Christianity on Dangerous Powerful Women:Back to the Beginning withThe Origins of La Diablesse
Artistic Aims
I was brought up in a family where traditions are viewed as a part of life that makes you who you are. My mother, along with some aunts, uncles, and their friends from childhood, created a group called Spice Island Youth Quake in Grenada. They were all students ranging from preteens and teenagers from its start. They’ve toured Europe and put on countless performances of them singing hymnals and Grenadian folk songs. Folk songs are a form of storytelling that paints common scenes on the island and some are of folktales as well. This preservation of culture goes hand and hand with the proud patriotism of the island that was instilled in me from young, which is why often I’d jokingly say I was born on the wrong soil. However, there is a conflict that disconnects the children of my generation to those of previous generations. Their parent’s immigration to America and making them be the first to be American born inhibits them from taking the torch and continuing the conservation of our culture. Therefore, this project is a celebration of my roots and a tribute to me carrying on a light to a path that doesn’t get enough shine.
When I was a child, my mother dragged me to rehearsals that Quake would hold in the cafeteria of St. Gregory’s Catholic school. Each time, I became more accustomed to everything they did. This group of people was and still are extended family to me, so the display of our culture was always a commonality to witness. For a while, I didn't understand the significance of their dedication, even though I started singing calypso when I was 7, performed traditional dances, and took part in Grenada Independence as well as Grenada Day shows annually. It only sunk in when I was around people my age that weren’t West-Indian. That’s when I’d experience a sense of otherness. As a young girl, it made me feel very alien, so I’d mold myself into a more palatable version of myself that fits in best with the African American kids. I correctly assumed that it would be a very slim chance, little to none, that anyone would proudly sing Grenada’s national anthem with me, or even knew it. From then on, my involvement with my culture started to decline a bit. I begged my mom to stop signing me up to perform in shows, which looking back on it, probably broke her heart because I know she was so proud of me for following in her footsteps. But this was all a part of starting to find myself and where my true passion resides.
I wouldn’t say I’m an on the whim type of person who’d possess an interest in something one minute then is not interested the next. Instead, I find myself pulled in, called to, and stuck onto things that inspire me which is exactly how I chose my major and minor: Theatre and Performance and Global Black Studies. Being that a senior project is a summation of one’s studies and aspirations from their 4 years in college, I had to stick to the script and find a way for me to tie these two focuses together.
I intended for this project to push me and take me to a place very far from my comfort zone. I was going to resort to being a part of someone else’s production but it didn’t make sense for me to graduate in an area of study that wouldn’t allow me to end on the note of applying myself in all aspects of performance, like putting on and managing my own show. Additionally, I noticed that what I was trying to do was something I never saw on campus, let alone any professional stage: the art of Caribbean storytelling. As diverse as Purchase is, the majority demographic is mainly of white and white-passing students. Among those who aren’t white, there’s a very small demographic of Caribbean students here, and within that, the number of students besides myself that are Grenadian is an amount I can count on one hand. Too many times on this campus I have told people where I am from and they’ll respond saying that they have never heard of that country. So I want this project to allow for acknowledgment of this nation and be a tool of exposure to a culture people have never seen before, even for my fellow Caribbean peers (for each island in the archipelago has different traditions, backgrounds, customs, and heritage.)
I strongly believe that we need to have more culture from people of color shown in theatre to reach mainstream status and to shake up those that have a whitewashed or generally a narrow-minded expectation of theatre consisting only of plays that have been performed more than a thousand times from famous, mainly white, playwrights. There are so many other experiences that are worth being explored on stage, may I add, that hasn’t gotten the chance to be explored. Overall, my main goal with this project is to have it be memorable, surprising, enlightening, and a breath of fresh air. I’m aware that I’m doing something people haven’t seen or heard of before which makes it blatantly clear why I have to do this.
I want The Origin of La Diablesse to be the start of future projects to come. If you didn’t notice it at the end, there’s a short clip that says Moonpeak Productions with a logo, both of which I’ve trademarked as a way to manifest more creativity to add to my repertoire. The company I’d use as a format is Hoorae by one of my idols, Issa Rae. She was able to build and brand herself with her Awkward Black Girl YouTube videos which propelled her into the world of production where she’s a writer, executive producer, lead actress, and program creator of her tv-show Insecure. Another one of my influences is Amanda Seales who’s an entertainer, actress, a Purchase alum, and the starter of Global Black Studies here, the CEO of Smart, Funny, and Black Entertainment, and a fellow Grenadian sistren. How uncanny is it, that she’s also a part of Insecure! These two remarkable, unapologetically black women strategically created a unique style of ways to create safe spaces for black people through their companies. They’ve both accomplished exactly what I want to do by platforming the black experience in a way that doesn’t involve trauma, limitations to a character’s appearances, and personality which makes them difficult to resonate with, along with stereotypical roles and plot lines. Black people and other people of color struggle to have proper representation in media and on stage. To attach this subject matter to current events, there’s been a reawakening happening in Broadway for the demand of industry inclusion and diversity. Many dancers and actors opened up about their racist experiences for productions they were involved in. A lot of disabled trans and queer people vocalized their marginalization too. This is groundbreaking because it is a catalyst to a larger event that will change the industry forever. As said before, representation matters! And I plan to carry this ideal with me into every space my imagination creates.
