“Now the fact of the matter is that you are not the first or the only one of your kind in this place. You grow up here and you don’t realize almost everybody in this place wish they could be somebody or something else? That is the story of life here in Lantanacamara.” (237-8)
Otoh’s mother unpacks quite a bit in this statement, with all facets pointing towards the oppression of non-conforming identities. First, she adresses, inadvertently, the erasure of queer narratives, even in the conciousness of other queer individuals. By suggesting that Otoh is unaware that there are, and have been, others like him (referring to trans identities in Lantanacamara), she implies that their identities have been silenced or erased. We can reason that this is either because they pass as cisgender as well as Otoh does, or that they have been driven out, ostracized, or silenced due to shame.
Furthermore, it is suggested that it is not just trans lives that are hidden from public knowledge. Rather, it appears that everyone in Lantanacamara has an aspect of their identity that they falsely present to the public –that is, everyone wishes they could change some part of who they are in order to live what they authentically feel they are, or should be. By saying that “almost everybody . . . wish they could be somebody or something else”, it becomes apparent that everyone’s identity has been silenced in some manner because they are unable to authentically represent themselves. In this way, everyone in Lantanacamara is queer –not necessarily in the current sense of the word, but in the older form, simply meaning “odd”/ “different”. This may be a result of an internally oppressive societal nature, but likely also a result of the theme of settler sexuality. The impact of this –from colonization– results in a lack of flexibility/fluidity in identity/sexuality, resulting in the notion that everyone who is not a colonizer is “odd” and must be “fixed” so that they conform to the ideology of what is “right” in the minds of the colonizers. Thus, it is not just queer individuals –such as trans identities– who would be hidden/oppressed; everyone becomes alienated, and, thus, is queer in some manner.
Title is a quote by Welsh businessman and political philosopher Robert Owen in 1828; his use of “queer” here is meant in the original context of “strange”/”odd”/”different”.
I loved reading your analysis, I felt it was very representative of that scene and what we learned about settler sexuality. I thought about Otoh’s ideas that he was one of the only transgender or queer people in Lantanacamara and how this was an individualistic mindset (not self-absorbed or negative, considering being queer feels isolating especially when growing up without representation). I feel like this can be applied to so many instances in our own lives outside of Cereus Blooms at Night. This is a very real concept. Within the LGBTQ community, when growing up it can be isolating to know other people who are queer and then assume that you are the only queer person in a certain space. Yet, as we all get older, it is a realization that there are plenty of others and we just needed to see each other.
What a great pick of passage! Otoh’s mother is such a compelling character to me, and this dialogue of hers is so pivotal to the rest of Cereus. It’s interesting that you address the implications of trans lives in Lantanacamara, likely either silenced or cis-passing. It’s a snake eating its own tail in my mind. Otoh’s trans-ness is accepted, yet it’s also not, because the community consciousness maintains that he’s cis—and according to his mother, that’s what’s keeping him safe from his peers and colonial overreach. Otoh’s life is borderline miraculous, through a transgender lens. He’s not only accepted by his parents but wholly reimagined. He’s one of the heroes of the novel. He finds romance in the end. I think this line of Elsie’s gives us a peek behind the pretty curtain, in which Otoh’s marginal identity carries more implications than readers assume.
I really loved getting to read your thoughts! I think Elsie is such a fascinating character and this scene does an incredible job of revealing more of her perspective to us as readers. Another commenter very succinctly addressed the relationship of this statement to Otoh’s identity as a transgender man, so I’d like to focus more on the implications for Elsie. Though Ambrose sleeps through all of the troubles surrounding him, Elsie cannot rest and is made to bear witness to a great deal of terrible situations within Paradise. Is this statement potentially a moment in which Elsie seeks to connect with Otoh like she never has? How does the knowledge of the Mohantys’ internal relationships shape our understanding of this scene?