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Mirandese Studies: Language, Literature, Landscape and Pedagogy
  • ISSN: 1364-971X
  • E-ISSN: 1758-9150

Abstract

Ana Lena Rivera’s novel, (‘The Singer Heirs’) (2023), celebrates sewing while using the age-old gendered textile art to address the importance of community support in empowering women through emotional crises – often as a result of sexual violence – and economic hardship. Through the lens of trauma and postmemory studies, this article explores the role of sewing and the gendered object of the sewing machine in forging intergenerational ties of four women in Rivera’s . As the protagonists navigate trauma, they challenge patriarchal structures and fight to break cycles of abuse through acts of creative labour and collective resistance. Sewing and the inherited Singer merge as metaphors for inheritance, resistance, healing and repair.

Resumen

La novela (2023), de Ana Lena Rivera, sitúa la costura en el centro de su narrativa y recurre a este arte textil, históricamente asociado al género, para subrayar la importancia del apoyo comunitario para las mujeres durante crisis emocionales y económicas, muchas veces consecuencia de la violencia sexual. Desde la perspectiva de los estudios sobre trauma y posmemoria, este artículo analiza el papel de la costura y de la máquina de coser heredada en la construcción de lazos intergeneracionales entre cuatro mujeres de la novela. A medida que las protagonistas enfrentan el trauma, desafían las estructuras patriarcales y buscan romper los ciclos de abuso mediante el trabajo creativo y la resistencia colectiva. La costura y la Singer heredada se entrelazan como metáforas de la herencia, la resistencia, la sanación y la reparación.

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/content/journals/10.1386/ijis_00160_7
2025-07-09
2026-04-16

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/content/journals/10.1386/ijis_00160_7
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  • Article Type: Other
Keyword(s): coser; disclosure; feminism; feminismo; intergenerational novel; memoria; memory; máquina de coser; novela intergeneracional; sewing; sewing machine; testimonio

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