Mayotte Capécia
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Lucette Céranus Combette (17 February 1916 - 24 November 1955), known by her pen name Mayotte Capécia was a writer from
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
. She is best known for her novel ''
I Am a Martinican Woman ''I Am a Martinican Woman'' (French: ''Je suis Martiniquaise'') is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Lucette Céranus (1916–1955), under the pseudonym Mayotte Capécia, in the mid-twentieth century. It tells the story of Mayotte's childh ...
'' (French: ''Je suis martiniquaise''), published in 1948, which was the first book published in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
by a
woman of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...
. Her work was brought to public attention primarily due to
Frantz Fanon Frantz Omar Fanon (, ; ; 20 July 1925 – 6 December 1961), also known as Ibrahim Frantz Fanon, was a French West Indian psychiatrist, and political philosopher from the French colony of Martinique (today a French department). His works have be ...
's critiques of her novels in his 1952 book ''
Black Skin, White Masks ''Black Skin, White Masks'' (french: Peau noire, masques blancs) is a 1952 book by philosopher Frantz Fanon. The book is written in the style of autoethnography, in which Fanon shares his own experiences while presenting a historical critique of ...
'', in which he denounced them for demonstrating self-hatred and valorizing whiteness. Later critics have reconsidered Fanon's criticism, interpretations of Combette's novels, their significance to
Caribbean literature Caribbean literature is the literature of the various territories of the Caribbean region. Literature in English from the former British West Indies may be referred to as Anglo-Caribbean or, in historical contexts, as West Indian literature. Most o ...
, the extent to which Combette's writing is
autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
, and the authorship of her novels. Her writing has been reread from a feminist perspective, with Lizbeth Paravisini-Gebert considering it to be foundational in the development of Caribbean
feminist literature Feminist literature is fiction, nonfiction, drama, or poetry, which supports the feminist goals of defining, establishing, and defending equal civil, political, economic, and social rights for women. It often identifies women's roles as unequal ...
.


Biography

Lucette Céranus was one of twins born on 17 February 1916 to a single mother in
Le Carbet Le Carbet (, ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Kabé) is a village and commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. Population See also *Communes of Martinique The following is a list of the 34 communes of the Martinique overseas ...
in
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
, then a
French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...
. Details of her life have been ambiguous because of the semi-autobiographical nature of ''I Am a Martinican Woman,'' whose protagonist shares her pseudonym. However, the narrative departs from her real life. Her father, Eugène Combette had left Martinique before the birth of the twins to join the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
and later married one of his aunt's god-daughters in 1917. Upon hearing of the marriage, Céranus' mother, Théodosie Clémencia Émilie Céranus left Le Carbet and raised Céranus and her sister Reine until they were seven years old, when Céranus was sent to stay with one of her father's sisters in Le Carbet and Reine was entrusted to a teacher who moved between cities and villages on the coast. Unlike her sister, Céranus was able to attend school during this period, but overall, she received little education in her childhood. A few years later, the sisters rejoined their mother in
Fort-de-France Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a Communes of France, commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the ...
until her death in late 1928 or early 1929, after which the twins returned to Le Carbet. At the age of thirteen or fourteen, they were invited to be integrated in their father's family on the condition that they take care of their half-siblings and give up education, which Céranus refused, and the two returned to Fort-de-France, where they worked at a factory. Two years later, Céranus had a relationship with the son of an elite white
Béké Béké or beke is an Antillean Creole term to describe a descendant of the early European, usually French, settlers in the French Antilles. Etymology The origin of the term is unclear, although it is attested to in colonial documents from as early ...
family, after which she gave birth to a son in June 1933, at the age of seventeen. Céranus later met a Syrian merchant who helped her establish a business, where she combined a grocery store and a laundry service. They had a daughter in January 1938 but their relationship was strained and Céranus ended the relationship in 1940 or 1941. In Spring 1941, Céranus met a French naval officer named André, who was a supporter of the
Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
regime. They had a son together and their relationship lasted two years, until André had to return to France at the end of Admiral Robert's administration in the
Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...
. He documented their love story and sent Céranus his memoir by mail, which was later incorporated into the second half of ''I Am a Martinican Woman.'' Céranus' father only officially acknowledged the twins shortly before his death in 1946, and Céranus took on his surname, becoming "Lucette Céranus Combette". In 1946, Combette moved to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
because of financial difficulties and alienation. She continued to struggle financially and worked as a cook and a seamstress. Reine joined her in Paris the following year, and her children joined them in 1948. Despite having a weak command of written language at the time, she published her first novel, ''I Am a Martinican Woman'' in 1948, which won the Prix des Antilles in 1949. Her second novel, ''The White Negress'' was released in 1950. Both works are inspired heavily by her own life. Combette died of cancer on 24 November 1955 in Paris.


