Everyday Repair vs. Extraordinary Revolution

Two authors look at colonization as a traumatic event that destroys the identity of the colonized. Following this destruction comes a recreation of identity based on the interaction with the colonizer. Because this identity is built upon an oppressive relationship, it is unhealthy and creates feelings of loss. Frantz Fanon and Veena Das both write of the violence associated with colonization that shapes and reshapes the identity of the colonized. The question of whether identity can be repaired or resumed after a colonization experience outlines the theme of this essay.
Das speaks of the “knowledge of suffering” being a traumatic even in itself. She points out women who did not directly experience rape or displacement but were greatly affected because their sense of place and safety was violated where their bodies were not. We see in Das’ depiction of Asha the direct affect of displacement in her traditional societal position as a widowed sister (222). What cannot be seen is the change…... Asha’s external world changed but her traditional expectations did not. Her sense of self had to conform to her reality as a burden and a source of dishonor, as opposed to her expected status, as a treasured sister. Das claims it is Asha’s discovery of her tenuous position that is the traumatic event. Solidarity or the “knowledge of [Asha’s] suffering” is evident when her sister in law mutters aloud, “What is the life of a woman?” (220) The tradition of subjugation touches all women in this Punjab society.
Das believes this trauma can be repaired. She alludes to Asha’s recreation of identity through her passive “everyday work of repair” (208). Asha remarries and endures derision at the hands of her former family to establish new relationships with the “others” against whose viewpoints her own identity is measured and formed. This is the sense of everyday as something recovered [Wittgenstein] (208). The traumatic reformation of her position is mitigated by her acceptance of her new identity. This does not hold true as Fanon views the affects of colonization on identity.
For Fanon the trauma cannot be repaired without the violent re-appropriation of identity. He believes it takes an extraordinary rejection of the colonizer in order for self-agency to be reestablished. An overthrow of the subjugator reestablishes and reinforces the right of existence for the colonized.
Fanon’s treatment of the colonized woman is indicative of the patriarchal society and time in which Fanon writes. It appears he sees Mayotte’s desire to whiten as an acceptance along the lines of Das’ “everyday repair.” Mayotte’s story is told with tone of derision (57). This coexistence is not an option for Fanon.
Important, in both Das and Fanon’s view, is the concept that identity is repairable in the face of violent or traumatic events. The destruction, creation, and recreation of identity allude to the ever-evolving nature of mankind as he interacts in society.