124

Luis Leal

and pub lished b lhe ev i tu de Oc

ciden t : Realismo mtigico (Mad rid, 1927).
.
Review hy Antonio Espma m th Revist
a de Occidente, XVI (1927), pp. 110_1
i;i.
4 Trans. n o e : See Arturo U s lnr Pietri,
l.etras y hombres de Venezueln ( 1 94n
;
.
Me ico City : Fondo de Cultu
Economica, 1949), PP i6i-62.
5 A l j o Carpentier, "On lhe M o r velou
s Reul in America," trans. H u ntingt on
and
Zurnora, this volume, pp. 85-86.
6 Leal refers here lo lhe Hispanic.Ame
rican mo v m ent of "Mo dern1sm

_
o, " to I 1e
distin ished from European nnd North
American modernism, nnd closer to
symbolism.

AMARYJ,L CHANADY

re

The Territnrializaticm

Imaginary in

Latin America: Selfffirmalion and Resistance to

of the

Metropolitan Paradigms

7 Julio Cortazar, La.1 annas secretas

(Buenos Aires, 1959), p. 185. [77ie End
o(tlie
Game and Other Stories, trans. Poul
nlackhurn (New York : Harper and
ow'
1978), p. 248.]

.1, A
8 Ar tur 0 UsI er p1et

ge I Fl ores, Al ejo Carpentier. See th e essay hy the )alter:

.
"
De lo real marav1llo
ente americuno," 1ie11tos y diferencias (Mexic
o, 1946),
PP n5-3. Trans. Iluplmgton aml Z
amora, in this volume, pp. 75_88.

9 R'. C. Colh ngwooi 1 , Lo, Principios

de/ Arte (Mexico: Fondo de Cultur
Econ6mica, i96o), P 74 [The 1'nnciples
ofArt (19311; Oxford: Clarendon, 1964)
, p. -;1].
10 Obrcu comp/etas de R6mul
o Gallegos (Madrid, 1958), p. 8 22.
11 Fr z R oh , cited hy Juan Eduardo Cirlot in his
Diccionario de los ismos, 2nd
ed it ion (Barcelona, 1956), p. 365.

In

l;ontrol of tlw lnwginary:

Reason

anti

Tmnbrinntion

in

Modern '/lmr..

,,

the Brazilian literary theorist and critic Luiz Costa Lima i n vest igat e whal

r)

tIQI of the

p
aginarx by the dictates of a restrictive concept i on of mimesis

he calls the "scandalous rohibition" of fiction, that is, l h e ':,Xstemalic con

based on verisimilitude , decorum, and imitation of consecratc1l masters

am! legitimated models, the " parame ters of a

utinr. as ee ls of rl ail

the n

lif

"

ra gmat

i geared lo

nd moralit TI1is cont rol of the

imag inary replaces the Christian cosmological cen ter ing in the six t e ent h
century, when the "c.!!ll

of a reasq_o,incarnaling permanen t , univr.rsal{l_rov.;)

came in servi ce lo, and at the same lime was the desidera t um of,

centralization" (31). Medic

I 1hcocentrism

oliti

way to the Y

of reuson, which leads to the eyucuation of poiP.sis_lrom the concc

th us defo rming the Aristotelian notion hy restrictin

to the i mitation

of an

of

suli'ectivit

external reality in accordance with lhe precepts of

o paradig1;;, 011 rin!; the Romantic eriod) the expres

sjectiv!lY, r ehl'llion 11:,:;ti l slahlishi>d sorir ty, and

f.
\

he em

b'

sion of l!!!!.ivi du al

p
fl!.!!:imagin_a.ry.

self-renection accom anying

1!!.,scontemplil!.i.Q.n of n a.ture challenged

_3j

this

In Latin America, however, R omant i cism was characterized neither by

s c;; u lative self-reflection nor by the

but L

entimenlal

ity}_and

q u estioning of hegemonic

models,

detailed _2bsQ!ltion_ of natu!!;. Costa Lima

states: "Observation did not find its ground, so to s peak , in

would

Chanady, Amaryll. "The territorialization of the imaginary in Latin

America: Self-Afirmation and Resistance to metropolitan paradigms."
En Magical Realism: Theory, History, Comunity, editado por Lois
Parkinson Zamora y Wendy B. Fairs. 125-144. London: Duke
University Press, 1995.

JI

sub'ect who

conve rt nature into a means of stimulating and onl er i n

ing of himself or herself; its ground rl$irled instcac

{he

in the land that was to be r e laced on the wrillen page

r_eval ene e of cfoscription l in

the r earl

o i'C::t ol s rverl,

"

(162-63). TI1e

nrnzilian llomanlicisrn, whir;h prccl111li:d

ra dical hreak with realism, can lie attrilmted portly to the European in-

126

1 '<'J..Cl

'11.4 A/I./ i r {
.,I.
._,lJ t
flUI
!.. (/._

Amaryll Clrmuuly

'fhrilori11/irotio11

1if tl1e fmagirtary

/
127

anO<! eri an "(1967). (Roth essays are i11cluile1l in this volume.) Con
sidering Leal's categorical rejection of Flores' arguments, it is ironic that
Leal's title is an almost exact translation of the latter's English title.3 TI1esc

sistenc1'. on theexcp tional nuture f New World geography and purtly to

t e Lalin me can
. strafe 1es of identit -constr that emphasize[i;:,..,
ional s ec1fi 1t1 TI1e New World ima inar is subse uentl controlle
hy the reuiremcnt that it ex ress national identit cordance with
I
tlw prccpts of Euro;iean pos1hv1sm which stress dctuiled observation
. knowledge of the referent Costa Lima cit.es the e xample
and ohJect1ve
.
f Euclides da Cunha, who advocates the "marriage of science and arr
m human thought (166); the writer thus "remains riveted to th external
.!_eaity f fats o to the internal reality of sentiments, to hide the stigma of
fiction, a s1ta t t n thal coninues today with testimonial narrative (199).
.
. of Brazilian literature, with its implications cx
Csta Lnna
discussion
tedmg to Latm American 1!.tcrature in general, is a particularly enlight. of 1 cparture fort? reconsideration of what has frequently hcen
1nm po111t
c ns 1drc!l. during the past t.1 1 rec dec a des !!.ti he{ii"ut lu n t}tjlitc.rw:..y. r.xpns

.
sum of Latin Amr.ricu:
ical realism. How can we reconcile tlu fictional
worl<I of G b ric l Gunfo Maruez, populated by characters ascen ding to
heaven amidst bedsheets, mysteriously levitating while drinking cups of'
cliocolate, and turning into snakes or puddles of pitC'h, world henighted
.
w'.. t h deluge lastmg several years and yellow flowers falling from the sky,
with the claim tlat N$!Y World fiction is siliect to a control of the imngi
X based on tl1efiTI1me ic re resentatim!l.ol' tlucontinent's reality, espe
. g 111. mind the im ortance o -osTt"lvism i11 Lat in Amerii:a? Do
c ially hearm
we accept Jodwn Sd1ulte-Sa$se's challenging argument i11 his Artcrwnrd
to Con Ir/ of the lma{{inary that Costa Lima's inclusion :of poiesis wit h in
.
.
mimesis 1 nor
!aims of the artistic imaginaton Ip suliverL .I go
hexond the hegemonic parad re ul ing mimesis] s is evi de nt n ot
nly .in the major texts of German Romanticism a nd in Coleri dge's dis
tmct t on between pedestrian fancy and innovative imagination but in the
art istic encleavo in
I? Ma ical rea i n would thus he
urticu arl):'
successful 11nifestatio11 of niesis us o osed to mime.is. The faet that
Costa Lima does not mention gical realism may lie an indication M the
prohlPma ic sttus of this literary mode alongside a thcor em hasizing
the o os1te what magical realism seems to repnsent.
With this apparent contradiction as a point of departure, r will examine
lo texts that have been particularly significant for the conceptualiza
tion and academic popularization of magical rea lism. Tiie first is An
el
Flor s'"Ma .1ca I R ea 1ism S punish American Fiction" (1955).2 The siic .
ond is Lms
Leal's critical rejoinder in "E_!_ realismo m:i ico en la literalura

his

)
R ealism m Spani sl
a "peri
as
text
his
of
n
American Fiction" reveals the situatio
he litera
in
advertis
duction concerned with validatin md even
derogatory reFitts'
of a formerly colonized soci. C ou nte ring Dudley
marks conr.t!rning the "ineptitude, uncertainty, imitativ1mess, Aentimental
histrionics" of Latin American fiction, which the Anglophone critic con
Latin America's lack of
sidered "invincibly seconrl-ratr.," Flore s justifies
"great" literature with the claim that "conditions of life are so difTicult
that [llispanophone writers] arc unabl1 t<> devote t tinw and tra vail rcrt that their output is
1w.jnd for all memorable achievemcms, with the
r, m agic al realism has
howeve
H),35,
since
s";
heterogeneous, often careles
Kafka (alth ough he
lty
d

