Date of Award

6-2018

Document Type

Union College Only

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Spanish and Hispanic Studies

First Advisor

Victoria Martinez

Language

Spanish

Keywords

inequality, discrimination, composition, author

Abstract

While Mexican women writers have utilized a variety of genres to relay inequalities and discrimination that they face, one that has been particularly successful in portraying women’s struggles is the epistolary novel. In an effort to understand the effectiveness of the epistolary structure, this thesis examines Rosina Conde’s novel, La Genara.

Through assessment of this novel, it is found that this form not only supplies the reader with a deeper understanding of women’s mentalities/actions and of the sexual and social abuse that they face, but also creates a profound connection between reader and author that is mirrored by the recipient and writer of the letters in the actual story. This relationship is later revealed to have an expectation component to it. That is, the author has an ideal reader in her mind that she is attempting to reach with these letters, and the reader is expected to pick up on certain themes, ideas and feelings. Thus it is concluded that Conde uses the epistolary form to encourage her readers to digest her work and reflect on their own lives.

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