However, the reader is constantly faced with questions about the (im)possibility of speaking for or even on behalf of another individual. The narrative structure is interspersed with stories from the past with the present and all the pieces seem to fit together in the end as we uncover the secrets about the characters. The main character is the mad woman, Mala Ramchandin, who is sent to an almhouse where she later earns the sympathy and care of the cross-dressing nurse Tyler. The novel is set in Lantanacamara, an imaginary place specially created by Mootoo for this novel however, via the patois spoken by the characters in the novel and also based on Mootoo's personal background (she was brought up in Trinidad),we can more or less determine that the place is based in the Caribbean. Mootoo has deliberately created a cast of characters who include marginalised people living on the edge of society due to certain issues and problems concerning the so-called proper roles to play in the public domain. This paper aims to explore the idea of silence and secrets surrounding the main characters in the novel by Shani Mootoo.
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