02 - 452ºF

452ºF
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#02

Direction Dirección Direcció
Zuzedaritza
Pablo Barrio
Monographic coordination
Coordinación del
monográfico Coordinació
del monogràfic
Monografikoaren
coordinazioa
Paula Meiss
Ibai Atutxa
Editorial board Consejo
de redacción Consell
de redacció Erredakzio
Kontseilua
Noemí Acebo, Izaro Arroita,
Ibai Atutxa, Pablo Barrio, Joan
Ferrús, Ana García, Atenea
Isabel González, Inés Marcos,
Bernat Padró Nieto, Paula
Meiss, Francisco Piñón, Alba
del Pozo García.
International Advisory Board
Comité científico Comitè
científic Batzorde zientifikoa
Tomás Albaladejo, Iñaki
Aldekoa, Vicenç Altaió,
Manuel Asensi, Ana Luisa
Baquero, Luis Beltrán, Josu
Bijuesca, Luis Alberto Blecua,
Túa Blesa, Pedro M. Cátedra,
Francisco Chico, Américo
Cristófalo, Perfecto Cuadrado,
Joseba Gabilondo, Germán
Gullón, Jon Kortazar, Manuel
Martínez, Mara Negrón, Rafael
Núñez, Mari Jose Olaziregi,
Manel Ollé, J. A. Pérez Bowie,
J. M. Pozuelo Yvancos, David
Roas, Rosa Romojaro, Mª
Eugenia Steinberg, Enric Sullà,
Meri Torras, Steven Tötösy de
Zepetnek, Darío Villanueva.
Publishers Entidad editora
Entitat editora Argitaratzailea
Asociación Cultural 452ºF
Email adress Dirección
electrónica Correu electrònic
Helbide elektronikoa
revista@452f.com
Postal address Dirección
postal Direcció postal
Helbidea
Universitat Autònoma de
Barcelona. Edifici d’estudiants
–Edifici R–. Campus Bellaterra.
Barcelona. 08193
ISSN
2013-3294
orgnl-
Legal Legala
Licencia Reconocimiento-No
comercial-Sin obras derivadas
3.0 de Creative Commons

EDITORIAL en-
We are pleased to present this second issue of 452ºF Journal of Literary Theory and Comparative
Literature. Behind it we find the work and effort of an Editorial Board which includes new members, as well
as the support of an International Advisory Board that continues to offer its work to enforce this project.
Moreover, we also have to mention the financial support granted by the Consell Social (UAB) through its
Programa Universitat i Societat, and by the ETC from the same university.
For this monographic section of 452ºF we decided to focus on the interest created by postcolonial and
subaltern studies, as well as on the discussion of comparative literature as the discipline that aims to
overcome the national identifications of literature. We have tried to present some ways in which those
disciplines are productive for literary theory; different kinds of strategies they use to approach the literary
event, and which are their contributions to the literary corpus. Thus, we can ask ourselves if there is a certain
stagnation of criticism in its approach to the texts; in other words, whether new literary proposals have
not been incorporated to theoretical thought, or whether on the contrary they reveal their productivity
in practice. We proposed two ways to organize the problematization of the relation between national
identities and literature. On the one hand, we suggested the analysis of literary texts that would argue,
propose or ask themselves about national identities. For this line of analysis we did not want to be led by
already-established conceptualizations of the nationalities those literatures are assigned to. We have valued
those approaches that suggest breaking and questioning the established, as well as those articulations
that justify traditional assignments when the approach is well-supported and original.
On the other hand, we were also interested in the questioning through original disciplinary and theoretical
reflections that would provide possible answers to the problematization of the immovable relation
within the noun phrase national literature, a dismantling of the naturalness of this relation that has been
developing in different areas of the academia. The concepts of deconstruction (Derrida), postnationality
(Gabilondo, Castany Prado, Resina), postcoloniality (Bhabha, Said), empire and globalization (Hart, Negri),
nomadism (Gnisci), subalternity (Spivak) and the identity as rhizome (Deleuze—Guattari) are only a few
that can be incorporated to a new reflection on national identity and its relation with the disciplines that

study literature. We have tried to find contemporary approaches to the subject, both in their attempts to
understand the present situation of literature and its study, and also in their overview of the state of the art
in different geographical areas.
The Monographic section of this issue includes four collaborations. In “Apología de la literatura inmigrante”,
Paula Meiss starts analysing migratory travel literature as a new subgenre, to conclude questioning not
only the concept of “national literature”, but also the understanding of national identities that comparative
literature proposes. “Interrogating Notions of Nationhood, Nation and Globalization in Postcolonial Africa”
by Elda and Chipo Hungwe is based on the close reading of four novels that interestingly exemplify the
transition from a criticism that is born out of postcolonial thought, to an analysis that differentiates itself
through its focus on concepts such as “nation,” “nationality,” ethnicity” or “nationalism.” The third article,
“My Name Is Legion: Literature and Genealogy in António Lobo Antunes” by Aino Rinhaug, is based on
Foucault’s and Deleuze’s theoretical proposals, aiming at the better understanding of the power relations
that articulate the discourse on the nation, and the nation as a discourse. The last article of the monographic
section, “Re-enacting the Nation: Unsettling Narratives in the El Güegüense Theatre of Nicaragua”, by
Alberto Guevara, carries out a comparison between the critical reading of the play and the different stage
productions of it in different festivities, to propose the dramatic genre as a site where the homogeneity of
cultures and identities are questioned through mestizaje.
The Miscellany section also has four articles. Raquel de Medeiros Marcato in “Gênero comercial em
evidência: O filme Cidade de Deus manipula a realidade?” attacks the stereotypes that commercial cinema
makes use of in order to represent realistic violence. Владимир Луарсабишвили’ s article “«к переводу
стихотворения г. арести ‘Defenderé la casa de mi padre’” presents some of the poetic translation problems
that we can find when dealing with two languages that do not have an extensive interchange. It is a special
collaboration for this issue in its Basque version, written by the same translator whose work is analysed
in the article. Leticia Pérez in “The Surrealist Collection of Objects” analyses the object collecting that
different Surrealist artists practiced as an expression of a certain positioning towards the materialism of
society. Last, but not least, Melissa Guenther offers in “L’Espagne sous le regard d’une Française: la Relation
du voyage d’Espagne (1691) de Madame d’Aulnoy” a contrast between Spanish and French feminine
representations, under the gaze of a female traveller of the 17th century.
Probably one of the most interesting proposals of our understanding of the monographic section of this
second issue of 452ºF lies in the fact that it does not suggest continuity, but a breaking-off. We invite
the reader to actually read and interpret: to be critical; and we hope that s/he is not left indifferent to
the proposal we offer. The aim of the journal’s second issue is to provide original perspectives and, to a
certain extent, a summary of the aspirations of the journal as an instrument of spreading and updating
knowledge: we offer a selection done today to understand what is happening today around literature.

EDITORIAL es-
Presentamos aquí el segundo número de 452ºF Revista de Teoría de la literatura y Literatura comparada.
Tras la aparición de este ejemplar se esconde el trabajo de un consejo de redacción renovado por nuevas
presencias, así como de un comité científico que continúa ofreciendo su apoyo a este proyecto. Además,
podemos mencionar la ayuda financiera obtenida del Consell Social de la UAB a través de su Programa
Universitat i Societat, así como del ETC de la misma universidad.
Para este monográfico de 452ºF hemos querido partir del interés que han creado los estudios poscoloniales
y de subalternidad, así como de la discusión de la literatura comparada entendida como la disciplina que
apunta a superar las identificaciones nacionales de la literatura. Hemos buscado presentar de qué maneras
esas disciplinas son productivas para la teoría de la literatura, de qué diferentes estrategias se valen para
acercarse al hecho literario, y cuáles son los aportes que añaden al corpus teórico. De esta forma podemos
preguntarnos si existe un cierto estancamiento de la crítica en su acercamiento a los textos, esto es, si las
nuevas propuestas literarias no han sido incorporadas a la reflexión teórica, o si en cambio, demuestran su
productividad en la práctica. Propusimos como eje la problematización de la relación entre identidades
nacionales y literatura a través de dos vías. Por un lado, sugerimos el análisis de textos literarios que
cuestionaran, propusieran y/o se interrogaran acerca de las identidades nacionales. Para ello no deseamos
regirnos por conceptualizaciones ya establecidas en relación con las nacionalidades a las que se adscriben
las literaturas. Se han valorado enfoques que tienden hacia la ruptura y el cuestionamiento, así como
aquellas articulaciones que justifican las adscripciones tradicionales si el enfoque es fundamentado y
original.
Por otra parte, buscamos también el cuestionamiento a través de reflexiones teórico-disciplinares
novedosas, que articularan respuestas posibles a la puesta en duda de lo inamovible del sintagma literatura
nacional, una desarticulación de lo natural de esta relación que viene sucediendo en diversos ámbitos de la
academia. Los conceptos de deconstrucción (Derrida), posnacionalidad (Gabilondo, Castany Prado, Resina),
poscolonialidad (Bhabha, Said), imperio y globalización (Negri, Hart), nomadismo (Gnisci) y subalternidad
(Spivak), y la identidad como rizoma (Deleuze-Guattari) son sólo algunos de los que es posible incorporar

a una nueva reflexión sobre la identidad nacional y su relación con las disciplinas que estudian la literatura.
Hemos buscado acercamientos al tema que pudieran caratularse de contemporáneos, en tanto buscan
comprender la situación actual de la literatura y su estudio; y también en cuanto proceden de reflexiones
formadas en el conocimiento del estado de la cuestión en los diversos ámbitos geográficos.
El Monográfico de este número cuenta con cuatro colaboraciones. En el artículo «Apología de la literatura
inmigrante», Paula Meiss parte del estudio del relato de viaje migratorio, para acabar el análisis poniendo
en duda no sólo el concepto de «literatura nacional», sino la misma comprensión de la identidad nacional
desde la literatura comparada. «Interrogating Notions of Nationhood, Nation and Globalisation in
Postcolonial Africa» de Elda y Chipo Hungwe, se basa en la lectura de cuatro novelas y ejemplifica de
forma muy interesante la transición de una crítica que nace del pensamiento poscolonial, a un análisis que
consigue dar un paso diferenciador al centrarse en conceptos como «nación», «nacionalidad», «etnicidad»
o «nacionalismo». El tercer artículo, «My Name Is Legion: Literature and Genealogy in António Lobo
Antunes» de Aino Rinhaug, nace de las propuestas teóricas foucaultianas y deleuzianas con el objetivo de
comprender mejor las relaciones de poder que articulan el discurso de la nación, y la nación como discurso.
El último artículo del monográfico, «Re-enacting the Nation: Unsettling Narratives in the El Güegüense
Theatre of Nicaragua» de Alberto Guevara, lleva a cabo una comparación entre la lectura crítica de la
obra de teatro, y las diferentes puestas en escena en festividades, para así proponer el género dramático
como lugar donde se cuestiona desde el mestizaje la homogeneización de las identidades y culturas. En
todos ellos, creemos, es posible leer la teoría de la literatura, la literatura comparada y la misma literatura
como anclaje de un pensamiento que libera las identidades colectivas de las imposiciones geopolíticas
establecidas en el mapa global actual, abriendo la posibilidad a nuevas comprensiones que rompen con
una idea ontológica del ser nacional.
La sección de Miscelánea cuenta en esta ocasión con cuatro artículos. Raquel de Medeiros Marcato en
«Gênero comercial em evidência: O filme Cidade de Deus manipula a realidade?» ataca los estereotipos
de los que parte un cierto cine comercial para utilizar representaciones de la violencia realista. El artículo
de Владимир Луарсабишвили «к переводу стихотворения г. арести “Defenderé la casa de mi padre”»
presenta algunos problemas de traducción poética entre dos lenguas sin intercambio extenso, y es una
colaboración especial en su versión en euskera, realizada por el mismo traductor cuyo trabajo se analiza en
el artículo. Leticia Pérez en «The Surrealist Collection of Objects» lleva adelante un análisis del coleccionismo
que desarrollaron diversos artistas surrealistas como expresión de una postura ante el materialismo de la
sociedad. Por último, Melissa Guenther ofrece en «L’Espagne sous le regard d’une Française: la Relation
du voyage d’Espagne (1691) de Madame d’Aulnoy» un contraste entre las representaciones femeninas
españolas y francesas bajo la mirada de una viajera del siglo XVII.
Puede que una de las propuestas más interesantes que resulten de nuestra lectura del monográfico de este
segundo número de 452ºF resida en que no se limita a proponer la continuidad, sino la ruptura. Invitamos
al lector a que lea e interprete: a que sea crítico; y esperamos que no quede indiferente ante la propuesta
que ofrecemos en este propósito de conseguir un segundo número de la revista que aúne perspectivas
novedosas y que resuma en gran medida las aspiraciones de la revista en tanto instrumento de difusión y
actualización: ofrecemos un trabajo hecho hoy para entender hoy lo que pasa alrededor de la literatura.

EDITORIAL ca-
Presentem aquí el segon número de 452ºF Revista de Teoria de la Literatura i Literatura Comparada.
Darrere de l’aparició d’aquest ejemplar s’amaga el treball d’un consell de redacció renovat per noves
presències, així com un comitè científic que continua oferint el seu suport a aquest projecte. Podem
mencionar, a més, la ajuda financera obtinguda del Consell Social de la UAB mitjançant el seu programa
Universitat i Societat, així com del ETC de la mateixa universitat.
En aquest monogràfic de 452ºF hem volgut partir de l’interès que han creat els estudis postcolonials i de
la subalternitat, així com de la discussió de la literatura comparada entesa como una disciplina que apunta
a superar les identificacions nacionals de la literatura. Hem buscat presentar de quines maneres aquestes
disciplines son productives per a la teoria de la literatura, quines estratègies utilitzen per aproximar-se al
fenomen literari i quines son les aportacions que afegeixen al corpus teòric. D’aquesta manera podem
preguntar-nos si existeix un cert estancament de la crítica en el seu acostament als textos, és a dir, si les
noves propostes literàries no han sigut incorporades a la reflexió teòrica o si, en canvi, demostren la seva
productivitat en la pràctica. Vam proposar com a eix la problematització de la relació entre identitats
nacionals i literatura a través de dues vies. D’una banda, vam suggerir l’anàlisi de textos literaris que
qüestionessin, proposessin i/o s’interroguessin sobre les identitats nacionals. Per a aquest propòsit no
desitgem regir-nos per conceptualitzacions ja establertes en relació amb les nacionalitats a les quals
s’adscriuen les literatures. S’han valorat enfocaments que tendeixen cap a la ruptura i el qüestionament,
així com aquelles articulacions que justifiquen les adscripcions tradicionals si l’enfocament és fonamentat
i original.
D’una altra banda, vam buscar també el qüestionament a través de reflexions teòrico-disciplinars noves,
que articulessin respostes possibles a la posada en dubte de la immobilitat del sintagma literatura nacional,
una desarticulació de la naturalitat d’aquesta relació que ve succeint en diversos àmbits de l’acadèmia. Els
conceptes de deconstrucció (Derrida), posnacionalitat (Gabilondo, Castany Prado, Resina), poscolonialitat
(Bhabha, Said), imperi i globalització (Negri, Hart), nomadisme (Gnisci), subalternitat (Spivak) i la identitat
com a rizoma (Deleuze-Guattari) són només alguns dels quals és possible incorporar a una nova reflexió

sobre la identitat nacional i la seva relació amb les disciplines que estudien la literatura. Hem buscat
aproximacions al tema que poguessin considerar-se contemporànies, en tant que busquen comprendre la
situació actual de la literatura i la seva investigació; i també quan procedeixen de reflexions formades en el
coneixement de l’estat de la qüestió en els diversos àmbits geogràfics.
El Monogràfic d’aquest número consta de quatre col•laboracions. En l’article «Apología de la literatura
inmigrante», Paula Meiss parteix de l’estudi del relat de viatge migratori, per acabar l’anàlisi posant en
dubte no només el concepte de «literatura nacional», sinó la mateixa comprensió de la identitat nacional
des de la literatura comparada. «Interrogating Notions of Nationhood, Nation and Globalisation in
Postcolonial Africa» d’Elda i Chipo Hungwe, es basa en la lectura de quatre novel•les i exemplifica de
forma molt interessant la transició d’una crítica que neix del pensament poscolonial, a una anàlisi que
aconsegueix donar un pas diferenciador al centrar-se en conceptes com «nació», «nacionalitat», «etnicitat»
o «nacionalisme». El tercer article, «My Name Is Legion: Literature and Genealogy in António Lobo
Antunes» d’Aino Rinhaug, neix de les propostes teòriques foucaultianes i deleuzianes amb l’objectiu de
comprendre millor les relacions de poder que articulen el discurs de la nació i la nació com a discurs.
L’últim article del monogràfic, «Re-enacting the Nation: Unsettling Narratives in the El Güegüense Theatre
of Nicaragua» d’Alberto Guevara, porta a terme una comparació entre la lectura crítica de l’obra de teatre i
les diferents posades en escena en festivitats, per proposar el gènere dramàtic com a lloc on es qüestiona
des del mestissatge la homogeneïtzació de les identitats i cultures. En tots ells, creiem, és possible llegir la
teoria de la literatura, la literatura comparada i la mateixa literatura com l’ancoratge d’un pensament que
allibera les identitats col•lectives de les imposicions geopolítiques establertes al mapa global actual, obrint
la possibilitat a noves comprensions que trenquen amb una idea ontològica del ser nacional.
La secció de Miscel•lània compta en aquesta ocasió amb quatre articles. Raquel de Medeiros Marcato en
«Gênero comercial em evidência: O filmi Cidade de Deus manipula a realidade?» ataca els estereotips
dels quals parteix un cert cinema comercial per a utilitzar representacions de la violència realista. L’article
de Владимир Луарсабишвили «к переводу стихотворения г. арести “Defensaré la casa del meu
pare”» presenta alguns problemes de traducció poètica entre dues llengües sense intercanvi extens, i
és una col•laboració especial en la seva versió en euskera realitzada pel mateix traductor, el treball del
qual s’analitza en l’article. Leticia Pérez a «The Surrealist Collection of Objects» porta a terme una anàlisi
del coleccionisme que van desenvolupar diversos artistes surrealistes com a expressió d’una postura
davant del materialisme de la societat. Finalment, Melissa Guenther ofereix en «L’Espagne sous le regard
d’une Française: la Relation du voyage d’Espagne (1691) de Madame d’Aulnoy» un contrast entre les
representacions femenines espanyoles i franceses sota la mirada d’una viatgera del segle XVII.
Potser una de les propostes més interessants que resulten de la nostra lectura del monogràfic d’aquest
segon número de 452ºF resideix en que no es limita a proposar la continuïtat, sinó que aposta per la ruptura.
Convidem al lector a que llegeixi i interpreti, a que sigui crític. Esperem que no quedi indiferent davant la
proposta que oferim sota l’objectiu d’aconseguir un segon número que incorpori noves perspectives i que
resumeixi en gran mesura les aspiracions de la revista en tant que instrument de difusió i actualització:
oferim un treball fet avui per entendre avui el que passa al voltant de la literatura.