i
pir
s
n
i
fiction
sprung up in the wake of Borg1!s'
heir to other i11f111was
"
ius
n
g
lmphx
<
points out that Borgts "extremdy '
and short story
lists
..
nov
ry
a
or
as w11l), prod ucing "brilliant < 'on tcmp
mag11ili
"most
the
saw
"
writers, spcl'ially in tl11 d ecade ll)tl.o-5n, which
o
t
cent A owering" or magical realism in "prosP fiction comparahie the best
With respect to M allea"s Sn/a
in C'Ontemporary I taly , France, or England."'
out "the affinity of all these
points
Flores
,
de espera ['n1e Waiting Room]
h
opening sentences with those of 171e Tried, Franz Kafka" (115). Ma gica}
realist fiction e udiates "that naw ish sen imentaliSffilwhich pervades so
ma ny of the Latin American cl assics," "seeks prt!cision an1l l1!anness1" has
on to all flabhi111ss, <!ithcr sty
"well-ro;mded plots" and a "st rong avr si
listic or emotional," thus forming a marked lo traditional Lati11
American fiction, with its "flatulence" a n< I "elephantine and sprawling,"
" u nw i e ldy and clumsily assemhl1!d" plots (116). He ronc ludes his essay
with the remark that "[n]ever before have so many sensitive and talenll!d
writers liver! at the same time in Latin Amcril'a- never h ave they work"'!
( 116). Flores'
so unanimously lo overhaul anrl polish the craft of fi tion"
li r
r
la
u
p
po
a
lo
cater
not
oltse rvat i on that the "magic al realists do
,!d
initiat.
merely
t
o
n
tlinse
t lwy a d dress themsclv1:s to the sopliisticaletl,
i

ie

11

1nces

;1

e e

11

laRll, rat

\.

L.Ujt. '> -t> 'rU-4Al.:

I '.{1]1"
1

,,A

., -:

Jl

128

Amaryll Clianarly

in aesthetic m s

[_
L

the dominant

t
f

but versed in subtleties"

(n6),

ex plicitly sums up

n;ii

th

What i

the\acc;;;-t'i

'J11c

ized blJEosiITvism (117, n.

of Ka!Ka, Flores poi

i).

In

s pite of his

em ph

works not

asis

t i on tltvelopecl hy the

teenth century.

M.,agical realism is, of co

Columbus' and Cabeza de Vaca's wri t ings and the "rote of wonderment

cl fantasy" and, in the case of writers such as Kall< a,

y}w ith tl .{>hantasmal wo:;Jill

"imaginative writg," it would be

sim plistic

ports, written a cordin g to the heg moni

11p rnat 11 ral

e

to consider Colurnlms' re

1\ift.ticulous craftsmen all, one fi nd

in them

[ the

magical

s m at ion

i the\csom and the u nntlJ

c 's dictum: "\Vliat is most of' all

rx.tl:!J

of the common and the ve

11iey all will su b s ri be to C hir i o

nee-

q-

su pernatural realms" (115-16). 'n1is is a

s ' trans
nwnliorlt'd
ve
i
t
a
arr
formation into an insect in "'nu! Ml'lamnrphosis," a n
by Fl ore s as h l onging to the ma gical realist mode, is certainl y s11pcr
n at 11ral , as arn th plot s of th e works of sevt>ral Lat i n American authors
enumeraterl by Flores. This "confusion" hetwecn magical realism and the

fa ntastic 135 been re J e at dly criti1ize1I. nut wFiat is parti ularly prnbl<m-

artial solution to this contradi<"tion hy ('Ons

il i

t er ng the

of the imaginary hy avant-g,anl

writers. Fair tales cannot he considcr1:.d,11 a gic a l rf'alist because thc;i: :id-"

l're to relative!

mi or m p!Ot structurPS as Vladimir Propp rle mons tratc

in HJ28,6 an inevitable mo al resnl11t ion of' t lw

M a niche an conflir:t

of th!

characters,7 anrl a classifiahl1 11111nber of' motifs that have heen cataloged

real is t s ] --

the sa.!!1e pr occupation with styJ,c and also t he same tran for

1s

from flying off, as in fairy t ale s , to

enlflhasis on the innovative characte

i, thus differing sign ifi cantly from the chronic.ler,s. The

nception of\iiii3g'i0ative writ in :

rea

rather puzzling observation in view of the fact that GrPgor Sam a

-We may find a

produce iterature devi

following explanation of the function of magical realism clarifies Flores'

of magical realism cling to reality."

ating from the canons of realism with its hegmnor!.!..pararligm.u.Lin!er

P.reting

the l cont rad i tion between the d:!finition of magi al nal

ism as "an arnal ;;;=;; iation of realism ant i fa ntasy " that ind 11 1 I P-s narratiws
;uch as "The M e tamorphosi s" and the sti ulation that the "practitioners

Latin American magical realists. In spit of' the fact that many of the early

r /conscioy

urse , also subj ect to a f;!rtain c ontrOl.\ Af'f'ord

ng to SY.) if to
c

atic i s

chronicles seem just os fictional to us now ns d o Garcia Marquez's novels,

'vc" writ e s

rovit le him w it h dcs ripl iw lopoi

sl'.r iptio n of nature in the nine-

c paradigms of' his time, as par

as the "cold and cerehrul" narratives of' authors such as Kaflrn and certain

"'

is part i111larly

p nsc1llX

is sup

taking of the same kind of imaginary, or even h a v ing the same function,

contcmuorar

bklc vsk 0

of his nightmares" (112). Alth ough tlu common denominator hdwe n

e o t ic ism, wonderment, the onciric, and the

pr v e nt 'literature' from getting in I heir way, as if to pr vent tl11ir myth

cerehral and often erudite

hosrplrti n "the amal

"the difficult art of min .fin, his lrah realit

ietnr

ing to Flores, the "practitioners of m agi al rcali sm

and exoticism" of Ruben Dario's st orie s at t he end of the n i ne eent h cen

amation of realism

Formalist

of t he New World.5 '01e latter, however, p

s out that Latin A meri an "imaginative writing"

BJ1 ssian

that rliffer from the models of positivistic d e

a lrea dy existed hefol'e 1935 (he mentions the "magical" elements of

storytelling" (113) of the ma 'ical r eal i ts,

of all

ism as a urnversa p 1c110menon havi ng nothing lo dn with the chronid.-s

on the influence

tury ) , hut that it dife

f rs from the "cold and

churactr:r

tween these lines and the emphasis on inno ation

rel vant in the case of magic al realism): rlorcs thus situates magical real

tumbres "' "local co lor re a lis m'..'.] (115) and his' citation of Arturo Cam

rntin

h mnities b

(111.)

avant-garde artistic movem1nts an ohvio 1 s (tlw n t ion of 1lefamiliariza

lurs Ocampo's l audat ory reference to Arg

\...-put :ir;.-l,._
...

ri tions or 'cuadros de cos

mu<t

con stell ation now appe arin g for the fi st time.''

relevant to our prnlilrmatic of the imaginary is

:..:::.::_.::.:
=..,.,.eu.>.u._
:.i.:
...:
'n
'
c ss

I CF1aror111e rl
,e.,,:c;;.:dl

appear to it under a new aspt>cl, as t ough they arc illuminated by

of Latin American literature in its present state of evolution within

aic'ji!iOib
particu l a rly

hin" of' thl' known whir.hit has h"ll 11ntil

suh"ect. idea. thou!!;ht an<l >"-mhol

Thought must draw so far away from human fetters that thi ng may

ith centuries of culture and the New World ex-colonies evolving

thelunivers

of evf'r

now: eve

Europ . an metro 11.ol is

on a lower _lane of cultural refinement-by demonstrating

cssary is

reoccu ation of his discussion: lo re'ect the hierarchical

f!!!:hotomr between civilization and h ar haris

im

t'.!Q

7irrilori11/iu11ion nJ thl' lm111-Yinnry

"'

e n
f'<"ntu ry. nie rigirl fairy-t a le form
effectively restricts the ima in'!!y to well-ddined morlcls, even more tlrnn
th e stricturPs of realism. Col1ritlgc's distinction hetwcm1 fancy anr l the
imagina t ion as that between the rrwnipulalion of "fixitirs nnd Jcfinites"

by folklorists since the h g in i ng of tl11!

1,30

1'nritnrialimtinn of 1/1e Tmnginnry

Amaryll Clranndy

and the a.fui.og.an

1:\l

mif'(.jrig crPatiw: ernls;u.pr, which Jod11rn S rhu ltc

Sassc compares with that hr.tween mime.is unrl /Wif'.i.<,8 is also nl i :van t l.<i
Floris' diffcrcntiution between magicul r1:ulism anrl the fairy talc.

