La Malinche is one of the most controversial figures in Mexican and Chicano literature. The historical facts about her life before and after the Spanish Conquest are largely speculative. What is reliably known is that she had a significant role as translator, which developed into something of mythic proportions. The ideological appropriation of her image by three authors, Octavio Paz, Laura Esquivel and Cherríe Moraga, are explored in this thesis. The full extent of the proposed rendition of La Malinche by Octavio Paz is the basis of the second chapter. The conclusion drawn by Paz, in The Labyrinth of Solitude (1950) is that La Malinche is what he calls la chingada [the raped/violated one] and proposes that all women are always open to conquest, sexually and otherwise. Laura Esquivel's novel Malinche (2006) is a re-interpretation that focuses on the tongue as the source of power and language as the ultimate source of autonomy for La Malinche. This aspect of La Malinche and the contrast of Paz's understanding are the basis of the third chapter of this thesis. Cherríe Moraga, in Loving in the War Years (1983), proposes that if women are to be traitors, it is not each other that …

This study examines the theatrical representation of the stealing of children during the last dictatorships in Spain and in Argentina in Laila Ripoll's Los niños perdidos and Patricia Suárez's Astianacte: una máscara del amor under the lenses of the concepts of trauma, myth and memory. Following the theories suggested by Freud, Adorno, Whitehead, Reyes Mate and others, the first chapter discusses the representation of the psychological traumas left by the dictatorial practices left not only on the minds of individuals but also on both nations as whole entities. While Ripoll invites her audience to reflect upon the consequences of the Spanish Civil War and franquism, Patricia Suárez urges her spectators to doubt about their own identity if they were born during the last dictatorship in Argentina. In chapter two, the concepts advanced by Barthes, Reig Tapia and Moreno-Nuño help explore the ways in which the playwrights condemn the legitimizing myths that gave birth to these dictatorial regimes. Both authors subvert these fictional stories, mainly by the use of sarcasm and humor. By means of the concepts of memory supported by Benjamin, Todorov, Nora and Juliá, the third chapter examines the need to let the traditionally silenced voices tell their version …

The present research is centered on Miguel de Unamuno's Songbook which is studied through the prism of the theory of dialogism elaborated by Mikhail Bakhtin. This study overcomes the limitation of Bakhtin's theory which extends solely to narrative genres, and argues that dialogism can also be applied to poetry. In this thesis I seek to rectify the critical oversight of this significant and original work of Unamuno and show that Songbook has panoply of innovative techniques aimed at creating the multiple poetic voices and dialogical interaction. Strong links are established between Bakhtin's theory, Unamuno's aesthetics and the postmodernist episteme of "the death of the author" which heralds the new era of fiction writing. I give a detailed analysis of Songbook's poetry based on Bakhtin's theory and incorporate the pragmalinguistic view of poetic discourse as a communicative act that involves a constant interaction between the addresser and the addressees. I find different types of dialogical expression in accordance with the number and the nature of different addressees at which the poet aims his discourse. This study shows that poetic tools forged by Unamuno are born of the need to express a conflictive inner world that is opposed to any type of …

This study focuses on the Spanish poet of the Generation of '27 Manuel Altolaguirre. The purpose of this thesis is to show how the poetry of Manuel Altolaguirre evolves in relation to specific issues. Specifically, I study the changes in his work in regard to the themes of death and solitude, resulting from exile in 1939, to be enriched by new experiences, many of them dramatic, taking more personal ways, while offering them a more profound and complex and even in regard to the subject of the poet's death comes to contemplate a more positive way. The thesis is divided into five chapters. Following the introduction, the second chapter focuses on Altolaguirre's biography and the Generation in 1927 while the third focuses and analyzes his poetry before his exile in 1939. The fourth chapter examines his poetry after exile until his death in 1959, while the fifth and last chapter concludes this study.

The subaltern is a recurrent literary figure in Mexican narrative. The objective of this thesis is to investigate three ethnic groups – indeed, subalterns – in Mexico which include: Afro-Mexicans, indigenous groups, and Filipino colonial subjects from the perspectives of the Mexican Revolution, post-revolutionary Mexico, and the conquest of the Philippines in the sixteenth century. The principal characters play crucial roles in events shaping the history and culture of Mexico and thus demonstrate their importance to the country's development while also revealing the reality of subalterns. The literary research shows that trying circumstances or a lack of self-identity were the main causes for a character to be or become a subaltern in addition to their inherent ethnic disadvantages. However, the characters who overcame their subaltern state often changed personality traits or adapted to their surroundings in order to be assimilated into the majority culture.

Categories titled simple plots, loose plots, no plots, and parallel plots are used within this thesis to organize and contrast sixteen novels by Spanish author Pio Baroja.

