Content area
Abstract
This dissertation is a transnational study of literary and filmic representations of violence lived by women under repressive regimes in the Southern Cone during the 1970s and 80s. It addresses the topics of collective memory and gender, representations of trauma (rape and torture) and discourses of power and resistance utilizing as my theoretical framework, Gender, Cultural Studies and Narratology. The thesis explores how three novelists--Renée Ferrer (Paraguay), Patricia Sagastizábal (Argentina) and Marisa Silva-Schultze (Uruguay) along with a testimonial collective project and two documentaries (Uruguay)--reflect upon the role of body in the process of identity reconstruction; that is, the notion of a subject defined by victimization and the narration of violence. The production by women that engages with topics of collective memory, gender and representations of rape and torture specifically related to women remains understudied. In regards to violence experienced by women, a comparative analysis reveals that sexual violence and the “insile” experience are all in the initial phase of being represented and discussed. “Insiles” refers to those women who despite not having been incarcerated remained captives of their countries’ repressive atmospheres. This comparative study sheds light on the similarities and differences of fictionalizing violence suffered by women from different countries but who were all victims of the same repressive political ideology (Plan Cóndor). In contrast to advocates that believe mourning should come to an end in the region, this work argues that women writers’ representations of violence are crucial for understanding literary and intellectual regional production as well as for developing studies about gender issues and violence. Through a careful analysis of the texts identified above, this thesis highlights the paradoxes that define the current situation of Memory and Trauma Studies: memory both embodied and transcending the body; the possible reproduction of violence through the use of the dichotomy oppression-resistance; the representation of body oscillating between a site of pain and a space that escapes pain. Simultaneously, two types of trauma emerge: an internalized trauma that condemns the victim to the repetition of violence and an external trauma that enables the victim to denounce violence.
