Resumen de Cynic Parrhēsía: The Cure to the Repressive Hypothesis? Repression and Revolution in Contemporary Mexico
The fictional town of La Matosa, where the novel takes place, relies on repressive myth making, legends, and gossip as a means to maintain social control. In this paper, I will connect the concept of the repressive hypothesis to the concepts of parrhēsia and Cynicism to analyze how the two exist in contrast, and howparrhēsia can act as a solution to, or a reversal of the repressive hypothesis-one that is collective yet requires sacrifice and fearless representation. The novel is divided into eight chapters-or eight very long paragraphs due to the novel's limited use of punctuation-that tell the story, or the confession, of characters who recount the murder of la Bruja, the local healer. Applying Foucault's theories to a fictional text that notes the systemic lies engrained in a patriarchal society that sees extreme instances of gendered violence-and requires radical social change-acts as a case study of the possible effects of Cynicism and parrhēsia.
