El juego de ser vs. parecer – la relatividad de la culpabilidad e inocencia en las obras de tres dramaturgos hispanoamericanos: Pavlovsky, Diament, Santana

‘To be’ vs. ‘to appear to be’ – the relativity of innocence and guilt in plays of Pavlovsky, Diament, and SantanaThe aim of this paper is to compare three dramatic works by Latin-American playwrights: Argentinians Eduardo Pavlovsky and Mario Diament, and Rodolfo Santana from Venezuela. The three dramatists belong to a fairly the same artistic generation (they were born in, respectively: 1937, 1942, and 1944). The examined works originate in approximately the same period of time (Los criminales by Santana was published in 1968, La mueca by Pavlovsky and Crónica de un secuestro by Diament in 1971). These three texts demonstrate intriguing similarities in their dramatic structure. The central dramatic devices employ antinomies between the notions of ‘being’ and ‘appearing to be’, as well as gradual ascertainment of characters’ personal experiences from a standpoint of guiltiness and innocence. The intensity of interpersonal relations between characters is marked with various kinds of violence, where victims may become oppressors, and possibly contrariwise. The confinement of characters in a limited space prompts penitence and soul-searching.