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UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zed) Road, Ann Arbor Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/76M700 800/521-0600 THE WRITING OF CRISTINA PACHECO: NARRATING THE MEXICAN URBAN EXPERIENCE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Dawn Slack, M.A. ******* The Ohio State University 1998 Dissertation Committee: Approved by: Dr. Maureen Ahern, Adviser Dr. Ignacio Corona Adviser Spanish and Portuguese Dr. Abril Trigo Graduate Program UMI Number: 9834066 Copyright 1998 by Slack, Dawn All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9834066 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Dawn Slack 1998 ABSTRACT Cristina Pacheco (b. 1941) is a highly prolific Mexican writer whose subject matter is the great, sprawling Distrito Federal, Mexico City. Although the urban experience is depicted with brutal honesty, Pacheco's cityscapes and peoplescapes exude a subtle yet strong force that transfixes and transforms the reader. Even though her presence can be readily seen and felt, through her newspaper columns and her multi-media productions, her sixteen publications have received comparatively little critical attention. This study aims to rectify that situation and focuses specifically on six of her publications: Sopita de fideo (1984); Zona de desastre (1986); Imâaenes: Renovaciôn Habitacional Popular (1987), with photographs by Guillermo Soto Curiel; El corazôn de la noche (1989); La rueda de la fortuna (1993); Oficios de Mexico (1993), with photographs by Ricardo Kirchner. These texts are analyzed in terms of how topics fundamental to contemporary urban life, particularly among the marginalized communities of Mexico City, are expressed through a hybrid narrative discourse which combines strategies from several genres. Thematic concerns such as housing issues, employment circumstances. family situations, disaster responses, and international financial trends are developed through a unique combination of language, urgency, personalization, silence, and visual narratives. Although implicitly related to theoretical issues raised by subalternity, feminist criticism, and analyses of concerns relating to testimonio, crônica, and ethnography, Pacheco's mode of expression is an emerging hybrid form of narrative discourse that celebrates and legitimizes literary, artistic, thematic, and structural marginality. I hypothesize that Pacheco's hybridized and supplemented cultural products are a direct manifestation of the fragmentation and multiplicity of Postmodernity. This study develops the concept of the narragraph and proposes that it best encapsulates the diversity of Pacheco's narratives. Furthermore, this study concludes that Pacheco's works, her narragraphs, exemplify and use this narrative amalgamation as a resistance strategy: of seeing what hegemonic society would prefer remain unseen, of hearing what is unheard, of voicing what is unvoiced. Ill Dedicated to myself: Not out of narcissism nor egotism. But rather as a recognition that I am a compendium and a reflection of those who surround me. IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my adviser. Dr. Maureen Ahern, for her constant support and encouragement and for her wealth of knowledge. At both professional and personal levels, through many courses and innumerable meetings, she has provided me with a legacy: to always challenge myself. I also wish to thank the other members of my committee: Dr. Ignacio Corona, for his insightful commentaries; and. Dr. Abril Trigo, for his acute analyses as well as for his thought-provoking courses. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge Dr. Terrell A. Morgan, who is both a respected colleague and a close friend. His perpetual enthusiasm is greatly appreciated. Finally, I must extend my thanks to all members of my family, especially to my grandfather. Dr. Howard A. Rose, who always said that there should be another “doctor” in the family, and to Carmelita Rose Slack and K. Slack, whose perpetual support and sense of humor helped keep things in perspective. And, to all others, too numerous to list, who have helped me along my path, I am forever indebted to and enriched by your presence. VITA 1991, Certificate, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Recife, Brazil). 1990, M.A., Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State University. 1988, B.S. Summa Cum Laude, College of Education, The Ohio State University. 1986, Certificate, Fundacion Ortega y Gasset (Toledo, Spain). Lecturer, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State University: (1/97-3/98, 1/96-6/96). Resident Director, Elementary Spanish Language Program in Cuernavaca, Mexico: Fall 96, Summer 92, Spring 90. Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State University: (9/92-12/96, 9/88-12/91). Graduate Administrative Associate, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State University: (9/92-12/95, 9/89-3/91). Academic Director, Instituto Cultural Peruano- Norteamericano in Trujillo, Peru: (1/92-6/92). FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Spanish and Portuguese Specialization: Contemporary Latin American Literature and Culture Minor Fields: Colonial Latin American Literature and Culture Medieval and Golden Age Peninsular Literature and Culture VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ...................................................ii Dedication .................................................iv Acknowledgments ............................................ v Vita ...................................................... vi List of Figures in Appendix ............................... x Chapters : 1. Contextual Approximations ...............................1 1.1 Biography of Cristina Pacheco ................... 3 1.2 Overview of Cristina Pacheco's Written Texts .... 6 1.3 Summary of Cristina Pacheco's Media Productions ................................ 15 1.4 A Review of the Critical Response to Cristina Pacheco ' s Work 2 3 1.5 Organization .................................... 38 2. Physical and TheoreticalLandscapes .................... 42 2.1 Mexico City ..................................... 42 2.2 Subaltern and Postmodern Contexts .............. 50 2.3 Women's Personal Narratives and Multiplicity— .62 2.4 Crônica, Testimonio, and Related Phenomena 75 2 .5 The Narragraph .................................. 81 3. Sopita de fideo: An Exploration of Urban Landscapes ...88 3.1 Cityscapes ...................................... 89 3.1.1 Housing ............................... 90 3.1.2 Urban Services ........................ 97 3.1.3 Displacement ......................... 101 3.1.4 Employment ........................... 105 3.1.5 Family ............................... 113 3.2 Narrative Strategies 13 0 3.2.1 Language ............................. 131 vii 3.2.2 Peoplescapes......................... 139 3.2.3 Urgency .............................. 152 4. Zona de desastre and Imâaenes: Renovaciôn Habitacional Popular: Expressing the Inexpressible ................... 164 4.1 Zones of the Disaster ......................... 165 4.2 ‘^Testimonio de los hechos” .................... 166 4.3 Articulations ..................................175 4.3.1 Ellipses ............................. 175 4.3.2 Data ................................. 179 4.3.3 Details .............................. 186 4.3.4 Reiteration .......................... 187 4.4 The Daydream ...................................194 4.5 The Nightmare ..................................195 4.6 The City Dies ..................................198 4.7 Grieving .......................................202 4.7.1 Shock ................................ 202 4.7.2 Anger ................................ 207 4.7.3 Bargaining ........................... 215 4.7.4 Depression ........................... 222 4.7.5 Acceptance ........................... 227 4.8 Change ......................................... 232 4.9 Images and/in Text ............................ 237 4.10 Narrative ......................................239