Colonial life produced embodied nervous distress in settlers, felt but not visible.

Evidence

I can see in your letters that you cannot imagine our position here and how unbearable it is. You can’t imagine, dear Papa, how much the stay here has harmed me. Firstly I have gotten nervous; one could not tell by looking at me but I feel it all the more. When I feel so nervous, even my nails hurt. Also I have become ten years older indeed. I have become very resentful and finding fault, mon caractère c’est absolument aigri [my temperament is completely sour!]. — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1521

Categorization

• XREF: A primary-source instance of colonial epistemic and bodily anxiety — settler nerves as a felt symptom of being between worlds, relevant to the reader’s project.
• FICTION: The image of a woman insisting the harm is invisible yet her nails hurt is rich characterization material for colonial fiction.