South Central Modern Language Association

Reading Postmodernism: The Fiction of Cristina Fernndez Cubas, Paloma Daz-Mas, and Marina
Mayoral
Author(s): Kathleen M. Glenn
Source: South Central Review, Vol. 18, No. 1/2, Spain Modern and Postmodern at the Millenium
(Spring - Summer, 2001), pp. 78-93
Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of South Central Modern Language
Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3190303
Accessed: 21-11-2015 16:09 UTC
REFERENCES
Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3190303?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents
You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

South Central Modern Language Association and Johns Hopkins University Press are collaborating with JSTOR to
digitize, preserve and extend access to South Central Review.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

ofCristina
Postmodernism:
TheFiction
Reading
andMarina
Fernandez
Cubas,PalomaDiaz-Mas,
Mayoral
KathleenM. Glenn
a
is to realizehowproblematic
To readaboutpostmodernism

or an
it is. Is it a reactionagainstmodernism
phenomenon
Does theprefix
or a reconsideration?
of it,a rupture
extension
a
orlogicalconsequence,
meretemporal
posteriority
"post-"imply
"postmodern"
from?Does theterm
following
afterora following
or approval? Is therea singleversionof
signalopprobrium
the
forms
ordoesittakevarying
in,forinstance,
postmodernism
fields of architecture,
music,
art, dance, film, literature,
thesecondofeachof
toward
andtheater?
(I incline
photography,
its essence?
Andwhatconstitutes
thepreceding
alternatives.)
Jean-FranqoisLyotard emphasizes the subversion of
BrianMcHalearguesfora "changeofdominant"
metanarratives,
stress
and IhabHassan,respectively,
thesis,and CharlesJencks
+ immanence).'
doublecodingandindetermanence
(indeterminacy
is characterized
claimsthatpostmodernism
FredricJameson
by
of
the
of
of
affect,
omnipresence
waning
depth,
suppression
more
far
Linda
and
essential
Hutcheon,
triviality.
pastiche,
itsironicdialoguewiththepast. Edmund
highlights
sympathetic,
offeatures:
series
a
discontinuity,
"fragmentation,
Smyth
proposes
heterogeneity,
metafictionality,
plurality,
indeterminacy,
ludism." And Umberto
dislocation,
decentring,
intertextuality,
that
"I
the impression
have
in
declares:
cheek,
Eco, tongue
term
the
user
of
the
to
is
today
anything
['postmodem'] applied
and
onindeterminacy
tolike."'Thepresent
essayfocuses
happens
core aspects of literary
on parody and intertextuality,
in the
and examineshow theyare manifested
postmodernism,
FernAndez
Cristina
writers:
ofthreecontemporary
fiction
Spanish

Diaz-Mas
deMar,1945-),
1954-),
Cubas(Arenys
(Madrid,
Paloma

tostudy
andMarinaMayoral(Mondofiedo,
1942-).' Thedecision
inpartbythequery"WhereHaveAll
is motivated
womenwriters
ofPatricia
oftheinitialchapter
The WomenGone?,"thesubtitle
studied
have
who
critics
of
the
Most
Feminine
Waugh's
Fictions.4
have
works
the
and
been
have
men,
they
postmodernism
literary
male
women,
been
have
authors,
rendering
thereby
by
analyzed
listsSamuel
forexample,
oncemore,invisible.StevenConnor,
Don
Thomas
Donald
John
Barthelme,
Pynchon,
Beckett,
Barth,
C SouthCentralReview18.1-2 (Spring-Summer
2001): 78-93.
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Kathleen
M. Glenn

79

PeterHandke,ItaloCalvino,JorgeLuis Borges,
DeLillo,WilliamBurroughs,
and CarlosFuentesas exemplars
JulioCortUzar,
of the postmodern
spirit.5
absentarethenamesoffemalewriters
andofSpaniards
ofeither
Conspicuously
sex.
Theindeterminacy
thatis thehallmark
ofpostmodern
fiction
is theresultofa
basic incredulity
masternarratives
and universal
claimsfortruth.
concerning
Postmodern
ofthecontradictions
ofthe
andtensions
intellectuals,
fully
cognizant
in Enlightenment
and logicor
confidence
rationalism
era,are without
present
beliefin a coherent,
unified
selfand a single,stablerepresentation
of reality.
viewedas transparent;
are
not
utterances
Languageis no longer
univalent;
signs
do nothavea definitive
This
distrust
of
and
metanarratives
meaning.
skepticism
aboutthepowersof reasonand languageare fundamental
to thefictionof
FernAndez
Cubas. The protagonists
of hernarratives
are unableto decipher
or events;timeandagainratiocination
words,actions,
provesinadequate.The
ofa recent
article
andtheFlight
subtitle
Pdrez,"Narrative
byJanet
Unreliability
fromClarity,or, The Quest forKnowledgein the Fog," underscores
the
thatsuffuses
FernAndez
Cubas'sworld.6The secondauthor,
Diazuncertainty
thevalidity
ofliterary
andhistorical
Her
Mas,repeatedly
questions
knowledge.
novelEl sueliode Venecia(TheDreamofVenice)is a primeexampleofwhat
Hutcheon
terms"historiographic
whichreflects
metafiction,"
uponitsstatusas
fictionand exposesthe fictionality
of history.Historiographic
metafiction
demonstrates
thathistory,
like fiction,
constructs
its objectand is inevitably
andbiased-inthatitis notanobjective
buta
partial-both
incomplete
recording
construction
and interpretation
of pasteventsthatreflects
theattitude
of the
historian
towardhis or her material. "Provisionality
and undecidability,
and
even
overt
are
what
partisanship
replacethe pose of
politics--these
and
disinterestedness
that
the
denies
objectivity
interpretive implicitly
and.Rushdie's
evaluative
nature
of historical
NovelslikeSalman
representation."'7
andE. L. Doctorow's
TheBookof
Shame,RobertCoover'sThePublicBurning,
Danieldrawattention
to theinstability
andprovisionality
of historical
meaning
andtheir
owndoubleness;
thepresent
andthepast,thefictive
andthe
theyconjoin
factual.Doubleness,
ineffect,
is basictoHutcheon's
definition
ofpostmodernism
as complicitous
a simultaneous
andsubversion
ofconventions
critique,
inscription
and ideologies,
a fundamentally
art.
she
parodic
Parody, writes,
rangesfrom
seriouscriticism
toplayful
from
admiration
tobiting
mockery,
respectful
ridicule;
is itsmajorrhetorical
anditis "doubly
codedinpolitical
terms:
it
irony
strategy,
bothlegitimizes
andsubverts
thatwhichitparodies."8
Hutcheon's
discussion
of
to thewriting
ofDiaz-MasandMayoral,
whose
parodyis of specialrelevance
ironiccitation
ofcertain
or specific
worksis
conventions,
generic
periodstyles,
at everyturn,of Eco's
constant.To readtheirfictionis to be reminded,
observation
that"booksalwaysspeakofother
books,andeverystory
tellsa story

thathas alreadybeentold."9
Before proceedingfurther,
it should be noted that "feminist"is a very
questionabletermin Spain,and FernAndez
Cubas,Diaz-Mas, and Mayoralresist
writers.Theywanttheirworkto be takenseriously,
being labeledas feminist
valuedforits artisticmerit-notforthesex of itsauthor--andreadby menand
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

