DOMINICANAS UNBOUND: RELIGION, CULTURE AND POLITICS IN DOMINICAN AND DOMINICAN AMERICAN WOMEN’S LITERATURE A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish By Maisha Mitchell, M.A. Washington, DC April 14, 2014 Copyright 2014 by Maisha Mitchell All Rights Reserved ii DOMINICANAS UNBOUND: RELIGION, CULTURE AND POLITICS IN DOMINICAN AND DOMINICAN AMERICAN WOMEN’S LITERATURE Maisha Mitchell, M.A. Thesis Advisor: Tania Gentic, Ph.D ABSTRACT What is the connection between contemporary Dominican literature and Louis Althusser’s theories about how the ruling classes are able to maintain power? I conclude that there is a sector of Dominican literature that gives an inside look at how groups that have traditionally been classified as marginalized, specifically women, the poor and Afro-descendants have survived within specific hegemonies since the early twentieth century on the island and in the U.S. Angie Cruz, Nelly Rosario, Maritza Loida Pérez, Julia Álvarez Marta Rivera and Marisela Rizik are Dominican and Dominican American women whose novels illustrate the daily struggles of those who do not belong to the mainstream, yet make a space for themselves in which to live despite the challenges they face in their respective eras and countries. I examine these challenges in the context of two of Althusser’s best known theories, those of ideological state apparatuses or ISAs (such as religion, education, family, law, politics, culture, the media and the economy) and repressive state apparatuses or RSAs (such as the government, military, police, courts and prisons). I utilize three main ideologies through which to analyze the literature discussed in this work: religion, culture and dictatorship, or two ISAs and one RSA. With regards to religion I argue that the novels, Soledad, El tiempo del olvido, Geographies of Home and iii In the Time of the Butterflies illustrate the marginalized’s ability to use their faith systems to attempt to avoid being oppressed by the dominant society whose religious system does not offer them relief. I then propose that Soledad, Song of the Water Saints, and He olvidado tu nombre show how subaltern subjects are affected by the culture of the ruling classes, specifically how it often causes the subaltern subject to find itself caught between its own cultural norms and those of mainstream society producing a hybrid identity or a completely new one that is forced to assimilate. Lastly, I explore the effects of the Trujillo regime upon those who opposed it in In the Time of the Butterflies, Let it Rain Coffee and El tiempo del olvido by discussing how the novels’ characters represent Antonio Gramsci’s organic and traditional intellectuals coming together to effect political change in the Dominican Republic. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to give all thanks, honor, and glory to the One whom they are due, Yeshua Ha Mashiach, Jesus the Christ who is my redeemer. This work would never have been possible without the help He imparted daily to me through the Ruach Ha Kodesh. To Mommy and Aunty: Words cannot begin to express my gratitude for the many years of support you have given me so that the completion of this work, my 20 year old dream could come true. To Daddy: Thank you for being there for me in spirit. To Marco Antonio Castro: You have been one of my greatest blessings in this life. You are my rock and are everything I could have ever wanted in a brother. A Señora Teresa Castro: Le agredezco por el regalo de Marco y por siendo la colombiana más sabia que he conocido. También le quisiera agradecer por la guitarra que me dio que la música que toco me sigue aliviando. To Tiffany Washington: Thank you for believing that I could complete this work from the very beginning. Your encouragement is an invaluable part of my life. To Sara Aponte: Thank you for welcoming me to the Dominican Studies Institute and for your encouragement. v To Dra. Tania Gentic: Many thanks for all your patience and guidance while I sojourned through the wilderness of thesis writing! To Dra. Gwen Kirkpatrick: You are everything I wish to be as a professor. Thank you for being my model of professionalism, excellence and kindness. Para Dra. Patricia Vieira: Obrigada por ser o meu portão ao mundo lusofónico e pondo- me no caminho de conhecimento nesta área de estudo. To Dr. Juan Carlos Quintero Herencia: Thank you for making sure that what I contribute to the field of Hispanic Caribbean letters edifies future scholars. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: From Colony to Tyranny to Freedom: A Look at Dominicans(’) Past and Present…………………………………………………..………………………….