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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The representation of the women in Arrancame la vida and Mal de amores by Angeles Mastretta

subject

description

On the basis of two novels by Ángeles Mastretta, Arráncame la vida and Mal de amores - whose publication is separated by a ten years interval – I have attempted to show how the female character responds to a specific project of representation and writing. The present thesis emphasises both the variety of characters in the two novels and the constants that allow establishing a "system of characters" corresponding to the exploration of the subject matter dear to the novelist: the status of women in the society, their possibilities to act as well as the relationships they enter, which have a prominent place in Mastretta’s novels. The first part of this analysis underlines the supremacy of the female character in the textual space devoted to it, while demonstrating the importance of male characters in the construction of transgressive female figures. The second part of the present study examines how the characters fit into a fictional space and the history crucial for the construction and representation of a new regard both on the traditionally hostile spheres (present in the texts to be subverted) and on the transcript of the fundamental facts of the history of Mexico that offers a new perspective on the history. Finally, the third part puts emphasis on the originality of writing that, under the appearance of lightness and simplicity, creates numerous shades of meaning through humour and irony, the mixture of literary genres and references to popular culture.