Abstract: This paper intends to discuss the problem of whiteness in Dulce Cardoso’s book O Retorno (2011), as a representation of the colonial tension between the mother country (Portugal), and the colony (Angola), in the context of independeance. In the book, Dulce represents the events that lead to Angola’s independance in 1975, and the beggining of the Civil War 1975-2002 that followed. In this context, white Angolan citzens were seen as enemies and had to leave their country. Their destiny is Portugal, to where they metaphorically “return”, even without never been there before. Thus, as “retornados” [returnees], or migrants, the characteres suffer with the cultural shock of being treated as inferior people, “second class citzens”, the same way they treated black peoples in Angola. This perspective takes us to discussions on hegemonic whiteness in the context of the book, as it reveals the tension between center-periphery in which is centered the colonial power. As therorethical bases, concepts such as nationality and identity (Anderson, 2008), whiteness ((Banton, 2000; Schucman, 2020), narcissistic pacts (Bento, 2003), acritical whiteness (Cardoso, 2014), colonialism (Fanon, 2008; Goody, 2013), colonial structures (Quilomba, 2019) and the colonial history of Angola (Tutikian, 2006) were used.
Keywords: Whiteness. O Retorno.
