Religious Symbolism in Éve de ses Décombres

Éve de ses Décombres is a novel by Ananda Devi depicting the life of several adolescents growing up on the island of Mauritius. This story takes place in one of the most impoverished quartiers of the island, Troumaron. The novel explores themes of impoverished youth, violence and exploitation. Devi uses the characters to tell the story of those living in the bidonvilles of Mauritius. Underlying the books themes of violence and poverty are the religious communities each of the characters belongs to. Using the characters as symbols of the island's diverse religious makeup, Devi is able to tell the story of the inter-religious relations present on the island. The story follows four characters in this book who are inextricably linked with their home of Troumaron. The main protagonist, Éve, is of Créole descent and has an evidently biblical name. Her character serves as a symbol of the Créole community which is largely Christian on the island of Mauritius. The next character is Saad, who represents the Muslim community present on the island. Savita is the next character who represents the majority Indian Hindu group. Finally there is the character Clélio who is also of Créole descent. These characters were thoughtfully chosen as symbols of the diverse community present on the island. No one group is spared from the depths of Troumaron. Their stories highlight the religious groups positions on the island and are Devi’s way of representing the actual relationships between the religious groups. Readers are able to understand the inter religious landscape of Mauritius through this novel. I shall explore the underlying themes of religion Devi develops in this novel through the characters she creates.

To grasp the novel, an understanding of the complex history of the island helps contextualize Devi’s story. Maurice is an island at the crossroads of customs, cultures, et religions. Depuis la fondation de la pays, plusieurs groupes religieux ont habité sur l'île, ajoutant à la diversité religieuse. À cause de migrations depuis trois cent ans, l'île est composée de quatre groupes : chrétiens, musulmans, hindous et sino-originaires. Au début du 18eme, la colonisation française a apporté le christianisme a Maurice, qui est reste le dominant religion pendant 200 ans. Dans le 19eme siecle, les Anglais ont amené des populations de l’Inde à travailler qui consiste de les Hindous et les Musulmans. Il y avait des vagues d’immigation de la Chine dans le 19eme et 20eme siecle, ajoutant à la diversité religieuse. Le résultat est une société tolérante qui a influencé l'histoire et la société actuelle. Cependant, souvent il existe une hiérarchie entre et dans les religions de l'île. Ces hiérarchies ont changé pendant l'évolution de l'île, mais ils continuent d’influencer le tissu social de la société. These details are important to keep in mind while reading Devi’s Éve de ses Décombres.

Éve’s story is central to this novel. She comes from nothing, and is forced to enter into the sex workers industry at a young age. She experiences many hardships on the island, and her occupation puts her in incredibly bad situations. As the main protagonist, the other characters' stories rely on hers. Devi crafts her character to represent a Créole girl part of the Christian community. Her name is very evidently Christian, derived from the biblical story of Adam and Éve. This name choice is multidimensional for the main character. Christianity was introduced to the Créole population during the period of slavery, and this apparent Christian name is a metaphor for the ever present problems on the island as a result of colonisation. Éve herself serves as an allegory to the harsh reality of the present moment, still being shaped by the history of the nation. The situation of Troumarron is undoubtedly influenced by the centuries of colonisation Mauritius faced and continues to. The wealth divide is ever present, and readers are faced with that reality during a scene where Éve is working in a business tower, the set starkly contrasted to the normal condition in Troumaron. “In the office I'd been called to, I looked at the city and I saw it as it has had been that morning with saad at the statue of the virgin mary…The air conditioned office, cushioned with carpets, smelled like new leather. You wanted to snuggle up in the armchairs.” (64). This duality of the island is a function of the oppressed communities experienced from the several administrations who laid claim to the Island. Her experience as a sex worker leads to the exploitation of her body, serving readers as a reminder of the exploitation the créole population experienced during slavery. These experiences parallel the way christianity was used as a tool to control and suppress cultural identities. Éve’s autonomy is taken from her, erased by the grim existence of commercial sex on the island. Her body is turned into a commodity for abuse for those with money and power. Just as her ancestors were taken advantage of on plantations, Éve is still facing this reality in a modern form.

Devi chooses this name as a multidimensional manner to highlight the complexity religions present on the island. Not only is Éve’s character a symbol of the colonial oppression of her people, but a clear reference to the origin of her name. In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, the story of Adam and Éve is the origin story of man and woman. They are told by God to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and that this tree will lead to peril. Éve is first introduced to prostitution at school, an echo of the trade the Bible’s Éve makes for knowledge, as Devi’s Éve makes her trade into a world of survival by any means necessary. She learns what she must do to afford the things she needs as a student for knowledge, “For the first time my bag was no longer empty. I had something I could pay with: myself.” (16). This trade is a symbol of the decision made in the biblical story, changing Éves trajectory forever. Like her namesake, Éve’s decision - though presumably out of necessity - puts her path on a path of suffering and hardship. By choosing the name Éve, Devi sets the stage for the loss of innocence and downfall of Éve set up by the well known biblical story.

