Bruised Hibiscus (1994), a Caribbean historical novel by Elizabeth Nunez, explores the effects of colonialism on gender roles and Caribbean society from the points of view of two downtrodden women. Bruised Hibiscus is set in Otaheite, Trinidad, during the 1950s. The two main characters are Rosa and Zuela. Rosa is an English woman who comes from a line of plantation owners. She hates her husband, a Trinidadian schoolteacher, because he beats her and calls her horrible names. She wants her freedom. Zuela hates her life, too. She has ten children and a violent Chinese husband addicted to opium who takes his rage out on Zuela and the children. Once, Rosa and Zuela were good friends. They played together as children and they swore that nothing would tear them apart. However, one day, they saw a man brutally raping a young girl. They couldn’t do anything to help her, and the experience traumatized them both. They never spoke about it, and the incident eventually drove them apart. Now, they cannot be friends, because they don’t want to admit to each other how their respective lives have turned out. One day, in 1954, everything changes in Otaheite. Fishermen stumble across a white British woman’s body in an old coconut bag. Though it is unclear how she died, most people think her husband murdered her because violence against women is common. However, since this is a colonial area, some people assume that a Trinidadian killed her. Racial and community tensions reach new heights. Both Zuela and Rosa reflect on what the murder means. They hate living in a society where men think they can treat women this way. Rosa hopes that her husband dies so she doesn’t have to worry anymore. Zuela wants her husband to quit opium and to treat her properly. Most importantly, Zuela wants to protect her children from physical and emotional abuse, but she does not know how to escape her loveless relationship. Rosa and Zuela meet up again after the murder. They are forced to admit that they ended up in miserable marriages. When Rosa met her husband, she fell in love, and they quickly married. Obsessive, paranoid, and jealous, he assumes that she cheats on him. He beats Rosa to remind her who the boss is. A Chinese opium trader took Zuela hostage when she was only twelve years old, shortly after the girls stopped talking to each other, and Zuela felt vulnerable and lost. This man never let her go, and he is now her husband. Rosa feels guilty, blaming herself for Zuela’s fate. Zuela reminds her that women are powerless in Trinidad; the only people to blame are the men. After meeting Zuela again, Rosa receives terrible news—her husband has stomach cancer and it is probably terminal. Rosa doesn’t feel relief, instead, feeling terribly guilty because she prayed for his death. She turns to a local nurse for help. The nurse feels bad for Rosa’s husband, but she is more concerned about Rosa’s safety. She begs Rosa to leave her husband if he survives the cancer. Rosa promises to try. Meanwhile, life at home gets worse for Zuela. Her husband smokes opium all day; he is never sober. He beats her all the time, and he shouts at the children. He seems especially interested in Zuela’s eldest daughter, which gives Zuela a bad feeling. She vows to monitor the situation. Rosa spends her time looking after her husband. When she is not watching him, she reflects on her life and what the nurse says. She decides that the nurse is right. She plans to leave her husband at the first opportunity. When she tells the nurse about her plans, they conspire to get Rosa out of there safely. In Zuela’s household, the worst happens. Zuela finds out that her husband beat and raped her eldest daughter. She knows what she must do. She leaves her husband and takes the children with her. She knows the guilt of what happened to her daughter will haunt her forever. She vows to never expose her children to a man like this again. Meanwhile, Rosa’s husband shows sign of recovery. He begs Rosa to stay; he is sorry for how he treated her. Despite the nurse’s protests, Rosa stays with her husband. She is too embarrassed to see Zuela again. While Zuela rebuilds her life, Rosa retreats into misery once again. The book received widespread critical praise upon its publication, winning the 2001 American Book Award. An internationally bestselling author from Trinidad, Nunez received a BA in English from Martin College and an MA in Literature from New York University. In the 1970s, Nunez helped Medgar Evers College develop its writing curriculum. She also co-founded the National Black Writers Conference, and she once chaired the PEN American Open Book Committee.

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Elizabeth Nunez

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Bruised Hibiscus

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