La fealdad como postura ética: Un análisis funcional de los personajes femeninos en el cuento “Fin de curso” de Mariana Enríquez

Abstract

In the story “End of course” included in the book The things we lost in the fire written by Mariana Enríquez, ugliness and abjectness are central to the life of the principal character Marcela. We will study the presentations of the female characters and their ethical positioning underlying the aesthetic elements and the narratological strategies in relation to abjectness. We emphasize the function of ugliness considered as horrific as well as aspects that give rise to violent rejection which results in female characters behaving in different ways that leads to stigmatization of the character Marcela. If Marcela does not alter her strange behaviour in a manner that conforms to the norms of a normal and acceptable girl within the social organization she will be forever excluded and stigmatized. The narrator, on the other hand, finds Marcela and her behaviour beautiful and fascinating.