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Essay / Ars Erotica: Analyzing “Arcadia” and “Eva Luna”
“Language is not a neutral instrument. »[1]Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Literature is never without an ideology, whether intended by the writer, interpreted by the reader, inherent in the language, or implied by the context. Thus, an author or playwright’s particular handling of the medium – a particular style – always serves a purpose; that of the author or that of the public. The characterization of the heroine, the erotic scenes and the intertextuality of Isabel Allende's Eva Luna (1987) show the vital potential of female sexual and creative expression. Additionally, the novel's revision of the postcolonial genre, magical realism, for the subaltern woman contextualizes the problematic decisions and experiences of women in Latin American society. The characterization of women, satirical devices and cyclical structure of Tom Stoppard's comedy of ideas Arcadia (1993) could represent the struggle for the inclusion of the female psyche and Eros in patriarchal epistemology. Although separated by their cultural and historical context, the two texts are unified by their feminist discourse on women's sexuality; in other words, they are examples of ars erotica [2]. The development of the main character, through intertextuality and metafiction, in Isabel Allende's magical feminist novel Eva Luna subscribes to notions of women's writing and celebrates the life-giving faculty of women: "Woman must write herself : must write about women and bring women to writing, from which they have been chased as violently as from their bodies. »[3] Eva's biblical conception developed from her mother's decision, having never "succeeded in accepting the tyrannical god." » (9), to “disobey an order” (19) and “please” (20) a man bitten by a viper; but instead of causing mortality, Consuelo saves him from death. Furthermore, she names their creation Eva, "so that she will love life" (22) and share it, and although "her father's name does not matter", upsetting the patriarchal lineage, she s Appropriates "Luna", from the name of her "tribe, the Children of the Moon", thus combining two powerful matriarchal symbols.[4] She further empowers her daughter by transmitting to her “the idea that reality is not only what we see on the surface… it is legitimate to highlight and color it to make our journey through life less trying » (21) and guiding her throughout life, for example. “if [Eva] remembers [her], [Consuelo] will always be with [her]” (43). Eva's sexual awakening to the ars erotica, provoked by the Arabian Nights, is crucial to contesting phallogocentrism: "Eroticism and the fantastic blew into my life with the force of a typhoon, erasing all the limits and disrupting the known order of things” (146). The “multiple possibilities of [her] femininity” (192) cannot be expressed by the “acuity and singularity”[5] of masculine language; instead, her later writing is female talk. By claiming "the splendid gift of [her] own sensuality", she manages to "know [her] body", expressing her subjective sexuality in herself and for herself. Eva's relationship with Riad Halabi is juxtaposed with Huberto Naranjo's suppression of her joy and creativity. Her machismo imposes silence and deception, because she “never spoke about her fantasies” and “feigned satisfaction,” to satisfy her sense of entitlement to Eva’s body. Her fabrication of rape corrupts the liberating potential of her imagination and she is “unable to concentrate on [her] work or her stories” (220). Eva realizes her ultimate being inreconciling, as Scheherazade did, sexuality, politics and narration. His writing is “salvation through fabrication”4; this gives her “the power to determine [her] destiny, or to invent a life for herself” (241) or to love “exactly as [she] had described… in a scene” (291) and the means to broadcast his nonviolent and imaginative emancipation from political prisoners in telenovela form. Isabel Allende empowers Eva Luna's protagonist by writing the female experience and body in "white ink"[6] and honoring the female gift of life through an intertext with the Bible and the Thousand and One Nights and metafictional strategies. Eva Luna's characters encourage a feminist reading in the context of postcolonial and patriarchal Latin American society. Zulema is condemned for perpetuating her position – “dependent on her husband for everything” (148) – by choosing to “put up with [her husband] rather than work to support him.” Apathy and idleness have eradicated his identity; she is, metaphorically, an “enormous toy” for her husband’s lust, “a great pale fish abandoned” (149) by the patriarchal ideal of marital fulfillment. However, she was "educated to serve and please a man" (148) as her sole function, her value being judged as an object, on the basis of "the absence of defects" (141), the ability domestic and purity. While Zulema is dispossessed of her worth, as defined by her body, because she “could not stand the hair…offended by her own smell” (149), Madrina is “proud of her voluminous flesh…her pubis shaded by a fuzzy down…a strong sweet smell” (45). She embraces her synesthetic body and appreciates her sexuality as part of her subject, while remaining devout to Catholicism, thereby challenging the archetypal virgin/whore dichotomy, and also empowering women through sacrifice. She baptizes Eva “with a thorough cleansing of the church” (46), an ironic purification; however, the binary oppositions of patriarchal and religious dogma corrupt her nurturing capacity: "the boundaries between good and evil were very precise, and she was ready to save [Eva] from sin if she had to beat [her] to do so" . After “analyzing her [limited] possibilities” (118), Senora achieved an illusion of power through “her imagination,” “her patience and hard work” (113), and by exploiting her sisterhood. This Janus stereotype is reinforced by his false submission: “It's better to say yes to everything and then do what you want. » She “never flinched” (120) towards her “distinguished clientele”, paradoxically influential and respected but nevertheless prostitutes, dependent on the objectification of women. Senora thus appropriates the patriarchal aesthetic of the feminine, without deconstructing it. Melesio/Mimi complicates the conception of womanhood, as radical trans-exclusionary feminism maintains that transsexuality is a medical industry, "an institutional expression that women are defective men"[7], reflected in its hyperbolic "metamorphosis" (203) through “enough hormones.” transforming an elephant into a migratory bird,” or in a stereotypically performative manner, as in the case of Mimi’s profession as a drag queen. On the one hand, she is a "divine apparition" (197) and an "Amazon" (203), embodying feminine beauty and strength, but on the other, she is a "disturbing" "monster" (204). , becoming “fanatically”. submissive” to conform to patriarchal expectations. There are "some difficulties in understanding Melesio's struggle to become [a woman]" but ultimately, "feminism is based on supporting women's choices even if we would not make them ourselves"[8] , and this respect is obvious. in his desire to “.