Vivir con el otro: sobre la obra dramática de Josep M. Miró

Abstract

Drawing on Roberto Esposito’s notion of communitas, the article reads Josep M. Miró’s dramas as an exploration of how human or social collectives are constructed through the elimination of both internal (the different or dissident) and external enemies (the foreign or intruder). The plays also reveal the huge amount of violence that is perpetrated and tolerated by the community against women, non-Western immigrants, as well as homosexual and transgender people. A paradigmatic example that illustrates these ideas is Tiempo salvaje (2018), which presents an attractive and rebellious young woman whose beauty disturbs the small community of the housing estate where she comes to live. Drawing on the complex theories of ritual violence synthesised in the work of Terry Eagleton, Ivana’s death can be understood as the sacrifice of a martyr who, as in religion or classical tragedies, sacrifices herself to promote social regeneration. Thus, Miró’s drama conveys a message that avoids pessimism. However, it does not fail to denounce both the abuse and complicity of the people who remain silent about it.