Abstract

Bernice Chauly's debut novel, Once We Were There (2017), presents an intimate coming-of-age journey into Malaysia's political struggle following the life of a journalist, Delonix Regia (Del), as she finds love and solace in the midst of the country's Reformasi movement in the late 1990s. The novel has garnered attention from literary circles and critical acknowledgements, particularly Chauly's boldness in depicting many Malaysian taboos. Her work can be regarded as a valiant narrative of a modern woman's lived experience in Malaysia where discussions on sexuality, mental health, societal pressure and madness are still shunned. The protagonist, Del, is caged into conforming to the societal expectations of being the perfect wife and mother. Unable to cope, she succumbs to madness. This transformation bears affinity to two prominent archetypal figures in women's literature - the angel-in-the-house, which symbolises conformity to patriarchal roles and expectations, and the madwoman, which symbolises defiance to patriarchal dominance. This study aims to apply these two prominent archetypal figures in Once We Were There, arguing that Chauly seems to subscribe to these traditional archetypes but presents a vicious circle in which the angel-in-the-house transforms into the madwoman, then reverts to being an angel in the house. It is this vicious circle that fails to liberate the protagonist from the patriarchal notion of the ideal womanhood.