South
Central
Review

80

women
resist
alike.Allthree
towhatthey
callthe"ghetto"
of
beingrelegated
In
1995
literature
women.
a
"In
and
for
Diaz-Mas
declared:
interview,
by
general,
inSpainliketobe considered
women
whowrite
thatis tosay,writers
writers,
... Itannoys
metobe considered
a girlwhowrites
whoarewomen.
andis,
the
fact
of
therefore
her
a
woman
determined
sex]. Logically,
[by
being
inVitoria
a professor
ofliterature,
as doesbeingSpanish,
...
determines,
living
butI don'tliketohaveitconsidered
thedominant
nordoI liketohavemy
factor,
whowrites
andtohaveit,as a result,
workregarded
as that
ofa woman
judged
of
a
work
that
critics
than
the
feminist
trytoforce
differently
man."'"Alleging
Cubashasusedtheimage
intoa specific
Fernindez
framework,
bywomen
writing
to
our
texts
andthey
force
intoit. Itis likea
ofa corset:
"There
is a corset,
try
howfatorhowthin.""Mayoral
that
one-size
corset
hastofitallofus,nomatter
women
as havemostcontemporary
hasexpressed
similar
sentiments,
Spanish
of
the
work
heed
and
Diaz-Mas's
Theensuing
authors."
pages
protest explore
who
are
three
son
"escritores
(writers
women).
que mujeres"
Cubasspokeof her
heldin Spainin 1998,FernAndez
At a conference
with
andrecalled
that
as a childshelovedtomake
fascination
words
upcrossword
inhernarratives,
with
ofcommunication
prominently
figure
puzzles."Forms
is a
andcarvings.
codedmessages,
their
letters,
embroidery,
Language
signs,
"La ventana
deljardin"
inthefirst
shewrote,
(TheGarden
story
majortheme
and gaps,it
ambiguities,
Window).A tale of calculated
indeterminacies,
Thenarrator's
referents.
between
therelationship
signsandtheir
problematizes
andwe,the
areroutinely
to makesenseofhisexperience
frustrated,
attempts
areleftwitha textthatis decidedly
paragraphs
readers,
opaque.Theopening
behavior.
andinexplicable
ofincomprehensible
us intoa world
language
plunge
when
theboyslipped
with
hisfirst
recalls
Thenameless
narrator
Tomds,
meeting
thanparallel
inconcentric
rather
circles
werewritten
hima notewhosewords
lines:

Cazuela
airada,
La
Cruces
o lagartos.
o
Tines visones.
lascucarachas
eraacreaunque
noche
Ms
llorasen.
Olla.'4
casserole,
[Angry
orlizards.
Crosses
The
Sootorminks.

thecockroaches
even
wasacrid
though
night
More
wept.
Pot.]

we attempt
to make
to communicate,
are intended
Sincemessagespresumably
to assumethat"Cazuelaairada"is the
senseof thisone and maybe inclined
ofa peculiarmissive.We aretoldthatsince
headingand"Olla"thesignature
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Kathleen
M. Glenn

81

was suffering
from
an earailment,
thenarrator
wasunableto speakwith
Tomms
tookplaceinsilence,
a half-open
window.A
him,andtheir"interview"
through
of a paradox,
silentinterview
is something
andthejuxtaposition
of thewords
seenunclearly)
and"ventana
entreabierta"
"entrevista"
(34; window
(interview;
thatis ajar)callsattention
thatareneither
thisnorthat
tothresholds
andtothings
of
the
verb
and,literally,
(toseem,to
(half-open
half-seen).
"parecer"
Repetition
"I
to
and
use
of
as
had
"it
such
the
look, appear)
phrases
impression," surprised
"I thought
I understood,"
and "I couldn't
me," "I sensed,""I interpreted,"
that
the
narrator
is
us
his
andtelling
understand"
us
emphasize
giving
impressions
howthings
seemedto him.As ifconstructions
andqualifying
(at least)
phrases
further
underscore
thesubjectivity
andpossiblebaselessness
ofhisassumptions.
the storyhe triesto decipherwhatoccursaroundhim,and his
Throughout
andsuspicions
surmises,
conjectures,
hypotheses,
consistently
provewrong.At
onejuncture
he decidesthatTomis'sparents
are either
to
quitemador trying
concealsomething
from
him,suchas the"fact"thattheyhavedisposedoftheir
son in somehideousfashion,
thathe is mistaken:
onlyto haveto acknowledge
"ButonceagainI was wrong"(40). His persistent
of eventsand
misreading
behavior
underscores
thedifficulty,
ifnotimpossibility,
ofsuccessful
decoding.
The explanations
he is givenby his hostsare neversatisfactory,
and any
heattains
is provisional
orincomplete:
"Theexplanation
didn'tsatisfy
knowledge
and "the two of us began to
me," "I couldn'tknow with certitude,"
in"La ventana
and
understand"
deljardin,"
(39,42,44). Interrogatives
proliferate
nearthestory's
endthequestion
"Whatwashappening?"
is followed
fivetimes
incapitalsontheir
lastoccurrence
by"Why... ?," withthewordswritten
(49ananswer.
receives
50). Noneofthequeries
in whichTombswritesand drawsis a "collectionof
The sketchbook
"Sentences
devoidofmeaning
wereshuffled
inan
incongruities":
totally
together
rule.Onoccasionthesyntax
fashion,
extraordinary
breaking
every
typeofknown
seemed to me to be correct,but the resultwas always the same:
thathighlights
semantic
(42). Tomrsusesa strange
incomprehensible"
language
His"indecency,"
forinstance,
tothe
instability.
"good,"and"illness,"
correspond
narrator's
"window,"
"sneeze,"and"pencilbox,"andTombsandhisparents
go
are
bythenamesofPot,Spoon,andBroom.Linguistic
signs,we arereminded,
as aretheconventions
ofwriting.
Attheendof"La ventana
deljardin,"
arbitrary,
a cab driver'scasualreference
to Tomaisas "PoorLittlePot" (51) indicates
withand acceptanceof the supposedly
familiarity
privatelanguageof the
household
thenarrator
is fleeing.Thedenouement
offers
neither
resolution
nor
clarification
butinsteadan intensification
oftheconfusion
feltby narrator
and
readers. Inasmuch
as theformer
is our onlysourceof information
and he
alternates
between
baffled
and
is
there
no
to
being
beingwrong,
way distinguish
betweenwhatis factandwhatis theproduct
of an overlyactiveimagination.
Evenifwecoulddetermine
whatthefactsare,wesensethattheir
would
meaning
eludeus.
Thenarrator
of"La ventana
deljardin"describes
Tombs'slanguage
as "MINE
to me"(44, emphasis
subjectto rulesthatwereforeign
added). Thatwhichis
or alienplaysan important
other,
rolein "La Florde Espafia"(The
different,
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

