Date of Award

5-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Michael Dahlie

Second Advisor

Natalie Lima

Abstract

"Hidalga" is a collection of eight short fiction stories featuring Mexican women. Some of the stories take place in Mexico and some in the U.S., others in imagined spaces that borrow cultural flavors and symbols from memories of growing up in the north of Mexico as acknowledgement of the liminal identities that are born from immigration.

Through blending humor and sensuality with serious matters like classism and sexism, the stories in "Hidalga" ask questions about morality and social rules with tender empathy for each character.

In "Hidalga," the story after which the collection is named, a failed high school student searches to redeem herself intellectually and romantically.

"Neighbors," tells the story of thirteen-year-old friends and their coming of age in a neighborhood where a known exhibitionist lives.

"Found Objects," is a comedy about two women in their thirties navigating the humiliations that come with trying to find romance.

"Pyotr Fixed All My Problems," is a surreal story about the delusions that become necessary for the survival of a marriage.

"Failing Chemistry," is another story about a high school student's romantic and academic woes.

"Texas History" is a blended fiction essay about the complicated legacies of the wars in the Texan border and a woman's personal battles in that same geographical space.

"Lorena's Story," is also about a woman battling society's expectations - even if it means losing everything.

Lastly, in "The Interpreter," an artist navigates the body as an objective observer and as a instrument of language.

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