'We've all been there, sister'. Intersectionality of Race and Gender and the Creation of Narrative Empathy in Bernadine Evaristo's 'Girl, Woman, Other'

Seminar paper from the year 2023 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Wuppertal, language: English, abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine the themes of racial identity and gender identity, as well as their intersectionality in 'Girl, Woman, Other' on the one hand, and the effects of narrative characteristics and fusion fiction in relation to the content of the novel on the other. This also includes figuring out how these features can generate empathy in the reader and the extent to which the novel achieves this. For this purpose, some of the terms just mentioned will first be defined and a brief summary of the content will be provided, in order that some of the individual experiences of the characters can be analyzed in more detail later. In this context, the concept of 'othering', which is strongly related to oppression, will also be addressed. Later, an analysis of the narrative characteristics of 'Girl, Woman, Other' will be carried out and its effects on creating empathy in the reader will be explained.