82

South
Review
Central

ofcommunication
and
Flowerof Spain),a narrative
thatforegrounds
problems
and
evidence
and
the
of
confusing
signs,
insufficiency
decoding,
contradictory
and
withitsslanginess,
reason.The openingsentence,
exaggeration, linguistic
"Itwasfreezing
thetoneforwhatfollows:
cold;I was walking
play,establishes
what
the
hellI wasdoing
and
as
and
down
the
street
main
usual,
wondering,
up
andwhereitgetsdarkat3:00
ina citywhoselanguage
is incomprehensible
there,
after4:00.""' As shewalksup and
PM andyoudon'tsee a soulon thestreets
inanalley.Thetildeofthesign
situated
a
store
down,thenarrator
upon
happens
toLa Florde Espafiais notthecustomary
thathangsovertheentrance
graceful
excessiveline, clumsilyadded to an
markbut "an exaggerated,
diacritical
n" (121),anda shortcircuit
makesitblinkon andoff
innocent
anddefenceless
window
intothedisplay
The
then
stares
narrator
beforeitdisappears
completely.
thatnothing
is visible.The
steamsuptheglasstosuchan extent
untilherbreath
Cubas's
and toperceiveaboundin FernAndez
verbsto look,to see, to distinguish,

not lead to
writing,but seeing--evenwhen it is unhampered-does
understanding.
andthe
in "La Florde Espafia,"
Verbalandnon-verbal
signifiers
proliferate
of them. The
into(mis)interpretation
throwsherself
narrator
enthusiastically
an article
ofclothing:
a hairstyle,
a gesture,
ofan eye,a facialexpression,
rolling
as shejumpstoconclusions
is frequent
erasure
forhermill.Narrative
all aregrist
butshedoesnotlearn
andrectify
earlierstatements,
andthenhas to backtrack
she
ifshehasmadeanother
after
fromhererrors.Moments
mistake,
wondering
on herpresumed
herself
"[I] realizedI'd hitthenailon
sharpness:
congratulates
thehead. I congratulated
(127). The narrator's
myselfon mycleverness"
areessential
andobsessive-andhersituation
exuberant,
character-impetuous,
Scandinavian
to the story. A teacherof Spanishin an unspecified
city,her
her
make
in
a
it
that
she
is
and
the
fact
country
foreign
exercising
profession
informed
that
is
she
When
nuances
of
sensitive
to
Rosita,
language.
especially
the
andwillbe absentfrom
is "veryindisposed"
ofLa Florde Espafla,
proprietor
a
if
it
were
it
as
worries
and
the
news
over
she
for
several
months,
puzzles
shop
never
her
rid
of
to
is
that
The
idea
bone.
trying get
linguistic
Rosita desperately
thatthestoreis
nordoessherealizethattheinformation
occursto thenarrator,
visits.
her
meant
to
service
is
its
to
discourage annoying
going expand delivery
memorable
a
once
had
have
must
that
Rosita
assumes
The narrator
initially
decided
ofsunandsangria,
in Spainand,intoxicated
vacation
byliberalamounts
to
her
homeland.
on
with
herself thingsSpanish returning
to surround
Wrong.
Thetwo
ina strange
a stranger
Rositais a fellowSpaniard,
land,likethenarrator.
womenare mirror
imagesof one another.Rositais laconicand thenarrator
and theother-judging
unattractive
loquacious;one,we aretold,is physically
as dull
is portrayed
one
the
to
fromherliaisonswithmen-moreappealing
eye;
finds
The
is livelyandfullofspirit. narrator
theother
andlackinginpersonality,
drawnto theshopand itsowner,and hereventualdecisionnot
herselfirresistibly
to Spain,as she had planned,butto remainin Scandinaviais motivated
to return
to inner
by the desirenotto separatefromherotherself Doubles call attention
of theself,and doublingoccurswithalmostobsessive
conflictand to thefluidity
Cubas's fiction.C. F. Kepplernotesthattherelationship
in FernAindez
frequency
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

KathleenM Glenn

83

between
theselvesis basically
withtension;
one ofthetwo
uneasyandfraught
selvesis invariably
controls
andpursues
theother,
as thenarrator
events,
stronger,
doesRosita.'6
Thedynamic
ofselfandotheris playedoutinadditional
waysin"La Florde
ofthe
Espaila." A "them"versus"us" mentality
prevails
amongthemembers
whoaffirm
their
ownidentity
downonthe
Spanish
tightly-knit
colony,
bylooking
locals. Thenarrator's
forthe
do nothesitate
tovoicetheircontempt
countrymen
eventhough
to
snowyNorth,
theyarethereby choiceand showno inclination
to theirhomeland.Although
is annoyed
her
thenarrator
return
by
compatriots'
she is notabove referring,
halfin jest and halfin earnest,
to "the
attitude,
of the aboriginals,""
as if the nativesbelongedto a
pronounced
gigantism
tribe.
primitive
ThomasDocherty
has observed
thatthediscourse
ofpostmodemism
is, in a
the
discourse
of
the
It
accords
the
to
sense,
to
periphery.
greater
space
marginal,
thatwhichis "other,"
and it decenters
thecenter.'"The problem
of otherness,
whichhas assumedsuchprominence
thepostmodern
during
period,oftengoes
handinhandwithreflections
the
of
Issuesofidentity,
upon politics imperialism.
and imperialism
in Fernandez
are interwoven
Cubas'smuch-studied
otherness,
1985 novel,whichis an exampleof postmodern
indeterminacy,
parody,and
The front
coverof El aho de Gracia (The Year of Grace)
intertextuality.19
a fragment
of HowardPyle'spainting
whichportrays
a
reproduces
Marooned,
lonefigure
on a beach. Thefragment
in miniature
is replicated
on the
slumped
backcover,andthedoubledvisualimageanticipates
theverbalimagesthetext
willoffer.20
El afo de Graciapresents
instances
ofdoubling.Grockis a
multiple
doubleofDaniel,andbothareversions
ofotherliterary
creations.
Atfirst
sight,
DanielandGrockappeartobe diametrically
is anattractive
opposed.Theformer
versedin Latin,Greek,andtheology
butinnocent
ofthe
youngex-seminarian,
on an islandthatis contaminated
with
waysoftheworld,whois shipwrecked
anthrax.Grockis an elderly,
andsurly
who
has
been
illiterate,
shepherd
horribly
ofhisalmostinhuman
disfigured
bythedisease. Thedescription
voice,dilated
creation.The
pupils,and shuffling
gaitbringsto mindVictorFrankenstein's
monster
is a grotesque
reflection
ofFrankenstein,
as Grockis ofDaniel,whoin
ofDanielDefoe'sRobinson
turnis aninversion
Crusoe.
Hutcheon
describes
as
a
with
whichmarks
parody repetition critical
distance,
difference
rather
thansimilarity.
"Parodicartbothdeviatesfroman aesthetic
normandincludes
thatnormwithin
itself
as backgrounded
material.""V
Robinson
Crusoeis theprimary
textwithwhichEl anode Graciaplaysand
backgrounded
whoseelements
itironically
inverts.Defoechoseas thesetting
forhisnarrative
anislandnearthemouth
oftheOrinoco
River.Although
nota tropical
it
paradise,
offered
Crusoeabundant
andhe wasabletoplantcropsandtame
gameandfruit,
wildgoats,whoprovided
himwithmilk.TheSpanishwriter,
FernAndez
Cubas,

looksto theNorthern
and an islandoffthecoastof Scotlandforher
Hemisphere
setting.It is a desolatespot,havingbeen used as a testinggroundforbiological
morea locus horribilus
thana locus amoenus.22WhereasCrusoewas an
warfare,
eminentlycapable and practicalindividualwho busily set about sowing and
harvesting,
Daniel does not
buildinga hut,and makingclothesand furniture,
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

