University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2010 ECOS GÓTICOS EN LA NOVELA Y EL CINE DEL CONO SUR Nadina Estefania Olmedo University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Olmedo, Nadina Estefania, "ECOS GÓTICOS EN LA NOVELA Y EL CINE DEL CONO SUR" (2010). University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations. 86. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/86 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Nadina Estefanía Olmedo The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2009 ECOS GÓTICOS EN LA NOVELA Y EL CINE DEL CONO SUR ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Graduate School at the University of Kentucky By Nadina Estefanía Olmedo Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Susan Carvalho, Professor of Hispanic Studies Lexington, Kentucky 2009 Copyright @ Nadina Estefanía Olmedo 2009 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION ECOS GÓTICOS EN LA NOVELA Y EL CINE DEL CONO SUR Latin American literary criticism has traditionally underestimated the significance of the Gothic aesthetic, in spite of the rich Gothic literary tradition of Latin America. Specifically in the Southern Cone - the focus of my research - there is a particular recurrence and consumption of this genre, not only in literature but also in cinema, which has not been deeply analyzed. I argue that a close examination of the Gothic and Fantastic elements in these novels and films unveils anxieties, repressions and manifestations of social decay that underlie common codes of social decency and the conventions of maintaining an oppressive social tradition. My analysis of particular novels extends from the beginning of the twentieh-century through the Boom; my discussion then extends to film productions from the 1960s to the present. In the first chapter I explore the dissemination of Gothic figures and forms from their eighteenth-century origins to the present. In the second chapter I discuss how the Gothic aesthetic was used at the beginning of the twentieth-century to comment on the effects of modernization and scientific/psychological discoveries in the Southern Cone. I also analyze the Gothic as a powerful feminist discourse. Chapter three focuses on the way the Gothic aesthetic is employed as a mechanism to communicate social and moral decay in a typical Southern Cone family. I also explore how the Gothic is used to question a political-social repression or a dictatorship. In chapter four I focus on cinema in an aesthetically and technically diverse selection of filmes. All of them employ vampirism to comment on different sexual issues, such as repression, incest, homosexuality, fetishism, sadism, and other sexual-social taboos. Finally, the conclusion demonstrates that, while the Gothic aesthetic maintains certain constants throughout the twentieth-century, its underlying meaning shifts to reflect the dominant political-social themes of each era, thus ensuring its continued relevance to popular audiences. KEYWORDS: Southern Cone, Gothic, Vampirism, Fantastic Literature, Cinema Nadina Estefanía Olmedo November 17, 2009 ECOS GÓTICOS EN LA NOVELA Y EL CINE DEL CONO SUR By Nadina Estefanía Olmedo Susan Carvalho, Ph. D. Director of Dissertation Haralambos Symeonidis, Ph. D. Director of Graduate Studies November 17, 2009 Date RULES FOR THE USE OF DISSERTATIONS Unpublished dissertations submitted for the Doctor's degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Bibliographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with the permission of the author, and with the usual scholarly acknowledgments. Extensive copying or publication of the dissertation in whole or in part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky. A library that borrows this dissertation for use by its patrons is expected to secure the signature of each user. Name Date DISSERTATION Nadina Estefanía Olmedo The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2009 ECOS GÓTICOS EN LA NOVELA Y EL CINE DEL CONO SUR DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Graduate School at the University of Kentucky By Nadina Estefanía Olmedo Lexington, Kentucky Director: Susan Carvalho, Ph. D., Professor of Hispanic Studies Lexington, Kentucky 2009 Copyright @ Nadina Estefanía Olmedo 2009 A mis viejos, siempre. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The folowing dissertation, while an individual work, benefited from the insights and direction of several people. First, I would like to gratefully and sincerely thank to my Dissertation Director, Dr. Susan Carvalho, for her guidance, understanding and patience throughout the dissertation process. Next, I wish to thank the complete Dissertation Committee, and outside reader, respectively: Dr. Enrico Mario Santi, Dr. Juana Suárez, Dr. Francie Chassen-López and Dr. Gretchen Starr-Labau. I thank also Dr. Susan Larson for being part of my Committee at the beginning of this project. Each individual provided insights, valuable discussions and accessibility that guided and challenged my thinking, substantially improving the finished product. I would like to thank the following people and institutions for their input, assistance, help and support: Ricardo Islas and Alpha Studios, Dr. Diana Niebylski, Dr. Haralambos Symeonidis, Dr. Aníbal Biglieri, Dr. Irene Chico, Alejandro Yamgotchian, Dr. Keith Richards, Tony Alcalá, Dr. David Earnest, Dr. Daniel Chávez, University of Kentucky Young Library and Fine Arts Library personnel. I would also like to thank my Professor Virgilio Zampini at Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia, who inspired me with his dedication, knowledge and love for literature. Also, special thanks to my “kentuckian” friends Joyce Vélez, Leopoldo Ianone, Agostina Arias, Mariela González, Natalia Andrés, Coquis Galván, Osvaldo Di Paolo, Stephanie Saunders, Jorge Gonzáles del Pozo, Johana Pérez and Javier Puerto. For everything you have done for me, I thank you. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank Daniel Barajas for his patience, support and unconditional love. I would also like to thank to my parents, Carlos and Ester, for their faith in me and allowing me to be what I wanted to be. I thank also to my whole family: Carlitos, Claudia, Alejandra, Eduardo, Renata, Joaquín, Manuel, Justina, Julián and Amparo. Each of you is an essential part of my life and also responsible for whom I am in life. ¡Los quiero con todo mi corazón! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... iv CAPÍTULO I: ECOS GÓTICOS EN EL CONO SUR ...................................................... 1 Introducción .................................................................................................................... 1 Ética y estética gótica...................................................................................................... 7 Desarrollo y conceptualización del gótico: Retrospectiva histórica ............................. 12 El gótico en Latinoamérica ........................................................................................... 21 Pasión gótica en el Cono Sur ........................................................................................ 27 El cine fantástico-gótico ............................................................................................... 32 Alcances de este estudio. Detalle de los capítulos ........................................................ 42 CAPÍTULO II: LA VENA GÓTICA EN LA NOVELA DEL CONO SUR: 1900-1950 47 I) De vampiras y hombres artificiales. Chiáppori y Quiroga: entre el exceso y el límite ....................................................................................................................................... 48 I – A) Borderland (1907) y La eterna angustia (1908) de Atilio Chiáppori ............. 49 Malditas vampiras ..................................................................................................... 58 Malditas virtuosas ..................................................................................................... 63 I - B) El hombre artificial (1910) de Horacio Quiroga ............................................. 69 II) De fantasmas y viajes decapitados. María Luisa Bombal y Armonía Somers: El mundo alucinado como medio de supervivencia .......................................................... 81 II- A) La última niebla (1934) de María Luisa Bombal ............................................ 82 II - B) La mujer desnuda (1950) de Armonía Somers .............................................. 93 CAPÍTULO III: LA VENA GÓTICA EN LA NOVELA DEL CONO SUR: DESDE LOS AÑOS 50 HASTA EL BOOM ....................................................................................... 107 I) De mundos decadentes, obscenos