UC Santa Barbara

This study examines representations of melancholy in Chicana/o literature. Using theory rooted in Gloria Anzaldúa's Borderlands I contend that, counter to Freud, melancholy is a productive strategy of self-making for Chicana/o subjects. By reading melancholy through a Chicana/o Studies lens I illustrate that there are multiple manifestations of self and subjectivity. Using parallels between several salient images from Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia" and Anzaldúa's Borderlands I trace instances of melancholy in a selection of Chicana/o texts. I begin my study with a brief cultural history of melancholy before discussing the parallels between the energy of melancholy and Anzaldúa's theories. My work is grounded in Chicana/o Studies and I use textual, and historical analysis to illustrate how melancholy is productive rather than pathological.