Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-21-2017

Abstract

MUJERES EN MOVIMIENTO: LA REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA MIGRACIÓN FEMENINA EN LOS CUENTOS DE CRISTINA PACHECO, NADIA VILLAFUERTE Y ROSARIO SANMIGUEL

by

Sonia A. Rodríguez Hicks

B.A., Tourism Planning, Universidad Hispano-Mexicana, 1986

M.A., Spanish, University of Wyoming, 2002

Ph. D. Spanish, University of New Mexico, 2017

ABSTRACT

This dissertation focuses on the representation of migrant women in recent Mexican narrative through the examination of three short story collections, El oro del desierto (2005) by Cristina Pacheco, Barcos en Houston (2005) by Nadia Villafuerte and Bajo el Puente (1998) by Rosario Sanmiguel.

During most of the twentieth century, Mexican literary representations of migration depict males who migrate alone or with their families to work in agriculture and construction. But in recent decades, we see a surge in women migrating, often leaving their children in their country of origin with family members. In the context of neoliberal globalization, traditional gender norms and values are negotiated and transformed within the family and across national borders. But while migrant women achieve some autonomy by leaving domestic space, they often find work in sectors traditionally associated with women, such as housecleaning and child care.

Cristina Pacheco, Nadia Villafuerte and Rosario Sanmiguel depict the fragmentation of conventional patterns of behavior associated with women as daughters, wives, and mothers. Their stories articulate what Abril Trigo denominates as “migrant memory” in which the past is associated with their country of origin; their present with life in transit, and their future with the American dream. In this analysis, we witness a partial restructuration of gender roles in the private and public spheres, as migrant women achieve a certain degree of autonomy and agency, but at the same time traditional roles continue to be perpetuated across borders.

Degree Name

Spanish & Portuguese (PhD)

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Spanish and Portuguese

First Committee Member (Chair)

Miguel Lopez

Second Committee Member

Kimberle S. Lopez

Third Committee Member

Eleuterio Santiago-Díaz

Fourth Committee Member

María Socorro Tabuenca

Language

Spanish

Keywords

migration, women, Mexican literature, migración, mujeres, literatura mexicana

Document Type

Dissertation

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