THE PHENOMENON OF DICTATORSHIP AND POWER IN THE NOVELS OF MARIO VARGAS LLOSA

Abstract

This article examines the recurring motifs of dictatorship, authority, and the abuse of power as they manifest across the major fictional works of Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa (1936-2025). Drawing on close readings of The Feast of the Goat (2000), Conversation in the Cathedral (1969), The War of the End of the World (1981), and The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta (1984), among others, the study argues that Vargas Llosa constructs an enduring literary anatomy of authoritarianism rooted in the Latin American political experience. The article traces how power in his novels functions not merely as a political instrument but as a corrupting force that permeates the private, psychological, and moral dimensions of individual life. Particular attention is given to Vargas Llosa's narrative techniques-fragmented chronology, multiple perspectives, and intertextual dialogue-as means of exposing the systemic nature of tyranny. The article concludes that Vargas Llosa's oeuvre constitutes a sustained and philosophically coherent critique of totalitarianism, one that transcends its immediate historical contexts to illuminate universal questions about freedom, complicity, and human dignity.