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Geographies of Power in Willa Cather, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Dorothy Allison

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Geographies of Power in Willa Cather, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Dorothy Allison UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2003 Geographies of power in Willa Cather, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Dorothy AlliSon Suzanne Angela Bergfalk University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Bergfalk, Suzanne Angela, "Geographies of power in Willa Cather, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Dorothy AlliSon" (2003). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2545. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/1i3u-x2sg This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ]0N TAT[Ll.AL(:)VTnKEüt, CwtBfUIl,Cn\R{3UlA4^JtQinEZ,/ü%D DOROTHY ALLISON by Suzanne Angela Bergfalk Bachelor of Arts Saint Mary's University of Minnesota 1988 Master of Arts Pepperdine University 1991 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree la English Department of English College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 2003 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3115885 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3115885 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Suzanne Angela Bergfalk 2004 AU Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dissertation Approval UNÏV The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas November 10 The Dissertation prepared by Suzanne Angela Bergfalk Entitled Geographies of Powerin Willa Gather, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Dorothy A llison is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In English ijid (T Dean cÿ^f/ie Gradwafe CoZkge Emmination Committee Member Examination Committe r / ^ graduate College J^cuUy Representative 1017-52 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Geographies of Power in Willa Gather, Gabriel Garcia Màrquez, and Dorothy Allison by Suzanne Angela Bergfalk Dr. P. Jane Hafen, Examination Committee Chair Professor of English University of Nevada, Las Vegas By redefining social or economic "classes" as cultures, or as Raymond Williams explains, groups that share a "structure of feeling," the dissertation defines power in accordance with the shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices deGned by the culture of persistence and the culture of wealth. With culturally determined deGnitions of power in place, the dissertaGon argues for a broader understanding of female power as that power is accessed and wielded by female characters in the writings of Willa Cather, Gabriel Garcfa Màrquez, and Dorothy Allison. Engaging the strategies of feminist geographies employed by criGcs including Doreen Massey, Gillian Rose, and the Women and Geography Study Group, the dissertation analyzes the methods by which female characters negoGate the spaces/places where they live, work, and travel, evaluaGng their relaGve successes or failures in accessing and wielding power. The three analyGc chapters examine works by Cather—the novel TTie Song Lnrt, and the short story "A Gold Slipper," Garcfa Màrquez—the novel AwrM/nn q/" rhe PoTriarcA, and the short story, "The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow" from the 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. collecüon of stories GGed Sfrange PiZgnnw, and Allison—the novel Ptwiard Owf Carolina, and the short story "I'm Working on My Charm" from the collection GGed TrafA respectively. In order to magnify the power of the female characters, the discussion evaluates the female characters in relation to the deGnidon of power speciGcally determined by the character's culture, whether the culture of persistence or the culture of wealth. At the same Gme, the spaces/places/locaGons where the characters live, work, and move through are analyzed to produce an understanding of how the characters access and wield power. Finally, a stark contrast is established between the female characters created by Cather and Allison and those created by Garcfa Màrquez, since Cather and Allison fully imagine female characters who are successful at accessing and wielding power in the spaces/places they live in, work in, and move through- In contrast, Garcfa Màrquez creates powerful women whose power functions only fully in microgeographies, and Garcfa Màrquez ultimately destroys those characters, despite their access to power. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................üi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................................................ v CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION........................................................1 A Feminist Approach to Spaces and Places ....................................................................... 2 Class.......................................................................................................................................9 The Culture of Persistence ................................................................................................. 15 The Culture of the Middle Class ....................................................................................... 19 The Culture of Wealth....................................................................................................... 23 The Culture of Wealth in LaGn America......................................................................... 27 Power in Context .................................................................................................................31 CHAPTER TWO THEA KRONBORG AND KITTY AYRSHIRE........................... 42 CHAPTER THREE LETICIA NAZARENO AND NENA DACONTE.....................103 CHAPTER FOUR ANNEY BOATWRIGHT, RUTH ANNE "BONE" BOATWRIGHT, AND THE NARRATOR OF "I'M WORKING ON MY CHARM.. 169 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION..................................................... 233 WORKS CITED....................................................................................................................238 VITA.......................................................................................................................................251 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEïXjEMENTS I remain ever grateful to my dissertaGon chair. Dr. P. Jane Hafen. Special thanks to the members of my dissertaGon committee: Dr. Vincent Perez, Dr. Robert Dodge, and Dr. Joanne Goodwin. Their guidance has been invaluable. I also appreciate the assistance of the Lied Library Document Delivery staff who provided me with Spanish language arGcles that were not easy to come by. Thank you to the Career Services staff for keeping me employed and offenng so many other resources. I am grateful also to the many friends who helped me through the research, wnting, and revising stages of the dissertaGon; I received more than I ever gave. Finally, thank you to my parents, Arlene H. Bergfalk and Robert B. Bergfalk, for their amazing support through this lengthy process. VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Space and class—as social constructions both offer avenues for the claiming of and demonstradon of power. At the same time, as social construcGons, space and class intersect in complex formaGons that may interfere with power. Space intersects with social interacGons in a manner that affects all aspects of human life. Most signiGcanGy, "spaGal organizaGon reproduces hierarchy over time. The relaGonship between spaGal organizaGon and social hierarchy is reGexive" (Roy 71). Social hierarchy—one or more groups of people maintaining dominance over one or more groups of others—creates class boundaries that
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