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Memory in the Narrative Works of Soledad Puértolas

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Memory in the Narrative Works of Soledad Puértolas MEMORY IN THE NARRATIVE WORKS OF SOLEDAD PUÉRTOLAS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Tamara Laura Townsend, M.A. The Ohio State University 2007 Dissertation Committee Approved by Stephen Summerhill, Advisor Donald Larson ____________________________________ Advisor Rebecca Haidt Spanish and Portuguese Graduate Program Copyright by Tamara Laura Townsend 2007 ABSTRACT The work of contemporary Spanish writer Soledad Puértolas (1947-) provides a unique glimpse of the psychological struggles of the individual in postmodern democratic European society. Puértolas’s realist style emphasizes storytelling and character portrayal, and her urban middle-class characters seek satisfying interactions with others and a sense of meaning in their own lives. Memory aids characters in their quest for meaning, and their use of memory reveals their self-perception and outlook on life. Memory works in different ways for different characters, and I propose four memory modes in Puértolas’s narratives: baggage, escapist, relational and amnesic modes. These distinct and sometimes contradictory memory modes represent approaches to the same problem: the individual’s search for purpose and identity in contemporary society. The baggage mode of memory, seen especially in Días del Arenal (1992) and Burdeos (1986), describes characters who reflect upon a painful self-defining memory from the past that affects their present mood and/or behavior. For some, this burden causes them to withdraw or to act irresponsibly; others are able to accept and overcome the scars of the past. When characters take an escapist approach to memory, as seen in Queda la noche (1989), their reminiscences are a place of mental retreat. Nostalgia is less a desire to return to an idyllic past than a restless dissatisfaction with the present. In the ii relational mode, a character reflects upon a specific relationship from the past, often with an extroverted foil whose presence highlights the protagonist’s introspective nature; examples are found in El bandido doblemente armado (1980), Una vida inesperada (1997) and La señora Berg (1998). Memory of this unusual relationship motivates the protagonist to mentally order his or her life through the life review process. Finally, in the amnesic mode, Puértolas departs from realism to varying degrees to experiment with different forms of amnesia, as in La rosa de plata (1999) and Si al atardecer llegara el mensajero (1995). Memory loss highlights the centrality of memory to personhood and identity, while at the same time it draws attention to the inadequacy of memory to explain the totality of existence. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my advisor, Stephen Summerhill, for introducing me to Soledad Puértolas’s narratives and for his support and guidance throughout this project. His insightful suggestions during the investigation and revision process have been invaluable. I am also grateful to the Graduate School of The Ohio State University for funding my dissertation research with a Dean’s Distinguished University Fellowship. Finally I thank my family, and especially my husband Kevin, for their constant love and prayerful support. iv VITA February 26, 1979…………………...Born Wilmington, Delaware, USA December 2000……………………...B.A. Spanish, B.A. English Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois June 2003……………………………M.A. Spanish Literatures and Cultures The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio September 2003-June 2005…………Graduate Teaching Associate Department of Spanish and Portuguese The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio August 2006-May 2007……………..Adjunct Lecturer of Spanish Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Spanish and Portuguese v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….…..ii Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………….….iv Vita…………………………………………………………………………………….….v Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………...…vi Chapter 1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….1 Memory in Spanish New Realism………………………………………………...5 Memory in Critical Study………………………………………………………..12 Modes of Memory in Puértolas…………………………………………………..18 Chapter 2 Baggage Mode and the Scars of the Past: Self-Defining Memories of Abandonment…………………………………………………………………….25 Introductory Case Study: “Lento regreso a casa” and the Self-Defining Memory…………………………………………………………………..28 Myth of Abandonment: “El andén vacío”……………………………………….33 Burden of Regret: “La hija predilecta”…………………………………………..37 Success Story: “La dueña del restaurante chino”………………………………..42 Burdeos: René’s Chase after Security…………………………………………....46 Días del Arenal: Guillermo’s Oblivion…………………………………………..49 Días del Arenal: Antonio’s Renewed Purpose…………………………………..52 vi Una vida inesperada: The Disappointment of Personal Weakness……………...56 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….60 Chapter 3 Escapist Mode of Memory: Nostalgia for a World of Possibility………….