…..1 A Silent Minority? : Afrosyncretic belief systems in the Dominican Republic….5 Be an individual…like everyone else……………………………………………15 Might, White and Right………………………………………………………….21 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….37 Chapter 1: Powerful Priestesses.....…………………..……………………….…..40 Olivorio Mateo……………………………………………………….…………..41 Do you remember the time? ...…………………………………………………..44 Trujillo’s dream, the Dominican nightmare……………………………………..48 As I Lie Dreaming……………………………………………………………….54 A map for the soul……………………………………………………………….64 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….73 Chapter 2: Domination and Desire………………..……………………………….75 This “Class” That is Not One……………………………………………….…...76 In Pursuit of Happiness………………………………………………….….…....92 La otra yo y la verdad…………………………………….……………….........107 Conclusion………………………………………………………….……….….116 Chapter 3: The Pen and the Sword ……………………………………………….118 A Bourgeoise Proletariat? .................................................................................. 121 Our Land, Ourselves…………………………………………………… …….. 130 vii Roots Remembered, Freedom Regained............................................................146 Conclusion……………………………………………………………....……..157 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...…… ..159 Appendix Notes……………………………………………………………………… .178 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………….……...186 viii Introduction From Colony to Tyranny to Freedom: A Look at Dominicans(’) Past and Present Dominican and Dominican American women’s literature is a rich but little studied area, one that deserves recognition because it prompts discussions about religion, society and military power among other topics. The trajectory of this work will address these three areas in particular and their connection to contemporary works produced by Dominican women on the island as well as Dominican American women in the United States. While these two groups of women occupy different physical spaces, oftentimes they have common sociocultural experiences because they share common roots. This is not only because Dominican transnationals in the States bring with them their histories and cultures from the island, but also because the United States has played such a significant and continued role in Dominican history since 1913. Thus, the study of contemporary Dominican literature demands an understanding of Dominican and United States’s history in order to gain a fruitful analysis of the works produced by these authors. The connection between the two nations will be discussed later on in this chapter. It is my intention to continue the dialogue about contemporary Dominican literature in the same vein as Nestor Rodríguez’s Divergent Dictions: Contemporary Dominican Literature. Rodríguez suggests that much of the Dominican literary tradition has lain in the hands of a favored few, an elite group of Dominicans who have had access to university education on the island, in Europe and in the United States and that recently a new generation has appeared comprised of young authors, products of a post-Trujillo Dominican Republic, and at times a hybrid nationality. This group of young authors often relates stories that give readers an inside look at the more marginalized groups in society, that is, the Afro- 1 Dominicans, Dominican women as well as middle class Dominicans with working class roots. It is these new voices that offer new directions for Dominican literature in the future and will hopefully begin to carve out a space within Spanish as well as Latino literature. While Rodríguez offers insightful analyses of contemporary stars of the field such as Junot Díaz, Rita Indiana Hernández, Josefina Báez and Manuel Rueda, I hope to continue to contribute to the discussion by focusing on Marisela Rizik’s El tiempo del olvido, Angie Cruz’s Soledad and Let it Rain Coffee, Loida Marita Pérez’ss Geographies of Home, Nellie Rosario’s Song of the Water Saints, Marta Rivera’s He olvidado tu nombre, and Julia Álvarez’ss In the Time of the Butterflies. While all of these novels deal with religion, mass media and military power in their own ways, they also by virtue of focusing on Dominican life introduce the questions of race and class, which will also be addressed later in this chapter. These topics are commonly found throughout modern literatures; however, it is my opinion that the representations of power systems and how the people who live within them are able to navigate them, offer a look at the subaltern that may be completely unknown to the members of the mainstream. This is not to say that Spivak’s subaltern is allowed to represent itself as itself per se, but that those with subaltern roots are now creating works that introduce the subaltern to audiences to whom they may not have previously been at all visible.1 Since this work deals primarily