Interpreter, interlocutor, intermediary, traitress: An exemplary figure in chicana literature and culture
Keywords:
hybrid identity, Chicano/a culture, conquest of Mexico, La Malinche, liminality, mestizo raceAbstract
La Malinche, Cortés’ interpreter and both real and symbolic mother of the mestizo race, is a paradigmatic figure in Mexican and Chicano/a cultures, in which she comes to represent an embodiment of national and linguistic betrayal. By employing postcolonial and gender studies perspectives, this article analyzes La Malinche’s liminal position within discourses of silence and speaking. It further shows how La Malinche’s hybrid identity undermines hierarchical binary oppositions implied by the process of colonization. On the other hand the article also argues that her victimization is already present in the language she speaks and is spoken about.
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