Abstract

The focus of this dissertation is on the blending of Eros and Thanatos as presented in Carlos Fuentes' Los anos con Laura Diaz. Examining the theoretical perspectives on the subject by ancient philosophers, such as Empedocles, Plato, and Aristotle, more recent ones, like Nietzche, Schopenhauer, and Heidegger, and contemporary theorists like Ortega y Gasset and Carotenuto, this study considers the ways, in which Fuentes' novel lends itself to such interpretation. The characters' development and actions are approached under the scope of Eros and Thanatos, which motivate them, constantly intermingling in various levels and different manifestations. The fusion of the forces Eros and Thanatos is examined in their manifestation as "Eros and War," "Eros and Betrayal," and "Eros and Death." The chapter pertaining to the drives of "Eros and War" includes an analysis of creative and destructive instincts and the ecstasy and explosion they bring about, as well as the blending of pain and pleasure. The chapter on "Eros and Betrayal" deals with betrayal in an archetypal sense based on religious and psychoanalytical insights, betrayal in family relationships, disillusion and non-fulfillment of expectations in romance and marriage, abandonment of lover or spouse, erotic deviance, betrayal of the body. The chapter "Eros and Death" involves the separation of lovers due to death deriving from natural or social-political causes, as well as suicide. All issues examined are applied on the erotic relationships and the personal growth of certain characters in the novel, and are studied not in a way of sterile dualism but in their continuous merging and the eventual harmony they create