EDITORIALA eu-
452ºF Literaturaren teoria era Literatura konparatua aldizkariaren bigarren alea da hemen aurkezten
duguna. Argitalpen honen atzean, erredakzio kontseilu berrituaren lana dago, eta baita proiektua
babesten jarraitzen duen batzorde zientifikoarena ere. Gainera, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona-ko
Consell Social-ak, Universitat i Societat programaren bitartez, emandako diru-laguntza aipatu behar dugu,
eta baita unibertsitateko ETC-ak emandakoa ere.
Ale honetako monografikoaren oinarrian, ikasketa postkolonialek eta subalternitate ikasketek sortu duten
interesa dago. Literatura konparatuaren baitan sortutako eztabaida hori hartu dugu aintzat, literatura eta
nazioak lotzen dituen identifikazioa gainditzearen alde egiten duela kontuan izanda. Diziplina horiek
literaturaren teoriari eta corpus teorikoari egin dizkioten ekarpenak aztertu nahi izan ditugu, eta baita
gertaera literariora hurreratzeko erabiltzen dituzten estrategiak ere. Geure buruari galdegin diogu kritika
geldirik ote dagoen nolabait, testuetara hurbiltzean, hau da, hausnarketa teorikoak ez ote dituen literatur
proposamen berriak bere egin edota praktikan frogatzen ote den proposamen horien emankortasuna.
Nazio identitateen eta literaturaren arteko harremanaren problematizazioa hartu genuen ardatz, bi
bidetatik. Alde batetik, nazio identitateen inguruan galderak eta zalantzak planteatzen dituzten literatur
testuen azterketa iradoki genuen. Horretarako, ez ditugu literaturari esleitzen zaizkion nazionalitateen
inguruan nagusitu diren kontzeptualizazioak erabili nahi. Haustura eta zalantza dakarten ikuspuntuak
hartu ditugu aintzat, baina baita tradizioari atxikitakoak ere, originalak eta ongi oinarritutakoak izatekotan.
Literatura nazionala, aldaezina dirudien sintagma hori, zalantzan jartzen duten diziplina-hausnarketa
berritzaileak bilatu nahi izan ditugu, harreman horretan naturala dena desegiten dutenak, akademiaren
arlo ezberdinetan egiten ari diren bezala. Beraz, nazio identitatearen eta literatura ikertzen duten
diziplinen arteko harremanaren inguruan hausnartzeko erabiliko ditugun kontzeptuen artean izango
ditugu dekonstrukzioa (Derrida), postnazionalitatea (Gabilondo, Castany Prado, Resina), postkolonialitatea
(Bhabha, Said), inperioa eta globalizazioa (Negri, Hart), nomadismoa (Gnisci) eta subalternitatea (Spivak),
edota identitatea errizoma gisa (Deleuze-Guattari). Garaikidetzat har ditzakegun hurbilketak hartu
ditugu aintzat; literaturaren eta bere ikerketaren egungo egoera ulertzea dute helburu, eta gainera, leku

ezberdinetan, gaia zertan den jakinda egindako hausnarketak dira.
Ale honetako monografikoak lau kolaborazio ditu. “Apología de la literatura inmigrante” artikuluan, Paula
Meissek migrazio-bidaien kontakizunak aztertu ditu, zalantzan jarriaz “literatura nazionala” kontzeptua eta
baita nazio identitatea ere, literatura konparatuaren ikuspegitik. Elda eta Chipo Hungweren “Interrogating
Notions of Nationhood, Nation and Globalisation in Postcolonial Africa” artikulua lau nobelen irakurketa
da eta oso modu interesgarrian adierazten du pentsamendu postkolonialean sortutako kritikatik pauso
bat haratago doan kritikarako trantsizioa, “nazioa”, “naziotasuna”, “etniatasuna” edota “nazionalismoa”
bezalako kontzeptuak aztertuta. Hirugarren artikulua, Aino Rinhaug-en “My Name Is Legion: Literature
and Genealogy in António Lobo Antunes”, Foucaulten eta Deleuze-ren proposamen teorikoetatik
abiatzen da. Helburua botere harremanak ulertzea da; nazioaren diskurtsoak eta nazioa diskurtso gisa
kontuan hartuta. Monografikoko azken artikuluan, “Re-enacting the Nation: Unsettling Narratives in the
El Güegüense Theatre of Nicaragua”, Alberto Guevarak alderatu egin ditu antzezlan baten irakurketa
kritikoa eta jaialdietako eszenaratze ezberdinak. Proposamen honen arabera, antzerkian, mestizajetik,
zalantzan jartzen da identitateen eta kulturen homogeneizatzea. Artikulu horietan guztietan, presente
daude literaturaren teoria eta literatura konparatua, eta baita talde nortasunak egungo mapa globalean
ezarritako inposizio geopolitikoetatik askatzen dituen pentsamoldea ere. Bide egiten diote beraz, izate
nazionalaren ideia ontologikoa apurtzen duten pentsaera berriei.
Miszelanea sailak lau artikulu ditu oraingoan. “Gênero comercial em evidência: O filme Cidade de Deus
manipula a realidade?” delakoan, Raquel de Medeiros Marcatok indarkeria errealista irudikatzeko zinema
komertzialak darabiltzan estereotipoak aztertzen ditu. Владимир Луарсабишвили-en “к переводу
стихотворения г. Арести ‘Nire aitaren etxea defendatuko dut’” artikuluak itzulpengintza poetikoaren
arazoetako batzuk aztertzen ditu harreman esturik ez duten bi hizkuntzen artean. Euskarazko bertsioa
kolaborazio berezia da, itzultzaileak berak bere lana azalduaz egina. Leticia Pérezek, “The Surrealist
Collection of Objects” artikuluan, zenbait artista surrealisten bildumazaletasuna aztertzen du, gizartearen
materialismoaren aurrean hartutako jarrera gisa. Azkenik, “L’Espagne sous le regard d’une Française: la
Relation du voyage d’Espagne (1691) de Madame d’Aulnoy” artikuluan, Melissa Guenther-ek emakume
espainiarren eta frantziarren irudikapenak alderatu ditu, XVII. mendeko bidaiari baten ikuspuntutik.
Behar bada, 452ºF aldizkariaren bigarren ale honetako monografikoaren alderdirik interesgarriena da
jarraipena baino haustura proposatzen duela. Irakurri eta interpretatzeko gonbidapena egin nahi genioke
irakurleari, kritikoa izan dadila, epel gera ez dadila. Bigarren ale honetan ikuspuntu berritzaileak biltzea
izan da gure xedea, aldizkariaren beraren helburuak laburbilduaz, hedatzeko eta gaurkotzeko tresna dela
uste baitugu: gaur egindako lana eskaintzen dugu, gaur ulertzeko literaturaren inguruan gertatzen ari
dena.

PAULA MEISS
Apología de la literatura
inmigrante: ¿hacia una
hospitalidad planetaria?
RAQUEL
DE MEDEIROS
MARCATO
Gênero comercial em
evidência: O filme Cidade de
Deus manipula a realidade?
13 30 48 62
ELDA HUNGWE |
CHIPO HUNGWE
Interrogating Notions of
Nationhood, Nation and
Globalisation in Postcolonial
Africa: A Textual Analysis of
Four African Novels
ВЛАДИМИР
ЛУАРСАБИШВИЛИ
К переводу стихотворения
г. Арести «defenderé la casa
de mi padre»
AINO RINHAUG
My Name Is Legion
Literature and Genealogy in
António Lobo Antunes
LETICIA PÉREZ
The Surrealist
Collection of Objects
ALBERTO GUEVARA
Re-enacting the nation:
Unsettling Narratives in the
El Güegüense Theatre of
Nicaragua
mono
80 96 112 127
MELISSA
GUENTHER
L’Espagne sous le regard
d’une Française : la Relation
du voyage d’Espagne (1691)
de Madame d’Aulnoy
mis

Juan Manuel Tavella
mono

APOLOGÍA DE
LA LITERATURA
INMIGRANTE:
¿HACIA UNA
HOSPITALIDAD
PLANETARIA?
Paula Meiss
Doctoranda en teoría de la literatura y literatura comparada
Universitat de Barcelona
Cita recomendada || MEISS, Paula (2010): “Apología de la literatura inmigrante: ¿hacia una hospitalidad planetaria?” [artículo en línea], 452ºF.
Revista electrónica de teoría de la literatura y literatura comparada, 2, 13-29, [Fecha de consulta: dd/mm/aa], < http://www.452f.com/index.php/es/
paula-meiss.html >.
Ilustración || Carlos Aquilué
Artículo || Recibido: 09/10/2009 | Apto Comité científico: 8/11/2009 | Publicado: 01/2010
Licencia || Licencia Reconocimiento-No comercial-Sin obras derivadas 3.0 de Creative Commons.
13

452ºF
Resumen || El presente artículo postula la posibilidad de utilizar el relato de viaje migratorio
como objeto de estudio de una disciplina comparatista que tenga en cuenta, por una parte, las
consideraciones de Armando Gnisci sobre la hospitalidad y, por otro lado, también las de Gayatri
Spivak sobre la planetariedad de la literatura comparada. De esta forma, intenta postular una
posible línea de investigación en literatura comparada que no requiera del concepto de ‘literatura
nacional’ para poder llevarse a cabo. El análisis del relato de viaje migratorio, a través de una
serie de variables reconocidas dentro de la tradición de viajes, permite en fondo y en forma un
comparatismo del encuentro.
Palabras clave || Viaje | Migración | Literatura comparada | Gnisci | Spivak | Weltliteratur.
Abstract || This paper suggests the possibility of making use of the narrative of migration as the
object of study of a comparatist discipline that takes into account Armando Gnisci’s considerations
on hospitality, as well as Gayatri Spivak’s on planetarity and comparative literature. In this sense,
the paper aims at suggesting a possible line of research en comparative literature that needs
not rely on the concept of national literature to be developed. The analysis of the narrative of
migration, through a series of variables well recognised in travel literature, allows both in form
and contents a comparatism of the encounter.
Key-words || Travel | Migration | Comparative literature | Gnisci | Spivak | Weltliteratur.
14

0. (in)Dependencia de la nación
El objetivo del presente trabajo se desprende de la siguiente
premisa: si bien la literatura comparada como disciplina ha aceptado
definirse, aún a día de hoy, a partir de las largamente establecidas y
cuestionadas literaturas nacionales 1 , es posible aún también buscar
las formas y recursos necesarios para que esto no sea condición
sine qua non en el funcionamiento de la disciplina como tal. Así, una
de las formas puede desprenderse de la tradición imagológica que
escogió a la literatura de viajes como objeto privilegiado de estudio
comparatista (Brunel, 1994: 125; Gnisci, 2002: 255). Lo que sugiere
el presente artículo es la posibilidad de actualizar en el relato de
viaje migratorio ciertas líneas de investigación ya abiertas para el
estudio del relato de viaje, entendido a la manera más clásica como
aquel en que se parte, se viaja y se vuelve. De esta forma, y teniendo
en cuenta la contextualización histórico-sociológica que cada texto
reclamará para sí, es posible investigar de qué maneras el relato
de viaje migratorio permite un acercamiento a la literatura que no
requiera de la nación para significar. Entendemos que, en tanto
que texto literario que cambia de nación, un relato de migración se
encuentra a la vez entre las dos y en ninguna de las dos posibles
identidades nacionales que se le podrían adscribir. De esta forma,
representa, en el doble sentido de que pone en escena y ejemplifica,
la transitoriedad de esa identidad nacional literaria a la que parece
tan difícil renunciar.
Nos interesa establecer de qué manera es posible inscribir el relato
de la experiencia migratoria dentro del relato de viajes. Existe una
tradición ciertamente consolidada de literatura de viajes, que no por
eso deja de ser conflictiva a la hora de ser definida. Es a través del
análisis de ciertos elementos presentes en esta clase de textos, que
han sido tema de reflexión tanto de autores como de la crítica, que
la inscripción del relato de migración dentro de una tradición más
amplia de literatura de viajes podrá llevarse a cabo. En este sentido,
existirá una amplia producción textual que podría etiquetarse bajo
el concepto de ‘migración’, pero aún así no ser adscripta a esta
propuesta dado que no contemplará todas o algunas de las variables
que establecemos como pertinentes. Por eso, hablamos de aquel
relato de viaje migratorio que contiene en sí mismo una reflexión
—si bien más o menos velada— acerca del hecho de contar la
historia; el relato del viaje migratorio que postula autopercepciones
y visiones del Otro que permitan una reflexión sobre la construcción
de identidad a través de la literatura; el relato del viaje migratorio que
permita una discusión acerca del estatuto autobiográfico y el literario
de la narración de la experiencia, si es que esta distinción tiene
validez; por último, el relato de viaje que a través de una conciencia
de relación con el paisaje habilite a reflexionar acerca de la relación
NOTAS
1 | Todo manual de literatura
comparada incluye un
apartado que versa sobre
literaturas nacionales, sea
para fundamentarse en su
existencia inter-nacional,
o para complicarse en su
vertiente supra-nacional.
Apología de la literatura inmigrante: ¿hacia una hospitalidad planetaria? - Paula Meiss
452ºF. #02 (2010) 13-29.
15

del migrante con el espacio de acogida.
1. ¿Migrar no es viajar?
A partir de una recopilación del estado de la cuestión en el
ámbito hispánico sobre la narrativa de viajes en general, y el tema
de «literatura y migración» en particular, resulta como mínimo
sorprendente la ausencia de reflexiones teóricas articuladas acerca
de la pertenencia o no de la narrativa de migración a la literatura de
viajes, o de colecciones de artículos sobre el tema «viajes y literatura»
que incluyan algún trabajo sobre la literatura de la migración 2 . Caren
Kaplan (1996: 2-4) realiza una serie de consideraciones que son
imprescindibles para comenzar a distinguir las diferentes formas que
el viaje adquiere a partir de la (pos)modernidad, y encontrar el lugar
de la migración, como forma específica de desplazamiento, dentro
del viaje como concepto general. No se pretende descontextualizar
el objeto de estudio en pos de una categoría estética superior, como
sería el desplazamiento, sino reconocer que una selección de textos
susceptibles de ser reunidos bajo el nombre de ‘iteratura del viaje
migratorio’ requiere que se reconozca en ellos mismos una voluntad
de tematización de la migración, ya que, como señala Kaplan «such
a solidarity or affiliation is political, however, and cannot simply be
assumed through the articulation of aesthetic principles of literary
exile or the deployment of generalized metaphors» (1996: 105).
Domenico Nucera (2002: 248) parte de reflexiones etimológicas para
intentar definir la literatura de viajes, pero su clasificación excluye
deliberadamente la posibilidad de que la migración constituya un
viaje. De hecho, llega a afirmar que, como suceso contemporáneo,
«el viaje ha terminado» (2002: 280). Dicho postulado implica
considerar que nada nuevo hay para descubrir, que «hoy cualquier
lugar está tan cerca y es tan poco imprevisible que ya no ofrece
ninguna meta prestigiosa y exclusiva, reservada a pocos elegidos
audaces, entonces, para poder ostentar el título de viajero» (281).
Podemos estar de acuerdo o no con la idea de previsibilidad de
cualquier lugar (y, de hecho, no lo estamos) en tanto que los lugares
sólo se vuelven significativos al ser transitados, y esto siempre se
podrá volver a hacer. En el planteo que nos proponemos defender, el
acto de inmigrar a un espacio que es cercano a la tradición occidental,
pero que puede volver a ser recorrido por un Otro (no tan ajeno
como se pretende), constituye una posibilidad de re-significación
de los espacios que no puede ser dejada de lado con la idea de
que «el viaje ha terminado». También permite volver a pensar el
viaje en sí, el viajero, las motivaciones y objetos de los mismos.
Ignorar este desplazamiento de personas que se viene realizando
desde tanto tiempo atrás, y que se ha ignorado durante otro tanto,
NOTAS
2 | Ver, por ejemplo, Mariño, M.
y María de la O Oliva, 2004 y
2006.
Apología de la literatura inmigrante: ¿hacia una hospitalidad planetaria? - Paula Meiss
452ºF. #02 (2010) 13-29.
16

no es algo que pueda favorecer al desarrollo de las humanidades.
Como señala Auerbach, negar un fenómeno de la historia es intentar
escapar a la misma, y eso es algo que la literatura comparada no
puede permitirse 3 .
Igualmente Nucera se concentra en las etimologías de los verbos
partir, viajar y volver para ofrecer, a través de su interpretación de
los significados que hoy le damos a estos términos, una definición
del género literario, y su punto de partida puede sernos útil. A través
del verbo partir establece la doble significación de separación
y conjunción con el futuro que todo acto de estas características
dispone. Con el verbo viajar, destaca que este acto implica más
que el desplazamiento; viajar constituye «cómo ha sido recibida y
transformada la experiencia del viaje, es decir, el descubrimiento
del “lugar otro” » y por eso espera un «re-nacimiento bajo una forma
distinta, dada la experiencia del “lugar otro” y del encuentro con el
“otro” » (248). Hasta aquí, nada impediría incluir la narrativa de la
migración dentro del género más amplio del viaje. Pero se añade
también el verbo volver, y para Nucera esto haría que un relato
migratorio no se pueda considerar de viaje: «Llegar a un lugar y
quedarse allí no es viajar. Es más bien lo que en una biografía sería
clasificado como un simple traslado, cambio de residencia» (250).
Sobre este proceso que se define como «simple» versan todas las
posibilidades que vislumbramos para esta narrativa. Creemos que
en cierta medida todo relato del viaje migratorio podría entenderse
como la transformación de ese volver, que no deja de percibirse
como necesario, en otra cosa. El retorno no será nunca algo que
se descarte. Habrá que considerar entonces qué pasa si esa vuelta
postergada hace que, por un lado, el viaje no acabe nunca; y que,
por el otro, haya que buscar formas de acabarlo que no impliquen el
retorno al punto de partida, ya que como el mismo Nucera sugiere
«siempre se parte para volver, también en el caso en que la meta no
coincida geográficamente con el punto de salida» (2002: 250).
1.2 Nostalgias
El elemento que media este retorno imposible, según se reitera
en la bibliografía consultada, es la nostalgia. La palabra contiene
etimológicamente los significados de «regreso» y «dolor». Una de
las posibles interpretaciones de esta combinación es el dolor que
produce el regreso postergado. Otra, más productiva tal vez, tiene
que ver con saber que el regreso no garantiza el final del dolor: una
vez que se ha partido ya la vuelta nunca nos llevará a lo mismo. Este
acontecimiento dentro del viaje —la conciencia de que la vuelta sin
más es imposible— permitirá la narración del mismo, en un narrar
el acontecimiento que concluye y define al acontecimiento mismo.
Podemos pensar que ese saber que al volver ya nada será lo mismo
funcionará de manera conservadora con una fuerza mayor que la
NOTAS
3 | «El que som, ho em
esdevingut en la nostra
història, i només en ella
podem romandre com a tals
i desenvoluparnos. Mostrar
això, de manera penetrant,
i que no s’oblidi, és la tasca
del Weltfilologen (filòleg
universal) dels nostres temps»,
Auerbach, E. (1958: 120).
Apología de la literatura inmigrante: ¿hacia una hospitalidad planetaria? - Paula Meiss
452ºF. #02 (2010) 13-29.
17

posibilidad de deconstruir discursos heredados, y reestablecer en
el juego literario una nueva identidad a través de esa narración del
acontecimiento. Elleke Boehmer señala que:
Migrant literatures represent a geographic, cultural, and political retreat
by writers from the new but ailing nations of the post-colonial world back
to the old metropolis, the literatures are a product of that retreat; they are
marked by its disillusionment (1995: 237).
y con ella deseamos reconocer esa especificidad histórica que no
permite considerar alegre y despreocupadamente el movimiento
migratorio. No se trata de celebrar una experiencia que puede
haber sido traumática, sino de identificar, trabajar, y comparar lo que
de ella pueda surgir en la forma de texto literario. De este modo,
tampoco se trata de revalorizar una literatura que es poco o nada
conocida en la sociedad de partida del autor, y poco reconocida en
el mundo de llegada, para reenfatizar su pertenencia a una u otra
tradición nacional. Se trata, a pesar de lo malsonante de la palabra,
de una utilización de estos textos para intentar comenzar a pensar
la literatura de otra forma.
1.3 Exilios y diásporas
Creemos que la distinción que suele realizarse entre exilio y migración
o diáspora no sólo contiene un elemento de voluntad y elección, por
ausencia en el primero, por presencia —al menos inicial— en los
segundos, sino que incluye una necesidad de incorporar también,
como señala Nico Israel, «how issues of class and of post- (or neo)
colonialism inflect both the experience of displacement and the
reception of texts written about displacement» (2000: 13). El exilio
cuenta con un estatus reconocido como tema literario, mientras que
la migración es un tema todavía bastante marginal, sobre todo en
el ámbito hispánico. Si bien en el ámbito anglófono se desarrolla el
concepto de diáspora para hablar desde el poscolonialismo sobre los
escritores emigrados, creemos que este concepto ayuda a continuar
relativizando la presencia de estos escritores en los ámbitos socioculturales
de llegada. De esta forma, el concepto de diáspora, en
tanto refiere a una comunidad de escritores desplazados desde un
lugar de origen común y que no deja de estar presente en sus textos,
contribuye a la compartimentación según literaturas nacionales, que
el presente trabajo busca evitar. Por otro lado, el concepto de la
francophonie se utiliza para agrupar toda la producción escrita en
lengua francesa, pero existen críticas respecto de posibles nuevos
colonialismos a través de un pretendido universalismo del término,
que si no se deconstruye puede ocultarse 4 . Asimismo, el relato del
viaje migratorio hacia Francia depende del país de origen para
suscitar el interés de la crítica, más concentrada en la producción
de la descendencia de esos inmigrantes, según señala Hargreaves
NOTAS
4 | «the adjective ‘francophone’
has to be decolonised, since
it is often used in France
for everything that is written
in French but that is not
French, reinstating an imperial
dichotomy between France and
‘the rest’» Milhaud, O. (2006)
Apología de la literatura inmigrante: ¿hacia una hospitalidad planetaria? - Paula Meiss
452ºF. #02 (2010) 13-29.
18

(1995: 89). Por esto, como modelos de tratamiento del tema
migratorio en literatura, las vertientes anglófona y francófona de
análisis literario no nos solucionan el problema de intentar dejar de
lado la identidad nacional para hablar del desplazamiento migratorio
en el contexto hispánico.
Ahora bien, nos preguntamos cuál es la alternativa de tratamiento de
este material literario que no considere la nación para su estudio. En
este caso, consideramos el objeto de estudio como el relato literario
de la experiencia del encuentro entre un forastero, que llega para
quedarse, y una comunidad, entendida ésta tanto en su vertiente
espacial (un lugar), como personal (un grupo de gente). Para ello,
el punto de partida del análisis se basa en los postulados de Georg
Simmel, que plantea que «la relació amb l’espai és només, d’una
banda, la condició i, d’altra banda, el símbol de la relació amb les
persones» (1988: 318-319). Así, el relato de viaje migratorio no sólo
nos permitirá analizar la representación de la identidad en proceso
de definición en relación con el Otro, sino también la representación
de la relación con el espacio que es condición y símbolo de ese
encuentro.
No sería requisito indispensable que el autor de esta narrativa
hubiera atravesado la experiencia misma de migración. Al contrario,
consideramos importante distinguir entre la narrativa producida
por inmigrantes, la narrativa que incluya inmigrantes en sus
representaciones y construcciones, y la narrativa que tematice de
manera literaria el motivo del encuentro del viaje migratorio. Es esta
última la que nos atrae como objeto de estudio que permitiría salvar
las identificaciones nacionales para proceder a la comparación. Así,
según Guillén, se entiende por tema «una parte de las experiencias
o creencias humanas que en determinado momento histórico
cierto escritor convierte en cauce efectivo de su obra y, por ende,
en componente del repertorio temático-formal que hace posible y
propicia la escritura literaria de sus sucesores» (1985: 53). En este
sentido, el exilio encuentra, como tematización, una tradición mucho
más extensa que la migración. Este trabajo forma parte del intento
de establecer un marco teórico de acercamiento a este proceso,
que va progresivamente conformándose en el ámbito hispánico,
de instauración de la migración en tema literario. En este artículo,
cuando hablamos de literatura de la migración nos referimos al relato
de viaje migratorio, que contiene alguna clase de reflexión, explícita
o no, acerca de la relación del inmigrante con el nuevo espacio de
circulación mediada por la escritura, por la lectura, por la letra.
Apología de la literatura inmigrante: ¿hacia una hospitalidad planetaria? - Paula Meiss
452ºF. #02 (2010) 13-29.
19

