Women and the Novela de la Revolución in Mexico

This book explores how women are represented in novels written by women which have conflict as their central thematic concern. The Revolution was the zero hour of twentieth century Mexican national discourse. Even while the war was being fought, writers felt the need to engage with the mythologies of that discourse and write their own versions of events. From these early witness accounts there developed a genre which would evolve to challenge the all-pervasive imagining of the nation on an institutional level. As a result, the Revolution was a pivotal event for writers. Heretofore, in the main, critical studies have only examined writing by men, while women’s contribution to this genre has been marginalized and ignored. This book provides a unique insight into the many roles which women had in the Revolution and assesses the complex and varied styles employed by three significant, and in many ways controversial, Mexican authors: Elena Garro, Elena Poniatowska, and Ángeles Mastretta. This is an important book which makes a significant contribution to the international debates which examine women’s many roles in wartime.