A Woman’s Search for Her Identity in Luisa Valenzuela’s Novel You Have To Smile

Abstract

Тhis article analyzes the novel You Have to Smile by Luisa Valenzuela, in an attempt to show the birth of feminist ideas not only in the author's works but also in Argentinian literary works. Through the protagonist Clara, the novel critically thematizes the position of women and their search for identity. In this regard, the paper emphasizes the influence of society and the family in the formation of women's identity and position. It also analyzes how the author presents the body of the protagonist as a battleground of old and new ideologies in Argentina in the 1960s. The family and society will create a system within which a woman is subordinate to a man and his decisions. This results in the objectification and dehumanization of the protagonist, through whom Valenzuela represents a whole generation of submissive and silenced women.