84

South
Central
Review

exhibit
thesameenterprise,
oringenuity,
atraftandwhenhisefforts
self-reliance,
skilloffictional
andwishestheir
fail,he cursestheincredible
making
castaways
confined
between
authors
to hell. Thereis also a pronounced
difference
Friday
is "a comely
andGrock.Theformer
handsome
wellmade,"of
fellow,
perfectly
and loyal."23
sometwenty-six
Grock,on theother
years,docile,hardworking,
a
turns
Daniel
into
hisservant,
and
who
hand,is "[a] fickle
making
tyrant
Friday"
is an
himcarry
on hisback.24Grock'smostprizedpossession
loadsoffirewood
fromthe
ancientBible,and he obligesDanielto readaloud,nightafternight,
for
oftheBookofDaniel.TheBibleis nota sourceofconsolation
eighth
chapter
it
nordoesitserveas a vehicleforconversion;
rather,
Daniel,as itwasforCrusoe,
nottoreadthatDaniel
Itis bythreatening
becomesan instrument
ofoppression.
that
andchangehisownrolefrom
theshepherd
from
is abletoextract-concessions
to
Scheherazade.
from
ofslavetocompanion,
castaway
Crusoe,whobuildsa miniature
empireon his islandand"civilizes"a noble
castin theheroicmold.
andcolonizer,
is
the
imperialist
quintessential
savage,
is a wretched
blotonthe
his
island
and
neverattains
toheroism,
Daniel,however,
that
Grockinsists
ocean,inhabited
bya beingwhois lessthannoble. Although
himself
as
Danielregards
theislandbelongstohimandthatDanielis an intruder,
to the primitive,
civilized,and in everyway superior
educated,enlightened,
of negative
is a compendium
nativewho,as "other,"
qualities.
backward,
dirty
versus"us,"or moreprecisely
Hereagainwe see a "them"
"you"versus"me,"
theopposition.
AtonepointDaniel,
Cubasdestabilizes
butFernAndez
mentality,
ina fitofrage,stones,
andbeatstodeathoneofthemangy
kicks,
sheepthatroam
andafter
beatsa savageheart,
there
theveneerofcivilization
theisland.Beneath
anddisfigured.
is dirty,
months
Bythe
unkempt,
ontheislandDaniel,likeGrock,
and
fortheother,
novel'send,thetwolookso muchalikethatoneis mistaken
betweencivilizedand
Grockis shotin place of Daniel. The distinction
andinferior
master
andslave,superior
andcolonized,
uncivilized
man,colonizer
thatEl aho de Graciais a subversion
is blurred.Catherine
Bellverhasobserved
and
initiation
of separation,
ritesof passageand theirpattern
of traditional
and
his
island
but
enriched
not
Daniel
is
experience,
by
blighted
reintegration.25
withthatdecision.In fact,
he appearsunhappy
hereturns
tosociety,
eventhough
ofas
is
on
whathenowthinks
that
he
back
to
he
likes
on sleepless
imagine
nights
beside
his
and
curled
with
reunited
a peacefuland tranquil
"faithful
up
isle,
friend."26
The concernwith linguisticand epistemological
problemsthat is so
fiction
also
Cubas's
of Fernandez
characteristic
appearsin El afo de Gracia.
is
forthelatterspeaksa
betweenDanieland Grock difficult,
Communication
in
and
withexpressionsGaelic, vision-inboththe
Englishsprinkled
rudimentary
theisland.27
sense-is obstructed
literalandfigurative
bythefogthatblankets
Daniel
Like manyof Fernndez Cubas'sothernarrator-protagonists, findsthat

His yearsin theseminary

recourseto reasondoes notguaranteecomprehension.
selfas
have notpreparedhimfortheexternalworld,andhe describeshisyouthful
"inexperienced,""ingenuous,""infantile,"and "innocent."28 Moreover,he
lifein termsofwhathe has read,usingbooksas his guide. His dreams
interprets
of adventurehave been nourishedby storiesabout the seventeenth-century
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Kathleen
M. Glenn

85

buccaneer
Robert
LouisStevenson's
JimHawkins,
JulesVerne's
Morgan,
Henry
GordonPym. The mixture
of
CaptainNemo,and EdgarAllenPoe's Arthur
is indicative
historical
andfictional
ofDaniel'stendency
to confuse
life
figures
andliterature.
The threetextsjust examined
are an expression
of thepostmodern
spirit.
Absolutes
haveyieldedto a crisisofconfidence
in thepossibility
ofcertainties,
and the notionthatthe worldcan be rationally
has been
comprehended
invalidated.
existin a stateofperennial
confusion.
Characters
Their,as wellas
is frustrated.Wordsare
our, desire for knowledgeand understanding
behavior
and
unanswerable.
The selfis
indecipherable,
inexplicable, questions
fluid.
the
use
of
traditions
are
fragmentary,
multiple,
Through
literary
parody,
but
also
incorporated
challenged.
Ironicrereading
ofliterature
anditsconventions
is alsocentral
tothefiction
of
PalomaDiaz-Mas.2 In shortstoriesas well as novels,she playswiththe
of earlierliterary
discoursesand registers
and
forms,bouncingbackground
textsoffone another.Herwriting
foreground
givesthelie to thechargethat
is merely
a nostalgic
return
to thepast;it is, instead,
an ironic
postmodernism
Andintypically
Diazfashion,
dialoguewithit,a critical
revisiting.
postmodern
Mas showhowproblematic
ofthepastis.
knowledge
A professor
ofGoldenAgeliterature
attheUniversidad
delPaisVasco,shehas
commented
on her creativewriting
in severalinterviews,
and her remarks
onesmadebyEco andHutcheon.
substantiate
In a 1987conversation,
Diaz-Mas
voicedherconviction
that"increasingly
we writeaboutliterature.
... Oneofthe
constants
ofpresent-day
literature
is irony,
thehumorous
visionofreality."'30
Ten
in
new
literature:
yearslatershenotedhowharditis toinvent
anything
Atpresent
itis veryhardtofinda newtheme,
a newmotif.What
we aredoingis revisiting
andreferring
tomotifs
andthemes
from
earlierliterature.
... I wanttotella story
there
... andinevitably
is interference
from
worksandauthors
whoin onewayor
literary
another
havetoldsimilar
havetreated
similar
themes.Let's
stories,
beneath
theweight
ofall thoseinfluences,
and
saythatI amwriting
whatI often
do is treat
thoseinfluences
thatis,I utilizea
ironically,
certain
inthosecitations
orreferences.3"
irony
Diaz-Maswenton to observethatas a literary
historian
sheis besetby doubts
theveracity
ofherreconstructions
ofthepast. Hercomment
thatour
regarding
andrelationship
withwhatever
we study
wayofthinking,
attitudes,
affect
greatly
whatwe learnexposesthesubjectivity
of"objectivity,"
an illusory
concept.This
inEl sueflo
is illustrated
de Venecia,
whichpresents
a seriesofrepresentations
of
thepastand showshow,in each instance,
the"historian"
in
events
interprets
accordwithhisownviewandpresents
different
"facts."Hutcheon
statesthatwe
knowthepastthrough
thetextualtracesit has leftus (documents,
archives,
and literature),
films,architecture,
photographs,
and thesetracesare
paintings,
A painting
alwaysopento interpretation.32
playsa keyroleinDiaz-Mas'snovel
about(mis)representation
and(mis)interpretation.
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

