The migrant character in As Maçãs Azuis

Abstract

In this paper we analise the possibility to consider the autobiographical narrative In Search of Tomorrow (1987) by Edila Gaitonde to be considered migration literature. Therefore, we will study two issues considered central in Migration Literature: the issue of migrant fictional character’s hybrid identity and the issue of borders, items related the one to the other.
The life course of the protagonist is identified as a “migrant”, emphasized by the changes and movements, who constantly crossed borders not only physical ones but mainly cultural, social, linguistic, political and ideological borders. When leaving to another country due to her marriage to a Hindustan nationalist doctor and an opponent to the Portuguese colonial regime, she deals with the challenges of the Eastern culture (or the different social, cultural and political realities of India). At the same time, the protagonist fights a political battle sharing with her husband the values of democracy and the dream of an independent Goa.
The constant cross-border movement had consequences in the Azorean-Portuguese-catholic-western identity of the protagonist, because of the several types of relationships (personal, family or social) established within the heterogeneity of the communities of Goa. The Portuguese community came from the mainland and it was established in the territory to serve and to represent the Portuguese government as well as the Christian and Hindu autochthone communities of Goa. On the one hand, the integration of the protagonist in that social and cultural environment led to a reconfiguration of her identity which can be translated in the building up of a hybrid identity. On the other hand, expecting to diminished or avoid the cultural shock, that hybrid identity sought a balance in order to conciliate the protagonist’s cultural western identity with those of the Eastern communities, particularly the Hindi community.