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Becoming Woman in the Land of Women: Investigating the Paradigm of the Individual versus the Collective in Contemporary Feminist Utopianism Rosalee Ross PhD Comparative Literature The University of Edinburgh 2020 Abstract Studies in feminist utopianism have demonstrated how this literary current provides fertile ground for critiquing masculine hegemonies and imagining new ways of being. A central aspect of recent feminist debates, which has not yet been explored in this context, however, is the issue of how to build alliances between women, when notions of a shared female identity have been challenged in the poststructuralist era. Yet, given its concern with community and collectivism, utopia is a productive space for investigating literary visions of female solidarity. To shed light on this cross-section between utopia and feminism, this thesis investigates how three speculative texts represent the group, the individual, and the ties that bind them together. The novels, selected for their focus on female bonds, are: Moi qui n’ai pas connu les hommes (1995) by Belgian writer Jacqueline Harpman, El país de las mujeres (2010) by Nicaraguan author Gioconda Belli, and The Power (2016) by Naomi Alderman from the UK. The texts were approached through a critical linguistic framework of narrative point of view, which considers perspective along three planes: ideological, psychological and spatiotemporal. From this detailed analysis, the first of its kind applied to such texts, it was found that the novels, despite differences in political stance and utopian mode, all depict small groups of women in a positive light. Here, the local collective provides a source of support and mutual recognition for the individual, substantiating a move away from the conformist or homogenising groups associated with the canonical genre. Moreover, groups of women tended to be allied through an imposed or self-ascribed shared identity, with the novels oscillating between performative and biologist understandings of gender. These representations were read as pragmatically balancing dominant and oppositional discourses, to deliver a critique of gendered hierarchies within their particular contexts. Overall, this thesis contributes across three fields of research by developing the critical linguistic model, adding a cross-cultural dimension to research in the genre, and building on understandings of utopian collectivism. i Lay Summary Research has shown how literary utopias (be they dystopian nightmares, idealised societies or a mix of both) have been used by women authors to highlight sexism and restrictive gender roles, as well as to suggest new possibilities for social transformation. A key feminist debate, which so far has not been studied in depth in these kinds of novels, is identity politics. The benefits and pitfalls of identity politics (that is, whether to rally behind a vision of ‘woman’ or not) have been subject to much academic discussion over the last 50 years. Some theorists champion the political need for a shared subject position; others have underlined the dangers of promoting a universal idea of femininity. Identity politics is also relevant to utopian writing, given that utopias often focus on how an individual relates to a group or society. For example, a character’s identity may be suppressed by the collective, or social cohesion may be achieved by adherence to a common identity. To explore the theme of feminist identity politics in the utopian genre, this thesis studies three contemporary speculative novels by women authors. The aim is to discover how these texts represent the collective, the individual and the relationship between them. The novels, selected for their focus on groups of women, are: Moi qui n’ai pas connu les hommes (1995) by Belgian writer Jacqueline Harpman, El país de las mujeres (2010) by Nicaraguan author Gioconda Belli, and The Power (2016) by Naomi Alderman from the UK. These texts were analysed using a linguistic framework of narrative point of view. It was found that they all depict small groups of women in a positive light, although they differed in the extent to which they affirmed or contested a shared female identity. These female collectives were represented as an important source of support and validation for their members, regardless of the type of utopian world (dystopian or idealised) they were set against. This thesis contextualises these findings against contemporary feminist debates on identity and collective action, as well as trends in literary utopianism. Overall, this study adds a cross-cultural dimension to research in the genre, and develops understandings of collectivism in feminist