Across community barriers: female characters in Vimala Devi’s short stories

This article brings a reading of the short-story collection Monção [Monsoon] ( 2003) by the Goan writer Vimala Devi (1932-). The collection can be read as a short-story cycle, a group of stories related by locality, Goa, character, Goans, from all walks of life, and theme, in particular women´s milieu, among other literary categories. In her book, written from her self-imposed exile in Portugal, Devi recreates Goa, former Portuguese colony, in the 1950s, before its annexation to India. A member of the Catholic gentry, Devi portrays the four hundred years of conflictive intimacy between Catholics and Hindus. Our main argument is that Devi´s empathy for her culture becomes even more explicit in Monção when her voice becomes one with that of all her women characters. Though they might be at odds, due to differences of caste, class and religion, Devi makes a point of showing that they are all part of the same cultural identity constantly remade through their own acts of refusal and recognition. This discussion will be framed in terms of Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson’s theory of autobiography (2001) as well as the studies on Goan women by the Goan critics Propércia Correia Afonso (1928-1931), Maria Aurora Couto (2005) and Fátima da Silva Gracias (2007).

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IDENTITAS BUDAYA HIBRID DALAM TIGA CERPEN PENGARANG AFRIKA DALAM BUKU KUMPULAN CERPEN L’EUROPE VUE D’AFRQUE (Identity of Hybrid Culture in Three Short Stories of African Authors in the Book of the Short Story Collection “L’Europe Vue D’afrque”)

METASASTRA Jurnal Penelitian Sastra ◽

10.26610/metasastra.2016.v9i2.225-238 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 225

Author(s):

Mega Subekti

Keyword(s):

Short Stories ◽

Cultural Identity ◽

Short Story ◽

African Society ◽

Short Story Collection ◽

Ken Bugul ◽

Homi Bhabha ◽

European Culture ◽

Hybrid Culture ◽

Story Collection

Tulisan ini ditujukan untuk mengungkapkan identitas budaya hibrid yang ditampilkan dalam tiga cerpen yang ditulis oleh pengarang Afrikadalam buku kumpulan cerpen L’Europe Vue D’Afrique (Eropa dilihat Afrika). Tiga cerpen itu berjudul ”Femme de Gouverneur” (LFG) karya Ken Bugul, “La Bibliothèque d’Ernst” (LBE) karya Patrice Nganang, dan “Âllo” karya Aziz Chouaki. Identitas budaya hibrid itu tercermin melalui pandangan Eropasentris para tokoh utama dan mimikriyang mereka lakukan sebagai individu hibrid (Afrika-Eropa). Homi Bhabha (1994) dalam The Location of Culture, mengungkapkan bahwa konsep mimikri tidak berarti sepenuhnya meniru karena terkandung juga unsur mengejek (mockery). Oleh karena itu, budaya hibrid yang muncul itu dapatdianggap sebagai senjata untuk meresistensi pengaruh budaya Eropa pada diri mereka, juga untuk mengkritik pengaruh budaya Eropa yang selama ini telah dianggap baik oleh masyarakat Afrika.Abstract: This paper aims to describe the hybrid cultural identity shown in three short stories, which were written by African authors in the book of the short story collection “L’Europe Vue D’Afrique”. The three short stories are Ken Bugul’s La Femme de Gouverneur (LFG), Patrice Nganang’s La Bibliothèque d’Ernst (LBE) , and Aziz Chouaki’s Allo. The hybrid cultural identity is reflected through the Eurocentric perspective and mimicry of the main character as individual hybrid (African-European). Homi Bhabha (1994) in “The Location of Culture” describes that the concept of mimicry not only mimics something but also contains mockery. Therefore, the hybrid culture represented in the short stories can be considered a weapon to resist the influence of European culture on them and to criticize the influence of European culture, which has been considered superior by the African society.

