Salas Camus, Pedro Pablo
(2017)
2666: en búsqueda de la totalidad perdida.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
2666 (2004), the posthumous novel by the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño, stands today as what many critics have called the last “Latin American masterpiece”. Its considerable length and its description of multiple spaces, characters and themes have, by now, achieved universal acclaim and inspired numerous critical interpretations. However, while critics have paid attention to several themes that are undoubtedly present in the novel itself (art fetishism in the twenty-first century, contemporary class exploitation or gender issues, among others), they have overlooked the explicit dialogue between them. My intent is to correct this by elucidating the novel’s complex system of thematic relationships and inner connections by analyzing the text’s seemingly fragmentary aesthetics within a holistic perspective. In short, I intend to demonstrate how Bolaño constructs a totality, which is only fragmented and chaotic in appearance.
Chapter 1 offers a panoramic view of the extant academic literature on Bolaño’s work (something, in my opinion, much needed due its overflowing quantity), and a discussion of the term “totality” which has been used until the date to approach Bolaño’s posthumous novel. Chapter 2 seeks to establish the theoretical framework that supports my original interpretation (which draws from critical thinkers such as Jameson and Lukács), as it also offers a first glance at the latent conflict between fragments and unity present in the novel itself. Chapters 3 pays special attention to the worldview constructed by Bolaño’s writing by presenting the most important binary relationships established in the novel: utopia and barbarism; and madness and the epic. Art, a fifth element, is presented as an element that dialogues with each spectrum in the Bolaño’s world. Finally, 4 and 5 consist of a close and detailed reading of 2666’s five parts relying on a socio-historical and theoretical insights.
Bolaño’s provocative attempt to capture the zeitgeist of the 21st century is something that scholars are only beginning to grasp; my research, in this sense, provides a valuable contribution to the field -not only in regards to Bolaño’s brilliant writing, but also as regards the link between politics, art and culture in this moment of globalization.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Salas Camus, Pedro Pablo | PPS7@pitt.edu | PPS7 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
30 January 2017 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
2 December 2016 |
| Approval Date: |
30 January 2017 |
| Submission Date: |
4 December 2016 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
255 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Hispanic Languages and Literatures |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Roberto Bolaño; 2666; totality |
| Date Deposited: |
30 Jan 2017 20:01 |
| Last Modified: |
31 Jan 2017 06:15 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/30482 |
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