The constitution of marginalized identity in Signs of identity by Juan Goytisolo

Authors

  • Jelica Veljović

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/vh.22.1.197-212

Keywords:

postwar novel, identity, otherness, marginalization

Abstract

The main objective of the article is to investigate the modes of constitution of a marginalized and exiled identity in the novel Signs of identity by Juan Goytisolo. It is categorised as a “testimony and postwar novel”, and the subjects’ constant search of themselves, of their Self and all the elements that constitute their identity is central to the work. The novel is set in the postwar socio-historical period and the protagonist – Alvaro Mendiola – searches for his identity in his childhood memories and family pictures, but also amongst all the Others whose life stories intertwine with his journey of identification. Tracing his line of identity formation, we found three different routes: the first through the genealogical records, the second through the concept of Otherness and the last one through love. We find Identity as a kaleidoscope containing all the Others who served as moulds for his Identity, yet leaving it undefined and incomplete. Therefore, the identity of an exiled and marginalized individual is always in flux, continually reinitiating the constitution of the Self that had been eradicated from its first and formative imagery: the family and the fatherland.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

01.12.2014

How to Cite

Veljović, J. (2014). The constitution of marginalized identity in Signs of identity by Juan Goytisolo. Verba Hispanica, 22(1), 197–212. https://doi.org/10.4312/vh.22.1.197-212

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Literature

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors are confirming that they are the authors of the submitting article, which will be published (print and online) in journal Verba Hispanica by Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia). Author’s name will be evident in the article in journal. All decisions regarding layout and distribution of the work are in hands of the publisher.
  2. Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit their self to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
  3. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  4. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.