THE DEMONS OF FICTION: CRITICISM, AESTHETICS AND POLITICS IN THE WORK OF MARIO VARGAS LLOSA

Abstract

: This article aims to analyze Mario Vargas Llosa’s poetics through his theory of 'demons', proposed in his critical works, relating it to the construction of fictional worlds that challenge the relationship between reality and invention. Based on concepts such as 'real reality' and 'fictional reality', developed by Vargas Llosa, and in dialogue with theorists such as Jorge Valenzuela Garcés and Linda Hutcheon, we examine how the author builds metafictional strategies that question official historical narratives. The novel 'Conversación en La Catedral' is discussed as an example of the tension between literature and politics, truth and invention, subjectivity and society, in a narrative structure that promotes polyphony and the fragmentation of hegemonic discourse. By investigating the personal, historical and cultural demons that fuel Vargas Llosa’s writing, this article seeks to show how his work offers an exercise of aesthetic and critical freedom, reaffirming literature as a privileged space to think about human experience.