86

South
Central
Review

El suehode Veneciais prefaced

from
by an allegorical
passagepurportedly
del
EstebanVillegas'sRepuiblica
of
(1651;
Disillusionment).
Republic
Desengarfo
It relateshowa beautiful
butblindmaiden,
Truth,
guidedby herinseparable
the
on
banks
sifts
sand
the
of
theriverofHistory.The
Error,
golden
companion,
is madeof a coarsemeshthatretainslarge,worthless
sieveused,Memory,
Theallegory
ofgoldtoslipthrough.
impresses
pebblesandallowssmallnuggets
and
that
the
truth
ofhistory
eludes
is
and
us
that
selective
unreliable
upon
memory
was
at
least
one
critic
andlessonareso baroquethat,
us. Thelanguage
ironically,
of
was
authentic."
takeninandbelievedthatthisapocryphal
Questions
passage
in
the
are
and
ensuing
chapters,
authenticity,
legitimacy, orthodoxy omnipresent
andstructure
whichplaywiththelanguage,
characters,
situations,
themes,
motifs,
is
it
of
associatedwithparticular
types writing.Although possibleto identify
intertexts
(Lazarillode Tormes[TheLifeof Lazarillode Tormes];La
specific
Cartas
ofDon PablotheSharper];
vidadel Busc6n[TheLifeand Adventures
marruecas [Moroccan Letters];Misericordia,and Fortunatay Jacinta, for

worksthanthe
example),thetargetof Diaz-Mas'sparodyis less individual
Years
before
Eco
towhichthey
andconventions
ofthegenres
discourse
belong.34
whatwe sayand do,
said"contextualizes
thatthe"already
andhisrecognition
is neverthefirst
totalkaboutthetopicof
thata speaker
MikhailBakhtin
observed
in theirexegesisofthe
hisorherdiscourse.GaryMorsonandCarylEmerson,
when
tosomething
we
that
out
Russianthinker's
work,
speak,"we respond
point
thetopic.
earlier
utterances
about
a
stand
in
to
we
relation
before
and
take
spoken
or
hostile
earlier
utterances-as
those
we
sense
The way
sympathetic,
the
close or distant-shapes
or feeble,sociallyand temporally
authoritative
of
of
In
discussions
andstyleofwhatwe say.""35 their
content
types discourse,
thatauthors
can use someone
to theeffect
MorsonandEmerson
quoteBakhtin
intention
into
a newsemantic
fortheir
ownpurposes
else'sdiscourse
"byinserting
its
an intention
of own."36
whichalreadyhas,and whichretains,
a discourse
is heardto sound
so thatthevoiceoftheother
an utterance
Whentheyconstruct
of El suehode
withintheirown,theresultis doublevoicing,characteristic
Venecia.

ofthepicaresque
oftheformulae
1 utilizesa number
including
genre,
Chapter
narration
bya picarowholooksbackonhislifeand
first-person
autobiographical
of
totherealities
andhisawakening
ofmasters
witha variety
hisservice
recounts
hisname
theworld.Diaz-Mas'spicarois knownas Pablode Corredera,
taking
wherehe growsup.37At age tenPabloenterstheserviceof a
fromthestreet
withwhomhefallsin
andwealthy
beautiful
DofiaGraciade Mendoza,
courtesan,
andthetwo
hismistress
Pablomarries
andsheis thirty,
love. Whenhe is fifteen
a seriesof
and
in
that
a
for
undergoes
chapters
subsequent
portrait reappears
pose
and
the
transformations
retouched,
mutilated,
reinterpreted
way,being
along
it
tothepointofviewofthosewhobeholdit. As originally
painted,
according
and
the
seated
Gracia
behind
like
dressed
a
standing
gentleman,
depictsPablo,
onehandonhershoulder.
resting
who because of theirgender,
El sueflode Veneciais populatedby characters
or age are
sexual orientation,
race,religion,class, economicstatus,profession,
blacks,indianos(Spanishemigrants
picaros,beggars,homosexuals,
marginalized:
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

M Glenn
Kathleen

87

to Spainafter
a fortune
intheNewWorld),
andchildren
whoreturn
who
making
areofunknown
ortheproduct
ofincest.Gracia-female,
a courtesan,
and
origin
ofJewish
"ex-centric.""
2 features
a foreigner
whois
triply
Chapter
ancestry-is
convinced
thathe is immensely
to theobjectsof his gaze,be they
superior
members
oftheindigenous
orhisEnglishmanservant.
he
population
Ultimately,
is bested
hislegs,returns
toEngland.
and,tailbetween
bythelatter
Setsome150yearsafter
thefirst,
thissecondchapter
playswiththeconventions
ofepistolary
andutilizes
fiction
theviewpoint
ofa foreigner
whocomments
onthe
ofthecountry
heis visiting.
LordAlfred
Aston-Howard
findsSpain
peculiarities
a strange
and barbarous
land wherethe roadsare barelypassable,the inns
andthehouseswithout
orFrench
comfort
wretched,
of
English
elegance.Apropos
themonastery
ofSantoDomingo
de Silos,heremarks,
"neverhadI seensuchan
accumulation
ofaberrations,
so manymonstrosities
all lumped
Seen
together.""3
hisdisdainful
areirremediably
other
andlittle
better
than
through
eyes,thenatives
heis a highly
civilized,
savages,whereas
proper,
Englishgentleman--who
proves
tobe supercilious,
anda thief.Unwitting
is a traitof
hypocritical,
self-exposure
muchepistolary
ofthesoul. LordAstonfiction,
epistles
beingrevealing
portraits
Howard'sfigurative
blindness
is showcased
inhisletter
of2 April1808,wherein
he affirms
thatnothing
everhappensin Spainandthepeopleare incapableof
heroicaction,
thisexactly
onemonth
before
theMay2 uprising
thatinitiated
the
WarofIndependence.
Itis notsurprising
thathemisreads
theportrait
ofthefirst
IthangsinthehouseofhisMadrid
from
whoaredescended
Gracia
chapter.
hosts,
andinordinately
the
of
ancestor
to
be
of
illustrious
andpure
proud
theyproclaim
blood. TheEnglishlord,an inveterate
is takenwithGracia'sbeauty
philanderer,
andbelievesthatthemanwhostands
behindheris herson.40Letters
commonly
transform
rather
than
itwithfidelity,
andthisis borneoutby
experience
reflecting
Aston-Howard's
Whatand how he writesis shapedby his
correspondence.
and
he
tailors
his
tofiteachofthem.4'As a result,
addressees,
remarks
carefully
thevalueofhisletters
as historical
documents
is almostnonexistent.
Theyshow
notimpartiality
andcomprehension,
butprejudice,
lackofunderstanding,
andeven
deliberate
distortion.
dealswitheventsthattranspire
Thethird
thereignofIsabelII
chapter
during
andarerecounted
as ifbya nineteenth-century
realist
suchas BenitoP6rez
writer,
Gald6s. The castofcharacters,
fictional
andhistorical,
is large,andpartofthe
actionis setina houseonPez Street,
theresidence
ofGraciadeMendoza
formerly
andthemansion
whereLordAston-Howard
wasa guestduring
hisstayinMadrid.
A portion
ofthefamiliar
nowdarkened
withage,hasbeencutaway;the
sectionshowspainting,
a womananda mysterious,
remaining
disembodied
handthatrests
onhershoulder.
Thereduction
insizeis morepronounced
inchapter
4, wherewe
discover
thata fragment
ofthepainting
hasbeengluedtotheunderside
ofa small
table.Thechildwhois themaincharacter
ofthischapter
discerns
a blondwoman
dressed
inblue,witha whitedoveperched
onhershoulder,
andbelieves
theimage
tobe thatoftheVirgin
TheJewish
Graciahasbeentransformed
intoa
Mary.'42
Christian
icon.
Thefinalchapter,
entitled
"Memoria"
is a report
(Memory),
byan arthistorian
on a canvasfoundon theunderside
of a table. He describes
thestateof the
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

