The poor and “bad” mother in Casas vacías (2018) by Brenda Navarro

Boada Noriega Á. · Castilla Estudios de Literatura (2025) · DOI: 10.24197/cel.16.2025.54-78

Resumen

This paper aims to analyze the figure of the “non-normative mother” in Brenda Navarro’s novel Casas vacías (2018). It is based on the hypothesis that this figure allows for a critical dismantling of the hegemonic model of motherhood sustained by patriarchal discourse. To examine the protagonists’ development, the study draws on Pierre Bourdieu’s (1989) theories on discourse reception and Michel Foucault’s (1987) concept of “self-correction.” The concept of the “normative mother” is then defined as a point of contrast, allowing for an exploration of how both models interact with patriarchal discourse. In this framework, a genealogy of motherhood is proposed to trace the ideal maternal model across different historical periods and its relation to the present. Through a hermeneutic exegesis focused on the novel’s second mother figure, the analysis examines her transformation through economic independence, which challenges the roles imposed by society. The outcome of this dialectical process results in a critique of the normative and prescriptive model of motherhood imposed on women.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos