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Latino/A Reception of Greek Tragic Myth: Healing (And) Radical Politics

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Latino/A Reception of Greek Tragic Myth: Healing (And) Radical Politics Latino/a Reception of Greek Tragic Myth: Healing (and) Radical Politics By Aikaterini Delikonstantinidou A Dissertation submitted to the Department of American Literature and Culture, School of English, Faculty of Philosophy of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Aristotle University of Thessaloniki May 2018 Latino/a Reception of Greek Tragic Myth: Healing (and) Radical Politics By Aikaterini Delikonstantinidou Has been approved May 2018 APPROVED 1. Savas Patsalidis 2. Yiorgos Kalogeras 3. Yiorgos Anagnostou Supervisory Committee ACCEPTED To Nitsa (1951-2016) Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………………………i ABSTRACT………………………………………….………………………………….iv PROLEGOMENA: MESTIZA MYTHOPOESIS....…………………….........................…...1 I. IN LIEU OF A PREFACE………………………………………….1 II. FROM PRE-COLONIAL MYTHS TO POST-COLONIAL MITOS AND BEYOND…………………………………...……………………4 III. THE GREEK MYTHOS OF NEW MITOS…………………………..15 IV. LATINO/A MYTHOPLAYS AND THE TRAGIC: TOWARDS HEALING (AND) A RADICAL POLITICS…………………………………...31 V. SETTING DOWN METHODOLOGICAL CAVEATS………………..38 VI. OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTERS………………………………...43 CHAPTER 1: THE TRAGIC MODE: MODUS POLITICA, MODUS VIVENDI………….....48 I. INTRODUCTION TO THE TRAGIC……………………………….48 II. BUILDING ON THE TRAGIC OPUS……………………………...50 III. THE TRAGIC AND THE POLITICAL……………………………..67 IV. THE TRAGIC AND THE THERAPEUTIC………………………….82 V. IN LIEU OF A CONCLUSION……………………………………92 PART ONE: MEDEAS MESTIZAS………………………………………………...……96 I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS………………………………………97 II. THE TRAGIC MYTH OF MEDEA………………………………..98 III. TOWARD MEDEA’S LATINO/A-IZATION……………………...111 CHAPTER 2: LA MALINCHE……………………………………................................116 I. SETTING THE STAGE FOR LA MALINCHE AS MEDEA…………116 II. LA MALINCHE: MEDEA AS AN AZTEC VIGILANTE……………120 III. UNCOVERING/RECOVERING FROM THE COLONIAL WOUND…134 CHAPTER 3: THE HUNGRY WOMAN: A MEXICAN MEDEA…………………...……..142 I. SETTING THE STAGE FOR MEDEA AS A HUNGRY MEXICAN WOMAN……………………………………………………..142 II. THE HUNGRY WOMAN: MEDEA AS A MEXICAN “HUERFANA ABANDONADA”…………………………………………….....147 III. ACTS OF BIRTHING/ACTS OF KILLING AS ACTS OF HEALING..167 CHAPTER 4: MOJADA……………………………………………………………….173 I. SETTING THE STAGE FOR MEDEA AS A MEXICAN “WETBACK”…………………………………………………173 II. MOJADA: MEDEA AS A TRAUMATIZED “EL GUACO”……........178 III. MOJADA AS SOCIAL THEATRE AND AS THERAPY…………….201 PART TWO: MESTIZO OEDIPUS…………………………………………..………...208 I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS…………………………………….209 II. THE TRAGIC MYTH OF OEDIPUS……………………………..211 CHAPTER 5: OEDIPUS EL REY………………………………………………………238 I. SETTING THE STAGE FOR OEDIPUS AS EL REY OF EAST L.A…238 II. OEDIPUS: OEDIPUS AS A “DESTINED. / TO BE. / DESTINED. .” HOMEBOY…………………………………………………...244 III. OEDIPUS EL REY AS SOCIAL THEATRE AND AS THERAPY…….302 PART THREE: TRAGIC DAUGHTERS I: MESTIZA ELECTRA……………………,….312 I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS…………………………………….313 II. THE TRAGIC MYTH OF ELECTRA……..……………………...314 CHAPTER 6: ELECTRICIDAD………………………………………………………...330 I. SETTING THE STAGE FOR ELECTRA AS AN EL BARRIO CHOLA..330 II. ELECTRICIDAD: ELECTRA AS A BARRIO-BOUND “OLD SCHOOL CHOLA” ……………………………………………………..338 III. ELECTRICIDAD AS SOCIAL THEATRE AND AS THERAPY………369 PART FOUR: TRAGIC DAUGHTERS II: MESTIZA IPHIGENIA…………………….…382 I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS……………………………………..382 II. THE TRAGIC MYTH OF IPHIGENIA...…..……………………...385 CHAPTER 7: IPHIGENIA CRASH LAND FALLS ON THE NEON SHELL THAT WAS ONCE HER HEART: A “RAVE” FABLE………………...…………………………………...400 I. SETTING THE STAGE FOR IPHIGENIA AS A RAVE CELEBRITY...400 II. IPHIGENIA CRASH: IPHIGENIA AS AN OLD VICTIM FOR A NEW- BUT-NOT-THAT-DIFFERENT AGE…………………………...410 III. HEALING AND THE POLITICS OF LOVE……………………….438 EPILEGOMENA……………………………………………………………………...447 WORKS CITED………………………………………………………………………469 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE…………………………………………………………..515 Delikonstantinidou i Acknowledgments It has been five years since I embarked on a journey of reflections, affections, thought and word experiments through the (border)lands of U.S. Latino/a reception of the Greek tragic myth. Looking back now, I realize that I cannot tell for sure what it was exactly that initially lured me into the multiple folds of this rich cultural and theatrical drapery. Was it the place of myth therein? The very process of syncrisis at play? The tragic itself, etched on every bit of the folds? Whatever it was, it left indelible marks on the way I am in the world, in the way I perceive and act in it. The end of this part of the journey finds me a significantly changed person. I vividly remember the first time I read Moraga’s The Hungry Woman. I sensed something so intimate yet so strange in it—mine, Greek, and inexorably alien, fierce but oddly comforting—that I felt compelled to search and search until I would be able to pin it down. I never did, not really, even if, one after the other, the revisions included here kept intensifying the sort of response that Moraga’s mythoplay initially