A Magic-Realist Critique: Deconstructing History in Winterson’s Sexing the Cherry

Abstract

Magical realism has been in use as a critical mode of narration since its application in art in the 1920s. In the contemporary fictional narratives, postcolonial authors and critics have used it as a narrative strategy to present realities to readers in a fascinating manner than that of the realist tradition in fiction. By challenging and subverting the notion of objective reality, it critiques effects on colonization, and it works as decolonizing device to examine the political, cultural and historical realities of the colonized. In this line of argument, I examine and explore Jeanette Winterson’s Sexing the Cherry that challenges the traditional linearity and objectivity of historical narratives through a magic-realist lens, offering a critique of history’s patriarchal and constructed nature. This study utilizes history as a narrative open to reinterpretation, where suppressed perspectives can emerge. Winterson positions her critique within deconstruction framework, aligning her narrative with a broader political project to question authority and reclaim agency for the disempowered. Ultimately, this study argues that history is not a fixed truth but an evolving story, constantly shaped by power and perspective. By deconstructing historical certainty through magical realism, Winterson invites readers to reconsider how history is told and who controls its telling.