Undoing the ‘Madwoman’: A Minor History of Uselessness, Dementia and Indenture in Colonial Fiji

AUTHOR(S)
Culture

This article sets out to undo colonial constructions of the ‘madwoman’ in Fiji during the indenture period. It will critique how lunacy, or more specifically the condition of dementia, was sometimes presented as the colonial response to ‘uselessness’ in the sugarcane plantations. When archival fragments relating to an indentured woman named Dhurma, are retrieved and situated within a historical context they demonstrate how unproductivity was perceived as a signifier of an ‘unsound mind’ because it conflicted with the utilitarian logic of universal and individual economic advancement espoused by the British colonial administration. The article will also present brief accounts of other indentured women who were diagnosed with ‘dementia’ to illustrate how the ‘useless madwoman’ phenomena was not an isolated one. If the allegations of dementia presented here are reassessed in light of definitions of lunacy including the usage of this term in The English Lunacy Act of 1838, it may be possible to read against the dominant (male) voice in the asylum records and thus deconstruct murky projections of madness vis-a-vis colonialism.

Downloads
There are no downloads available
Research Type(s)
Journal Article
Submitted by Sonia Palmieri
March 30, 2021
Published in
2018
SHARE
explore similar papers

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

What are you looking for?

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

Filter by Categories

Sort by Categories

Filter by Year

Sort by Year

Filter by Review Status

Sort by Review

Filter by Country

Sort Country Popup
Skip to content