Dictator novels: a descent into hell

Abstract

n the set of works that are included under the name of "novels of the dictator" there is a frequent allegorization of the repressive system through the process of descent into hell suffered by the characters. Thus, when fundamental instruments are represented to support tyrannies such as prisons or cemeteries, an iconography of satanic overtones is often repeated. The character of the dictator is constituted on many occasions in an evil divinity, endowed with supernatural powers, who controls the lives of his subjects from his privileged position. For this reason, we will propose the analysis of the dictator's novel from a mythical prism. In the metagenre of the dictator's novel, various defining elements of the myth are manifested, which we analyze below: