Identity, Violence and Resilience in 21st Century Black British and American Women's Fiction

Nuria Torres López and Carmen García Navarro

Introduction: Identity, Violence and Resilience in 21st-Century Black British and American Women’s Fiction

This coedited book aims to contribute to recent debates on the violence suffered by many Black women throughout history. Also, the volume brings to the fore the resilient processes of fortitude and growth carried out by women who have experienced various forms of violence and their ability to go on with their life projects and rebuild their identities. As we approach the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, these persistent forms of violence remain a social problem marked by the instability and uncertainty of the times. This uncertainty stems from past events whose consequences extend to the present day, affecting society and its constituent communities, in general, and the lives of women, in particular. For Ana María Fraile-Marcos (2020), factors such as colonialism and neo-colonialism, with the ensuing loss of political power of nation-states, migration flows, abuse and destruction of the natural environment and climate change, influenced how women engage in their life trajectories. These are often intersected by other factors deriving from armed conflicts, poverty and sexual violence, among others. As Simon During pointed out (2015), literature can reflect precariousness and vulnerability and connect readers with the conditions of life of the Other (Levinas). Curtis (2013) argued that a neoliberal society is inherently precarious. Chaos and anxiety are the outcomes of the instability produced by structural processes that perpetuate the constraints to which some areas of power are subject. These include feminist spaces and the ability of the humanities to ‘maintain spaces [in] which noise and anxiety might be explored’ (75). This book has been written in the hope that it will draw attention to an immense public Herstory that should be known and interpreted by revealing its value, scope and details, in an attempt to make violence against women publicly visible while also showcasing the indomitable resilience, strength and unwavering spirit exhibited by Black women in the face of adversity.