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Articles

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2025): Traumatopie: Traumatisme territorial dans les littératures francophones

île devenue sépulture: Les Esclaves oubliés de Tromelin de Sylvain

DOI
https://doi.org/10.26443/rcfr.v4i1.526
Submitted
October 3, 2025
Published
2025-10-03

Abstract

If the challenge of verbalizing trauma is present, the text in the graphic novel plays an essential role by suggesting – sometimes in a fragmented or elliptical way – what the images amplify through artistic techniques aimed at eliciting an emotional resonance in the reader. This article explores the representation of territorial trauma by focusing on the graphic novel Les Esclaves oubliés de Tromelin by Sylvain Savoia, which brings to light the tragic fate of the Malagasy slaves abandoned to their fate on a notoriously perilous island. Theories of postcolonial ecocriticism and “traumascapes” serve as tools for analyzing the persistence and manifestation of the impacts of colonialism on the ecosystem, while also exploring how the trauma of the slaves can contribute to the concept of “traumatopia.”

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