Diecinueve garras y un pájaro oscuro by Agustina Bazterrica.

Female subjects in the fantastic

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the fantastic short stories “Las cajas de Unamuno” and “Roberto” from the book Diecinueve garras y un pájaro oscuro (2020) by contemporary Argentine author Agustina Bazterrica. Our objective is to highlight the profound interconnection between the fantastic genre and the permutation of roles socioculturally assigned to female individuals in both stories. In particular, we argue that, in these narratives, there is a disruption of the traditional role granted to women, in which the heterocispatriarchal order is subverted. To examine the specificity of the fantastic in this mutation, we situate the stories within Latin American fantastic literature,  as characterized by María Negroni (2015), while recovering her conception of this genre as a form of resistance to reason and common sense, opposing the status quo. In line with its destabilizing potential, we draw on (although with significant differences) certain theories about “feminine” or “feminist” fantastic literature. Additionally, we assert that the disruption of female subjects is evident through the articulation of two main axes: sexuality and violence. To address these themes, we rely especially on conceptualizations from feminist theory, such as the reflections of Gayle Rubin (1989 [1984]), Judith Butler (2007 [1990]) and Rita Segato (2003).