The Bitch: ‘La Malinche’ and the Construct of the Deviant Female in Chicana Feminist Theory and Writings

In: Illuminating the Dark Side: Evil, Women and the Feminine
Author:
Suryendu Chakraborty
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Type:
Chapter
Pages:
251–259
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9781848880443_026

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Focusing on the representation of woman as Evil, I revisit one of the most prominent characters in the Mexican American ethos - that of La Malinche. She persists in Mexican and Chicano culture as an infamous emblem of female transgression and treachery. Over the years Malinche has been the focus of biographical, fictional and symbolic interpretation, finally emerging as a feminist archetype. This paper strives to trace the figure of La Malinche from the chronicles of history to the pages of literature and theory, and brings into discussion the debates on customs and individuality as well as the gender issues that connect us.

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Cover Illuminating the Dark Side: Evil, Women and the Feminine
E-Book ISBN:
9781848880443
Publisher:
Brill
Print Publication Date:
15 Apr 2010
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