Melisandra and the Amazons: Feminist Utopianism in <i>Waslala</i> by Gioconda Belli

Abstract

The novel Waslala (1996) by Nicaraguan writer Gioconda Belli explores the timeless human concern to find a “happy place” or instead to create a perfect society following the model established by Thomas More in Utopia (1516). In Waslala, a secret, closed community hidden in the Central American jungle, the utopian project fails when the practice of government and the use of power bring discord among the founding fathers of the community and destroy their ideals of harmony, equality and justice the community was based upon. However, Belli’s novel offers an alternative model to the male utopia, by incorporating a feminist vision to the formation of a better, more just society. Her utopian proposal places community building at the center and women at the front of the national project. The novel features four women whose leadership and initiative contribute to the opening of safe spaces for victims of social chaos created by armed conflicts and human greed. The strength of these women brings to mind the matriarchal societies of the Amazons, a Greek myth depicting the dangers of female power with its threat of destabilizing the patriarchal society.