Telling it to the Dead: Borderless Communi­ cation and Scars of Trauma in Cristina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban

Abstract

Cristina Garcia's novel Dreaming in Cuban (1992) is preoccupied with the three key stages in the title of this volume: "healing, working through, and/or staying in trauma". This article contextualises the novel by referring to the life history of the character Lourdes Puente and the trauma of her exile and exodus from Cuba. A scar on her stomach inscribes a rape, a miscarriage and her failed attachment to her mother Celia. It is suggested that the scar constitutes a visible representation of her trauma designed to prevent her experiences from remaining permanently repressed and unclaimed. Only when Lourdes starts a series of conversations with her deceased father is she able to relate to the wound/scar and to pose questions about her trauma. This article addresses the traumatically marked literary language used to depict Lourdes's experiential world, and discusses how death, or rather the company of her dead father, turns into a safe space in which she confronts her traumatic past and heals herself. The article also considers how the novel participates in processes of healing and reconciliation in a wider Cuban context.

Opsomming
Cristina Garcia se roman Dreaming in Cuban (1992) handel oor die drie sleutelfases in die titel van hierdie bundel, naamlik genesing, verwerking en/of om ge­traumatiseerd te bly ("healing, working through, and or staying in trauma"). Hierdie artikel kontekstualiseer die roman deur te wys op die lewensgeskiedenis van die karakter Lourdes Puente en die trauma van haar verbanning en eksodus uit Kuba. 'n Letsel op haar maag is 'n ingegrifte teken van haar verkragting, miskraam en mislukte verhouding met haar moeder Celia. Daar word beweer dat hierdie letsel 'n sigbare voorstelling van haar trauma is, wat verhoed dat sy haar wedervarings kan onderdruk en ontken. Eers wanneer Lourdes verskeie gesprekke met haar oorlede vader begin voer, is sy in staat om die letsel met haar trauma in verband te bring en vrae daaroor te begin vra. Hierdie artikel gee aandag aan die literere taal waarop trauma sy spore afgedruk het en waarmee Lourdes se ervaringswereld uitgebeeld word. Oaar is 'n bespreking van hoe die dood, of trouens die geselskap van haar oorlede vader, 'n veilige ruimte word waarin sy haar traumatiese verlede konfronteer en genesing vind. Verder verken die artikel ook hoe hierdie roman in 'n wyer Kubaanse verband bydra tot genesing en versoening.