Repetitive Bodies in the Works of Juan José Millás: 1990 – 2007
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REPETITIVE BODIES IN THE WORKS OF JUAN JOSÉ MILLÁS: 1990 – 2007 by JENNIFER BRADY B.A., University of Colorado at Denver, 2001 M.A., University of Colorado at Boulder, 2007 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Spanish and Portuguese 2011 This thesis entitled: Repetitive Bodies in the Works of Juan José Millás: 1990 – 2007 written by Jennifer Brady has been approved for the Department of Spanish and Portuguese ____________________________ Dr. Nina Molinaro ____________________________ Dr. Javier Krauel ____________________________ Dr. Juan Herrero-Senés ____________________________ Dr. John Slater ____________________________ Dr. Robert Buffington Date ____________________ The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above-mentioned discipline. iii Brady, Jennifer (Ph.D. Spanish Literature, Department of Spanish and Portuguese) Repetitive Bodies in the Works of Juan José Millás: 1990 – 2007 Dissertation directed by Associate Professor Nina L. Molinaro In my dissertation, I examine four novels and one collection of short fiction published between 1990 and 2007 by contemporary Spanish author, Juan José Millás, including La soledad era esto (1990), El orden alfabético (1998), Dos mujeres en Praga (2002), Cuentos de adúlteros desorientados (2003), Laura y Julio (2006), and El mundo (2007). I offer a theoretical model of bodies with which we may be better able to understand the nature of Millás’s fictional oeuvre. Specifically, I examine metaphors of physical bodies and texts as bodies as the principle ways in which Millasian characters repeatedly meditate on subjectivity. My dissertation aims to address the following questions: How and when do physical and textual bodies intersect in Millás’s fictional narratives? How and why do his characters habitually modify these two types of bodies? And, what are the implications of repetitive bodies in his works? Millasian characters are isolated and lonely, and they repeatedly revert to the modification of their physical and textual bodies to attempt to make sense of their selves. The delineation of “bodies,” in both senses, affirms his characters’ experiences as subjective, individual, and claustrophobic, and more importantly, it highlights embodied politics of contemporary masculinity. As characters continuously search for points of reference for their subjectivities, they are repeatedly unable to escape the underlying hegemonic norms of masculinity and their narcissistic approach towards self frequently ostracizes characters and lodges them in a seemingly endless cycle of repetition. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing my dissertation has been a collective effort, and the process of composing it has proven to me that collaboration and collegiality are two key factors that lead to success. My dissertation committee is comprised of some of the best at CU. I feel truly lucky to be surrounded by a remarkable group of people who have offered me support and kindness and who have inspired me. My wish is that these brief acknowledgments come close to conveying my gratitude since it is a difficult task to put into words the appreciation that I feel in the bottom of my heart. I would like to give special thanks to Professor Nina Molinaro, who has been a fabulous mentor. Nina is an amazing person in both her professional and personal life. Not only is she kind, encouraging, and flexible, but she is also one of the smartest people I know. While writing my dissertation Nina took on varied roles when I needed her to: sometimes she was the boss of me when I needed to set a firm deadline; at other times she encouraged me with the right words or the right dessert when I needed an extra boost; and she always showed me that she cared about me and my project, which motivated me to keep working. It has been a true pleasure to work with her, and I am so happy to know her. On top of being patient and flexible, Professor Javier Krauel and Professor Juan Herrero- Senés have been astute readers who have offered me very insightful feedback. Both genuinely supported me and encouraged me throughout the years. Their valuable comments and kind words have gone a long way in helping me complete this dissertation. Both are conscientious, dedicated and I admire them tremendously. I have very fond memories of the graduate courses v that I took with Javier; he challenged me to approach texts with a more critical eye and he spent time and energy offering feedback on my writing. Even though I never took a course with Juan, he accepted without hesitation to serve on my dissertation committee. I am grateful for his belief in me and his dedication to my project. I extend a heartfelt thanks to Professor John Slater and Professor Robert Buffington. I recognize the time and energy that goes into being part of a dissertation committee. I am grateful for their willingness to serve on my committee and for their support, both of which has contributed to my success. Both are tremendous scholars who inspire me to be a better scholar myself. The support, both financial and moral, that I received from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese made my graduate studies and dissertation possible. I gained valuable experience teaching classes, and I was given the opportunity to travel on several occasions to conferences and once to interview Juan José Millás in Madrid. My meeting with Juan José Millás was fruitful on so many levels. Thank you, Juanjo, for your time, your lust for life, and your words. My family and friends supported me during this process in many different ways. I treasure our conversations, long walks, family nights when I didn’t have to think about my dissertation, and my husband’s amazing chocolate chip cookies. Kevin is incredible in every aspect of his life (especially baking, but he is also a pretty good scientist). I am proud to be his partner in this life. To my family and friends, please know that you enhance my life and you make me so glad to know you. Writing a dissertation about the body as my daughter grew in my belly was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. After Hadley was born, she spent countless hours cuddled vi against me as I wrote, read, and revised. She is my greatest blessing and she has taught me patience, flexibility, and pure joy. I dedicate this dissertation to Hadley and Kevin. Thank you to both of you for your unwavering support and love. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................................. 123 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 161 NOTES ......................................................................................................................................... 168 WORKS CITED ........................................................................................................................... 184 1 INTRODUCTION Through the ages, the human body has been battered and tortured, isolated and malnourished, tattooed and scarred, and loved and revered. We cannot get away from our physical bodies. Bryan Turner hits the mark when he writes in his 1984 study The Body and Society: Explorations in Social Theory that “[t]he body is at once the most solid, the most elusive, illusory, concrete, metaphorical, ever present and ever distant thing—a site, an instrument, an environment, a singularity and a multiplicity” (8). We are our physical bodies, yet it is a difficult task to pinpoint what that truly means. In a 2004 interview, contemporary Spanish author Juan José Millás tells us that “el cuerpo es una medida de todo” (Beilin 68). His comment emphasizes the perceptive nature of our physical bodies, which is inherently subjective and vulnerable. Even though our physical bodies are continuously incomplete, they are one of our most reliable modes of awareness. The human body in and through literature is also a precarious and perpetually present process that many authors have tried to capture in their texts. Corresponding to our physical bodies, our system of language constitutes one of the ways through which we understand experiences and our selves, and yet language exposes epistemological unsteadiness. Not only do we employ our physical bodies as one of our foremost mechanisms for awareness, but when we attempt to create written texts, language is the filter with which we negotiate perception onto the page. In a 1998 interview with Pilar Cabañas, Millás states that la literatura consiste . con herramientas que no le pertenecen porque el lenguaje es muy artificial y nunca llegas a controlarlo. Tienes que estar pactando con él 2 porque, seguramente, el texto literario es el resultado de la tensión entre lo que quieres decir tú y lo que quiere decir el lenguaje, entre lo que quieres decir