As a more local dream of mine, my mother plans to collaborate with Grenadian committees in New York to create a cultural group for the youth so that they are knowledgeable of our culture. That’s something I plan to be a part of and will use my playwriting and adapting skills to put together works to be performed. I realize that not a lot of Caribbean-American kids were as blessed as I was to see my culture so boldly. I got it from my father’s side of my family too because my dad was a drummer, mainly for his brother Dean (who I credited as the choreographer) who’d create his dance performances with an established group he also created. Dean and my father were also involved in Quake, so I couldn't run away from my culture if I wanted to. Neither was there ever the need to, once I became thankful for it. So I’d like to share my joy and give them something to hold on to as a part of themselves.
Here are some other ambitious thoughts and dreams I’d also love to make happen that I snagged from my journal:
Write a horror series strictly based on Caribbean folktales. I’d love to give light to other stories of duppies, dwens, Lagahoo, jumbies, Soucouyant, and Papa Bois to list a couple. These stories are so captivating and frightening which I know would grasp the attention of thriller, horror, and paranormal genre fans like myself. However, I’d like for the show to bounce between this and comedy to make it lighthearted for a more general audience.
Develop a curriculum of theatre and teach it abroad in predominantly POC communities and countries to give them access to information that can hone the love for performance as it’s done for me.
Make The Origin of La Diablesse an Off-Broadway production
Expand my knowledge to the wide variety of performance that exists among black people. Imagine the number of stories yet to be told! Once I’m informed enough, I’d love to write a polished article of research on the colorful spectrum of black performance.
Experiences are not a one size fit all. They are each an atom, a building block, good, bad, or neither, that shapes us into who we are. Experience forms our identity. It shapes our minds, influences how we think, & is the basis of our education. And I see theatre essentially as a collection of experiences on a lifted platform shown in front of spectators. Of course, it can vary from real experiences to dramatized versions or just overall fictional, but they derive from something that has been what? Experienced. Now, experiences should not have harmful cultural, racial, gendered, & ableist restrictions because it causes an erasure and a scarcity of material for others who could have the same story they just need to see. There’s a lot of close-minded people I have encountered who have no plans to expose themselves to something different and in a world evolving, slowly, and becoming more accepting. But artists cannot gatekeep an art form so expressive, forgiving, and explosive. To be a creator is the greatest freedom and the greatest love to share. Everyone may not understand, agree, or find themselves in an ethical/moral dilemma over one’s art, but the intended topic of the art will be sitting on their mind, which is the objective. As I’ve done extensive research to discover a hidden history, the best reward is sharing it with others; this is what I have begun to do with The Origins of La Diablesse and what I will continue to aspire to do.
Technical Essay
La Diablesse, from its conception, was what I perceived to be an out of body experience that unexpectedly made me channel motherly instincts, in a way I've never experienced before. And this comes from someone who enjoys their babysitting job. I’ve siphoned a massive amount of nurturing energy for its creation. I made sure to be there every step of the way and as the imaginative person that I am, I had the perfect expectation of how things should go. But a rough ride turned into quite the rollercoaster that I had no choice but throw my hands up for its unexpected ‘thrills’.
