Reconstructed and neo-slave narratives in French: Filling the gap through literature and archives

Abstract

This article examines Rebecca J. Scott and Jean M. Hébrard’s Freedom Papers and Marie-Célie Agnant’s novel Le livre d’Emma as two important contributions geared towards filling the lacunae that exist in the historical record given the lack of slave narratives in French. This study argues that these narratives are important because they approach slavery in the French empire from a fresh angle. Freedom Papers reconstructs the existence of a woman named Rosalie from her entry into the slave trade through her life in Haiti. Such a biographical approach allows researchers to put an individual face on what has mostly been studied as an abstract institution. Similarly, Agnant traces the family history of Emma back to her first ancestor to make the transatlantic journey. Although Agnant’s contribution is fictional, Emma’s story captures a perspective similar to the experience of many whose ancestors were enslaved. Both stories stress the importance of writing – veritable ink on paper. It was through writing that biased historical narrative was created by former empires. It is therefore through writing that Rosalie succeeded in injecting herself into the historical record, and through writing that Emma ensures her ancestors’ story is never forgotten.