The woman is an island: sexual difference and insular aesthetics in Moi, Tituba sorcière… by Maryse Condé

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present a gender-focused reading of the novel Moi, Tituba sorcière... Noire de Salem (1986), from Antillean writer Maryse Condé. With this aim, we will resort to the theoretical background from the gender studies. First we will analyze the ideological implications put in play by the dichotomy «male / female» on the narrative level. Secondly, we will take into account the progressive displaying of a certain insular aesthetics / poetics in the story. We will try to propose some key strategies to answer the main question: why the island?