Cléante Valcin

Cléante Valcin, an important figure in Haitian letters and feminism. Valcin's 1929 novel Cruelle Destinée became the first novel by a Haitain woman to be published. She was also one of the founders of the Ligue Feminine d'action sociale in 1934 and a women's journal, Voix des Femmes, which commented on political and gender issues. As a part of the growing feminist movement in 1930s Haiti, Valcin contributed to a broader movement that endeavored to transcend class divisions among Haitian women by promoting education, sought political and civil equality for women, fought for children's rights, and demanded a minimum wage. Partly successful in these regards, the early 20th century phase of feminism in Haiti was not solely centered on the elite, and engaged Haitian political and economic inequality.

Valcin also broached similar subjects and themes of gender, race, class, color, and identity in her writings, particularly the 1934 novel, La Blanche Négresse. As explained by Haitian-Canadian scholar Myriam Chancy, through criticism of the brutal, racist and sexist US Occupation of Haiti (1915-1934) and the ways in which indigeniste Haitian ideologues could go too far in embracing 'African roots," Valcin sought to find a 'middle way' for the identity of the Haitian women that was empowered, not subject to the confines of patriarchal marriage, and open to the multiple cultural and racial elements of Haiti. In short, Valcin's novel weaves together themes of race, gender, sexuality, the 'tragic mulatta,' and Haitian national identity. I highly recommend Myriam Chancy's "Framing Silence: Revolutionary Novels by Haitian Women" to learn more about the accomplishments of the pre-Duvalier feminists as well as the various ways women novelists have challenged the subordination of women. Her work is the source of the interpretation of Valcin's work shared here, as well as the broader context of the feminist movement.

Sources

http://haitist.com/5-giants-of-classic-haitian-literature/

http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ile.en.ile/paroles/valcin.html

http://islandluminous.fiu.edu/part09-slide22.html

http://www.windowsonhaiti.com/windowsonhaiti/w99101.shtml