University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 6-30-2016 Metafiction In Mourning: The Intersections Of Gender Performance And Postdictatorial Memory In Novels By Luisa Valenzuela, Clarice Lispector, And Diamela Eltit Jennifer L. Slobodian University of South Carolina Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Slobodian, J. L.(2016). Metafiction In Mourning: The Intersections Of Gender Performance And Postdictatorial Memory In Novels By Luisa Valenzuela, Clarice Lispector, And Diamela Eltit. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/3470 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. METAFICTION IN MOURNING: THE INTERSECTIONS OF GENDER PERFORMANCE AND POSTDICTATORIAL MEMORY IN NOVELS BY LUISA VALENZUELA, CLARICE LISPECTOR, AND DIAMELA ELTIT by Jennifer L. Slobodian Bachelor of Arts Westminster College, 2007 Master of Arts University of South Carolina, 2009 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2016 Accepted by: María Cristina C. Mabrey, Major Professor Isis Sadek, Committee Member Andrew C. Rajca, Committee Member Greg Forter, Committee Member Lacy Ford, Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies © Copyright by Jennifer L. Slobodian, 2016 All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION To my parents and grandparents, who always granted my wish to read it just one more time. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have received widespread and constant support during the at times daunting, at times thrilling task of writing a dissertation. First, I thank the Graduate School and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of South Carolina for awarding me the Summer Dissertation Fellowship and the Harriott Hampton Faucette Award, respectively. Both awards were integral to my ability to complete this project, and I am thankful to both of these institutions that continue to support graduate research. I owe this final product to the support and guidance of my committee and have learned important lessons from each member about literature, theory, and the drive of the academic mind. Dr. Mabrey has kept me on-track toward the main goal of finishing a dissertation. Her care, understanding, and steadfast focus on my progress kept me moving forward even when the distractions of daily life divided my attention. Dr. Sadek has seen me through a Master’s thesis and my first forays into Brazilian literature, and her willingness to review my work has helped me consistently improve upon my ideas. Dr. Rajca introduced me to much of the foundational theory of this project and helped me find the confidence to dive into major conference presentations that helped develop this dissertation. Dr. Forter’s passion for his subject reinvigorated my desire to attack mine with precision, and his compassionate classroom instruction reminded me why I had chosen this field of study. At USC, Dr. Alejandro Bernal introduced me to Luisa Valenzuela’s work early in my graduate career and graciously created an independent study on Latin American conceptions of gender and sexuality. Without his guidance iv and expertise, this project would never have come to be. Dr. Alanna Breen has been a confidant and inspiration, demonstrating how to be both brilliant and humble and that education does not end with a doctorate. Additional thanks go the USC grad students, old and new, who took interest in my project, made me laugh while working in tiny offices, and enjoyed the highs and lows of the graduate experience with me. Dr. Casey C. Moore and Dr. Jennifer Karash-Eastman have been my sisters in the struggle, and being able to share the difficulties of dissertating and working outside academia with such exceptional feminist ladies helped me through. Though I missed having my writing buddy and my work grandma nearby, reading and editing their exceptional works as they both beat me to the finish line motivated me to catch up. Thanks go to Kim Wickham, who always reminded me to “get it” and whose dissertation experience I look forward to immensely. (Boy) Casey Carroll and (Cousin Terry) TJ Kimel were so kind to house me during my many trips back to USC and provided equal parts support, mockery, and whiskey. To my Pittsburgh crew (Abby, Kiara, and Gina), to grad schooler friends saner than me (Amy, Adrienne, and Jess), and to my extended family, all who celebrated the culmination with me and were kind enough to ask the dreaded “is it finished” question only very rarely, many thanks. To Boyfriend (Dominic Malfara), who was not there at the beginning, but surely made the end bearable, some might say enjoyable: thank you for the sunflower seeds, the bubble tea runs, the space and distraction when needed, and for making Boston finally feel like home. To my brother, Michael, who reminds me that great art is not only found in my Literature. To my parents, Walter and Karen, who didn’t always know what I was doing, but always knew I could do it: your love and support mean everything. v ABSTRACT The purpose of this project is to build on two major theoretical fields, feminism and postdictatorial memory, in the context of Latin American women’s writing. The development of Latin American feminism has run concurrently with the broader feminist movements of the 20th century, but has been shaped by the particularities and diversity of the region. Specific concerns relating to postcoloniality, religion, and nation have caused theorists like Debra A. Castillo to discuss Latin American feminism on its own, focusing on the inherent privileging of praxis over theory and the necessary pastiche of local and international theories. The development of Latin American feminism must also be considered within the context of the authoritarian governments that ruled during the mid- 20th century. The 1970s and 80s saw the rise of military dictatorships in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. The widespread use of censorship and state-sponsored terrorism through detention and disappearances created an atmosphere of anxiety and trauma from which the national communities have yet to entirely heal. Idelber Avelar’s theoretical considerations of postdictatorial memory and the narrative of transition to democracy highlight the effects of social and personal trauma as depicted in literature. He develops his theory on mourning literature to describe a set of texts that neither engage in the official discourse of the dictatorship nor produce a counter-narrative that only exists relationally. Instead, Avelar’s mourning literature rips apart the binary and recognizes the multiplicity of truths that the social trauma of dictatorship constructs. Novels by Luisa Valenzuela of Argentina, Clarice Lispector of Brazil, and Diamela Eltit of Chile take part vi in this project of mourning with an added caveat that recognizes the heteronormativity inherent in the discourses not only of the dictatorships, but also of their broader societies. Drawing from Judith Butler’s concepts of grievability and gender performativity, this study analyzes novels by Latin American women writers that identify the heteronormative strictures of their milieux and blur the boundaries of sex and gender. Through a range of metafictional strategies, the writers studied here make clear to their readers that productive mourning of dictatorship cannot exist without a deeper critique and deconstruction of the heteronormative discourse on which both the dictatorships and the opposition are based. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ iv ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: MOURNING AND GENDER IN METAFICTIONAL NOVELS: A TACTICAL APPROACH TO THEORIZING POWER ....................................................16 CHAPTER 2: REVISING THE DISCOURSE, REWORKING THE MYTH: GENDER, PLENITUDE, AND THE OTHER IN COLA DE LAGARTIJA ...............................45 CHAPTER 3: DETECTING TRAUMA: REDRESSING MELANCHOLIA AND MOURNING CREATIVELY IN NOVELA NEGRA CON ARGENTINOS .................................75 CHAPTER 4: DE-ROMANTICIZING THE POOR IN MODERN BRAZIL: RETHINKING SUBALTERNITY AND THE NORTHEAST IN A HORA DA ESTRELA ...............................103 CHAPTER 5: REDIRECTING THE GAZE: THE BODY AS A PERFORMATIVE SITE OF TRAUMA IN LUMPÉRICA ...................................................................................148 CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................................191 WORKS CITED ...................................................................................................................200 viii INTRODUCTION The scene is now a familiar act of protest: a procession of women circling a plaza, white scarves covering their heads, photographs