Two Women, Two Literatures and One Fight for Dignity and Voice in the Society - About the Mexican Jesusa of Elena Poniatowska and the Polish Marta of Eliza Orzeszkowa

Abstract

Abstract Over the last centuries women have fought for their rights. On the pages of literature appeared hundreds of heroines who wanted to change the world. Poniatowska and Orzeszkowa - two women from distant cultures and times - created outstanding literary characters. The novel of Elena Poniatowska, published in 1969, was the chronicle of 20th century in Mexico, which included documentary material about Jesusa Palancares and her story about the revolution in 1910. The work is the epic of the folk hero closed in the labyrinth of solitude and attempt to determine his own character. Jesusa will be compared with Marta, the main character of Eliza Orzeszkowa’s novel, which was published in 1873 and is dedicated to the social rights of women. This contribution aims to discuss the literary techniques and topics in works of the important women-writers in Poland and Mexico. This paper analyses the novels not through feminism, but through the study of culture and politics. In the comparative analysis of Marta and Hasta no verte Jesús mío the paper shows similarities and diversities in the texts, considering differences in national identity and similar social-political situation as a bridge between the cultures.