Abstract

TOMASSINI, Graciela. Night Butterflies: fragment, re-writing and microfiction in Ejércitos de la oscuridad, by Silvina Ocampo. Cuad. CILHA [online]. 2010, vol.11, n.2, pp.38-47. ISSN 1852-9615.

The four series of fragments compiled under the title Ejércitos de la Oscuridad have been considered as a "night diary" in which the Argentine author Silvina Ocampo left trace of her hours of insomnia. Far from being a collection of rough drafts valuable only for genetic criticism, the fragment, as appears in this volume, proves to be an écriture on its own right, willfully chosen by the author. Repetition with variation, which links many of these fragments to poems and narratives published by Silvina Ocampo during her lifetime, accounts for a strategy of composition that has been acknowledged throughout her writing. This paper aims at showing that many of these fragments can be considered as skillfully accomplished microfictions.

Keywords : Silvina Ocampo; Fragment; Rewriting; Microfiction; Unpublished works.