and autobiographical texts, other illustrations of this construct are analyzed in films by Lars von Trier and Jonathan Demme. Both directors produce visual iii representations of the primacy of language and the difficult nature of communication. Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye is analyzed as an example of the fragile nature of the self, constantly threatened by language and the internalization of identity constructs. On a more positive note, the final chapter of this project examines the works of Octavio Paz, Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel Garcia Márquez to illustrate literary representations that resisted the problem language posed to the individual. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………….. ........ vi Introduction ........................................................................................................................1 Chapter One: Lazarus and the Zombie in Cultural Context and Theoretical Practice ..............................................................................................................................25 I. Myth, violence and the Other in cultural context ..................................................29 II. Religion and mythological fusion in Christianity and Vodou ..............................35 III. The myth of resurrection narratives in Lazarus and the Zombie ........................47 IV. The “I” in Zombi and the “we” in Lazarus .........................................................55 Chapter Two: Emphasis on the Zombie in Linguistic Variety ....................................76 I. Kristeva’s Semiotic in Zombie Context ................................................................76 II. Restavecs: The Loss of Agency for the Imposition of Language ........................80 III. Metaphor and Crisis of Language and Identity in Jean Robert Cadet’s RestAvec: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle-Class American ......................85 IV. The Institution of Restavecs as Metaphor for Culturally Sanctioned Subjugation of Individuals ................................................................................100 V. A Final Word on Agency Caught in the Claws of Language ............................108 VI. The Figurative RestAvec in an Analysis of The Five Obstructions .................113 Chapter Three: The Nature of Sacrifice, Repetition and Representation in Identity Constructs .......................................................................................................................124 I. Two Kinds of Death Narrative in Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs ......132 II. Black Female Symbols of Sacrifice in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye ...........149 III. Conclusion ........................................................................................................175 Chapter Four: Taking Words Back in Magical Realist Literature ..........................178 I. Surrealist acts in Octavio Paz’s Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Traps of Faith .......189 II. Borges’ “Pierre Menard: Author of the Quixote” and Márquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” ........................................................202 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................219 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................222 v Acknowledgments I would like to thank Dr. Robert Harvey. Dr. Harvey has not only been an integral part of my academic process but, as my Advisor, he has encouraged me to appreciate the complexities behind my own work. Robert was able to see the possibilities for this project before I did. Only after further investigation did I come to realize, not only what I wanted to say (that is, what I meant to say), but also the implications, context, and order behind the thought. I grew to fully appreciate his mentorship in terms of my personal growth and scholarship. Many thanks to Dr. Ira Livingston. I cannot speak highly enough of Dr. Livingston’s support and patience. He patiently read through several drafts of my dissertation, including the first, very rough draft. His suggestions and insights were very important to this project’s development and I appreciate both his candor and sensitivity for my process. Dr. Sandy Petrey’s help, encouragements, and challenges helped me see this project beyond the dissertation itself. Dr. Petrey convinced me to seek out the personal and professional reasons for my theories. Because of his counsel, my commitment to this project grew and improved tremendously. Thank you to Dr. Geetha Ramanathan for agreeing to read my dissertation and offer assistance at such a late stage in this process. I cannot show enough gratitude for the level of scholarship, time and understanding she has contributed to this project. I want to emphasize my appreciation for her ability to analyze my work and offer deeply provocative questions that enriched my project and challenged me to consider the stakes from as many directions as possible. Thank you to the Comparative Literature student body for their unbelievable support and for being my second family these past years. Thank you to my closest friends, who patiently listened, as I went on and on trying to figure out what I wanted to say and why. And without whose advice and contributions I would never have gotten here. Each one gave me something I needed, even when I could not see right away the extent to which they would become indispensable to me: Dr. Stuart Kendall, Dr. Aga Skrodzka, Dr. Michelle Fazio, Kristin Pape, Dr. Ching Ling Wo, Dr. Stephen Szolosi, Eulalia Brooks, Josh Meissner, Charlotta Beavers, and Erica Nooney. Special thanks to Lynne Avolio, my “angel,” for her patience and unconditional love. Special thanks to Marsha Abrams for her friendship and counsel. And finally, to my original and most influential mentors: Rev. Dr. Jean Baptiste Thomas and Dr. Eliane Thomas. Since it is impossible to express what their tutelage has done for me, I can only offer up the cheapest mimetic expression in saying, “Thank you for everything.” And, thank you to my siblings, Shirley, Naomi, and Jean, for being the part of me that speaks in these pages as much as I do. Introduction The idea for this dissertation began with an outburst I made while talking to a friend. “Jesus can only bring Lazarus back from the dead; he cannot give him his life back!” I was taken aback by it because I had not intended to make such an assertion. I was prepared to let the issue lie, but I wondered where such an incongruous thought might have come from; why did I say it? It was a case of speech coming before thought. While investigating the possible reasons for my outburst, it seemed to me that my first exposure
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