La pluralidad espacial en 'Casa de campo' de Jose Donoso (Spanish text, Chile)

The dissertation studies the topic of space in Donoso's Casa de campo (1978). In that work, the house becomes the principal scenario in which the characters play their roles.; Chapter I explores the relationship between Donoso's literary production and Chile's political and historical experiences. I also discuss the two critical approaches that I follow: Henry James' The Art of the Novel (1962) and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel (1988). Both approaches lead to my major argument that in Casa de campo the space covered by the house functions as a metaphor for Chile, at one level, and for the narrative fiction at another.; Chapter II examines how space is handled in nine of Donoso's novels in order to foreground further discussion of Casa de campo. Chapter III analyzes Casa de campo to show (1) how it acts as a theater for representing the plays and musical performances of the characters' daily life and (2) how those plays and musical performances allegorically represent Allende's regime and the imposition of the dictatorship. Another element analyzed is the function of intertextuality.; Chapter IV focusses on Casa de campo's use of space and time as present in (1) travel, (2) ritual, and (3) the cycles of nature. The conclusion, Chapter V, points out that the events inside the house represent Donoso's perception of the last decades of Chilean history and suggests that the organization of space in Casa de campo inscribes Donoso's interpretation of contemporary Chilean society.