The maternal in transformation: The path towards a new perspective in the literature of three contemporary Latin American women writers

This work aims to highlight a topic of relevance in the field of literature and gender studies: the shift towards a new perspective on motherhood and the implications this change has generated in Latin America. While the concept of "mother" has traditionally been conceived as a romantic ideal associated with roles primarily defined by traditional female mandates, such as caregiving, sacrifice, and selflessness, some contemporary literary works present these ideals as disarticulated from the unveiling of unconscious or taboo subjects. In the works of the Bolivian writer Liliana Colanzi, the Ecuadorian Mónica Ojeda, and the Argentine Samanta Schweblin, one can observe a prevalence of maternal characters that do not conform to the roles historically imposed by society. From an interdisciplinary perspective that integrates theoretical concepts from psychoanalysis, gender studies, and social literature, the paper examines new perspectives on maternal figures in literature, whose structure becomes more complex as society questions family roles, resulting in unconventional figures that ultimately demystify the traditional Latin American narrative.