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The Intertextual Use of Greek Mythology in Agatha Christie’s Detective Fiction

English Studies at NBU ◽

10.33919/esnbu.20.2.8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 321-331

Author(s):

Tatiana Ternopol

Keyword(s):

Short Stories ◽

Short Story ◽

Detective Fiction ◽

Comparative Methods ◽

Greek Mythology ◽

Short Story Collection ◽

The Face ◽

Greek Myths ◽

Story Collection ◽

Over Time

This study investigates the intertextual use of Greek mythology in Agatha Christie’s short stories Philomel Cottage, The Face of Helen, and The Oracle at Delphi, a short story collection The Labours of Hercules, and a novel, Nemesis. The results of this research based on the hermeneutical and comparative methods reveal that A. Christie’s intertextual formula developed over time. In her early works, allusions were based on characters' appearances and functions as well as on the use of motifs and themes from Greek myths. Later on, she turned to using allusory character names; this would mislead her readers who thought they already knew the formula of her stories. Although not a postmodern writer, A. Christie enjoyed playing games of allusion with her readers. She wanted them not only to solve a case but also to discover and interpret the intertextual references.

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Significance of Short Story Cycle in Rachel Joyce’s A Snow Garden and Other Stories: An Analytical Study Using Complexity Theory

International Journal of Arabic-English Studies ◽

10.33806/ijaes2000.22.1.13 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Keyword(s):

Complex Systems ◽

Complexity Theory ◽

Short Story ◽

Urban Setting ◽

Centralized Control ◽

Short Story Cycle ◽

Short Story Collection ◽

Evolving Networks ◽

Story Cycle ◽

Narrative Techniques

Rachel Joyce’s short story collection A Snow Garden and Other Stories (2015) is composed of seven stories which occur during a fortnight of the holiday, Christmas season. The collection uses narrative techniques which make it a unique set of stories. The stories have an urban setting and examine the intricacies of human relationships. The sense of interconnection highlighted by Joyce in the stories elevates it to a short story cycle. A short story cycle consists of individual stories which can stand on their own as complete narratives while also maintaining fictional links running through all the stories. The paper is an attempt to establish A Snow Garden and Other Stories as a short story cycle. It also argues that by narrating the interconnected nature of human lives Joyce’s work is exploring life as a complex system. As a scientific philosophy complexity theory explores the behavior of complex systems including human societies. Complex systems are self-organizing, dynamic, evolving networks that operate without any centralized control, similar to human societies. This paper will apply the principles of complex systems to reveal patterns of human behavior represented in Joyce’s work.

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Matijaner Meyera in Translation: Cultural Identity Construction Through Untranslatability of Language

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ◽

10.7575/aiac.alls.v.10n.6p.36 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 36

Author(s):

Barnali Talukder

Keyword(s):

Cultural Identity ◽

Identity Construction ◽

Short Story ◽

Cultural Difference ◽

Cultural Distance ◽

Linguistic Identity ◽

Short Story Collection ◽

Primary Resource ◽

Story Collection ◽

Bengali Language

The concepts of language and cultural identity of a speaker are entwined as they complement each other. However, translation poses a challenge to the identity language predominantly constructs. Therefore, translatable elements of language get the stage of universality while the untranslatable-s essentially bring forth the culture they are descended from. In this study, a short story collection from Bangladesh, Matijaner Meyera, where there is a celebration of diverse branches of Bengali language, has been brought to light to show how untranslatability of a number of culture-oriented vocabularies vibrantly tells about Bengali culture. The primary resource includes a lot many culture-oriented vocabularies as well as few phrases that English, as a language, cannot accommodate in it. Inability of other languages to penetrate such culture-rooted belongings of Bengali language showcases the power a language retains to protect itself from any invading force. This study has argued in favor of the untranslatable base of Bengali that English, due to cultural distance, cannot embrace linguistically. Therefore, such cultural difference eventually develops a distinct linguistic identity of Bengali through untranslatability that this study has attempted to divulge.