◀ Obstacles ▶
It’s only right to start off with my first major hurdle: having no Director for a month and a half. I had a set director from the start of last semester. As I already assumed would happen, we meshed very well together over the concept of my project with staging and casting ideas that went along with it. I won’t lie and say I was wholeheartedly trusting of him and that I didn’t recognize warning signs or any inklings at times. I did see the production he directed two semesters ago and to say the least, I was stunned but for all of the wrong reasons. However, I relied a lot on his ethnicity as a fellow West Indian so he'd already have an idea of the cultural expectations of how my project would play out. Not to mention, all of these factors aside, I knew him as a warm energetic and creative individual that I was confident I’d get along with. I also figured I’d have a lot of say and involvement to keep him on the right track. He greeted my project with a lot of energized intentions which delighted me. He also took on a lot with the auditioning process. He sent out all the emails, maintained communication with faculty members, auditionees, as well as the cast members. He also managed and planned the two meetings we had with our solidified cast. These actions encouraged me to feel secure and prepared for where we were in the beginning of our process. However, he started to become lackadaisical towards the end of December. I was not hearing from him at all. I’d send him messages of ideas, the change from making this an in-person project into a film and there’d be no responses afterwards. At best, I’d get a “I’m busy at the moment, we will talk when I’m finished.” But that moment never came, even though he was avidly posting on his social media. I felt disrespected, fooled, and it seemed clear as day that this project was not a priority for him. I was given no other choice but to step up and assume his responsibilities for this production. We were finally able to talk towards the end of January, to which I learned that the reasoning behind his lack of words was because of other projects he’d involved himself with. These projects I later discovered came up after committing to mine. I also found out that our advisor, Lenora Champagne, was concerned with his absence because he didn’t apply for classes. I was shocked that he went so off-grid to prioritize his extracurriculars and did not maintain proper communication with those who needed to hear from him the most.
An epiphany set in right as I had to take on the duties that were previously set to be his. I was on my own. I had to create a rehearsal schedule, become a director, give guidance and advice to my peers with no one to do that for myself while being a scene partner. Tiresome was a major understatement to manage and be a part of rehearsals 5 days of the week, which put a strain on my schoolwork and required me to take a break from my job, one that I am still taking. I had to sacrifice more than I thought just to do what I can and give the facade that I was alright when my once planned out schedule, with ample free time spread out within it, was immediately swamped. There was nothing I could do but to take a deep breath, shake away my worries, and fill this pair of shoes that were rather large and unknown to me.
The first week of rehearsals wasn’t as effective as I hoped for because due to my amateur level of directing, I had no idea what to do. We would run through a scene two to three times and in between we’d talk about our characters, what we think a particular scene means to them, and discuss multiple prompts that I remembered from my experience of character development and scene study. Once Kim joined as a director I immediately released a tension I didn’t even realize made my shoulders as high as my ears. She swooped in flawlessly to assume that role and created a very trusting relationship with the actors. Embarrassingly, I would be grinning ear to ear, so eagerly, just to receive criticism. Hearing someone else’s perspective is very important to me when they are on the outside looking in, seeing and noticing things that I overlook and have no capacity to keep track of. Kim managed to do this with care while translating it with conviction. She was a perfect fit for me and this project. We bounced off ideas very easily, and developed a solid basis of teamwork that came almost effortlessly. A great relationship developed between us where she’d give sound advice for my Janelle/La Diablesse role and I’d do the same with her Narrator role.
◀ Filming Week ▶
APRIL 4th
The first day of our filming week focused on the Dance Circle Scene from Scene 4. That involved myself, Fatou Diouf, Amoz Lewi, and Sarah Louis. I remember the anxiety that bore into me as I unloaded all of my equipment from my mother’s car. I had to mentally prepare myself for this stressful process I was about to take on. As even more stressed piled on top of me that day, I learned to have the expectation that someone will always fall short somehow. That Sunday, only Fatou showed up. She had no dance partner and I had no one to record what couldn’t even happen. Sarah had a family emergency with her brother and Amoz had an earlier obligation that went over far longer than he expected. It was a terrible start and I thought to myself, “Is this really going to happen? Will being unable to pull through become a pattern?” It left me very anxious for what’s to come for the rest of the week. In essence, it was a wasted day. There was nothing else I could do but to create the sets I needed for the next day.
APRIL 5th
Tuesday was 50% difficult and 50% easy-going. The day bounced back and forth in between these two categories. From 10 a.m., we were attacking all of the scenes Janelle had with Charles. The time was split between blocking each scene, feeling out our actions and movements along with spacing. We ran each scene a few times before Marcus and I decided we were ready for it to be filmed. The filming itself was repetitive too because of the different shots I wanted. However, the chemistry between us was sustained with each go. He was a really great collaborator with his professional and kind demeanor. Most of all he remained patient in a high-pressured situation, which I commend him for.
APRIL 6th & 7th
These were the days I got to work with Kim. She was an absolute light by helping me with my makeup, taking on the responsibility of being Trickster’s shadow (she fixed the lighting perfectly for that scene so that the shadow came through very prominently), and her own performance as Narrator was absolutely admirable. I wanted to give her creative freedom with her character and with that allowance came with amazing choices I’d be scared to make or wouldn’t think of. For instance, with the opening introduction where she’s sitting and has white hands placed beside her head, that was all Kim’s doing. We were lurking around the PAC lobby to see if we could find a dark secluded spot to shoot this part. As soon as she saw this painting, to which these hands belonged to, she pointed to it and I had to oblige. It was very befitting for the tone of my project and also for her character. She also put on stiletto shaped nails to give Trickster an even creepier edge in her portrayal of his shadow. She made the filming process very easy with her artistic contributions no matter the scale of it.
