Pickled Histories, Bottled Stories: Recuperative Narratives in The God of Small Things

Abstract

This article explores the various ways in which The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy 1997) interrogates and rewrites versions of histories. By blurring the boundaries between the personal and the political, the novel exposes official, documented History and suggests that such History rests on and empowers itself at the expense of subaltern discourses that have been (deliberately) marginalised. This article discusses the various ways in which history, memory and silences resurface in a range of narrative situations in the novel so that they may be remembered and rewritten.

Opsomming

Hierdie artikel ondersoek die verskillende maniere waarop The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy 1997) weergawes van geskiedenisse interrogeer en herskryf. Deur die grense tussen die persoonlike en die politieke te verdoesel, lê die roman offisiële, gedokumenteerde Geskiedenis bloot en suggereer dat sulke Geskiedenis op sigself berus en sigself bemagtig ten koste van subalterne diskoerse wat (opsetlik) ge-marginali­seer is. Die artikel bespreek die verskillende maniere waarop geskiedenis, herinnering en stiltes heropduik in ‘n reeks narratiewe situasies in die roman, sodat dit heronthou en herskryf kan word.