5.3 Psychological Depth

Quiroga

Horacio Quiroga's 'El hijo' follows a father whose son goes hunting; the father's love and dread merge into a hallucination of loss. It probes the mind under fear and grief.

Inner vs. outer reality

The story blurs what is real and what the grieving father imagines — the dualidad between external events and inner psychological states.

Realismo psicológico

Quiroga's precise, tense prose is a form of realismo psicológico, entering a character's mind to show how emotion distorts perception — a bridge to modern narrative.

Key terms

'El hijo'

Quiroga — a father's love and dread merge into hallucination

Horacio Quiroga

Uruguayan master of the tense, psychological short story

realismo psicológico

psychological realism — emotion distorts perception

Inner vs. outer

the blur between real events and imagination

Theme

la dualidad del ser — mind vs. reality

Try an AP-style question

Interior monologue in fiction reveals…

1. the author's biography
2. the plot summary
3. the setting's history
4. a character's inner thoughts