First reading to The tunnel by Ernesto Sábato

Abstract

The first question I got from Sábato's book, El túnel, once I opened it was what does a tunnel mean? I think the question was raised, perhaps, by what they have said that psychoanalysis affirms about tunnels and labyrinths; Anyway, it was a concern that has accompanied the reading of the novel, from its first page to the last. The second question, which has also served as a heuristic conduit, has been: Why does Castel kill María? All readers know that the novel is going to be the story of a murder, which led me to think about the Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by G. Márquez, for that reason, I think we have to know what are the reasons for it to be carry out an act like that.
And in Sábato's novel the question is much more important because Castel thinks that the only person in the world who has understood his paintings is precisely María, so one cannot help but ask: if this has been the case, how can he choose? for killing her. The third question has been raised before the efforts of the group of readers with whom we were reading the novel to understand the plot as a mere romantic novel, in which a calculator Maria makes fun of a sick Castel, in front of them I wanted them to understand better both Castel and Maria as metaphors that symbolize human experiences. In fact, Castel himself affirms that "all this has something to do with humanity in general, do you understand?" Therefore, what we have to ask ourselves is what Castel and María symbolize. And the fourth question that the reading aroused me because of its overwhelming presence throughout the novel has been what it means to need another person. The need that Castel de María claims to have is exasperating.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/koot.v0i9.5911
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11298/441