Exile in the novels of Daniel Moyano

This study focuses on various kinds of exile in the novels of the Argentine writer, Daniel Moyano, exiled to Spain since 1976. It consists of an introduction, five chapters, and a conclusion. The chapters coincide with each of Moyano's five novels in the order of the novels' publication dates.

Chapter I explores inner (psychological) exile in Una luz muy lejana as affording the protagonist, Ismael, a means of self-discovery. It includes a Jungian analysis of the symbols £ind motifs indicative of the process of individuation. The second chapter likewise employs a Jungian approach to inner exile. Attention is focused on psychological and moral traits of Victor, the army colonel portrayed in El oscuro, and his neurotic state brought on by a sociopolitical occurrence. Chapter 3 treats internal exile (ostracism) in the short, allegorical novel, El trino del diablo. It examines the sociopolitical ambience that engenders the marginalization of societal groups--in this case, artists. The fourth chapter studies the trajectory of internal exile in El vuelo del tigre. It analyzes the rhetoric, imagery, and symbolism employed by Moyano which substantiate the violent essence and various stages of a provincial family's internal exile. The last chapter describes characteristics of literature of exile in Libro de navios y borrascas, Moyano's first novel to be entirely produced in exile. Focus is directed toward the novel as autobiographical fiction. Also analyzed are themes on time experience sind the question of return.

The author concludes that the various types of exile in Moyano's novels are a reflection of Argentine reality as the result of a lifelong scenario of alienation. Moyano's territorial exile, in his own words, is merely an externalization of the metaphysical exile that has plagued him all his life. His novels exhibit a progression of exile that coincides with his own experiences, thereby exploring the contemporary Argentine's search for identity in a morally decaying society and the exile's pursuit of self-realization.