Odkrywanie tożsamości i motyw powrotu do korzeni w powieści „Issa” Mirrianne Mahn

Abstract

The issues presented in this article draw on the themes of the novel Issa (2024) by Cameroonian- German writer Mirrianne Mahn. The plot centers on Issa’s journey back to her native Cameroon. She grew up in Germany, and therefore her journey to the land of her ancestors is connected to the process of discovering her own origins and redefining her identity. The research questions address how Mirrianne Mahn draws connections between the colonial period in Cameroon (violence, primarily the sexual exploitation of indigenous women) and contemporary racism, including the structural racism affecting African migrants in modern Germany. The interpretation is guided by a closer look at female figures (these heroines are both universal in terms of their experiences and characteristic of each of the periods presented), due to the fact that the network of historical, social and cultural connections is based on female characters and their fates (confrontations with men, existence in a patriarchal system or issues related to emancipation and education). The methodological instruments are texts from the field of postcolonial studies (the analysis is based, among others, on the observations of Frantz Fanon). The theoretical part of the text briefly presents the literary background of Issa, which consists of other novels dealing with the Cameroonian thread and the works of Afro-German women writers.