Ernesto Sábato's 'Le tunnel' Analyzed by Marie Carcenat

Key facts

• Marie Carcenat analyzes Ernesto Sábato's novel 'Le tunnel'.
• Ernesto Sábato (1911-2011) was an Argentine intellectual.
• Sábato trained in mathematics and physics and worked at the Curie laboratory in France.
• He associated with the Surrealists in Paris.
• He taught at the University of La Plata after returning to Argentina.
• He painted still lifes and a copy of Van Gogh's self-portrait, advised by Óscar Domínguez.
• His literary articles displeased the Perón government, leading to his resignation.
• During the military dictatorship, he worked for the release of prisoners and later wrote a report on the junta's crimes.
• At age 68, due to an eye disease, he devoted himself to painting.
• He exhibited about ten paintings at the Petit Foyer of the Centre Pompidou and 36 paintings in Madrid in 1992.
• His paintings are considered neo-expressionist and feature distorted scenes, still lifes, and portraits of influential writers and philosophers.
• 'Le tunnel' was published in 1948 and is his first novel.
• The novel's plot involves a painter who commits a femicide.
• The protagonist's painting 'Maternité' contains a detail—a small window showing a woman looking at the sea—that the victim notices.
• The novel explores the relationship between the artist and his work.
• The book was published by Seuil in the 'Points' collection in 1995 (originally 1978), 140 pages.