Metaphors of marginalization and silencing of women in Eva Luna and Cuentos de Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

grantor: University of TorontoThis dissertation is a study of the marginalization and silencing of women in Eva Luna and Cuentos de Eva Luna by Isabel Allende. These two works form a unit since they are intimately linked through a series of intertextual references which include the repetition of the name Eva Luna; references to Scheherezade, the story-teller in A Thousand and One Nights; the preface to the collection of short stories; and the resurfacing in the short stories of characters and places mentioned in the novel. This juxtaposition of the two works implies that the stories in the Cuentos are those told by the story-teller protagonist of the novel. The investigation begins with a theoretical study of the set of binary, hierarchical oppositions that, according to many theorists, have structured Western thought. These place woman on the side of negativity, lack, and emptiness, and in patriarchal society have traditionally led to marginalization and silencing. The present study focuses on Allende's representation of and response to this marginalization and silencing. The focus of the analysis of Eva Luna is on the transformation of the protagonist from a young girl, who is aware of the transforming power of language in oral story-telling, to a woman writer, who decides to influence society through the power of written language. This emphasis on the power of words to overcome silence and marginalization reappears in the Cuentos, not so much in terms of the gradual evolution of one main character (as in the novel) but rather through the story-telling techniques employed by the author. Some of these include the use of ironic language, the creation of parodies of the traditionally accepted roles for men and women, the highlighting of contrasts between male and female characters, and the use of names to convey meanings and connotations. The techniques vary, but the message remains the same: women must gain access to the power of the word in order to subvert, transform, and, eventually, overcome the marginalization and silencing imposed on them by patriarchal society.Ph.D