ABOUT SIMONE SCWARZ-BART
Background
She is Guadeloupean
Studied in Pointe-a-Pitre (the commercial capital of Guadeloupe; political capital is Basse Terre)
University in Paris then Dakar
Married Andre Schwarz Bart 1959
An avid fan of Tchekov
This concise play has a poetic Creole style which relates the frustrating circumstances of the poor in the Caribbean. Themes for analysis vary from the use of music in Creole culture to the aspirations of the poor towards the lifestyle of the colonizers in their maisons a colonnades. Whilst the play is predominantly written in French the occasional use of Creole reflects the language which the two main protagonists would most probably have used to communicate. The French is employed in an eclectic Creole style with many images of the sea, the sky and the earth. The use of onomatopoeias such as Tam Tam for the beating of a bongo heightens the realism of the reading experience in a play which at points risks entering into the realms of "exotisme". Whilst there are countless themes which present themselves for analysis, having spent a year in Guadeloupe I feel I may be able to offer some kind of insight into the Guadeloupean elements of the play.
Early in the play Guadeloupe is described as "precieux et fragile". On a physical plane Guadeloupe is exposed to the dangers of hurricanes and La Soufriere it's volcano. However this respect for the fragility of the land is also reflective of the fact that Guadeloupe is steeped in agriculture - sugar cane and bananas being the prominent agricultural industries. In Wilnor's Creole hut there is a machete, a common possession in Guadeloupe as it is used for cutting cane, opening coconuts and hacking one's way through the dense rain forests of Basse Terre. More importantly however it is perhaps a symbol of the age of slavery when the slaves were mostly made to cut the cane originally brought to the island by dutch merchants from Brazil. Schwarz-Bart writes of Wilnors dream of owning a cow. The tradition still exists in Guadeloupe today that when one kills a cow all friends and family are invited to the feast. It is a symbol of prestige and bullocks still pull cane carts although this process is largely automated now. Wilnors lie to Marie Ange that he lives in a maisons a colonnades reflects the plight of many low paid agricultural workers in Guadeloupe amongst which Haitians still figure today.The difference between the case Creole and the maison a colonnades is important in the text. These remnants of the colonial era still stand today and are generally (although not exclusively) inhabited by rich white families from the metropole (mainland France). They withstand the rigours of hurricanes far better than case Creoles which often lose their corrugated iron roofs - hence the imagery at the top of page 36 (EDITIONS DU SEUIL). Rum is one of the main products of Guadeloupe and is very cheap. Wilnors comment about patience being at the bottom of the bottle is reminiscent of a Creole proverb Verite en rhonme (In vino veritas). Indeed many such phrases have developed of which this is but one. A mulatresse zinzin refers to the beauty of the female half-casts in Guadeloupe. The references to African Gods evokes the strong link which many Caribbeans feel with "Mother Africa" and the sound of "Tambours" and "Ti-Bois" is still everywhere in Guadeloupe - especially at carnival time. The Lerose is a Guadeloupean dance performed to Gwoka (Tribal drum percussion music) the stirring power of which is difficult to express. The power is such that these drums form an integral part of independence rallies which one occasionally witnesses on La Place de la Victoire in Pointe-a-Pitre today. The quadrille started off as a dance which slaves performed. Under the yolk of slavery which enforced the repression of verbal expression dance and music became a highly advanced form of expression. Wilnors dancing is therefore highly poignant in the text. Whilst I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert on Guadeloupe I hope these few points will add some meaning to a few parts of the text which may have been unclear.