Abstract

ADUR NOBILE, Lucas Martín. Two Latin American Histories of Infamy. A Comparative Reading of Morirás lejos by José Emilio Pacheco and "Deutsches Requiem" by Jorge Luis Borges. Lit. teor. hist. crit. [online]. 2018, vol.20, n.1, pp.131-166. ISSN 0123-5931.  https://doi.org/10.15446/lthc.v20n1.67296.

The article discusses two Latin American works whose common theme is Nazism: "Deutsches Requiem" by Jorge Luis Borges and Morirás lejos by José Emilio Pacheco. We examine the various strategies the authors use to address the problem of the representation of evil, beginning with the construction of the Nazi characters Otto Dietrich and eme, that is, the representation of "absolutely perverse beings". Then we analyze the use of the footnotes, which contribute to multiplying the narrative voice and introducing self-reflexivity into works that seem to require some form of distancing. Finally, we discuss Biblical intertextuality and explore its specific functions in each text. Our objective is to open up perspectives regarding a central problem for contemporary literature -how to write evil- and foster studies on Latin American literary works that address the Shoah, and that, in our view, have not received enough critical attention.

Keywords : Jorge Luis Borges; José Emilio Pacheco; Nazism; Biblical intertextuality.

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