Modern Chilean Narratives the Unofficial Story

Erika Fey

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Portugal, Jose Alberto

Keywords

Chile, Dictatorship, Censorship

Area of Concentration

International and Area Studies

Abstract

Through the analysis of three novels written by different Chilean authors, this thesis endeavors to gain a more in-depth look at Chile under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973 1990). Following the coup, the government instituted laws of censorship effecting all information coming in and out the country. Their regulation of information was coupled by the arrests, abuses, and disappearances of Chileans in open disagreement to their rule. This lead to the creation of an Official History which emphasized the success of their neoliberal economic policies and established a broad base of support both domestically and internationally, while at the same time, discrediting rumors of human rights abuses. This thesis analyzes the literature that was produced in order to learn more about Chilean society and reconstruct this particular time and place outside of the Official History. Although, literary production was censored under the military regime, these novels were produced in the years following the end of official censorship (1983). The three novels studied are El cartero de Neruda, by Antonio Sk�rmeta, Mala onda by Alberto Fuguet, and El cuarto mundo by Diamela Eltit. Each novel focuses on a different time period and each author of the works studied offers a unique experience living through these pivotal years in Chilean history. The assemblage of the authors� experiences offers insight into the changing political, social, and economic environment of their country by exploring themes of memory, history, and reconstruction of the past; the disintegration of the family structure as a place for transmitting education and values; the various uses of language; the importance of engaging with multiple voices and experiences; and by the imprint of the author on each text, which associates them with the world they are representing. Through the novels� mutual discussion of the aforementioned themes, this thesis argues that literature can be a powerful tool for exploring the numerous social implications of a country living under a repressive military dictatorship in a way that history cannot.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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