Having everything transfer from a virtual setting to an in-person setting was very difficult. Nothing could’ve prepared me for that. It’s one thing to do the lines in front of each other through a screen, but when you have to stage the scene, run it a couple times to gain familiarity, and do several takes for different angles, it is truly another level of complication I’ve never been through. I struggled greatly with the Trickster scene because that was the only case where I didn’t have my scene partner in front of me. I memorized the lines but not enough, where I had to rely on Jiejer’s video or Kim saying the lines as she shadow played, which wasn’t fair to her. It worked out for some parts where he’d give enough time within his lines for me to speak. Other times he’d come in and cut me off but I had to keep my performance going as if it was an intentional choice. This took over two hours to complete with tiring tries over and over until I felt content with our final take. But we were able to work out a suitable balance once I became used to the environment.
APRIL 11th
This was our last filming date which I was excited for, so that this exhausting week could finally be at an end. But life would be too easy if it went smoothly from start to finish, wouldn’t it? Four major obstacles I had to work around was Amoz’s absence due to his ride from Brooklyn falling through, Sarah having another rehearsal which put me on a time restraint in addition to Fatou’s time cap at 3:00 (keep in mind the rehearsal started at 1:30), and then there’s the loud echoes of actors and audience members who just got out of Purgatorio Wonderland down the hall from us. My top priority was getting everything out of the way that Sarah and Fatou were involved in, so we finally did the Dance Circle Scene and their part in the Killing Spree Montage. I was able to pace myself better with Kim and Markus who were very flexible with switching who’d have control of the camera when it was time to record me. Our day lasted until 6 p.m. and I stayed in the CMFT lobby until it was just myself. I was left a bit melancholy as the grateful words of each actor that were spoken to me before they took off, finally sunk in. They thanked me for choosing to involve them in an enjoyable creative process, one that I was uncertain that I could pull off with no experience. It showed me that drive and dedication is all one needs to accomplish something if they truly want to and tears couldn’t help from falling once I spoke this to myself.
◀ Other Technical Elements ▶
My first director and I could've been more persistent in finding a lighting designer and a scenic designer at the start of it all. I tried to have an optimistic view on this major inconvenience, and see it as something that prompted a large realization within me which is, I’ve been very comfortable with not being on the sidelines when it came to performance. I’ve been the lead for a couple productions, but I was sheltered from the difficulties of the technical aspects that’s able to make my performance happen at all. But since these were my weak points, I wanted to apply myself to learn them. I purchased lighting gels, a color changing flashlight to use as a spotlight, a pair of color changing flood lights, a galaxy projector, and a lamp to work with. I knew something that seemed so easy wasn't going to be just that. Though lighting, in this aspect, is on a smaller scale than lighting utilized in an actual theatre, it still took a lot of time to figure out. Myself and my directors would fiddle with each of these until we found the perfect balance for each scene we were recording. It was quite the hassle to jump from that into acting with nothing more than a 5-minute break in between, because time was always of the essence. With scenic design, it was also something we figured out as we went. I had two large backdrop stands where we put curtains on them to act as walls, a dining table and a bar along with some decorative pieces like fake fruits, flowers, a rug, and a lot of empty bottles! I knew it wouldn't have the perfect realistic interior, but everything was in its place to convey what it needed to, an unstable and unfashionable home. There was also a large movable wall on both sides of the Passage Gallery, so we utilized the best corner that blocked out the most light to create a dark feel for majority of Narrator’s shots, Scene 3 where Janelle confronts Charles, and Scene 2 where Janelle is trapped and fooled by Trickster. This allowed our lighting to be even stronger since the entire space is so open with a side that has just windows. Natural lighting would interfere with the depth of color we aimed for. My director and myself also took the liberty to borrow some products from the large room where set pieces are. Of course what we used, we cleaned up with antibacterial wipes and placed back in their rightful spots. Neither were they large and/or extravagant pieces that would be missed. We took into consideration that this area could also be a storage for other productions' set pieces. When it came down to props, I, ironically, found all I needed for this production in my home. Truly, the entirety of the technical elements we utilized was from thinking outside the box and being resourceful. I carried a black door twice my height to use as a backdrop for Kim’s Narrator bits. I also was in charge of costuming through providing some clothing pieces and picked out what to wear for my cast members that they took from their wardrobe. This was undoubtedly the easiest part of the whole project since I already had an exact idea of how I wanted everyone to look.
