| Summary: | This thesis explores the meaning of Clorinda Matto de Turner's writing in
the context of late nineteenth-century concepts surrounding femininity,
domesticity, citizenship and the emerging modern state in Peru. Utilizing
theoretical modes suggested by Benedict Anderson, Hommi Bhabha, Doris
Sommer, and others, it is argued that Matto de Turner's fictional works
should be read as national allegories outlining the appropriate roles for
women within the Peruvian state. Complex contradictions in Matto de
Turner's life and work are also considered, and the challenges faced by
women writing in the nineteenth century are explored.
Chapter one provides an overview of Matto de Turner's life, and focuses
attention on her connections to the intellectual and governing elite of
Peru. Her views on women, the church, and the state are examined, as are
her professional accomplishments and personal life choices.
Chapter two provides both the historical and literary background needed
to contextualize Matto de Turner and her work within the larger debate
concerning women and their ability to write. The tensions set up by
conflicting social and gender expectations are touched upon, and related
to the production of Matto de Turner's fiction.
Chapters three and four engage in a discussion of the novels Aves sin nido,
and Herencia, and address the constructions of femininity and citizenship
presented in them by Matto de Turner. Emphasis is given to the role of
domesticity and the depiction of women as 'angels of the house.'
This thesis concludes with a call for Matto de Turner's work to be
reconsidered, and recognized for its contributions to the discourse of
modernization and to the nation-building project of nineteenth-century
Peruvian intellectuals. === Arts, Faculty of === French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of === Graduate
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