Ethics and Aesthetics in Contemporary Basque Narrative
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Ethics and Aesthetics in Contemporary Basque Narrative: Three Portrayals of Terrorism A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Romance and Arabic Languages and Literatures of the College of Arts and Sciences by María Carmen Hernández M.A. University of Cincinnati June 2012 Committee Chair: A. Pérez-Simón, Ph.D. Abstract The objective of this study is to discuss the portrayal of terrorism in contemporary Basque narrative. The dissertation examines three contemporary novels written by Basque authors, Soinujolearen semea (2003)/El hijo del acordeonista (2006) by Bernardo Atxaga, El ángulo ciego (2008) by Luisa Etxenike, and Patria (2016) by Fernando Aramburu. The novels will be analyzed following three main lines of enquiry: the portrayal of Basque terrorism, literature as an ethical commitment, and the aesthetic constitution of the novels. The dissertation will argue that the three authors selected here have constructed narratives that reconcile aesthetics and ethical commitment when addressing the violent reality of life in Euskal Herria and the terrorism of the group ETA. I have identified three themes in the novels: exile and memory in Atxaga’s novel, the experience of the victims of terrorism in Etxenike’s, and the saga that explores the complex coexistence between victims and perpetrators in Aramburu’s Patria. I will argue that after the terrorist attacks of September 11, global terrorism arose transforming national and localized terrorism as communities sought to understand the phenomenon while rescuing the testimony of victims, underlying their plight and trauma. The interdisciplinary approach to this study aims to provide a background not only to the sociohistorical complexities surrounding the state of contemporary Basque narrative, but also the dynamic in the fields of production. ii iii Acknowledgements Many people helped make this dissertation a reality. It would not have been possible without the unconditional support of my husband Sandun Samarakoon and my son Ryan. It is thanks to their encouragement that I was able to complete this endeavor. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the advisor of my doctoral committee, Dr. Andrés Peréz Simón for his unceasing support, expertise, encouragement, and good humor. I also would like to thank the members of this committee Dr. Patricia Valladares-Ruíz and Dr. Carlos Gutiérrez for their guidance. I am grateful for my good friends and fellow graduate students, Eugenia Mazur and Lía Buitrago for encouraging me not to give up. iv Table of contents Abstract..........................................................................................................................................ii Introduction....................................................................................................................................1 Chapter I: Contemporary Basque Narrative: Terrorism and Ethics.....................................12 1.1. Contemporary Basque narrative in context.................................................................12 1.1.1. The literary field: A model of analysis..............................................................14 1.1.2. Commitment in the works of Atxaga, Etxenike and Aramburu........................18 1.2. Ethics and literature.....................................................................................................25 1.3. Terrorism and literature...............................................................................................32 1.3.1. The concept of terrorism. Global terrorism in Spain............................................32 1.3.2. Terrorism and literature......................................................................................45 Chapter II: Luisa Etxenike’s El ángulo ciego.............................................................................56 2.1. Victims of terrorism: The end of silence......................................................................57 2.2. El ángulo ciego by Luisa Etxenike...............................................................................69 Chapter III: Bernardo Atxaga’s Soinujolearen semea/El hijo del acordeonista.....................109 3.1. Memory and fiction...................................................................................................112 3.2. Transformation of the self..........................................................................................123 Chapter IV: Fernando Aramburu’s Patria..............................................................................144 4.1. The concept of the Spanish “social novel” ..............................................................149 4.2. Social issues in contemporary novels.......................................................................156 4.3. Whose “patria”? Confronting a mutual past.............................................................160 4.4. Literary symbolism in Patria ...................................................................................178 v Conclusions...............................................................................................................................185 Bibliography.............................................................................................................................193 vi Introduction ¿Te preguntas, viajero, por qué hemos muerto jóvenes, Por qué hemos matado estúpidamente? Nuestros padres mintieron: eso es todo. (Jon Juaristi, Spoon River Euskadi, Suma de varia intención, 1987) It is often argued that in order to understand who we are, one needs to know where one comes from. In other words, we must examine the past in our search for answers. The past and present are connected by tradition, family, religion, and nation. What happens when the past is distorted? What are the results of an “imagined country” and the dogma of exceptionalism? The brief poem that opens these lines condemns the Basque Nationalist Party, the radical left, and ETA for exploiting identity dogmas created by a myth that has served as a platform to generate violent acts in the pursuit for the independence of the Basque people. Jon Juaristi, like many other young people born during the postwar years, was initially attracted to the ranks of ETA and supported the organization’s revolutionary and independent ideals as well as its resistance to Franco’s regime. However, he became disillusioned with their violent agenda and rejected ETA and what it stood for. For Juaristi, the Basque conflict became an important part of his literary works – poems and essays in particular. Just like Juaristi, there are numerous writers who write fiction about the conflict. For those who have been born in the Basque Country or have made it their home, writing entails a number of dilemmas, particularly one associated with language. Some writers choose to do it in the Basque language while others use Spanish. The land where Mari, the lady of Anboto dwells in caves; the place where the ironworks industry changed not only the landscape, but also the traditional rural society; the territory where conflicts became bloody; the nation within a nation; the people who at last appear to be ready to overcome decades of violence, fear and silence; a 7 society ready to move on and confront its own past. Juaristi’s poem is a referent for this dissertation because the author has been an outspoken critic of ETA and his sympathizers, and as a result he was threatened by the organization. Just like Juaristi, the writers who will be discussed in this dissertation (Fernando Aramburu, Bernardo Atxaga, Luisa Etxenike), witnessed the social, economic and historic events that took place during the last years of Franco’s regime, and the transition to a democratic government. In addition, their fiction denounces violence in all their incarnations (being ETA’s terrorism, Franco’s repression or police torture). The novels I will examine illustrate how ETA became a pariah organization in the context of global terrorism since the events of September 11, 2001. Basque society no longer supports the violent message and actions of the terrorism group. As society changes so does Basque narrative. It has become evident that there is a shifting focus from discussing identitary ideologies to recognizing the victims of terrorism. As the 21st century began with the events of September 11, the global community faced a new kind of global terror. When the World Trade Center collapsed, Spain just like the rest of the world changed dramatically. The political reality of the country was not untouched by the greatest terrorist attack in history. As Prime Minister Aznar became a resolute supporter of the war of terror, the US State Department put ETA members on its black list of international terrorists. This helped block the flow of finances to ETA and increased the cooperation in prosecuting members of the organization in other countries. In addition, the consequences of the Islamist attacks in Spain on March 11, 2004 went beyond Partido Popular’s loss of power. Spanish society and, above all, the Basques unanimously condemned the terrorist attacks in Madrid. Shortly after the brutal attacks, the newspaper El País published an article featuring the condemnation of spokesperson for Batasuna (ETA’s political wing) Arnaldo Otegi who expressed his absolute denunciation of 8 the massacre, “absolute rechazo” (Gastaminza, “La firme”).