La memoria histórica en el presente de la escritura saeriana

Abstract

espanolEste estudio busca explorar la relacion de la narrativa del escritor argentino Juan Jose Saer con la Historia -que suele aparecer en filigrana en las narrativas saerianas- y la memoria a traves de su obra tanto narrativa como ensayistica, de sus papeles de trabajo, de sus manuscritos y de parte de su correspondencia. Una aproximacion genetica de dichos materiales textuales saerianos, en el sentido amplio de la palabra, mostrando el taller del escritor y la coherencia de su proyecto a la hora de introducir lo historico, o sea la dictadura argentina, formal y esteticamente en su obra, a traves de personajes y de una poetica constante. La recuperacion de lo historico, a traves de las puestas en abismo o del sueno da a ver el cuerpo como el sitio de la experiencia estetica del horror saeriano. Ademas, construye una cadena escritural en torno al episodio de la desaparicion de Elisa y el Gato que aparece una y otra vez en varias novelas, asi como a traves de la figura del militante Angel Leto. Esos gestos de composicion del escritor nos llevaron a pensar la posicion del escritor frente a lo politico y su tiempo. Saer deja que la Historia irrumpa en la ficcion enmarcandola en los procesos de memoria que caracterizan sus escritos, en una estetica negativa. La figura de escritor que aparece entonces es la de opositor a la dictadura, pero no la de un escritor comprometido, afirmando asi la prevalia de la escritura sobre lo historico. EnglishThis paper explores the link between the Argentine author Juan Jose Saer's narrative and historical memory. The latter usually appears in between the lines in his novels, essays, work, papers, manuscripts, and correspondence, and yet it is of great significance. The main tool of this analysis is genetic criticism, in a broad sense of the term, which gives us access to the writer's desk. This reveals a coherence in Saer's work when introducing historical motifs from Argentina's Dirty War (1976-1983) through a personal aesthetic, addressing specific portrayals of characters and temporality. Through the use of the mise en abyme of his character's dreams and memories, Saer shows the importance of the body in the aesthetic experience of horror. Moreover, he builds a series of texts connecting different episodes of the forced disappearance of two recurring characters, Elisa and Gato, across various novels, and through the character of Angel Leto, a political activist. These gestures by Saer cause us to rethink his position when writing about political events in Argentina at the time at which they took place. Saer always claimed that he was not a politically committed writer and asserted the aesthetic independence of literature. At the same time, he embeds history into his fiction by inscribing it in the memories and recollections of his characters, which are characteristic of his writing and his negative aesthetics. Through this reading, the writer's figure shows itself as ideologically opposed to dictatorship.