The Lesbian Continuum in Cartucho by Nellie Campobello: Female Bonds in the Mexican Subaltern Narrative

Abstract

Cartucho is a literary piece written by Nellie Campobello. It was published in 1931 as a compilation of short stories based on her experiences in the echoes of the Mexican Revolution. As a subaltern narrative, that is, stories written from the perspective of socially marginalized groups, this work has become a form of memory, testimony and archive. These tales depict the violence exerted by hegemonic masculinity in a wartime context and reveal a contrast with the sensitivity of the child’s perspective, as well as the feminine voice and presence in each of them. Emotional, social and political relationships that build a strong sense of community and forms of vital resistance, are presented through her female characters.

In this regard, the concept lesbian continuum developed by Adrienne Rich (1986) in her essay entitled Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, examines women’s practices across a broad spectrum in which friendship, spiritual and intellectual affinity, and sexual attraction coexist. The present critical essay develops an analysis of Nellie Campobello’s work applying the concept of lesbian continuum in the relationships of the female characters in Cartucho, as well as the importance of reading it from a feminist perspective today.