READING ISABEL ALLENDE’S IN THE MIDST OF WINTER USING BHABHA’S THEORIES OF AMBIVALENCE, MIMICRY AND UNHOMELINESS

Abstract

This research explores the different aspects of identity seeking and cultural hybridity in terms of post-colonial discourse in various nations in Isabel Allende’s In the Midst of Winter with a focus on the liminal space. It also exposes the way marginalized groups are influenced ultimately by hybridized space and consequently they possess hybrid and fugitive identities. This study uses Bhabha’s theories of ambivalence, mimicry and unhomeliness from his book, The Location of Culture. It is revealed through this analysis that the liminal quality which is created as the consequence of colonial discourses will result in creating a third space in which the oppressed ones undergo radical changes in terms of identity, and this transformation leads to them gaining a spectral identity in the liminal space.