Geographies of trauma in Loida Maritza Pérez´s geographies of home and Cristina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban

Abstract

The scope of this thesis is to provide with a comparative analysis of Cristina Garcias Dreaming in Cuban and Loida Maritza Pérezs Geograhies of Home. Supported by trauma studies, feminist literary theories, diaspora and cultural studies, I claim that the womencharacters in both novels suffer different sorts of traumas. The diasporic movements these characters undergo are related to these traumas, either as causes or consequences. Gendering of trauma related to patriarchy, family history, socio-political contexts and sexual oppressionare investigated as well as I argue that the characters suffer traumas derived related to these issues. Furthermore, I claim that the racism some characters experience is traumatic and add to other traumas they manifest. The comparative analysis between the two novels evidencesthat the traumas the characters go through cause fragmentation in their subjectivities and result in some sort of mental disorder. Trauma as a multilayered and complex phenomenon is a category that undercuts both novels.