Renewal of Narrative in 1940s Spanish America
Introduction
The evolution of Spanish American narrative in the 1940s was radical, influenced by the influx of exiles after the Spanish Civil War and contact with Hispanic authors. This led to the adoption of new narrative modes and models, resulting in experimentalism comparable to the Novecentismo and Avant-Garde movements in Spain. New storytellers sought inspiration beyond the previous generation, drawing from diverse literary figures such as William Faulkner, James Joyce, and Franz Kafka.
Precursors to the Renewal
Roberto Arlt and Urban Fiction
A key precursor was Roberto Arlt, who pioneered “chaotic urban fiction” from 1926. His realistic novels explored urban settings through an existentialist lens, portraying characters with paranoid and violent reactions to urban alienation.
Macedonio Fernández and the Antinovel
Macedonio Fernández, with his 1947 novel Museum of Eternal Novel, introduced the “antinovel.” This genre defied traditional narrative structure, presenting a stream of consciousness in free indirect style, minimizing plot in favor of linguistic exploration.
General Characteristics of the Renewal
- Existentialist philosophy: Themes of loneliness, alienation, and isolation, reflecting urban development, became prominent.
- Rejection of realism: Fantasy served as a tool for criticism and analysis.
- Genre evolution: Regionalist novel formulas were renewed with innovative techniques and themes.
- Subversion of bourgeois values: Explicit references to sex challenged conventional norms.
Magical Realism
Magical realism emerged as the defining narrative model of the 1940s. Fantastic events were integrated into everyday life, appearing normal to both characters and readers. This technique, influenced by surrealism, merged reality and dreams. Regionalist myths and indigenous superstitions were also incorporated as real elements. The genre drew inspiration from Kafka and Spanish Novecentismo authors like Wenceslao Fernández Flórez and Álvaro Cunqueiro, who treated metaphors as literal realities. Early magical realist authors often employed a rhetorical style with cultisms, hyperbaton, and abundant adjectives, reminiscent of modernism.
Key Authors of Magical Realism
Miguel Ángel Asturias (1899-1974)
Initially influenced by surrealism, Asturias focused on indigenous mythology and the connection to the land. His works often explored the struggles of peasants under colonial rule. Mr. President (1946), reminiscent of Valle-Inclán’s Tirano Banderas, portrayed a Latin American dictator with grotesque and burlesque elements, within a strong ethical and social context. Men of Maize (1949), considered his best work, exemplified magical realism, depicting colonial exploitation through the language and rhythms of the indigenous culture. He continued exploring similar themes in works like Strong Winds (1950), The Green Pope (1954), and Eyes of the Buried (1960).
Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980)
Carpentier’s prose, reminiscent of 18th-century French literature, often centered on the theme of revolution and human barbarity. The Age of Enlightenment (1962) depicted a Caribbean scientific expedition during the French Revolution. The Lost Steps (1953), his most acclaimed work, reversed the civilization-barbarism dichotomy, portraying harmonious life with nature as true civilization.
Juan Rulfo (1918-1986)
Despite his lack of production, a novel and a collection of short stories , is considered the best writer of Mexican nationality. His novel Pedro Páramo (1955) recovers the narrative model of the novels of the Mexican Revolution to establish an analogy with the abandonment of farms and agricultural and farming economy in Mexico 50. His collection of short stories El llano en llamas (1953) focuses his argument on episodes of the Revolution in which fear and violence become the central argument from a technical realista.La Rulfo’s influence in the narrative, and in general, in Latin American literature, appears already in the works of many Latin American writers who staged the “boom” literature during the second half of the twentieth century.