2. El viaje a la metrópoli del imperio-que-ya-no-es:
¿posmodernidad y poscolonialismo?
Este tema del viaje migratorio a la metrópoli del imperio que ya no
es tal, lo comprendemos entonces en tanto epifenómeno de dos
grandes formas de pensar la contemporaneidad: por una parte,
la posmodernidad y, por el otro, el poscolonialismo. Excede a los
objetivos del presente trabajo analizar exhaustivamente estos dos
grandes rótulos, pero nos interesa rescatar un par de coordenadas
que creemos que la literatura del viaje migratorio permite estudiar.
La posibilidad de incorporar el estudio de esta clase de
literatura viene dada por la doble articulación entre ciertos postulados
de la posmodernidad a los que el sujeto inmigrante responde desde
el lugar de forastero que define Simmel: dentro del círculo de
relaciones espaciales, pero fuera del mismo a la vez (1988: 319).
Como definición identitaria posmetafísica encaja perfectamente con
las ideas de la posmodernidad. De la misma forma en que Homi
Bhabha propone que su convicción es que
the encounters and negotiations of differential meanings and values
within ‘colonial’ textuality, its governmental discourses and cultural
practices, have anticipated, avant la lettre, many of the problematics of
signification and judgement that have become current in contemporary
theory: aporia, ambivalence, indeterminacy, the question of discursive
closure, the threat to agency, the status of intentionality, the challenge to
‘totalizing’ concepts. (2004: 248),
podríamos pensar que el estatuto de la literatura de migración se
corresponde con la problemática de la teoría literaria posmoderna,
en tanto impide una rápida adscripción a una literatura nacional;
en tanto obliga a repensar la diferenciación entre autobiografía y
ficción, entre relato de experiencia y conformación de la experiencia
relatada, problemáticas que florecen en los últimos años; en tanto
abre nuevas perspectivas para seguir pensando la relación con el
paisaje a través de la literatura, desde una posición que en principio
se establece desde un no-lugar pero que provoca estrategias de
apropiación del espacio que corresponden a la sobremodernidad de
Marc Augé (1993). También es posible sumar las ideas de Kristeva
respecto de la identidad del extranjero:
Y es tal vez a partir de la subversión de este individualismo moderno, a
partir del momento en que el ciudadano-individuo deja de considerarse
unido y glorioso y descubre sus incoherencias y sus abismos —sus
“extranjerías”, en suma— cuando la cuestión se plantea de nuevo: fin de
la acogida del extranjero en el interior de un sistema que lo anula para
dar paso a la cohabitación de los extranjeros que todos reconocemos
ser. (1991: 10).
Apología de la literatura inmigrante: ¿hacia una hospitalidad planetaria? - Paula Meiss
452ºF. #02 (2010) 13-29.
20

Con todo lo utópico de esta propuesta, creemos que es imprescindible
destacar como posibilidad de la literatura de migración el hecho de
poner en escena nuevas formas identitarias que se relacionan con la
hibridación (Bhabha), el mestizaje 5 , la criollización (Glissant), términos
que la teoría ha ido incorporando en el trabajo de diversos autores.
Estas características de la identidad poscolonial se encuentran
también en las definiciones identitarias posmodernas. Ahora bien,
la teoría, en su esfuerzo por describir y crear hipótesis acerca de
las posibilidades del desplazamiento y desarraigo, no encuentra
necesariamente su correlato en la producción literaria que surge de
la experiencia migratoria 6 . Esto, que en un principio parecería dar
por tierra con esta asociación posmodernidad-poscolonialismo, debe
ayudarnos a seguir pensando ambos conceptos. Aunque ambos no
puedan ser yuxtapuestos sin conflicto, y de hecho no se aspira a
que así sea, la comparación siempre puede ayudar a la redefinición
y reformulación de sus significados. Como plantea Caren Kaplan, se
trata de evaluar cómo se utiliza la metáfora del desplazamiento en
la posmodernidad, y de qué manera las teorizaciones acerca de la
subjetividad diaspórica desestabilizan, o no, el discurso occidental
acerca del exilio (1996: 103) que está firmemente asociado a la
modernidad occidental.
A nuestro entender, lo que resulta atractivo de esta clase de textos es
la posibilidad de ver cómo se negocian las identidades en un contexto
que no es el de origen, pero que se convierte en habitual; que se
inicia como una excepción y que deviene cotidiano. Para realizar este
movimiento no es necesario provenir de un país poscolonial, pero lo
cierto es que se encuentran más frecuentemente exploraciones de
este tipo a partir de la narrativa de autores de origen ex-céntrico,
porque hay una certeza ausente en la mayoría de ellos con respecto
a la identidad nacional, que es la que deviene consciente con más
fuerza al realizar un viaje migratorio.
Por otra parte, la perspectiva planteada por los estudios
poscoloniales para entender no sólo estas cuestiones identitarias
sino también la literatura que las produce y transforma, tampoco
puede ser dejada de lado. En cierta medida, las palabras de Kristeva
citadas anteriormente también podemos referirlas al estudio de la
literatura según filiaciones nacionales, modernas y canónicas.
Podríamos considerar el canon occidental como una construcción
«unida y gloriosa» que cada vez más revela sus «incoherencias y
abismos». Más allá de las voluntades de cierta parte de la crítica
de mantener este bastión por encima de esas incoherencias que
se puedan encontrar, la incorporación del estudio del abismo —
entendiéndolo como un espacio a explorar, y no como el vacío
absoluto— puede aportar una «extranjerización» del canon que sólo
acabará beneficiándolo. En ese lugar, en ese abismo, dentro del
estudio de la literatura, se sitúa para esta propuesta la literatura de
NOTAS
5 | «Celle-ci permet au
métissage d’avoir une function
culturelle et sociale globale:
il constraint, dans le cadre
de l’hégémonie idéologique
moderne européenne,
occidentale, en Europe, en
Occident, hors de l’Europe,
hors de l’Occident, de
penser le possible d’une
culture, d’une société,
dans la reconnaissance de
déterminations croisées et
dans l’invention culturelle
et sociale que constitue ce
croisement». Bessière, J.
(2005: 19).
6 | Ver, por ejemplo, Casolla,
A. (1995: 178); Petric, J. (1995:
170); Mertz-Baumgarten (2004:
288).
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21

la migración. No sólo porque el inmigrante es una figura extraña,
alguien «de afuera», un traidor en potencia (ya se ha ido una vez,
puede volver a hacerlo), sino porque, como refiere Boehmer «their
work has drawn criticism for being a literature without loyalties»
(1995: 236), y en esto dificulta, como decíamos, la adscripción a una
tradición nacional única. Si se debe luchar de alguna manera contra
la globalización, a nuestro entender esto no puede funcionar a través
del refuerzo de la nacionalidades tal y como están establecidas,
si se entienden como fijas, claramente definidas en el pasado, y
a las que hay que respetar incluso en términos estético-artísticos.
Por qué debería ser el mundo poscolonial el que dé por tierra con
estas relaciones entre literatura y nación es algo que creemos se
desprende del hecho de que es desde Occidente de donde surge tal
asociación entre nación y literatura (Brennan, 1990). En el proceso
de integrar a los cánones de literatura mundial la literatura de la
migración, el mundo occidental podría iniciar el movimiento hacia la
descolonización de Europa del que habla Gnisci (1996), entre otros.
3. Literatura universal o literatura del mundo
Es entonces dentro de la problemática del corpus de la literatura
comparada, entendida como método de estudio de la Weltliteratur,
donde buscamos inscribir nuestra propuesta. Si bien el concepto de
‘literatura universal’ lleva años bajo cuestionamiento, aún continúa
pareciendo una salida al dilema de cómo superar lo nacional para
hablar de literatura. Seguimos las consideraciones de Rene Wellek,
Henri Remak y Joseph Lambert, para llegar a Armando Gnisci y sus
ideas acerca de la cuestión, que entienden la literatura de migración
como nueva literatura del mundo.
Las afirmaciones de Rene Wellek en su famosísima conferencia
abogaban porque «la investigación literaria actual necesita, en
primer lugar, tomar conciencia de la necesidad de definir su materia
y el objeto de sus intereses» (1958: 86). Si bien el presente trabajo
no puede continuar otras líneas planteadas por Wellek en esa misma
conferencia, parece necesario, al menos, remitir a esta premisa.
Por eso mismo, y también siguiendo los postulados de Henry
Remak, apuntamos a proponer el estudio de la literatura del viaje
migratorio como forma de sintetizar el estudio de la Weltliteratur:
«Debemos disponer de síntesis, a menos que el estudio literario
quiera condenarse a sí mismo a la fragmentación y el aislamiento
externos» (1971: 90). Creemos también que la incorporación de esta
narrativa, que no se trabaja generalmente en los cánones de estudio,
funciona tal y como explica José Lambert (1989), como forma de
abrir el abanico de posibilidades para la teoría misma: si queremos
una renovación de los estudios literarios, sería paradójico continuar
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22

trabajando los mismos textos, autores, géneros, convenciones y
culturas sobre las que se establecieron esos primeros estudios que
buscamos superar.
3.1 Una línea posible
Un trabajo comparatista que tenga en cuenta los textos que se
producen en el acto de trasladarse de un país a otro, de una cultura
a otra, por una parte, desestabiliza el estudio de la literatura desde
una perspectiva nacional. El texto es susceptible de ser adoptado
tanto por la cultura de partida como por la cultura de llegada. En ese
transcurso, cubre un arco que no puede ser ignorado a la hora de
estudiar las pertenencias de un texto. Incluso si es la representación
del viaje migratorio (no la transformación de una experiencia
personal) lo que podemos encontrar en el texto literario, aún así
implicará un intento imaginario de movimiento entre dos culturas.
Existe una objeción que suele hacerse a esta clase de integraciones
al canon occidental, como la planteada por Rey Chow 7 , que implica
básicamente que se comprende el interés del comparatista como
una nueva forma de eurocentrismo imperialista que jamás logrará
entender realmente esos textos ajenos. Como respuesta, podemos
apuntar a la idea de lectura a contracorriente, en cierta medida
análoga a la práctica de la deconstrucción. Si Chow, entre otros,
entiende que un comparatista nunca podrá leer una cultura (y
por tanto, un texto) tal y como lo haría un local, el objetivo no es
refutarlo, sino asentir con él: la lectura del extranjero puede ser una
forma enriquecedora de leer. Está claro que esta clase de lectura
no la postulamos exclusivamente para los textos de tradiciones no
occidentales, sino que en cierta medida se corresponde con la relectura
del canon occidental que iniciaron los estudios poscoloniales.
Si estos estudios demostraron que es posible encontrar en los
mismos textos que se leen desde hace siglos conformaciones y
representaciones que la crítica ha pasado por alto, será necesario
resaltarlas una vez más, leyendo estos textos como un extranjero.
Es importante la distinción que realizan algunos críticos entre valor
político-ético y valor estético de un texto. Es posible rechazar y
denunciar uno sin por eso dejar de reconocer el aporte del otro.
Por otra parte, nos interesa en particular el movimiento de la periferia
hacia el centro, que viene desarrollándose de manera continua a
partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Es por esto que la narrativa
de la migración que consideramos es aquella que implica un
movimiento desde las ex-colonias hacia las antiguas metrópolis. Esta
propuesta no se concentra en los movimientos migratorios desde
Europa hacia América y Australia, por ejemplo, que se produjeron
sobre todo a fines del siglo XIX y primera mitad del XX. Entendemos
que las particularidades que ambos movimientos (centro-periferia y
periferia-centro, por simplificar) presentan, en concreto con respecto
NOTAS
7 | «the integration of non-
Western texts into the
comparative literature canon
may just mean confronting
a new class of ‘Eurocentric’
specialists in remote cultures:
there is no guarantee that
exposure to the alien canon will
teach anyone to see it as the
locals see it» (1995: 109).
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a la autopercepción y visión del Otro, y también en la relación con
el espacio, constituyen esferas que deben ser analizadas desde
perspectivas que tengan en cuenta esas particularidades, y por eso,
resultarán diferentes. Es evidente que compartirán también muchas
otras características, pero la idea de trabajar esta narrativa desde
la perspectiva de la narrativa de viajes no implica olvidar que las
especificidades de las culturas de origen y de llegada inevitablemente
encuentran lugar dentro de la narrativa. Interesan los movimientos
masivos migratorios hacia la metrópoli que se suceden a partir de
la segunda mitad del siglo XX, y que continúan en nuestros días, y
la producción literaria que se constituye a partir de esa experiencia
colectiva. De esta forma, se salva la problemática de continuar
leyendo siempre el mismo canon aunque las perspectivas teóricas
cambien.
La decisión de adscribir explícitamente este trabajo a la literatura
comparada como disciplina académica enlaza muy bien con las
consideraciones de Linda Hutcheon acerca de la cuestión. Si
un trabajo de estas características puede aspirar a alguna clase
de justificación, ésta tendrá que ver con la idea de que también
creemos que la literatura comparada es «inherently contrarian» 8 . Si
la literatura comparada a través de la costumbre de autointerrogarse,
es la disciplina que siempre está pendiente del cambio y abierta
a volver a pensar los presupuestos, es aquí donde inscribiremos
nuestro trabajo. Es en este estado de la cuestión, que considera
que la literatura comparada cumple una función dentro del ámbito
académico, donde la pertinencia de arriesgar una posibilidad para
la interpretación y análisis de la Weltliteratur parece ineludible. Esto
es en tanto que es necesario todavía utilizar las herramientas del
amo para deconstruir su edificio académico, durante tantas décadas
centrado en una versión sesgada del significado de Welt- en la
palabra alemana. E ineludible también en un contexto mucho más
amplio de relación de la cultura occidental con el Otro, que ahora,
como siempre, vuelve.
El presente trabajo intenta construir una articulación teórica que
permita dar una respuesta posible a la pregunta sobre cómo hacer,
que aparece recurrentemente entre las cuestiones que deben
ser definidas dentro del comparatismo (Moretti, 2000: 65; Tötösy,
1997: 223; Greene, 2006: 221; Saussy, 2006: 22). En primer lugar,
siguiendo las propuestas de Eric Auerbach en su artículo «Filologia
de la Weltliteratur» de 1952, nos interesa definir el relato del viaje
migratorio como epifenómeno que permite partir de un objeto
relativamente concreto para dedicarse a ese infinito estudio de la
literatura mundial. Así, Auerbach se extiende en la explicación de
cómo es posible, comenzando por un punto de partida que irradia
en significación e implicaciones, aspirar a tratar un objeto extenso.
Para él, una buena obra crítica, «no és una gran acumulació de
NOTAS
8 | “To be contrarian is to
oppose or reject popular
opinion, something
comparatists have done quite
regularly” Hutcheon, L. (2006)
p. 224.
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24

molt, sinó una irradiació a partir de molt poc. (…) Només quan es
troba un fenomen marcadament delimitat, mesurable i central com
a punt de partença serà possible la realització dels plans» (1952:
124). Con esta ambiciosa pretensión proponemos el estudio del
relato del viaje migratorio como punto de partida para el estudio de
la literatura universal en el marco del siglo XXI. Es nuestro propósito
demostrar someramente en el desarrollo de este trabajo, y a través
de posteriores aplicaciones, que el relato de viaje migratorio puede
funcionar como punto de partida para el análisis de una serie de
variables que preocupan a la teoría de la literatura en los últimos
años. No pretende agotar esta propuesta las posibilidades, sino
simplemente auto-fundamentarse en su necesidad y pertinencia
dentro del marco y problemática planteados.
En segundo lugar, también es importante adelantarse a las críticas
posibles respecto de la imposibilidad de un estudio de estas
características. Siguiendo las propuestas de Franco Moretti (2000:
68) nos embarcamos en este desarrollo con el convencimiento de
que confiar en el trabajo de los colegas de la academia permite
dedicarse a objetos de estudio tan amplios. Se escriben cada vez
más ensayos (en relación a décadas pasadas) sobre literatura de la
migración en el ámbito comparatista, pero pocos artículos se dedican
a buscar la tematización de la migración en la producción que
analizan: en la mayoría de los casos, se trata de estudios de autores,
de nacionalidades, de textos en concreto 9 , que enmarcan bajo la
etiqueta de la diáspora, o, más en general, lo poscolonial. Creemos
que a partir de esos trabajos es posible aunar las conclusiones de
ellos con nuestro estudio, de manera tal que constituyan una nueva
conceptualización de la migración dentro de la literatura.
4. Hospitalidad planetaria
Con respecto a la cuestión de desde qué lugar es posible
incorporar al canon occidental la literatura producida desde la
periferia, creemos que es posible situar el estudio de la literatura
de la migración en una encrucijada enriquecedora. Por una parte,
iniciando la perspectiva de estudio de la literatura desde una
concepción posnacional —si no a-nacional— que esta clase de
literatura favorece, pero que podríamos pensar extensible a toda
la literatura. Si bien es usual en la crítica poscolonial rechazar la
utilización metodológica de las literaturas no-occidentales como
ejemplo de otras formas posibles de pensar la literatura (Spivak,
2003), creemos que en realidad vale la pena hacer el intento de
no caer en más y más constituciones planetarias de literaturas
nacionales para proceder a su estudio. Asociando las características
particulares en la conformación de esta clase de literaturas, que
NOTAS
9 | Ver, por ejemplo, las
recopilaciones de Russel King
y de Irene Andres-Suárez, en
la bibliografía.
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difícilmente se parezcan a las de la literatura occidental según el canon
establecido, con las nuevas condiciones del mundo globalizado, es
posible intentar el desarrollo de un nuevo paradigma de estudio de
la literatura universal, sin olvidar las dificultades de este término,
pero valiéndose de ellas. Reconocer las dificultades de la tarea de la
comparatística siempre ha sido una de las características definitorias
de esta disciplina (Farinelli [1925]; Greene, [1994]; Moretti [2000];
Gnisci [2002]; Saussy [2006]).
Por otra parte, el estudio de literatura de la migración abre la entrada
a la producción literaria no-occidental desde un lugar donde la
Otredad no es total, sino parcial. Desde ese hueco que configura la
escritura desde un lugar de “dentro-pero-fuera” es posible comenzar
a horadar un espacio que integre sin borrar las diferencias. La
propuesta de Spivak, que apunta a una definición de la planetariedad,
puede resultar útil (2003. 74). Para ella no es problemático el hecho
de que puede haber elementos de un texto que sean ajenos en
tanto especie de alteridad: esa es la característica de un planeta
sobreescrito al globo, donde lo ominoso (unheimlich) es parte
integrante de la construcción de sentido. Evidentemente, el alcance
político que una perspectiva como esta tendría no se nos escapa.
Significa un cambio de percepción de la migración como fenómeno
marginal, hacia uno estructural de la cultura. Si las pretensiones de
universalidad surgen como inquietud europea —si no francesa—,
entonces bien se haría en reconocer esta clase de aportes a la
comprensión entre los pueblos, objetivo vapuleado por una parte
de la crítica, pero que no puede a nuestro entender dejarse de lado.
Entonces, hacemos propias las palabras de Armando Gnisci:
¿no es la literatura el discurso común que las culturas intercambian
entre sí para traducirse todas ellas recíprocamente y para que las
traduzcamos dentro de nosotros y entre nosotros, para traducir y
desplazar continuamente hacia el futuro —y no solo hacia los museos
del pasado— todo lo humano, con todas sus historias y todas sus formas
simbólicas? (2002: 12).
También permite pensar que una incorporación de lo extraño a la
cultura puede ser más fácil que una incorporación del extranjero a
la sociedad. No está claro qué debería suceder primero. Pero como
objetivo idealista de este trabajo podemos postular la voluntad
de que a través de, en primer lugar, un reconocimiento de la
producción del Otro que vive entre nosotros, y, en segundo lugar,
una reformulación de las categorías utilizadas hasta ahora, y que
en gran medida lo excluyen, pueda fomentarse la aceptación e
incorporación de los forasteros en una nueva sociedad que incluya
a todos. Retomamos para esto también el uso que hace Gnisci del
concepto de hospitalidad. Al centrar el análisis en la literatura del
relato migratorio, podemos pensar en una doble hospitalidad: tanto
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452ºF. #02 (2010) 13-29.
26

en un sentido literal, de aceptación de la llegada y presencia del
Otro en casa, como en uno más metafórico que es el que reivindica
Gnisci para la literatura comparada: «comparar significa pues
estudiar y trabajar juntos en el respeto de las diferencias para crear
una nueva dimensión comunicativa: la de la hospitalidad recíproca»
(1996: 190).
Es por esta voluntad de incorporación no fagocitadora,
no asimilatoria, de la producción de lo que tradicionalmente es
visto como Otro, para lo que se reivindica la figura del extranjero,
sin necesariamente forzarlo a permanecer extranjero. La doble
hospitalidad se relacionará con el intento de hacer legible el encuentro
con el Otro, desde un lugar que reconoce a todas las culturas como
extranjeras.
Si bien este marco teórico permite analizar el lugar del relato
de viaje migratorio dentro del estudio de la literatura comparada
en cualquier lugar del mundo, subyace a todo el planteamiento la
voluntad de señalar lo que de eurocentrismo pervive en esta disciplina
humanística. A pesar de los progresos respecto del pasado que esta
disciplina ha alcanzado, una necesidad de estudio de la literatura
mundial pervive como objetivo básicamente europeo-occidental,
que no deja de considerar las producciones no-occidentales como
anexos a una muy seria y establecida tradición, única y occidental.
Como bien señala Gnisci, «La ‘literatura universal’ […] sigue siendo
un sueño del Siglo de las Luces y el Romanticismo. Hoy trabajamos
más bien en una disciplina literaria mundial» (1996:190); esto es: no
se trata de pretender universalismo de una materia que no se puede
controlar, como lo es la producción literaria, sino de que las formas
de acceso a esa materia sean lo más universales posibles. Como
sueño, continúa siendo de la Razón. Pero no hay nada que nos
haga rechazar esa base racional a la hora de establecer los marcos
de una teoría. En un marco empírico de relación con la disciplina,
Gnisci recuerda «la aprobación de los intelectuales del mundo entero
a la literatura comparada» (1996: 191), y desde esa constatación es
que proponemos que la búsqueda de universalidad se concentre no
sólo en el encuentro de la academia frente a un horizonte común,
sino también en la manifestaciones empíricas-textuales de dicho
encuentro frente a lo que tenemos en común: y la narrativa del
viaje migratorio funciona como objeto de este acercamiento, literal y
figurado.
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29

