Roberto Schopflochers historischer Roman Das Komplott zu Lima: Literarizität und Aktualität der Inquisition

Abstract

In his new novel, Das Komplott zu Lima (The Lima Conspiracy), the German-Argentinian author Roberto Schopflocher works with the tools of literature andfictionalized family history to recreate the atmosphere surrounding the famous auto de fé of 1639 in Lima, Peru. Implied connections to our times result that lie in the tragic continuity of historical events, above all in the bureaucratization of racist thinking. After tracing the historical background of the novel, thisarticle explores the literary tools Schopflocher employs and compares the novel to Alfonso Toro’s La Familia Carvajal. In a further step, the article establishes the novel’s relevance for our times with the help of Hannah Arendt’s Origins of Totalitarianism and Irene Silverblatt’s engagement with her “subterranean stream” of history. We ultimately see that Schopflocher is a considerable sceptic when it comes to the development of history.