WOMEN AND BISEXUALITY. LOVE STORIES IN THE CONFESSIONS OF DORISH DAM (1929) BY DELIA COLMENARES

Masías J.L. · Metafora (2025) · DOI: 10.36286/mrlad.v3i6.243

Resumen

In the novel Confessions of Dorish Dam (1929) by Delia Colmenares (Piura, 1887-1968), the author highlights the presence of sexual dissidence in aristocratic Lima life in the early decades of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the bond established between two elite female characters. In this article, I propose to analyze this relationship and demonstrate that the novel’s diegesis addresses bisexuality more than lesbianism, as some of the specialized criticism that studies Colmenares’s book maintains. To do so, we will analyze the text from the perspective of gender studies, lesbian studies, and bisexual studies. We consider that the novel, despite the thematization of the bond between two women, does not exclude other forms of sexual dissidence that cannot be simply defined as lesbianism. Furthermore, it is proposed that the novel does not seek to exalt dissident relationships but, on the contrary, questions and condemns them.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos