“I, Too, Am an Occupied Territory”: Border Crossings and Personal Sovereignty in Three Novels by Dominican American Women

<p>Border crossing(s) and personal sovereignty are intimately and complexly connected in novels by and about Dominican American women. Through readings of In the Name of Salomé by Julia Alvarez, Dominicana by Angie Cruz, and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, I argue that patriarchal forms of authority remove female autonomy by trespassing on personal boundaries, and that the renegotiation of that power is achieved through formations of community, especially with other women, through nonheteronormative relationships that are present inside and extend outside the text. The interplay of patriarchal authority, violence, and alienation on the four protagonists is examined at length, and I end by exploring personal sovereignty through community building as a remediation to patriarchal structures of power.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Lynn, Leia M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kristy Ulibarri
• Lisa Martinez
• Billy Stratton

• Authority
• Borders
• Dominican American
• Migrant literature
• Transnational novels
• Women writers
• American Literature
• American Studies
• Arts and Humanities
• International and Area Studies
• Latin American Languages and Societies
• Latin American Studies

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2060

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-3053