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- All Subjects: Nationalism in literature
- Genre: Doctoral Dissertation
- Creators: Acereda, Alberto
Description
The subject of this study is the work of Spanish novelist J. Á. González Sainz, comprised of Los encuentros (1989), Un mundo exasperado (1995), Volver al mundo (2003) y Ojos que no ven (2010). His work, which is structurally demanding, treats themes such as morality, terrorism, the nostos or return to one's homeland, and nature. He has been connected to the "dehumanized novel" of Juan Benet, though his career demonstrates an attempt to make clear references to historical reality. González Sainz has acquired a measure of prestige in the estimation of important critics. With his latest book, he has furthermore gained recognition for his moral commitment in opposing the terrorism of ETA, and his work has entered debates on current events. In my study I argue that this formally rigorous narrative has a singular capacity for political engagement. I argue that González Sainz is an example of the integration of ethics in a narrative discourse whose semantic density allows a commitment with moral conflicts. To situate it in the context of contemporary Spanish fiction, I relate Pierre Bourdieu's notion of the literary field to the proposals concerning the history of literature of Pablo Gil Casado, Gonzalo Sobejano, Ramón Buckley, Ignacio Soldevila Durante and others. I follow three lines of investigation: terrorism in literature; ethics; and the political engagement of the writer. Ethics, whose relation to literature has been studied by Zachary Newton, Wolfgang Hallet or Nina Rosenstand, has allowed the author a political engagement in opposition to terrorism in general and in particular in opposition to ETA. González Sainz exhibits an equilibrium between aesthetic and ethical values of literature. In the plural context of the latest fiction in Spain, his novels have found a place in the tradition that since the middle of the twentieth century has been characterized by a dialectic between political engagement and the autonomy of literature. The theme of ETA terrorism and his structural rigor situate González Sainz's work in a position that maintains the validity of this dialectic.
ContributorsMartín de Marcos, Gonzalo (Author) / García-Fernández, Carlos Javier (Thesis advisor) / Volek, Emil (Committee member) / Acereda, Alberto (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
In Angel Rama's La Novela Latinoamericana 1920-1980 (1982), the influential critic discloses a map of 20th century Latin American narrative. Rama stresses three literary styles merging into the phenomenon called Boom: fantastic, regional and realistic. On the other hand, another influential critic such as Nestor Garcia Canclini, in his article "Aesthetic Moments of Latin Americanism" suggests the 60's and 70's as a period in which art worked as a herald of utopia, trying to include in the present a future that seemed feasible. Rama's narrative map does not even mention writers as Manuel Puig and Rubem Fonseca. Both, the Argentine and the Brazilian, were censored by authoritarian governments. At the same time, their works deliver plastic representations of crime; therefore, I argue that these literary works, along with those created by Armonia Somers (Uruguay), Dalton Trevisan (Brazil) and Rodolfo Fogwill (Argentina) provides a representation of reality that confronts two mainstream discourses: one concerned with nationalism (authoritarian discourse) and another concerned with utopia (Boom discourse). The narratives I study disclose body and crime representations that do not address a symbolic conflict with modernity like the authoritarian and the Boom discourse do; yet modern elements are integrated into these narratives. This study focuses on Un Retrato para Dickens (1967) by Armonia Somers; O Vampiro de Curitiba by Dalton Trevisan; Feliz Ano Novo (1976) by Rubem Fonseca; The Buenos Aires Affair (1973) by Manuel Puig; and Los Pichy-cyegos (1983) by Rodolfo Fogwill. This study assumes that the technological/digital development has modified the perception of last sixty years in Latin American Literature. This work is engaged in developing a new perspective over 20th Century Southern Cone Narrative and it interprets the Boom as a symptom of a wider picture: the development of a global cultural market. Accordingly, this perspective might explain partially the rise of new identities and the present status of Southern Cone Narratives.
ContributorsSueldo, Martín (Author) / Volek, Emil (Thesis advisor) / Acereda, Alberto (Committee member) / Sanchez, Angel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010