When talking about non-normative identities there is often a fear and/or curiosity about the unknown. What society makes invisible is generally where the dissonant culture is. For Otoh this curiosity manifests as a desire to see Mala and her garden, to know her story, and to hear his father tell him about it. When he finally does get into her garden he misses Mala completely and finds a tree full of beautiful, expensive birds. “Otoh was astonished that in his own neighborhood, unknown to catchers and gamblers, there existed a tree laden with hundreds of peekoplats. He suddenly felt himself a trespasser, an awkward voyeur” (Mootoo, 155). When Otoh finally sees this wish fulfilled it doesn’t bring him a sense of joy or accomplishment, instead he feels “awkward”, like a “trespasser” (155). He learns that this bountiful tree exists, and that knowledge would be useful to others- “catchers and gamblers”. And he feels like a voyeur, like he’s getting pleasure from seeing something private, usually not seen. Perhaps this is the moment when he begins seeing Mala as more of a person and less of a story character. Because all this time he’s wanted to see into Mala’s life, to know what she doesn’t let others know. However when he does, the enjoyment of that knowledge is mixed with awkwardness, with the added knowledge that he must also protect this secret. As well as the realization that what he demanded from her was personal, was her life not something ‘exciting’ in the adventure story way.
I also think this is interesting for its intersections of capitalism and colonialism. The tree is full of, metaphorically, money. Otoh recognizes the danger of that fact. Just like how his island was taken over and used for its profitability, the birds (and perhaps metaphorically Mala as well) would claimed if people knew about them. Not only does Otoh seem to realize the depth of what he wanted from Mala, but he also sees the complicated and potentially hazardous nature of her existence. Instead of a feeling a deep connection with Mala, Otoh becomes more aware of structures and divides in society.
I hadn’t really thought about how the tree relates to capitalism and colonialism, but you’re totally onto something here! This is actually so interesting to think about in comparison to Mala’s relationship with nature, which is built off of a sort of mutual respect. Whereas capitalism and colonialism figure nature as something to be conquered, owned, bought, and sold, Mala has a symbiotic relationship with nature, where she takes care of it and it takes care of her. Your recognition of the danger of the birds being claimed can be extended to Mala herself, and the way people were always trying to “claim” bits and pieces of her to bring back and tell their friends about. (That goes for Otoh, too!)
It’s interesting to see how symbolic nature is in this story. I never thought about the trees, and even Mala as a representation of capitalism and colonialism. That says a lot about the way she was taken advantage of, and not helped, during her childhood.
I really like how you highlight Otoh as a voyeur, gazing in and receiving pleasure from watching Mala. I think you could make some connections between voyeurism and pleasure in Cereus Bloom at Night and Laura Mulvey’s essay on the male gaze, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Also, I think it would be fascinating to explore the connections between capitalism and colonialism in the book because capitalism and colonialism because they are inseparable in my view. Colonialism is a product of capitalism and was originally the profiting of resources of another country and then developed into the exploitation of people. Fascinating.
I really like your comparison to capitalism and colonialism. Living within a capitalist society, its pervasiveness is ubiquitous and can be found in something as small as being in (wary) awe of a beautiful tree.