This study proposes to establish an intrinsic relationship between Valle-Inclán and Muñiz based on the theme of dehumanization in their theater. It examines (1) the stylistic techniques which each playwright uses to depersonalize his characters, (2) the manner in which these characters dehumanize each other, (3) the role of society as the agent of dehumanization, and finally, due to each author's preoccupation with one social convention in particular (4) the devastating effects on men of the vestiges of an outmoded code of honor. The principal works used for the study are Valle-Inclán's Martes de carnaval, Luces de Bohemia, and Divinas palabras, and El tintero, Un solo de saxofón, Las viejas difíciles, and El grillo by Carlos Muñiz. Such an analysis proposes to reveal a profound literary affinity between these two writers, a bond which unites Valle-Inclán and Muñiz in a common protest against the dehumanization of mankind.

This paper is a study of the major influence of the German philosophy, Krausism, in the writings of Benito Perez Galdds. The study is an analysis of the effects of this ideology on Spain and her people, as illustrated in the works of the most representative writer of the nineteenth century in that country. Also included is a discussion of historical incidents of the period which is necessary to place the acceptance of both this philosophy and the works of Perez Galdos in its proper perspective.

This study traces the history and culture of Spain as seen through the lens of the nation´s production of horror cinema. Starting from the boom of Spanish horror film in the early 1960s, the thesis compares and contrasts the political and social aspects of Spanish society throughout three distinct eras of the 20th century: 1962 – 1975 (the boom of Spanish horror film through the Franco dictatorship), 1975 – 1999 (the transition to democracy through the end of the 20th century) and 2000 – present (the 21st century). Movies as diverse as Gritos en la noche (1962, Jesús Franco), ¿Quién puede matar a un niño? (1976, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador) and Angustia (1987, Bigas Luna) are framed by culturally-related anectodes as well as correlations to their respective social environments. Special attention has been paid to the production and release of each film, especially in regards to censorship during the Franco dictatorship. The results show that Spanish horror cinema has acted as a true mirror to culture, society and politics in its native country throughout the 20th century and that this trend will likely extend in to the future.

This study focuses on the clitic pronoun usage by Spanish-Quechua bilingual speakers in Cuzco, Peru when faced with a question that includes a definite article preceding the direct object. Answers are analyzed to determine whether or not the definite article has an effect on the presence or absence of the clitic pronoun. Direct objects tested were both [+human] and [-human] objects to determine if these variables affect clitic pronoun use as well. Speakers who have identified themselves as bilingual in both Spanish and Quechua were given a survey to complete in order to see what factors may contribute to the use or omission of the clitic pronouns.

Musical ekphrasis was occurring in the twentieth century in different centers around the world, Cuba: Andalusia, Spain; and Harlem, New York, simultaneously. The writers at the heart of this movement used poetry about music as a means to celebrate the cultures of the marginalized people in their lands, los negros, los gitanos, and African-Americans. The purpose of this study is to define musical ekphrasis and identify it in the works of Nicolás Guillén, Federico García Lorca, and Langston Hughes. Also explored are the common characteristics in ekphrastic poetry by the three poets and the common themes found in their ekphrastic poetry, as well as common influences. Each author is considered in the context of his surroundings and his respective culture, and how that influenced his musical tastes as well as his writing style.

This thesis examines the agrarian, ecclesiastical, political, industrial, and educational background of the Mexican Revolution through the eyes of six of Mexico's novelists: Azuela, Lopez y Fuentes, Guzman, Romero, Muñoz, and Campobello.

The purpose of this investigation is to show the relationship between the autobiographical information evidenced by the principal female characters in Emilia Pardo Bazan's major novels and her influence on nineteenth-century feminism in Spain. The changing nature of Pardo Bazan's feminism is studied through an analysis of two literary phases in her work. In the first, classified as naturalistic, Pardo Bazan concentrates on the nineteenth century woman and her limited role within society. The second phase reveals a change of perspective as the author creates a character type: this "new woman" is an expression of her feminist beliefs. As Pardo Bazan sought support for feminist goals, diverse intellectual activities characterized her life and became an integral aspect of her art.

This thesis discusses the life and works of the Mexican novelist Mariano Azuela, who lived and wrote during the time of the Mexican Revolution.

This thesis examines the themes in the work of Argentine novelist Gustavo Adolfo Martínez Zuviría, who wrote under the pseudonym of Hugo West.

The purpose of this thesis is to make a study of the third and fourth series of the Episodios nacionales. The study will deal with the plot structure, the characterization, and the historicity of the twenty novels which make up the two series.

