Caribbean Journeys Intersections of Female Identity in the Novels of Michelle Cliff
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TURUN YLIOPISTON JULKAISUJA ANNALES UNIVERSITATIS TURKUENSIS SARJA - SER. B OSA - TOM. 341 HUMANIORA Caribbean Journeys Intersections of Female Identity in the Novels of Michelle Cliff By Kaisa Ilmonen TURUN YLIOPISTO UNIVERSITY OF TURKU Turku 2012 ISBN 978-951-29-4941-0 (PRINT) ISBN 978-951-29-4942-7 (PDF) ISSN 0082-6987 Layout Linda Talve Cover photo © Lars Christensen Uniprint – Turku, Finland 2012 Acknowledgements One thing that I remember from my childhood is my love of stories. I began to invent all kinds of stories myself, before I even could read or write. Another point is that I almost always found the protagonists in the children’s books extremely boring, and I used to imagine that they had hidden evil sides, ulterior motives, or secret characteristics. I also wanted to know more about the rather flat secondary characters. I tended to ask questions like, ‘What happened to them after that?’, ‘Where did they come from?’, ‘What are their families like?’, and I never received satisfactory answers to my ponderings. Today, more than thirty years later, my love for stories has grown into an academic interest in the study of narratives and literary theory. Indeed, I feel lucky almost every day that I have had the opportunity to turn my love of books into a profession, and that I get to teach my favorite short stories to students who share the same love of narrative with me. My path to being a literary scholar, however, has been long, and at times, also rough. Now, it is time to stand back and thank all of you people without whose help, intelligence, inspiration, advice and friendship, I would never have achieved my dream of completing my doctoral dissertation. First of all, I owe my deepest gratitude to Professor Pirjo Ahokas, my supervisor and Custos. When I was a young student, in the mid-Nineties, Pirjo was the first to introduce me to questions concerning race, ethnicity, gender, and postcolonial issues. Pirjo’s seminars kept inspiring me, and I completed my MA with concepts such as imaginary homelands and migrant identities in the thesis’ title. After that, Pirjo invited me to join her project, funded by the Academy of Finland, Fictional Constructions of Cultural Identities, which marked the beginning of my Academic career. Over the years, Pirjo has read thousands of pages of my ramblings, pushed me to stay focused, and ultimately, super- vised me in perfecting this book for print. I remain indebted to you Pirjo: thank you! Marja-Leena Hakkarainen supervised me during the early stages of my work and was a key member of the Cultural Identities project. I am almost without words now, when it is time to thank Marle. Her warm heart, understanding nature and a sensitive way of commenting on texts have played an essential role in my path to being a literary scholar. I will never forget how Marle, after I had been whining in her office in Juslenia about my difficulties in finding a topic for my MA thesis, gave me both Abeng and No Telephone to Heaven saying “see how you like these”. Thirteen years later – and we have this book up for grabs. Thank you Marle! I also want to thank Professor Liisa Steinby, the head of the Comparative Literature Department for all her support and belief in me and my work – thanks to Liisa, I have had several positions at our department and great facilities to do my work. I also remain indebted to Liisa for other reasons. During my years of studying in the Nineties, I was once very close to changing my Major. It was Liisa’s lectures which ultimately made me stay at the department of Comparative Literature. I thank you, Liisa, for building my fundamental belief in the study of a novel − and in literary studies at large. I have been extremely lucky to have also had many other supporters and professional advi- sors who have commented on my work. I want to thank both of my external readers, Professor Alison Donnell and Professor Giovanna Covi for the professional and encouraging comments on my work. I was so glad when Professor Donnell took the task of being my Opponent; rarely have I felt such a joy that I felt while reading her kind report on my work. I thank Professor Covi for our long term cooperation and all those hours she has taken to read my work and to discuss with me. I also want to thank all those great teachers and scholars who have commented on my work in its different stages, Professor Joan Anim-Addo, Professor Antje ‘Lan’ Hornscheidt, Professor Judith Halberstam, Professor Bruce Johnson, Dr. Matti Savolainen, and Dr. Raisa Simola. Financially, this