Homeground and The Lion’s Mouth: From Remembering to Re-Membering Home

This essay comparatively examines the relationship between diasporic identity, home, and memory as represented in Canadian author Caterina Edwards’ novel The Lion’s Mouth (1982) and her play Homeground (1990). The analysis draws on Anne-Marie Fortier’s reformulation of Avtar Brah’s notion of “homing desire” (Fortier 2000, 2001, 2003) – the diasporic subjects’ longing to revisit home in order to create a sense of place for themselves – and “re-membering home” (2001), namely the ongoing process of revisiting and reconstructing the notion of home. In light of this framework, the essay explores how, in both of Edwards’ works, the fictional characters’ return journey from Canada to Italy serves as an attempt to reconstruct a sense of belonging. While Homeground illustrates how nostalgia shapes the idea of home, The Lion’s Mouth presents a more complex negotiation of cultural identity through the narrator’s fragmented sense of belonging. The analysis demonstrates that both works highlight the complexity and elusiveness of the notion of home, the influential role of memory, and the diasporic subject’s continuous negotiation of cultural identity.