Delineating difference and spaces of resistance : reading the Nana’s Silence in Rosario Castellanos’ ''Balún Canán''
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Data
2011
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Edições Universitárias Lusófonas
Resumo
A escritora mexicana Rosario Castellanos incorpora silêncios em suas obras de uma forma que permite ao leitor a questionar o próprio significado da agência e da natureza da subjetividade de uma
protagonista feminina. Silêncios tendem a criar brechas no texto, iluminando as diferenças sociais
e raciais que a narração em primeira pessoa foge. Além disso, é revelado que o sujeito se imagina
em oposição ao silêncio de mulheres menos privilegiadas, e que realmente não existe um local em
que o subalterno pode falar. Este projecto se centra em seu romance Balún Canan (1957), em que a babá Indígena de uma menina complica o desejo de ascender dentro da estrutura patriarcal da sua
família mais privilegiada, como a menina descobre que o que faria sua vida confortável é a causa da
subjugação de sua “outra mãe.” O texto é desenvolvido em torno de um desejo de falar a partir das margens, e há um esforço claro para dar voz aos subalternos. No entanto, a relação entre a menina
e sua babá não é nem romântica nem idealizada; a presença da mulher colonizada resiste a marginalização
e ressalta que está sendo coberto no processo de desenvolvimento individual. Ansiedadesurge dentro da narração da menina como ela percebe seu privilégio como membro da classe latifundiária,
e a escrita navega entre diferentes manifestações de silêncio: o silenciamento da babá em uma replicação de violência colonial, e a manutenção do silêncio como uma barreira respeitosa.
Abstract: Mexican writer Rosario Castellanos incorporates silences into her works in a way that allows the reader to question the very meaning of agency and the nature of subjectivity for a female protagonist. Silences tend to create gaps in the narration, illuminating class and racial differences that the first-person narration evades. Moreover, it is revealed that the subject frames herself in opposition to the silence of less-privileged female characters and that there is indeed no place from which the subaltern can actually speak. I am interested in her novel Balún Canán (1957), in which a young girl’s Indigenous nanny complicates her desire to ascend within the patriarchal structure of her land-holding family, as the girl learns that what would make her life comfortable is the cause of her “other mother’s” subjugation. The text is developed around a desire to speak from the margins, and there is a clear effort to give voice to the subaltern. Nevertheless, the relationship between the girl and her nanny is neither romanticized nor idealized; rather the presence of the colonized woman both resists marginalization and signals that which is being covered over in the process of individual development. Anxiety arises within the girl’s narration as she realizes her privilege as a member of the landholding class, and the narration navigates between different manifestations of silence: the girl’s silencing of the nanny in a replication of colonial violence, and the conservation of silence as a barrier of respect.
Abstract: Mexican writer Rosario Castellanos incorporates silences into her works in a way that allows the reader to question the very meaning of agency and the nature of subjectivity for a female protagonist. Silences tend to create gaps in the narration, illuminating class and racial differences that the first-person narration evades. Moreover, it is revealed that the subject frames herself in opposition to the silence of less-privileged female characters and that there is indeed no place from which the subaltern can actually speak. I am interested in her novel Balún Canán (1957), in which a young girl’s Indigenous nanny complicates her desire to ascend within the patriarchal structure of her land-holding family, as the girl learns that what would make her life comfortable is the cause of her “other mother’s” subjugation. The text is developed around a desire to speak from the margins, and there is a clear effort to give voice to the subaltern. Nevertheless, the relationship between the girl and her nanny is neither romanticized nor idealized; rather the presence of the colonized woman both resists marginalization and signals that which is being covered over in the process of individual development. Anxiety arises within the girl’s narration as she realizes her privilege as a member of the landholding class, and the narration navigates between different manifestations of silence: the girl’s silencing of the nanny in a replication of colonial violence, and the conservation of silence as a barrier of respect.
Descrição
Babilónia : Revista Lusófona de Línguas, Culturas e Tradução
Palavras-chave
LINGUÍSTICA, SILÊNCIO, CRÍTICA LITERÁRIA, LITERATURA, LINGUISTICS, SILENCE, LITERARY REVIEW, LITERATURE, MÉXICO, MEXICO