Devi continues to highlight the religious diversity by developing the character Saad, who she uses to represent the Muslim community present on the island. Again the author chooses a name with clear affiliation towards a group to help readers catch her metaphors. Saad is an adolescent born into the depths of troumaron, and out of necessity resorts to being in a gang. He is different from the others, and takes an interest in his classes. Poetry captures him, and it becomes his creative outlet. He realizes the limited social mobility present on the island and that his studies are the only chance at making something of himself, “I read if these books can loosen the noose around my neck. I read to understand that there is somewhere else.” (23) Saad, however bright, is obliged to keep a tough mask on, that’s the reality in Troumaron. Rimbaud is introduced to him in school and he becomes inspired by his works. He begins to use his outlet of Poetry towards his love, Éve. Devi uses Saad to represent the tradition of Poetry and spoken word in the Islamic faith, which is deeply rooted into the culture and religion. Islam is a religion with no central authority, open to interpretation and variation, with many individual belief systems created. This case is no different in Mauritius, with traditional values being blended with Mauritian culture and situations. Saad is creating his own interpretation of Islam, with Éve as his Goddess and poetry as scripture. He reads Rimbaud aloud to Éve and repeats it as Muslims speak the Quran aloud.“The star wept rose into the heart of your ears, an infinity of white rolled between your nape and hips and man bled back onto your sovereign side” (55). He memorizes poems he reads back to himself, like the memorization of Quranic verses in the Islamic tradition. Just as the Sufi tradition within Islam concentrates on devotion through Poetry and Song, Saad is recreating his very own form of devotion. Furthermore, Devi chooses Saad to love Éve to represent the intimacy of the religions in question. At their core, the monotheistic religions originating in the Middle East are extremely similar, and Devi is emphasizing this to readers. Muslims believe in the story of Adam and Éve and even regard Adam as the first prophet of God. Saad’s recreation of his Islamic faith with Éve at its core reinforces this intimacy. Devi is making it clear that he is in love with a girl from another religion, and there are no qualms present in the novel because of this. Devi is highlighting the inter-religious connections on the island and even more so within Troumaron. The Troumarroni are bound by their poverty and socioeconomic position, and religious boundaries fall away. This is present in the schools, shops, and workplaces of those in Troumaron. While referring to the factory which employed many of the mothers of Troumaron, Saad explains: “Religious symbols - Crucifixes, Quranic verses, Buddha statues, Krishna figures - that would allow us to guess which community they belonged to,” (11). Devi is illustrating the diverse community within Troumaron and the symbols each group chooses to represent themselves with. Using the characters of Saad and Éve, readers are able to get a glimpse into the reality of religion on the island.

Savita is a character introduced early in the story as the one person to show care and look after Éve. She very quickly becomes Éve’s twin flame and lover. Her name is of Indian descent and Devi chooses her character as a symbol of the Indo-Mauritian community on the island. The Indo-Mauritian community is largely Hindu and the communities traditions and customs have been influenced by their religion. Dharma is a central concept to Hinduism and encompasses a moral duty and righteousness in life. From the central text of Hinduism, “You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction." (Bhagavad Gita 2.47). Savita is a symbol of the Hindu community as she exhibits her responsibility to Dharma to nurture and take care of Éve. She does this at her own societal and personal costs because of her adherence to principles. Her family is unsupportive and even resentful towards her relationship with Éve. However, Savita is fulfilling her responsibility and does what she needs to for Éve. This unfortunately leads to her own death. Devi uses Savita’s death as a symbol for the painful aspects of Dharma, which sometimes require personal loss. This powerful allegory speaks to the larger community which Savita is part of. The Hindu community faced years of exploitation and indenturetude, yet continued to preserve their identity and culture. Devi also chooses Savita’s death to represent the Hindu community to show the divides the island still experiences. As the majority group on the island, there have been instances of violence between this group and others, and Devi chooses to illustrate this with the character of Savita. Even on an island with a relatively harmonious religious landscape, the death of Savita is a symbol for the lingering division between the groups. Clélio, another key character from a Créole background, chooses to voice this after being suspected of Savita’s murder “Savita, she joked about these things, when she died she became a racial symbol, and now I am too, over the centuries we’ve been enemies, slaves, coolies, it’s a nasty history for sure, which is why it keeps happening again and again” (89) Clelio’s words are telling of the persistent divisions between the groups, but he continues his quote that within Troumaron, these divisions are dropped because of the unity the shared situation brings them, “Even if we the children of Troumaron don’t care about religion, race, color, caste, everything that divides all the other guys on this shitty island, we the children of Troumaron, we’re a single community, and it’s a universal one, this community of the poor and the lost and that, believe me, is the only identity that counts.” (89).

Devi writes a powerful story which transports readers to the neighborhood of Troumaron. She writes this story to illustrate the life many are forced to live in the impoverished neighborhoods of Mauritius. Her exploration of adolescence, blighted communities, and survival are powerful themes which create a window into real life on the island. Between the lines, Devi chooses to use religious naming conventions to convey a message about the religious communities present on the island. Éve de Ses Decombres characters are created to form a composite narrative of Mauritian society readers are able to understand through her writing. Les personnages d’Éve de Ses Décombres sont créés pour former un récit composite de la société mauricienne que les lecteurs peuvent comprendre à travers son écriture.