Magic and Identity in Anglophone and Hispanaphone Caribbean Literature

Abstract

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, literature in the Caribbean underwent a period of significant development. The word “Caribbean” encompasses such a vast cultural, locational, and linguistic span that it is difficult to make generalizations about trends in the literature produced during this period. As a result, the contrast between Hispanophone and Anglophone Caribbean literature has not been thoroughly investigated. In this essay, I will compare and contrast themes from “Viaje a la Semilla” by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier, “Do Angels Wear Brassieres?” by Jamaican author Olive Senior, and “Pressure Drop” by Jamaican author Oku Onuora. I will also briefly discuss works by Afro-Cuban author Nicolás Guillén and Saint Lucian Derek Walcott. Aspects of these works—such as intended audience, political and social influences, and linguistic form—are investigated. Additionally, Caribbean literature is analyzed through the lens of magical realism. The throughline of this study is whether thematically metaphysical questions of belonging which have been attributed to Caribbean literature by previous scholars are maintained in both linguistic traditions. The import of this literature to explore and maintain cultural byways in the face of a diasporic experience is emphasized.