METAPHORS OF ENTRAPMENT - CARIBBEAN WOMEN-WRITERS FACE THE WRECKAGE OF HISTORY

Wafter Benjamin writes of the angel of history as someone who, unlike the rest of us who see history in bits and pieces, ''sees one single c atastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in f ront of his feet'': Benjamin's angel of history is ''caught'' by the p rogress of history as if in a storm. ''Metaphors of Entrapment'' exami nes how four Caribbean women writers, writing from exile in the United States, use metaphors to deal with the chaotic historical situation o f their respective countries, Cuba and Santo Domingo. Through their wo rks, Dolores Prida, Margarita Engle, Cristina Garcia, and Julia Alvare z examine the political and sociological realities of their respective countries as they document the chaos created by the dictatorial gover nments that have ruled and still rule these countries.