Alienation in the narrative of Mireya Robles

Author

Lilliam Oliva Collmann

Date of Award

6-1987

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Spanish

Major Professor

Michael H. Handelsman

Committee Members

Cynthia Duncan, Denise Dipuccio

Abstract

Mireya Robles' narrative works explore the problem of alienation in our contemporary world. On the one hand, her narrative portrays the lives of individuals who are trapped in a socially limiting and fragmented existence. As a result, they are incapable of understanding themselves and others. At the same time, Robles documents men's and women's basic need to transcend their isolation and to gain a deeper understanding of their destiny in this world. The texts analyzed for this study are Robles' two unpublished collections of short stories, Trisagio de la muerte and Frigorífico del este, and her novel Hagiografía de Narcisa La Bella published in 1985. Regarding Trisagio de la muerte. the stories selected demonstrate Robles' interest in investigating the origin of alienation as she explores the conflict between the individual and society. In the stories analyzed from Frigorífico del este, Robles uses the ideas of rebirth and reincarnation to describe the impoverished spiritual condition of men and women and their efforts to transcend their alienation through the recovery of their past. Finally, in Hagiografía de Narcisa La Bella, as Robles parodies a traditional hagiography, she subverts the idea of a spiritual rebirth and thereby reveals the extreme alienation of a Cuban family in the 1940s. This exploration of her Cuban past is an integral part of Robles' incessant search for a greater understanding of the human condition. Although she frequently portrays pessimistically her characters' struggles for self-realization, there is always a sense of hope. Robles implicitly. at least, suggests to her readers that her fictional world is made up of individuals who refuse to abandon their efforts to achieve self-discovery.

Recommended Citation

Collmann, Lilliam Oliva, "Alienation in the narrative of Mireya Robles. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1987.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/13436