But Flores' assertion that the practitioners of magical realism din tn

"reality as if' to prevent literature from getting in their way" has more

radical implications, which Luis Leal will treat more explicitly in his 19(17

essay. n1e Cuban Alo Car 1entie r'

reality

oes not a

.g.itima iun o(lie marvdo11s in Latin

iat I,. 1

!ri

ec

ma rve lo

lo Flores' nol'ion of magical rf'alism, "!hicl1 includ

11

1s
.s

European fiction. 1-lowever, Curpentier's rejection of the marvelous in

French Surrealist writing, which , he cl aims is ohtained hy literar y arti

fice anrl hnscd on stock motifs-resembles Flores' exclusion of the fairy

('.
flores' treatment of magical rr.alis rn !:.!!!rhasizs the
11d tllllS...!!.Jl
irnitecl
, s_ of a literar mor)P., his

tale, and his commc n about literature not "getting in the way" of mag i

'.

cal real sm. Although

sthet1

Q!!_

of rnality in magical rcali!l,m i icatts a G'.'..!

eral md1ct.ment of tr:11lition1 1 l forms of rnimes s. M agi< "al realism dons nnt

COllllct on I.he
o ccupy

rrcs1rncc

distinct area of l i tera ry production sep,arate from tliat of mi

metic writing, as does the marvclou's domain of fairy talcs, where the laws

of logic and verisimilitude are constantly infringed without alTecling our

"normal" perception of reality, in a temporary sus p1m sion of disli<"lir.f.

.. 011 the r.ontrary, the morle ehallr.nes n:nlistic rc pr1 :s cnla t i o n in order to

>oeisis into mimesis afi?llil"!TI3 which Costa Lima advrn:atcs

f
re satisfactory ex ression of our modernity.
,
A more e rious contradicS surfaccs toward the end of Flor is' essay,
int rod 11

when' he cluims that the new imuginat ivc writing murks "the inee tion

of a \g,rnuinel

Latin American fiction" and that "Latin America now pos

sesses an !!.!!then tic expression one that is Ulli elx civilized, exciting and,
let us hope, perenniul"

(116). If' magical

realism is clesctibed as ima gi na

l ivl' and inrmvativt> firl.ion I hat hus assi rn ilatcd t hc m us t mod1!rn nu rrativc:

111111 stylistic

/!t

teehni1p1Ps,

and can lie fo1111cl in Kalka

us

w11l as l1 o rg1 s,

ru nnnt lu: "g1m11iruly Latin An11ricm1" or tin: "aull11ntic r:xpnssion"

irn >OSl',rl h reason.

of t lrn continen,!_. Two of the main s lrat.: gics for t he discursive eonstit11-

tion of' cultural iden ity and

" eriphery"

the cfosirn f'nr

(I am using this ethnocentric term to emphasiz" the nat1

ig;

i mag narx

1f

the critic 's predicament in the light of hegemonic val11es) are uxta oscd
iclc: valorizin the nationa c11lt11r" liy demonstrating thnt it
arnJ ten in some aspects id1'.!.!,ljcal}t!_lhat. of the 111ctro1 11'.-

in Pl r '

Althoug

ncl'ropnliliii1 rcc o n1t1on in the

in the valorizatiO!l of Jhe

a dif
different ways nnrl attr ibute
their arguments proceed in

the significance of

22!h

cssuys lie s

literary mode that

Flor es, magical realism is a
ferent status to fiction. For
' ac1,.ptcd
America's credentials for bein
is hranrlished as pa rt of Latin
n > f tlw mct ropolis, even though, as I have
))'.the cultural est bli shme

.. \

( I

132

7erri1orinlit11tin11 of rl1r /11111/!inur_Y

Amaryll Chanady

Leal traces the emergence of the 1110111:

pointed out above, his emphasis on t.he presence of "reality" has more

far rea ching implications. For Leal, magical realism, which he calls an
' ttitude ," problemati zes what Niklas Luhmann calls the "functionally

differentiated society " 10 t. hat has liherated the imaginary, as Schulte-Sasse

perceptively pointed out, while relegg it to an au tarkic institutionalized s here of art. Such institutionali zation limits its influence on other

f'run7. Roh's 1<):::, ,.ay

on

postexpressionism in painting, Uslar Pietri"s HHB discussion of the I.at in

spheres (social, polit i cal} and condemns it t.o a compensatory func tio r J dcite the apparent liberation oJ:..!b;. ima inary, t!ie institutionalizatiorf

In

"\'.\

American narrative as a " po e t ic negation of real i t y,"

erologu e to TI1e

Kingdom 1>(1/iis lr'.irld,

anti

arpentier"s

in which he intro(lucetl 1h.-

tqn1

lo real maravil oso the marvelous nal .. cal even a1lopt s Carpcntier"s as-

)!,

art s.ince the end oft.he ei_ hteenth century has effecterl a more devasJatint;;. control than that exercised by decorum and reaRon.u

Particularly significant in this respect is Leal's distinction bctwe;n

m a gical realism and the f

to j

sti

he m stcr"

has to. fn
eason'

Ji,Qrt. early chronicles fi.ctionalizing the continent, and a turlml<!nt 1oli1i,.:1l

.ai tuatio.n. TI1e existence of a marvelous reality legitimate1l anti tcr rit ori a l

tastic: the rnugical reulist. writer "docs not nee d

fiature of' eve1 ts, as the writer of fantastic stories

fantastic l te ra ture

the

1 1ernuturul invades a world

(123}. As scverul critics have

ruler!

iz d

of

po inted out, the fantastic, in the re

that Latin America, "that boundless realm of haunted men and historic
w omen, " that "outsizcd real ity, " "nourishP.s a s our ce of insatiahle cre

sup ernatural beliefs, emergerl in l he eighteenth century, when rational 1x

planation and empirical observation hart rel egated archaic pa ra d i g m s to

ativity" m ore ad equate for

an inferior status!2 In these fantastic fielions, the premises of a frequently

hegemonic paru rl i gms of th1

Uc12

elLn c'.l Although this typc of fantustic nnr ru tivt is highly

paradigms. Leal's 1rcocc11 ation is thus irimaril

cientific

'3 '
\,<\.#

his re ference to the restrictive rationalist character of the fa ntastie anrl

his remark that t nrtist ca t.ures the mystery of reality, Leal chall1nges

(lilicrated from rational constraints by its institutionalization as a sphere

separate from that of cognition) but also in his a

general. For Leal, ma 1ic11I

rchension of real it jn

1lism is an "altil d ' towards reality,'" 11t!J a

litcrar)' mode or techni ue.

Lent's shift in emphasis has c om ple x filiationR. Rejecting Flores' claim

I.hat magical realism can he largely nxplained hy th e influence of Kafka,

f Latin

tion resemhles in certain respects that of clisr.oursl's produced hy colonial

h5-

.e.ctioo.. lQ.J:.!.ltional11.amdigms not only in his literary act ivity

tlwtic consciousness as including thematic content. As demonstrated hy

the artist's s

'lne argum entat ive mmld of Flores' p lea for international rccogr11-

istemolo ical not. aes

c, even though he arlmiringly quotes Col l ingwoo d 's rlcfinition

ry

Arneriea's status as a coloni ze1l society

suhject searching for cognitive

mastery or the unknown anti reconciliation of expe rience with

of the continent's excesse\

lernatization that acgl!ii;es.JJ. p.:JLJi ulaL.igniflcancc in the co

contrudictory-anirming unrl challenging ra t ional mod el s - its ma i n em

a

rr 1rcsentalion

logical terms (Latin Am,.rica i. marvelous), tlw s u rt ali s t filiatio11s of their

treatment of the imaginary indicate a more corn lex istem olo ical >h

face of th

th

than the "rational talents" of Europe!3 nut although l.arpt>nti.-r's. Lt>al's.

itimatio of the imagi11ary is co11d,,.,J in onto
and Carcia Marq11ez's

E nl ightenme nt are deconstructed hy the 1lescription of apparently su ,.,r

nah1r I eve s a nd co n s tant re fere nce t" the fear or the ro _!:1 go ; ; s t in the

p asis is on t he rationalizing ac tiv i ty of

European writers gf fantastic and surrP.alist literature. Garcia Ma rquez

effects an analogous legitimation and territo rializ ation when he explains

strieted sense of textually ex plici t ant nomy lietween the laws of reason and

ex a ggerated rationalist d i scourse a lll rming

Ii erar marvelou':\which C arpenti er cd In the literaryartifice

c;lRll).-;

'<

h
'

il

their dema n

'

I 7

'

.l'

e. ll1c h c gf'mo ny of me t r opol i ta n

-

ii ie so;gr;m ain al tern at ivc 0r60;itirrwtin$\thci\autonomu tlemons tr at

ing t hat the \ililiturfCJ h e twee n rolnnizt!r and colonized i n vali d at1s any
-

justification of the colonial enter 1risc; insisting on !J1cir right, as wf ll as

colonizer's right., t o flifferenr.e; and catel!;oricall rP.jt!rlm tJi,, iara-

"l/\'(tll>- 1 \) the

X .-.

values, institutional systems, and conceptual paradigms leaves the col

dil:ims of the colonizer in order not onl

for their difference, hut also to clai

to deman<llautonom

ml rP

.,.i")

mlJ.-cir superiority) An examplr of tit<!

first would he Huaman Poma's arg11mf!nt at tlw heginning of tlu S<'!Vf'n

sh
tccn t h century that the Incas wPrt! already Christian hdore tl11 S pan i
conquest, thus rejecting any legitimation of the colonial enlNprise
(

l'-\lCC.1 11l11c,, -b\J 1

rm

'31

Ammyll Channry

'ff.rriloriulizolinn

u P

the groundM of evungeli.z ution.15 The s1:1:011d l t rn a l iv c is i l l us! rated hy

the Cuban essayist Jose M u rli t oward t l ll' e n d of t he n i ne t ee t h 1:e11t u ry.