I don't know exactly how we pulled everything off but we did successfully and creatively. I never thought being so out of my element for lighting and scenic would give room to enjoy placing myself in a position where I am forced to learn about something I've not had to worry about as an actress. Having this experience gave me a deeper appreciation for those who are behind the scenes for theatrical performances. Their assignments are so vital to elevate the level of performance to truly be transcendent.
Now, what takes the trophy for the toughest part of the whole project, absolutely hair pulling worthy, that makes filming week look like 2nd grade mathematics, was editing. I tried several times not to downplay this section of my process but I did anyway. I thought to myself, “Well I’ve edited a 20-minute video on my phone and it took around 3 hours to do. Times that by 4 and I can tackle this film in a week, max!” I’ve never been so wrong. I used an editing software by the name of FilmoraPro which a friend of mine had an account for and he gladly obliged to give me the credentials to use it. Opening it for the first time I was immediately gobsmacked by the amount of functions it had. This was nowhere close to iMovie which is what I commonly use to edit. Overwhelmed and confused, I understood that I had to take the time to learn it. YouTube and I have never been so close. Almost every night I fell asleep to a tutorial to properly navigate the software. I accumulated pages of notes for how to do certain transitions for video and audio, making cinematic titles, creating a credits crawl, and key-framing video and audio to name a few. After each tutorial, I’d throw myself into the water to test it out and gain a familiarity. When it got to a point where everything clicked for me, that’s when things went a bit more seamlessly. Upon watching my clips over and over again, noticing miniscule details that seemed so big, made me gain a sense of regret, primarily with the audio for the scenes with Janelle and Charles as well as the Trickster scene which could’ve been much better. Amoz’s camera makes a squeaking noise from him holding it and the lens would also make a humming sound as it adjusts its focus. It didn’t appear to me that I should use my phone as a mic and use voice memos to record our scenes so that I can layer it over the video for better quality. That realization set in too late by Wednesday when we started to do that for Kim’s shots. It annoyed me to the point that I can confidently say it’s certainly something I’d never forget to do in the future.
◀ Self-reflection▶
Looking back on my performance, I feel impartial because I knew I could pull off a better version than what I filmed. Especially given the fact that I worked hard for months on evolving my characters. With Janelle, I heavily based it off my mother. Growing up she was a shy village girl that would mainly stand out when it came to her talent. I also included characteristics I’ve observed throughout my life, with her interacting with men that would happen to disrupt the rhythm my mother and I sustained between each other. When problems would arise she'd mainly be passive, never wanting to address issues full on, in hopes that it’d go away until it comes to a breaking point. Hence Janelle and Charles' relationship, given that the first impression insinuates they are an ordinary smitten couple. I wanted to give her some innocence with a fear of confrontation when it specifically came to the topic of her not being able to bear children. And as La Diablesse, I wanted to play her as someone not afraid of consequences, who acts first and doesn’t bother to think later. So I channeled a part of myself that's comfortable with my sensuality and borrowed part from an old friend of mine who had risky behavior. She’s an enchantress who has trouble splashed on the path behind and in front of her. I wanted my inspiration to draw from real places that involve my own experiences to make my connection to the characters more personal. Revisiting my initial statement about my performance, I believe stress was the singular factor that prevented me from being where I wish I could’ve gone. Since I am the overseer of every set of choices for this project, my mind was consistently clouded with my responsibilities. There was also the looming problem of time. If I didn’t finish early enough that would result in complications for an actor trying to go home by Uber because they’d stop showing up once it’s night time. There were always a million and one things to keep in consideration. However, I am a very heavy critic when it comes to anything I do and I have to give myself credit for stepping into an unknown territory and paving my own path to get to my goal. Given the circumstances I was dealing with, I can say that I did my best. I only feel even more encouraged to do more projects in the future. This is something I have faith I will get adjusted to with more exposure to this kind of experience just because I yearn to do.
Christianity on Dangerous Powerful Women
Serpent Women. Soucouyant. Pomba Gira. Sirens. Jorogumo. Pandora. Medusa. Hidden within well-known myths and stories, are varying degrees of gender disparities. La Diablesse, a femme fatale like those listed above, proves to be a top example of an archetypal conception of an evil, sexualized female figure with heteroerotic desires. Such a depiction stems from sexism in Christianity. The best way to understand this myth is to explore the timeline of Catholicism, colonialism, and enslavement of indigenous African peoples through addressing the Christian ideologies concerning female sexuality and mobility. It will also highlight the questioned eroticism in feminine representations based on this religion in the French Antilles.
