Challenging main stream feminist thought in Ann Halam’s Dr. Franklin’s Island (2002)‎

Abstract EN

This paper brings into light Ann Halam’s subversion of stereotypical gender and racial relations in her novel doctor franklin’s island (2002).

it focuses attention on the ways in which the exclusionist attitude of white middle class women has been challenged by giving voice to coloured women.

taking its theoretical bearings from Elizabeth V.

Spelman’s inessential woman: problems of exclusion in feminist thought (1991), the present article attempts to explain how Ann Halam traces the change in feminist discourse from an exclusionist view towards coloured women to a more tolerant and inclusive stance.

this shift generates a more balanced relationship between Miranda, a white middle class woman, and semi, a coloured British female character of Jamaican origin.

this newly achieved bond of friendship resulted from the conciseness-raising process that the two teenagers experience.

for Halam, modern women should adopt a tolerant attitude towards coloured women and, therefore, develop an awareness of the mutuality of the two races.