! ! sing h is nrgu mcnt o n t..!:! e [spec i f ic'.!.

n
l:_at i n A m er i _a , which he at
t ributes to several factors, i n cl u d ini; rac i a l hetero e ne itY\( h is expression
_

of

"our mestizo America" was subsequen tly t o become a catchwonl

for nu
merous i n tel lectuals), Marti advocated t he developme nt oK.l o
syst c s
and the re ec t ion of forei 1n models: "'n 1e 1..: u ropenn university mu s t- gi ve

:ill

rn

way lo the American u n iversity." 16 He a lso crit icized the hi nary

opposi
t ion between " u n iversity reason" and " r u r a l reason" (3 .13), civil izat
ion anrl
barbarism , and a rgu ed t ha t il should be replaced hy that between
"false

und nature" (3 10), l e latter defined as "everyone's reason i n

everyone's t h ings" (313). Here t l t e e m p hasi s is explicitly o n the r i ct i on
erud i t ion

e. e

of i n t l l ectua parad gms consi dered i n a dequate i n t he context

Lnt i n
A merican society. R1 ason a nd k now l e d ge arc conse' ucnlly rel a t i vizcd
in
l
1
a general 'luesti on i ng of t l;e c l a i m s lo u n ivers a l i t y of Western t ra d i t ions.
The Lutin A mer"ea
s ign i fi ca n t l heordical
ph

of

1lcle

,'fti;;at!-Ofio\ f met ror.o l i t u n model rerciv1,rJ a

i m petus a fter HJ:IQ, when Ortega y

of "circumsta n t i u l i sm ," with its c ri t i c i s

ph i

iso

m of I he cl a i m lo un iversa l i t y

of G e r m a n ideulist p h ilosophy und i n sistence o n tl1e conti ngent. nature and

hi. oricit . pf h i l osophienl nradi ws, liecume very i n nuential in La
t in
America, es pe c i a l l y i n Mex ico. I t was t here t h at ILis d isci plt! Jost\
di

Gnos

ug h t i n S pa n i s h - S pea k i n g C m 1 1 1 l r ies," which wus to st i m u l ate t h e p h i losoph ical writ i n gs of maj o r M e x i r.a n
rected t he "Se m i n a r for t he Study of Th o

t h i n kers such as

opol d o Zea.17

'D1e t h i rd argumQn t for

autonomy, o m
equa l i t but on

based not on the cl a i m of si

difference a nd
s u p c ; i ority, took two d i a l l y
d i fferent forrnsJbef'orc and a fte r i ndepen rlwce;i I n t he period i m m
edi at el y
m i l itude, or

ra

preced i n g and fol l owing i ndepend e n c e , n u merous La t i n A merican

writfrs
ha d i n sisted on the nec ess i tx t hat thr. New Wo r l d cou nt ries...,!ej;;;ct
retro

l[:ldc pen i nsular

f!aradigrns\u nd adopt more efficient means of economic

m a n agement and sovcrnmen l. By por t raying a N ew World Adum wor k i n g
t h e l a n und c on t ributi ng to t h e d e v1; l op 11 w n t or t he con t i ne n t , t l 1 1 : y valo
e!

[_..,.

ril.ed progress while depict i ng t h e colo n i al her i tage in a pe'orat.iv1 l i ght ;

'"
the cl aim of d i fference a nd equ a l i t y was t l 1 1 ]\t ra nsf'ormed U!1 t o a n asscr

-Li

d ifference and

su criorit

Towa rd t he end of t h e n i netee n t h cen

sr!ijw

tury, however, t he co on i a l ob"ect of criti1

re p l aced .!.?Y ly
cmer cd neocoloninl on e lo the nort l 1 , which con t r i buted to a widesprnad
_
.:ject i on of t l 1e t e n e t s of os i t i v s m . Or11: of t l u' m os t v i ru lent den u nc i a -

l i o n s of t he rn; ;he cmt

of tlw Jmninnry

s s J ost'.: Va<i:oni;clos'

The Cosmic Race ( /,a rn zn <'tism ica)

''.l5

25 !'ssay entitle<\

in which he nu11:keI what he <p.ialificd

as North American cultural a nti spi ritual Larbarism a n r cxaltct.1 1 \ ispanir.

taste

and

sr.kit. Accord ing to t h i s Mexican educator aml essayist , t he age

of reason,

" cd

eni

as to he r1 l ure

North A merican civi l ization,

eventual ly by a vast!)' superi or a

f tJrought ahou t hy_ili.e

Lat i n American fift h race, rnalgam of t he four other races. 1 1 ,.. opposf's

"fantasy, t he supreme faculty" and

"constant i nspira t i on" or t he new ra1p

ef

to the "ru le, norm and t ranny" of the age of reason.10 111 ii"n t ipnsi t i vi5ti1
;
subversion of t he ;ocolonial hicrarch bn t he n ew l y emergld

power to t h e north and Lat i n America also const i t utes t he Pxplicit go a l

of Rodo's 1900

i n w h i c h Lat i n America is

essay Ariel,

yrn bol i z c 1 hy t h"

spiritual Ariel in Shak espeare's 77re Tempest, w h i l e the U n ited S t a t es is

compa red t o Cal iban, the u ncou t h c a n n i ba l . I n 17w

1.nfrvrint/1 of Solit1ulr,

( Fl laberirrto de la soledad, 1 950), t.he Mexican poet and essayist Oct a v io

Paz pointed out t h at Eu ro pe a n reason had not ma nag_e<I to so l ve a 1 1 y of

t he world's problems; 0,!1 the cont rary it had led to the creation of l.ota i

societies, a n argument l h a l h a i l a l rea il been dr. e l n f"<I I i M a x

Horkheimer nnd Theodor Adorno d u r i ng t h e i r 1 9 14 exile in C a l i f o rn i a .
Ac cord i n g lo Paz, t h dreams of reason are i n t ol erahlc" u n d i t s m i rror

tarian

"

m u l t i ply "torture chamhers." 20 I n other Pssays, Paz expla ins t h a t Mex ico
had a l ways i m i t a

ted f re ig n m o1 lt l

t ivism, u nt i l t h e

R evo l ut i on o f

s,

e sp ec i a l ly t h ose of pro rcss a n d posi

1 9 10, which u l t i m ately led to a greatPr

a utonomy i n the const itut ion of nat ionul ident i t y.21

It h a rdl y surprising that

Lat i n American i !.1 tel lctu a l s ljU<'stioned tlte

Eu ropean rational canon . One of t h e criteria for the conceptual "Ca l iban
izat ion" of the colonized was t heir s11

J3

osed absence o f eason i n

far.1 1 ! -

Sixteen t h - century Spanish cl1rics llehat1d whether t lu l nt l i a n had

a soul ;

Hegel,

i n his Philosophy

of 1/istory,

d e H cr i h c rl the iml ig1no11s in

hahitant of the New Wo rl 1 as t lw ternal i n fa n t , i m m ature, lazy, anrl

(in

t h i s respect worse t h a n I.he European c h i l d ) t o t a l l y ipaht., o f 11w11,;' )a111l psycholo ical dev. , l opmPn t ; a nt i e t h nog ra pher s est a l t l ishcrl a lii
.
na ry opposit ion hetw1:en European civil ization w i t h its consriousncss of

t i

h i s tor i c a l h e rit a ge anti abi l it y lo engagP in sclf-una lysis

and

"

pr i m i t i ve"'

c u l t u re w i t h its spontaneity and l ack of sel f-r.,ncxivity, thus a rg u i ng t ha t

E u ro pe a n scholars were indispensable for t h e 1 1 111l1!rslaml i ng of t h e social

and pol it ical organ ization of pri m i t ive societiPs.22 Even Tzvetan Todorov,
who denou nces the barba rity of t he S pa n ish conquest and cnloniz:l l ion,

13(1

Am o ryll Chanady

'firritnrinliw tin11 of rlre fmnri 1111ry

l'.\7

quently emphasized !he ideological d i mension , , f l iterature, even guing so

far

as

lo consider formul and st l istil' brilliance as '\mcil l a r ," or inst ru

mental and seconary, with res eel t o the lol itical und social contt>r}! .2 11.8

Hernan Viii a l convincingly argues, Lat in /l.merican writers have not al ways

end orsed hegemonic parad igms; on t h e contrary, a sign i fica nt

i;ccilrlii!J; th;

( he emonic current has c ha rac t c ri wd Lat i n American writing since

---- t i me of t h e Conquest.27 Modern forms of t he novel radic al l y prohlcmat i1c
the B a kh t i nian d ist i nct ion lictwcen e 1ic a n d novel i s t i c s t ra ll:gics.

roj ec t i o n of u rope 's own negat ive q ua l it i e s. Zea a ls o refers to var i o us

con temporary challenges o the phi losoph cal canon w i t h i n the u ropea n

lt

i n he c

und Pros 1e ro i s "Cnlibun ized ." '

izt!d" hy metrop o l i t u n t h i n kers who rcjr!cl u n i vers l is m in a vo r of het ero

geneity, i nd ividual ity, and the concretr. 111e p er i p h e ry 's in sistence on

i s t h u s compared to t h e

on t h e canonical

and const i t u t i on of knowlec g wit bJ.!!. t h e me t ropol i s.

