Song Of Roland by Jamaica Kincaid, 1993
The magic trick:
The narrator describing her lover in a very sensual way
As with nearly all love stories, there’s more going on than simple romance just under the surface. This is very much a story of power. But I’ll focus on a different aspect here today. The narrator does a remarkable job of describing her lover – the titular Roland – with sensual language. Not only does it make the story all the more intense for the reader, it also conveys a sense of power the narrator holds. It almost gives her a feeling of ownership over the experience.
And that’s quite a trick on Kincaid’s part.
The selection:
His mouth was like an island in the sea that was his face; I am sure he had ears and nose and eyes and all the rest, but I could see only his mouth, which I knew could do all the things that a mouth usually does, such as eat food, purse in approval or disapproval, smile, twist in thought; inside were his teeth and behind them was his tongue. Why did I see him that way?
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