In Dutch-Caribbean literature, as well as in Caribbean literature in general, the question of identity is important. The characters in these works attempt to define their subjectivity and at the same time to reconstruct the identity of the community ...
In Dutch-Caribbean literature, as well as in Caribbean literature in general, the question of identity is important. The characters in these works attempt to define their subjectivity and at the same time to reconstruct the identity of the community. Even in the case of Curacao, the setting of the two works in this paper, various people create their own identities in a dynamic way. Their hybrid identities are constantly mixed, compromised, and vigorously debated rather than the characters facing one fixed point of orientation. The history and remnants of the prior imperialism are closely intertwined with the current social structure, and concepts such as colonialism, post-colonialism, pragmatism, resistance and independence, and Antillean nationalism are elements that are complexly related to the characters’ cultural and national identity formation.
In this article, I examine the problems of identity in Dutch-Caribbean literature by comparing the themes, literary strategies, and identity issues of “My Black Sister,” published in 1935, to those of “Double Play,” published in 1973. With the Curacao uprising in 1969, the politics of the characters’ identity clearly depict a different color and strategy. Debrot's novel can be regarded as a “colonial” work, while Arion's novel, a typical Caribbean-centered work, can be regarded as “post-colonial.” However, Dutch-Caribbean literature in general, which these two works have in common, offers a space where colonialism's past and present, black and white, colonial and postcolonial coexist; overcoming the past of deeply rooted colonialism through the Antilles. This literature is a space of heterotopia where a new hybrid identity and a new history of Dutch Caribbean could be created.