From Castus to Casticismo: Conceptions of Purity in Modern Spain By Julia Haeyoon Chang A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Languages and Literatures and the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Michael Iarocci, Chair Professor Emilie L. Bergmann Professor Dru Dougherty Professor Minoo Moallem Spring 2013 From Castus to Casticismo: Conceptions of Purity in Modern Spain © 2013 Julia Haeyoon Chang 1 Abstract From Castus to Casticismo: Conceptions of Purity in Modern Spain by Julia Haeyoon Chang Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Languages and Literatures and the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality University of California, Berkeley Professor Michael Iarocci, Chair With the exception of the well-known figure of the ángel del hogar, concepts of purity in post-inquisitional Spain have rarely been used as central categories of analysis. This dissertation aims to address an important lacuna within nineteenth-century Spanish studies by tracing the complex ways in which purity, as an ideological regime, continued to operate as a less explicit but important construct in modern Spain. Rather than declining, such regimes metamorphosed into an array of discourses that positioned purity as a foundational ideological category for modern subjectivity and national identity in late imperial Spain. Specifically, I turn to the major realist novelists of the nineteenth century – Juan Valera, Leopoldo Alas, Emilia Pardo Bazán, and Benito Pérez Galdós -- to examine how realist fiction stages counter-narratives to essentialist notions of purity and impurity formulated and consequently deployed by Medicine, the Church, and the State. The dissertation traces the ways in which historical notions of pure lineage or pure blood underwrite “modern” and “post-inquisitional” notions of sexual, racial, and bodily purity, particularly in the last third of the nineteenth century, also known as the Restoration period. I advance a critical understanding of these diverse forms of purity through what I identify as the discourse of casta. Originating from the Latin castus (clean, pure), casta can be translated into English as “caste” or “chaste,” a profoundly revealing ambiguity that drives my analysis. Over the course of the dissertation I chart casta’s semantic permutations including: female sexual purity (castidad); heritage, blood, and lineage (casta/o); and national purity (lo castizo/casticismo). The usage of casta/o and its related terms is always a gendered, racialized, and class-specific articulation of purity. The common thread that links these diverse definitions together, I argue, is the regulation of gender. Sexual purity, (and later racial, class- and national purity) is an implicit part of what casta evokes across its semantic evolutions. The texts examined here reveal that the discourse of casta is central to the production of idealized national subjects during a time of political instability and imperial decline. While casticismo appears to be fundamental to the production of the nation, its ambivalent and polyvalent nature complicates and at times undermines the success of nationalist projects. i Contents Acknowledgements ii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 8 “Aquellos neófitos indios, chinos o anamitas”: Purity in the Imperial Imaginary of Doña Luz Chapter 2 34 On the Limits of Hygiene: Purity and Pleasure in La Regenta Chapter 3 59 Purity and Performativity: “La mujer española” and La Tribuna Chapter 4 83 Purity and Impersonation in Fortunata y Jacinta Conclusion 112 Purity and Realism Works Cited 115 ii Acknowledgements Within the value system that governs Academia, our worth as scholars is weighted more often than not towards individual achievement. The acknowledgement section is one of these rare spaces, however limited, in which we can recognize the relationships that make scholarship possible. I have many people to thank for helping me grow as a scholar, as a teacher and as a person. First and foremost, I must thank my dissertation advisor, Michael Iarocci, whose invaluable wisdom, support, and guidance have been fundamental to development of the dissertation. None of this would have been possible without him. I thank Dru Dougherty, who from day one has shown unwavering enthusiasm for my intellectual pursuits and has, in turn, renewed my dedication to my own students. Emilie L. Bergmann’s intellectual acuity, warmth, and generosity helped me cultivate agility and sensitivity as a scholar, and for this I am grateful. I feel lucky to have worked with Minoo Moallem who, without hesitation, joined my committee after the project was already underway. Her dissertation seminar pushed me to think beyond my comfort zone and sparked my commitment to feminist methodologies. In addition to my dissertation committee, Margaret Chowning, who guided me through my exams, prompted me to think like an historian in ways that have been fruitful for my research. At UC Berkeley I feel fortunate