Mid Sweden University

The aim of this project was to analyse the native characters’ ambivalent, hybrid and mimic identities – as consequences of the assimilation process – in order to outline the weakness of these individuals who have been dislocated from their traditional community by the colonial power. The analysis result does not support Bhabha’s claim that “the ambivalence of the colonised subject becomes a direct threat to the authority of the colonisers through the effects of ‘mimicry’” (qtd. in McLeod 54). On the contrary, the analysis of the novel characters from the perspective of postcolonial criticism and theory indicates the above-mentioned weakness as the cause of their incapacity to oppose the colonisers. The assimilation process – working at an individual level but also having consequences at a community level – causes irreversible changes in their native identity. A significant part of this identity is lost as a result of the aggressive colonial policy of reallocating the Indian land and of imposing the western language, religion and education system – a policy which causes individual dislocation and, ultimately, tribe community fragmentation. This fragmentation is expressed through the dual structure of the novel, as Nanapush and Pauline – two members of the Anishinabe tribe – adopt diametrically opposed attitudes in relation to the colonisers and their imposed values. Such presentation of the natives as individuals with own personalities is a characteristic of postcolonial literature, which deconstructs the western image of native communities as homogeneous, anonymous masses of people who always act in group – rather than individually – within racial discrimination contexts (Barry 195-96). Erdrich’s view on Pauline is that of a character so devoted to the colonial power’s invoked superiority, that she is not only assimilated but totally absorbed by this power. It therefore appears unlikely that Pauline, in such a position, could pose a threat to the colonial authorities. Contrary to Pauline, Nanapush has a critical view on the colonisers and on their policy in the Anishinabe territories. Despite his Jesuit education, he manages to remain connected with his tribal community. At the same time, the project brings evidence of his identity turning hybrid in connection with his consent of officially representing his tribe’s interests in relation to the colonisers. Although this representation activity puts him in the position of using his power in his and his tribe’s interests, the novel author also shows how his compromising cooperation with the colonial authorities places him under their observation – preventing him from posing a possible threat to them.

The conclusion of the character analysis confirms the project’s argument that native characters – deprived of their land, language, and traditional community – find themselves in ambivalent positions (trapped between cultures and developing ambivalent, hybrid and mimicry identities) and are consequently weakened in their relation to the colonial power, unable to pose a threat to it.