It is against t h is

JJT(=

once 1t u a l i z a t i o1

om 1lex ba c k gro u n d of' the colonized s ub j

r:n.:;

h e l l i on aga i nst i m po se d models, the res ist a nce of' t h e newl y i nd1pendn1l

p ret ed p a rt i a l ly i n t h i s l i gh t . A l ejo Car r n t i1:r was

B efe rr i ng to the w rit i n g s of

n1e m a rvelous real (lo renl mnravillnsn), for e xa m p l e, must '11: i n ter

intell igentsia nncl the crit,ic ism of t h e monol i t h i c logos by postst ructural
a
ist t h i nkers such as J acques Derri d a . So t h e m.1 r-i n a l al i h j i R situat rl

Clrntelet, Zea explains that European heg1rnonir p a r a d igm s are "nomad

-)l

I:

h is eon t uc t s w i t

phi losophical deleg i t i m ut i o n of m e t a physic a l a n d i .p i 1 l n1:;i"u l pa

we r

situa

reatl

Su rre a l i sts, who c r i t i c i zed, a mo n

i n flue nc11l liy

g other t h i ngs,

Western em p i ri c a l a tt i t 1.11le towa rd n a l it y rest rict i ve a n d delmm a n i z i n g

and advocated a "marvelous" app roa ch a k i n to that of the ma gic o-rn yth i c

JT!elt1insdiau ung o r pr i m i t ive soc iet ies.2R In Carpent icr's p ro l o gue to 'nie

Kingdom o

t ion that re a l i t y should he consi d ercc l as marvelous. A nd Ca rpent icr's d

f this

I
r

World, the Cuhan author coins t h e expression lo real

nwmvilloso i n an ob vi ous reference to t h e French

pict i o n or the female in d i

gP n ou s

S urrea l i st s'

protagonist in 'nte /,ost Step.

(HJ5.'3)

as

a spontaneous, natural wom an l i v i ng in a co m m u n it y u n tow:hctl t.y t h'.

ra

co rru p t i on of m o d er n society i nvolves a mmt a l ;;ic ut or. i a 1 1 rec rt> al ion n f

cert a i n t wcnt i ct h ccrl!.!:!.!y l i urary pract ic1s.

a n ideal ized

A r t is t s have frequen t l y hecn c o n s i dered su bversive figures, chal l en gin g

a s t i nd u b i tably i nfluenrcd h y t he

p e a n

pa s to ral mode,

e n t wit h modt>r n socict y.29 R u t i t is s i m pl i st ic

exot icism, and d-i senchantm
.______

official dogma in spite of the various m ec h a nism s of co n t rol . Bak ht i n

t!st a h l i shes a fi l i al. ion hetwccn t h e moclf!rn nnv1d a n d t l 11 M "n i ppca n t ra

t. o c ritic i ze t h e Cuhan a u t h o r for im it a t i n g m et ro p o l it a n convr.ntionR and

i c l e11 t i "ying w i t h Europ ea n prco1rupat i o n s . H i s concept of the rn a rvdo1 1 s

dit i o n o f sati rizing rlominant figures anrl s ystem s, i 1 1 which the n a rra tive'

real ae11 1 1 i red an cnt i rc ly diflinnt fu n d ion from t h a t of t he

is t ra ns o rm e d into a polyphonous int egrat i on o f su bvers i ve 1l isco 1 1 rscs,

ve l ou s. Whereas the Sur rea l i s t s r: r i t i . : i ze1.I a

y canor@

as opp o se d lo t he epic, w h i c h functions as a fou ndat ional narrative a f

fir m i n g official values and versions of h ist or y. Fredric J ameson's c o ncept

for

of "nat ional a l legory," or l i terature in which i.!!_divirlual acti on s al legorizc

ir

wn societ

h cg1:rnonic

S u m al i st l!lar

i n tcl 11,. t 1 1 a l and

md ooked toward the E u ropea n Other

p i rat io..!l. i !1 a movement larg1!ly inspired h exCa r pe n t i er

also used t he concept .or the marvelous real as a marker o f d i fference in

n a tional concerns (which he considers cha racterist ic of all 'TI 1 i rd World

wri t i ng),25 hears obvious rese m l il a nces to t ha t o f e p i c narrative (which,

a Lat in A merican d iscours

of id e n t i t

rcJcctm

Euro lean i nnue nct:. As

I h a ve remarked earli er i 1 1 my d i sc u ssion of t he l egi t i ma t i o n and tcrr i -

i n spite of generic d i fferences, emphasizes national preoc c u pat i o n s, not

necessa rily in t he modern sense). Lat i n A rrrnr ica n i n te l l e c t 1 1 a l s have fr<!-

hfFrench

certa i n philosophical canons. Pierre M a bille, for exarnpl1, considered t h e

A merican cou nt ries t o ncocolo n i a l d o m nat i on ll!'he E 1 1 rnp a 1 1

r;,
r l igr:us t hat

a-

toria l i za t ion or t h e i maginary in La t i n A merica, the Surre a l ist 1p.wst for

1 1 1 1-: rna rvt:l nus is pnrt rayrd h y C:arp1 n t ier as a r t i ficial, w h i t" t l11! a 1 1 t hPn-

f>:l 2

_,,

'fhritorializntion

t ic ma rvelous is presented us :.::.:1 of Ll 1 1 1 1 1 1 a i 1 1 d rnraeterist icH o f t h e Lut i n

_Am er if a n con t i nent1 t h e novelty of i t s " d i sc o very " in 1 492, the fict i o n a l -

of tllf'

tween t h" crit i c i - m or(canonical

A not her i n t erest in

...!:

' '.\' )

lrr1<1/!ir111r:y

b.Y members of E uro pe a n a rt i stic movcm nls a111I

t h at

"''P.ilLl

illustrated

ra i n forests nnd rivers, the presence of h n t c rogen c ou s rac ial groups. What

m eri ca n literary f1!!:!!!! is t he res1 m h l a ncc or the Surrealist<

at tack nn empir i a l reason to t lw i m p l icat ion or t h e Arge n t i n i a n noVf'l ist

w a s considered by Breton's group as a more a ut hen t ic rel at ion to ren l i t y

Ju l i o

izat ion of t he New World by t he Spa niards, t lH! impressive 1limensio11s o f

and criticism of dominant value"

c:r i t icizerl by Car ent ier as
oF t he l i feless a nd cerebral

f'.once p t u a l parad igms is in t 1 1 r n

lit;;ary

modern

adds Carpent i er, one m u st h av

c'.'

a n rl

as

j11st anot her ma n i fest a t i on

E u r o p ea n s p i r i t . I n o rd er to lwl ieve,
fait h.

I .u t in

Cortazar's t heory or "figures,"

wh i<'h he d es cr i b es ( i n l lopscotrli)

a way of' h1i ng "wlrnrc cveryl h i ng h a s va I

's

d1scr i pt i on ." H C ort a z a r

as

111 as a sign a nd not as a 11 l l ' nll' of

crration a nd com'pt u a l i z a t i o n of these "lif.!u res"

is a l so somewhat a n a logous

to C a r p e n I i c r's c h ron o l og i r a l m a n i p u l at i o n i n

11 1 i s a p paren t l y parmlox ic:al rejtcl ion of t. hns! whose i u fl 1 1em:c is olivibe considered a s

ca n

h lic

'.

c rit erion for

establishin

&

1s

ta0 ifij

a d ist i nct ion hetween Fre ch Surrea l is m a n d t he

La t i n America n rnurvrlous rea l . C r i t i cs

varria have noted the

ar ic t lc d ue t o t he i n vit a hl f'>
xi
.
. ,
c t 1e . flut what
s1g111hcanl
1s the

ol mfluence of ormerl x polorm:ed soc

!.!![! 1 1e1 .c

o '

s11d1

as Roberto Gnm.:i lez

Edw

: 'lin e oJ.tlw lrf!sl on Car

pn l 1 r

pent ier, and in particular criticism of t h self-reflexive E u ropea n i n tel

lect

aml

h i s valorization of t he nonreflcxive a n d t h u s more "a u t henl ic"

suhj1ct i n pri m i t ive societics.3 1 Ca rpen t ier' rearrangement of t he " n o r

mal" ch ronology in 'n1e

Kingdom of this

ringraph ical paru rli m h a

-..::.,;_ _

does not c

i roduccs

i s not

IViir/rl i vo l ve s more t h a n poe t ic

license a nd structurol e x p e r i rr w n t at i o n . I I

chall1nges t he t l omi 11 a n t

d on e m p i r i l ' i s m , a nd
sc-

hi:ito

laces it wit h om that

--- orre spo n d t a t i s i o n a l l y rga n b l as t rn t l) , h 1 1 t w h i 1 h

