Challenging Borders: The Demarcation Of Space In Isabel Allende S House Of The Spirits Trilogy

Resumen del Libro

In addition to providing a synthesis of the emerging field of literary geography, this dissertation explores the delineation of socio-political space in terms of physical contact zones and border subversions, within public and private spheres. The stratification of socio-sexual spaces, particularly those that serve as setting for taboo acts of sexuality, is also explored in terms of spatial usurpation. The delineation of socio-ethnic sites demonstrates Allendes rejection of binary oppositions and of the myth of racial purity, rather, she insists upon a geography of fluid boundaries. Rejecting traditional spatial hierarchies, she deterritorializes the elite while shifting the previously marginalized to the physical and thematic centers of her works. This movement provides the narrative energy which draws the reader in to Allendes universe, an alternative kinesthetic that sustains the good story for which she has been universally acclaimed.