A world upside down: the carnival in Emilia Pardo Bazán and Mercè Rodoreda

Authors

  • Marisol Chalian Universidad de Buenos Aires
  • Eva Jersonsky Universidad de Buenos Aires

Keywords:

Carnival, Gender, Disguise, Mask, Space

Abstract

In the present paper we will focus on the figure of Carnival in the works of two authors that come from the peripheric Spanish  nations, separated by several decades: Emilia Pardo Bazán and Mercè Rodoreda. Based on the ideas that Bajtin ([1965] 2003) proposes regarding this trope -like its freedom, counter-hegemonic character and the elimination of borders-, our approach -following Tseëlon (2003)-will concentrate in the implications and possibilities that this extraordinary event opens for the female gender, not only because of the potential removal of borders and role inversion but also for the presence of disguises and masks that grant anonymity to the woman that attends the festivities and allow her to express and channel desires that are usually forbidden. In this way, analyzing specifically two short stories: “Los dominós de encaje” (1897), by the Galician author, and “Carnaval” (1958), by the Catalan author, we will try to unravel the journey of a topic not at all unfamiliar to the Iberic tradition that keeps on appearing with the passage of time, especially in regard to the questioning and the reflection about gender roles and
women’s place in the public sphere.

References

Bajtin, Mijail ([1965] 2003), La cultura popular en la edad media y en el renacimiento. El contexto de François Rabelais, Madrid, Alianza.

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García, Carmen (2007), “Galería de mujeres en los cuentos de Emilia Pardo Bazán”, XI Jornadas Interescuelas/Departamentos de Historia. Departamento de Historia. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, San Miguel de Tucumán, Universidad de Tucumán.

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Pardo Bazán, Emilia ([1897] 1994), “Los dominós de encaje”, en Herrero Figueroa, Araceli, “Un relato carnavalesco de Emilia Pardo Bazán”, REV-LYT, 5, 145-149.

Rodoreda, Mercè ([1958] 1988), “Carnaval”, Veintidós cuentos, Madrid, Mondadori.

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Sinovas Maté, Juliana (1999), Emilia Pardo Bazán. La obra periodística completa en La Nación de Buenos Aires (1879-1921). Tomo I, Salamanca, Editorial Diputación Provincial.

Tseëlon, Efrat (Ed.) (2003), Masquerade and Identities. Essays on gender, sexuality and marginality, New York, Routledge.

Published

06-06-2025

How to Cite

Chalian, M., & Jersonsky, E. (2025). A world upside down: the carnival in Emilia Pardo Bazán and Mercè Rodoreda. evista elibea, 16(2), 35–49. etrieved from https://revistas.apps.sid.uncu.edu.ar/ojs3/index.php/melibea/article/view/8935

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Section

Articles