Julio Cortázar often explored the line between the fantastic and the real in his writing. He has become very preoccupied by situations under Latin American regimes that his stories often have “very precise references to ideological and political questions” leaked into them¹. His stories are still, however, of the fantastic. He envelopes his writings on political content with literature. Some critics say that Cortázar used House Taken Over as an opportunity to comment on society “under the authoritarian regime of Perón, or as a critique of the backwardness and conservation of postwar Argentine society” (Norton World Literature, Volume F, 689).
Former President Juan Domingo Perón (of Argentina) led a movement known as Peronism. This movement rejected the extremes of capitalism and communism and worked to ameliorate social and economic tensions among the classes². Perón appealed to workers in a patriotic light.
Cortázar wrote House Taken Over with enough ambiguity in order to “resist efforts at final interpretation” (Norton World Literature, Volume F, 689). The incomprehensible noises that slowly but surely take over the big, quiet house that the main characters live in, eventually push them out. The brother and sister have been living comfortably in the house their whole lives, not even needing to work to earn money themselves since they already have money coming in from the field. Once noises begin to take over the house, Irene and her brother begin sealing off certain sections of the house. Little by little, they are required to leave behind so many things in the areas that had been taken over– the brother’s French literature, Irene’s slippers and stationary set, a bottle of Hesperidin (691). Although they both looked at each other sadly at times, they accepted this without resistance.
During this time, Perón’s dictatorship was very powerful and oppressive. The force within the characters’ home could represent this power– a power that takes away freedom, access, and a peaceful mind from the characters. The characters (the oppressed) do not have the voice nor the courage to stand firm against the force. Even Cortázar has suggested that this political aspect (of oppressing groups under the regime) could have had a psychological influence on his dream, which is how this story first came to him³.
“House Taken over may well represent all my fears, or perhaps all my dislikes, in which case the anti-Peronist interpretation seems quite possible, even emerging unconsciously.” — Julio Cortázar
I think your brief reference to the characters’ sadness and lack of resistance is very suggestive in light on the facts you offer here about Peron’s regime. This context brings the story out of the local and domestic and suggests just what those unnamed “noises” are. Very interesting. Thanks for the post.
Very well written analysis.