Scenes of feminine friendship in Luz y sombra Ana Roqué's and Las memorias de Mamá Blanca Teresa de la Parra’s: I think and to define in the intimacy

Abstract

This article analyses the novels Luz y sombra (1903) by Ana Roqué y Las memorias de Mamá Blanca (1929) by Teresa de la Parra, focusing on friendship between female characters. In these texts, friendships between women are important both in thematical as well as in structural terms. On the one hand, they constitute a parallel or alternative plot to the one centered on heterosexual love and the pressure for women to marry. On the other hand, the novels are comprised of the letters exchanged by the protagonists (Luz y sombra) or built on the basis of collaborative artistic creations (Las memorias de Mamá Blanca). We propose that these narratives represent the possibility of building alternative spaces and trajectories for women, which depend largely upon building bonds of solidarity and intimacy. Writing letters, reading together, sharing dialogues and reflections play a main role in the configuration of female subjectivities that are less bound to gender roles and stereotypes.