1ca n i n g i wh a t Car en t i cr co11sid1!rs

a 1'a r m ore e ffect ive w a y. I t

merely a q1 1 est ion o f fictionalizing h i s t o ry l.y adapt i n g "facts" to t h e

fict it i o na l plot , ext ra p o l a t i ng. a n t i s11p p l y i 1 1 i.; i 1 1vcntetl dia radcrs a nt i s i t u a

t ions, as is t he case i n most historic a l noVf:ls. C a rpe n t i i r creates a d i f forcnt

d.ir.onology wh ose st rur:turclilliii!:ratc?b1: ol" t ht: d2!,!1i nant

rI,

ternal ret u r

and t he cyr: l i c a l n ot !(;;. of t i me

t hern

;;:rl 111!

f " p ri mit ive" men

t a lit ies. Ch ronological h i st oriographical " re a l it y" is onl one oft he i n ti n itc

numher of t rut.IJs, a[ld m ayb e not e ven

t it!r's t

t h e most

e ffect i ve onc:12 Carpf'n

ra n s fo r ma t ion of a l .:a t ory events i n l n a s i g n i fy i n g m:twnrk c h a rai:

d

t crized hy meani ngful co rres p o n e nc es rt' m i 11ds u s of florges' distinrt ion

.
lwtwcen the concept ion of rea l i ty a s rulf'd hy cl 1 a nr:e a n d a magicn-myt h i .
worldview in which everything is rnla t c d , j111

.
as i 1 1 f i ct i o n a l narrnt ives. '!.:!!

Ot herntss of "pr i rn i t i vc ment a l i t y" d i s1 1 1s,,d liy 1 1 11: rnd ropo l i t n n i n t 1 1 l 1 !c

t ua l s and especial ly the French S u rr e a l i s t s i s approp riated h La t. i n A m ri
C!!.[1 mag i c a l rea l i s t s i n t h e i r n a rra t i ve sl ra l gi.!,:s o f l 1rn t i t y const n11 ;t i on .)
Th i s has im:vitahly con t ributed to their enormous success in E u rop ., .

mcrtly Parisia n nr i P t y

g
1

a n t i t he p c reg r i n a t in ns of' A r e nt i n i a n 1xpat riatPS hut t lll' wa i n whi1h

tt
r ro i ng
frnrn ti d i Vf ' rs c s t i m u
t he prota o n i st

irodmes

him.35

rare Chateaubriand s t ea k t r iggers a network of a ssociat i on s re

i:;i;.r t o t l 1 c c:olor red, hlornl, a nt i t l w t ort un an.I mu n l 1 r of you n g wonwn

h a
llo group of figurcs,t l ','._ l is t he product
r_i_ t he i mli_vidual i ma gi nat ion . Cort:iza r's s hort story 1:ntit lcd " l .ct t 1 : r lo
You n g Lady in Paris" develops a d i fferent st ra t rgy.3 ' 111 e p ro t a go n i s t . who

hy t ht! H u ngar ia n c o u n t ess R a t ho ry. Rf'a l i t y is not a n rmpiriral i v" n

con

s t a n t ly

:han i n g "co n s t e

is l 1J1 i n chargn of a friend's a p a rt m r n t i n flul'nos A i res, vomits i n n 1 1 mcr

ahlc rn h h i t s t h a t

pror:1:1d to d1l roy t l 1 t : c a ref 1 l ly k1:p1 l 1 1 1 1 1 c

of h is

a hs1 n t

i l rig
rn at N i a l t"omfort of t l 11! you ng
l a dy, t he n arra t i ve presents t h rm a s a r . l 1 1 a l l y occ ur r i n g. C o n t rary l o l
s

frie n d . I n stead of d e c r bi n g t l w 1:v1nts as a prml 1 11:t of h a l l u c i n a t on

gc rcd hy t he pro t agon i st 's rcsc11t 1 1 1 c n t of t l 11!

t i 1 1 11 a l fu 11t ast ic fict ion, in which t l w laws or n a t u re a nd t lw !!!1 l"' rn a l 1 1 ral

a n prsc n t c rl as a n t i nomian. Cnrt :izar's s t o ry juxl apncs t h<'m wit l11111t a n y
p rn b l l ' n i a t i z a t i o n . l it' rcj tcl s

ra t i on a I 1x p l a n a l i n n

nf I lw 1 v c n t

-P,:ndud of t he protagon ist's i m a g i n a t ion i n what would t h en hi' a

5 as t l w

p ate n t l y

1 '1.0

6';1:.'l

Am.nryll Chanady

\)

"

oneiric or hal lucinatory a c cou n t , as wrll us t hi> t reatment of t lw su pr.r

nat urul in the canon ical fantastic, i n wh i ch t he

u p pu rc nt l y

i ne x p l i i : a h l c

events produce disbelief a n d fear i n the observer/narrator. J a i m e A l a 1.ra k i

h a s <:oi ned t h e term

0eofantast i for t h i s k i nd of n a rra t i ve.37 l l erc ai.;a i n , i t

is i mportant t o eschew t h e pejorative i m p l icat ion s of t ra d i t ional i n fl u1ncc

stu d i es, wh ich would trace Cortazar's fa t a st ic fief ion to s ources such as
Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" (written, by t h e way, hy an a u t hor who was
on t he margin in sevel'ill respects, as has Leen poi nted out hy Deleuze
and Gu uttari ).38 Ruther, one m i ht reread the ohvious fi l i at ion from t he

oe

m.

pers ective of B raz i l ian f o .ern.ism.o, wh s

proponents cri t i cizer! naive

i m i t at ion and advocated "u ntllro o hngia," or sel ec t i ve c a n n i h a l i s m , n

w

h o n l

those c emen t s .ons1 ere

worls, we must exami

dt

d(flcs1ra

e u reli ncorpora tcd. In ot her

why Cortuzar chose to emphasize t he subjec

t ive creation of reality ahd subvert t he canonical fantast ic rejection of t h e

superna tu ra l and s i m u l t a neous "sedu c t ion of t he u ncan ny," to u s e Lou i s
Vax's expression.39 The fact t h a t h i s writ. i ns a lso demonst rate great i nter

cJ. '\/ . , t-

PA. tJ 'l 1"' I..

I c.i. \ '!'

n,rri lorinliwlinn of tlie

nou s voices in

po yphon i c n arrativP. i n t h lhkhtinian sens<', 1\st11ri as'

novel produces a worldvicw d i ffe r e n t

as e'l 1 1 al l y

'""'rzino,..,

from the Western one

am\ prrsc11ts it

val id. U n l i ke t he t ra d i t io n a l fantast i c n a rra t ive ( i n

sen se defined hy Tzvel.an Todorov)'2 i n which t he u pe

the restricted

rn at ural is portrayl!d

11 n accepta hl c and t h reate n i n g to t lie world of reason, m_!gieal realism

i.!!_A st u rias ju xtaposes two worldviews wit hout estahlishing !!J! ierard1 b1
tween t hem, t !!!! s rel ati vizi n g..!,he d om i n ant Western rat .! n a l pararli g1ri.

as

W h i l e it is ohvious t h at the previous l y mentioned Lat i n American novel

c rn
x o t i o : i "m and

ists and short-story writers wcrr, m a rked hy t he i r fa m i l i a r i ty

E11ropran l iterar movem e nts u 11d tedmi<1111s, rrutro n l i t u n e
f c t ishiwtion of t he E11ropca

f2 rmal

nl

1e

r;} t heir creat i v1: "1an11 ih a l i za t io11"' has

cor us t h a t is widely appreciated not o n l y foi j!s

wod11ccd a ri h l i terar

and stylist i c m ery h u t a lso for its

rigi n a ity. R u t w h a t is i m

portant to poi nt out is h a t t h e developmen t o f t he l iterary modes so

c i a tcd wi I i t he neofantatic a nt i magical re a l is t ha t havP. emergcrl i n t he

second half of the twent ieth century in Lat i n America can not be att rib -

est in oriental p h ilosophical and religious systems i n d icates t hat Cort :i zar
i s e n aged i n a gen e ra l relat i vizat ion o I r, emonic Western models.

es t h a t at tempt t o!recreatc an a u
t!!cht hnnous worl dviw, ne c a n a l s o est a h l is h.1!_1e i m pnrt. a nce J' Europ,.an
i n fhwnec. The G uate r n u la n a u t hor M i g 1 1 1 l Ang1l A s t u r i as, for exa 11 1 pl t-,
T n t h e case of magical rea l ist

f i rs t became acqu a i nted with the i nd igenous lrgcnd's of h i s own cou nt ry

d ri n g h i s studies in Paris and dev e lope d

k nowledge of modern l ite

s t yl e t hat demonstrates his

ra ry tec h n i <rues such as expressionism and S u r

rea l i s m . r n spite of h i s territor i a l i z a t i o n of magical rea l i s m , which, he

clai ms, has "a d i rect relat on shi p to t he o r i g i n a l m e n t al ity of t he I nd i a ns,"

