CHILEAN SCIENCE FICTION AND PSY-KNOWLEDGE: THE PROBLEM OF THE DOUBLE IN HUGO CORREA’S LOS TÍTERES

Abstract

Hugo Correa’s work now enjoys wide recognition, both national international, and is considered a milestone in the development of Chilean science fi ction. In addition to his celebrated novel Los altísimos, his collection of short stories Los títeres has also attracted signifi cant interest for the way in which it addresses the eff ects progress and industrialization on the era’s subjectivity. Th e present work seeks to examine, on the one hand, how the classic motif of the double is revisited through the codes of science fi ction and, on the other hand, the way in which puppets, lookalikes and doubles challenge alterity, revealing the confl uence of literary techniques and the themes of psy-knowledge. Th is analysis will demonstrate that, while problematizing the relations of human beings with a technological future, the short stories of Los títeres like wise exhibit the influence of psychological principles and psychopathological concepts through their plots and characters.