Language and Exile in M. Puig’s Novel Maldición eterna a quien lea estas páginas

Abstract

The article examines the connection between language and exile in Manuel Puig's novel Maldición eterna a quien lea estas páginas. It demonstrates the author's personal experience of exile through the characters in the novel, which is built on a dialogue between two unreliable narrators. Language and words become the primary means of entering a foreign culture, and simultaneously the main obstacle, while the deceptiveness and imprecision of language result in complete mistrust of what is said. The use of language as a tool of political struggle is noted. It is concluded that language plays a key role in the novel and reflects a failed attempt at assimilation into a new culture.