Illness as the Backbone of Writing in «Papá», by Federico Jeanmaire

Abstract

In this paper we explore the connections between literature and illness in the novel Papá (2003) by the Argentinian writer Federico Jeanmaire. With this purpose, after an state of the art that functions as a first contact with the work, we divide our analysis in three main parts: the metaphors that surround illness, the transfer of these metaphors and literature and its connections with disease. In this way, our main goal is, firstly, to analyse the rhetoric that enclose illness and research the transfer of these metaphors used in the book to speak about other topics, such as the relationship between father and son. Secondly, we study the connections between literature and illness and the different stances on the subject, focusing on disease as the origin of literature and writing as a form of therapy.