88

South
Review
Central

andhistory.
intoitsorigins
As
andhispainstaking
research
canvas,itsrestoration,
a result
hededucesthatthedovewasnotpartoftheoriginal
ofhisinvestigations,
handresting
on the
workbuta lateaddition
designedto disguisea feminine
to thehistorian,
The subjects,
ofthewomanintheportrait.
shoulder
according
de Alfarache
andhersister
wereRufina
Ana,whoseimagehasnotbeenpreserved
oftheCondede
us thatAnabecamethemistress
in thepainting.He informs
The
on
Pez
Street.
her
in
house
who
set
a
expert
pedantic
smug,
up
Villamayor,
who
identifies
art
another
advanced
thesis
as
the
historian,
by
rejects preposterous
Graciade Mendoza. He concludeswiththe
Ana withthefamouscourtesan
willpermit
ifsomedaya fortunate
"Who
knows
statement:
discovery
following
thatthe
us to knowwhatwas thefateoftheyoung[Ana],in thesamemanner
ushas
of
our
that
the
is
of
the
fortuitous
permitted
study
object
picture
finding
and
meansatourdisposal-toreconstruct
withthescientific
completely truthfully
him
hasbrought
His research
ofthegirlandherfamily."43
theprevious
history
ironicthathe identifies
anditis particularly
thetruth,
neartoandyetso farfrom
as absurdtheidea
as a womananddismisses
from
theportrait
thefigure
missing
extensive
thatAnaandGraciaareoneandthesameperson.Exhaustive
research,
The
to
conclusions.
mistaken
led
have
and
carefulreasoning
expert-as
data,
of
notan objective
as was LordAston-Howard--offers
recording
untrustworthy
her
conversation
Error.
In
he
is
in
which
thepastbutan interpretation
guidedby
withregard
Diaz-Masalludedtoher"considerable
withOfeliaFerrnn,
skepticism
That
of reconstructing
to our possibility
thoroughly
truthfully.""4
history
El suellode Venecia. The novelexposesthe
informs
skepticism
postmodern
of
thenotion
ofthepastandproblematizes
versions
of"authoritative"
fictionality
in
is
the
that
Itdemonstrates
historical
(re)constructed
past inevitably
knowledge.
distorted.
orunconsciously
andconsciously
ofthepresent
terms
and
conventions,
LikeDiaz-Mas,MarinaMayoralis fondofparodying
literary
it
weaves
her
fiction.
of
is
a
eclectic,
Notably
major
ingredient
intertexuality
utilizesnarrative
strategies
disparatevoices, styles,and registers;
together
andmixes
andromance;
fromthedetective
borrowed
Gothic,
novel,feuilleton,
as purely
status
ofdiffering
withpop.45Creatures
coexist,
ontological
highculture
historical
with
real-world
shoulders
rub
plays
fictional
Mayoral
figures,
beings
of
violations
Such
one
book.
in
than
more
and
characters
walk-on
roles,
appear
onetextandanother,
between
realandfictional
between
theboundaries
worlds,
are typically
Mayoral'sLa inicalibertad(The OnlyFreedom)
postmodern.
thepastwithirony
textual
practices.Thenovelrereads
postmodern
exemplifies
the
it
relies
as
even
them,
illustrating
thereby
and spoofsliterary
upon
cliches
to
basic
considers
that
Hutcheon
postmodernism.
critique
complicitous
of La inica
and comment
The headingsthatintroduce
uponeach chapter
the
one
On
in
Don
found
hand,they
those
of
reminiscent
libertad
are
Quijote.
the
on
and
stimulate
follow
to
other,
is
what
they
interest;
an ideaof
givereaders
function.The toneof Cervantes'sheadings
makefunofthissuspense-generating
is oftengentlymocking,as in "Of the good success whichthe valorousDon
adventureof the
and never-to-be-imagin'd
Quixote had in the mostterrifying
wind-mills"and "Thatgives an accountof thingswhichyou'll knowwhenyou
toneand slightly
read it"'6 Mayoral,too,employsan ironic,at timesbelittling,
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Kathleen
M. Glenn

89

in her1982novel,pointing
outtheingenuousness
anachronistic
ofher
language
remarks
aboutthelatter's
narrator
andmaking
work.Chapter
14 is
disparaging
billedas:
A disagreeable
incident
oranattempted
(a threat
murder?)
endsupdisturbing
thepeaceofCotomelos,
the
turning
into
thecenter
ofa sordid
narrator
sucha
intrigue.
Despite
andtheinvaluable
situation
assistance
ofhergreatprivileged
thenarrator
still
doesn't
themeaning
understand
aunts,
Ofwhat
ishappening
before
hereyes.47
9 undercuts
forchapter
boththeveracity
ofthestory
andthemerit
it
Theheading
that
as:
introduces,
describing story
A Marginal
(Hi)Story,
Which
doesnotpertain
toLa Brafla,
spun
outofgossip
andthetalesofservants
andcommon
folk
without
orimpartial
foundation
(Hi)Story
witnesses:
non-essential
and
(probably)
discardable.48
excessivechapter
like thoseof JohnBarth's
Mayoral'sdeliberately
headings,
thefictiveness
ofhertext.49
LETTERS,emphasize
narratives
thematize
their
Postmodern
frequently
fictionality,
reflecting
uponor
bare
their
own
creation
and
La uinica
laying
incorporating
self-commentary.
acts of writingand reading. Etelvina,the narratorlibertadforegrounds
has
been
asked
towritea family
A naiveandinexperienced
protagonist,
history.
she
is
at
a
loss
to
as howtoassessthereliability
ofhersourcesandfinds
author,
herself
overwhelmed
muchofitpasseddownfrom
byan excessofinformation,
to generation.
Eveneyewitness
because
generation
testimony
provesunreliable,
eachperson
hasa different
viewofwhattookplace. Pluralism
andpolyphony
are
characteristic
of Mayoral'snarrative
of
versions
world,in whichcontradictory
eventsarejuxtaposed
without
onebeingsingledoutas the"true"version,
anda
ofvoicesmakethemselves
number
heard.Itis a worldthatoverflows
withstories,
andforms
oftelling,
wheretheboundaries
lifeandartare
between
storytellers,
references
abound.In La mnica
libertad.
fluid,andintertextual
theserangefrom
ancient
balladsto modemballet,frompopularmusicto classical,fromSpanish
literature
toFrench
toEnglish.
In support
ofhisargument
thatpostmodernism
thatthepastcannot
recognizes
be destroyed,
forits destruction
wouldlead to silence,but mustinsteadbe
revisited
withirony,
Eco compares
thepostmodern
attitude
tothatofa manwho
lovesa cultured
womanandrealizesthathecannot
saytoher,"I loveyoumadly,"
becauseheknowsthatsheknows-andthatsheknowsthatheknows-that
sucha
beenusedbyBarbaraCartland.Whathe can do is say,"As
phrasehasalready
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

