Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Pérez-Manrique, Ana
URN	etd-06152006-184409
Title	Barcelona como Frontera Lingüística, Sexual, Espacial y Cultural: La Novela Española a Las Puertas del Siglo XXI
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Modern Languages, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Brenda Cappuccio Committee Chair Delia Poey Committee Member José Gomariz Committee Member Karen Laughlin Committee Member
Keywords	Eduardo Mendoza Maruja Torres El Amante Bilingüe La Ciudad De Los Prodigios Mientras Vivimos Juan Marsé Post-Franco Novel Novela Post-Franco Boder Border Studies Frontera Narrativa Española
Date of Defense	2006-04-19
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The end in 1975 of the Francoist regime in Spain opened the door to new forms of self-expression, many of them suppressed during the 40 years of dictatorship. This change is especially significant around the traditionally peripheral Comunidades Autónomas that are bilingual, bicultural, and are experiencing a revival of their nationalistic feelings. This study focuses on the work of three Catalan authors who choose Spanish as their literary vehicle of self-expression. Juan Marsé’s El amante bilingüe (1990), Eduardo Mendoza’s La ciudad de los prodigios (1986), and Maruja Torres’ Mientras vivimos (2000) are the works analyzed. These novels take place in Barcelona as it embodies the values of Catalan society, and exhibits many of the tendencies and social problems of the modern urban centers. Border Studies are the theoretical approach. Therefore, I consider here the emergence of a border literature (and identity) in the contact zone between Catalonia and the rest of Spain. Chapter II focuses on linguistic issues. The use of Catalan as the only means to express catalanidad is questioned here, while other textual strategies employed to reflect the linguistically diverse society are studied. Chapter III looks at the cultural aspects of the novels. Marsé, Mendoza and Torres criticize institutions, traditions, and cultural symbols on both sides of the “dividing” line, aiming to defy the concept of cultural purity and to show that transculturation has been in place for centuries. Globalization and immigration patterns also break the Catalan-Spanish binary opposition, thus becoming key elements of a fast changing cultural identity. Chapter IV analyzes Barcelona as an urban space where social relations take place. The work of social theorists Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja is applied to the analysis, especially the concepts of “monumental space” and “thirdspace.” In Chapter V, Francisco Franco serves as a border which conditions sexual behavior. The chapter focuses on three aspects: women’s identity in connection with their own spaces; transvestites as border subjects and symbols of a Spanish national identity; and possible solutions to the border problem based on the theories of national allegory and sexual politics.
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