INTERROGATING NOTIONS
OF NATIONHOOD, NATION
AND GLOBALISATION IN
POSTCOLONIAL AFRICA:
A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF
FOUR AFRICAN NOVELS
Elda Hungwe
Lecturer in the Department of English and Communications
Chipo Hungwe
Lecturer in the Department of Human Resource Mangement
Midlands State University
Recommended citation || HUNGWE, Elda; HUNGWE, Chipo (2010): “Interrogating Notions of Nationhood, Nation and Globalisation in Postcolonial
Africa: A Textual Analysis of Four African Novels” [online article], 452ºF. Electronic journal of theory of literature and comparative literature, 2, 30-47
[Consulted on: dd / mm / yy], < http://www.452f.com/index.php/en/elda-hungwe--chipo-hungwe.html >.
Illustration || Mireia Martín
Article || Received on: 09/09/2009 | International Advisory Board’s suitability: 13/11/2009 | Published on: 01/2010
License || Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
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452ºF
Abstract || Through the analysis of Pepetela’s Mayombe, Ngugi’s Petals of Blood, Achebe’s
Anthills of the Savannah and A Man of the People, this article interrogates concepts of nationhood
and nation in postcolonial Africa within the framework of the postcolonial theory. Postcolonial
theory defies grand narratives such as the nation and nationhood, hence deconstructs such
narratives as they are problematic. This study shows problems associated with definitions of a
nation in which some members are sidelined. Also explored is the idea of nationalism and its
importance in forming the nation. It is revealed that nationhood is problematic in post independent
Africa even though nationalism served a critical role during decolonisation because variations
are noted as differences in gender and ethnicity disturb nation building. Globalisation is also
threatening, challenging and undermining the existence of nations.
Key-words || Pepetela | Mayombe | Ngugi | Petals of Blood | Achebe | Anthills of the Savannah | A
Man of the People | Ethnicity | Gender | Globalisation | Nationhood | Nationalism | Postcoloniality.
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0. Introduction
Ever since nations came on the scene and national identities began
to be promoted as the prime focus of collective identification they
have been associated with controversy and frequent upheaval as
their limits have been questioned. When nation building was at its
height, the meaning and purpose of nationhood was taken more or
less for granted and nations were treated as providing a fixed context
within which social processes could be examined and analysed. It
was as if social relations occurred naturally within the boundaries of
nations while political and diplomatic relations happened between
them. An attempt to critically study the idea of nationhood is very
important as clearly evidenced by the upsurge of nationalistic feeling
and action and the continuing instability and political reorganization.
New national divisions are appearing and questions of national
identity seem to be taking a new relevance in the context of debates
about ethnicity and new forms of political representation emerge
both above and below the national level. It is within this view that it
becomes imperative to interrogate the concept of nation/nationhood.
This research employs textual criticism, a method applied to written
source materials as objects of analysis (Jankowski and Jeven, 1991:
62).
This research is delimited to the colonial and postcolonial era. The
colonial period is reflected in Pepetela’s Mayombe which shows
the economic marginalization, political subjugation as well as the
reactions of the colonized people as they resist colonial rule. We note
problems of the nation as it seeks to accommodate the individual
and the ethnic groups that want to pursue their cultures without being
imposed. Achebe’s Anthills of the Savanna reveals how nationhood
appears a specifically male prerogative. Conceptions of nationhood
under globalization are put to question given the emergency of new
multi-cultural and transnational identities which supersede the old
national loyalties. This is highlighted in Ngugi’s Petals of Blood and
Achebe’s A Man of The People.
0.1 Background of the Study and Literature Review
The nature of nationhood and national identity is clearly close to
the heart of modern African societies because of the territorial
demarcations made by European imperial forces during colonialism
in the 1880s and 1890s. Industrialized Europe looked at Africa for
the supply of raw materials; they also saw it as a possible market
for their manufactured goods. Africa was also colonized as part of
what Taylor (1984) called the struggle for supremacy in Europe. This
was competition for control of European territories among European
powers. Another reason why Europeans colonized Africa was that,
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as white, they had to ‘civilize’ Africans. Parson (1998) highlights that
by 1920 most of the states in the South, Central and East Africa
had become colonies of direct rule. In West Africa there was indirect
colonial rule, with some of their mining and farming areas exploited by
capitalist companies. There was also the development and spread of
European formal education in its disciplinary division and hierarchical
organization providing the social as well as professional skills for the
would-be post colonial elites. This education was provided only so
far as to satisfy the colonialist need for local low level functionaries
or to satisfy missionaries’ consciences about their civilizing mission.
However, a nationalist consciousness was evolved, which led to
the formation of various national movements within Africa to fight
against colonialism. This saw the liberation struggle which finally led
to the independence of many African nations and states. The idea
of nationhood was fostered in the struggle that won the liberation as
African people identified themselves as a physical and psychological
entity which existed in the form of a geographical location where
cohesion subsisted amongst members who felt a sense of belonging,
patriotism and pride.
There are two contrasting schools of thought that explain the
development and origin of the nation, as revealed in Day and
Thompson (2004). The two schools are the modernist and ethnicist.
Modernists see the nation and nationalism as phenomena whose
roots do not extend back beyond a period associated with the major
socio-economic process of modernity such as industrialization,
capitalism, the rise of the modern state and major related political
changes, (Gellner, 1983). In contrast, ethnicists hold that nationalism
has its roots in pre-modern ethnic identities. Antony Smith (1991)
maintains that while nations may be modern their origins are not,
but can be traced to earlier ethnie (named human populations with
shared ancestry myths, history and culture having an association
with a specific territory and a sense of solidarity). For Smith, the
maxim is that the forces described by modernists transform these
ethnie without destroying them.
Anderson (1991) argues that membership of a nation requires
people to carryout an act of imagination through which they identify
with others whom they will never actually meet or even see. This
is possible under certain conditions with the recent arrival of print
media, capable of uniting people across large stretches of time and
space. Anderson describes how a population able to read the same
newspapers or enjoying the same novels in the same language
is at the same time capable of grasping “those who appear within
them as inhabiting the same social world sharing a ‘deep horizontal’
comradeship” (1991: 16). Anderson (1983) cites sovereignty as
another concept of nationhood. He examines especially the formation
of nation states and nations in the Americas where each nation is
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conceptualized as a sovereign power within its particular sphere of
influences.
Regarding specific discourses of nationhood, Calhoun (1997)
identifies ten distinctive properties. None of them are indispensable
but together they form a pattern of interrelated concepts and
assumptions that confer reality upon nations and people.
They include boundaries, indivisibility, sovereignty, legitimacy conferred
by conformity with the interests of the people, popular mobilization and
participation, direct individual membership, common culture, historic
depth, common descent and territoriality. (4-5)
The discourse of nationalism helps determine the form in which
nations are conceived. For example, according to Anderson (1991),
they are thought of as bounded, sovereign and horizontally uniform
regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail
in each. Concepts of nationhood shall be interrogated largely in
the vein of the postcolonial theory. As a literary theory or critical
approach, according to Ashcroft et al (1995), post colonial theory is
an engagement with and contestation of colonialism’s discourses,
power structures and social hierarchies. The theory of postcoloniality
defies the grand narratives or any clear definitions such as nation,
nationhood, nationality and so on. The postcolonial theory is applied
to describe colonial discourses’ analysis to determine situations and
experiences of the subaltern groups whether in the first or third world.
The theory also interrogates knowledge constructions of the West
and calls for a rethinking of the very terms by which this knowledge
has been constructed by the West. The nation and nationalism are
problematic in post independence even though nationalism served a
critical role during decolonization.
1. Aims of the Study
The aims of this study are to establish the relevance of nationhood/
nation in as far as nation building is concerned; also, to validate the
conceptualization of nationhood/nation in the era of globalization
and to locate the position of women in the nation and to justify their
importance in nation building.
1.1 Towards the Construction of a Nation – An Analysis of
Pepetela’s Mayombe (1983)
Angola is abundant with natural resources; it has rich oil deposits
and timber. The huge mineral deposits were the prime reason for
the struggle for military, territorial, commercial and political control
of this land. Van De Waals (1993) reveals that by the end of the
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nineteenth century, Angola was recognized in international circles
as part of Portugal’s colonial empire. Independent kingdoms of the
interior were therefore subjugated as Portuguese farmers settled.
Shortage of labor restrained economic development thus forced
labor became an integral part of the Portuguese policy. As part of the
colonial package, the Portuguese developed a policy as assimilation
which was also used by the French. Assimilation as a colonial
administration policy encouraged the destruction of the African
socio-eco-political structures, that is, it urged the total obliteration
of anything African only to be supplanted with the metropolitan
structures. The major aim of assimilation was to engender a black
Frenchmen or black Portuguese. Tidy and Leeming (2005) assert
that French assimilation went as far as treating French colonies as
an extension of France. In reality, assimilation was the rejection of all
that embodied the African. However, the Portuguese did not extend
the privileges of assimilation to all but only targeted the elite, a small
clique of intellectuals who ironically were to discern the hypocrisy
of the Portuguese policy. This led to the development of nationalist
consciousness which culminated in the armed struggle against
colonial forces. The People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola
(MPLA), according to Van Der Waals, stressed that Portuguese
colonialism could only be defeated by an all out struggle waged by a
unified front of anti-imperialist forces in Angola. This required that the
Angolan people mobilized and fought on all fronts in order to weaken
Portuguese imperialism to make Angola an independent country.
It is within this brief background that Pepetela (1983), a former guerrilla
in Angola, writes from experience of the armed revolution as he fights
to liberate his nation. He does not want to be identified from a racial
point of view. He chose his war name to show his identification with
the objectives of the Angolan revolution. The guerrillas are part of the
MPLA liberation movement and the enemy is the International Police
for the Defense of the State (PIDE) of colonial. Pepetela was a scholar
who believed in the Marxists ideology. He was inclined towards the
peasants and workers. The white colonial masters had monopolized
the means of production and reduced the native Africans into wage
earning labourers. The relationship between these two classes was
both a racial and exploitative one.
The idea of a nation has enabled postcolonial societies to invent a
self image throughout which they could act to liberate themselves
from imperialist’s oppression. Wallerstain (Haralambos and Holborn:
2005) argues that colonialists led to the division of Africa into
sovereign states. These states often contain diverse groups of people,
for example, in Mayombe there are diverse groups of people like
Kikongo, Kimbundu, Fiote and Umbundu. Nationalism is therefore
recognized for its important psychological dimension of bringing
people together. Calhoun (1997: 99) describes the social construction
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of nations where he cites that nations exist only when their members
understand themselves through the discursive framework of national
identity. They are commonly forged in the struggle carried out by
some members of the nation in the making to get others to recognize
its genuine nation-ness. For example, the MPLA in Mayombe to a
greater extent succeeded to win the people. It scored a number of
victories in terms of mobilization, political consciousness, courage
and civilian support, which is the duty of the Commissar, Joao. We
realize that the strength of the mass or the collective is greater than
the individual parts. We note the co-ordination between guerrillas and
the civilians who would provide guerrillas with information. ‘Fearless’
actually acknowledges the working class, joining the struggle as an
indicator that they are winning. In the creation of a nation, national
identity is very important. In Mayombe this is realized through the
conscientisation of the mass by the Commissar.
Portrayed in Mayombe is a diverse mix of people who consider
themselves a nation. There are different ethnic groups, the Kikongo,
Kimbundu and Umbundu and it is the nationalistic ideology which
serves as emotional glue. Thierme (2003) views nationalism as
an ideology which affirms the autonomy of the nation state and is
usually represented by political movements that seek to achieve
national unity or, in this case, from colonialism, independence from
colonial rule. For most African states under colonial rule, like Angola
portrayed in Mayombe, nationalism becomes an important tool for
gaining independence from imperialists and external rule.
Appaiah (1992) asserts that identity is a product of history and that
every human identity is constructed by society and is historical.
Mayombe, however, reveals that sharing the same history of
colonialism is not the same as sharing the same identity. In the text,
it becomes clear that there is no one identity for a people as we
meet freedom fighters (the MPLA). The novel discusses the tensions
within this national liberation movement which included people from
all ethnic groups in Angola, Kikongo in the North, Kimbundu in the
centre, Umbundu in the South and some who are detribalized. What
loosely unites these freedom fighters in Mayombe is the nationalistic
ideology, the need for freedom for the liberation of Angola.
From the beginning, ethnic differences which characterize the
freedom fighters threaten the struggle for the independence of
Angola. It is a struggle rocked by suspicion of each other and hate.
The Operation’s Chief, together with New World, Ekuikui and Miracle,
all suspect Struggle of being a sell-out. Also, they do not trust the
Commander, Fearless as he is Kikongo and they are Kimbundu. The
command itself is divided by tribalism and ambition. Thus, in this
national struggle, according to Basil Davidson (1992), the struggle to
transform colonial territories, the wealth of ethnic cultures is found to
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e both distracting and hard to absorb, hence the fall back into the
colonial mentality of regarding it as tribalism. Tribalism is portrayed
as a dangerous yet realistic ideology which threatens the success
of nationalistic consciousness. For example, the Commander asked
for volunteers to look for Muatianvua when he did not show up
after the retreat. No one volunteered because he (Muatianvua) was
detribalized.
Nationalism becomes problematic as an artificial construct. This is
reflected by Theory, a mulatto who is an embodiment of hybridity.
His voice in Mayombe confronts essentialism, hence the nation
state becomes a political construct which ignores the ethnic diversity
in Africa. There is no homogeneous African identity. The question
that arises is “Can these contentious voices be harmonized?”
Tarmer (2000) asserts that the nation is sustained as well through
both reactive and proactive measures. Nationalistic ideologies can
serve as “emotional glue” when there is no threat from outside or
when threat does not appear imminent through regular exercises of
solidarity which became accepted by members of a nation as natural.
The other problem highlighted in Mayombe with regards to the
creation of a nation and nationalism is the diversity of missions. The
guerrillas tend to embark on personal missions in the name of a
nation. The nationalistic ideology claims that all guerrillas are fighting
for liberation, one therefore tends to question “Whose liberation?”
Everyone has his personal interests. For example, the Operation’s
Chief is fighting in Cabinda so that his own territory would have few
enemies. Theory’s mission is to find acceptance in a world where
racial hybrids are not recognized and the mission of the guerrillas is
to establish peace, independence and social equity in Angola. They
therefore designed means and methods to attain their goal which
included the armed struggle.
Mayombe also hints on the question of belonging especially towards
the construction of a nation. Classical theorists of nationalism reify
a nation as a unified and culturally homogeneous entity formed in
Smith’s (1998) case around an ethnic core. This is being subjected
to growing criticism by social theorists who stress that the nation
is always subject to contestation especially about who belongs to
it. Theory brings in this dimension. His commitment to the struggle
is not so much of a developed inner consciousness; it is a result
of an external driving force. He first defines himself by where he
comes from to legitimize his cause. He is acknowledging that he
is a colored person and as such he is suffering an identity crisis,
he does not know where to belongs to, thus he says: “I carry in me
the irreconcilable and that is my driving force” (Pepetela, 1983: 1).
His mission is to find acceptance in a world where racial hybrids
are not recognized. His method is to join the guerrillas. Theory is
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challenging the myth of racism especially in as far as nation building
is concerned. This element destroys the essential sameness of the
people and by fighting on the lacks’ side, Theory is proving the point
that color difference does not matter. He is demystifying race to prove
that what must be regarded as a parameter of national identity is not
race; identity must be equal to shared consciousness. He identifies
with Gabela, a place where he comes from which is a material reality
which credits him hundred percent citizenship of Angola.
The problem is that all guerrillas do not look at this shared
consciousness. He therefore is prepared to endure physical and
spiritual pain and even death, fighting for Angola and its inhabitants
hence his refusal to return to the base to recover his injured knee. He
has made a choice to abandon his family in order to prove his identity.
Theory therefore demystifies the concept of race in the nation. The
main thrust is that while it is ideal to live in social groups, it should
be remembered that human beings are complex even as individuals.
The aspect of regarding a nation as homogeneous brings in
connotations of equality and this conceals important differences
amongst people as reflected in the novel. Pepetela’s argument is that
there is need to transcend ethnic boundaries of the homogeneous
nature of the definition of a nation from a western point of view. At the
same time, Mayombe stresses the idea of a nation as being important
in the fight against colonialism. The idea of a nation has been adopted
as foci of resistance to colonialism by most African people. People
were taken to be one as they fought during the liberation struggle,
but even as they fought, differences continued to emerge.
The picture of a nation portrayed at the end demonstrates the value of
the syncretism of the collective which is brought about by Fearless’s
death. He is buried together with Struggle in the same pit, which
reflects that a commander and a soldier are one in a revolution.
The death of Fearless leads to the development of a nationalist
consciousness that transcends barriers of narrow tribalism and
individualism which ultimately result in the formation of a nation
where individuals participate as a collective.
Miller (Day and Thompson, 1995: 6) considers nations to be created
and sustained by active processes of thought and interchange among
relevant body of people. Hence a nation is a form of community
whose values and identity are the subject of ongoing negotiation
and reflection. Such practices (nationalism) are designed to operate,
to bring together large numbers of people into a new kind of
consciousness and collective identity. The discourse of nationalism
conclusively helps determine the form in which nations are conceived.
It is within this vein that Brubaker (Day and Thompson, 2004: 11)
suggests to start to think less in terms of how nations develop and
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instead concentrate on the various ways the nation as a category is
involved, institutionalized and more generally used as a cognitive
frame.
1.2 Panacea to Africa’s Political Challenges: Dephallicising the
Nation in Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah
Pepetela’s account makes nationalism appear an exclusively male
pre-occupation whereas women’s lives are said to centre elsewhere.
The liberation movement fighting in Mayombe consists of men while
females are seen to play minor roles like teaching. Nationhood in
this case appears as a specifically male prerogative since it is being
associated with terms like liberation, colonialism and nationalism
which are masculine, as it is associated with violence, penetration,
invasion, and it is the male guerrilla that is seen to protect the
(feminine) nation. Achebe’s (1987) Anthills of the Savannah
dephallicises the nation and reflects the extent to which this is
manifest in postcolonial Africa. Achebe reflects how these masculine
aspects promote corruption, selfishness and greed which give birth
to issues of bad governance, denial of rights as well as military coups
which are violent. Achebe is therefore disregarding this concept of a
nation in Anthills of the Savannah.
The novel is set in a fictional West African state called Kangan, which
is ruled by dictatorial president with a military background. He rules
the country with a tight grip and a rather corrupt government and
there appears to be no parliament. Masculinities of postcolonial
Africa were largely a mimic of their colonial masters. Sam rules with
an iron fist and tramples on everyone in his cabinet but it becomes
ironic when he is soft and jelly when dealing with a white female
journalist.
Nationalist movements rarely take women’s situation as their point of
departure. On the contrary, nationalism often suppresses women’s
concerns or puts them aside until the more important issues of
the nation’s fate are decided. Hence Enlore (Molande, 2004: 44)
concludes that nationalism typically springs from “masculinised
memory, masculinised humiliation and masculinised hope.” Achebe
therefore is challenging the masculinised nation which fails as it is
always associated with coups and political unrest.
Beatrice in Anthills of the Savannah, therefore, openly challenges
male chauvinism when she says “that every woman wants a man to
complete her is a piece of male chauvinism bullshit I had completely
rejected before I knew there was anything like the Women’s Lib”
(Achebe, 1987: 88).
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Ikem also questions the oppression of women. He seeks to offer
background information against the oppression of women and he
attacks chauvinistic ideas that women are inferior. He acknowledges
women especially in as far as nation building is concerned. Beatrice
is a woman that evolves as a symbol of development from childhood.
She is also a symbol of hope in terms of the political situation in
Kangan hence making the apt naming in vernacular image seem valid
for the emancipation of women in society. Amaechina, Elewa’s child,
becomes a symbol of hope in the advance of the political situation in
Kangan and in women as the possible hope in the reigning political
status quo in the Kangan government.
Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah eventually re-valorises women.
Beatrice inhabits the postcolonial world of Kangan as a Senior
Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and the only person in
the service with first class honours degree in English. She therefore
represents a small minority of women in a lopsided system in which
African men received a well rounded education while, like in the midnineteenth
century, African women received only utilitarian cosmetic
skills in domestic science centres. Having transcended these barriers
and the prevailing patriarchal European conception of women’s purely
domestic life, Beatrice earns respect from her male counterparts and
joins the revolutionary elite combating the oppression inflicted by a
military dictatorship.
Achebe’s view of women is also reflected through the names
Nwanyibuife (“A female is also something”) and Amaechina (“May
the path never close”). Achebe’s vision is that females are equal
stakeholders in the nation as males; therefore, they should be viewed
as interested parties and responsible participants in the road to self
redemption. Achebe advocates for the inclusion of females in the
nation. When they have been given their rightful place then the road
to self redemption and recovery may never close.
Anthills of the Savannah shows that women will be forerunners in
the journey towards recovery but with the youths, workers, peasants
as trusted lieutenants. The military will come though at a lower level.
All these people represent various social groups showing Achebe’s
social vision of populist inclusiveness that is the inclusion of all social
class in matters of the state with the female on the forefront in the
road to freedom. Beatrice fractures the post independent masculinity
which is not influenced by feminine attitude. The feminine narrative
represented by Beatrice comes in as a counter narrative, she stands
up to Sam, the President and refuses to be used and dominated.
She also appears to be one of the forces who can stand up against
the government. The feminine principle therefore comes in to mend
the damage done by the failure of this ultra-masculine nation. Order
is being restored by women; hence ferminity is important in building
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the nation. Achebe therefore hints that the masculine nation is not
the ideal.
Morokvasic (Day and Thompson, 2004) concedes that women often
embody the nation, and that they are bearers of its honour and love.
In nationalist discourse a woman is either the mother of the nation,
or the sex object. She is either a protector and regenerator of the
collective, or a possession of the collective. These symbolic images
have been used by the media in getting the nation ready to face
the enemy. The nation is gendered therefore at its very core and
masculinity was the foundation of the nation. Emphasis is placed
upon women’s reproductive role in the formation of the nation and
national consciousness. On the other hand, this is a biological
contribution; women are the mother of the nation who produces its
next generation. Constructions of nationhood usually involve specific
notions of both manhood and womanhood. In this case gender is
imbedded in the very meaning of nation, what is to be national,
how members of a nation should behave. Achebe’s sentiments are
seen to differ and conflict through Beatrice when she opens Ikem’s
eyes by telling him that his politics and his knowledge “… has no
clear role for women in his political thinking and he doesn’t seem
able to understand it” (Achebe, 1987: 91). This is also highlighted
in Ngugi’s (1997) female character Wanja in Petals of Blood and
Wariinga in Devil of the Cross (1982), who are playing active roles
in their nation’s histories by resisting being pushed or tempted into
accepting subservient, degrading or decorative roles.
Equipped with education, resilience and the will to survive, females
are placing no limitation on their capabilities and Achebe expresses
the urgent need for strong female voices in African societies. He truly
believes that “as the world crushes around Man’s ears, Woman in
her supremacy will decent and sweep the shards together” (Achebe:
89).
1.3 Globalization - a threat to the Nation/Nationhood: An
interrogation of Ngugi’s Petals of Blood and Achebe’s A Man of
the People.
The two novelists, Achebe and Ngugi, interrogate the nation and
acknowledge that all certainties about it should now be suspected.
The global sensibilities of all the major witnesses remain muted and
submerged in the novelist’s need to imagine the nation as geographic
and culturally integrated space. The two authors confront globalization
as a threat to the nation’s integrity since nationalism places a nation
at the centre of its concerns and seeks to promote national autonomy,
national unity and national identity (Smith, 2001). Emenyonu (2006)
contends that the nation still exists in consciousness as stored
memories that may shape people’s responses to the new space.
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Globalization makes political borders increasingly irrelevant as it
transcends mental as well as physical barriers. Harvey’s (1989) notion
of time-space compression has become influential in making sense
of globalization. For Harvey, the world shrinks as a consequence
of technological innovations enabling people and commodities
to travel more quickly than hitherto, and reducing distance as an
obstacle to communication. These technological advances facilitate
the increased interconnectedness that constitutes a core component
of discussions of globalization. For some, the age of nation-state is
already passing. Held (Day and Thompson, 1994) argues that while
national governments remain significant actors, they are no longer the
principal form of governance or authority. For example, a wide range
of transnational actors now play important roles in global politics
including multi-national corporations, global social movements and
transnational bodies as the World Trade Organization and the United
Nations. However, Holton (1998) holds that the appeal of nationhood
and the idea of the nation-state are far from diminishing referring to the
robustness and persistence of national identity and nation-focused
sentiments. In doing so, he shows how globalization and nationalism
often understood as mutually oppositional are not necessarily so.
Thus, members of diasporan population may perceive themselves
as belonging to a global community retaining links with their national
homeland, while also holding citizenship of their adopted community.
Furthermore, Vhutuza and Ngoshi (2008) contend that nationalism
will continue to exist as long as mankind lives, and forms associations
to question injustices in societies. This is supported by Smith (1998)
who also contends that the loss of sovereignty does not necessarily
entail the withering away of nationalism. Although this is threatened
by globalization people keep identifying at national levels through for
example, national days as Independence Day in Zimbabwe. There
are also solid political reasons why the nation state continues to be a
key actor in establishing the economic, political and social conditions
necessary for economic growth and for attracting foreign capital.
Therefore the appeal of nationhood is far from diminishing due to the
robustness and persistence of national identity and nation-focused
sentiments.
The old Ilmorog in Petals of Blood is destroyed by “progress”. Ngugi
places the four characters, Munira, Abdullah, Wanja and Karega in
remote llmorog now inhabited only by those too old, the young and
feeble. A few llmorog’s older residents such as Wanja’s grandmother,
Nyakinyua, offer residual memories of the village’s former glory.
She laments the old llmorog whereas Mzigo, Chui and Kimeria are
referred to as having
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uilt llmorog from a tiny nineteenth century village reminiscent of the
days of Krapf and Rebman into a modern industrial town that even
generations born after Gagarin and Armstrong will be proud to visit…
(Ngugi: 5)
When a persistent drought threatens the very survival of the village’s
residents Karega suggests a delegation travel to Nairobi to appeal
for assistance from their Member of Parliament. Ngugi uses the
delegation’s reception in Nairobi to reveal the hypocrisy of various
elite-run institutions in postcolonial Kenya. After the pivotal llmorog
delegation village to the national capital, Petals of Blood relates the
destruction wrought to the old village by progress. The village is
soon visited by increasing intrusion from the city, a church, a police
station, the African economic bank and eventually the Trans Africa
highway. The new IImorog becomes a better town, complete with all
urban vices, led by the most despicable of selfish exploiters such as
Kimeria, Mzingo and Chui. Petals of Blood is written after forces of
colonialism have been defeated in Kenya.
Chui betrays his people all of a sudden; he does not want to learn
anything African such as African history, and African literature.
But for anything, there has to be a centre, from which to study,
experiences differ so there is no homogeneity especially in as far
as culture is concerned. Ngugi therefore attacks universalism and
wants African unique elements to be identified and not to be clouded
by globalization or universalism. Ngugi appropriates that there is a
black experience and blacks have to be in control of their own affairs.
Politics, business and education are the major factors that strangle
llmorog because they are imbued with ideological complexities that
elude most of the characters at first.
When Wanja allows herself to be attracted by Western values, she
becomes a prostitute only to acquire beauty, dignity and wholesome by
returning to be a peasant at the end. Nyakunyua is the memory bank
of the people, the repository of her people’s history and her memory
goes back to the time of the first resistance against colonialism.
She is the link with the orator of the past, thus informs the young
generation. The old informs the young as they are memory banks of
history, so even in the face of globalization they are able to face and
challenge it because they remain connected to their past. She even
teaches the people of llmorog how to brew Theng’eta an inspirational
drink within the culture so that people remain connected to their past
and together they make up a collective experience. The aspect of
history becomes a memory bank of the people and people draw
lessons and it provides link and anchorage which people can forge
ahead into the future. Thus we have in Petals of Blood communal
voices coming together to narrate their experiences through different
voices like Wanja, Munira and Karega.
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The bourgeoisie represent the reactionary forces set in to kill the
people’s initiatives; for example MP Nderi turns Theng’eta into a
commercial brew getting the sole license to produce it himself. The
transnational highway also passes through llmorog thus providing a
pathway of exploitation. Fanon (1963) discusses the unpreparedness
of the educated class, the lack of practical links between them and
the masses of the people. For example, MP Nderi rarely interacts
with his constituency as MP. The national middle class are said to be
in a predicament as they try to replace the bourgeoisie of the mother
country. Instead of focusing on production and development of their
constituency, they are concentrated in the capital accumulating
wealth. Chief Nanga and Nderi are never in touch with their people
but are popular for their wealth, big spacious houses, expensive cars
and expensive lifestyles. Their psychology is that of the business
man. MP Nanga for example, wants the road that passes through his
village to be tarred because he had purchased ten buses. Therefore
the bourgeoisie becomes the tool of capitalism and fail to be fruitful
in their nation.
Globalization exploits, denigrates and humiliates Africa in the same
way slavery and colonialism did. This is reflected by Ngugi in Petals
of Blood where a road that had once been a railway line joining
llmorog to Runaini carrying wood, charcoal and wattle barks from
llmorog forests had eaten the forest and after accomplishing their
tasks the two rails were removed and the ground became a road.
Foreign companies therefore exhaust resources and leave when
they find no more use, thus humiliating and denigrating Africa.
Transnational companies have become powerful organizations
which try to control the global economy while nation states feel
compelled to offer a competitive environment to attract investment.
In A Man of the People, the government had maintained to promote
local industry and the Minister of Foreign Trade announced a twenty
percent rise in import duties on certain types of textile goods but the
firm of the British Amalgamated took steps to bring in three shiploads
of textiles (Achebe, 1966: 99). Thus, globalization has used one chief
weapon to incorporate the Third World into the global world through
neo-liberal policies.
McLuhan (1960) argues that the world market is expanding to exclude
localism and nationalism and that people’s consciousness has been
globalised. In A Man of the People the elite put on expensive robes
made from European wool material with tags written “100% wool
made in England” (Achebe: 1966: 64). The youth wore “Italian type
shoes and tight trousers and girls wore lipstick and hair stretched with
hot iron” (Achebe: 94). There is also consumption of global food like
coca-cola and hamburgers. The experience of colonial domination
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shows that in the effort to perpetuate exploitation, it also provokes
and develops cultural alienation of a part of the population either
by assimilation of the indigenous people or by creating a social gap
between the indigenous elite and the popular masses. As a result
of the divisions within society it happens that a considerable part
of the population notably assimilates the colonizer’s morality and
considers itself culturally superior to its own people and looks down
upon their cultural values. This is consolidated by increase in the
social privileges of the alienated group. MP Nderi in A Man of the
People enjoys these privileges. Ministers’ residences are very huge
with seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. His children attend a
foreign school and can hardly speak their local African Language.
Nderi represents the corruption and greed of Kenya’s political,
economic and social elite who, after the struggle for freedom from
the British rule have not returned wealth of the land to its people
but rather perpetrates the social injustice and economic inequality;
features of colonial aggression.
Globalization can also be charged of promising empty shells.
Ruigrok and van Tulder (1995) argue that many governments and
global financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF as well
as transnational companies claim that globalization will ultimately
improve the lives of people all over the world. They argue that
globalization is the best thing that could happen to a developing
country and that opening up trade and markets as part of globalization
will lead to prosperity everywhere. It promises a better tomorrow
and harmony between the people of the world who will all benefit
from greater economic efficiency and increased world in the long
run. These assumptions are contradicted by the evidence in Petals
of Blood where in the guise of development, peasants had been
lured into taking loans to fence off their land and buying imported
fertilizer. However, the majority failed to pay off their loans resulting
in confiscation of their pieces of land which were later sold off leaving
the peasants landless, thus failure to benefit or even improve in the
face of globalization.
The effects of globalization especially on the elite are emphasized
when Odili says that:
a man who has just come in from the rain and dried his body and put
on dry clothes is more reluctant to go out again than another who has
been indoors the whole time. The trouble with our new nation as l saw it
then… was that none of us had been indoors long enough to be able to
say to heel with it. We had all been in the rain together until yesterday
(Ngugi: 37).
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He goes on to talk about how a handful of his group of people
become the smart and the lucky and how they had scrambled to
the one shelter their former rulers left and taken it over. The above
metaphor is very powerful and the point is that a person who goes
from having nothing like Nanga, to having everything is going to be
more reluctant to go back to having nothing, compared to someone
that has had everything the whole time, thus making him more greedy
to gain power and more defensive against giving up his power. Odili
emphasizes that the new nation was never indoors but together in
the rain and they desperately needed to experience little shelter. This
shelter was a manifestation of globalization which encourages only a
handful to benefit at the hands of the majority.
2. Conclusion
This article advances the view that the term nation is infested with
acute weaknesses which stem from the definition itself. In Mayombe,
it is emphasized that common imaginations can tie people together
and nationalism is shown to have played a major role in fostering
nationhood. The study reveals that nationhood is being threatened
and undermined as the world becomes a global village that makes
political borders irrelevant. Sovereignty is threatened as national
governments become insignificant as they are no longer the principal
form of authority. This paper also maintains that the discourse of a
nation and nationhood which purport to engage everyone in a nation
in the same way with the same degree of intensity does not fully
reflect this equity as variations and differences are noted on the axis
of gender where nations are mainly gendered.
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Works Cited
ACHEBE, C. (1966) A Man of the People. Harare, Baobab books.
ACHEBE, C. (1987) Anthills of the Savannah. Johannesburg, Heinemann Educational
Publishers.
ANDERSON, B. (1991) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Original Spread of
Nationalism. London - New York, Verso.
ASHCROFT, B., GRIFFITHS, G., TIFFIN H. (ed) (1995) The Post Colonial Studies Reader.
London, Routledge.
DAVIDSON, B, (1992) The Blackman’s Burden. Africa and the Curse of the Nation State,
London, James Currey.
DAY, G . and THOMPSON, A. (2004) Theorizing Nationalism. New York, Pulgrave Macmillan.
EMENYONU, E. (ed.) (2006) New Directions in African Literature. Oxford, James Currey Ltd.
FANON, F. (1963) The Wretched of the Earth. London, Penguin Books.
GELLNER, E. (1993) Nations and Nationalism, Ithaca, Cornell University Press.
HOLTON R, (1998) “Globalization and the Nation State” in International Journal of Comparative
Sociology, 33 (1-2), 81-100.
MOLANDE, B. (2004) “Politics of Rewriting: What Did Achebe Really Do?” in Journal of
Humanities No.18, 38-54.
MC LUHAN, M. (1994) Understanding the Media: The Extensions of Man, London, Routledge.
NGUGI Wa Thiong’o (1997) Petals of Blood. Johannesburg, Heinemann Publishers.
PEPETELA (1983) Mayombe, Harare, Zimbabwe Publishing House.
SMITH, A.D. (1998) Nationalism and Modernism. London, Routledge.
THIERME J, (2003) Postcolonial Studies. New York, Oxford University Press.
VAN DE WAALS, W.S (1993) Portugal’s War in Angola 1961-1974. Rivona, Ashanti Publishing
VHUTUZA E and Ngoshi, H (2008) “Nationalism or Supranationalism in the 21st Century?” in
African Integration Review Vol. 2, No.1 January 2008, African Union Commission.
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MY NAME IS LEGION
LITERATURE AND
GENEALOGY IN
ANTÓNIO
LOBO ANTUNES
Aino Rinhaug
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (RCN)
University of Oslo | IGRS School of Advanced Studies
Recommended citation || RINHAUG, Aino (2010): “My Name Is Legion Literature and Genealogy in António Lobo Antunes” [online article], 452ºF.
Electronic journal of theory of literature and comparative literature, 2, 48-61 [Consulted on: dd / mm / yy], < http://www.452f.com/index.php/en/ainorinhaug.html
>.
Illustration || Caterina Cerdá
Article || Received on: 09/10/2009 | International Advisory Board’s suitability: 02/12/2009 | Published on: 01/2010
License || Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
48