90

Central
South
Review

BarbaraCartland
wouldputit,I loveyoumadly."He thussucceedsin declaring
his loveand in avoidingfalseinnocence.Boththemanand thewoman,Eco
areconsciously
thegameofirony.5o
andpleasurably
concludes,
playing
Mayoral
of literature
at Madrid'sUniversidad
adoptsa similarstrategy.A professor
andrealizesthat
andtradition
sheis wellversedin literary
Complutense,
history
texts
elements
intocontemporary
ofthattradition
canbe incorporated
effectively
in
if the propernote-ironic,distanced,
is
struck.
Tone
crucial
playful-is
of
such
of
the
the
as
of
fueilleton,
staples
Mayoral'sparodicreworking many
andlargedosesof
melodramatic
episodes,
language,
hyperbolic
plot,cliffhanging
in whatis for
and
sentiment."
All are simultaneously
incorporated challenged
that
difference
at
theheartof
a typically
Hutcheon
gesture signals
postmodern
in
Dar
la viday el
of
an
exaggerated
episode
Apropos
especially
similarity."2
"I havea weakness
for
remarks:
alma,(To GiveOne'sLifeandSoul)thenarrator
thatwouldgivegoosebumpsto mostmodemwriters,
situations
melodramatic
intothefueilleton
is obvious.Eduardo
becausethedangerof falling
headlong
anironic
themas didGald6s,introducing
tooandheresolves
Mendozalikesthem
into
over
it
from
and
the
that
restrains
emotion keeps
tipping
counterpoint
it's easy to lapse into
ironiccounterpoint,
Without
excess....
sentimental
fondness
for
thenarrator's
The quotation
underscores
ridiculous
affectation.""
the
awareness
of
her
as
well
the
as
and
of
melodrama
fueilleton
and defense
thatis a
to theself-consciousness
dangerstheyentail. It also calls attention
fiction.
ofMayoral's
constant
ofthe
a challenging
A distrust
andmetanarratives,
of totalizing
explanations
notionthatthe worldcan be rationally
regarding
skepticism
comprehended,
era.
the postmodern
all characterize
and fixedidentities:
univocalmeanings
are problematized.
of objectivetruth
and thepossibility
Historical
knowledge
Traditional
ofharmonizing.
Different
anglesofvisionandvoicesclash,instead
Thepastis
butalsochallenged.
areincorporated
andcultural
conventions
forms
ofFernandez
as wehaveseeninthefiction
withirony,
revisited
Cubas,Diaz-Mas,
andMayoral.
to
itis appropriate
anda newmillennium,
ofa newcentury
On thethreshold
at whatmaybe as wellas backat whathasbeen. Hassanaffirms
lookforward
or a
are notseparated
andpostmodernism
that"modernism
by an IronCurtain
and
in
terms
both
of
must
be
ChineseWall... [andperiods]
continuity
perceived
is
that
in
fashion,
Hutcheon, comparable
argues postmodernism
discontinuity."45
that
both
"the
from
historically
modernism
uponand independent
dependent
madeitpossible.""Oneevolvedintotheother.This,I
itandliterally
preceded
Gonzalo
liesbeyond
withwhatever
is whatwillhappen
postmodemism.
suspect,
Navajas detectssigns of a new era, whichhe calls "neomodern."It is
of
of the selfand valorization
he alleges,by a reconstitution
distinguished,
femaleeroticism,
attention
to eroticism,
especially
greater
personalexperience,
anda
drawnfromthecinemaanddetective
fiction,
ofprocedures
thecentrality
suchas plotanddescription.
ofnarration,
inclassicalelements
ofinterest
renewal
in
toNavajas,is lessnegative
ofmanyoftheneomoderns,
Thewriting
according
conditioned
anditis nolonger
thanis thatoftheir
outlook
byrecent
predecessors,
do not
ofcourse,
Artistic
ofSpanishhistory
events
(e.g.,thecivilwar).56
clhanges,
This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Kathleen
M. Glenn

91

the
divides,and onlytimewill tellwhether
neatlycoincidewithtemporal
constitute
features
a newesthetic.
Inanycase,theysuggest
Navajasenumerates
a shift
ofemphasis
rather
thana dramatic
rupture.
NOTES
1. Jean-Frangois
Lyotard,The PostmodernCondition:A Reporton Knowledge,trans.Geoff
and BrianMassumi(Minneapolis:University
of MinnesotaPress,1984); BrianMcHale,
Bennington
Fiction (London: Methuen,1987); Charles Jencks,Post-Modernism:The New
Postmodernist
ClassicisminArtandArchitecture
Turn:
(New York:Rizzoli,1987); Ihab Hassan,ThePostmodern
Press,1987).
Essays inPostmodern
Theoryand Culture(Columbus:Ohio StateUniversity
2. FredricJameson,
Postmodernism,
or, TheCulturalLogic ofLate Capitalism(Durham:Duke
Press, 1991); Linda Hutcheon,A Poetics of Postmodernism:
University
History,Theory,Fiction
and Contemporary
Postmodernism
(New York:Routledge,1988); EdmundJ.Smyth,ed. and intro.,
Fiction(London: Batsford,1991), 9; UmbertoEco, Postscriptto "TheName of theRose," trans.
WilliamWeaver(San Diego: Harcourt,
1984),65.
3. The discussionof some of the textschosenforstudyhererepresents
a rethinking
of my
earlierworkon them. See my"GothicIndecipherability
and Doublingin the Fictionof Cristina
FernandezCubas," MonographicReview/Revista
Monogrdfica8 (1992): 125-41; "Readingand
El suerlode Venecia,"RomanceLanguagesAnnual7 (1996): 483-90; "MarinaMayoral's
Rewriting
La uinicalibertad:A Postmodern
inEstudiosen homenajea EnriqueRuiz-Fornells,
ed.
Narrative,"
JuanFernindezJim6nez
etal. (Erie: ALDEEU, 1990),267-73.
4. PatriciaWaugh,FeminineFictions:Revisiting
thePostmodern
(London:Routledge,1989).
5. StevenConnor,Postmodernist
Culture:An Introduction
to TheoriesoftheContemporary,
2d
ed. (Oxford:Blackwell,1997), 129. Connor'slistmightwell have includedsuchSpanishwriters
as
EduardoMendoza,JavierMarias,AntonioMufiozMolina,and CarmenMartinGaite,in additionto
Cubas,Diaz-Mas,and Mayoral.
FernAndez
6. JanetPrez, "CristinaFernfndez
Cubas: Narrative
and theFlightfromClarity,
Unreliability
or,The QuestforKnowledgeintheFog,"Hispan6fila122 (1998): 29-39.
7. LindaHutcheon,ThePoliticsofPostmodernism
(London:Routledge,1989),74; see also 6292. Hutcheonnotes that neitherthe realizationthat historicalknowledgeis provisionaland
indeterminate
northequestioning
oftheepistemological
andontologicalstatusof historical
"fact"is
limitedto postmodernism,
but both are less frequentduringthe modernistperiod (Poetics of
Postmodernism,
88).
8. LindaHutcheon,
A TheoryofParody:The Teachingsof Twentieth-Century
ArtForms(New
York:Methuen,1985), 15-16,25; PoliticsofPostmodernism,
101.
9. Eco, 20. Hutcheonwrites,in a similarvein,that"it is onlyas partof priordiscoursesthatany
text derivesmeaningand significance"(Poetics of Postmodernism,
126). On the conceptof
see Roland Barthes,Image,Music, Text,trans.StephenHeath(New York: Hill &
intertextuality,
"Intertextual
On Mimesis as Interpretive
Wang, 1977), and Michael Riffaterre,
Representation:
Discourse,"CriticalInquiry11(1984): 141-62.
10. OfeliaFerrin,"La escritura
con PalomaDiaz-Mas,"Anales de la
y la historia.Entrevista
Literatura
22 (1997): 339.
EspairolaContempordnea
11. VicenteCarmona,Jeffrey
Lamb,SherryVelasco, and BarbaraZecchi,"Conversandocon
MercedesAbad,CristinaFernindezCubas y Soledad Punrtolas:'Feminismoy literatura
no tienen
nadaque ver,"'Mester20 (Fall 1991): 162.
12. MarinaMayoral,letter
to author,
23 June1996.
13. CristinaFernindezCubas, Congreso Internacional
de NarrativaEspafiolaen Lengua
Castellana,Toledo,6 May 1998.
14. CristinaFernindezCubas, "La ventanadel jardin,"in Mi hermanaElba y Los altillosde
Brumal(Barcelona:Tusquets,1988),33. Unlessotherwise
aremyown.
noted,all translations
15. CristinaFernmndez
Cubas, "La Flor de Espafla,"in El dngulodel horror(Barcelona:

