VIOLENCE AND TRAUMA IN THE SHORT FICTION OF MARIANA ENRIQUEZ
VIOLENCE AND TRAUMA IN THE SHORT FICTION OF MARIANA ENRIQUEZ

Summary/Abstract: Mariana Enriquez, one of the most prominent contemporary Argentine writers, explores in her short fiction the pervasive dynamics of violence and trauma within both individual and collective spheres. Her narratives intertwine urban gothic, grotesque imagery, and social realism to portray the lasting scars of dictatorship, poverty, and marginalization in Argentine society. This paper examines the representation of trauma and violence in Enriquez’s short stories, with a focus on Cosas que perdimos en el fuego (2016) and Los peligros de fumar en la cama (2009). It highlights four major dimensions: collective trauma as cultural memory, social and bodily violence as structural realities, gendered trauma and female resistance, and the aesthetic strategies of the grotesque and the uncanny. Enriquez’s fiction illustrates how trauma is not only remembered but also re-enacted through narrative forms that unsettle the reader. Ultimately, her short stories reveal literature’s potential to confront social injustice, reclaim silenced histories, and transform violence into a critical space for memory and resistance.

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