Corpses and Capital: Narratives of Gendered Violence in Two Costa Rican Novels

Abstract

In a region prone to violence and political corruption, Costa Rica has been touted as an ecological paradise, a stable democracy, and an egalitarian society. However, Costa Rican fiction from the late twentieth century contests this idyllic image and presents instead a world of intrigue, violence, and criminality. El ano del laberinto (2000) by Tatiana Lobo and Cruz de olvido (1999) by Carlos Cortes are two novels that serve as an excellent introduction to developments in postwar fiction and scholarship from Central America. In my analysis, I first situate the novels in the context of Central American cultural and political developments in recent decades and then consider the linking of narrative, gender, and violence in the novels. My study centers on the authors' use of crime to challenge national myths and to deconstruct narratives that have been instrumental in constructing cherished national identities. Of particular importance is the depiction of gendered bodies and the violence practiced upon them, as well as the politics surrounding bodies and violence in national narratives and in the authors' contemporary stories. This article is available in Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature: http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol32/iss1/7 Corpses and Capital: Narratives of Gendered Violence in Two Costa Rican Novels Laura Barbas Rhoden Wofford College For many audiences, Central America is a peripheral place, relevant for its revolutions in the 1970s and 1980s and for the free trade debates of globalization. In discussions outside the isthmus, Central America is most famous for its political unrest, natural disasters, and perhaps for the culture wars surrounding Rigoberta Menchu’s testimony. Few are aware that in recent decades, Central America has faced dramatic changes, including debt crises, social turmoil, and mass migration to the United States and other countries. Fewer still are aware of the wealth of literature from Central America or of the energetic debates about cultural studies and politics among scholars and authors from the region. Two recent novels from Costa Rica serve as an excellent introduction to developments in fiction and scholarship from the isthmus. They also make important contributions on the topic of gender politics and offer a new understanding of the relevance of Central American fiction in discussions of contemporary literature. In the last decades of the twentieth century, Central America faced the chaotic aftermath of several decades of civil war. The isthmus also experienced economic globalization driven by the neoliberal policies governments adopted in the post-war years. Costa Rica did not suffer the same debilitating civil conflicts as its neighbors, and the nation was one of the first to capitalize on the opportunities neoliberal policies seemed to offer. With no military, no revolutions, and no gun-toting opposition featured on international media outlets, the country drew the first Intel plant in Latin America. It also 1 Rhoden: Corpses and Capital: Narratives of Gendered Violence in Two Costa Published by New Prairie Press