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Voicing her thoughts
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Paule Constant on what makes her write
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Photo: Liza George
A Rebel Paule Constant
It was a bid to attract her father’s attention that saw Paule Constant take up the pen. “My father was never open in his affections or praise. Writing became a means for me to shout out and gain his attention,” says Paule.
“My father, a military doctor, was stationed at various French colonies. So I witnessed three important stages in French history: colonialism, decolonisation and neo colonialism.” As a child brought up in a colonialist country, Paule took her way of life for granted. But then her views changed when she witnessed the hunger around her. “It was in Algeria. The people would hunt animals for food. It was the parent animal that they killed. I would often take the young (chimpanzees, lions, monkeys) home to raise. But , they would often die.”
Although Paule buried the dead animals, she would fiund the grave disturbed the next morning. “When my father told me that the people were taking those carcasses for food, it opened my eyes and made me take off my ‘rose-tinted glasses.’ “Colour discrimination, illness, how former convicts were treated…I had to voice them out.” Her debut novel ‘Ouregano’ denounces colonialism. ‘Governor’s Daughter’ has echoes of her life. Chrétienne is raised amongst convicts, and she seeks love and affection from them. “While my father was serving in Cayenne, we had former convicts working for us. As a young girl of five, the thought of having them looking after your needs is frightening. But then when you are older, you remember the injustice meted out to them.”
It was ‘White Spirit’ that had the critics take note. “It was about how a white man, Victor, falls for Lola, a ‘mulatto.’ White Spirit is a dangerous substance that whitens skin. Lola gets hold of white spirit because she feels Victor will love her more and that she will be accepted in society.
‘Trading Secrets’ won her the French literary award, the Prix Goncourt, and labelled her a ‘feminist.’
LIZA GEORGE
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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