AN APPROACH TO THE SCIENTIFIC POSSIBILITY OF THE FANTASTIC: SAMANTA SCHWEBLIN’S “CONSERVAS”

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the fantastic story “Conservas”, by the contemporary Argentinean writer Samantha Schweblin, in the context of reality. In the story, the protagonist, who unexpectedly becomes pregnant, is not yet ready to give birth to her baby, but she doesn’t either want to abort it, for this reason she seeks different solutions. She looks for alternative solutions, ends up with a method that seems quite fantastic: shrinking the baby in her womb, taking her out of her body, putting her in a canning jar and preserving her to give birth to her in the future. This article tries to shed light on the connection of the fantastic story with reality by analyzing the phenomenon of postponement of a present pregnancy to another time within the framework of scientific possibility. It’s aimed to evaluate the connection between the fantastic situation of the story and reality within the scope of current scientific, medical and technological advances and possibilities. The article intends to point out that the idea of postponing the current pregnancy to another time may become possible, even if it is not as described in the story, and to analyze the connection of the fantastic with reality.