La narrativa de Diamela Eltit y los límites del testimonio hispanoamericano

This paper attempts to analyse the narrative testimony written by the Chilean novelist Diamela Eltit focusing on the limits and transformations of " testimonio " in Latin America during the last decade. Through the rupture of the conventional linguistic codes, the author tries to materialize and " name " the unnameable, creating alternative cartographies of representation. The use of the schizophrenic language disorder as a new form of expression and the peculiar treatment of the madness produce unusual possibilities of symbolizing and re-figuring the nation. The analysis of the discourse in El Padre Mío and El infarto del alma provides unusual perspectives in order to study the representation of mental infirmity.