Ast u rias explains t h at "it is s i m i l a r to what t l 11, S 1 1 rr.,a l isl\!I a

rou nd

wanted." 4" Alt.hough it i s obvious t h at h i s re 1nsen t a t ion of t he i nrli

p opu l ut on is cond i t i o

ned\ b.Y

European

P rs pe1't i ve

Brnton
em

us

Ast urias' m a i a l

o ra p h i c nprcsc n t a t ion. 'nw d i ehntn

nrc flex i ve prim it ive society a nd t he Western 1t h

rea l i sm su bverts the canons o f e t h n g

m ization between t he no

nographer's d i scourse of knowledge is d i ssnlvcil hy a novdist ic d iscourse

i n which t here is an attempt, a l b e i t i m perfect and art i fi c i a l , to represent
an i n d igenous worldview by means o f a non - E u ropea n foca l i zer. TI1e novel

Men

of Maize (1-lombres de maiz, 1 9'19),

of values and 1:onc1:pl. 11al fra meworks of the past few decades.

for Pxarn pl,,, dm,s not give u s an

et h nog ra ph i c uecou n t , uccompun ied hy lc11gt hy <'x planat ions, or ev1rn a

rcgiona l ist and cost11m/1rista d e p i c t i o n of t he 11u a i n t customs anrl rel igious
1
praP.tices of the ind igenous protagonists.4 In spite of t he lack of i n d igc-

Notes
Control of tlw /11111/!irwry: flecrsorr 11nd lmagi1111tim1 i11 M"'l
er11 Times, t ra n s. Ronald W. Sousa ( M i n m:apol is: U n i versity of M i n nesota Prss,
H)!IB), PP 4 , 24.
2 Angel Flores, " M a g ic a l Real ism i n Spanish Aml'rii:an Fiction," lfisf'n11ia ]ll, 2
(May 195!)): 187-92. (Sulis(''llll'lll page n'ferenccs arc tu t he rrprinl of Flnri
essay i n t h is vol u me.)
3 Luis Leal, " E l rculismo m ag i co en l a l i t craturu h ispannamcrica na," Cuadnno.
nmericanos 26, 4 (jul io-agosto 1 967) : 230-35. (Suhsequcnt rcfercna ari: to
1 I .11iz Costa Lirna,

Wendy B. F'u rig t ranslat ion, incl uded in t h is volume.)

......-- ----....
--
..

4 Flo re s, "Magical llcalisrn in Spa nish Anll!rica11 Fio:t iu11,'' pp. 1 r o - 1 1 , 1 1 3.

20 Octa v i o Puz, 77re T.uhyri11rlt of Soliturle, t rnns. l .ysu111l1r K""'I' (11) ;,n; rev . .,,J.

New York: G rove Prnss, 1985), p.

5 For n detailed shuly of rlefam il iarizut ion i11 t he fic'l ion of Carda M1ir1111cz, sec

Kenrick E. A. Mose, nefrrmiliori.wtiu11 i11 tire IViirh o(GnliriPI Gnrcin Miirqrwz

F'o lktnle (Aust i n : University of Texas Prefis,

Aztecs, whose cohlly calculating c ru e l t y acrompanied hy fa naticism p:rrullelrcl

1968).

t h at of t he worst E u rope a n inst itut ions, such as fascism anti t he l 1111uisit ion.
22 For a critical discussion of t h e development of et h n og ra ph y, sec M ichel de Ccr

7 Sec Claude BrerrronrJ, "Les hons recompenses et ls mechants puni," in S1!-

111 iotique 11nrrnti1Je et

textuelle, c J.

tcau, T.'F:cri tu re de l'lristoire ( Pa r i s : Gallimarrl,

Claude Chabrol ( Paris: Larousse, 197:1), pp.

B Cost a Lima, "Control of t h e ) maginary," pp. 220- 21 .

.,
L it e ra t u re, " p. 1 2 2 in t h is volume.

colonial ist fiction is carried out by Abdul It Jan Mohamed i n "1l1e Economy
of M anichean A l l egory: The Function of Raci al Difference in Colonialist Lit

9 I.cal, "Magical Realism in Spanish American

Aesthetics: 17rP
Colonial Afrirn (Amherst: lln i vcrs ity of Massachurtt.

Nik las Luh mann, 771e Di.ffere11tiation of Soci1ty, t rans. Stephen Holmes anrl

erature" ( Critical lll q 11iry 12, 1 ( 1 985): 59-R7, and Mrrnic/opan

Charles Larmore (New York: ,:;:otumbia U n iv ers i t y Press, 1 9R2).

Po/irics of T.itemture in

1 1 Cos t a Lima, "Con t rol of t h e

12 See I rene Tlessicrn,

T.e

i;n

ri'ti1

nginary," pp. 2 1 5-20.

r1 11 tosti q11 e:

Prf'SS, 1 98:\).

23 'lzvct u n 'lbrlnrov, T/1e Con queM of Americn, t rans. llidoanl I Iowa rd ( New Ynrk :

I.a rwrr iqr "' de l 'i111:ertni11 (Paris:

l l arper & Row, 1 9R7). For an analysis of th<! e t h nocentric para d igm s under

Larousse, 1974), for her explanution o f t he cmcrg4'nce o f the fu ntast ii: i n the

Enlightenment, h e r examinat ion of the uni i no rn i o u s n a t u re o f the mode, in

l y i ng '!Culorov's study, see

wh idr rwt ural arul su pe rn a t ura l logic arc e x pl i c i tl y op p osed , u rul hn defi nit ion

of t he fa nt a st i c as "thctic" (u ffi r rn i n g the

re

a l i t y of t ht: apparently s u pe rn a t u ral

cvl'nts) as opposed to the nonthctic fuiry t a l c .

t rans.

21 Leopoldo Zcu, nisrurso desde l u mllrginnriri11 _ y !ti lw rliu riP (Rarc,,)01111: Ant hrn

pos, 191111), p. 274.

pp. Rfl-B<J. Sec a.I"'

.-n A 111.-- r i . - a

l . a t ina y cl C a ri l i e ,"

Ca rda M:lnp .rcz, "Fantasia y c:rca.-if1n a r t fstif"a

'fi.:r/o rdt i m 1 '1. (19n) : 3-ll.

' 'I A rt u ro U s lu r Piet ri, /.elm.1 y lwm li re.< de

de

C1 1 l t u ru Ecoru\ m i c a , ' 91'J), p. 1 62.

1 ;, Sec Hoger A . Zapata, Grwmnn Po m a ,

en la mltum pemana ( Mi nneapolis:
I . i t e rat 11 rn, 1 989).

16 .lns1'! M a rt i, HLa universidad

i11 N11estm

A m fri ca , vnl.

Vi11ewda

( 1 1)'1.H: M e x i co City: Fondo

indiwmi.mro y e:;tPri,.a de la clr>pemleru:io

I nstitutc for t i re Study or l r l cn log i es and

u ro p t a lia de red c r a la 1 1 1 1 iv1rsitlad mnerietlna,"

nf A11tnlogia mirriina ( H a v a n a : E d i to r i a l de cirnr.ias

sof"ialcs, 11)72), p. 3 1 1 .
1 7 For

25 Fredric J a meson, "TI1i rd-Worltl Literature in t he Era of Mult i nat ional Capital

Ma r i n a Castniieda, in Go /i rie/ Garcici Mrirqriez c111d tire Powers of Fi,.

t io n , ed. J u l io Ortega ( A u st i n : U n iv. of Texas Pre ss, H)llB),

general overview o r this s u b j e ct ,

sec

Jos. Lu i s A he l hi n , /.n idea de Ame

ricn: origen y e11u/11ci<Jn ( M ad r i < I : E rl ic i n n c s

1sT0Mn, 1 <J72).

1 B For a more dct11ilc1J t r"utrne11t of t h i s subject, sci I l n 1 1:in

de la. liternlurn colmofril hipa 11onmerirnn n :

' ""'

Vi rlnl, Socio-h is t ori n

lrrrrims nrgri11icos ( M i 111 11, a p o

l is: I nstitute for t h e Study of l r l cologi1!s and l . i t . - r a t u n : , 1qH:;), esp. c ha p. 3.

.lose' Vasconcelos, /,a mza

rosmica ( 'T7r<' Co.rn oir Rnr<'), ed. and

.l:wn (Los Angeles: Cal ifornia State Un iversity, 1 97()), p. 27.

t ra n s . Didi"r

Dchorah Root , "'n1c l m p., r ial Signifier: 1(><lnrov and

t he Conquest of Mexico," Cu/tum/ Critit111e <) ( 1 98!1): u17 - 2 1 9 .

1 :1 Cahricl G a rcia M a rquez, "1iw Soliturlc of L a t i n A m e rica," Nobel lecture, HJlh,

19

rc175). A specific examination of

t l u' dichotomization characterizing European repreS<>ntat ions of its Other in

96-1 2 1 .

ro

pp.

2B1-:\25, Paz att ributes his country's con t i n u in g harharism to the legacy of the

( Lewiston, N.Y.: E1lwin Mellen Press, 1 9R9).

6 Vlarlimir Propp, Mo rplr ology of the

2. t :l. .

