Constructing femininities Agency and transgression

Combining Mimi Schipper’s notion of ‘pariah femininities’ and Sonia Montecino’s concept of the huacha—a female subject that is void of agency and history—this chapter examines the constructions of accepted and transgressive femininities in the societies illustrated in Valdivieso’s and Frías’ novels. Through this close reading, the relevance of the challenges faced by women in the texts to embody an acceptable femininity to the contemporary period in which the authors are writing is highlighted.