Borderlands and Gender Performativity: Rethinking Identity in Leaving Tabasco

Abstract

Leaving Tabasco, by Carmen Boullosa, is an example of magical realism; the story unfolds through Delmira’s memories of Agustini in Mexico before she leaves for Germany. By blending the real and the magical, the author explores the theme of identity construction. The present qualitative study, based on a close reading of the novel, examines the theme of gender identity according to the theoretical frameworks of Gloria Anzaldúa’s borderland theory and Judith Butler’s notion of gender and performativity. The analysis shows that identity is not something fixed; rather, it is fluid and fragmented. As portrayed in the novel, feminine identity is shaped by cultural hybridity and performative acts. Based on Anzaldúa’s theory, Delmira exemplifies the state of in-betweenness, a painful and productive state where she experiences the tension between her past and present. Delmira’s perception of her identity, as a female, is achieved through the states of Nepantilism and Coatlicue that imply the deconstruction and reconstruction of identity. Similarly, drawing on Butler’s concept of identity, the analysis demonstrates that gender identity is shaped by repetitive performances. In other words, it is constructed through a process of learning and narrative acts, and it is not a stable or fixed essence. Leaving Tabasco, as a postcolonial narrative, portrays and redefines identity as constantly reconfigured.