This thesis presents a brief background of poetry in Mexico in the nineteenth century, along with a biography of Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera and a study of his three poetic periods: 1876-1886, 1886-1890, 1890-1895.

This thesis investigates the Spanish identity crisis through structural, political and representational intersectionality by means of the Law of Historic Memory, also known as LEY 52/2007 del 26 de diciembre. This work, written in Spanish, explores relational aspects of various contemporary themes within four post-Franco novels and four Spanish films: Réquiem por un campesino español by Ramón J. Sender and its corresponding film directed by Francesc Betriu; Soldados de Salamina by Javier Cercas and its corresponding film directed by David Trueba; La voz dormida by Dulce Chacón and its corresponding film directed by Benito Zambrano; and Los girasoles ciegos by Alberto Méndez and its corresponding film directed by José Luis Cuerda. Linked by a variety of human elements that affect the individual as much as the collective, the works explore sacrifice, betrayal, indifference and injustice. Each novel and movie pair offers a glimpse of individual memory that, at the same time, belongs to collective memory. Delving into the effects of LEY, this thesis considers the role of the Catholic Church, the general atrocities of war, the role of women in the Spanish Civil War, and the fractured family unit. Lastly, this thesis delineates how these effects apply to the healing …

Various groups of Mexican culture have assigned to el narco archetypical characteristics of a heroic figure in the literary, visual, and auditory arts. As a result, today’s narcocultura has expanded its tentacles to a vast array of prominent industries, such as publishing companies, the silver screen, and recording studios. El narco is no longer seen by some sectors as the outlaw that stalks our society but, instead, as a hero who fights against a hegemonic faction to reclaim his sovereignty. This thesis unites interdisciplinary observations of the narco phenomena that Mexican culture has assigned to the iconic figure of el narco. The purpose of this work is to recreate the evolutionary development through a theoretical-literary analysis of this prototype in order to better understand Mexican society’s stance on this phenomenon. Octavio Paz’s theory of the Mexican psyche, Joseph Campbell’s theory of the hero’s journey, and an interdisciplinary focus will be employed to analyze this iconic figure. In this thesis, my aim is to investigate how an ultra-conservative Mexican society evolved into a consortium that upholds the narco’s indistinct behaviors and actions. What roles do first world governments and the Mexican state play to fortify, eradicate, or control the narco phenomenon? …

Language change is constant due to varied linguistic and sociolinguistic factors. Specifically, prolonged situations of language in contact have been observed to have a direct influence on language change and variation. Previous studies have documented several changes that may occur within bilingual speech communities in sustained circumstances of language in contact. This study examines the possibility of attrition of the simple present form of Spanish in bilingual speakers of Spanish and English due to prolonged interaction between the two languages. Specifically, it attempts to determine whether the value of the Spanish simple present tense diminishes, and the present progressive form gains prominence as a result of language transfer occurring where there is intensive contact between Spanish and English. In order to determine that this linguistic phenomenon has occurred in bilingual speech communities, data were collected and analyzed from bilingual Spanish and English speakers living in the United States. To demonstrate bilingual speakers' use of the simple and progressive present forms, participants were instructed to complete two tasks: 1) a background questionnaire designed to gather information regarding each participants' relationship with the Spanish language, and 2) a picture-narration task designed to reveal each bilingual's preference for the simple present or progressive …

Spain underwent drastic social and political changes in the last decades of the twentieth century which also affected the nation’s patterns of emigration. Contemporary Spanish literature and film that portray these decades reflect the country’s fluctuating characteristics of migration. ¡Vente a Alemania, Pepe! (1971) by Pedro Lazaga, Coto vedado (1985) by Juan Goytisolo, El hijo del acordeonista (2003) by Bernardo Atxaga, and Yoyes (2000) by Helena Taberna demonstrate Spain’s migration trends during the last years of Franco’s dictatorship and the transition to democracy. The nation’s highly increased socioeconomic development in the 1970s and 1980s which eventually led to a first-world status also affected emigration, which can be seen in Carlota Fainberg (1999) by Antonio Muñoz Molina, Kasbah (2000) by Mariano Barroso, Restos de carmine (1999) by Juan Madrid, and Map of the Sounds of Tokyo (2009) by Isabel Coixet.

This thesis presents a short history and description of the gaucho of Argentina and explores some of the literature that portrays the gaucho way of life.

This study is an attempt to analyze the novels of Juan Valera y Alcala Galiano, with particular attention to the characterization of the principal figures.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining how Francisco Garcia Pavon's concept the detective novel evolved throughout the period during which he cultivated that literary form. To trace this evolution Garcia Pavon's detective novels and novelettes are studied in chronological order of publication, each work being given a chapter of its own. The character development is analyzed and the style is given consideration in the study.