Oppressive patterns in Christianity come from the religion having a patriarchal and a hierarchical/social stratum perspective. This sovereignty of the church consists only of men, which makes it simple for the church to perpetuate chauvinistic doctrines. St. Augustine of Hippo, philosopher, and Bishop (b. November 13, 354 A.D.), spoke with this perspective, seeing “the woman’s original sin of disobedient apple-eating as the reason for death brought into the world, and with which all generations were infected simply by the passage of every child through a female body” (Walker). A reference to the one who started it all as the first female representation to exist, Eve, is spoken of in a hateful manner. A verse like Genesis 3:16 confirms this misogyny, “In sorrow shalt thou bear children, and thy husband shall rule over thee”, a punishment deserved by all the “daughters of Eve” for eternity. The story of the Garden of Eden in the first book of the Bible can be seen as an introduction to an allegory of sexual desire leading to a reproductive act taking place. The forbidden fruit is that of Eve’s and the phallic representation of the serpent, which also means sexuality and fertility, is that of Adam’s. Once the climax of tasting the fruit happens, a realization sinks into Adam and Eve when the hormone levels drop, hence hiding afterward with the awareness of their nudity. Eve’s is blamed for coercing. This perspective feeds the sexist mindset of how a woman should live on the holiest path, with Eve as an example to do so. A woman should abstain from sex, a woman should obey her husband, a woman should be submissive because a woman would be as destructive as Eve if given the opportunity.
This story sets the tone for Church Fathers’ scholarship to seek out more text within the Bible to justify a patriarchal society. At one point, Catholic churches mandated that women cover their heads during mass to prevent angels from being overwhelmed with lust, and the permission for female cantors to take part in mass was denied due to their “distractingly erotic voices” (Landau 130). Well known apostle, St. Peter is highly admired as the first chosen to be a disciple out of 12 of Jesus’s followers and was the keyholder to heaven instilled with the God-given right to bind and loose according to the word. He would even address women as the weaker sex. He ushers in the suggestion to have a woman serve as, “an ornament of meek and quiet spirit,” and call their husbands lord, as Sarah has done with Abraham(1 Peter 3:1-7 NKJV). In the last line of the Gospel of Thomas, 114 sayings of Jesus, Simon Peter said, “Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life… Every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.” Through these statements, we see a dislike and disregard for femininity and denial of any autonomy for women. This foundation was upheld by thinkers of the early church. John Scotus Erigena (b.815 A.D, Ireland) taught the sinless part of humankind is embodied in man, the sinful part in a woman. St. Odo of Cluny (b. 878 A.D, France) said “to embrace a woman is to embrace a sack of dung.” Andreas Capellanus (b. 1150 A.D, France) said a woman is by nature inconstant, fickle, disobedient, and prone to every evil. In his book, The Act of Courtly Love, he outlines a system of ethics he developed, love is seen as a perversion of Christianity that oversteps the moral boundaries in marriage. St. Thomas Aquinas (b. 1225 A.D, Italy) claimed that every female is a birth defective, imperfect male, begotten only because her father was ill or in a state of sin. However, the value of her ability to reproduce shouldn’t be taken for granted. (Walker) This exegesis would spread to other parts of the world with the White man’s aspirations of finding land much different than their own. This degree of sexual ignorance towards women would prove to become a part of the Christian legacy.
The objective with a European power like France like England, Portugal, otherwise known as “the White Man’s Burden”, these men in power had to subsidize colonization with civilization, commerce, and Christianity with slaving voyages from 1669-1867. The same ideals formed against women would then be formed against indigenous peoples to justify this takeover. This kind of thinking was supported by pseudo-science and racial theories by white Christian men. “Domestication” was required to tame ‘barbaric savages’ of their claimed colonies, and Christianity was the tool to do so, converting and assimilating them into the patriarchal lens used within this religion for so long. This is not to make the assumption that original civilizations didn’t already have preexisting sexist practices, prior to imperialist takeovers. It can be a leading factor as to why it would be easier for some to switch their beliefs, by recognizing the familiar. The religious superstitions of women perpetuate their bondage, as well as actual bondage through slavocracies. This was how civilizations were constructed by a European power. They were so sexualized that their exposed breasts dominated European texts, denoting animalistic behaviors and lusts by its authors (Wood 513-14). Enslaved African women were used not only for their manual labor but reproductive labor was issued over them, a double oppression (Peabody). Their bodies were consumed in the forced production of both plantation commodities and domestic and sexual services (Scheller). Depicted as factories for the production of more bodies that can contribute to work, it was done by the coercion from white masters of both female and male black slaves like they were cattle. Their sexuality belonged to the white man for his economic benefit and pleasure. However, in other societies that utilized sugar production in the French Antilles, the horrific labor conditions “led to low birth rates and high mortality rates, thus making it impossible to maintain the size of the slave population without constant importation from Africa'' (Peabody). African women had absolutely no agency or autonomy and were subjected to interracial rape. Those like Henrice Altink and Stephanie Camp argue that attempts were made by women to take some control of their sexuality. Mainly by seducing the white man in exchange for favors that relied on their or their children’s freedom. To help put their pursuit in motion, some enslaved women took pleasure in fancy clothes, flirtation, and furious dancing, all in hope for the possibility of pleasure in sex” (Wood 519). Prostitution became a means of survival for black women. Yet clear evidence of gendered resistance is emerging. Caribbean scholars like Bernard Moitt and David Geggus highlighted in their academic works the enslaved women's dedication and assistance for rebellions. “For example, women in the 17th-century revolutionary‐era Saint‐Domingue/Haiti traded sex for ammunition” (Wood 521). This type of scene is where the stereotype of the lustful Jezebel derives. The overall atrocities committed against them, the selling of their children and nonconsensual intimate actions, would cause the budding of Afro-feminist thinking and then a gynecological resistance through stories. We see this through La Diablesse.
