Dominica

The madwoman in the attic and the gaslighting of the indigenous, the descendants of the enslaved, and those who refused to be enslaved are subjects brought up by the feminist, anti-colonial Dominican literature. First though, we need to pronounce it correctly. Dominica is pronounced with the emphasis on the third syllable (if you aren’t familiar with Spanish pronunciation rules, think of the French name Dominique and add an “ah” at the end). Dominican is pronounced differently depending on if the person being described is from Dominica or the Dominican Republic (the subject of the next blog). Those from Dominica are Do-mee-NEE-can. Those from the Dominican Republic are Do-MEE-nee-can. But let’s get back to some noteworthy ideas that come from Dominica.

When I read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë repeatedly as a teen, my mom was happy that I was reading classic literature while I thought I was reading romance. Jane Eyre brings up questions about social class, sexuality, Christian values, self-determination, and feminism that are worth discussing and have played a part in the formation of who I am. I didn’t notice the question about colonialism hidden with the madwoman in the attic until I read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, a mid-twentieth century novelist from Dominica. Rochester both hates Antoinette and wants to control her while she … well this is where it gets complicated and the analogy to colonial powers becomes interesting, because is there anything she could have done that would have justified what was done to her? Who has read both books? I would love to discuss them and their applications to current conversations and relationships. Both books can be found through any library or bookstore. Wide Sargasso Sea is on Hoopla. Jane Eyre (which really should be read first) is on Project Gutenberg at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm

If we think that story is complicated, the next one is even more complex. My interlibrary load request for The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid didn’t come through, so I read Unburnable by Marie-Elena John instead. Both books put the reader in the place of the descendants of the enslaved and the last remaining Carib population. I found the diversity of African cultures manifesting on Dominica as reported in Unburnable fascinating. Unburnable is found on Hoopla, in the library, and at any bookstore.

Both Wide Sargasso Sea and Unburnable strongly defend women against the meme of “the madwoman in the attic,” a literary convention that Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar analyzed in their book of the same name. If you want another illustration of a woman writer fighting against this meme, the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman depicts a woman whose husband makes her believe she is crazy and eventually she folds to the pressure. The movie Gaslight shows a similar dynamic and is the source of the word “gaslighting” which means making someone believe they are crazy when they are not. This Dominican literature helped me see gaslighting in the context of culture and as a tool with which the powerful control those they want to subdue.

If evaluating cross cultural dynamics is not your travel style, Dominica also has fun and interesting things to do. It is one of the locations in Around the World for Free, season 1, episode 2 on Amazon Prime. It is also the location for the sequences from the escape from Cannibal Island and the jungle segment of the battle on Isla Cruces in The Pirates of the Caribbean 2 available on DisneyPlus.

If nothing else, lay in a hammock, sip something with lime in it, and if you are truly dedicated to experiencing Dominica, make something to enjoy from this webpage: http://www.caribbeanchoice.com/recipes/countryrecipe.asp?country=Dominica

Dominica’s tourism page is found here https://discoverdominica.com/en/home and if you plan a trip to Dominica, check in with your local travel advisor. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive - may we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Dominica and throughout the world.

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/vu5Lhk35MRg