elicited. I may never do. Yet, the search for that elusive “something” was so extremely satisfying in itself that it made the doctoral research that issued from it and the development of the present study a thoroughly pleasurable process. The source of the most important rewards out of the many that I reaped in the course of this process is my Teacher and supervisor, Professor Savas Patsalidis, whose mentorship is only matched by the vastness of his knowledge and understanding of the theatre. I owe all of this to him. His passion and enthusiasm were contagious. His guidance, calmness, the solid and stable intellectual and affective ground he provided to me throughout made this project possible. No one and nothing can be lost when he is around. I am blessed to have shared this journey with him. Delikonstantinidou ii As if that blessing was not enough, I had the honor and delight of also collaborating with Professor Yiorgos Kalogeras, a beacon of wisdom, optimism, and serenity for me throughout the years. Professor Kalogeras is a true Teacher whose sagacious mind and generous heart serve as a source of inspiration and hope for all of his students, younger and older, official and unofficial. He is the one who introduced me to the fascinating field of ethnic studies, as well as the one who taught me how to navigate through it. I will be forever grateful to him for that. Yet, I am also grateful to Professor Kalogeras for introducing me to Professor Yiorgos Anagnostou who, a bit later, did me the honor of joining my supervising committee. The moral support Professor Anagnostou has granted me, as well as his advice and assistance have been invaluable. His intimate knowledge of the cultural workings in the U.S. and his relevant commentary have opened my eyes to nuances and possibilities I would have hardly imagined if it had not been for him. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Zoi Detsi, who has offered me treasured advice and words of encouragement over the last few years, and whose trust has made me a better person, as well as to Professors Tatiani Rapatzikou and Katerina Kitsi for their guidance and for the kindness they have showed me. I should not fail to thank the artists whose work this study includes, Caridad Svich, Carlos Morton, Cherríe Moraga, and Luis Alfaro, for the interest they have expressed in this project and for their willingness to contribute to it despite their tight schedule. Special thanks extends also to all the Latino/a scholars and activists whom I have contacted during my research, including Jorge Huerta, Diane Rodriguez, Alicia Arrizón, Father Gregory J. Boyle, and Luis Rodriguez, and who, despite their many obligations, have supplied useful input to it. Delikonstantinidou iii I owe the most sincere gratitude to the Research Committee of Aristotle University for the Academic Excellence Scholarship they awarded me (2015-16), to the Hellenic Foundation of Research and Innovation (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) for offering me a Doctoral Scholarship a year later, and to the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY) who has also honored me with a doctoral scholarship and provided me with considerable financial support (2017-18). Their contribution to this project has been great and highly appreciated. In this period of economic and humanitarian crisis, the mere fact of investing in me, an Arts and Humanities student, is a win for our domain. A heartfelt thanks goes to Christos Arvanitis for his unconditional help, thoughtfulness, and encouragement, as well as to Tasos, Eirini, Dafni, Kleoniki, and Foteini. Their presence has brightened my way. I need to also thank the European Association for American Studies (EAAS) and its Greek branch, HELAAS, as well as the European Society for the Study of English (ESSE) and its Greek branch, HASE, for the book, conference, and travel grants they have offered me during my doctoral years. Additionally, I want to express my gratitude to the University of Oxford and its extraordinary Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama (APGRD) for hosting a research visit of outmost importance to my doctoral research. The APGRD Director, Fiona Macintosh, and Archivist, Claire Kenward, have been more than helpful and made my visit memorable as well as profitable. All of this would mean very little if it were not for my family and friends. Their genuine love, unwavering faith, and hard-won wisdom make everything possible. They also make everything joyful and worth the effort. Thank you for seeing the best in me and for making me want to become the best version of myself. Thank you for carrying my home with you at all times. This journey has been a pleasure because of you. Delikonstantinidou iv Abstract Commendable and, in many cases, quite successful attempts have been made, in the last few decades, in the U.S. and elsewhere, to counter the devalorization and systematic exclusion of Latino/a theatre by the hegemonic canon, and to promote the work of representative playwrights, performers, and other theatre practitioners. However, the role and function of the Greek tragic myth, as a rich corpus of widely known yet contested material, for Latino/a theatre and for the communities this theatre engages and addresses have drawn little critical interest.
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