Trauma and the specular dimension of the Cogito in the Bluest Eye

Abstract EN

Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye impresses the reader with the psychological complexity of the protagonist, in particular, and the other characters, in general.

The novel profiles how Pecola constitutes her identity in a community fraught with constraints.

The construction of Pecola's cogito “I think therefore I am” changes into Pecola's aphorism, “I am seen therefore I am”.

The very difference between the Cartesian cogito and Pecola's one is that Pecola invites a community of viewers to participate in the making of her identity.

Therefore, this paper is mainly concerned with encounters between Whites and Blacks and the trauma they engender among Black characters in The Bluest Eye.

Moreover, this paper will analyze the process of identification that Pecola is compelled to adopt in a community that affords a significant importance to beauty as it is standardized by the white majority.