…63 Childhood Spaces: Realms of Possibility in Recuerdos de otra persona………..70 Nostalgia and Queda la noche…………………………………………………...72 Return to the Beginning: “Zapatos” and “Accidente”…………………………...77 Holding on to Optimal Moments: “Buenos deseos,” “El pañuelo de Macke” and “La necesidad de marcharse de todos los sitios”………………………...81 Empathy for a Lost Self: “El inventor del tetrabrik” and “La corriente del golfo”…………………………………………………………………….86 Historical Nostalgia in La rosa de plata, “La vida oculta” and “La orilla del Danubio”…………………………………………………………………91 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….97 Chapter 4 Relational Mode of Memory: Interpersonal Conflict and the Life Review..…99 Acquaintances as Memory Triggers: “Presente”…………………………….....102 Memory and the Jungian Shadow: “Billetes”…..………………………………104 Relational Memory in El bandido doblemente armado………………………...111 Relational Memory in Una vida inesperada……………………………………113 Life Review in Una vida inesperada…………………………………………...118 “Gente que vino a mi boda” and the Memory of Disapproval…………………124 vii La señora Berg and the Memory of Connection…………………………….....128 Conclusion…………………………………………….………………………..134 Chapter 5 Amnesic Mode of Memory: Oblivion’s Effects on Identity and Relationships……………………………………………………………………139 Forgetting the Past to Live in the Present: Constrasting Cases of “La extranjera” and “Ventajas de la primera persona”…………………….…………….145 Forgetfulness and the Bar Scene: “Los nombres de las mujeres” and “A la hora en que cierran los bares”…………………………………………………...149 Amnesia and Physical Trauma: “El mar en los aparcamientos subterráneos,” Historia de un abrigo and “La inspiración de dedos azules”…………..155 Forgetting and Strained Relationships: “Gente que vino a mi boda”….……….163 Oblivion in the Realm of Fantasy: “El ciclón,” “La orilla del Danubio,” La rosa de plata and Si al atardecer llegara el mensajero……………………...166 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...177 Summary and Conclusion: Memory as a Key to Personal Identity…………………….179 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………185 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Through writing that is both accessible and evasive, Soledad Puértolas (1947-) offers a unique vision of the psychological struggles of the individual in postmodern democratic European society. Her style is simple, yet through understatement and ellipsis she presents the world as complex, always partly hidden from view. Characters cannot prevail against the inevitable mystery and frustration in the world, and Puértolas’s skill as a writer stems from her ability to capture and sustain these tensions. Puértolas’s literary achievement was recognized as early as the publication of her first novel, El bandido doblemente armado (1980), for which she received the Premio Sésamo. The subsequent Premio Planeta for Queda la noche (1989), and the Premio Anagrama de Ensayo for her essay collection La vida oculta (1993) have further secured her prominence among current Spanish writers. Most critics agree that Puértolas is an important figure in recent literature, though they differ somewhat over how to situate her within literary history or, indeed, how to describe or summarize this recent history. Different literary theorists have attempted to group writers of the second half of the twentieth century into “generations,” in keeping with twentieth-century Spanish critical tradition, and several different schemas have been proposed. For example, Santos Sanz Villanueva assigns Puértolas to the generation of 1 ’68, specifically to a second wave within this group (253-54); according to Vance R. Holloway, she belongs to the generation of ’70 (17-20); and Santos Alonso refers to the same group as the generation of ’75 (35).1 Despite the disagreements regarding the organizing date for the group, similarites emerge in each of these critics’ assessments which may help in understanding Puértolas, whether considered alone or in comparison to her contemporaries. The generation or group which includes Puértolas also includes Eduardo Mendoza, Luis Mateo Díez, José María Merino, and Lourdes Ortiz among about a dozen others (Holloway 20; Sanz Villanueva 253; Alonso 44-47). These writers comprise the first generation after the Civil War, born between 1939-49 (Alonso 44; Holloway 19). They grew up during the dictatorship and were exposed to the social realist novels of the 1940s and 50s and the experimental literature of the 1960s and 70s; they began to write and publish during the years of the transition to democracy, the
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