2 1 l lowcvcr, i n "Criti1111c of t he Pyrami1l" ( HJ7o) i n 17oe l,n,._v rinrl1 nf Solirurl(',

ism," Sorilll 1hr 15 ( 1 986): 65-811. J a meson's categorical d111rartcrizatio11 nf

Ol l oemr's urul the 'Nat ional All egory" Sori11/ 'frxt 17 ( u1ll7 ) : 3 - 2;,.
26 For a d i scussion of t h i s s uhj ec t , sec H ohc rt o

fc roHinrlez Ret amar, Co/ilmn um/

Or her l:ssa.Ys, t rans. E1lwarJ Baker ( M inneapol i.: IJniv<:-rsity of M i n nesota Press.

19R9), es p. pp. 74-99, in which t h e Cuban e s s ay i s t erit icizes t he pcjo ra t ive

a t t iturlc toward Lat i n American t e st i mo n i a l fi<:t inn :1 11d t lH! t.linr l

I'
I

n a i n l Wort.I l itnuture as irll cgnricul irnd lois tl idwtnm iwt ion of t he First uncl

t h e 'l1 1 i rd Wo rl d has l occn rrit iciw1l loy Aij az A h m :1 1 l in "Jarncso11's Hl1ctoric of

ar.c,.pta nc' ,,f

n1(:f ropol i t a n Utst l"ti<: canons.

27

1 lcrnan Vidal, Sm:iu-lristoria de la litnot11m m loni11 / loispn11oumerica11n: TrP.<

lc?ctums urg<inicns ( M i nneapolis: I nst i t u t e for the S t u r l y of l d cu lol!: i c s and l .it

eralurc. 1 985).

2B Pierre Mahille, /.e m i roi r rlu 111eroeil1P11x ( P a r i s : M i n ui t , 1910).

29 A l ej o Carpent ier, T/1e f,o.I St''f'-' t ra n s. l l a r r iet de Onis ( 1 953 ; New York :

Farrar, S t ra u s and G i roux, 1992).

:\o l rl . , m a r C h i ampi, in "Carpr.nt i n y cI s11 rrca lis mo," R1evisrn Un{!lw e f.iterot11m
<) ( 1 9!10): 1 ;,5-74, examines t he strikinl!: simila rit ies J.ctwc1n

C a r p<' n t i c r's cri1 i

.-isrn o f Surrealism and t he crit ical a t t it ude of Frc 11d1 Surrealists such a s Pierre
M a l i i lle, whom the Cu loan

r i t i c knew well liut docs no t mention in his writings.

1 14
31

Amaryll

ChanrI<l)'

llohert o Gonzalez Echevarria, "Isla a

su vuelo f11gitiva: C a rp en t i er

y cl

ig i co," Revista llieroamericana 40, 86 (Jan.-Marcl1 1 97.t): 9-64.

re a

lisrno m ;

S CO T T S I In P K. I N S

a na lys i s of North Americnn nml L a t i n A rnc rican fict i t ionul suhvcrsions

of the pos i t i v i st i c historical consciousness, sec Lois Parkinson Zamora, "'l11e
Usable Past: The l<lea of H i story in Mo<lern U.S. ;inti I .at i n Amerir.an Fiction,"
in Do tire AmPrica.s Have a Common Utemt11re?, ed. l, u st avo Perez Firrnal
(Durham: D u ke University Press, 1990), 7-41 , in wh i ch she re fe rs to " t he ehL
and flow (not a si n gl e prog res s ) pf culture, the i n t e r m i n gl i n g of various r.11 l t u ra l

32 For an

currents

( not

n single, impell ing

sourtoe), ontl

a n d communal historical

t he '"l""'"ivc

Sou rces cf Magic Recilism/S11pplemenls to

in Contemporary f,a tin Am nican LitPmlure

flow of' irulivil11al

ex peri en ce i n expressive fonns (lioth n a rrat ive a nd

musical)" (36-37) in the fi c t i on of W i l l a Cut h e r n111I Carlos Fuentes, arg u i n g
that the concept i o ns of h i st o ry in the United Stnt1s and I .at in A rnerir.a arc not
us ra d i c a l ly d ifferent as is so m e i m es su ppos e d .
J u l i o Cortazur, T-lopscotch, t ra 11s. G re gory Hahassa ( 1 9 (1; ; New York: Avon,

33

34 For

more detailed discussion of

jcc:tivc

M a g i c rea l ism seems plagued by a d isti nct d i lemma,

lo " i m p rov e" u pon t h e rc:t l ist i

t ex t . TI1c so u rce of t h i s nagging d i f i l' u l t y can he at t r i hu t c d t u t he fau l t y
l i ng u i st i c m e d i u m t h a t a l l texts e m p l oy, a n d even t hough t he magic rea l
l

wh a t Breton calld "Ito hasartl ohjcct if" (oh

ch a nce) , or subjective l i n k i ng

of p revi ou s sign

and

s u b seq u e nt

evllllt.

in

ist t e x t appears t o overcome the " l i m i ts" of real i s m , i t c a n succeed o n ly

an i ndividual creation of "excess" meaning, see Ja c1 1 u c l i11 c Chcnicux-G endron,

part i a l ly because of t h e frustra t i ng i n ade'l uacies of

(Paris: Presses llniversitaires de Frn nce, 1 9B4), esp. pp. 1 1 1 - 2 0.

Ju l i o Cortazar, 62: A Model Kit, trans. G regory Rabassa ( 1 962; New York :

f,e surreolimie

35

Other Stories, t ra ns . Poul

PP 3 9 - 5o .
37 Jaime

Young Lady in Paris." in F:ml

Tiluckb11rn

( 1 9711;

New

of tlie

York : l l arptr .,,

;\lazraki, "Neofnntastic Literatu re - ;\ Strnt'lural ist

but t h i s appearance i tsel f i l lust rates the representational hind which ham

pers its desired success. And thus the magic realists, always t rying to over

"""'" c111d

come

How, 11)711),

st rategics

A n swe r," in 17w

Sancho, after a l l, is nnl 1 l cce i ve 1 l hy

Q u i x ot e i n sists othf'rwise.
Jo rge Luis Borges and Gabriel Garcia M a rq u e z co1 1 t rihute fu rther to this
su ppl emental discourse by exa m i n i ng t he cond ition of tex tual magic itself
i n t heir own wri t i ngs. Largely because of his r:lose t ifS with the fan tast ic,
t he designation of Borges as a magic realist has created critical dissension,
a l though he is credited by some crit ics as on e of the m aj or early i n fl u

Qu ixote h i mself, in
"magic" - a lt l1nugh

:1 11 G i l l e s n.,lcuzc aml Fl i x Guutlari, Kajlra. - p o11r WW li11hat11re mi1w11re ( Paris:

M i nuit, 197 5 ).

Louis Vax, ta seduction de l 'etrange: F:tude sur In lit11'rot11refanto.1tiq11e ( Pa r is:

Presses Universitaires de France, 1 965) .
the S.crcam:

ner - Miguel

41 Miguel

Angel

A ngel

A H a re I nterview with the Surprise Nohel Prize Win

A st u r i as , " Atlas 14, 6 ( Dec. 19(17 ) : 58.

Asturios, Men of Maize, trans. Gerald

M a rt i n

Quixote, C e rv a ntes offers a n a pprop r i a t e t x a m pl e of t l ic t e x t ua l

e m pl oyed i n magical t e x t s, and t h e i r u l t i mate fa ilure, as San

cho betrays the creaky machi nat ions t hat. fool t he l e ss - w a r y reader ( Don

Analysis of l.iterary '/b:ts: Current Tre11rls i11 Methodnlof!:Y, ctl. R a ndolph ll Pope

40 "Hearing

text ual l i m i tati ons, c o n t i n uou sl y fa l l short of their n u m i nous goa l .

I n non

(Eastern M ichigan University, Ypsilant i : ni l i n 11 a l P re ss , 1 9 1\ 0) , pp. 21\6-1JO.

39

language. 'n1e magica l

text appears to displace these shortcomings th rough a textual apparition,

Avon, 1 973).
3 6 Julio Cort :izar, "Le t te r t o

a problem a r ising

primarily from i ts use of supplementation

1 96 6), P 489.

Heu/i.mt

( 1 1)'1.9; New York :

t h is i nstance).

Don

ences on the contemporary magic rea l ism movment which has flou rished

Dclacorlc Press, 1975).

i ntern ationally since the early part of

42 Tzvetnn Todorov, Introduction ci la litterature fantostiq 11e (Paris: Se u ii, 1 970),

presence su rfaces t h roughout a great

this century.1

And, indeed,

Borges'

deal o f t he m a g i c a l s t rategics em

ployed hy t h e m a n y practit ioners of t h i s tex t u a l s l e i g h t of hand. Moreover,

h i s work a lso a n t ic i pates several of t he major t"xlual concerns which have
devclnp1!d a mong the generations of writers wluJ h a v: followed h i m . ;\
H n b <r t Sl'holes ohse rvc s i n Fa/111/ati1111 :;.riff ll frtn(i1tim1. t h e "o ppns i t ion