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KONFLIK SOSIAL DAN POLITIK DALAM KUMPULAN CERPEN DRAMA ITU BERKISAH TERLALU JAUH KARYA PUTHUT EA: KAJIAN SOSIOLOGI SASTRA

Buana Bastra ◽

10.36456/bastra.vol5.no1.a3574 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 10-17

Author(s):

Fithroh Wahidah

Keyword(s):

Short Stories ◽

Short Story ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Ethnic Discrimination ◽

Political Conflict ◽

Short Story Collection ◽

Political Conflicts ◽

Religious Conflicts ◽

History Of ◽

Story Collection

This study aimed to describe the social and political conflicts contained in the collection of short stories Drama Tells Too far work of Puthut EA and to describe thecorrelation between the short story collection The play was a story Too far work of PuthutEA with reality night history of Indonesian society. Sources of data in this study is the textcontained in the collection of short stories Drama Tells Too far work of Puthut EA. Whilethe research data is an excerpt sentence, description, dialogue, and other important mattersin the collection of short stories Drama Tells Too far work of Puthut EA. Data obtained byreading and writing techniques. Data were analyzed with the approach of sociology ofliterature and descriptive analysis techniques. The validity of the data obtained byconducting triangulation is triangualasi methods, sources of data and theory. These resultsindicate the existence of social and political conflict are contained in the collection of shortstories Drama Tells Too Far work of Puthut EA, containing social conflicts, among others:(1) gender conflict, namely: the oppression of women, (2) racial conflict, namely:discrimination of race Chinese, (3) inter-religious conflicts, namely: distrust ofcommunism, (4) conflict of interest, namely: the imposition of a leader, (5) interpersonal conflicts, namely: distrust of others, (6) the conflict between social classes, namely: socialinequality. Containing the political conflict, among others: (1) the weapons of battle and (2)the strategy politik. Correlation between the short story collection That play was a storyToo Far of Puthut EA works with historical reality of Indonesian society, among others: (1)The 1998 riots (2) The increase in fuel (3) Ethnic Discrimination (4) Dispute people of thesame religion (5) arrest Without Accompanied Official Letter (6) Violations of humanrights and (7) Poverty.

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“This Emigrant Fate of His”: On Włodzimierz Odojewski’s Short Story Collection „…i poniosły konie"

Tematy i Konteksty ◽

10.15584/tik.spec.eng.2020.28 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol nr specjalny 1(2020) ◽

pp. 498-518

Author(s):

Elżbieta Dutka ◽

Keyword(s):

Short Stories ◽

Short Story ◽

Short Story Collection ◽

Significant Extension ◽

Story Collection ◽

Emigre Writers

Włodzimierz Odojewski is one of the most famous émigré writers who still deals with the topic of emigration, even in his books published long after his both symbolic and real return to the homeland. Significant extension and dwelling on the said topic can be observed in the book „…i poniosły koine” […and the horses bolted]. The aim of this paper is to provide an interpretation of the short stories gathered in the volume (published in 2006) from the perspective of the biographical context, the rest of Odojewski’s writings, as well as his opinions on various aspects of exile. Such interpretation reveals a more existential and internalized dimension of emigration but also its universal meanings. Thus, emigration is considered to be a metaphor of human fate.

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THE DOUBLINGS IN A SHORT STORY COLLECTION STARI DANI BY BORISAV STANKOVIĆ

Facta Universitatis Series Linguistics and Literature ◽

10.22190/full2001119a ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 119

Author(s):

Milica Aleksić

Keyword(s):

Short Stories ◽

Short Story ◽

Short Story Collection ◽

Unconscious Selection ◽

Counter Narrative ◽

Story Collection ◽

Selection Of

In this paper we discuss the doubling of characters' identities in Borisav Stanković's short story collection Stari dani (1902), and a conscious or unconscious selection of another protagonist as an alternative for performing a particular protagonist’s activity the doubling of the actual narrative world through counter-narrative, simulated narrative, comparison and narrative negation will be analyzed. We will try to show how the patriarchal context determines this otherness of worlds and protagonists, and what the cause-effect relations has to do with the psychologization of Stanković's protagonists and the development of the story in nine short stories of the aforementioned collection.

