Undergraduate Theses & Honors Theses

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To say what is not being said : the radical literary strategies and sexual politics of Ana Castillo's Sapogonia
(University Of Oregon, 1993-07) Albrich, Lisa Rene
In her second novel, Sapogonia, Ana Castillo challenges and confronts the canon by dismantling and defying the dominant ideologies of Westem androcentric literature. Using Castillo's first novel, The Mixguiahuala Letters, as the framework within which to read Sapogonia, we discover that Castillo's experimentation with different genres, narrative voice, and intertextuality allows her to mock and to subvert male-authored texts. Castillo's literary strategies also facilitate her critique of the mestizo who denies his indigenous American ancestry. Finally, Sapogonia is a critique of the discourses and ideologies of patriarchal authority that have been used to oppress women. Despite the fact that Castillo's literary strategies and sexual politics establish her novel as feminist literature, Castillo refuses to romanticize the position of women in Sapogonia. Committed to telling the truth, Castllo presents a disturbingly realistic vision of society.