Abstract
This thesis investigates the (re)configuration of memory in autofictional narratives written by daughters of those who were detained and/or disappeared during the last Argentine military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. The corpus encompasses various literary and cinematographic works, including Laura Alcoba’s La casa de los conejos (2007), Raquel Robles’s Pequeños combatientes (2013), ¿Quién te creés que sos? (2012) by Ángela Urondo Raboy, Diario de una princesa montonera: 110% verdad (2012) by Mariana Eva Perez, Aparecida (2015) by Marta Dillon and Los rubios (2003) by Albertina Carri. The authors address the issue of memory by focusing on the figures of their detained and, in most cases, disappeared parents. Through their narratives, the daughters not only accept the tragedy of their parents, but also create their own voice, configuring a subjectivity distinct from the previous generation. In addition to the recovery of biographical data, they draw on the artistic imagination while (re)configuring the forgotten memories. Therefore, their stories are autofictional narratives, in which autobiography and fiction converge.
Before analyzing the works of the corpus, I study the historical context surrounding the arrest and disappearance of the parents. Hence, this thesis begins with an investigation of the Argentinian political context, especially in regard to the latest military dictatorship and the struggles for justice before and after the fall of the regime. Secondly, I focus on a theoretical framework that allows me to approach memory and autofiction. Finally, I analyze the daughters’ literary and cinematographic works. Through my analysis, I reflect on the narrativization of memory and the configuration of subjectivity in their stories. In conclusion, I show how the daughters of detained or disappeared parents give new meanings to the memory through their autofictional narratives. Consequently, the daughters build a community of memory whose members create new meanings of memories from a perspective different from their parents.
Keywords: autofiction, memory, identity, subjectivity, clandestine childhood, body, Argentine military dictatorship, the disappeared, daughters of the disappeared