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Negotiating Identity and Belonging in the Western Indian Ocean: Fluid Enabling Spaces in M.G. Vassanji’s Uhuru Street

Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses ◽

10.25145/j.recaesin.2021.82.03 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 27-46

Author(s):

Dolors Ortega ◽

Keyword(s):

Short Stories ◽

Indian Ocean ◽

Short Story ◽

Western Indian Ocean ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Short Story Cycle ◽

Indian Community ◽

History Of ◽

Story Cycle

This article analyses the short story cycle Uhuru Street, which describes the life of the members of the minority Ismaili community, whom Vassanji fictionalises as Shamsis, in the context of crucial changes in the history of Tanzania. Diaspora, fragmentation and ethnic multiplicity in a really hierarchical tripartite society will be studied within the framework of cross-cultural networking in the Western Indian Ocean, where complex identity relations are established. Our discussion stems from a brief historical genealogy of the Indian community in Tanzania, it analyses the complex identity relations and affiliations among Tanzanian citizens of Indian descent, and moves on to the analysis of Vassanji’s short stories in order to explore those fluid and enabling spaces where identity and belonging are to be negotiated.

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Bagul, Baburao (1930–2008)

Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism ◽

10.4324/9781135000356-rem626-1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Aniket Jaaware

Keyword(s):

Short Stories ◽

Short Story ◽

Urban Modernity ◽

Critical Writing ◽

Short Story Collection ◽

Ethical Implications ◽

Story Collection ◽

Younger Generation

A major inspiration to a younger generation of Marathi ‘Dalit’ authors, Baburao Bagul’s literary and critical writing is somewhat atypical of what subsequently became famous as ‘Dalit’ literature (literature of the oppressed) after 1972. Bagul was also actively involved in the discussions that would lead to the founding of the Dalit Panthers. Having published stories in magazines earlier, he published his first volume of short stories called JevhaMiJaatChorliHoti (When I Hid My Caste, 1963). He reinforced his reputation with his short story collection MaranSwasta Hot Ahe (Death is Becoming Cheaper, 1969). Most of his stories explore ‘lumpen’ characters and the ethical implications of their actions as they fight to survive the unrelenting misery and poverty of urban modernity. His characters are ones who survive (or not) in limit situations of hunger and criminality, in dwellings without any civic amenities, and often exploit or violate other characters in similar circumstances.

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The Socialist Housing Projects as Non-Places in Post-2000 Polish Literary and Cinematic Narratives

East European Politics and Societies and Cultures ◽

10.1177/0888325411429330 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 469-485 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

My Svensson

Keyword(s):

Short Story ◽

Young Female ◽

Female Characters ◽

Berlin Wall ◽

Feature Film ◽

Short Story Collection ◽

Housing Projects ◽

Artistic Representations ◽

Cinematic Narratives ◽

Story Collection

Beginning approximately a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a cultural wave of various artistic representations of the socialist housing projects ( blokowisko in Polish) arose in Poland. Three such works, Krzysztof Bizio’s short story collection Zresztą latem wszystkie kwiaty są takie piękne [Besides, in Summer All Flowers are Beautiful] (2003), Robert Gliński’s feature film Cześć, Tereska [Hi, Tereska] (2001), and Sylwester Latkowski’s documentary Blokersi (2001), well illustrate this new cultural trend. A common feature of these works is the complete absence of cultural or national landmarks; the life of the protagonists revolves around the housing projects and the non-places of supermodernity. The atmosphere in the stories ranges from gloom to darkness and their endings are usually unresolved or tragic. However, despite the despair and even fatalism surrounding especially the young female characters, all of the protagonists manage to find spaces of refuge, where they can unlock their imagination. Drawing on Marc Auge’s study of the non-places of supermodernity and Michel Foucault’s concept of heterotopia, while comparing the works to the contemporaneous Swedish film Lilya 4-Ever (2001), this article emphasizes the transnational character of the blokowisko and its universal meaning as a non-place.

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