REPRODUCING RESISTANCE: THE TROPE OF DIASPORIC MATERNITY IN THERESA HAK KYUNG CHA’S DICTEE, M. NOURBESE PHILIP’S ZONG! AND KATHY JETN̄IL-KIJINER’S IEP JĀLTOK

Abstract

This thesis investigates how three contemporary diasporic poets engage with the theme of maternity as a site of both mourning and recuperation. Their struggle against patriarchy is complicated by layers of belonging and exclusion that characterize diasporic existence. All three writers use similar techniques, including the repurposing of mythological maternal figures and the deconstruction of colonial languages, in order to salvage what they can of their matrilineal heritage. After situating the argument within feminist and postcolonial discourses on maternity and diaspora, the first chapter considers how Theresa Hak Kyun Cha constructs her own identity in relation to the maternal figures that she reclaims in DICTEE. The second chapter explores how maternal themes are embodied in the compositional process and in the evocative silences in M. NourbeSe Philip’s Zong!. The third chapter examines how Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner reorients an atavistic maternal gaze toward the future in Iep Jāltok in order to preserve her home for posterity. A brief conclusion considers the divergences in these writers’ comparative approaches to diasporic maternity.