Melancholic readings, precarious authority: The work of mourning in Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá's funereal chronicles

Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá's Las tribulaciones de Jonás (1981) and El entierro de Cortijo (1983) are chronicles that underscore the precarious state of letrado socio-cultural authority in contemporary Puerto Rico. The work of mourning permeates these texts as the narration focuses on the funerals of Luis Muñoz Marín and Rafael Cortijo respectively, narrated by the author-cum-narrator. These texts put forth a reflection on the ethicity of writing, since they begin with the writer's obsession with the dead bodies of Muñoz and Cortijo. The objectification of the dead patriarchs represents a necrophilic perversion, which makes the reader question the reliability, ethicity, and authority of the author.