study was enabled by The Academy of Finland (the Fictional Constructions of Cultural Identity project and the Regulated Liberties in Arts, Culture and Media project), Finnish Cultural Foundation and Turku University Foundation. There are, however, two other Professors at the University of Turku to whom I owe my grea- test gratitude. Professor Marianne Liljeström took me ‘under her wing’ when times were at their hardest. Marianne’s energy and support encouraged me to carry on with my research at a time when I was on the verge of giving in. I am also proud to be a member of the Regulated Liberties project led by Marianne Liljeström. I thank you, Marianne, from the bottom of my heart. Our years together, when the School of Arts gained the status of Centre of Excellence, were phenomenal! Besides Mari- anne, Professor Joel Kuortti remains irreplaceable for my Academic journey. When Joel founded a Postcolonial Network in Finland, little more than ten years ago, he also invited me to join the group. Feeling insecure and wobbly, I took the train to Tampere to give my first ever English paper. I will never forget how warm and cozy Joel’s symposium was, and how proud I was, when Joel treated me like a ‘real scholar’. Only then did I know that this was something I could do. I thank you Joel for that, but even more, for being a great friend. One’s colleagues are the actual spice of academic work. Many times I have been left wonde- ring how blessed I am to have such personalities around me! You speak my language – you share the pains and joys that are incomprehensible to people outside academia. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues at the Department of Comparative Literature, and parti- cularly to Minna Niemi and Sara Eeva. You shared with me my growth into a scholar during the Cultural Identities project. The ‘plethora’ of discussions with you over the years, whether academic or personal, made me the scholar I am today. Thank you Minna and Sara! Kai Miikkulainen, Päivi Brink, Lotta Kähkönen, Hanna Meretoja and Aino Mäkikalli have shared the daily life at our department with me, for many years now. I thank you all for being my literary community. Especially, I want to thank you, Aino for your warmth, wisdom and the great friendship you have given me. In many ways, your strength has guided my path too. My heart shatters when I think about Tomi Kaarto, our collea- gue and friend. I feel proud that I had the possibility to work in contact with Tomi’s great intellect, and that I had the opportunity to follow the virtuosity of his train of thought during our seminars. However, it is our strangest ‘after hours’ conversations and Tomi’s extra-special, bewildering humor, which I cherish in my memories today. During the recent years at Sirkkala campus, I have had the greatest of joys to work side-by- side with Tintti Klapuri. You girl, you vege-dear, are my star! Our daily fuss at our own “unit” keeps me sane and going. I will also remain in eternal debt to Tommi Kotimäki whose outstanding intelli- gence and deep wisdom have benefitted this work too. However, after all this is said and done, the most important colleague must be recalled. The greatest of my sorrows is that Lasse Kekki is not here to see this work coming to an end. Lasse’s enthusiasm, dedication, inspiration, support, and his extraordinary passion for issues important to him, are the greatest reasons this book exists today. I am but a half of a scholar without Lasse by my side. To me, Lasse was more than a mentor and a teacher; he was also a friend and a brother. Lasse was the only person I have ever met whose sense of drama matched my own, and I miss our mutual ‘sparkling’ so dearly. Lasse, I hope you can be proud of me today. The time I worked at the Governor’s Magazine has left a lasting imprint on me. There, I became friends with the community of awesome feminist scholars. As a coordinator of the School of Arts, my immediate scholarly community widened even further. I never ceased to be amazed at the amount of intellectuality, vivaciousness, and wit with which I was surrounded at that time. Taru Leppänen’s calmness, warmth and practical way of dealing with academic turmoils impressed me every day. Sari Miettinen, Anu Laukkanen, Katve-Kaisa Kontturi, Ilona Hongisto, Mari Pajala, Elina Valovirta, Mona Mannevuo, and Katariina Kyrölä, you all have influenced me many ways and you have become much, much more than colleagues to me. You girls, you beautiful, amazing, brilliant girls: you came into my life when I needed you the most! There are so many things I would like to say to you, so many thank-yous, that now, when it is time to say them, I find myself out of words.