Abstract
The paper examines Isabel Allende’s novel “Violeta” (2022) as a paradigmatic instance of historical fiction. It captures an entire century of Latin American sociopolitical revolutionising history through the lens of one woman’s astonishing life. Born in the 1920 Spanish influenza and living till the 2020 COVID-19 period, the protagonist memoir of hundred-year voyage serves as a witness along with being ardent participant of the boisterous history of an unnamed country in South America. The study detects Allende’s mastery in combining elements of magical realism along with historical narrative that portrays the micro-historical processes through instances centring around a female. Violeta’s transformation from a pampered and privileged daughter to an independent entrepreneur, and matriarch, the paradigm of her life against the backdrop of economic disparities, social revolution and multiple dictatorships. The epistolary framework of the novel- Violeta’s extended letter to her beloved maternal grandson- establishes an intergenerational discourse that stood the testimony of time and is the counterpoint of historical narratives. This research contributes to a scholarly level of understanding the narrative style of Allende in context of her depiction of memory, trauma and resilience in the Latin America. By situating Allende’s “Violeta” in a contemporary literary tradition, this paper illustrates how the novel projects Allende’s reclamation of women’s stories not just as a spectator but rather as a fundamental being with an understanding of historical processes along with adapting her narrative style to engage with the apprehensions of twenty-first century.
Presenters
Akshata SinghStudent, PhD, Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, India Shilpi Gupta
Assistant Professor, Department of Languages, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
LATIN, AMERICAN, LITERATURE, ISABEL, ALLENDE, HISTOR, FEMINISM, TESTIMONY, DICTATORSHIP, MEMOIR
