Affect and Feminist Storytelling in Three Spanish American Novels: Leonora by Elena Poniatowska, De un salto descabalga la reina by Carmen Boullosa, and El infinito en la palma de la mano by Gioconda Belli
Abstract
This dissertation analyzes the portrayals of the female protagonists of three Spanish American biographical novels in an exploration of identity formation within feminist literary expressions. Amidst the resurgence of auto/biographical genres, there has been an effort to revive the stories of the historically maligned, and biographical novels about women have become increasingly prevalent. The movement to recover and revise the stories of women, including those who have traditionally been interpreted within misogynist societies, reaches beyond the written text to influence not only the way a character is seen and understood, but the ways that readers see and understand themselves. As the formation of a biographical novel’s protagonist mirrors a person’s construction of their own identity, the character’s development within the novel provides a precedent from which the reader may interpret themselves and others. Historically, women have been offered limited options in the formation of identity, with female characters often lacking depth in supporting roles and one-dimensional stereotypes. The three female authors of the three novels included here address this discrepancy, fleshing out their female protagonists and providing a view into the changes these characters undergo through their lives. Employing the integrated-article format, this dissertation consists of three case studies of Latin American biographical novels with a central female character, written by female authors. With one chapter dedicated to the examination of each novel, the study includes Elena Poniatowska’s Leonora (2011), Carmen Boullosa’s De un salto descabalga la reina(2002), and Gioconda Belli’s El infinito en la palma de la mano (2008). Considering the ways in which these novels represent their protagonists, this analysis recognizes the influence of affect – viewed as essential to an understanding of female identity as it was in the past, as it is in the present, and as it could be in the future.