MAPS TO THE SOUL

Aiding Latinas claim their stories, this study§focuses on the experience of migration. The women who§shared their stories were found to be Seekers who§believe that the process of migration has enriched§them despite the hardships it entails. Although they§often still feel as if they belong neither here-in§their adoptive country-nor there in their country of§origin these women continue to search for home. §A weaving of their stories of migration was§interpreted through the lens of the tale of The Ugly§Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. Like the§immigrants'' this tale is a story of separation and§loss. It thus helps place the Latinas journey within§a universal, archetypal context and view their§stories against a mythological framework. Since the§heroic quest portrayed by the tale of the Ugly§Duckling is an archetypal pattern or blueprint of the§process of individuation, seeing an immigrant s§journey through this lens helps situate her personal§experiences within the larger human journey. In light§of this tale, these women are seen as heroines in a§quest, one that could, in the end, lead them to§individuation: healing their wounds and returning§them Home.