ABSTRACT
The dialectic of inside/outside is complex in the works of Magaly Alabau and Sylvia Molloy since it can have different meanings. To be inside can mean to belong, to be part of society, or it can mean to be in the closet, invisible, to be in the realm of the unspeakable. Exile has been a significant theme in many kinds of literature and at different times. In Hispanic literature in particular, the theme of exile has occupied a paramount place in the works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers. It is not accidental that Hermana begins and ends with bedrooms. Being the site of lesbian passion, the bedroom links memories and provides a space for the sexuality of the sisters and their emotional intimacy. The room, central to the lesbian theme of the novel, symbolizes two different acts of separation in order to proclaim the protagonist's identity.
