Las ironías clásicas y modernas en El río del Edén de José María Merino

Abstract

In the novel El río del Edén by José María Merino, the reader learns about the life experiences of Daniel and Tere. This paper analyzes three stages in their lives: the camping trip, the period before the birth of their son Silvio and the consequences of his medical condition on his parents. These critical moments have been seen from the ironic perspectives of classical and contemporary philosophers: Socrates, Cicero, Kierkegaard, Muecke, Glicksberg and Robbe-Grillet, among others. The concept eiron vs alazon, dissimulation, humor and incoherence are the theoretical tools that permitted this study to bridge the gap between the literary text and the philosophical approaches to irony.