Echoes of Amphitryon and Gothic tradition in Manderley en venta by Patricia Esteban Erlés

Abstract

Patricia Esteban Erlés presents in Manderley en venta (2008) new forms and meanings of the myth of Amphitryon that are additionally related to the novel Rebecca (1938) by Daphne du Maurier. These echoes and intertextual references appear in the fourth short story of the volume, “Historia de una breve alma en pena” in which the child protagonist, a little girl, is forced to substitute the identity of her father’s sister who died at the age of seven. Those reference can also be seen in “Habitante” in which the new tenant in a house impersonates the woman who lived in the same place before she died. In the same way, “Línea 40” presents a man with cancer who would switch places with anybody to avoid death. In addition, the ghostly configuration of the characters reminds Faces in the Crowd (2011), the first novel by the Mexican writer Valeria Luiselli, with which comparisons can be made.