Abstract
Analysis of the textual evidence in Martín Gaite's short stories and novels demonstrates that self-actualization is one of life's most important achievements. For this reason, perhaps, she has been acknowledged primarily as a feminist writer, but analysis indicates that it is her search for an interlocutor that is the primary underlying message that underscores all of her fictional works. She creates narratives that require interaction with narrative interlocutors which are designed in the narrative processes of her texts. Therefore, this thesis studies both the narratological strategies used in her works and the function of the prescribed interlocutor(s) in order to highlight a more authentic reading of the short stories and novels she produced. I rely on the critical works of narratologists for the theoretical background of my study. According to Martín Gaite, searching for and finding an ideal conversation partner is what brings meaning and purpose to life. When authentic conversation partners can't be found, she creates the space for fictional ones because it is the conversation itself that forces the necessary interiorization and corresponding experience of reconciliation to past and present.
Advisor
Kimberly Contag
Committee Member
Gregory Taylor
Committee Member
James Grabowska
Date of Degree
2012
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
College
Arts and Humanities
Recommended Citation
Lindberg, M. (2012). Search for an Interlocutor in Carmen Martin Gaite's Short Stories and Novels [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/249/
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Rights Statement
