El Seno Escondido: Nodrizas Y Nanas Como Agentes Maravillosos En La Novela Latinoamericana De La Segunda Mitad Del Siglo Veinte
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
EL SENO ESCONDIDO: NODRIZAS Y NANAS COMO AGENTES MARAVILLOSOS EN LA NOVELA LATINOAMERICANA DE LA SEGUNDA MITAD DEL SIGLO VEINTE by Betsaida L. Casanova A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL December 2019 Copyright 2019 by Betsaida L. Casanova ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my committee members, Dr. Mary Ann Gosser Esquilín, committee chair, Dr. Nora Erro-Peralta, and Dr. Michael J. Horswell, for all their counsel and support during the process of writing this dissertation and for the years that I enjoyed their teaching and mentorship. I have been very fortunate to have an outstanding group of academics in my committee; not only do they excel in their fields but, most importantly, they are great human beings. I am specially indebted to my advisor, Dr. Gosser Esquilín, who has been with me every step of the way. Her invaluable advice, direction, patience, and encouragement have been vital during this journey. In addition, I want to recognize all my professors from the FAU Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature and the Comparative Studies Program. Each of them contributed to my intellectual development in a positive way. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Adam Bradford and Ms. Gabrielle Denier of the FAU Comparative Studies Program for their guidance and support of my academic goals. iv ABSTRACT Author: Betsaida L. Casanova Title: El seno escondido: nodrizas y nanas como agentes maravillosos en la novela latinoamericana de la segunda mitad del siglo veinte The Hidden Breast: Wet Nurses and Nannies as Marvelous Agents in the Latin American Novel of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Mary Ann Gosser Esquilín Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2019 In Latin America, wet nurses and nannies have played a relevant role in the transmission of legends, myths, medicinal knowledge, popular beliefs, and the religious practices of marginalized groups. This historical reality also ties them closely to the vitality of the marvelous real in Latin American culture and history as theorized by Alejo Carpentier. This dissertation focuses on examining the characters of wet nurses and nannies, especially in connection with the expression of the marvelous real in Latin American novels published in the second half of the twentieth century. Employing primarily Alex Woloch’s theory of characterization, this dissertation explores the character space and position within the character system of la Vieja in El acoso (1956) by Alejo Carpentier, Peta Ponce in El obsceno pájaro de la noche (1970) by José Donoso, and Petra Avilés in La casa de la laguna (1996) by Rosario Ferré. They serve as marvelous agents introducing elements of the marvelous real in the v narrative. These characters are at the center of an extensive network of cultural codes that signify different sources of the marvelous real in Latin American culture. The marvelous network they establish functions as a vindicating mechanism that leads to the penalization of the families that hire their services, who represent a decadent and oppressive social system, whereas the wet nurses or nannies embody the oppressed groups in society. This is a literary strategy to impart, at a symbolic level, the justice that traditionally has been denied, both textually and socially, to these women. vi DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my husband Daniel, my children Jonathan and Samuel, my siblings Sarai and Julio and the rest of my wonderful family without whose unwavering love I would have not been able to accomplish it. I specially want to dedicate it to my parents and role models, Julio and María, who always inspired me to believe that nothing is impossible. EL SENO ESCONDIDO: NODRIZAS Y NANAS COMO AGENTES MARAVILLOSOS EN LA NOVELA LATINOAMERICANA DE LA SEGUNDA MITAD DEL SIGLO VEINTE INTRODUCCIÓN .............................................................................................................. 1 El concepto de lo real maravilloso según Alejo Carpentier ......................................... 3 Los agentes maravillosos ............................................................................................ 10 El seno de la nodriza o de la nana ............................................................................... 11 Marco teórico .............................................................................................................. 15 Selección de las novelas.............................................................................................. 18 Distribución de los capítulos ....................................................................................... 22 I: LAS NODRIZAS Y LAS NANAS EN AMÉRICA LATINA ..................................... 25 Nodrizas y nanas en la América hispanohablante....................................................... 30 Nodrizas y nanas en la novela latinoamericana del siglo diecinueve ......................... 48 Dos novelas de la primera mitad del siglo veinte ....................................................... 54 Novelas de la segunda mitad del siglo veinte ............................................................. 56 II: LA VIEJA: LA NODRIZA ANÓNIMA EN EL ACOSO DE ALEJO CARPENTIER ................................................................................................ 65 Sistema de personajes y espacios en El acoso ............................................................ 67 La negra vieja .............................................................................................................. 74 Reconstruyendo el espacio narrativo de la Vieja ........................................................ 88 La red maravillosa alrededor de la Vieja ................................................................... 96 viii Lo visible frente a lo invisible .............................................................................. 97 La casona del Mirador, centro de la red maravillosa ......................................... 103 El regreso a la madre........................................................................................... 111 III: PETA PONCE: LA NANA ALIADA EN EL OBSCENO PÁJARO DE LA NOCHE DE JOSÉ DONOSO ....................................................................... 126 La conseja maulina ................................................................................................... 128 Espacios en El obsceno pájaro de la noche .............................................................. 130 Sistema de personajes en El obsceno pájaro de la noche ......................................... 135 Reconstruyendo el espacio narrativo de Peta Ponce ................................................. 153 El chonchón, el imbunche y la perra amarilla........................................................... 168 La bruja ..................................................................................................................... 178 La inversión de los símbolos católicos ..................................................................... 186 El peligro del seno escondido ................................................................................... 189 IV: PETRA AVILÉS: LA NANA IMPRESCINDIBLE EN LA CASA DE LA LAGUNA DE ROSARIO FERRÉ ................................................................. 192 Sistema de personajes en La casa de la laguna ........................................................ 196 El mundo de los sirvientes .................................................................................. 197 Petra en relación con las otras nanas y la maternidad ......................................... 200 Petra y los espacios en La casa de la laguna ............................................................ 209 El sótano.............................................................................................................. 213 La playa de Lucumí y Las Minas ........................................................................ 218 Reconstruyendo el espacio narrativo de Petra Avilés ............................................... 223 La hija de Elegguá .................................................................................................... 233 ix Petra y la red maravillosa ......................................................................................... 239 La red maravillosa y el agua .................................................................................... 265 CONCLUSIONES .......................................................................................................... 271 Contribuciones de este trabajo investigativo ............................................................ 285 Recomendaciones para investigaciones futuras ........................................................ 286 OBRAS CITADAS ......................................................................................................... 287 x INTRODUCCIÓN El oficio de nodriza, nana, ama de leche, ama de cría, madre de crianza, chichigua, pasiega, aya, tata o niñera—entre los muchos nombres que se le ha dado—ha formado parte de la configuración social de la mayoría de las civilizaciones a través de la historia. Durante siglos, aunque no de manera exclusiva, las clases pudientes han empleado de forma consistente