Narratives of (post)colonial resistance

some reflections about Essa Dama Bate Bué!

Abstract

This article proposes a critical reading of the narrative Essa Dama Bate Bué! by Yara Monteiro through a postcolonial and intersectional perspective that articulates the social markers of class, race, gender, and sexuality. The text is analyzed as a space of denunciation and resistance against the multiple forms of oppression that shape the lives of the female characters, particularly within the Angolan context, still marked by the remnants of colonialism and the trauma of civil war. Drawing on the reflections of Maria Lugones (2020), the absence of the mother is discussed as a colonial wound, intertwined with processes that affect the protagonist’s identity construction. Situations of violence, racism, and war are examined through the theoretical contributions of Gloria Anzaldúa (2019), Grada Kilomba (2019), and Joana Gorjão Henriques (2017), which allow for an understanding of the narrative strategies that expose the wounds open by colonization and patriarchy. The social implications of gender are addressed based on the formulations of Judith Butler (2018), Silvia Federici (2019), and Teresa de Lauretis (2019), emphasizing how power structures shape and constrain women’s lives across different layers of society. Furthermore, conceptions of sexuality, compulsory heterosexuality, and the lesbian continuum are explored based on the theories of Adrienne Rich (2010), Grada Kilomba (2019), Gayle Rubin (2017), and Judith Butler (2018), revealing how the narrative challenges sexual normativity and opens space for dissident forms of existence. In this sense, Yara Monteiro’s novel not only makes visible the complexity of Angolan women’s experiences but also contributes to the critical debate on (post)colonial legacies and the power of resistance narratives.