Memory, History and Self-Reconstruction in Gayl Jones'sCorregidora

Abstract

This article explores how Gayl Jones's Corregidora constructs, through the journey of its main protagonist Ursa Corregidora, a viable model for dealing with the painful legacy of slavery, oppression and haunting by the past. The process of self-redefinition in which Ursa engages is based on the reconfiguration of family and sexuality and the hybridization of her relationship to individual as well as collective narratives. After probing Ursa's complex psychological journey, the article examines the main elements mediating the reinscription of her life narrative into a broader context of metissage involving sexual and historical resistance, anchored in the story of Palmares as a Brazilian maroon community (quilombo). Finally, the article analyzes the implications and resonances of this model of revision/reclamation for Gayl Jones and her theorization of the interconnectedness of struggles against oppression in Brazil and the United States.

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