This folktale would be an interwoven example of the violent creolization they’d witness in their cultures that took place during the time of slavery (Puertas 81). The acts of cruelty that enslaved women had to withstand from their owners would be poured into this character, a personification of man’s longest-living fear: a woman with agency. As it was taught to clergymen that women were evil, the inkling of beauty that was found within them, through the male gaze rampant in the Christian era, was female weakness and passivity. Whereas strength and tough-mindedness in a woman as unattractive and a hideous personal threat to their male egos, a sexual double standard (Rudman). Just as her deviation from traditional gender norms made her the target of hostile sexism, La Diablesse became just as hostile, a challenge to how evil a woman can be (Walker). As we know, the overarching goal of colonialism was to eliminate and vilify the cultures of African peoples and replace their beliefs with what seemed acceptable: Catholicism. Instead, a fusion emerged between their previously practiced religions of deities like Mami Wata, Oshun, Shango, Yemaya, Eshu. The kind that was the most resonant was tricker gods, like Anansi. As said by Myths and Legends, “his ability to trick and defeat creatures more powerful than himself were extremely important and popular. Anansi symbolized rebellion and the stories could give both hope and pride to enslaved people in their struggles to survive and their fights for freedom.” This would be included in the birth of La Diablesse, a trickster for men. As learned from their ancestral griot oral traditions, enslaved women followed the act of preservation to prevent forgetting the world they lived by storytelling. The women would learn to inscribe the trauma and effect of their lives and to write them back into history (Puertas 79).
Though this story would be told to children to make them fearful of staying out late at night, it was the first major account of afro-feminist thinking, along with Soucouyant. She is an old blood-sucking female folkloric character frequently compared to La Diablesse for their hold on sexual teasing and female selfishness (Gugolati). This explains the widespread influence that has captivated people, especially contemporary women, and encouraged them to tell the story. This pastime would simultaneously preserve African tradition and encourage the belief to escape sexually exploitative situations. With black people specifically, it is still a dedication to the centuries-old practice of oral tradition from their West African ancestors. Myths are ‘human documents that express typical human situations and form an integral part of the history of the spirit’ (Eliade 1965, p. 12) Virginia Hamilton, the author of The People Could Fly wrote that storytelling was the first opportunity for black folks to represent themselves as anything other than property which is transparent in the conveyance of La Diablesse. “Slaves knew that telling a story was the only way they could bear witness to what they’d been through. They couldn’t didn’t dare to write it, or read it for both wasn’t allowed, but the only freedom they had was to speak it. Storytelling provides a unification to happen, in which one finds “their voice”” (Collier). Catholicism, still rampantly practiced within the French Antilles by its black citizens, hasn’t taken any part in heeding the spread of such an important story of perseverance- a key belief in Christianity. Despite trials and tribulations, there’s always a possibility to overcome. You just have to believe that it will.
The background of her story is said to come from Martinique, but the story sings a familiar tune to the other islands of the Antilles. Trinidad, St. Lucia, Dominica, Haiti, and Grenada are some of the West Indian countries that have included it in their culture. These countries have all undergone the French Empire’s indubitable sweet tooth cravings and the damaging effects of their chase to attain it. La Diablesse was a story with which every enslaved woman could identify with. Her capabilities “introduced the intimation of anti-colonial and anti-patriarchal resistance beneath the fabled beauty and sweetness of the Creole woman of color” (Magloire). The story has also been useful in showing how to provoke and dominate machismo, masculinity, and misogyny (Gugolati). Paradoxically, the men who were willingly entrapped in her magnetism, usually would have deep-rooted beliefs in Christianity which doesn’t support “this lustful chase”. It would commonly be viewed as hedonism and heresy. How black men react to her as this “source of freedom from a dominant masculine and heterosexual ideology”(Gugolati) is particularly interesting. They feel their masculinity threatened but in an alarming way (Rohlehr 2004), where they receive a comparative treatment from both sides (white men and black women). So, they attempt to seize control and use sexuality as an indicator of power in order not to experience a sense of defeat by either demographic. It bears the responsibility for the black man to learn how to inflict misogynoir and sexism onto black women. Hence, why La Diablesse’s target is only men.
