Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2005 The Spaces of a Free Spirit: Manuela Sáenz in Literature and Film Heather R. Hennes Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE SPACES OF A FREE SPIRIT: MANUELA SÁENZ IN LITERATURE AND FILM By HEATHER R. HENNES A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2005 The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Heather R. Hennes defended on June 14, 2005. Santa Arias Professor Directing Dissertation Barney Warf Outside Committee Member Brenda Cappuccio Committee Member Roberto Fernández Committee Member Approved: Peggy Sharpe Chairperson, Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii To Leo and Sara Hennes, who have made great sacrifices for my education. Thank you for your support, Mom and Dad. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS While writing this dissertation has meant endless hours alone with the computer, it is the culmination of years of graduate studies made possible thanks to the intellectual, emotional, and financial support of others. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have supported me in my graduate studies at Florida State and in the process of completing this manuscript. I am extremely grateful to the Pat Winthrop-King Foundation and to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics at Florida State University for the fellowship that has allowed me to dedicate myself more fully to my doctoral studies and research. I am also grateful to the many faculty members who have encouraged and guided me along the way and who provided feedback on this manuscript. Thank you to my dissertation committee: Prof. Roberto Fernández, who encouraged me to pursue a PhD in the first place; Prof. Brenda Cappuccio for her careful reading of the manuscript and enthusiasm about the project; and Prof. Barney Warf for his invaluable insight into theory, thoughtful and thought-provoking feedback at various stages of the project, and assistance with the final product. Thank you especially to Prof. Santa Arias for her constant support, enthusiasm, patience and faith, for her guidance at various stages of the project, and for encouraging me to explore new approaches to literary and cultural studies. I would also like to thank my academic family—my colleagues—at Florida State: Isabel Castro-Vazquez, for providing encouragement and advice from the “other side” of the dissertation process; Rosita Villagomez and Amrita Das, for being my online resources along the way (it helped to know I wasn’t alone in cyberspace!); Karina Carballo, for talking gender and women’s writings over our ritual tennis matches, and José Antonio González and León Chang- Shik for discussions about the dissertation process and about “space.” A very special thanks to David Portorreal, for opening me up to the world of film; for seeing me through five years of classes, comprehensive exams, and research; for putting his plans on hold so I could finish my PhD; and for making me promise to finish when I found myself at a crossroads. iv I am also blessed to have the unwavering support of family—both family by blood and family by choice. Thank you to my brothers Eric and Jason Hennes, for encouraging me when the chips were down, for keeping me supplied with the latest computer technology, and for helping resolve “life” matters so that I could continue writing. And to my beloved friend, study companion and Mac support system, Sue Trone: words cannot express how instrumental you have been in helping me keep my smile and “forward momentum” and embrace my own career. Thank you, too, to Javier González de Echávarri, for listening to me think out loud, challenging me to articulate my ideas, and nudging me every day to write, write, write. And, finally, to Leo and Sara Hennes, my parents: thank you for all the sacrifices you have made for my education, for instilling in me an appreciation for learning, and for being a constant source of love, encouragement and support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures.............................................................................................................................. viii Abstract............................................................................................................................................x INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 Manuela Sáenz Aizpuru: A Biographical Introduction..........................................................2 Overview of the Following Chapters .....................................................................................9 Resituating Sáenz in Official History...................................................................................14 1. GENDER, SPACE, AND MANUELA SÁENZ ......................................................................16 A Bibliographic Overview of Manuela Sáenz .....................................................................16 Gender and Space.................................................................................................................23 2. NINETEENTH-CENTURY PERSPECTIVES ON MANUELA SÁENZ ..............................31 Jean Baptiste Boussingault...................................................................................................33 The Beautiful Moustached Faced ...............................................................................34 Manuela Repositioned in Domestic Space .................................................................40 Eccentricity to the Point of Insanity ...........................................................................43 Ricardo Palma ......................................................................................................................47 “A Freak of Nature”....................................................................................................48 A Feminized Manuela.................................................................................................53 Simón Bolívar ......................................................................................................................57 Diana in the Garden of Odysseus ...............................................................................58 Negotiating the Terms of Gender Transgressions ......................................................59 Conclusions: Manuela Responds .........................................................................................66 3. ‘PATRIOTA Y AMANTE DE USTED’: MANUELA SÁENZ IN HER LETTERS AND DIARIES...................................................................................................................................69 Reclaiming Feminine Corporeality ......................................................................................71 Harbor and Refuge: Reclaiming Domestic and Marital Spaces...........................................75 Reclaiming and Transforming Domestic Space in Revolutionary Spanish America.78 Transgressions into Political and Military Spaces ...............................................................83 Sáenz Aspires to Military Mobilization......................................................................86 The Trojan Horse .................................................................................................................91 vi “Una Pobre Mujer [...] Amiga del Orden” ...........................................................................95 Conclusions: “What about Female Masculinity?” ...............................................................98 4. THE SPACES OF A FREE SPIRIT: DIEGO RÍSQUEZ’S MANUELA SÁENZ, LIBERTADORA DEL LIBERTADOR.....................................................................................102 Traditional Representations of Manuela Sáenz..................................................................103 “Una Guerrera Entera”: Resituating Sáenz into Official History.......................................106 A Body Dressed and Undressed.........................................................................................108 The Limits to Manuela’s Masculinization .........................................................................112 Transgendering Manuela through Costuming....................................................................116 From Voyeur to La Maja Desnuda ....................................................................................119 The Use of Editing to Convey Mobility.............................................................................121 “A Pioneer for Women’s Rights”.......................................................................................127 Exiled in Paita, Erased from History..................................................................................130 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................134 5. CONCLUSIONS.....................................................................................................................136 Limitations of the Present Study and Direction