Études romanes de Brno (Jul 2013)
Sous la lune, le diable : deux textes en echo : les grands cimetieres sous la lune de Georges Bernanos et La noche del diablo de Miguel Dalmau
Abstract
This article puts into relation the two books "Les grands cimetières sous la lune" by French writer Georges Bernanos (1938) and "La noche del Diablo" by Spanish writer Miguel Dalmau (2009). The historical background to both is formed by the horrors committed by the Italian troops on Mallorca – accomplices of the Franquists at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. In contrast to Bernanos, whose text testifies in a non-fictional manner, Dalmau's novel adopts the winners' point of view. This historic novel explores how the protagonist (the anti-hero) abandons himself to the realms of malice and perversion. But his final repentance and remorse carry in itself a universal reflection both on collective conscience and the meaning of the so-called "memoria histórica" – an important topic in the socio-cultural discourse of today's Spain.
