Metaphors as Memory: Cultural Consciousness and Reconstruction of Historical Identity in Linda Hogan’s The Woman Who Watches over the World
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18533/mxgmnc21Abstract
In contrast to the Western model of textual archivization of memory and the institutionalization of history, Native American communities preserve collective memory through culturally shared metaphors, oral traditions, and ecological relationships. Beyond their figurative structures, the meaning of metaphors lies in their abilities to register the history and culture of indigenous communities. This paper examines how shared metaphors function as repositories of Indigenous memory as shown in Linda Hogan's native memoir The Woman Who Watches Over the World. It argues that Hogan reconceptualizes metaphor not as a rhetorical device but as a mnemonic modality through which the Chickasaw community preserves historical consciousness, ecological knowledge, cultural values, and collective identity across generations. Drawing upon Maurice Halbwachs's idea of collective memory, and Jan Assmann's concept of cultural memory, the paper demonstrates that metaphors convey memories of colonial dispossession, cultural resilience, and ancestral continuity. The metaphors also connect the individual experiences with collective historical consciousness. Finally, it argues that shared metaphors operate as forms of Indigenous memory through which the Chickasaw community continually reconstructs its cultural consciousness and collective identity.
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