Paper short abstract:

Maryse Condé and René Depestre offer a unique opportunity to study representations of death in literature. What at first glance could be perceived as the expression of tragedy in the post-colonial context later emerges the reinvigoration of a long-standing French philosophical tradition.

Paper long abstract:

Death, sometimes referred to as "the great equalizer of men," has found its way into religious, artistic and literary expressions since the beginning of recorded time in what can be understood as an attempt to demystify the inescapable end that awaits all men. For all its diverse expressions, a literature that deals with the question of death is ultimately grappling with our most profound existential preoccupations, that is, with the very seeds of any philosophical enterprise.

Death appears as a very important topos in the literature of the Caribbean, in some cases representing the need to break away from a painful past, the hope for new beginnings, and the dream of conceiving non-linear origins. My paper looks at how Maryse Condé and René Depestre, two French Caribbean writers, negotiate their complex histories. Born out of the French literary canon, facing the challenges of historical racial conflict and in a constant struggle for political self-determination, these writers find in the crisscrossing of nomadic wanderings through death and the afterlife the possibility for the constant re-writing of their identities.

Guaranteeing moments of encounter, death serves as the backdrop upon which the characters face diversity without fear. It allows for the safe crossing of borders and leads the protagonists into endless, but extremely fruitful, wanderings. In both cases, death opens a space for dynamic lines to be drawn. Instead of an experience of loss, these Caribbean writers portray death as a productive and fertile ground for (un)making received traditions and their identities.