Play, Space and Idealized Reader Constructs in Contemporary Argentine Fiction: Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Ana María Shua and Belén Gache

Halbert, WD (2016) Play, Space and Idealized Reader Constructs in Contemporary Argentine Fiction: Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Ana María Shua and Belén Gache. PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

Text 200444341_Oct2016.pdf - Unspecified Download (2MB)

Abstract

This thesis explores the convergences and divergences in the personal conceptualizations of play, space and idealized reader constructs as they are manifest in the short fictions of Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar, the sudden fictions of AnaMaría Shua and, more recently, in the hypertext fictions of Belén Gache. The four chapters that make up this thesis offer an in-depth examination of how the narrative strategies employed by each individual author are used in an attempt to imbue the reading process with a game-like quality that serves to reduce the ontological distances between author, text and reader. As such, this thesis not only identifies key developments in the thematic and stylistic concerns of the Argentine short story, but also situates the reader’s position in relation to what I call the ‘narrative space’. This ‘narrative space’ refers to a spatially-inflected manifestation of the cognitive, imaginative and emotional experiences of the ideal reader construct that foregrounds his/her role in the co-production of narrative meaning. Such a focus not only allows this thesis to engage with each author’s individual contribution to the literary politics of the contemporary Argentine short story, but also facilitates a serious consideration of the short story’s ongoing dialogues with increasingly prevalent new media technologies.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	08 Sep 2017 14:56
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 07:05
DOI:	10.17638/03007238
Supervisors:	Taylor, CT Harris, CH
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3007238