Language
English
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Using the formal elements of Dogeaters, Jessica Hagedorn offers a pointed critique of class. Bringing Karl Marx’s discussion of time from Capital into conversation with Gèrard Genette’s narratological essay “Order, Duration and Frequency” I argue that Hagedorn’s depiction of time deliberately undermines the systems of power in the novel. Drawing particularly on Genette’s conceptualization of duration and frequency, I examine Hagedorn’s depictions of men and women at work, specifically the characters of Romeo Rosales and Trinidad Gamboa. Romeo and Trinidad are seldom mentioned in criticism of Hagedorn’s text, but these characters demonstrate Hagedorn’s attention to the working-class and serve to critique capitalism in the Philippines. Integrating Marx’s discussion of time as a measure of value or exploitation, I consider the larger ramifications for these characterizations.
Recommended Citation
Wright, Laura A.
(2022)
"Wages of Resistance: A Consideration of Time in Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters,"
Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies: Vol. 11, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/aaldp/vol11/iss1/5