Memoria y autoficción : la figura del desaparecido en la obra de hijos de militantes políticos en Argentina
This thesis considers the importance of memory and autofiction in the literary and audiovisual work produced by the children of the 1970´s Argentinian political activists. Our analysis comprises the documentary Los rubios (2003) by Albertina Carri, the novels Los topos (2014) by Félix Bruzzone, and La casa de los conejos (2008) by Laura Alcoba. These authors, along with others from their generation who also had activist parents, reflect on the events that took place during the last Argentinian dictatorship (1976-1983) by focusing on the figure of the desaparecido (the missing person). At the same time, these authors present themselves as the protagonists of their own stories. The memories of family members and of political survivors become an instrumental tool for the authors to understand the fate of their missing parents. For these authors, autofiction becomes necessary if they are to elaborate their narratives, which merge fiction, biographical experiences and historical events. The autofictional work of the authors we study here proposes a different reading contract from the one usually established by canonical autofiction. Our analysis delves into issues related to memory and history, which reveal the specific and original way in which these works consider the past. Cultural, literary or audiovisual works become a space for the working through of historical trauma. These narratives problematize the past, questioning the memory of 1970s political activism, doubting their parents´ decisions, searching for their own identities, and include voices that had been previously ignored. Through their work, the children of political activists and/or missing persons have opened new ways of considering one of the most tragic periods of Argentinian history, representing other memories and recalling a past about which not all has been told.
Autofiction Trauma Autofiction Memory Trauma Identity History Forced dissapearance Missing persons Children Dictatorship Political activism Trauma