The things we don’t say: Ellipsis, liminality, and narrative uncertainty

Dr Marta Pérez-Carbonell
Associate Professor of Spanish, Colgate University, USA 

Dr Marta Pérez-Carbonell will argue that the power of narration in literature lies both in what is found on the page and in the margins; it is what we read and what we conjure up based on what is left unsaid. A classification of absences will act as entryway into the fictional world of Javier Marías (1951-2022). We will examine his articulation of fiction as that which does not happen, exploring his use of silences and the portrayal of various forms of absences in his literary works. Marta will then turn to her own works of fiction to assess the depiction of what could be seen as a “negative side of life.” We will examine hypothetical scenarios and other forms of ellipses, and the way in which these “non-events” might reveal themselves as the drivers of narration, despite their not being there.

In-person lecture sponsored by The Centre for Visual Cultures and Instituto Cervantes London.

For more information: centreforvisualcultures@royalholloway.ac.uk

All welcome, but booking is essential.  Booking details will follow shortly.

Image: L'Empire des lumières (Empire of Light) by René Magritte. 1953-54. Oil on canvas. Guggenheim, New York. Detail: the background of this image is a day-time sky with scattered clouds and thick shadows of trees. There is a house which appears lit by a streetlight, making it hard to discern where the light comes from or what time of the day it is.