Resistencia y busqueda de la identidad de la mujer latinoamericana en las obras de Soledad Acosta de Samper
Description
The works of Colombian writer, Soledad Acosta de Samper (1833-1913), like those of her female contemporaries as well as female authors from previous centuries, question the prevailing discrimination against women, thereby making a significant contribution to the analysis of historical development of her country. This dissertation examines the literary works of a woman who tried to influence the thinking of other women in her political and social environment with regard to the accepted attitudes toward issues of gender Through her writing, Acosta de Samper also sought to challenge the concept of gendered identity that the male-dominated society promoted, offering as well challenges to the patronizing objectification of women that frequently dominates literary conventions. In her works she offers encouraging models for women's search for a better social position from which to gain effective modes of expression and self determination This study will focus upon the resemblance between Acosta de Samper and other better-known women writers in Latin America, and the vicissitudes they encountered as female intellectuals in a world dominated by men. It will also assess to what extent the patriarchal society determines Acosta de Samper's style and choice of topics, her manipulation of the language considered suitable for women, and her negotiation of that discourse as means to express challenges to the literary and social traditions in an effort to add a dimension of change to women's lives. It will look at Acosta de Samper's concern with the conventional notion of women's underdeveloped intellectual capacity and her proposal to better education for female students. It will include consideration of various determining factors that underlay characteristics of the sentimental and the exemplary novel as well as aspects of the bildungsroman that question the representation of women as romantic characters. The theoretical works by Lucia Guerra-Cunninghan and Jean Franco on the situation of women writers in Latin America society and their growing desire to raise their voices publicly are among the studies that will serve as the basis for this examination. Also it will refer to theorists such us Helene Cixous, Sandra M. Gilbert, Susan Gubar, Elaine Showalter, and Julia Kristeva and their interest in the problem of gender In her works studied here 'El corazon de la mujer', Novelas y cuadros de la vida sur-americana, Dolores: Cuadros de la vida de una mujer, Teresa la limena: Paginas de la vida de una peruana, 'La monja', Una holandesa en America, 'Mision de la escritora en hispanoamerica', La mujer en la sociedad moderna, Acosta de Samper promotes a discussion of the role of women in her vision of a new societal order and encourages women to acquire a strong intellectual training in order to play an active role in social and political institutions The main contributions of this study are to promote a new beginning of critical review of Acosta de Samper's writings. My analysis is aimed to uncloak the value of her works as an authority in the cultural and literary world. Finally, to disseminate the information existing today about her name, thus making the literary community aware of her writings which as of today were ignored by most