University of Alberta The (Pro)Creators of Culture: Women Artists as Daughters and Mothers in Brazilian and Canadian Fiction by Lidiane Luiza da Cunha A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature ©Lidiane Luiza da Cunha Fall 2012 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. ii Dedication To all mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers, whose joy for life, creative aspirations, and ability to overcome their hardships have inspired the genesis of this work and showed me how empowering female existence can be. To all women whose silence and absence have also taught me how much we still need to advocate for the greater respect of mothers in society. iii Abstract This dissertation examines the female artist fiction produced between the 1960s and the 1990s in Brazil and Canada to show how women artists, particularly mothers, have challenged the economic, political, religious, and social constrains that prevented their predecessors from succeeding as artists. Although Brazilian and Canadian women writers celebrate women’s increasing participation in the arts in the second half of the twentieth century, I argue that they question any simplistic resolutions to the conflict that women still perceived in their private and personal lives during that period. A woman’s ability to combine her female and artistic identities depends on the maternal and artistic roles she inherits from her female ancestors and the discourses of motherhood and art that society imposes on her during the time she pursues a career. Specific cultural patterns in Brazil and Canada also influence these two factors. Brazilian and Canadian women have conveyed particular discourses of femininity and female art across generations while their societies and artistic communities have produced unique responses to women’s identities and cultural productions. As I will show, these two developments affect the images of woman/mother and artist that Brazilian and Canadian writers create in their texts, leading their protagonists to overcome the conflicts between art and life in strikingly different ways. iv Acknowledgement To my dear father and sister, José and Aline, for your unconditional support and for understanding my choices. Despite our geographical distance, both of you will always play a significant role in my life and work. To my husband, Peter, for your love, friendship, and guidance. Our dialogues about the role of mothers in society have inspired many reflections in this dissertation. To my supervisor, Albert Braz, for your insightful comments and constructive criticism. Your mentorship and dedication have contributed not only to the existence of this work but also my learning experience as a writer. To the members of my supervisory and examining committees. Special thanks to Patricia Demers, who provided thoughtful advice to develop this dissertation. To Russell Cobb, Nora Stovel, and Earl Fitz, for making this a better work. To Odile Cisneros, who assisted me in the early stages of my project. To my old friends from home, who supported me in different ways and moments. Special thanks to Laura, Mylene, and Rodrigo. To my new friends in Canada, especially David, Danielle, and Evelyn, who encouraged me to keep going, shared valuable dialogues about life, offered professional advice, and/or helped me to develop my writing. v Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................1 Parallels and Dialogues: Brazilian and Canadian Female Writing..........................3 Different Perceptions of Female and Artistic Roles................................................9 The Woman and the Artist in Female Writing and Feminist Thought..................13 Chapter 1. In Search of a Creative Room of Her Own: The Space of Female Art in the Nineteenth Century ............................................................................18 “Much Ado about Nothing”: The First Battles of Female Intellectuals and Artists.....................................................................................................................21 “Soaring above Tradition and Prejudice”: The Romantic Woman Artist..............30 A Transition to New Challenges............................................................................48 Chapter 2. Beyond the Woman Artist’s Conflict? Twentieth-Century Feminist Discourse ...............................................................................................52 Socially Engaged Artists: Women and Mothers in Artistic Production................56 Mother Trouble: Transgressing Femininity and Motherhood in Feminism..........65 “We Want Courageous Mothering”: The Maternal as Power in Feminism..........78 Mothers as Artists and Artists as Mothers in Female Writing...............................95 Chapter 3. Lives of Mothers and Daughters in Brazil and Canada: Female Art and Femininity across Generations ...........................................................105 vi Silenced and Missing Mothers: Oppressive Models in Brazilian Artist Novels..................................................................................................................107 Inspiring and Creative Mothers: Pre-Feminist Models in Canadian Artist Fiction..................................................................................................................127 Atypical and Transitional Motherhood in Brazil and Canada.............................155 Mothers and Artistic Daughters: Continuity and Disruptions.............................166 Chapter 4. Procreators and Creators: Combining Motherhood and Art beyond Binaries ..................................................................................................170 New Representations of Motherhood in Brazil and Canada: Discouraged and Empowered Mothers............................................................................................174 Mothers’ Search for Artistic Recognition: From Criminal/Egoistical to Confident Constructors of a Heritage...................................................................................205 Brazilian Mother/Artists and Canadian Mother-Artists.......................................243 Conclusion. Weaving Women’s Valuable Traditions and Empowering Positions: Future Challenges .............................................................................247 Works Cited ........................................................................................................254 1 Introduction In the second half of the twentieth century, Brazilian and Canadian women writers produced many novels and short fiction collections centred on the lives of daughters or mothers pursuing careers as musicians, writers, or painters. Gabrielle Roy, Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Carol Shields, Clarice Lispector, Rachel de Queiroz, Lygia Fagundes Telles, Lya Luft, Patricia Bins, and Helena Parente Cunha are but a few examples of women writers who contributed to the tradition of the Künstlerroman , an extended literary form developed in the eighteenth century. By creating a woman artist in their works, Brazilian and Canadian female writers celebrated their generation’s participation in the production of their cultures, especially in comparison to their predecessors. Nevertheless, women writers in both literary traditions also challenged their generation’s ability to make choices and find easy resolutions to the conflict between being a woman and being an artist, roles that often have been defined as incompatible. Although women artists’ personal motivation helps them to develop their potential in their private and public spheres and find harmony between them, external factors also support or restrict their ability to do so. In their novels and short fiction, Brazilian and Canadian women show that the discourses of femininity and the ideas of female artistic identity affect how their protagonists perceive the relationship between art and life. Their central characters are exposed to external constructions of woman and artist in two ways: through their female predecessors’ behaviours and attitudes when the central characters are children 2 and through other characters’ views, opinions, and judgements when the protagonists become mothers. The protagonists of the novels express their desires and needs to challenge confining views about their roles as daughters, housewives, mothers, and women artists, but significant external factors limit or enhance their ability to challenge those cultural and societal expectations. The female and artistic roles that their mothers, grandmothers, and other female predecessors play are passed on to the central characters when they are young, influencing their perceptions