{"title":"\"The Circle Stands before You\": Reincarnation and Traumatic Memory in Phyllis Alesia Perry's Stigmata","authors":"Stella Setka","doi":"10.1353/mfs.2022.0026","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:This essay examines Phyllis Alexia Perry's Stigmata, a neo-slave narrative in which the Yoruba concept of matrilineal reincarnation, or yetunde, serves as an interface between the slave past and postslavery African American identity. Specifically, the novel adapts the Yoruba notion of yetunde to frame the corporeal and emotional connection that the protagonist, Lizzie, shares with her female ancestors. Drawing on decolonized trauma theory, this essay shows how Perry's novel not only rejects the primacy of Western ontologies but also insists that a reappraisal of the traumatic history of enslavement be evaluated from a postcolonial perspective.","PeriodicalId":45576,"journal":{"name":"MFS-Modern Fiction Studies","volume":"88 1","pages":"482 - 505"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"MFS-Modern Fiction Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1353/mfs.2022.0026","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LITERATURE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract:This essay examines Phyllis Alexia Perry's Stigmata, a neo-slave narrative in which the Yoruba concept of matrilineal reincarnation, or yetunde, serves as an interface between the slave past and postslavery African American identity. Specifically, the novel adapts the Yoruba notion of yetunde to frame the corporeal and emotional connection that the protagonist, Lizzie, shares with her female ancestors. Drawing on decolonized trauma theory, this essay shows how Perry's novel not only rejects the primacy of Western ontologies but also insists that a reappraisal of the traumatic history of enslavement be evaluated from a postcolonial perspective.
期刊介绍：
Modern Fiction Studies publishes engaging articles on prominent works of modern and contemporary fiction. Emphasizing historical, theoretical, and interdisciplinary approaches, the journal encourages a dialogue between fiction and theory, publishing work that offers new theoretical insights, clarity of style, and completeness of argument. Modern Fiction Studies alternates general issues dealing with a wide range of texts with special issues focused on single topics or individual writers.
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