Milli mála - 01.06.2016, Blaðsíða 139

HÓLMFRÍÐUR GARÐARSDÓTTIR
Milli mála 8/2016 139
her protagonists “construct new paradigms for future generations”.64
Irene, when observing herself in the mirror, and Laura, when gazing
at her own reflection in New York, confirm their self-determination
and their acceptance of responsibility for their own personal wel-
fare. Irene observes:
I also have on a nice dress and it suits my figure. I´m tall, I´m delicate as
they say in Cuba. My lips are full, my teeth are white and my eyes are
catlike. I have a mulatto skin that never grows old. My soul has, however,
aged and nowadays I can be irritated, melancholic and wilted. I can feel
myself trapped and suffering. But not today … . 65
In tune with Montobbio’s observations, these women belong to a
certain collective community, but one that lacks unity; their shared
world-view is that of the marginalized other. Yet, contrary to the
men, the women challenge their obstacles. They belong to a region-
al, collective identity that is, as has been discussed, multiple, sensi-
tive and even weak, where each member is requested to determine
his/her own place of belonging, or else live outside, or at the mar-
gins of, the pre-established norms.
Therefore, the multiple cultural, ethnic and linguistic mixtures
which have emerged over time on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica
have led to the construction of a particular and localized social iden-
tity and understanding of self. Rossi’s two novels bear testimony to
that process, hence their importance. Through her narrative, Rossi
confirms Heidegger’s observations about each person being influ-
enced by their particular spatial and temporal situation. She writes
Limón, its history and peoples, into the Costa Rican imaginary,
thereby confirming that both she and her characters, Orlandus,
Irene, Percival/Ahmed and Laura/Aisha, are social constructs. The
multiple facets of mestizaje revealed in her texts emphasize Caribbean
coastal identity not just as diverse but also as continually changing.
64 Garðarsdóttir, ibid., „constituyen modelos para las generaciones futuras”, p. 190.
65 Rossi, Limón Blues, “Yo también llevo un vestido fino que le va a mi figura. Soy alta, soy mórida
como dicen en Cuba, tengo la boca generosa y unos dientes muy blancos y los ojos gatunos. Tengo
una piel de mulata que jamás envejece. Mi alma sí ha envejecido y ahora puedo estar irritable,
melancólica o mustia. Puedo sentirme amarrada o hacerme la sufrida. Pero hoy no… .”, p. 394.