452ºF
Abstract || The present contribution seeks to examine the topic of “national identity and literature”
by focusing on how a collective – family or nation – is constituted by a number of “power relations.”
These “power relations”, in turn, are produced, or created by the collective as a whole and could
be said to represent the frontiers of the group at any given time. When these considerations are
brought into a work of fiction, it becomes clearer that the relations in question are of a discursive
nature. Discourse is power and, as such, disciplinary of both of the collective as well as of each
individual within the group. As an example of this kind of discourse, the analysis focuses on the
novel, O meu nome é Legião, by Portuguese author, António Lobo Antunes.
Key-words || António Lobo Antunes | O meu nome é Legião | National identity | Family theory |
Power relations | Discourse | Autopoiesis | Genealogy.
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0. Introduction
Vou inventando infâncias. A minha já a esgotei.
António Lobo Antunes
In light of how today’s worldly climate, including all disciplines of
inquiry, is largely governed by postmodern “undecidables” (Connor
1997: 29), the importance attached to the question of “identity” and
“nation” becomes all the more evident. Or, the two concepts seem as
intricately connected as they are indeed incongruent counterparts.
The present essay seeks to take into consideration how both
identity and nation come to play a significant part in the constitution
of contemporary literature. Moreover, in the face of an increasing
sense of historical discontinuity, literature is forced to engage with
a bewildering conception of self, belonging and the role of writing. If
the quest for “national identity” entails a negotiation across borders
of all kinds, then the same pursuit could be seen as directing the
writing of literature beyond established genre frontiers, say, for
example of post-colonialism. The assumption is, furthermore, that
contemporary literature is pushing further into the muddy waters
of postmodernism toward that which seems to refute a “name” or
definition. In other words, these ongoing explorations of borders take
the negotiations over the signification of national identity into a new
territory. My investigation will relate these preliminary reflections
to the question of “voice,” “space” and “narration” in order to see
how new genealogies (hence borders), or family constellations are
created. If a “family” is understood as a representative fragment of a
“nation,” then “identity” is broadly conceived as subjectivity belonging
to a line of historical and discursive – hence genealogical – material.
Supporting the inquiry into the connection between national identity
and contemporary fiction, references will be made to the novel O Meu
Nome é Legião (2007) by Portuguese author, António Lobo Antunes.
1. In between the margin and the centre
The novel is written in the same way as other recent publications
by Lobo Antunes, that is, as a conjunction of narrative voices, each
speaking from his or her point of view as concerns a particular
experience or event. In the case of O Meu Nome…, the narration
revolves around a changing order, or, say, the fall of an authority.
The opening pages are written as a police “report” (“relatório”),
documenting a criminal incident, which involves a group of young
boys, all inhabitants of the disorderly social quarter “Bairro 1 st of
May.” As such, the investigation into and disclosure of the unlawful
state of the site in the north of Lisbon could be seen as an exposure,
first of how relations between people are formed based on the
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elation they have to the site; in other words, of the power exercised
by the site over its inhabitants; and secondly, of the extent to which
it is possible to speak (and act) as an individual as opposed to as a
collective whole. Overall, these considerations relate to the question
of belonging, which remains unresolved. As for the Bairro, the site
comes to represent an autonomous territory, a world in miniature,
set in a piece of fiction that seeks to penetrate into the question of
what disciplines, but also resists, the creation of a self on site. The
quarter of exiles becomes, thus, the centre of narration, where the
conjunction of individual storylines unfolds and new genealogies
are drawn up, perhaps even a genealogy of literature itself. These
remarks amount to a recognition of how writing comes to connect the
exiled, or marginalised with the centre, or rather, how it is necessary
to rethink both the margin as well as the centre as indicators of
belonging.
1.1. A postmodern Legião: in exile
In regard to the question of exile vs. belonging, the novel takes its
title from the Bible. A story both of exorcism and salvation, we are
told how Jesus meets the Gerasene demoniac Legion, whose spirit
is unclean, because he is possessed by a legion of demonic voices.
In Mark’s version of the story, we read:
And they came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.
And when Jesus got out of the boat, suddenly there met him out of the
tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who was living among the tombs, and
no one could restrain him any longer, not even with a chain, for he’d been
bound with fetters and chains many times, but the chains were torn apart
by him and the fetters smashed, and no one was strong enough to tame
him. And every night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he
was screaming and gashing himself with stones (Newheart 2004: xix) 1 .
Jesus saves the ill-possessed man, who comes to spend the rest of
his life retelling of how his saviour called upon the demonic spirits,
who then took refuge in a herd of pigs and later drowned. In the
novel by Lobo Antunes, it could be said that the Bairro speaks as
an “unclean” collective whole, inhabited, as it is, by an entire legion
of voices that are all exiled by society. However, instead of going
into hiding, chained and fettered, the Bairro, by being under constant
surveillance by the law, or Police, is subjected to a “disciplinary”
regime, or, to speak with Foucault, a disciplinary control that was
originally applied to marginalise the “leper” from the rest of society.
In Discipline and Punish, Foucault writes:
NOTES
1 | Lobo Antunes refers to the
same story by quoting Luke 8:
26-28 at the beginning of the
novel.
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The constant division between the normal and the abnormal, to which
every individual is subjected, brings us back to our own time, by applying
the binary branding of exile of the leper to quite different objects; the
existence of a whole set of techniques and institutions for measuring,
supervising and correcting the abnormal brings into play the disciplinary
mechanisms to which the fear of the plague gave rise (Foucault,1991:
199).
Effectively, the relation between the leper exile and the contemporary
Legion becomes reinforced in the novel. In the case of the Biblical
Legion, God, through Jesus, exercises his power over Man by healing
the sick. The latter is, then, reinstalled into the order of the people.
In regards to the role of the site, it is worth noting that the healing
of Legion takes place in Gentile territory (Newheart, 2004: 38): “[T]
he unclean spirit has brought the man into unclean places” (42).
Brought into a contemporary context, the expulsion of the leper from
society and the exercise of power by a supreme authority resurface
in the theory of punishment and discipline in Foucault’s reflections
on panopticism.
Referring to Jeremy Bentham’s “inspection house,” or Panopticon
(1787), Foucault observes how the construction allows, for example
prisoners, to be surveyed without being able to see the surveyor.
Every person is kept in spatial unities and the guards, in turn,
can “see constantly and recognize immediately” each individual
with the consequence that visibility becomes a trap and power is
exercised automatically (200-201). Contrary to what happened to the
biblical Legion hiding amongst the tombs, the aim of the Bentham’s
disciplinary construction, as referred to by Foucault, was to ensure
that “[t]he crowd, a compact mass, a locus of multiple exchanges,
individualities merging together, a collective effect, is abolished and
replaced by a collection of separated individualities” (201) 2 . Also,
the Panopticon was a laboratory of power, “it could be used as a
machine to carry out experiments, to alter behaviour, to train or
correct individuals” (203). These individual bodies in space, it must be
noted, are the opposite of a singular, supreme power; it is the “whole
lower region” of the panoptic domain “of irregular bodies, with their
details, their multiple movements, their heterogeneous forces, their
spatial relations” (208), and what is required in terms of disciplinary
analysis of this heterogeneous group, are:
[m]echanisms that analyse distributions, gaps, series, combinations,
and which use instruments that render visible, record, differentiate and
compare: a physics of a relational and multiple power, which has its
maximum intensity not in the person of the king, but in the bodies that
can be individualized by these relations (208).
According to these observations, the Panopticon, as a social body,
NOTES
2 | J. Bentham, Works, ed.
Bowring, IV, 1843.
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indicates as its object, “relations of discipline” (208) rather than the
presence of a sovereign power. If, as Foucault writes, Bentham
dreamt of creating a society that would be “penetrated through
and through” by a network of disciplinary mechanisms, then the
Panopticon provided a formula for that arrangement (209) 3 .
By taking a long leap from the role of the Panopticon in contemporary
society to the question of national identity and literature, it is obvious
that society, as a panoptic domain, has become increasingly more
unruly and difficult to keep in check or analyse. Disciplinary, interpersonal
relations have become hugely more complex, as has the
question of the individual, identity and nation. Today, the combinatory
possibilities between individuals within the collective whole seem
infinite and visibility alone cannot ensure any form of discipline and
order, largely because order itself has become relative. Indeed, the
impression arises that order has become as relative as the discourses
that seek to maintain it. Could it be, thus, that the form of panopticism
today can only be defined according to the operating discursive
relations of contemporary society? Holstein and Gubrium, debating
the notion of “narrative identity in a postmodern world” (2000) seem
to hold such a view. Referring to Foucault, they write:
And further:
Across the various institutional realms, newly emergent discourses
formed subjectivities of their own. Rather than the individual self being
the center of experience through time immemorial, Foucault argues that
the idea of a centered presence is itself a discursive formation, part of a
historical set of language games, if you will, that articulate the discourse
of a present subjectivity on several fronts (Holstein, Gubrium 2000: 79).
This contemporary panopticism is a massive set of language games we
engage in virtually every day. Their various terms locate and discursively
ground the construction of the empirical self. This ending for the story of
the self directs us to the local incitements of seemingly endless personal
narratives. These are not grand narratives of the self. To be sure; instead,
they are accounts that borrow from diversely situated and formulated
language games to convey who and what we are in our private spheres
and very ‘own’ inner lives (80).
As might be derived from these observations, postmodern
panopticism as a practice of discourse is closely related to the
concept of the collective whole as a composite social body. The
assumption held in the present examination is, therefore, that this
discursive, disciplinary, but also resistant and even “revolutionary”
relation between individuals can be played out creatively, as literature.
Furthermore, within the “institution,” or “state” of literature the idea
of national identity can be performed as a creative practice, whose
complex genealogy is found – as mentioned earlier – in the “social”
territory between the centre and the margins.
NOTES
3 | In Discipline and Punish
(1991) Foucault gives an
historical account of the
evolution of disciplinary
institutions, including the
organisation of the police
apparatus, which became
co-extensive of the state in the
eighteenth-century. See pp.
218-228. Bentham, Works, ed.
Bowring, IV, 1843.
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2. On site: the postmodern family and genealogy
The assumption is, that on site, discursive relations take place and
create a “social body,” whose complexity in terms of meaning and
identity derives both from the site as well as from each participant
in the field. Quoting Deleuze’s view on Foucauldian power suffices
to make the density of the site problem more than obvious. Taken
from a seminar section called ‘A New Cartographer’, he writes:
“The thing called power is characterized by immanence of field
without transcendent unification, continuity of line without global
centralization, and contiguity of parts without distinct totalization: it is
a social space” (Deleuze, 1988: 27) 4 . As Gregg Lambert observes,
the crucial thing to draw from this description is that “social space itself
[is] a multiplicity of relations (i.e., immanence, continuity, contiguity)
that are not already structured into a hierarchy or pyramid” (Lambert,
2008: 141). This observation, opposing that of a “higher” authority,
renders the idea of power and dominance more difficult, as power
“does not flow in one direction only, as ‘from above’, but also ‘from
below’, since dominated subjects also produce the reality of the
dominator-function as a moment of transcendent unification” (141).
Also, as is further noted, it is important to keep in mind that power
is not something that is “added on” to the social field, but something
“deeply rooted in the social nexus” (Foucault, 1994: 343). This, in
turn, will affect our view on power, history and genealogy, which in
light of the present topic and novel, becomes evident. For Lambert,
Foucault’s theory of power is genealogical rather than historical, since
“only a genealogical method must account for sudden deviations or
accidents that might befall the genus (form)” (145). In other words,
there is no inner logic to the development of forms, which exist as a
multitude of interconnecting events (Dodd, 1999: 90). Lobo Antunes’
novel, however, demonstrates that in literature as an event and as
a language game, the notion of “national identity” is put in question
by a continuous production and usage of discursive (“genealogical”)
material. More precisely, in the case of literature as a “site” of power
in its own right, we have to do with a form of an ongoing negotiation
between the historical and the a-historical from the way in which the
order of a “genealogical model” continues to be disrupted by the
extension of the discursive mode. Furthermore, literature, as the
a-historical model of power, is constantly in the process of becoming
historical by the fact that the discursive participants feed on, or are
maintained by, their own genealogical and historical material of the
past. Consequently, the individual storylines, which constitute the
heterogeneous collective site of power relations, is also a site of
memory, and the latter is brought back to the present, or actualised, by
the participants, productive of their own singularity as subjectivities.
NOTES
4 | Quoted in Lambert (2008:
141).
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3. A legion of selves: “For we are many”
In order to demonstrate the above considerations, I will now
turn to the novel O meu nome é Legião for a closer analysis. As
mentioned earlier, the novel, as the major part of Lobo Antunes’
work, demonstrates how the conjunction of narrative voices creates
a collective whole that speaks as “many in one.” Returning to the
question of power relations, the striking feature of the novel is that
these voices speak from a position that no longer belongs to any
kind of fixed order. Deprived of any authority, the representatives of
the law are powerless in the face of the Bairro, which seems to exist
according to its own laws. Here, on the one hand, the voices speak
as anonymous nomadic figures, discernible only by colour or other
physical traits 5 . On the other hand, the discourse is a continuous
exploration of the past, or of the question of who and what “we” are
in terms of selves and sites. The novel seems to emphasise that
when the “old” order has failed 6 , there is no real difference between
representatives of the law (Police) and the exiled inhabitants of the
Bairro in terms of authority; nor is there any discursive difference
between voices from the past and those of the present. Hence, the
genealogical is aligned with the historical material. When each of the
living voices remembers voices from the past, whether these belong
to family members or ex-lovers, every voice and every individual
story line is joined together in the production of the literary work. As
such, the constellation of narrative voices can be seen as similar
to a “family,” or broadly speaking, a “nation,” whose “frontiers” are
determined by the various operations taking place within the entity.
3.1. Statements, order words and bodies
In terms of composition, it has already been noted that the opening
chapter is written as a police report, hence formally composed
according to convention, but intersected by the personal memories
of the narrator:
escuto um oco de gruta no interior de mim ou seja pingos vagarosos e
raros que deduzo pertencerem a episódios da época há tanto tempo
morta em que me emocionava, o meu chefe a estranhar
-Tem as pálpebras vermelhas você e o pisa-papéis de uma banda para
a outra a atanzanar-me, defendo-me calculando quantos palitos no
restaurant de Ermesinde ou a imaginar a minha filha no mesmo banco
que eu a observar os prédios igualmente misturando e separando dedos,
talvez prove um dos bolos, talvez pingos também, dava oito décimos do
ordenado para saber o que pensa em mim se é que pensa em mim,
não acredito que gaste tempo comigo, em pequena ria-se a dormir,
gatinhava para trás, espalhava a mão na cara
-Fui-me embora (Antunes 2007:35).
NOTES
5 | Cf. “[D]e acordo com a
ordem habitual ou seja o
chamado Capitão de 16
(dezasseis) anos mestiço, o
chamado Miúdo de 12 (doze)
anos mestiço, o chamado
Ruço de 19 (dezanove) anos
branco e o chamado Galã de
14 (catorze) anos mestiço na
dianteira e os restantes quatro,
o chamado Guerrilheiro de 17
(dezassete) anos mestiço, o
chamado Cão de 15 (quinze)
anos mestiço , o chamado
Gordo de 18 (dezoito) anos
preto e o Hiena de 13 (treze)
anos mestiço assim apelidado
em consequência de uma
malformação no rosto [...].” In
Antunes (2007: 14).
6 | The policeman in the
beginning of the novel
expresses the connection
between a social and a bodily
sense of “disorder”. The fall
of the regime is described
with references to a physical
deterioration: “o que este país
decaiu com a democracia
senhores, a falta de respeito,
o desgoverno, os pretos,
as minhas víceras até que
trabalhavam com eficiência,
oleadas, tranquilas e por
favour não me venham com
o argumento que a idade é
outra porque não é a idade é
o salve-se quem puder que se
transmite aos órgãos, aí estão
eles cada qual para o seu lado
a funcionarem sozinhos que
bem sinto as supra-renais e o
pâncreas egoístas, ferozes a
atormentarem-me o verniz com
as unhas sob o aparador do
estômago […].” (p. 37).
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The narrating policeman relates, thus, to two temporal lines, that
is, to voices both from the past (“pingos”) as well as the present
(“pálpebras vermelhas”) with the result that the memories of his
daughter seem more present than the actual daughter. Similar to
what is the case with his parents (“(-Desculpe se a contrário mãe
mas o que herdei do meu pai?)”) (20), she is absent from his life.
Each family member is, moreover, in exile from one another, yet
connected by way of discursive memory (“(pronto confesso tenho
vergonha do meu pai)”) (29). Also, the narrator suspects that his exile
is not intentional, but rather a result of an inexplicable feature which
makes others withdraw from him: “perdoem-me se exagero, mas
visita-me a suspeita de existir qualquer coisa em mim, no aspecto,
na maneira de exprimir-me, no cheiro, que afasta as pessoas, o
meu chefe para não ir mais longe nunca me estende a mão” (26).
From his exiled position, the ”drops” from the past which he carries
within become the sole connection between the self and the world
to the extent that they – discursively – tie him to the place and to
the present and, as such, even to his daughter: ”há alturas em que
me ocorre que qualquer coisa entre nós, um laçozinho ténue, uma
espécie de saudade, patetices no género e engano, laço algum, ela
uma gruta também onde os pingos e os líquenes secavam, espaço
vazio e sem ecos, pedras mortas, silêncio [...]” (50).
As a repetition, or extension of the first storyline, the same kind of
disrupted family story is echoed in the narratives of the inhabitants of
the Bairro, for example in the voice of a woman:
Nasci aqui, sempre morei aqui, os meus pais e o meu filho faleceram
aqui e portanto sou daqui e não saio daqui mesmo que o meu marido
continue a insistir que os corvos se foram e os defuntos deixaram de
perguntar por nós no baldio onde os enterramos às escondidas a seguir
ao que sobeja de uma capela de quinta [...] (169).
Here, the ”Bairro” as the site of origin and death, fulfills the role of a
home. The woman’s voice is ”rooted” in the place as she can also
”hear” other voices from within: ”são outras vozes que oiço, finados
de antes do meu nascimento num português de pretos porque
somos pretos e não temos um lugar que nos aceite salvo figueiras
bravas e espinhos [...]” (173). In this case, the question of belonging,
exile and self obtains a further meaning from the fact that the sense
of self is determined hence disciplined by the discourse of race and
gender. The Bairro is the site of exiles, of different temporalities and
genealogies that are unfixed, and family stories are in danger of
dissolving into rejection or forgetfulness. For example, the woman
rejects to acknowledge her son: ”não me comparo com o meu
filho porque não tive filho, tive cacos a ferirem-me por dentro e um
choro que as velhas embrulharam em panos [...]” (177). The familial
liaison remains a sense of bodily pain and estrangement (”era um
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desconhecido que recebi como um desconhecido”) (180):
depois do falecimento do meu pai a minha mãe a espreitar os corvos
sem espreitar fosse o que fosse porque o Bairro lhe acabava nos limites
do corpo, para além da pele não existe nada e o que existe no interior
da pele não me rala, não sou fora de mim e o que sou em mim não
o sinto, não senti os meus filhos, cresceram-me no sangue sem me
pertencerem, foram-se embora, adeus, a minha filha primeira, quase
branca (294).
Now, if these statements can be seen as representative of the joiningseparating
communications of exiles, it becomes clearer how the
question of belonging and separation is problematic in the context
of identity and narrative. The statements are “bodily statements” in
the sense that they express and discursively determine the body
(“branco,” “preto,” “mestiço”) within a regime of power relations and
with reference to Deleuze and Guattari, the novel is an example
of how language is primarily social and consists of order-words,
expressed by speech acts that are linked to a “social obligation” and
not to a communication of identity (Deleuze, Guattari, 2004: 87).
It is, in other words, a matter of repetition and redundancy rather
than information and signification and both signification as well as
subjectification depend on the “nature and transmission of orderwords
in a given social field” (88). Furthermore, the “impersonal
collective” determines, or assigns, “individuality and their shifting
distributions within discourse” (88). Deleuze and Guattari go on
to emphasise that the speech acts are attributed to bodies (in a
broad sense) of a given society (89) and the order-words have a
transformational power on bodies, as for example in regard to the
question of race and gender. As Lambert notes, “black” and “white”
as attributes” is an incorporeal transformation that is applied directly
to bodies and is inserted into the subject’s actions and passions. In
short, it subjects the body to an ‘order’ (Lambert, 58). In the voice of
a female mestiço:
Que coisa é mulher?
Talvez a palavra secreta que qualquer dia direi
Que coisa é mulher?
[…]
não me vou embora deste Bairro porque não sei se existo desde que
estou sozinha […]
(qual o motivo que não entendo de não partir daqui?)
[…]
(há quanto tempo não sou branca eu?) (95-97).
These considerations beg further inquiry into the particular role played
by speech acts and order-words in the novel, where a determination
of a discursive “order” seems problematic. In order to look more
closely at the relation between order-words, genealogy and identity,
it will be fruitful to turn briefly to systems and family theory.
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3.1.1. Postmodern familial constellation: autopoiesis
How the discursive power relations in the novel act upon each other
in a productive sense can be examined by looking at the Bairro, or
collective, as a “social system”: On the one hand, we have seen
that a regime of order-words determines – at least temporarily –
subjectification and individuality by assigning a place within an order.
On the other hand, this place is a relative position and when the
order dissolves new orders, along with new order-words, need to be
established. The assumption is, therefore, that the material for the
production of the new orders and order-words is to be found in the
reminiscences of the self. Moreover, the individual lines of memory
reshuffle the relations within the Bairro as a site of power, and,
consequently, re-discipline the order. This, in turn, demonstrates that
the Bairro, as a “system,” is engaged in a continuous negotiation
across borders (temporal, spatial, objective, subjective), i.e. between
establishing itself as a closed vs. open system of production/creation
and rejection of identity. Referring to “families” as social systems,
Mary Joan Gerson observes that, if a closed system is governed
by the law of entropy, it will deteriorate into undifferentiated chaos
(Gerson, 1996: 22), whilst “open” systems are organic and will
“move toward a higher and higher degree of complexity because
information is exchanged with the external environment in such a
way as to maintain ‘a steady state’ or equilibrium” (22).
In the case of the “family relations” in the novel – and hence in the
Bairro – it becomes evident that the collective is both tending towards
entropic chaos as well as towards establishing itself as a “steady
state.” Its complexity – deriving from its discursive nature – ensures
that the collective is maintained and reproduced by the constant
exchange of order-words that create, but also destroy orders that in
turn reconnect. For example, the assignments of race and gender are
a way of “naming” the self, but, through the intervention of memory
(i.e., history), that fixation, or “naming” is destabilised by a different
order, which is what emanates from within the self. As a result, we
see that it is the self who negotiates his or her inner “vocabulary” with
those coming from the outside (site) and the novel demonstrates on
the one hand that to be “seen” is to adjust to a set of order-words
and to a relative regime of statements; but also, on the other hand, it
is made explicit that by introducing an individual story- and timeline,
that position, or adjustment, is severely put in question. The bodies
seem to reject or oppose the statements from within and as a result,
the novel becomes a linguistic, discursive battleground. As Deleuze
observes: “power is that ‘other thing’ (a liquid being) that appears
both on the side of statements and on the level of bodies. It is that
which is felt (a relation of force that appears in the vicinity of another
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ody and causes the relation to power); at the same time, power
has a definite sense that is bound up with linguistic sense” (Lambert,
2008: 149).
The novel, in other words, displays a “life cycle” of the narrative as
a continuous line of error and deviations from the norm (Lambert,
2008: 165). Language is bound to “fail” and disappoint the self and
at best it is a means by which new frontiers are constantly being
created and erased. As Foucault writes: “I don’t want to say that the
state isn’t important; what I want to say is that relations of power, and
hence the analysis that must be made of them, necessarily extend
beyond the limits of the state…” (Foucault, 1994: 123). Discipline of
language, furthermore, is a game, an application of power, but it is
constantly met with resistance and will, as a consequence, become
powerless. The last pages of the novel by Lobo Antunes, shows what
happens when the demonic voices are exorcised, or “disciplined”
by an “order” after the fixed Order has failed. The section shows
with sharp irony, that language as power can only discipline itself; it
shows only itself, not selves.
4. Conclusion: A literary legion
Towards the end of the novel, we return to the voice of the Police,
now in exile, in fact, an inhabitant of the desolated Bairro. His
reflections are no longer in line with the order of the police report,
and he is astonished by the fact that he can remember anything
at all from the time in which he believed in the “order” (337, 354).
Now, his focus is on the narrating discourse itself: “(expressão quase
poética, a beleza que as frases ganham quando as deixamos à solta)
[…]” (345), and even the memories have become independent as
discourse: “(ora aí está uma memória clara, quem não se maravilha
com as idiossincrasias da mente?)” (345). Similarly, the last chapter
is in the voice of one of the boys of the Bairro, relating to the meeting
with the law. He has spent seven months at the so-called Institution
(364): “Puseram-me na oficina do carpinteiro e na escola” (365).
And the narrative mirrors the “learned” rhetoric of an institutionalised
disciplinary order, whose aim is to include the self in a language:
“Suponhamos dois automóveis a cinquenta quilómetros um do outro.
O primeiro automóvel numa esquina que designaremos por A como
água e o Segundo automóvel noutra esquina que designaremos por
B como bota” (368). Or:
Água e bota não são para escrever. Só para ter a certeza que não
confundem A e B com outras letras. Não o A evidentemente. Vogal
cheia. Fácil. Totalmente aberta mas o B traiçoeiro. Susceptível de ser
entendido como D ou P ou Q ou T. Cuidado com o B. Continuemos
(372).
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Later, the voice of the boy (“mestiço”) is interrupted by, or even
aligned with, that of the police, which brings us back to the order of
the speech act only:
(retomámos o ditado é o último parágrafo)
o mestiço a levantar um taco vírgula a abrir um saco de lona
(eu uma semantinha que sai pela janela e definitivamente perco)
a abrir um saco de lona não sei se vírgula e a retirar do saco uma
espingarda vírgula cartuchos vírgula
(não consigo dizer isto devagar perdoem têm de correr ao meu lado)
[…]
(acabaram-se as virgules é só correr senhores)
como a semente me abandonou a mim ou seja me abandonei a mim
mesmo, vos abandonou a vocês e desapareceu no silêncio de que
o mundo é feito, acabou-se a minha mulher, acabou-se o Instituto,
acabaram-se as aulas (379).
Here, in terms of narrative structure and composition, we have an
example of how the discourse of the police “returns” to the beginning;
how all the voices, or speech acts involved in the narrative have come
to constitute a different “order” within the novel as a whole. At the end
of the “relatório,” the voices are merged and the police, the self, is
Legião, the Bairro, for he is many and his power derives from the fact
that he is inhabited by a number of changing orders or genealogies,
dominated by some, dominating others. As such, Lobo Antunes
demonstrates that to write a piece of contemporary fiction, becomes
a meta-fictional exercise, where the writing process becomes visible
and turns towards showing itself as a discipline, an institution, or a
state. As such, we are all institutionalised participants, yet individuals,
engaged in the making of the work and the establishment of its
frontiers, and eventually, this discursive activity becomes an ongoing
exercise in re-determining the limits of selves and of the collective
whole.
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Works Cited
ANTUNES, António (2007): O Meu Nome é Legião, Lisbon: Publicações Dom Quijote.
CONNOR, Steven (1997): Postmodernist Culture: An Introduction to Theories of the
Contemporary, Oxford: Blackwell.
DELEUZE, Gilles (1988): Foucault, trans. Sean Hand. Minneapolis, MN: University of
Minnesota Press.
DELEUZE, Gilles and Félix (2004): A Thousand Plateaus, trans. Brian Massumi. London and
New York: Continuum.
DODD, Nigel (1999): Social Theory and Modernity, Oxford: Blackwell.
FOUCAULT, Michel (1991): Discipline and Punish. The Birth of the Prison, trans. Alan
Sheridan. London: Penguin.
FOUCAULT, Michel (1994): Power, trans. R. Hurley. New York: The New Press.
GERSON, Mary Joan (1996): The Embedded Self. A Psychoanalytic Guide to Family Therapy,
Hillsdale NJ: The Analytic Press.
HOLSTEIN, James A. and Jaber F. Gubrium (2000): The Self We Live By: Narrative Identity in
a Postmodern World, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
LAMBERT, Gregg (2008): Who’s Afraid of Deleuze and Guattari? New York: Continuum.
NEWHEART, Michael Willett (2004): “My Name is Legion.” The Story and Soul of the Gerasene
Demoniac, Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press.
My Name Is Legion Literature and Genealogy in António Lobo Antunes - Aino Rinhaug
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61

