Lo que desata la tormenta: Historia, ideología y culpa en Nocturno de Chile de Roberto Bolaño

by Kane, Martin Francis

This study examines and interprets the historical and ideological realities at play in Roberto Bolaño’s Nocturno de Chile. First, the protagonist’s duties as a priest / literary critic, in conjunction with his unsettling experiences with the Military Junta and the cultural elite during the dictatorship, offer historical parallels that firmly anchor the narrative in the real world context of 20th century Chile. Second, a Marxist analysis of the protagonist’s role as a purveyor of the same ideology espoused by the dictatorship betrays his active involvement in the Junta’s projects. Thirdly, this study traces the protagonist’s attempts to hide his guilt with affirmations that are subsequently revealed as failing to coincide with his own actions and attitudes (past and present). Finally, after scrutinizing these contradictions, the function of the author’s antagonistic alter ego is explained as that which forces the protagonist to ultimately admit what had been denied for so long.