A CONVOLUTED SYSTEM OF POWER AND VIOLENCE: CARCOMA BY LAYLA MARTÍNEZ

Abstract

This article analyzes the representation of intersectional violence in the novel Carcoma (2021) by Spanish author Layla Martínez. Therefore, power dynamics are studied based on both Michel Foucault's philosophical contributions and the theory of intersectionality, developed by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw. Once the research is done, it is discovered that in the novel several forms of violence are divided within the typology of interpersonal violence (reciprocal; re-directed; self-directed) vs collective violence (political/economic violence; social violence; violence against women; discursive violence) and that the power manifests itself through a multiplicity of force relations, forming a chain that makes the characters of the novel to both submit to and/or exercise this power. Furthermore, the research also reveals that the mystical elements act as an essential structural mechanism that serves as a tool for both social protest and fictional empowerment.