Wrestling with the motherland in Ramon Saizarbitoria’s Martutene

The main goal of this paper is to examine the literary representation of the motherland and the transmission of Basque nationalism. In order to do so, we will base our examination on the work of a Basque writer who has explored this theme in depth and in a critical way; specifically, on Ramon Saizar...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Arroita Azkarate, Izaro
Tipo de recurso: capítulo de libro
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/70559
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/70559
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:motherland
basque nationalism
Saizarbitoria
Martutene
Descripción
Sumario:The main goal of this paper is to examine the literary representation of the motherland and the transmission of Basque nationalism. In order to do so, we will base our examination on the work of a Basque writer who has explored this theme in depth and in a critical way; specifically, on Ramon Saizarbitoria’s novel Martutene (2012), because at the centre of this work is a reflection on the transmission of the nationalist legacy. To begin with, we will reflect on the role that the woman-mother has had as a traditional symbol in representing the homeland. That will give us a means of examining how the spaces that make the motherland connection in Saizarbitoria’s work are represented and problematized; specifically, in order to analyse the representation of the protagonist’s mother’s town. Thus, the dark and alien dimension of the spaces linked to ancestral home and family will also be revealed, among other reasons, because they appear as connected to terrorism. Together with those spaces, we will also explore the protagonists that are emphasized in the transmission of the nationalist legacy, especially women-mothers. The dispute between them, the intergenerational conflict, will call into question what should be preserved and what should be abandoned among future nationalist generations.