This project identifies the concept of uncertainty as a central rhetorical and aesthetic principle in the writings of the Colombian author Marvel Moreno (1939–1995).

Moreno’s prose oscillates between hyper-detailed descriptions—of flora, fauna, interiors, and objects—and a deliberate withholding of main events or characters that would allow for narrative clarity. Embedded references, such as names, religious motifs, and behavioural codes, act as semiotic traces of hidden meaning. This dynamic between descriptive excess and narrative omission produces a distinctive mode of uncertainty which not only shapes the reader’s experience but also reflects broader themes, including memory, repression, and social hypocrisy—particularly within the white, wealthy, upper-class milieus she portrays in her fiction.

What remains unsaid or merely implied continues to exert an influence on the narrative present. These elements haunt the decaying houses and social spaces inhabited by her characters like voices from the past. They become carriers of concealed truths—secrets and taboos that are simultaneously repressed and on the verge of resurfacing. In this sense, the echoes of the past disrupt the carefully maintained self-image of Moreno’s characters, undermining the illusion of moral and social perfection they seek to uphold.

This project aims to identify the specific rhetorical devices employed by Marvel Moreno to produce these tensions and the resulting sense of uncertainty. It will also examine how her narrative strategies evolve across genres—tracing the shifts from her short stories to her novels.