The disturbing in everyday life: an analysis of the story «Hacia la alegre civilización de la capital» by Samanta Schweblin

Abstract

This article attempts to understand how the disturbing effect is constructed in the story «Hacia la alegre civilización de la capital» through analysis of the techniques used by the Argentine writer Samanta Schweblin and to question how this story reveals manifestations of the fantastic in contemporary argentine literature. This is because the story, based in a recognizable everyday situation, takes place between a fantastic universe and a verisimilar, realist one, leading the reader to the disturbing perception that something unusual (which does not mean unreal) is happening in the story. To fully understand this scheme, is necessary to question how violence is configured in the story, especially the violence that determines the social relationship among the characters, suggesting a greater or lesser relation of domination and submission.