Quote by Diamela Eltit: “The void expands like a disease.”

This somber metaphor describes a growing sense of emptiness or despair, portraying it as something invasive and consuming. It suggests that this internal or societal void isn't static but actively spreads, debilitating and taking over, much like a pervasive and destructive illness.

Published late in Pinochet's dictatorship, this quote from 'El cuarto mundo' reflects the pervasive sense of psychological and social decay in Chile. Eltit's work captured the profound alienation and emptiness experienced by individuals living under an oppressive regime, where public life and discourse were severely diminished.

Chilean experimental novelist, essayist, and cultural theorist whose work under and after the Pinochet dictatorship pushed Chilean literature toward radical political and formal experimentation. Her novel Lumpérica, published in 1983, performed acts of bodily and textual resistance to military violence.