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JBMCS1.1(Spring/ Summer 2001) Race, Melancholy,and TherapeuticNarrativein Ourika CarolL. Sherman Maisquipent dire cequec'est quelaraison? est-elle lameme pour tout lemonde? touslescoeurs ont-ils tous, lesmemes besoins? etle malheur n'est-il paslaprivation desbesoins ducoeur? (27) thethinnovelpublished byClairede Durasin December1823 ,is thefictional version ofthetruestory ofa Senegalese orphan's transplantation intoaristocratic pre-Revolutionary France. Thebookwas very popular throughout the nineteenth century andthenfell outofsight until thelastquarterofthetwentieth . Slavesandrawmaterials takentoFrance from itscolonies served inmany waysas curiosities as wellas beingconcrete sourcesofwealth, and theexotic origin ofthe displaced heroine musthaveappealedtomany French readers. Discussionofslavery had beenpartofpublicdiscourse since wellbefore theRevolution, inbothitsmoral aspectsanditseconomic ones;andthisdiscussion undoubtedly influenced the ways thework's contemporaries readit.1 Theheroine is not,however, depicted as savage,barbarian, heathen, orslave - in fact, no French ethnocentric categorizationoftheOther suitsOurika, for sheisreared inFrance as an aristocratic Christian, despiteconsequences ofherdifference deriving uniquely from thecolorofherskin. It is viewedas exotic and as a reasontoprotect heras longas sheremains a child,butat puberty itbecomes an absolutebarrier toherfollowing a life-course likethat ofherFrench cohorts. Duras(along withhercontemporary novelists) doesnotappeareventoconsiderthepossibility ofan interracial marriage. Theprotagonist seemsthusnottohavefunctioned as a critical foiltoFrench ethnocentrism as did herEnlightenment forebears Rica and Usbek, ZadigandZaire.2Thecharacter Ourika wasfor somean Sherman 89 evengreateraffront, someoneofcolortowhomDuras daringly gavean adventure, thoughts, andfeelings thatmadehera person ratherthana type,a characterwhoelicitssympathy byinviting identification withherdesiresand disappointments.Whileshe grewup, we are told,racialprejudicelayoutsideherawareness (8-9). After thefirst crisis(inearlyadolescence,she learnsthat herblackskinexcludesherfrom marriage), shebeginsa struggle todefine herself inrelation witha community andfamily towhich she cannot finallybelong. The novel's storypaints French aristocracy's encountering a blackOtherwhileexhibiting narcissisticclosurethatimaginesheronlyexternally , as an adornment insteadofas a personworthy ofempathy.Byallowing speechfor a characterwhois thevictim oftheseconditions, thenovelcreates thepossibility ofOurika'shavinga selfevenas itportrays thedesperationofa selflost evento itselfbyforceofexclusion from a groupin themidstofwhichshewas forcibly installed. Thebookinvitesimaginative sympathy byshowingan image ofsuffering feltbya persongenerally seen at thetimeto have been radicallyother. Ourika'sblacknessis also an occasion for the authorto studytheeffects ofa person'snotbeingseen or heard,and thepsychological suffering they cause. Ourika'sopacity ,thenon-reflecting surfacethatothersattribute toher,ends bybeinginternalized bytheheroineherself. This internalizationis ofwhatTroussoncalls an "etatd'alterite" (984), and itis whatsends Ourikaintodepressionand toan earlydeath.Duras meantimedescribestheeffects thisalienationproduceson the heroine's body and mind beforehand. These effectsand the doctor'sattempt toheal thempresenta case thatresemblesthe real-life doctor Philippe Pinel'scontemporaneous (1745-1826)understanding ofmelancholiaand his idea ofthebest methodof cure.3 His reforms ofasylumsand his waysofunderstanding mentalillness changed ambientviews ofinsanity(I'alienation mentale), as wellas previousmethodsoftreatment, from theuse ofbruteforceand ofmedicalsuperstition intothebeginnings of behavioraltreatments and an earlybeliefin talkingtherapies. ByreadingDuras and Pineltogether, I exploretheterrainthat began makingpossiblethetherapeutic discoursethatemerged at theend ofthecentury. *** Some ofthe story'spathos consistsin thereader'shearing thevoiceofonewhohas beendeniedanyvoice,and thisis surely a large part ofthe tale's renewedappeal today.In one ofthe 90 TheJournal forEarly Modern Cultural Studies ironiesofvictimization, however,the textgivethand the text takethaway,forOurika'sdiscourseis brought tothereaderby thefictional construct ofa whitemalewholistenedsympatheticallytoheraccountand whonownarratesittous, thereaders. In this way, her lifeis framedso as to offer the storyofher telling herstory: thisnarrator, calledtotreatherneartheendof heryoungexistence,himself as a characterspeaks onlyonce in themiddleofhislongquotationofhertale. Thisconstruct both emphasizesand in partcompensatesforherlack ofpower.The characterofthedoctordoes differ from manyofhis eighteenthcentury counterparts though,forinsteadofbeingan editor who has foundorhas translatedoldletters, he exercisesa profession that is specifically a helpingone. He is called in to heal the personwhose storyhe ends up writing downafterher death. Similarly, anotherofDuras's extant novels,Edouard,is presented bya narratorofanotheraristocratic profession, military in this case, whohas affection forthelower-born heroand whotriesto heal him. His methodalso is toask himforhis story, implying therebythe beliefin the therapeuticfunctionofthe patient's doingthisfora sympathetic listener. By referring to eventsoftheFrenchRevolution, certainaccentsadd weight totheembeddedtalebygiving itan atmosphere ofloss. In his first and last interventions, thedoctornotesthe harmony betweenhis patientand her surroundings, including the architecture - "le cloitreetaita decouvertd'un cote par la demolition de l'antiqueeglise,dontonnevoyait plusque quelques arceaux"and "delonguespierres plates. . . c'etaientdes tombes" (3)- and thenbetweenhispatientand natureitself-"ellemourut a la find'octobre; elle tomba avec les dernieresfeuilles de 1'automne"(45). In these ways, the narrator'sdiscourseboth sympathizes and opens thepossibility ofempathy, thereader's forthe protagonist and hers forherself. After the doctorsees herseveraltimes,Ourikafinally seems tobe touchedbyhis interestand decidestodowhatheasked ofherintheirfirst visit revealto himherpast. Today'sreadermightconsiderthisas onlya small signoftransformation: theconstancyofhis visits and thenonjudgmental qualityofhislistening appeartoincrease her trustin himand are finally rewardedwithher tellingher tale,butthisapproachtoillnesswas notwidespreadat thetime the novelwas written, and it does resemblethe reforms being conductedand describedbyPhilippePinel,as I shall elaborate below. How does the narratorsee his project? Summonedto the conventto heal her, he hears her confirm...

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