Gracia César fora de foco: a protagonista oculta em "O inferno tão temido", de Juan Carlos Onetti.

This paper aims at analyzing structural elements of the short story "So feared a hell", by Uruguayan author Juan Carlos Onetti, and investigating how such elements lead to the centrality of the character of Gracia César in that narrative. Using as a basis bibliographic research pertaining to the general theory of the short story as genre and to theoretical studies of that piece of work in particular, the paper analyzes its categories of plot, themes, characters, narrator and focalization. It is concluded that those components are articulated in a manner that supports the female character as hidden protagonist, at once diluted and emphasized by the swaying narrative distance with which she is perceived throughout the story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]