Constructing and consuming the French Caribbean: an ecocritical approach

Miller, Bethany Sarah (2023). Constructing and consuming the French Caribbean: an ecocritical approach. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the links between literature and the environment in the Francophone Caribbean, focusing on the Martinican author Patrick Chamoiseau and the Guadeloupean author Maryse Condé. This interdisciplinary and comparative study engages with postcolonial ecocriticism and investigates the roles of construction and consumption in the authors’ work in relation to the links between nature and humanity. The research begins with a comparative exploration of Condé’s Le Cœur à rire et à pleurer (1999) and Chamoiseau’s Chronique des sept misères (1986) before moving to consider Texaco (1992). It then focuses on Chamoiseau’s Les neuf consciences du Malfini (2009) before returning to Condé and her texts Victoire, les saveurs et les mots (2008) and Mets et merveilles (2015). The final chapter provides a close reading of Chamoiseau’s 2011 essay ‘Le Diamant: la beauté comme conscience’. This thesis posits that despite the many differences between Chamoiseau and Condé’s approaches to identity and the environment, similarities also emerge as their work progresses over time. A focus on the relationship between humans and both the natural and man-made environment can particularly be found in Chamoiseau’s novels, an element that develops in his later work. In Condé’s texts, a link between the consumption of food, as an extension of the natural environment, and the representation of self and home is also found. This thesis makes an original contribution by demonstrating how both authors express a deep connection to, and a direct relationship with, the land despite colonialism and its enduring structures in the post-colonial era in the Antilles. It argues that both authors bring ecological and political issues to the forefront through their literary works to discuss how to move forward to bring greater food autonomy for the region and protection for an increasingly fragile environment.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):