Analysis Of Cear Aira's Ghosts

Gender inequality and interpellation of imbalance has existed in human society for ages. Cesar Aira’s “Ghosts” accentuates the demeaning qualities accompanied by such hatred by using ghosts in the novella to reveal that people are more multidimensional than what meets the eye. Similarly, it is these stereotypes that blind the general population to the truth about differing groups of people and genders. Through the lens of Gender/Queer theory, it is evident that Patri, the protagonist, is plagued by the stereotypical demands of females in the Chilean society, which forces her to the brink of civilization and the edge of the building. As a result, Patri realizes that there is little room for her in the society she resides and must escape by joining

Throughout the course of the novella, the ghosts seemingly blend in with the humans that occupy the building. Throughout the story, the ghosts are referred to as mere children who are nothing but distractions for the workers and the families of the workers. Yet at the end of the day, when Patri goes to the roof to, in essence, say her last goodbyes, there seems to be this diversity within the Ghosts that was not previously introduced. The narrator, for the first time, lets the characters of the book, Carmen Larrain, Javier Vinas, Elise, and Roberto, make their statements about the various ghosts such as the “female hare”, “the watchmaker”, “the dwarves”, and “Japanese Ghosts”(page 123-125). Their perspectives and stories add a different dimension to the plot because previously, the narrator introduced the ghosts as an all male entity of sorts, which seemed unified in their immature intentions. Yet with these various stories, gender and ethnicity are applied to the ghosts, which changes Patri’s perspective. Now she sees the ghosts as a seemingly diverse population that is accepting of all types of

At first, what came almost immediately was her desire to thank her parents. Yet, saying both of her parents wasn’t enough. The men in the workman community are the ones who bring home the paychecks and support the family. As a result, it was necessary to single out the male in the family even though in the eyes of Patri, is not worth the toast. Patri, nonetheless, lies and states that he is “The best man in the world”. Patri’s toast denotes a turning point in Patri’s thought process. She comes to realize that she needs to be valued as a person and not remain at the “bottom of the ladder” in the most “primitive form (page 131 and 132). Following the toasts, Patri is acquainted with the unique opportunity to join ghosts that “haunt” and reside at the building grounds to which Patri’s family and friends work. Not only is this unique in that Patri is the only one invited, but also in this situation, she is a woman with the power to say yes or no. “The ghosts put her in a position where she had to think, had to attend to thinking” (page 108). Unlike other women, Patri has the decision to both jump off the ledge and join a new group of people that seem to value her presence, or remain at the bottom rung of a large society to which she is a social outcast. On the final page of the novella, Patri decides that the time has come to take the leap and join the ghost society. In the end, Patri, in essence, was pushed over