Conclusion

Each of the preceding chapters has been devoted to a different novel’s representation of community; I would like to conclude by exploring some of the differences and similarities between them. Do they share a common sense of community, or do they have nothing in common? Is the sense of community merely a matter of common sense, in both senses, or is it a problematic, fragile and conflictual construct?...

Community, Nature and Solitude in Daniel Maximin’s L’Ile et une nuit

This chapter focuses mainly on Daniel Maximin’s L’Ile et une nuit but also makes reference to the author’s other two novels, L’Isolé soleil and Soufrières. Britton foregrounds how, in L’Ile et une nuit, the community of Guadeloupe is defined in relation to the forces of nature, and also by its capacity to resist them.

Conquering the Town: Stories and Myth in Patrick Chamoiseau’s Texaco

This chapter explores Texaco’s key theme of building new communities, and the polarity between town and country. Britton foregrounds the fictional community’s existence as not only a new community but also one that exists because of sustained effort of will and a collective determination, all of which result in a sense of togetherness. The chapter also discusses the novel’s commentary on creating new forms of social organization and the building of a free, self-sufficient community.

Singular Beings and Political Disorganization in Vincent Placoly’s L’Eau-de-mort guildive

This chapter studies Vincent Placoly’s extremely original work, which is characterized by a surreal atmosphere and chaotic structure. Britton discusses the novel’s attempt at creating a coherent representation of a fictional world, and looks at the community within the novel’s disorganization and inability to constitute itself as a solid unit.

Past, Future and the Maroon Community in Edouard Glissant’s Le Quatrième Siècle

This chapter explores Le Quatrième Siècle’s reflections on the conceptions of community and individual, which are required by a struggle for political independence, Caribbean solidarity, and cultural autonomy. Also discussed in this chapter is Edouard Glissant’s position as a philosopher, with a comment on the prominence of opacity in Glissant’s thinking. Like many of the other chapters in this study, Britton compares the work of Glissant to that of the philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy’s.

Introduction

The Caribbean’s history of transportation, slavery and migration has created a situation in which the question of community becomes particularly urgent. The islands’ societies are the pure product of colonization, which eliminated most of their indigenous inhabitants and transported millions of Africans to work on the plantations in conditions that obliterated most of their traditional social structures and practices. In these violently dislocated populations, there could be no ‘natural’ sense of community evolving peacefully over the years; rather, the ...

On Not Belonging: Surrogate Families and Marginalized Communities in Maryse Condé’s Desirada

This chapter highlights Desirada’s opposition between the breakdown of the biological family unit and the contrastingly positive strength of relationships not based on biological kinship: friendship and surrogate parent-child relationships. The chapter also explores marginalized, heterogeneous communities, while foregrounding the representation of Guadeloupe and Martinique as ideal organic communities free from alienation and depersonalization.

Restoring Lost Unity in Jacques Roumain’s Gouverneurs de la rosée

This chapter explores the central theme of community in a close reading of Jacques Roumain’s Gouverneurs de la rosée. It foregrounds the novel’s embodiment of an ideal of organic community and analyses the act of re-building and restoring communal unity. Britton also looks at the success of Gouverneurs de la rosée, labelling it as one of the founding texts of Caribbean literature, and foregrounds what this means in terms of its consequent influence and power.

Living by Mistake: Individual and Community in Simone Schwarz-Bart’s Pluie et vent sur Télumée Miracle

This chapter provides a close reading of Simone Schwarz-Bart’s Pluie et vent sur Télumée Miracle, and portrays the rural Antillean community’s inability to derive any emotional strength from the past. The chapter discusses characters within the novels’ own changing ideas and attitude towards community, and explores the ways in which role models find their place.