Uncovering the Literary Legacy of Pilar Dughi: A Deep Dive into Her Stories and Characters

2024-03-25 18:33:00
Despite the literary talent of our compatriot, her work has not yet reached thousands of Peruvians. (Composition Infobae: El Comercio/Cocodrilo Ediciones)

Personal experiences and knowledge acquired through studies or professional careers are elements that writers usually incorporate when creating stories or novels, narrative species in which it is important to maintain verisimilitude through the coherence of the plot, the use of details thoroughness and language proficiency, among other key factors. Verisimilitude plays an essential role in capturing the reader’s interest, a goal that although many authors pursue, few actually achieve it. Pilar Dughi is a writer who managed to give credibility to her stories and characters.

His characters, whether men or women, are characterized by their psychological and physical complexity, which manages to generate an emotional connection with the reader. The writer achieved this, possibly due to her training in Medicine, which she studied in parallel with Literature, the latter discipline being the one that promoted her literary career, even beyond her expectations.

In 2006, a late diagnosis of pancreatic cancer ended his life, prematurely ending a promising literary career. With his death, the opportunity was lost to discover new works of his that, who knows, could have revealed even more surprising facets of his talent. Pointing out similarities between Dughi and Julio Ramón Ribeyro in terms of style could be tempting, but it would be more accurate to recognize that each author has a unique voice.

In the case of the writer, her mastery lies in the construction of characters and the choice of themes in her narratives. Her training in psychiatry undoubtedly enriched her creative process.

“Actually, what interests me most are the worlds represented; I am attracted to contextual literature, not devoid of references, but I long to explore different universes. The construction of the character is, for me, fundamental, as is the need to adopt a philosophical-existential perspective on the trajectories of the characters and the world they reflect. A context analyzed from multiple approaches, which do not strictly adhere to the realist tradition,” Dughi expressed in an interview conducted by Britt Diegner, published in the book “The new Peruvian novel (1990-2005).”

The writer created characters with a psychological burden. (Peruvian Literary Network)

It is important to highlight that Pilar Dughi’s work is distinguished by a deep psychological exploration of her characters, addressing issues linked to the human condition, society and, especially, the role of women in contemporary culture.

Psychiatry played a fundamental role in his literary production; However, her early passion for literature and the hundreds of books she read since her childhood in Lima were decisive in creating stories that resonated with readers of different generations and endured over time.

Jaime Cabrera Junco, communicator and head of the Literary Promotion Team of the House of Peruvian Literature, commented on the matter to Infobae Perú:

“It would be unfair to say that the study of psychiatry was the only reason he was able to write good stories. If it were for that reason, many psychiatrists and psychologists would stand out as writers, filmmakers or playwrights. The truth is that since her childhood she was an avid reader, having access to the library that her father offered her. “Psychiatry gave him an additional tool for writing.”

Pilar Dughi’s family. (Trade)

It is vital to highlight that Dughi’s work is characterized by a detailed psychological exploration of her characters, as well as by addressing issues related to the human condition, society and, in particular, the role of women in contemporary culture.

Psychiatry played a fundamental role in his literary career; However, her passion for literature and the countless books she devoured from childhood to adulthood allowed her to create stories that impacted readers of different generations and remained current over time.

Book of stories “Ave de la noche”, by Pilar Dughi. (Bereniz Tello)

Regarding the background aspect of the psychiatrist’s stories, Tadeo Palacios Valverde, lawyer and student of the master’s degree in Latin American Literature at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, pointed out the following: “Dughi intertwined various themes in an effort to capture, understand and represent phenomena such as community and intra-family violence, the severity of machismo, the growth of social inequality, the erosion of social ties and frustrated futures, in which disenchantment and loneliness offer a reflection of the spirit of their time. .

The themes she captured in her literary works received praise from numerous critics who, like her, witnessed terrorism. Britt Diegner asked her if the crisis of the 80s and 90s, marked by the Fujimori regime and the internal armed conflict, had any influence on the narrative of those decades, to which she responded: “For example, an aspect that Sometimes not taken into account much is, on the one hand, that political violence became the subject of literary fiction. “It began to be part of the narrative and poetic corpus of the literature that was made in the country.”