RE-ENACTING THE
NATION:
UNSETTLING NARRATIVES
IN THE
EL GÜEGÜENSE THEATRE
OF NICARAGUA
Alberto Guevara
Assistant Professor | Fine Arts Cultural Studies
York University
Recommended citation || GUEVARA, Alberto (2010): “Re-enacting the nation: Unsettling Narratives in the El Güegüense Theatre of Nicaragua”
[online article], 452ºF. Electronic journal of theory of literature and comparative literature, 2, 62-78 [Consulted on: dd / mm / yy], < http://www.452f.
com/index.php/en/alberto-guevara.html >.
Illustration || Elena Macías
Article || Received on: 09/10/2009 | International Advisory Board’s suitability: 25/11/2009 | Published on: 01/2010
License || Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
62

452ºF
Abstract || Nicaragua’s oldest known theatre play, El Güegüense, is one of the most
recognizable and symbolic cultural references in this country. Through its social and cultural
narratives, located inside and outside the theatre/drama, the play has become an important
site for Nicaraguan identity negotiations. Some Nicaraguans take the play’s performance as
the means for evoking and communicating memories, knowledge, personhood, and religiosity
through embodied performed public acts. This article traces local contemporary practices of the
play, in the form of its annual performance in the town of Diriamba, and compares these with
elite Nicaraguan literary and intellectual understandings of the El Güegüense script. It is argued
that the embodied experiences of the play’s performers disrupt the homogenized, nationalist
narrative of a Nicaraguan “Mestizo” identity.
Key-words || El Güegüense theatre | Theatre and nationalism | Performance | Mestizo Identity
| Nicaragua.
63

