Milli mála - 2018, Qupperneq 61

IRMA ERLINGSDÓTTIR
Milli mála 10/2018 61
Abstract
The Politics of Neutrality in
The Terrible but Unfinished Story of Norodom
Sihanouk, King of Cambodia
The article explores Hélène Cixous’s 1985 play The Terrible Unfinished
Story of Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia (L´Histoire terrible mais
inachevée de Norodom Sihanouk roi du Cambodge) by focusing on
Cixous’s portrayal of Sihanouk and her interpretation of Cambodia’s
history with references to the country’s civil conflict, the Cold War,
and the Vietnam War. The article seeks to historicize the play by
placing it within the context of contemporary political works on
Cambodian history. As embedded in the play’s metanarrative and
its contemporary metaphor of human suffering, special attention is
paid to Cambodia’s power struggles, both internationally and within
its own borders. The emphasis is on the tension between Cixous’s
portrayal of Sihanouk as the paternal protector of Cambodia’s “eter-
nal cultural heritage” and his political compromises with internal
(the Khmer Rouge) and external (the United States, China, North
Vietnam) actors. From a broader perspective, an additional focus is
on the conflict between traditionalism and modernization, imperia-
lism and resistance, and territoriality and exile.
Keywords: Hélène Cixous, Contemporary History, Sihaounk,
Cambodia, civil war, imperialism, traditionalism, modernization