to have been surrounded by so many amazing scholars and friends, who, each in their own way, have contributed to my intellectual and personal journey. Juana María Rodríguez has been an invaluable presence throughout my graduate career, guiding me through everything from teaching, to writing, to professional development. Most of all, it was her daring as a scholar and contagious enthusiasm that helped me embrace a more authentic version of myself. I would like to recognize Laura García Moreno who, while she may not be aware of it, reaffirmed my commitment to the Academy through her dedication, passion and warmth in the classroom. I thank the students at Cal for inspiring me and always keeping my on my toes. Beth Piatote and the members of her creative writing seminar – Wanda Alarcon, Erica Boas, Javier O. Huerta, Monica Bland, Ashley Brock, Funie Hsu, Margaret Rhee and Julie Thi Underhill – were a saving grace in the early stages of the dissertation. They reignited my pleasure for writing at a time when I was too afraid to pick up the pen. I am also grateful to those professors and colleagues who have read many parts of this dissertation in its most inchoate form, including Natalia Brizuela and Rosa Medina, as well as the members of the DEWGS dissertation seminar, the Spanish & Portuguese dissertation seminar, and the “Sex and the State” working group. I am also thankful for my “goals group” – Ashley Brock, Krista Brune, and Julie Ward— as well as Laure Conklin Kamp for keeping me on track in the final stages of writing. And, finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to those friends who have been an invaluable support throughout graduate school. To Mayra Bottaro, Dan Nemser, Julie Ward, and Selene Zander, who in addition to reading more than their fair share of the dissertation, never failed to give me moral support when I needed it the most. To Manuel Cuellar, for his kindness and solidarity as a friend, fellow scholar of gender, dance partner, and co-conspirator. To Ricardo Lopez, Ivett Malagamba, Rob Medina, and Joseph Mudikuneil, whose sense of humor filled my days at Berkeley with laughter, hilarity, and joy. I owe much gratitude to friends and colleagues outside of UC Berkeley. At Loyola Marymount University, I thank my mentors Alicia Partnoy and José Ignacio Badenes. Without their early mentorship, I may have never pursued a career in the Humanities. I thank my Spanish iii host, María Herrera Agustina (aka Magú) for opening up the world of Madrid to me and for imparting lessons of feminism and familial love. I am grateful for my students at San Quentin State Prison and the folks at the Prison University Project for giving me the most invaluable classroom experience a teacher could have. I feel fortunate to have spent the last two years of the PhD in Ithaca, New York, where, as an “orphaned” graduate student, I found the warmth and support of a new group of colleagues and friends. Special thanks go to Vivian Choi, Elisha Cohn, Anna Fisher, Katherine Bygrave Howe, Louis Hyman, Amanda Goldstein, Antoine Traisnel, Annie McClanahan, Tom Mcenany, and Jennie Rowe. Of course, I am indebted to my parents –Young Soo Chang, Young Shin Park, and Moon Kim – who, while never quite convinced by what I have been up to all these years, couldn’t be more proud. I thank my sister, Debbie Chang, for teaching me to explore my creative impulses at a young age. Finally, I would also like to thank my parents-in-law, Ellen David-Friedman and Stuart Friedman, whose love, selflessness, and generosity have been immeasurable, recent additions to my life. Last, but certainly not least, I thank my husband, Eli Friedman, with whom I have shared nearly all of the pains and joys of graduate school. Through our mutual love and commitment and with his unfaltering belief in my abilities, I have been able to discover the great pleasures of becoming a scholar, activist, and companion. I dedicate this dissertation to him. 1 Introduction La gama que se extiende desde lo limpio a lo que no está limpio absolutamente discurre sobre interpretaciones de muy diferentes géneros y calificaciones polisémicas. Especialmente, la mujer, la mujer limpia, ha venido siendo, incluso biológicamente, la guía fundamental para establecer el estado de la limpieza. The gamut that extends from that which is clean to that which is unclean absolutely includes interpretations of very different genres and polysemic grades. In particular, woman, the clean woman, has become, even biologically, the fundamental guide for establishing the state of cleanliness. -- Vicente Verdú “La limpieza de las mujeres” (The cleanliness of women) El País 10 Nov 2010 To examine the discourse of purity is to question the naturalized ordering of society that renders certain entities inherently pure and others impure. Both material and symbolic manifestations of impurity, as anthropologist Mary Douglas argues, are inherently linked to concepts of danger since they threaten to corrupt states of purity and therefore order.