0. Introduction
For centuries, every year in South-western Nicaragua a handful
of (non-professional) groups performed El Güegüense play during
folkloric festivals and other celebrations. The narratives of the play
deal with the conflict and the contradictions between the colonizers
(Spanish authorities) and the colonized (Mestizo-Indigenous people).
The Crown’s coffers are empty, and the rulers demand more from the
poverty stricken population. The play´s script, the translation made
by Daniel Brinton (1969) in the late 1800’s, begins as the Spanish
governor, Tastuanes, greets his constable, the Alguacil Mayor. They
comment on the insolvent state of the Royal council and the Governor
blames this situation on a tax-evading, travelling Mestizo merchant,
named Güegüense. He orders that nobody should be allowed to
enter or leave the province without his permission. He requests that
El Güegüense be brought to him to respond to some charges. When
the Alguacil confronts El Güegüense, the latter constantly twists the
Alguacil’s words so as to insult him. In the end, El Güegüense winds
up tricking the governor into dancing the bawdy “Macho Ratón”.
As a result the governor is appreciative of the Güegüense for the
pleasurable time and enjoyment the dance has given him.
The El Güegüense play has become one of the most recognisable
symbols and cultural references in the country. While widely
understood as a denunciation of corruption and abuse of power in
the post-contact period (Cuadra 1969, Arellano 1969, Dávila Bolaños
1974, Field 1999, Castillo, 1997), the play has achieved this status of
national symbol as a result of the “Mestizo” Nicaraguan identity with
which it is associated. Written in both Spanish and Nahuatl the El
Güegüense is a fusion play. Besides being written in two languages
it is also codified in two cultures and two social classes. The play
emerges at a meeting place of two or more cultural worldviews within
the context of colonialism.
The dominant view of the play as the prototype of Mestizo Nicaragua
is linked to a national ideology of ethnic homogeneity. Elements
of Meztizaje (both Spanish and Indigenous) in the El Güegüense
appealed to many intellectuals in early Twentieth Century Nicaragua
who, mobilizing to gain national/political appeal, sought cultural
symbols that could lend themselves to narratives of national unity
(Field 1999). Pablo Antonio Cuadra, a leading Twentieth Century
Nicaraguan intellectual, for example, proposes the Mestizo character
of the Nicaraguan man in association with the play’s main character
of El Güegüense. He posits that being Nicaraguan is the result of
a cultural shock, a fusion, and a duality. Throughout his work he
searches for the tools to narrate a Mestizo culture that would help
produce and feed the notion of a Nicaraguan literature (Cuadra,
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1969: 9).
It is my position that a politics of cultural homogeneity in such
narratives of the play exclude other views, identities and positions
that are in apparent interaction and negotiation in the play’s yearly
performances in Diriamba. Elite intellectuals and their narratives tend
to ignore the play’s performers whose active participation construct
and reconstruct many meanings about the play in its performances.
The aim of this paper is then to re-enact a critical response from
the perspective of local performers of the play, whose embodied
understandings contradict this nationalistic narrative of homogeneity.
In the year 2000-2001 after intensive preliminary archival research
on El Güegüense theatre, I joined an El Güegüense group in Western
Nicaragua in the town of Diriamba. Through participant-observation
I took part in the activities of this group through preparations,
rehearsals, and performances of the play. I participated in the lives
of the town’s people, the lives of the actors, and organizers of the
Saint Sebastian fiestas, in which the play has an important role.
In this paper I present this negotiation that took place within the
production of the play. What does it mean to the various social and
cultural constituencies in contemporary Nicaragua to participate in
the preparation and performance of the play? What is the importance
in highlighting the differences and contradictions between the El
Güegüense drama text (discourses of the play by the Nicaraguan
elite intellectuals) and its performance text (the performance of the
play by locals) in the understanding of social relations and national
identity in Diriamba and in Nicaragua as a whole?
The following analysis of El Güegüense will be organized in three little
sections. Sections 1 and 2 will examine the dominant elite discourse
surrounding the script of El Güegüense. I will highlight how this
discourse is perpetuated by members of the local elite in the context
of El Güegüense’s annual production in the town of Diriamba. By
highlighting the role of the play in nation building through the efforts
of Nicaraguan elite intellectuals (Field), I propose to make visible
the social and cultural contestations occurring in contemporary
Nicaragua in relation to this cultural production, not only at the level
of literature and symbolism, but also at the level of the enactment of
embodied experiences as a social forms of action.
To further illustrate the importance of the play for local performers,
in part 3 the paper will identify or frame the theatrical process as an
important social and cultural landscape where some Nicaraguans
evoke and communicate memories, knowledge, personhood, and
religiosity through embodied public acts (Taylor). The El Güegüense
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performance is thus a site (real and imaginary/creative) where some
Nicaraguans learn and propose a culture (its history, its political
reservations and its social vicissitudes) through the participation
with others in contingent and subjective constructions of its many
narratives. People participate in the production and reproduction of
knowledge by performing it (Taylor).
1. El Güegüense and National Building: a Question of
National Identity
In “The Grimace of Macho Raton” (1999), Les W. Field challenges
a post-Sandinista national conception of identity. Drawing on the
works and words of artisans and artisanas, Indian and Mestizo, he
criticizes the national ideology of ethnic homogeneity. Field considers
new forms of social movements in Nicaragua as alternative voices
to those posited by elite Nicaraguan intellectuals. For Field, elite
intellectuals’ appropriations of the drama of El Güegüense construe
it as an allegory of mestizo national identity in which mestizaje is
a product of a national majority. These elite intellectual narratives
about El Güegüense are challenged by Field from without the play’s
own performance narratives, from the perspective of other cultural
sites: stories by artisans and artisanas, essays by “local intellectuals”
and an ethnographic reconstruction of these artisans’ life stories.
Field uses the text of the play as a metaphor for diversity in changing
identities of Western Nicaragua.
Field’s analysis is informed, among others, by Aijaz Ahmad’s work
on identity that distinguishes “‘retrograde and progressive forms of
nationalism with reference to particular histories...’” (Field, 1999: 41).
For Field, Ahmad’s analysis helps to differentiate the role “played
by elite intellectuals in demarcating and enforcing hegemonic
knowledge among Nicaraguan elites” (41). This hegemonic
knowledge is concerned with “class, ethnic, and national identities
from the cultural politics of Sandinista Nicaragua (1980’s), and how
El Güegüense has been used in both discourses before, during and
since the revolutionary period to construct and maintain a nationalist
project” (Field, 1999: 41). Field discerns that El Güegüense is at
the centre of these narratives. He focuses on Nicaraguan Twentieth
Century authors such as Pablo Antonio Cuadra, Pérez Estrada, Jorge
Eduardo Arellano, José Coronel Urtecho, who best characterize “the
way literature and its discourses about El Güegüense in particular,
build national culture and identity” (42), and also examines some
counter narratives.
In order to understand how El Güegüense became intertwined in a
national identity discourse, the context for the emergence of these
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elite intellectual readings of the play must be examined. Those elite
authors who defined El Güegüense as a national play were primarily
drawn from the social Nicaraguan elite of Leon and Granada, the
liberal and conservative capital of the country. It had been their
national political project (both national parties) to design a national
identity catapulted by an essentialising and homogenizing Mestizo
character. They took for granted conclusive conjectures about the
character of Nicaraguan Indigenous peoples. Their view was that
the Nicaraguan identity “was and has been [...] inherently and
overwhelmingly mestizo” (Field 1999, 44).
The intellectuals’ comprehension of indigenous identity as static
and “always tragic and doomed” (Field 1999: 44) denied Indians the
possibility of dynamism after the Spaniards arrived. Change of any
substantive nature spelled death for indigenous cultural identities. By
contrast Nicaraguan intellectuals ascribed cultural and technological
dynamism to the mestizo elite whose identity they viewed as still in
formation, and dynamic, still acquiring traits and generating new and
unique ones, and irreversibly linked to the emergence of Nicaraguan
“true” national identity (44).
In his nationally praised book “El nicaragüense” (1969), Cuadra
proposes the mestizo character of the Nicaraguan man and
associates this national character with El Güegüense. He posits that
being Nicaraguan is the result of a cultural shock, a fusion, and a
duality. Throughout his work he searches for the tools to narrate a
mestizo culture that would help produce and feed the notion of a
Nicaraguan literature (Cuadra, 1969: 9). Through a number of small
essays, he explores the origins of a “Nicaraguan duality”, which
he links to the meeting of Indians and Europeans. He associates
the features of El Güegüense character (burlesque, satirical,
and vagabond) with a prototypical and stereotypical Nicaraguan
national character, an essentialized Nicaraguan: “I have come to
the conclusion that this play is alive, not because of irrationality and
traditionalism, but because it’s main character is a character that the
people in Nicaragua carry in their blood” (73). The El Güegüense or
Macho Ratón, Cuadra posits, is the first character of the Nicaraguan
imagination. He proposes that the play’s appearance marked the
emergence of a “perfect” Mestizaje in Nicaragua (74).
According to Cuadra, the El Güegüense character comes to the play
from our indigenous past and from the people: “He is probably an
old character from the Indigenous theatre”, he explains, “He came
to the new theatre to become bilingual, once he started acting, he
became mestizo” (my translation). He is, Cuadra insists, the first
Mestizo character of Nicaraguan literature. El Güegüense marked
the disappearance of the Indigenous and the appearance of the
Mestizo in Nicaragua.
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Another member of Vanguardia circle, Pérez Estrada, supported
Cuadra’s position. He exalts the El Güegüense in literary
qualifications that confers the play a symbol of static Nicaraguan
Mestizo world. He also embellishes the attributes of a theatre with
a national character in the context of Spanish-language literature.
Pérez Estrada, for instance, claims that, the play’s existence meant
that for Nicaraguans there “is nothing to envy from the best Castilian
writers” (Field, 1999: 56). His claim, therefore, purports that there is
a conclusive hispanified, mestizo nature of the play (56). This view
is still predominant in the country today; El Güegüense character
is considered the national symbol of Nicaragua. The image of the
Macho-Ratón or El Güegüense, its wooden mask and its dancing
figure adorns many official and non-official Nicaraguan offices, public
buildings, and the character is discussed in popular literature as well.
The historical, social and cultural elements of the play have become
valuable not only for their association with Pre-Columbian or Spanish
performances, but because they are references to a “national
character”. As a symbol of “Nicaraguannes” the El Güegüense play
and its main character marked the departure to a new “national”
location of reference in history, politics, and culture in Nicaragua.
Everyday conversations and language constructions are also very
much influenced by this national symbol. For Doctor Gallardo (not his
real name), the sponsor of the play purported during my research,
the play “tells about our Nicaraguanness. It tells the world who we
are as Nicaraguans”.
For me, Doctor Gallardo is the continuation of this elite, nationalistic
and colonialist narrative that confers El Güegüense performance a
homogenous, passive quality. As illustrated in the following passage,
presented from interviews and interventions during rehearsals,
Doctor Gallardo has a clear position about the role of the play and
his own role in the festivities. It is clear that his understandings of
the politics behind the play reflect elite, homogenising nationalistic
attitudes that are exclusionary. Thus he exercises this power of
inclusion and exclusion through an elitist discourse that is reflected
in the actual control of the play. As a Lawyer, cultural writer, and
the sponsor of the play he is always ready to proclaim himself, with
little or no reservation, as the rescuer of Nicaraguan culture. With his
luxurious house as backdrop, Doctor Gallardo points out that, it has
been a struggle for him to preserve El Güegüense, from obliviousness
because “ordinary people do not appreciate El Güegüense”. When
it comes to cultural imperatives, he states, “ordinary people are
absent-minded. I invite them to participate in the revival of their own
history, their own past. What do they do? They ignore the call. They
come drunk. They question my intentions”.
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It is apparent that the construction of a Nicaraguan National identity
for these intellectuals was, and still is, propelled by the need for
self-legitimation. After the birth of Nicaraguan independence (1836)
Nicaraguan intelligentsia needed a national character. For a national
elite, El Güegüense character as its cultural Mestizo symbol meant
the maintenance of elite politics. El Güegüense stands for a national
culture that legitimizes colonial authority by trying to erase indigenous
identity in the process 1 .
2. Beyond an Allegory of discontent: Cultural loss and
social memor
Field’s work discussed in the previous section, makes strong and
long needed contributions to the study of Nicaraguan nationalism
and indigenous people’s challenges to it; however, his analysis of the
play remains, for this paper’s perspective, on the outside. In other
words, the challenges he presents to nationalizing or homogenizing
discourses of the El Güegüense script are located outside the
narratives of the performance of the play. The play’s force is thus
restricted to an allegory of discontent as alternatives to national
discourses are sought outside the play.
My proposal here thus claims the theatre of El Güegüense as the
principal social site for identity negotiation in Western Nicaragua.
Homogenizing elite intellectual discourses of identity and its
contestation inhabit the play. The play’s literary narratives legitimate
the national project of cultural homogenization however these
narratives do not go unquestioned in the many rhetorical forms taken
within the context of the performance, the process of producing
and invoking the play 2 . For recognizing an alternative dimension to
current understandings of the El Güegüense, I consider the role of
the performance of the play itself. In the current effort, El Güegüense
becomes more than a tool for the Nicaraguan elite-homogenizing
project. The play represents the scatological enactment of distinction
and opposition, of compliance, and also of defiance. I consider its
performance as the social site where some ordinary Nicaraguan
citizens evoke bodies of power (Comaroff 1995), engendering
community solidarity, transmitting cultural and social memory,
conveying history, creating personal relationships with their religious
idol Saint Sebastian, thus negotiating their identities. As Doña
María, a local El Güegüense enthusiast, put it: “We don’t need to
read about the Gueguense in books, everything is in our heads”. Her
sense of identity in relation to the nation is linked to the memories
and knowledge of the play. It is the El Güegüense’s theatrical and
rhetorical irony that catapults the performance of the play to its own
NOTES
1 | Carlos Manteca, a
Nicaraguan linguist has
expressed a different view of
El Gueguense’s dramatic script
also. For him it represents “a
very long-term accretion of
oral, textual, and performancebased
transformations, all
of which remain within the
manuscripts at hand” (Mantica
in Field 1999, 59). What is
important in Mantica’s analysis
is that he takes time to include
several points of view found
in the language of the script
itself. This position is very
similar to Fields’s in that it is
based on the narratives of the
El Gueguense’s script more
than its performance. There
are intellectual literary counter
narratives to this mestizo
perfect world envisaged by the
Vanguardia movement, but
none has gained the popular
support of the above. The
prominent folklorist Dr. Davila
Bolanos espoused the view
that the El Gueguense is about
indigenous protest. He claimed
that an outraged Indian might
have written the play (1974).
Given the ongoing popularity
of El Gueguense as national
identity marker among the
elite, many dismissed this
counter narrative as left wing
propaganda.
2 | Many Nicaraguans invoke
the story of El Gueguense
today. For example, during
past national and municipal
elections, the media has
commented on the public
deception of politicians
and political parties. Some
members of the population
have expressed publicly their
intention to vote for some
political party or politician
and when it comes time to
vote they cast their ballot for
some other political party or
another candidate. This is what
happened during the 1990
Sandinistas electoral defeat.
This phenomenon has gotten
to be known in Nicaragua as
the El Gueguense effect, citing
the mendacious deceiving
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game-experience. This sense of the play is at odds with elite notions
of the El Güegüense we have discussed before as they emphasise
a less top down understanding of being Nicaraguan through the
enactment of the play.
The masked characters in El Güegüense use verbal discourse, but
also communicate their subversive message through dance, music,
gesture, and postures. Masks are essential in the staging of the story,
and most characters wear one. The play’s popular performance in
Diriamba employs laughter, absurdity, and the farcical to tease out
the absurdities of power structures for the public to see out in the
open. The gestures of the El Güegüense indicating that he cannot
hear the orders of the authorities make people laugh but perhaps
can also make audiences think about their own ways of defiance:
“Pues, hábleme recio, que, como soy viejo y sordo no oigo lo que
me dicen...” (“Speak up, because, you know, I am deaf and old, I
can’t hear what you are saying...”). (Line 80 in Brinton, 1968, 23). It
is not surprising that this element of revealed intention is kept in the
performance, during the festivities, where the dialogue is reduced to
a few lines. Thus, the theatre performance in the festival appears as
the place where rulers and ruled negotiate a kind of “emancipation”
where “[T]he behaviour, gesture, and discourse of a person are freed
from the authority of all hierarchical positions...” (Bakhtin: 123).
The performers of El Güegüense come mainly from the working
class of Diriamba. They are manual laborers, trade people and small
artisans. Involvement in the staging of the play can have different
motivators as the participants range in age (from 7 to 70 years old).
For some, the annual play of El Güegüense is an opportunity to apply
their expertise in traditional culture. One of my key informants, Don
Cristóbal, was exemplary of his older generation, in being unable to
read or write, but extraordinary in his knowledge of El Güegüense.
Not only could he describe its various performances in past decades,
but he could also flawlessly recite the play’s many lines. For others
such as Don Jesús, an elderly man and one of the main performers,
participating in the staging of the play is one of the most important
events of the year, as he put it:
El Güegüense is a big thing (he gestures with his trembling hands). My
desire to help in the celebration of Saint Sebastian and to put on an El
Güegüense play is always here (touching his chest). Not with money, of
course, I am very poor. I do it for love and for respect to Saint Sebastian.
It’s like when one is a little kid. When one is part of a child game, one
feels part of something big.
Whether experienced as a social/cultural space for education, the
transmission of values and memories or as a religious avenue, the
performers of El Güegüense I have encountered, including their
NOTES
nature of the theatre character
of El Gueguense.
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audiences, construct meaning and value around their performance
and participation in this annual performance.
Fifty years ago or more non-literate and poorer members of the
community took pride in sponsoring or performing El Güegüense.
When I arrived in Diriamba in the fall of 2000, performers of El
Güegüense were experiencing a sense of loss. They felt that they
were losing control of this important social/cultural space (the
preparation, direction and staging of the play) because of their
precarious economic situation. As Don Cristóbal, the knowledgeable
elder explained,
Things have changed nowadays. Most Mayordomos (sponsors of the
fiestas) and Padrinos (sponsors of the play) assisted it in the past, as
it should be. I mean they provided support for the play, things like food;
nacatamalitos, platanitos, rosquillitas (local food). Everyone was well fed
and happy. The Mayordomo and Padrino were not allowed to take money
from the dancers because both the sponsors and the dancers had a
vow with the saint. The dancers had to provide their own adornments
and costumes, and the sponsors had to pay for the musicians. It was
understood. We all have our personal reasons to participate. Everyone
has a different relationship with the play.
This intervention by Don Cristóbal is more than just a nostalgic trip
into an essentialized social and cultural past. For Don Cristóbal it is
the realization that El Güegüense play, as a popular site for an entire
community has all but died; understandably this notion has become
a disturbing fact. He realises that the politics behind the appropriation
of this important aspect of his life obeys to a larger structure of power.
Don Cristóbal has constructed his persona in relation to the play
around the festivities of Saint Sebastian. But times are changing and
even popular expressions such as El Güegüense have also become
highly comodified. The awareness of this participant on the fact that
only economic and political elite townspeople are capable of putting
on this annual performance is a reality that goes beyond the staging
of the play. The politics behind the organization of all aspects of the
fiesta are linked to the politics of running the town. Many elite people
such as the sponsor of the play during my research gained notoriety
by financing the festivities (as Mayordomo of the fiestas). These
prominent citizens may or may not run for political office in the future.
Ignored in previous and current elite and academic interpretations
of El Güegüense in Nicaragua are social, cultural, political, and
economic conjunctures of South Western Nicaragua. I believe it is
pertinent in the study of Nicaraguan cultural and social identity to
identify El Güegüense’s theatrical process in its relation with local
performers as an important social/cultural landscape for Nicaraguan
identity.
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Many of the main protagonists in the staging of the play during my
research have been involved in El Güegüense for years. Doctor
Gallardo, Don Cristóbal, Don Jesús and Doña María, represent the
social and cultural contradictions manifested in the production of the
play. All of the participants stand for different point of views in relation
to what the social and cultural site of El Güegüense represents. For
example, Doctor Gallardo’s vision of his role in the production is
predicated on the assumption that the play’s importance rests on
its merits as a cultural symbol of “Nicaraguanness”. Echoing elite
politics originated in elite nationalist aspirations, Doctor Gallardo
tries to edify a local project that is informed by the national politics of
class, hybridity and mestizaje. He believes that “ordinary people do
not appreciate El Güegüense”. This is so according to doctor Gallardo
because “when it comes to cultural imperatives they (ordinary people)
are absent-minded”.
The local performers of the play (Don Jesús, Don Cristóbal) and
Doña María (a helper), on the other hand, construct a personal, social
and cultural identity through the play predicated in a physicalized
embodiment of Nicaraguan memory (subjective and collective
memory) that renders the play and its communicative interactions a
reservoir for important local knowledge. These performance practices
are taken from a “repertoire of marginalised traditions” (Taylor 2003:
208). Don Jesús was eloquent about the meaning of the performance
while enacting it for his family and myself. The joy he projected in the
dance was contagious.
You dance this music slowly. The music leads you slowly, like this, like
this. Some songs are faster (he picks up his tempo). The songs of the
Machos (mules) are fastest. The characters from inside the circle are
smooth, gracious with their bodies. Slowly like this. One doesn’t need
to jump, let the hips do their job, like this, like this. (Everybody in the
room starts to follow him). Yes like that. With your right hand playing the
chischill (rattle). Like that, slowly.
The embodied, active knowledge of local participants such as Don
Jesús, Don Cristóbal and Doña María resist the written, homogenized,
passive knowledge of the national elite (Doctor Gallardo) Their
knowledge is in movement, open ended, dialogical and performative.
Through their embodied acts the participants make new political
arguments transmit memory and forge new cultural and social
identities.
3. Producing and Reproducing Knowledge by
Performing It
Diane Taylor in her recent work asks “How does […] performance
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transmit cultural memory and identity?” and “Would a hemispheric
perspective expand the restrictive scenarios and paradigms set in
motion by centuries of colonialism?” (Taylor 2003: xvi). By examining
several performances such as activism and theatrical work in South
America, a Latino TV personality in the US, and other performances
in North America, Taylor exemplifies how people participate in the
production and reproduction of knowledge by performing it.
In the culturally and socially constructed world of performance, the
past, the present, the future, the “real” and the imagined become
common referents for performers and audiences. Taylor tackles
the relationship between performances and their wider context
from the acknowledgement that performances as actions, enacting
what is constantly changing, are by definition ephemeral and
fleeting. The process of understanding, then, is a continuous cycle,
intersubjectivity between whole (global) and part (local), which can
never be completed. In short, performance can be a form that
comes closest to the conditions under which we could understand
our own experience, and by extension a collective experience. For
Taylor, El Indio Amazónico, one of the performers she dissects,
constructs a cultural identity in a physicalized embodiment of
memory (a subjective, collective memory) of America through
his healing sessions as his performances. These performances
become excavations or comments of a past history (understood
from a particular social/cultural positionality) and its contexts. Thus,
this enactment represents also a dialogue between personal and
collective experiences and global contexts (colonialism, imperialism,
class struggles, etc). The enactment of performance becomes a renegotiation
of a transmitted knowledge into an alternative idealised
present. This physicalized interaction through performance becomes
possible through the encounter between social agents and history.
One important aspect in Taylor’s analysis of performance that I
consider very useful for my own examination of El Güegüense in
Nicaragua is the intimacy she brings to broad Latin/a American
issues. For Taylor, performance is more than an object of study; it
functions as an episteme, a way of knowing. Thus performance is
“that which disappears, or that which persists, transmitted through
a nonarchival system of knowledge…” (2003: xvii). The archive is
not necessarily opposite to the repertoire or a neutral by standard of
history, but a method of transmitting selective histories, colonialism,
racism, Western ideologies. The question is “whose histories?” For
Taylor not only do performances trace their contexts of emergence
(colonialism, neo-colonialism, imperialism, racism, and marginality),
but these embodied acts also make new political arguments, transmit
memory, and forge cultural identities. The embodied knowledge of
local performance resists the written knowledge of the archive.
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Within this performance framework, I consider that analyzing the
rhetorical and located situation of the script of the play of El Güegüense
(elite discourse) against the context of contemporary’s performances
of the play is necessary to understand Nicaraguan identity and its
negotiations. The embodied knowledge of the play yields insights into
the different ways of being in a Nicaraguan citizen. Ethnographically
speaking, the performers and other informants I met in Diriamba
have a very important contribution to make with regards to this
discussion. They have a particular relationship with the play, which
they contextualize within the Saint Sebastian. The negotiations that
occur in this context are not only about whose voices are articulated
during the preparation and performance of the play, but also about
social/cultural appropriation. Whom does the play rightfully belong
to? As Don Cristobal puts it: “When I was a sponsor of the play I
accommodated everyone. I was not rich, I did it modestly of course,
but it was a real communal experience. Even today people tell me
that I was fair with everything. I fed everyone and didn’t complain”.
As rhetorical and embodied experiences of the El Güegüense
these are social interventions. As performance practices, whether
drawn from an age-old repertoire or marginalized traditions, the El
Güegüense performances “allow for immediate response to current
political problems” (208). These are acts considered ephemeral,
disappearing as they happen: dance, gestures, singing, etc. These
embodied performances “enact embodied memory” in order to stage
objects, attitudes, and issues that articulate historical, collective,
individual, and political positions. Even though such performances
can be construed as rhetorical devices their importance lies in their
possibility of rendering the invisible into visibility (i.e. social relations
of inequality, neo-colonialism, injustice, etc.).
As observer of the cultural and the social we invoke the local episteme
to critique Western ideologies and paradigms, but we seldom
reveal the at once fleshy and abstract mechanics of how these are
subverted and/or transformed. I thus feel the need to move away
from the sometimes seemingly limiting particularity of embodied acts
to their role in the constitution of global power relations and vice
versa. In the following intervention by one of the local performers of
the El Güegüense we can appreciate identity negotiations around
the production of the play. The sense of importance of the play
was expressed very forcefully by two of my main informants, Don
Jesús and his wife Doña María, in several of my encounters and
conversations.
Doña María hurriedly goes to Don Jesús excited. “Get up Jesus,
get up, that’s why you went to get drunk again? Quickly get up he is
coming. He is outside”. Don Jesús’ response is monotonous “What?”.
“Pero hombre, the man is coming. Do you want him to see you like
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that?” Doña María tells him. “Okay, okay, I’m fine (He stumbles
towards the working table). Oops, where is he? (Everybody at the
table looks at him with disdain. A combination of gunpowder and
alcohol odor invades the air). “Okay. I’m up. Where is he?” He retorts.
I enter the small place and ask if this is the house of Don Jesús the
man who dances the El Güegüense. The room is very dark, and we
hear only voices. “¡Hola! Is this the house of Don Jesus, the man
who dances El Güegüense?” I say. Total silence. Doña María comes
to the door with a candle. “Yes, yes entre. Es usted el muchacho que
quiere aprender a bailar?” she says as she illuminates my face. We
both smile. “Gracias, yes I’m the one who wants to learn to dance El
Güegüense”. I declare. “It’s easy; it’ll take you no time at all. You are
young”. Don Jesús says, his voice coming from a corner of the room
where he is sitting on the bed. “Yes, come here. I will give you some
light. He went for a drink or two. This man is ruined” Doña María
whispers to me. Don Jesús who at this point is trying to appear sober
makes an extra effort to maintain his composure “Come on in sit here
next to me. I’m glad you came to visit. I’ll tell you...” He pauses for a
second and continuous.
At the beginning I was young, and even though I don’t know how to read
and write my memory never fails me. I had to learn the lines, my wife
would read them to me, and I would memorize them. While performing
my part I’ve come to be aware of my lines very carefully. I take my turn
as we proceed dancing. You’ve to be aware and very attentive when
your turn comes, even though it’s very noisy. There are seven characters
trying to speak. The heavy roles are El Güegüense, The Governor, Don
Forsico, Don Ambrosio, and The Alguacil. There is also music going on.
Don Jesús’ family continues going about their daily routines as
they pay attention to his performance. He gets up and assumes a
dramatized position: Hands extended, and chin upright. He starts to
move up and down, his voice drops some lines in a native language.
“Pues sí cana amigo capitan alguacil, somocague nistipanpa, Sres.
Principales, sones, mudanzas, velancicos, necana, y palperesia D.
Forsico timaguas y verdad, tin hermosura, tin bellezas tumiles mo
Cabildo Real...” He grabs a plastic bag and takes out some loose
pages, which he shows to me. “This is the only thing left, the rats
ate it”. Doña María intervenes. “Everything is in our heads. Before,
there used to be two Güegüense performances per festival. There
were competitions between the performances. Once our family won
for putting on the best one. My mother was a very good Madrina
(literally, godmother). She sponsored the dance for many years.
Lack of money forced her to stop. The music is very expensive. 1000
to 2000 Cordobas per festival. My husband (she looks at Don Jesus)
tried to put it on some years ago but it was impossible. The economic
situation has taken the Güegüense from us”. Don Jesús gets up
from the bed and walks towards the doors.
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There are seven songs in the play. Actually there are fourteen but they
only play half for the performance in the festival. You have to learn them
from someone. They are passed on. (He starts to dance to a non-existing
music) You dance this music slowly. The music leads you, slowly, like
this, like this. Some songs are faster (he picks up his tempo). The songs
of the Machos (mules) are faster. The characters from inside the circle
are smooth, gracious with their bodies. Slowly like this. One doesn’t need
to jump, let the hips do their job, like this, like this. (Everybody in the
room starts to follow him). Yes like that. With your right hand playing the
chischill (rattle). Like that, slowly.
The candlelights start to go off one by one until only one is left dimly
illuminating Don Jesús dancing. His moving body disappears into the
darkness of the room.
One of the main concerns that became apparent during my research
in Diriamba was the fact that locals involved in the play had an
overwhelming sense of loss with respect to the disappearance or
decline of the performance. For many generations the play has been,
besides an avenue where disenfranchised people fulfil religious
vows, a source of family pride, respect and solidarity. As the play
becomes less and less a community affair and becomes more and
more subjected to the political priorities of the local elite, people have
become frustrated. Don Jesús, the main performer in the play, Doña
María, his wife and helper, and Don Cristóbal, the director of the play,
reflected that frustration in the way they interacted with the play and
its sponsor. Under these circumstances of inclusion and exclusion in
the very social fabric of a community, the role of the El Güegüense
as a social and cultural site becomes even more important in the
understanding of social groups in Nicaragua.
4. Conclusion: Unsettling narratives
The relationship between power structures, culture, and identity
negotiations (government, media, art, intellectuals) yields a certain
cultural field (narratives and its consequences). This cultural field
is manifested as interventions into the production and circulation of
“cultural material”, arts, institutions, and the like (Allor and Gagnon,
1996: 8). The articulation of a public discourse, like a play, a speech,
is centered on many elements that make visible the relationship
between the aesthetic, the political and the social (Ibid). When there
is a certain government or elite vision of a national identity articulated
through the cultural field (for example the El Güegüense play), the
cultural field itself becomes a site for contestation of those imposed
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452ºF. #02 (2010) 62-78.
76

