This dissertation examines the representation of ethnic origins in Antonio Skármeta’s fiction. My hypothesis is that exile in Europe and return to Chile led the author to rethink his Dalmatian-Croatian roots and his sense of self in response to prevailing discourses of national identity. I assess Chile’s immigration history as well as the development of the idea of a homogeneous national identity. Blending concepts of ethnic narrative with theories of memory, identity, and literature, I trace Skármeta’s literary shift towards reclaiming his roots and initiating a critical dialogue with established notions of Chilean identity. I further argue that he grounds himself in literary tradition to inscribe immigrant stories into two major foundational genres, the historical novel and the family romance. I also show that, instead of accepting the truth-telling claims of historical fiction, Skármeta employs historiographic metafiction and intertextuality to emphasize the literary nature of fictional discourse and the role of literary figures in inventing the nation. Finally, I contend that these narratives constitute literary lieux de mémoire (Pierre Nora), which incorporate a subjective memory into the evolving discourses on Chilean identity, thereby recognizing pluralism and fostering mutual understanding.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/35559 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Morpaw, May |
| Contributors | Guerrero, Jorge Carlos, Schwartz, Agatha |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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