As some accounts of the myth vary, there are a lot of consistent details. First of all, she is a shapeshifter. From her various sightings, she presents herself as a "red woman"/mixed-race woman, a pale white woman, a native Carib woman, and a dark-skinned woman who all wear a long white dress. This palette of different appearances is all based on the preferences and fantasies of men. Concealing her true existence as a demon is a masking technique that’s seen as a psychological survival strategy that arose because of the creolized nature of the French Antillean society (Puertas 91). Secondly, her height initiates a sense of fear in men, that they begin to combat with the misogynistic thinking that a woman can not assume any control over them like that. So they’d approach her anyway, chiefly because she seemed foreign (Gugolati). Additionally, she wears a wide-brimmed straw hat and jewelry. These two accessories serve as trophies for the black woman. Hats weren’t allowed on plantations and women would ‘earn’ pieces of gold necklaces, bracelets, brooches given by their masters to their favorite slaves. Donations like these would signify how much of a good pick a woman would be. It created a social stratum, much like the oppressive patterns white men would use in Christianity. She also enjoys dancing in drum circles where she’d dance the Bele, a circular face-to-face dance of both genders accompanied by drum rhythms (Desroches 1981). French authorities made several attempts at censorship and regulation for its flirtatious and sexual movements. Nonetheless, it’s a moment for her to peacock her “primal” sexuality which makes men unknowingly anthropomorphic with having no knowledge of her demon self. One of her feet is also a cow hoof and her face is demonic, as the sign of her diabolic nature (Hearn [1890] 1929; Kichenassamy 1994). All of these elements combined into a seductive, hip-swinging walking body- a temptress known to prey in the night time on wayward men, tantalize them into walking through a forest and kill them by scaring them off a ravine.
The patriarchal narrative of women being compulsorily silenced through the use of Christianity was synonymous with the French national narrative that renders them silent, invisible and marginalized (Pettitt). One noticeable characteristic when La Diablesse is followed is that she doesn’t speak. Men usually mistake this as passivity, which excites them even more. They are led to fantasize about their desires, and projection. (Mortari 2006) She consents to the interpretation as a fetish for objectification under the entirety of the male gaze (Mulvey 1996). But when they take this bait, and she kills them, her reputation continues to gain credibility as a symbol of female resistance & rebellion, female empowerment, and a warning about the practices and assumptions of masculinity found in the Antillean communities (Gugolati). She is a reflection of the calamity done to abused women and the mutilation and trauma they’ve had to endure throughout slavery; a karmic retaliation unto men. “She represents freedom by her solitude and her refusal to be conquered” (Shearer).
The structure of the story also aligns La Diablesse with nature. As all things natural on this earth are said to be from the provision Mother Earth gave to us with her fertile generation, there’s a wide understanding amongst most indigenous groups around the world of how her process works. This early tradition of conservation came from the view that humans are a part of the natural world. Not masters of it. That’s where White Europeans disagreed. They colonized countries and raped exotic lands of their gems: oil, gold, ivory, spices, and sugar. This goal resulted in the bloodshed of indigenous people - which was a form of pollution and disruption to the homeostasis of native communities. With that said, nature would be unsettled by notions of colonial domination and superiority, because since its arrival the amount of destruction done, couldn’t be accepted by nature’s efforts to heal. When factors of nature harm itself like a natural disaster, it can adapt but that wouldn’t be able to happen under the control of white men whose last thoughts were conservation. They sought to control and plunder nature. The same attitudes were given to enslaved women and the damaging of their womb from staggering rates of infant mortality, low fertility, and low fecundity (Wood 517). This connects to the folktale of La Diablesse because like nature, the female demon is unknown and driven by uncontrollable forces. In the story, when a man is lured into the forest he becomes very uneasy when he realizes he cannot see her anymore, neither can he see anything around him. I interpret this inference that La Diablesse is a Hybrid of these two components; a sexual woman is natural, a sexual woman with autonomy is natural and resists being possessed, or manipulated for gain. Nature in tandem with this female figure- it is her haven during daytime and her battleground during the night when she lurks out to find her next kill.
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