(It's) All about the Mother: Scarred Memories and Amnesic Bodies in Rosa Montero's La hija del caníbal

Abstract

Rosa Montero's novel La hija del caníbal (1997) presents the female body as a metaphor for a scarred, traumatized and amnesic Spanish culture that struggles to come to terms with its painful past and uncertain future. More specifically, Montero treats the maternal body not only as a locus of shame and suffering, marked by lack and repression, but also as a site of anxiety—even monstrosity—, ambivalence and innovation. Most explorations of La hija del caníbal astutely address the strained relationship that exists between the father and daughter referenced in the title. Nevertheless, this article examines the problematic nature of the mother-daughter relationship and its intersections with the traumatic memories and the scarred body of the protagonist. As we shall see, it is the mother's ageing body and fate that disturb the daughter, who in her middle age finds it difficult to distinguish her own aging physique, professional and sentimental blunders, and life-experiences from those of her progenitor. Ultimately, the protagonist's fear of the mother/maternal can be attributed to a traumatic memory that has scarred her indelibly in both a physical and emotional way. Through the writing of her own autobiographical/fictional account, the protagonist not only recuperates her own suppressed maternal identity and legacy, but also reconnects with the mother.