Constructing the Self Through Otherness in the Works of Gioconda Belli, Daisy Zamora, Michele Najlis, Vidaluz Meneses and Rosario Murillo

When Gioconda Belli, Daisy Zamora, Michele Najlis, Vidaluz Meneses and Rosario Murillo began writing poetry in the seventies, they embarked on a quest to establish a new feminine identity free from the constraints imposed by traditional Nicaraguan society. This journey of self-definition as women would lead them to participate actively in the Sandinista Revolution and the subsequent construction of a new society. However, this search is not an easy one since they must face the difficulty of defining themselves in the face of an already established identity based on patriarchal models of feminine perfection. Moreover, as they continued to express their needs to break free from these molds, they became more and more aware of the role that language plays to sustain these pre-established identities created by a patriarchal society. In short, the poetry of these five writers undergoes a process of coming to terms with the condition of Otherness they experience in order to begin to create a new identity from themselves and a language with which to express that identity. These realizations lead each of them to explore the issues of identity, gender, class and race, and to affirm the need to establish a space to grow and be free.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Spanish

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Jaeger, Frances Betty

Contributors dc:contributor

• Schulman, Ivan A.

• Women's Studies

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9737142

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/86178