Sexuality and Dissent in Fernando Arrabal’s Work

Abstract

In this article, we aim to analyse the presence and the importance of non-normative sexualities, those which escape the reproductive function, in Fernando Arrabal’s work, a Spanish author, born in Melilla in 1932, exiled in Paris where he has lived since 1955. The work is divided into three parts: first, we will expose the existing link between Eros and Thanatos in order to elucidate the association that is established between eroticism and death pulsion, and between love and suffering in his work; then, we will approach the Homosexual Desire in order to expose the narcissistic and sadomasochistic aspects of this fascination which appear in Arrabal’s creation; finally, in the third part entitled Phallic Pleasures, we will focus on some sexual practices such as masturbation and fellatio to show the symbolic and “panic” value that they acquire in the creation of the author. Thus, we will prove that Arrabal, as a committed author, is trying to get rid of the repression that authoritarian regimes exert on people expressing dissident sexuality. To illustrate our remarks, we will mainly use “panic” works from the 1960s and 1970s.