“Secondly, some critics associate this era, which had a great impact on the daily life of the entire population nationwide, with a withdrawal of poetic narrative towards the inner world; some critics point it out that way,” he added.

Although his work does not directly address terrorist violence nor does he take it as a central axis in all his narratives, the presence of the ravages of the actions of the Shining Path and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement is subtly perceived in some of his stories. For example, the psychological impact of the war between terrorist groups and the State on its characters.

Pilar studied Medicine at UNMSM. (Diffusion)

In this context, Roxana Caman Vigo, in her article “The great Other in ‘Taking sun in the club’ by Pilar Dughi”, noted the following: “Interpreting the story as an artistic creation, the great Other manifests itself in the ideology followed by the author and the cultural and social environment that drives her to denounce two situations in her narrative: the aftermath of the war between the Shining Path and the State experienced by a military man, and the indifference of the upper middle class in the face of this bloody confrontation. .

It is important to highlight that the Peruvian writer subtly incorporated concepts of psychoanalysis into her work, influenced by readings of authors such as Jacques Lacan.

Regarding the thematic diversity in his stories, Palacios Valverde stated: “The range of themes addressed by Dughi corresponds to a characteristic inquiry of his personality, focused on the search and affirmation of his ‘own voice’: a voice to be inhabited. For this reason, his stories range from the fantastic in the style of Borges and Cortázar, to the black and detective with echoes of Patricia Highsmith and Agatha Christie, exploring the psychological story in the manner of Dostoyevsky and Marguerite Yourcenar; urban realism renewed from a feminine perspective that avoids a complacent approach to history; and fictions about political violence that portray the horrors of the internal armed conflict from the voices of its victims and protagonists.”

Miguel Gutiérrez, in his article “The primitive horde of Pilar Dughi”, highlighted the versatility of the writer: “What is pleasantly surprising about Pilar Dughi’s narrative is its thematic diversity, something that I experienced when reading a story with a historical theme, another dreamlike-hallucinatory, one fantastic and another of a metaphysical nature in the second half of the 80s.

Cover of the novel “Hidden Daggers”, his only literary creation of this kind. (Crocodile Editions)

Cabrera Junco asserted that the inclusion of the theme of terrorism in the writer’s stories was not a determining factor in her literary success. “More than the internal violence, what stands out in her work, after reading all her stories and her novel, is the emotional complexity of her characters, as seen in everything Fina Artadi experienced in ‘Hidden Daggers,'” he commented to Infobae Peru.

Alejandro Susti and José Guich Rodríguez also referred to the main character of their only novel in the book “Open Case: The Peruvian Detective Novel between the 20th and 21st Centuries.” “The protagonist distances herself from the typically feminine roles in this genre. Unlike the femmes fatales, Fina does not use her physicality or sexual attractiveness as a tool of dominance over men; Her defense and strategy consist of using her intelligence to deflect those who try to intimidate or manipulate her, as is the case with Campina, who discovers her maneuvers to appropriate Mrs. Sepúlveda’s funds. “Fina’s counteroffensive is based on revealing her knowledge of the procedures used by Campina and her colleague Manzanares with other bank clients,” the investigators noted.

Pilar Dughi received numerous praise after the publication of her works and was awarded prizes such as the Copé de Bronce Award (1996) awarded by Petroperú, the Julio Ramón Ribeyro Short Novel Award (1997) awarded by the Central Reserve Bank, among others. . Years after her death, writers such as Giovanna Pollarolo and Yeniva Fernández highlighted the importance of her books and stated that “Hidden Daggers” is the best detective novel written by a Peruvian author.

His work, like many writers, still does not reach millions of Peruvians. There is a pending task in the cultural sector to recognize and honor writers who have contributed to society with their stories, novels and poetry. In the case of Dughi, his social work was carried out through literature and medicine.

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