Metaficción historiográfica y autoficción: diferentes compromisos con la referencialidad en Estação das Chuvas de José Eduardo Agualusa y Soldados de Salamina de Javier Cercas

Historiographic metafiction and autofiction: different commitments with the referentiality in Estação das Chuvas by José Eduardo Agualusa and Soldiers of Salamina by Javier Cercas. This article offers a comparative analysis of the novels Estação das Chuvas (1996) by the Angolan writer José Eduardo A...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mauro Cavaliere
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: University of Tartu Press 2019-12-01
Series:Interlitteraria
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/IL/article/view/16346
_version_ 1811260687666642944
author Mauro Cavaliere
author_facet Mauro Cavaliere
author_sort Mauro Cavaliere
collection DOAJ
description Historiographic metafiction and autofiction: different commitments with the referentiality in Estação das Chuvas by José Eduardo Agualusa and Soldiers of Salamina by Javier Cercas. This article offers a comparative analysis of the novels Estação das Chuvas (1996) by the Angolan writer José Eduardo Agualusa (born in 1960) and Soldados de Salamina (2001) of the Spaniard Javier Cercas (born in 1962). The two novels belong to different geographical and cultural contexts. Nevertheless, a common sensibility – due perhaps to the same generational affiliation or to the prevalence of topics in force in the 1990s – makes evident the emergence of both a historical theme and the presence of a subject involved in historical processes. Ultimately, in both novels, we come across a subject that makes history although in quite different ways: involved firsthand in historical events with tragic implications, in the case of Agualusa, and absorbed in a reflection on apparently distant events in the case of Cercas. However, the result of the emphasis on the presence of a subjectivity within historical processes causes the two novels to share a common element, that is, a double generic affiliation. Both Estação das Chuvas and Soldados de Salamina actually share semantic traits that make it possible to classify them at the same time as autofictional novels and historiographic metafictions. Despite their common architectural matrix, the two novels represent two very different expressions within these genres. This manifests itself at different levels: first, the treatment of the autofictional character and, secondly, the treatment of the other characters. Through the analysis of the characters that populate these two novels, I will try to show how the two writers adopt divergent attitudes regarding the degree of referentiality in their works and how they end up proposing two different poetic options. In the analysis of the characters, I consider it useful to introduce a taxonomy that, in addition to including already existing types (referential, historical, fictitious characters), introduces other types hopefully useful to the study of the currently abundant number of fictions that, through an ambiguous narrative pact, are located between fiction and faction.
first_indexed 2024-04-12T18:51:23Z
format Article
id doaj.art-b62a2ec266ff41ed9650b9900ecf46f6
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1406-0701
2228-4729
language deu
last_indexed 2024-04-12T18:51:23Z
publishDate 2019-12-01
publisher University of Tartu Press
record_format Article
series Interlitteraria
spelling doaj.art-b62a2ec266ff41ed9650b9900ecf46f62022-12-22T03:20:28ZdeuUniversity of Tartu PressInterlitteraria1406-07012228-47292019-12-0124210.12697/IL.2019.24.2.16Metaficción historiográfica y autoficción: diferentes compromisos con la referencialidad en Estação das Chuvas de José Eduardo Agualusa y Soldados de Salamina de Javier CercasMauro Cavaliere0Romanska och klassiska institutionen, Stockholms universitetHistoriographic metafiction and autofiction: different commitments with the referentiality in Estação das Chuvas by José Eduardo Agualusa and Soldiers of Salamina by Javier Cercas. This article offers a comparative analysis of the novels Estação das Chuvas (1996) by the Angolan writer José Eduardo Agualusa (born in 1960) and Soldados de Salamina (2001) of the Spaniard Javier Cercas (born in 1962). The two novels belong to different geographical and cultural contexts. Nevertheless, a common sensibility – due perhaps to the same generational affiliation or to the prevalence of topics in force in the 1990s – makes evident the emergence of both a historical theme and the presence of a subject involved in historical processes. Ultimately, in both novels, we come across a subject that makes history although in quite different ways: involved firsthand in historical events with tragic implications, in the case of Agualusa, and absorbed in a reflection on apparently distant events in the case of Cercas. However, the result of the emphasis on the presence of a subjectivity within historical processes causes the two novels to share a common element, that is, a double generic affiliation. Both Estação das Chuvas and Soldados de Salamina actually share semantic traits that make it possible to classify them at the same time as autofictional novels and historiographic metafictions. Despite their common architectural matrix, the two novels represent two very different expressions within these genres. This manifests itself at different levels: first, the treatment of the autofictional character and, secondly, the treatment of the other characters. Through the analysis of the characters that populate these two novels, I will try to show how the two writers adopt divergent attitudes regarding the degree of referentiality in their works and how they end up proposing two different poetic options. In the analysis of the characters, I consider it useful to introduce a taxonomy that, in addition to including already existing types (referential, historical, fictitious characters), introduces other types hopefully useful to the study of the currently abundant number of fictions that, through an ambiguous narrative pact, are located between fiction and faction.https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/IL/article/view/16346autofictionhistoriographic metafictionreferencial characterhistorical characterSoldados de SalaminaEstação das Chuvas
spellingShingle Mauro Cavaliere
Metaficción historiográfica y autoficción: diferentes compromisos con la referencialidad en Estação das Chuvas de José Eduardo Agualusa y Soldados de Salamina de Javier Cercas
Interlitteraria
autofiction
historiographic metafiction
referencial character
historical character
Soldados de Salamina
Estação das Chuvas
title Metaficción historiográfica y autoficción: diferentes compromisos con la referencialidad en Estação das Chuvas de José Eduardo Agualusa y Soldados de Salamina de Javier Cercas
title_full Metaficción historiográfica y autoficción: diferentes compromisos con la referencialidad en Estação das Chuvas de José Eduardo Agualusa y Soldados de Salamina de Javier Cercas
title_fullStr Metaficción historiográfica y autoficción: diferentes compromisos con la referencialidad en Estação das Chuvas de José Eduardo Agualusa y Soldados de Salamina de Javier Cercas
title_full_unstemmed Metaficción historiográfica y autoficción: diferentes compromisos con la referencialidad en Estação das Chuvas de José Eduardo Agualusa y Soldados de Salamina de Javier Cercas
title_short Metaficción historiográfica y autoficción: diferentes compromisos con la referencialidad en Estação das Chuvas de José Eduardo Agualusa y Soldados de Salamina de Javier Cercas
title_sort metaficcion historiografica y autoficcion diferentes compromisos con la referencialidad en estacao das chuvas de jose eduardo agualusa y soldados de salamina de javier cercas
topic autofiction
historiographic metafiction
referencial character
historical character
Soldados de Salamina
Estação das Chuvas
url https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/IL/article/view/16346
work_keys_str_mv AT maurocavaliere metaficcionhistoriograficayautoficciondiferentescompromisosconlareferencialidadenestacaodaschuvasdejoseeduardoagualusaysoldadosdesalaminadejaviercercas