English and Mexican Dogs: Spectres of Traumatic Pasts in Virginia Woolf’s Flush and MarÍa Luisa Puga’s Las Razones Del Lago

This chapter offers a comparative analysis of the English Virginia Woolf’s Flush: A Biography (1933) and the Mexican María Luisa Puga’s Las razones del lago [The Reasons of the Lake] (1991). It aligns the spectre of the traumatic past experienced by the dog Flush with those of the dogs Novela [Novel] and Relato [Story], based on their differing social and cultural contexts. The first section introduces the notion of spectres of traumatic past in nonhuman animal studies. The second establishes a comparison between Flush as a pet and Novela and Relato as semi-stray dogs to show how in each story a traumatic past of confinement has impacted the dogs’ lives. The third section discusses how the dogs’ spectres are associated with their violent past experiences, and the chapter concludes by addressing the human-animal empathy between these dogs and the voices of the writers.