20th Century Spanish-American Literature: Novel & Short Story
The Spanish-American Novel and Short Story of the 20th Century
1. Path of the Latin American Novel in the 20th Century
Three stages can be distinguished:
- The realistic novel (up to 1940 or 1945)
- 1945-1960
- The renewal narrative/development of the new narrative from 1960.
2. The Survival of Indigenous Realism and the Novel
The peculiarities of narrative realism are rooted in Romantic and indigenous influences. The content is based on Latin American peculiarities, focusing on three areas:
- Nature
- Political problems
- Social problems
The indigenous novel is concerned with social reality and focuses on the particular.
3. The Overcoming of Realism: “The Tragic Realism” and “Magic Realism”
From 1940, a weariness of the realist novel began to emerge. New elements appeared, such as interest in the urban world, the fantastic, and magical realism. Aesthetics played a significant role.
4. The Latin American Novel Boom
In 1982, City and the Dogs by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru) was published in Spain. In 1967, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia) was published. This period is known as the “Boom” of the Latin American novel, representing a new artistic movement.
Blood Wedding (Federico García Lorca)
Analysis
1. The Bride’s Confession
The Bride addresses her Mother with anguish, confessing she was drawn to Leonardo despite her commitment to the Bridegroom.
- She admits to being with Leonardo.
- Her reasons are:
- The Bridegroom represented pure, calm emotions (“a little water”), while Leonardo evoked turbulent, passionate feelings (“dark river,” “fire”).
- Leonardo’s pull was irresistible (“like a heavy sea,” “as the head of a mule”).
2. The Mother’s Accusation
The Mother addresses a neighbor with sarcasm, blaming the Bride for abandoning the Bridegroom.
- She directly blames the Bride.
- She indirectly blames the Bride for prioritizing physical desire over the commitment.
Structure
The piece has a parallel structure, with two interventions of equal importance, though the Bride’s is more extensive.
Theme and Summary
Theme: The causes of and blame for the Bride’s abandonment of the Bridegroom.
Summary: The Bride confesses she abandoned the Bridegroom because she was drawn to Leonardo’s passionate allure. The Mother blames the Bride for prioritizing physical desire.
Commentary
This fragment from Act III of Blood Wedding (1931) is inspired by a real-life incident. The Bride and Mother offer contrasting perspectives on the abandonment. The Bride’s anguish and the Mother’s sarcasm reveal their emotional states. The Bride explains her actions through symbolic language, while the Mother firmly places blame on the Bride. Lorca contrasts tradition (Mother) with forbidden desire (Bride).
The Mother’s emphasis on purity versus carnal passion resonates differently today due to evolving social norms. However, the Apollonian/Dionysian conflict remains powerful. The Bride, driven by desire, embodies this struggle. Her honesty about conflicting emotions is compelling. While acknowledging societal expectations, she succumbs to Leonardo’s allure, mirroring the siren’s call in The Odyssey.
This internal conflict resonates with universal human experience. We are taught right from wrong, yet sometimes succumb to temptation. Infidelity is one example, but the dichotomy extends to other choices, like leaving a stable job for a more fulfilling but risky one. The consequences may not be as tragic as in Blood Wedding, but the internal struggle remains.
While I wouldn’t have acted like the Bride, I understand her overwhelming passion, especially given the societal repression of women at the time. Resisting such impulses depends on personal ethics and upbringing. Analyzing conflicting emotions before acting is crucial. Accepting negative emotions without necessarily acting on them is key.