utopian fiction. ii Acknowledgements To Fiona, Susie and Carole, your knowledge and insight have been invaluable in helping to guide this work. Thank you for the time and care you have taken to read and comment in detail on each section. In a system which overfills your days with research, teaching, outreach and admin, the effort and hours you have spent on my project are no small thing, and are greatly appreciated. Thank you as well for the encouragement, reassurances and advice which have always arrived at the right time, keeping my spirits up and my forward momentum going. I am grateful to the University of Edinburgh for the College Research Award which covered my tuition fees, and to The Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust, The Edinburgh Association of University Women President’s Fund, and the John Orr Research Award for the supplementary funding which made it possible for me to carry out this research. Thanks is also due to the team at Edinburgh World Heritage for their flexibility and support. Working with you enabled me to undertake a PhD, as well as build new skills and broaden my horizons. I could not have spent those years with a better group of colleagues - thanks pals. To my friends and family, especially my mum, Laura Watson, thank you for your encouragement and unconditional support. You see me as whole and valuable regardless my academic work, and for that I am so grateful. And to Al, who has been by my side throughout this whole process, thank you for your unwavering belief in me, for reassuring me, and for letting me garble at you about my research in its early days, hopefully becoming more coherent as the time has gone on. You have helped me to keep perspective, to develop my critical thought, to aim high. Thank you. This thesis is dedicated to Ashley Watson, who couldn’t be here to see it finished but knew it would be. Thank you for all your wise words which have stayed with me through the writing process, and will always. iii Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………… i Lay Summary …………………………………………………………… ii Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………… iii Contents …………………………………………………………………… iv List of Figures …………………………………………………………… vii Introduction …………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter One. Definitions, Theories, Debates …………………………… 14 1.1 Utopia: An Evolving Concept …………………………………… 14 1.1.1 Utopia: A Short History …………………………………… 14 1.1.2 Transgressing Binaries: Postmodern Feminist Utopias …………… 20 1.1.3 Latin American Utopianism …………………………………… 28 1.1.4 A New Angle of Approach …………………………………… 30 1.1.5 Conclusion …………………………………… 32 1.2 Negotiating Differences: Feminisms, Identity and Collective Action 33 1.2.1 Setting the Scene …………………………………………………… 34 1.2.1.1 The Nicaraguan Women’s Movement …………………… 34 1.2.1.2 Feminism in the United Kingdom …………………… 39 1.2.1.3 Francophone Belgian Feminist Context …………………… 42 1.2.2 Key Debates …………………………………………………… 45 1.2.2.1 Sexual Difference and Individual Identity …………………… 45 1.2.2.1.1 Difference Feminisms …………………… 45 1.2.2.1.2 Social Constructivist Split between Sex and Gender …… 51 1.2.2.1.3 Sexual Difference Deconstructed …………………… 54 1.2.2.2 Differences between Women and Collective Identity …… 59 1.2.3 Conclusion …………………………………………………… 71 1.3 Critical Linguistic Approach to Narrative Point of View …… 72 1.3.1 Narratology and Point of View …………………………………… 73 1.3.2 Stylistics …………………………………………………… 77 iv 1.3.2.1 Feminist Stylistics …………………………………… 78 1.3.2.2 Stylistics and Narrative Viewpoint …………………… 80 1.3.3 Systemic Functional Grammar …………………………………… 82 1.3.4 Critical Linguistic Approach to Point of View …………………… 90 1.3.4.1 Spatiotemporal Point of View …………………………………… 90 1.3.4.2 Psychological Point of View …………………………………… 93 1.3.4.3 Ideological Point of View …………………………………… 99 1.3.4.4 Application …………………………………… 106 1.3.5 Theoretical Considerations …………………………………… 107 1.3.5.1 Across Languages …………………………………… 107 1.3.5.2 Communicative Situation …………………………………… 108 1.3.6 Conclusion …………………………………………………………… 111 Chapter Two. El país de las mujeres: Eutopian Femininity …………… 113 2.1 Background: The Author, the Novel and its Criticism …………… 114 2.2 Analysis …………………………………………………………… 122 2.2.1 Mujer/Woman …………………………………………… 122 2.2.1.1 Psychological Point of View …………………… 122 2.2.1.2 Ideological Point of View …………………… 131 2.2.1.2.1 Universal Difference …………………… 132 2.2.1.2.2 Commodified Femininity …………………… 147 2.2.1.2.3 Deconstructed Dichotomy? …………………… 151 2.2.2 Mujeres/Women …………………………………………… 153 2.3 Discussion …………………………………………………………… 165 2.3.1 Feminisms …………………………………………… 165 2.3.2 Genre …………………………………………… 178 2.4 Conclusion …………………………………………………………… 186 Chapter Three.