The representation of slavery in Cuban fiction

In The Representation of Slavery in Cuban Fiction, Lorna Williams examines the work of six antislavery writers from nineteenth-century Cuba. Recognizing that these slave narratives represent the fledgling articulations of an emerging black voice, as well as lay the foundation for twentieth-century Afro-Hispanic literary expression, Williams analyzes the authenticity of the slave protagonists' testimony - both in its content and in its mode of expression.

Believing that a major discrepancy exists between the descriptions of slavery in works by writers of African descent and in works by others, Williams argues that some antislavery writers were driven by their own personal agendas, which often romanticized slavery, rather than by the realities of bondage.

Incorporating recent narrative theory and original historical documents, such as the voluminous correspondence of Domingo del Monte (1804-1853), Williams offers insights into the pattern of female development through an exploration of the representation of the female slave in the five novels.

In addition, she provides the first exhaustive analysis of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda's Sab and the first detailed treatment of the intertextual echoes in these other literary texts: Juan Francisco Manzano's Autobiografia, Amnselmo Suarez y Romero's Francisco, Antonio Zambrana's El negro Francisco, Martin Morua Delgado's Sofia, and Cirilo Villaverde's Cecilia Valdes.

This fresh approach to these works regards them not as documentary evidence of social conditions, but rather as interpretations of established literary forms.

By focusing on novels written in a time when censorship curtailed Cuban aspirations to autonomy, Williams traces the emergence of a national consciousness and deepens our understanding of the social and cultural dynamics of Cuban society in the nineteenth century. Anyone interested in the relationship between literature and society will find The Representation of Slavery in Cuban Fiction engaging and informative.