Triangular desire in Sandra Cisneros's "Never Marry a Mexican"
by Bazaldua, Laura V., M.A., THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS - PAN AMERICAN, 2011, 97 pages; 1494838

Abstract:

This thesis focuses on desire in Sandra Cisneros’s short story “Never Marry a Mexican” in her collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. Cisneros alters the typical configuration of triangular desire in Western literature by focusing on two females and one male. This thesis analyzes the protagonist’s mimetic desire, applying the Girardian model of triangular desire, for her lover’s wife and how it illustrates her internalized racist views. This analysis examines the correlation between mimetic desire and the protagonist’s, an individual of color, investment in the illusion of whiteness.

Her desire is fundamentally a drive toward Megan, who represents the white Other. It is a drive toward establishing a meaningful connection with the Other which has the potential to allow her to transcend the racist and classist barriers that exist between her and other women because of patriarchy.

 
AdviserRebecca N. Mitchell
SchoolTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS - PAN AMERICAN
SourceMAI/ 49-06, p. , Jul 2011
Source TypeThesis
SubjectsAmerican literature
Publication Number1494838
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