Subaltern characters in Milton Hatoum

Measuring silences in three novels

Abstract

Inserting the approach of some subordinate characters in Milton Hatoum’s first three novels within the framework of Subalternity Studies, particularly according to contributions from the essay Can the subaltern speak?, by the Indian critic and theorist Gayatry Spivak, it is possible to trace elements of continuity in the characterization of these characters : Anastácia Socorro (Relato de um certo Oriente, 1989), Domingas (Dois irmãos, 2000) and Naiá (Cinzas do Norte, 2005) are maids, aggregated and subordinated to the families they serve. However, distinctive and differentiated features can be highlighted between them, which account for the heterogeneity of this group (which is not typical or “monolithic”, again in reference to Spivak’s analysis). From one to the other, in the search for an individuation of these characters in the author’s work, we proceed to what the French philosopher Pierre Macherey (quoted by Spivak in his essay) recommended as a method, but which we will develop as a dynamic of investigation: “measuring silences”, observe what these women silence or say, trying to give them a voice, to listen to their reticence and to value their presence in the text.