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Juan Carlos Onetti: Hell so feared

“Hell so feared” (El infierno tan temido) is one of Juan Carlos Onetti’s most acclaimed short stories. Published in 1957 in the magazine Ficción and later collected in the book El infierno tan temido y otros cuentos (1962), it tells the story of the turbulent relationship between Risso, a widowed journalist, and Gracia César, a young actress twenty years his junior. The bond, marked by passion and misunderstanding, soon begins to show cracks. One night, in the newsroom where he works, Risso receives an envelope containing a disturbing photograph. This first discovery marks the beginning of a perverse ritual that will become a relentless mechanism of revenge and humiliation.

Horacio Quiroga: Juan Darién. Summary and analysis

In a remote jungle village, a widowed mother finds an orphaned tiger cub and, moved by compassion, nurses it as if it were her child. Thanks to the intervention of a wise snake, the tiger takes on human form and is raised as a boy under the name Juan Darién. For years, he has lived as a noble and studious human being, although his peers reject him because of his appearance and uncertain origins. When his mother dies, he is left alone and vulnerable. An inspector suspects his animal nature and exposes him publicly, unleashing the townspeople’s hatred. Juan Darién is brutally tortured and burned until his body reveals tiger stripes during a festival. Believed dead, he takes refuge in the jungle, where he survives. Having become a wild beast once again, he returns to take revenge on the tamer who led his punishment. After executing the guilty man, he visits his mother’s grave and renounces his human name to assume his animal identity. The story ends with his final return to the jungle, accompanied by other tigers, after carving his name on his mother’s cross as a last act of remembrance and farewell.

Horacio Quiroga: The Decapitated Chicken

“The Decapitated Chicken” (La gallina degollada) is a short story by Horacio Quiroga that was first published on July 10, 1909, in the magazine Caras y Caretas and later included in the collection Cuentos de amor locura y muerte (1917). It tells the story of Mazzini and Berta, a married couple whose first four children suffer a mysterious deterioration in their development that causes them severe cognitive limitations. The parents, caught between despair and love, are plunged into a cycle of anguish temporarily alleviated by the birth of their fifth daughter, Bertita, who grows up healthy and vigorous. However, the family’s apparent normality is only a facade, and a tragic event reveals the deep fractures that remain within it.

Horacio Quiroga: Juan Darién

“Juan Darién” is a short story by Horacio Quiroga, published in La Nación on April 25, 1920, and later compiled in El Desierto (1924). It tells the story of a newborn tiger who, after losing his mother, is taken in by a woman who has lost her son and decides to raise him as her own. Thanks to the intervention of a magical snake, the animal takes on human form and grows into a boy named Juan Darién. Although he is kind and studious, his origins make him the target of prejudice and suspicion in the community, which is unwilling to accept what it does not understand.

Horacio Quiroga: The Giant Tortoise. Summary and analysis

The Giant Tortoise (La Tortuga gigante), written by Horacio Quiroga and published in 1916, tells the story of a sick man who moves to the jungle to recover. There, he finds a giant tortoise injured by a tiger and decides to take care of it instead of taking advantage of it. In time, the tortoise recovers, and when the man becomes seriously ill, the animal shows extraordinary loyalty.

Horacio Quiroga: A Slap in the Face

‘A Slap in the Face’ is a short story by Horacio Quiroga, published in Fray Mocho on 28 January 1916, which explores violence and revenge in the obrajes of Alto Paraná. The story, set in the Paraná jungle, opens with Acosta, an unscrupulous steward who traffics caña among the labourers on the steamship Meteoro, unleashing chaos that is eventually brutally repressed. When order is restored, only one mensú is punished, tied to the ship’s mast. Unable to hold Acosta accountable, Korner, a ruthless skipper, turns his anger on the immobilised mensú, slapping him in the face. This abuse of power unleashes a simmering conflict that will continue for years.