''I Am a Martinican Woman'' and ''The White Negress''

Combette published two novels, ''I Am a Martinican Woman'' (1948) and ''The White Negress'' (1950). ''I Am a Martinican Woman'' is written in first person and presented as the autobiography of Mayotte Capécia, while ''The White Negress'' is written in third person about a woman named Isaure. Both books feature fair-skinned, mixed-race Martinican women as protagonists and handle themes of racial identity, interracial relationships and alienation. In ''I Am a Martinican Woman,'' the first part of the novel follows the childhood of Mayotte Capécia, a mixed-race girl growing up in Le Carbet. The second part is set during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, with Admiral Robert in control of Martinique, and focuses on the story of the relationship between Mayotte and André, a white French officer. Over the course of the novel, Mayotte increasingly internalizes racist ideology and seeks to associate herself with whiteness. ''The White Negress'' similarly follows a fair-skinned, mixed race woman who idealizes whiteness and seeks relationships with white men to gain proximity to whiteness. Unlike Mayotte, the protagonist, Isaure begins to grow to accept her blackness. This novel takes place entirely during Admiral Robert's regime and tackles the war more directly than the previous book.


Authorship

At the time that ''I Am a Martinican Woman'' was published'','' Combette was barely literate and the book was written with the help of
ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...
s. The book was advertised as an autobiography, in which "for the first time, a woman of colour tells her life story." However, it is neither completely faithful to Combette's life, nor written by a single woman named Mayotte Capécia. The second part of the novel is largely adapted from the memoir written by André, the French naval officer, with some passages almost totally reproduced. Christiane Makward analyzed archives of Combette's letters and notes, concluding that upon arriving in Paris, Combette was practically illiterate, but that she studied reading and writing after receiving the opportunity to publish her writing. Makward suggests that her first novel was written with major contributions from editors at the Côrrea publishing house, which published her books. The style of Combette's second novel differs significantly from the first, which may indicate improvement in Combette's writing, or a different approach in the collaboration between her and her co-writers at the publishing house. The discovery of the shared and uncertain authorship of these novels has led some, such as Albert James Arnold to accuse the publication of Mayotte Capécia's novels of being a hoax by Combette and Edmond Buchet, the Publishing Director of Côrrea. Arnold also considers the use of André's memoir to be
plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
. Mayotte Capécia was accepted as the true identity of the author until 1995, when Beatrice Stith Clark, who translated the novels into English, discovered the real identity of the author to be Lucette Céranus Combette. Christiane Makward's 1999 book, ''Mayotte Capécia ou l'Alienation selon Fanon'' reveals the details of Combette's life, obtained from Combette's son, Claude and her sister, Reine.


Fanon's critique

In ''Black Skin, White Masks,'' Fanon attacks Combette's writing for embodying self-hatred and 'lactification', or the internalisation of feelings of inferiority and the aspiration towards whiteness among black people. He accuses Mayotte of betraying her blackness by pursuing white men and having children with them. However, Fanon's critique has been criticized as being sexist and commodifying women by treating them as instrumental in the dynamic between black and white men, and as mere objects of desire. Fanon also overlooks the question of authorship and the extent to which the work is autobiographical, treating it as a true account of a real Mayotte Capécia.


Other interpretations and reception

The initial reception towards ''I Am a Martinican Woman'' was mixed. The literary critic
René Étiemble René Ernest Joseph Eugène Étiemble (26 January 1909 in Mayenne, Mayenne – 7 January 2002 in Vigny) was an essayist, scholar, novelist, and promoter of Middle Eastern and Asian cultures. Known commonly by his family name alone, Etiemble h ...
denounced the novel, whose primary love interest is an officer who served in the Vichy regime, for idealizing a man who held racist ideas and supported the head of the regime,
Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...
. On the other hand, other readers celebrated the novel for providing a new perspective and for its description of the Antilles. It earned Combette some success among literary circles and she met several famous figures in the art and literary worlds, including
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
,
Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ma ...
,
Léon Damas Léon-Gontran Damas (March 28, 1912 – January 22, 1978) was a French poet and politician. He was one of the founders of the Négritude movement. He also used the pseudonym Lionel Georges André Cabassou. Biography Léon Damas was born in Ca ...
, Richard Wright and
Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...
. ''I Am a Martinican Woman'' was translated into German and Swedish soon after its release and it won the Prix des Antilles in 1949. However, few critics other than Fanon wrote about Combette's work until the late twentieth century, when feminist scholars began to reconsider Fanon's reading, viewing it as sexist and reductive. Paulette Richards, Christiane Makward, Myriam Cottias and Madeleine Dobie, among others have studied Combette's writing from a new perspective, considering the previously hidden biographical context and the historical context of the society in which Combette lived.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayotte Capecia Martiniquais writers Martiniquais women writers 1916 births 1955 deaths