Themes in Literature/Belonging and Exile/Edwidge Danticat’s “1937”

In a world where most history books are written by men, it’s hard to find women as strong characters in literature, especially in stories based in the Caribbean. In Danticat’s “1937,” years After surviving the horrible massacre ordered by Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina. Josephine’s mother gets accused of witchcraft and gets imprisoned, while her daughter can’t do anything more than visit her and hold the family heirloom (a Madonna doll) until the day her mother dies. Nevertheless, despite the atrocities, I believe Danticat does an amazing job representing women as superhuman, mythical creatures who bond in their resilience and power and frighten men.

As a Haitian American writer, Danticat wasn’t an outsider to Haiti’s political and social situation; Her parents fled Haiti, scaping the atrocious dictatorship of François Duvalier when she was two years old. The impact of Haiti’s historical context is deeply portrayed in all her narratives and beautifully represented by the courage and diversity of her characters. In “1937,” Josephine’s mother wasn’t the only woman imprisoned by allegations about their secret power, in a time when people were constantly fighting over voodoo and religion, it wasn’t uncommon for people (especially men in power) to adopt myths that served their purposes in controlling women: “All of these women were here for the same reason. They were said to have been seen at night rising from the ground like birds on fire.” When Josephine’s mother was in jail, she was often bathed in cold water to prevent her “wings” from growing. Regardless of the inhuman conditions she faced, Josephine’s mother tried to be strong. She continued to make small conversations and assured her daughter that she was fine when it was a blatant lie. However, magic wasn’t the only motive for these women to be oppressed. The fear men have for smart and powerful women has existed since the earth’s beginning. By cutting their wings, the men forced the women to remain under a system based on stereotypes and patriarchy. These kinds of women couldn’t be left free, they were not allowed to use their “powers” or more like “abilities” simply because men were afraid of being seduced, enchanted, or manipulated as Eva did with Adan in the Bible.

In “1937”, Danticat took the time to represent women in a different light. All the women in the story are fearless, almost superhumans. She uses mythology and symbolism to show these characteristics as the story unfolds. One of the mythological associations I found is in the figure of the Phoenix and its reflection in Josephine’s mother. Specifically, in the description of her getting out of the Massacre River, we are told, “she glowed red when she came out, blood clinging to her skin, which at that moment looked as though it were in flames." Despite the traumatic and horrific experience, her character is represented as this wonderful creature. The Phoenix is an animal that is well known in Greek and Egyptian mythology for being reborn from its ashes after its predecessor dies or bursts into flames. Therefore, being immortal. This animal symbolizes new beginnings and stages of life, which was what Josephine’s mother did when coming out of the river. There, she was being reborn and starting a new chapter in her life while carrying a whole new life inside of her at the same time.

Unfortunately, these groups of women were being accused and killed for something scientifically impossible. However, Danticat still tries to give them another light in the dark situation, and we can read this after Josephine’s mother died, “Let her flight be joyful, (…) and mine and yours too.” This simple but beautiful sentence can be associated with hope and the existence of an afterlife. It also reminded me of the myth of Pandora’s box: after all the calamities came out, hope was the last thing in the box. After all the atrocities these women confronted, they still have hope in their hearts for a better (or maybe) different future. After Reading the story, it is easy to believe that Danticat went through all those atrocities herself, just because of how vivid her descriptions are. However, this vivid realism is simply how she writes. In another of her works, “Create Dangerously: The immigrant artist at work,” She explains she was obsessed with writing “the things that have always haunted and obsessed those [writers] who came before me.” I believe “1937” is a wonderful example of this statement. The immersive experience while reading the story proves that the author is in personal contact with the historical context and the culture.

In the end, “1937” Danticat invites us to admire, even envy the strength of these women and how they intelligently find a way to survive and keep their traditions. These women are not only the main characters but also the key cultural elements representing power, union, and resilience in a beautiful form. The relevance of these stories is in how detailed the descriptions are, the sincerity of the dialogue, and how everything reflects Haiti’s history and mythology through the role of a group of oppressed yet powerful mythical women.

--Perla Cuevas de Leon