This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

92

South
Central
Review

Tusquets,1990), 119.
16. C. F. Keppler,The Literatureof theSecond Self (Tucson: University
of ArizonaPress,
1972),32.
17. FernindezCubas,"La Florde Espafia,"120. Emphasisadded.
18. Thomas Docherty,ed. and intro.,Postmodernism:
A Reader (New York: Columbia
Press,1993),445.
University
oftheWord,"Studiesin
19. See CatherineG. Bellver,"El aho de Gracia andtheDisplacement
andOntological
Literature16 (1992): 221-32; JulieGleue,"The Epistemological
Twentieth
Century
Implicationsin CristinaFernandezCubas's El aho de Gracia," MonographicReview/Revista
in Cristina
Monografica8 (1992): 142-56; JohnB. MargenotIII, "Parodyand Self-Consciousness
Century11 (1993): 71-87; RobertC. Spires,
FernandezCubas's El afo de Gracia," SigloXX/20th
and Knowledge:El anio de Gracia," in Post-Totalitarian
Spanish Fiction
"Disempowerment
ofMissouriPress,1996), 156-72.
(Columbia:University
20. This front-back
repetitionis typicalof the books publishedin Tusquets's Colecci6n
as itis here.
Andanzas,butin no othercase is itas fitting
21. Hutcheon,TheoryofParody,6, 44.
72-73.
22. Fora discussionofthetworhetorical
topoi,see Margenot,
ed. JamesSutherland
23. Daniel Defoe,RobinsonCrusoeand OtherWritings,
(New York:New
YorkUniversity
Press,1977), 165.
24. CristinaFernindezCubas,El aiio de Gracia (Barcelona:Tusquets,1985), 119.
25. CatherineG. Bellver,"El aifo de Gracia: el viaje como ritode iniciaci6n,"paperread at
AbroadandInternational
on AcademicPrograms
FourthConference
Studies,Lisbon,13 July1989.
26. FernindezCubas,El aho de Gracia, 184.
"Con
in FernandezCubas's fiction. See, in particular,
27. Fog is a recurrent
phenomenon
Agathaen Estambul,"in Con Agatha en Estambul(Barcelona: Tusquets,1994), 171-233, and
Perez's"CristinaFernandezCubas: Narrative
Unreliability."
28. FernindezCubas,El aniode Gracia, 15, 181,29, 31, 52..
29. For an overviewof herwork,see MargaretE. W. Jones,"La obra de Paloma Diaz-Mas,"
and John
Alaluz 27 (Primavera1995): 73-86. On El sueniode Venecia,see JudithDrinkwater
Macklin,"Keepingit in the Family:SecretHistoriesin Paloma Diaz-Mas's El sueio de Venecia,"
BulletinofHispanicStudies75 (1998): 317-29.
30. Maria Luz Di6guez, "Entrevistacon Paloma Diaz-Mas (febrerode 1987)," Revista de
EstudiosHispanicos22 (1988): 79-80.
"Entrevistacon Paloma Diaz-Mas," Letras Peninsulares10
31. Rosalia Cornejo-Parriego,
(Winter1997-98): 482.
PoliticsofPostmodernism,
32. Hutcheon,
78, 81.
33. Ferrin,333.
34. For a studyof antecedent
texts,see MercedesMazquiarinde Rodriguez,"Parodyand the
Truthof Historyin PalomaDiaz-Mas's El sueiiode Venecia,"LetrasPeninsulares8 (Spring1995):
7-25.
MikhailBakhtin:Creationof a Prosaics (Stanford:
35. GarySaul MorsonandCarylEmerson,
Stanford
Press,1990), 137.
University
36. Ibid.,150.
37. CorrederaBaja de San Pablo is situatedin the MadridbarriowhereDiaz-Mas lived for
somethirty
years(Ferrin,332).
as "thosewhoaremarginalized
38. Hutcheondefinesthe"ex-centric"
ideology,"
bya dominant
and
and she considersparodyto be theirmode (Poetics of Postmodernism,
35). See Drinkwater
orillegitimate.
oftheunorthodox
Macklinon Diaz-Mas's privileging
39. PalomaDiaz-Mas,El suehlode Venecia(Barcelona:Anagrama,1992),54, 59.
40. Actually,thismaybe true,forDiaz-Mas slylyhintsthatGraciais Pablo's mother.At any
a youthwho is halfherage is echoedin Aston-Howard's
lustingaftera girl
rate,Oracia's marrying
who
is his daughter.
a
the
and
his
to
be
indiano's
wedding
girl
3)
(in
chapter
daughter
enough
young
IThelast two situations(older man + younggirl)reversethatof chapter1 (older woman+ young

This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Kathleen
M. Glenn

93

boy).
41. See Janet
Gurkin
to a Form(Columbus:
Ohio State
Altman,
Approaches
Epistolarity:
Press,1982),90.
University
42. On theautobiographical
basisof chapter
was the
332-33. Thischapter
4, see Fernin,
conceived
as a novelaboutherchildhood.
starting
pointofwhatDiaz-Masoriginally
43. Diaz-Mas,
El suefode Venecia,
221. Emphasis
added.
44. Ferrin,
329.
45. Diaz-Mas,
artforms
intoherfiction.
4
too,incorporates
See,inparticular,
popular
chapter
ofElsuefode Venecia,
where
andcomics
areimportant
intertexts.
ditties,
songs,
advertising
46. Miguelde Cervantes,
Don Quixote,
Ozell'srevision
ofthetranslation
ofPeterMotteaux
(NewYork:Modern
1930),43,496.
Library,
47. MarinaMayoral,
La tinicalibertad
Catedra,
(Madrid:
1982),267. McHale(182-83)points
outthattheuse ofdifferent
sizesandstyles
oftypecallsattention
tothemateriality
oftheprinted
book.
48. See Hutcheon,
Politics
85-86.
ofPostmodernism,
49. Eco,67-68.
50. A sentimental
andromantic
attitude
characterizes
bothMayoral's
andhernarratives
poetry
of
(CarmenBlanco,Literatura
galegada muller[Vigo:Xerais,1991],351). Foran overview
see ConchaAlborg,
"MarinaMayoral's
Narrative:
Old Families
andNewFaces
fiction,
Mayoral's
fromGalicia,"in Women
Writers
ed. JoanL.
of Contemporary
Spain:Exilesin theHomeland,
Brown
ofDelaware
(Newark:
Press,1991),179-97.
University
51. Hutcheon,
PoeticsofPostmodernism,
11.
52. Mayoral,
La nicalibertad,
161.
Dar la viday el alma(Madrid:
Mayoral,
Alfaguara,
53. Marina
1996),75-76.
54. Hassan,88.
55. Hutcheon,
PoeticsofPostmodernism,
23.
56. See GonzaloNavajas,
Estdtica
de la nuevanovelay cine
Mds alldde la posmodernidad:
oftheneomodern
areJuan
EUB,1996).Navajas'smainexamples
(Barcelona:
espalioles
Goytisolo's
En los reinosde taifa,Antonio
Molina'sBeltenebros
andEl invierno
enLisboa,Soledad
Mufioz
Pu6rtolas's
GarciaMorales's
La ldgicadelvampiro,
Juan
Jos6MillAs's
El
Quedala noche,Adelaida
desorden
de tunombre,
andthefilmsofPedroAlmod6var.
anduse of
Emphasis
uponnarrativity
detective-fiction
datebacktothemid-seventies
cinematic,
inSpain,as doestheattention
techniques
to personal
andfemaleeroticism.
Martin
Gaite's1978El cuartode
experience
See, forexample,
atrdsandMayoral's
1979Cdndida,
otravez.

This content downloaded from 192.246.229.127 on Sat, 21 Nov 2015 16:09:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions