Date of Award

6-2011

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Modern Languages and Literatures

First Advisor

Daniel Mosquera

Language

Spanish

Keywords

conquistador, destruction, Mexico, colonization, symbolism

Abstract

One of the first women to appear in Mexican post-Hispanic history is La Malinche, the indigenous "language" of the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés. Historically, Mexicans have associated La Malinche with betrayal because it helped Europeans at least with translation during the conquest of Mexico. In addition, over time, she has become a symbol of both motherhood and the tempting woman in whose hands lies the destruction of Mexico. Although there is not much historical information about this important woman in physical texts, a symbolic image of her has been developed on a large scale in Mexican culture through social institutions. In addition, literature and theater have served as important vehicles for the sociological construction of her image. In recent years many Mexican and Chican authors have reviewed and reinvented La Malinche's image, re-evaluating her traditional guilt and presenting her as an admirable, independent and progressive woman. This thesis will analyze how the texts Malinche (2005) by Laura Esquivel and La Malinche by Víctor Hugo Rascón Banda (2000) represent modern texts of the last decade that explore images of Malinche in different ways. On the one hand, Laura Esquivel's Malinche does not reflect this recent evolution but rather presents it in a romanticized and passive way. On the other hand, Rascón Banda introduces to the public a very postmodern, feminist and political vision with regard to Malinche.

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