Over Our Dead Bodies: A Study of the Fantastic in Short Stories by Lesser-Known Women Authors from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean

Abstract

<p>This thesis examines a selection of twelve short stories of the Fantastic written by women authors from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, who are not included in the literary canon. These authors employ the compelling strategies afforded by the Fantastic to speak out against injustice, inequality, oppression, and other social and political challenges. The canonical theories of the Fantastic will be utilised in the analysis of the stories with a particular focus on theorists who have brought a unique Latin American approach into the corpus of Fantastic criticism. This approach is key to understanding a recurring theme in the stories analysed: the body as a place of resistance. Thus, the theoretical concepts explored in this study revolve around narratives of the corporeal body and body studies. A close reading of each story will reveal how the body and its sub-themes – the corporeal body, the non-corporeal body, and the double – are combined with the Fantastic to convey the authors’ key messages.</p>