Amanda Kleva

Abstract:

The formal experimentation in Carmen Maria Machado’s memoir In the Dream House exposes how, up until this point, literature and language frameworks have failed to get a story that is accurate in its representation of queer domestic abuse. Thus, Machado’s usage of broken stories and footnotes is a written manifestation of the brokenness she feels as well as the broken system that fails to support her as a queer woman. I will first address the broad legal issues with domestic violence and then discuss how queer relationships complicate this already convoluted framework. Then, I will discuss how literature can serve as a sort of justice for speaking about queer domestic abuse before finally concluding with what Machado does in her own memoir which allows for it to be such a productive framework. Discussing and analyzing queer narratives, especially ones like Machado’s which address the destructive gaps within both literature and the legal system, is so incredibly important during such a pivotal moment in American history when queer voices are quite literally being silenced by the banning of books and the dismantling of human rights across the country.