Either a Saint or a Prostitute: Ecuadorian Women in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries Novels

19th century Latin American novels have actively taken part in the construction of national projects. In Ecuador, intellectuals from the late 19th and early 20th centuries created ideal models of the nation in which the writers reimagine the role of the Ecuadorian woman. This brief analysis of six novels published between 1863 and 1904 demonstrates the obsession of the national writer with the destiny of the national woman. In these novels, the protagonists' role changes radically, from women who are exemplars of purity and sanctity (Cumanda and Naya o la Chapetona), to those whose main characteristic is their moral decay (La emancipada, Carlota, A la costa). Women and family are perceived as metaphors for the nation; thus we can understand the persistent preoccupation of the Ecuadorian writer with their "proper" involvement in the development of a national conscience and identity.