In a post-apocalyptic world devastated by water wars, environmental catastrophes and the great blackout, Argentine writer Agustina Bazterrica (Buenos Aires, 1974) transports readers to a bleak future in her most recent novel, you unworthy them, published by Alfaguara.
With his characteristic disturbing style, which already left its mark on the memorable Exquisite corpse, The author presents a story told from the confinement of women subjected to the dogmas of an oppressive religious cult.
The plot revolves around life in the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, where several women are controlled by a ruthless Sister Superior and an omnipresent entity known only as He, a mysterious figure who dominates from the shadows.
In this scenario of submission, the protagonist clandestinely recounts her experience and records at night what happens within those walls: torture, sacrifices and chilling ritual ceremonies.
Climate change is a fact; What I propose in the novel is something that is developing. If we do not do something to reverse it, both on an individual and global scale, we will face water wars and other inevitable disasters.
Bazterrica explained in an interview with The Day.
This fear, which is taking shape in the author’s narrative, is palpable in the deterioration of the outside world in the plot, where animals and nature have almost completely disappeared, and the days alternate between freezing cold and suffocating heat. .
However, not only does the apocalyptic setting mark the lives of the women in the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, but also the dynamics of power and punishment within the brotherhood are brutal. As they compete to rise in the hierarchy, they are forced to undergo cruel tests of pain and self-flagellation approved by the Sister Superior.
For Agustina Bazterrica, this system of punishment and pain reflects a meritocracy of suffering
which is present in several current social structures, especially in religious institutions. Patriarchy is not just a gender issue; There are women who perpetuate machismo unconsciously or consciously and benefit from it
he added.
The author stressed that her personal experience – in a German religious school – had a profound influence on the construction of the universe of Las Indiganas. I went to a nun’s school where punishment and guilt were used as threats to generate submission
.
This experience fueled his criticism of religious institutions that, in the novel, manifest themselves in the form of a cult that uses fear and control as tools to maintain order. My experience was negative, but I am grateful for having gone through it, because it allowed me to write this work
he added.
Writing can be a means of freedom even in the most oppressive contexts, as happened with the Cuban author Reinaldo Arenas, who continued writing despite having been imprisoned and persecuted by the Castro regime. Without literature, he would not have been able to survive.
Bazterrica also explores the duality of competition and alliance between women. Although they seem to fight among themselves to survive and rise in the cult hierarchy, female friendship emerges as a form of surreptitious resistance.
“This competition and alliance between them in such a dark environment is not something exclusive to religions. It also occurs in sects or coercive groups where a reward – in this case, enlightenment – is offered to those who submit to the rules, while those who disobey are threatened with punishment.”
Inspired by the work of feminist theorist Silvia Federici, the Argentine writer delved into the role of women in the perpetuation of machismo and how society conditions them for it. “For centuries, we were restricted in our ability to decide about our bodies, our roles and our lives.
“Unlike Exquisite corpse, This novel has a more poetic register. I want the reader to feel that, although I am telling a story full of horror, I am doing it with beauty. I hope that this book generates reflections, individual changes and a new look at our reality.”