Student Theses
Date of Award
Fall 12-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Language
English
First Advisor
Professor Dalia Kandiyoti
Second Advisor
Professor Janet Ng Dudley
Third Advisor
Professor Rosanne Carlo
Abstract
Composed similarly to a mini book, this unconventionally structured thesis centralizes on how contemporary female authors, particularly Aurora Levins Morales and Yaa Gyasi, can rebuild gaps in undocumented women’s history through a fusion of nature within post-colonial fiction. A severe lack of preservation exists regarding women’s historical records due to centuries of facing oppression and dual colonization within domestic and public spheres. As a result, women’s memories have become misdirected. These memory gaps can be mimetically refurbished through fictional reconstruction to reimagine simulated pieces to the puzzle of women’s past. The paper divides into two sections, discussing first the idea of mimesis through the analysis of Michael Taussig. The second section focuses heavily on the close reading of texts by Levins Morales and Gyasi in relation to the representation of women as nature. These rewritings of history through fiction offer readers a renovation of stories which can refill empty spaces in time as an effort to imagine these historical gaps, or even reimagine new histories for ancestors. This reallocation of power from colonizers into the hands of modern women authors, revives lost voices of female ancestors through the words of female descendants. Vocalization has been an ability previously inaccessible to oppressed women whose voices had been suppressed, their truths and experiences buried along with their bodies into the earth. This infusion of the dirt which incases their bodies and the natural elements of this world help to overcome disputes which suggest comparisons of women to nature support patriarchal beliefs.
Recommended Citation
D'Albero, Jessica, "Roots and Branches: Mimetic Reconstruction of Women's History Through Nature in Post-Colonial Literature" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/si_etds/12