The Rise of the New Narrative in Hispanic American Literature

Posted on Sep 25, 2024 in Latin

The Hispanic American Novel and Short Story

Two Main Trends in the 20th Century

The first 30 years of the 20th century saw a focus on representing objective reality. However, a new narrative emerged, encompassing various trends within Hispanic literature. Most notably, this includes magical realism and fantastic realism, which introduce irrational elements into the normal presentation of reality, blurring the lines between fact and fiction.

Characteristics of the New Narrative

  1. Fantasy: Magical and wondrous elements are incorporated into the stories as part of reality.
  2. The Fantastic: Reality is presented as complex, messy, and ambiguous, leading to the emergence of mysterious, inexplicable, and irrational elements, creating a fantastical world.
  3. The Human Condition: Emphasis is placed on the search for human identity, often symbolized by journeys, either geographical or historical. A pessimistic view predominates, marked by fatalism, despair, defeat, infidelity, loneliness, and cyclical narratives.
  4. Metafiction: Narrators expose their concerns about literary creation and share their opinions on the writing process.
  5. Humor: Ranges from lighthearted fun to metaphysical or tragic humor.
  6. Eroticism: Explored as a facet of the human condition.

Aspects of Discourse

  1. The Narrator: Can be the protagonist, a character, or a witness, offering multiple perspectives on the story.
  2. Time: Temporal linearity is often broken, with the use of flashbacks, interweaving parallel stories, time jumps, or temporal chaos.
  3. Language: Baroque language is prominent.

Stages of the New Narrative

1. Beginnings of the New Narrative

Influenced by surrealism, this stage is marked by two trends: magical realism and fantastic realism.

a) Magical Realism: Integrates magic seamlessly into reality, without it being perceived as strange or different. Key authors include Miguel Angel Asturias (Mr. President) and Alejo Carpentier (The Kingdom of This World).

b) Fantastic Realism: Introduces inexplicable events or extraordinary occurrences that disrupt the everyday world or create unreal worlds. Key authors include Jorge Luis Borges, whose fiction questions reality and explores themes of time and search. His works often reference European and Eastern philosophy, English literature, classical mythology, and Christian thought. Notable works include Ficciones and The Aleph.

2. Development of the New Fiction

Key authors in this stage include:

  1. Juan Rulfo: Explores themes of fantasy, violence, misery, fate, death, and guilt. Uses realist techniques while incorporating magical elements. His most notable work is Pedro Páramo, characterized by its fragmentary structure, temporal disorder, and interconnected stories.
  2. Juan Carlos Onetti: Presents a pessimistic and hopeless view of urban life, focusing on personal conflicts and presenting history from different perspectives. Key work: The Shipyard.
  3. Ernesto Sabato: Known for his psychological dramas, such as The Tunnel.
  4. Augusto Roa Bastos: Depicts the reality of his country and the living conditions of its people, notably in I, the Supreme.
  5. Julio Cortázar: Mixes the fantastic with the unexpected, irrational, and exceptional. His most distinguished work is Hopscotch, set in Paris and Buenos Aires. The novel explores themes of existential search, the game as a form of reality, and literary creation. Cortázar’s language is playful and innovative.
  6. Guillermo Cabrera Infante: Author of Three Trapped Tigers.
  7. Carlos Fuentes: Known for The Death of Artemio Cruz, which is told from different perspectives and has a circular structure.
  8. Mario Vargas Llosa: His most distinguished work is The Time of the Hero, which portrays life in a military college in Lima. The novel features frequent flashbacks and shifting perspectives. Other works include The Cubs, The Green House, and Conversation in the Cathedral.
  9. Gabriel García Márquez: Author of numerous journalistic articles, short stories, and novels. His works often feature interconnected stories and extended narratives. Key novels include Leaf Storm, In Evil Hour, No One Writes to the Colonel, and One Hundred Years of Solitude, which cemented his international reputation. He also wrote Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Love in the Time of Cholera.