Project Title
“Tú hablas ahora:” Viequense Female Archetype and Agency in the Works of Carmelo Rodríguez Torres
Domain
Humanities
Abstract
Author Carmelo Rodríguez Torres incorporates many of his experiences with the U.S. naval occupation of Vieques, Puerto Rico into his novels and short stories. Few scholars have written on Torres, and even fewer have discussed him in terms of womanhood and feminism. Yet central to many of his works are figures of womanhood that are at once archetypal and progressive. In my paper I investigate Torres' treatment of his female characters in all his novels and two of his short stories. I place his presentation of women within the context of the U.S. occupation of Puerto Rico and its feminist history, arguing that he uses his female characters to respond to the oppressive occupation of Vieques. While he fragments and objectifies women, he simultaneously elevates them to the level of deities, presenting them as agents of resistance and change who undermine a doubly patriarchal society.
Recommended Citation
Comery, Emma T.
(2017)
"“Tú hablas ahora:” Viequense Female Archetype and Agency in the Works of Carmelo Rodríguez Torres,"
Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship: Vol. 1:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://encompass.eku.edu/kjus/vol1/iss1/2
Emma Comery -- Image.pdf
Included in
Latin American History Commons, Latin American Literature Commons, Latina/o Studies Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons