Breadfruit or Chestnut?

"Breadfruit or Chestnut? looks at the construction of gender identity in the works of six contemporary novelists of Guadeloupe and Martinique - three men and three women - who have never been examined together in a study of this issue. Rather than following the trend of studying theory and cultural identity in the central male writers and of studying "women's writing" in the works of the female writers, Bonnie Thomas blurs these traditional boundaries to present an unexplored aspect of identity. In addition to illuminating women's conception of gender, this work examines the male equivalent and how each gender observes and perceives the other.

Breadfruit or Chestnut? not only contextualizes the primary literature but also draws on contemporary theoretical debates surrounding feminism, subjectivity, and postcolonialism. The combination of literary and historical tools of analysis allows for deeper probing into gender relations in the French Caribbean."--Jacket.