discourses. However, sometimes such a site may not be available to
people to construct alternative contestations.
In our Nicaraguan case, for example, the performance of El
Güegüense (preparations, rehearsals and aftermath) contradicts
the official narratives that confer the play the image of the perfect
Nicaraguan type. The performance deals, even in its short version,
with defiance to power characterized in the nationalizing narratives.
It is about discontent with the situations of absurd power. This absurd
power is still present in Nicaragua today, in the form of an unjust and
corrupt government. The performance of El Güegüense is the verbal
and non-verbal expression of that discontent articulated by those
involved in the performance. The play is thus the rich environment
for cultural, social, and political contestation from lower classes and
marginalized groups. The local performers such as Don Cristóbal, Don
Jesús and Doña María manifest this in the contested authorship of El
Güegüense and in their idiosyncratic, religious, personal, historical
and experiential knowledge and memory of the performance.
The El Güegüense performance within the context of the San
Sebastian Festivities has, besides the role of fulfilling religious vows
for the participants, thus its own disrupting narratives. During the
Saint Sebastian festival, the rehearsals and performances disrupt
and expose the contradictions of a narrative of order and power,
homogeneity and rationality. The performance stands for questioning
the morality and ethics of the government (government taxes,
imposition of will) in the drama. This disruption allows an opening up
of a space where those hidden tensions and contradictions become
apparent to the actors and their audiences today. The performance
forces these contradictions out into the open for everybody to see
every year. Through the performance’s discourses, the participants
collectively and individually expose elite discourses that have a lot to
do with the everyday reality of the participants.
The relationship between elite and popular narratives of the El
Güegüense play in a socialized and politicized Nicaraguan context
(elites versus popular classes, local identity versus national identity)
has revealed the different manifestations of power structures in postcolonial
situations. As one of the most important Nicaraguan cultural,
historical, and political artefacts for two different social groups of
Nicaraguans, the play remains important even in its absence. The
year of my research the play was pulled out of the Saint Sebastian
festival at the last minute by the sponsor, Dr Gallardo. In the absence
of this cultural and social performative site (the El Güegüense
performance) people attempt to keep their relationship with this
important part of their life by recurring to history, memory, and the
everyday trying to understand their sense of loss (Taylor 2003).
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452ºF. #02 (2010) 62-78.
77

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Rule, Rituals of Resistance: Public Celebrations and Popular Culture in Mexico, SR Books,
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Nicaragua, (1969), AMS Press, New York, .
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George (ed), Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography, 1-26,: University of
California Press, Berkeley, pp. 1-26.
COMAROFF, Jean, (1995), “Body of Power Spirit and Resistance” in The Culture and History
of a South African People, pp. 194-263.
CUADRA, Pablo Antonio, (1974) El nicaragüense, Ediciones Cultura Hispánica, Madrid, 1969.
DÁVILA BOLAÑOS, Alejandro, El Güegüense o Macho-Ratón: Drama Épico Indígena,
Tipografía Géminis, Estelí.
DESJARLAIS, Robert, (1992), Body and Emotion: The Aesthetics of illness and Healing in the
Nepal Himalayas, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
FIELD, Les W., (1999), The Grimace of Macho Raton: Artisans, identity and Nation in Late
Twentieth Century Western Nicaragua, Duke University Press.
HERZFELD, Michael, (2001), Anthropology: Theoretical Practice in Culture and Society,
Blackwell, Oxford.
JACKSON, Michael, (1996), “Introduction. Phenomenology, Radical Empiricism, and
Anthropological Critique” in JACKSON, Michael (ed.), Things as They Are, New Directions in
Phenomenological Anthropology, Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, pp.
1-50.
RABINOW, Paul, (1996), “Representations Are Social Facts: Modernity and Post-Modernity”
in James Clifford and George Marcus (eds) Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of
Ethnography, University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 161-234.
TAYLOR, Diana, (2003), The Archive and the Repertoire: performing cultural memory in the
Americas, Duke University Press, Durham.
VALLE CASTILLO, Julio, (1997), “El Güegüense: obra y personaje del barroco” in El Nuevo
Amanecer Cultural, number 868, Managua.
MANTICA, Carlos, (1994), El habla nicaragüense, Editorial Hispamer, Managua.
Re-enacting the nation: Unsettling Narratives in the El Güegüense Theatre of Nicaragua - Alberto Guevara
452ºF. #02 (2010) 62-78.
78

mis
Laura Valle

GÊNERO COMERCIAL
EM EVIDÊNCIA:
O FILME CIDADE DE
DEUS MANIPULA A
REALIDADE?
Raquel de Medeiros Marcato
Doutoranda en Literatura Comparada
Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
Citação recomendada || DE MEDEIROS MARCATO, Raquel (2009): “Gênero comercial em evidência: O filme Cidade de Deus manipula a realidade?”
[artigo on-line], 452ºF. Revista eletrônica de teoría de la literatura y literatura comparada, 2, 80-95 [Data de consulta: dd/mm/aa], < http://
www.452f.com/index.php/pt/raquel-de-medeiros-marcato.html >.
Ilustração || Xavier Marín
Artigo || Recebido: 09/10/2009 | Apto Comitê científico: 14/12/2009 | Publicado: 01/2010
Licença || Licença Reconhecimento - Não comercial – Vedada a Criação de Obras Derivadas 3.0 de Creative Commons.
80

452ºF
Resumo || Este artigo pretende analisar a hipótese de manipulação da realidade narrada no filme
Cidade de Deus (2002), uma favela localizada na região oeste do Rio de Janeiro. A partir desta
proposta discursiva, o ensaio pretende contextualizar a maneira pela qual a trama foi enfocada,
questionando a suposta aproximação e adaptação ao gênero gangsteriano, despertando a
sensação de uma “história fabricada” dentro de um contexto real: o universo favela, exótico à
bilheteria internacional.
Palavras chave || Cidade de Deus | Cinema | Gangster | Manipulação | Realidade | Ficção |
Gênero | Estereótipo.
Abstract || This article aims to share with your readers an insight based study of a film based
on the reality of the slum in a west of Rio de Janeiro that serves as a pretext for the director
and writers of City of God (2002), we pose a central plot through this approach and adaptation
alleged gangster genre, from a caricato format, creating a new discursive cliché. This approach
emphasizes the film a “fabricated story” supported in an alleged real context, located in the world
of the slum, exotic scenery to capture the attention of the international box office through extreme
violence and lives that were spent in marginality and crime, perhaps unintentionally is building a
biased stereotype?
Key-words || City of God | Cinema | Gangster | Handling | Reality | Fiction | Gender | Stereotype.
81

0. INTRODUÇÃO
Em 2002 foi lançado, no circuito cinematográfico brasileiro, o filme
Cidade de Deus dirigido pelo diretor Fernando Meirelles, o qual se
inspirou no romance homônimo de Paulo Lins (1997) de mesmo
nome. Com um recorde de bilheteria, 3,2 milhões de pessoas foram
aos cinemas assistir ao longa-metragem, o qual não tardou em
conquistar o êxito internacional, como prova disso a sua indicação
ao Oscar em 2004. O conteúdo fílmico narra histórias de crianças e
jovens que se envolvem na marginalidade e no tráfico de drogas na
favela Cidade de Deus, inaugurada em 1960 na cidade do Rio de
Janeiro.
O filme, em sua narrativa e seqüências de imagens, nos transmite
uma aparência real que choca, que faz arder os olhos e nos faz
reflexionar sobre a sua existência. As cenas constituídas através de
uma estética brutalista nos relatam um estilo de vida «subumano»,
o qual nos permeia e fixa em nosso imaginário, porém de forma real
ou ficcional? De acordo com os comentários do diretor Fernando
Meirelles, ao ser questionado sobre como as pessoas veriam a
Cidade de Deus após seu filme, comentou: «[...] a gente não inventou
aquela história. É como um espelho: a culpa não é do reflexo, é da
realidade que está sendo refletida». (Paulo Lins apud MoretzSohn,
2002:3). De acordo com a sua defesa e ao contrastar com o ponto
de vista de Núñez, a qual afirma que: «El cine no puede entenderse
como un mero soporte técnico-material para la vehiculización de
una representación, en tanto que discurso, aparato ideológico, no es
un espejo, un reflejo de la realidad, un instrumento pasivo o neutral
de reproducción» (2005:24) nos resulta um interesse específico em
analisar se o discurso proposto no filme apresenta uma manipulação
da realidade através de um formato comercial, clichê e caricato.
1. FAVELA: DISCURSOS E ESTEREÓTIPOS
Como se sabe, a favela não é de exclusividade do Brasil, como
comprova Mike Davis em seu livro Planeta Favela 1 , e nem pertence
apenas à comunidade que a compõe, uma vez que a promoção da
diferença asfalto x favela se faz diariamente. Através dos noticiários,
dos jornais, das revistas e dos produtos culturais, principalmente,
do cinema e da literatura, uma grande parte do mundo passa a ter
acesso a esta realidade, a qual é narrada, representada, relatada
de forma tendenciosa ao transmitir a idéia de moradores excluídos,
marginais, agressivos, traficantes, ociosos, negros e perigosos.
Estes estereótipos passam a contribuir com a representação da
identidade brasileira, especificamente, das favelas. Desta forma,
contribui com a formação de um imaginário coletivo, tranformando
NOTAS
1 | Segundo Davis, «existem
provavelmente mais de 200 mil
favelas, cuja população varia
de algumas centenas a mais
de 1 milhão de pessoas em
cada uma delas. Sozinhas, as
cinco grandes metrópoles do
sul da Ásia (Karachi, Mumbai,
Délhi, Calcutá e Daca) contêm
cerca de 15 mil comunidades
faveladas distintas, cuja
população total excede os
20 milhões de habitantes»
(2006:37).
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assim em senso comum.
Pensar o cinema como meio produtor de discursos que produzem
efeitos sobre o social é de extrema importância e responsabilidade,
já que a persuasão que dele pode plasmar no campo imaginário
coletivo pode (re) afirmar ou negar um pré-conceito, um préjulgamento
ou até mesmo reforçar um colonialismo que ainda pode
estar latente na conduta social brasileira.
A partir dos anos sessenta, com o cinema novo, o cenário da pobreza,
era utilizado como forma de denuncia social, liderado pelo prestigioso
cineasta Glauber Rocha, de protesto contra o não dito, o não exibido,
o não conhecido. Diante de uma época de censura o cinema era
vivido como delator social do caos existente, principalmente na
revoltante época da ditadura. Durante os seguintes anos o cinema
nacional sofreu uma queda brusca, passando a registrar momentos
de quase ausência de produção pela escassez de leis de incentivo
cultural. Como nos comenta Oricchio, em 2000, ano marcado pela
fase da retomada do cinema brasileiro, ao contar com o apoio da
Ancine, nova agência reguladora na área cinematográfica, e com a
lei de incentivo fiscal, registrou um novo fôlego e incremento para o
reinício do cinema nacional.
O cinema da retomada polemiza a mesma denuncia social que
antes, a qual já é sabida, porém, atualmente, concentra-se maior
atenção em seus efeitos estéticos, sem antecedentes, como a
exemplo concreto deste estudo, a impactante Cidade de Deus.
É inquestionável a qualidade técnica do trabalho de Meirelles
composto por uma obra harmoniosa desde as imagens até a
trilha sonora. Tudo flui bem, oferece adrenalina e adeus à inércia.
O elenco é primoroso, defendido pelos próprios moradores das
favelas, ou seja, atores desconhecidos, o que resultou em uma
interessante inovação no conjunto da obra, revelando um alto nível de
interpretação cinematográfica e imensa naturalidade ao «encarnar»
os personagens dentro de um contexto duro e cruel. As falas foram
todas adaptadas à linguagem local, diálogos cheios de gírias e de
malícias, uma veracidade impactante. O filme transcorre ao longo
de três décadas, começa na de sessenta e termina em princípios de
oitenta, e em todas elas se presencia um elaborado trabalho cênico,
reluzente no espaço físico de aparência grotesca, na caracterização
dos personagens, na imagem videoclipe, nos incontáveis flashback,
no enquadramento irregular da câmera e na ideologia defendida em
cada época. Tornamos testemunhas da destruição humana em prol
da ambição pelo poder, por vingança, ou até mesmo por ausência
de motivo.
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O estilo de vida abordado em Cidade de Deus, supracitado como
«subumano», explica-se pela precariedade do espaço físico, pela
natureza que a cada cena vai cedendo lugar a tijolos quebrados, a
vidros rachados, às manchas de sangue entre as estreitas ruelas
que interligam o mercado financeiro da favela, ou seja, as bocas de
fumo, as quais sustentam o narcotráfico. Além disso, a perspectiva
de vida, a qual se deteriora com o passar do tempo, encurta-se e se
desfaz entre o mandatário e o subalterno, entre o poder e a escassa
renúncia, entre o individualismo e a falta de coletividade, entre o
medo e o quase nulo otimismo, entre o beco sem luz e a vida sem
saída, entre o tráfico e a polícia, entre o suborno e a cumplicidade,
ou seja, entre a Guerra e a Guerra.
A estética, baseada no espetáculo da violência, apenas assumi
o papel de delatora, destituída de mediações, contextualizações
e posicionamento crítico. Assim sendo, questiona-se: o filme foi
realizado para atingir qual público? O excesso de violência que visa
agredir ao espectador, a idealização de um gueto, ademais negro,
aludindo aos «sujeitos à parte», recordando-nos aos guetos afro-
americanos, a natureza do protagonista, mafioso, presenciado nos
filmes de gangsters, incorrendo na ascensão e queda do bandido,
a saga da máfia, o famoso triângulo amoroso que separa os dois
amigos inseparáveis e a presença do único sobrevivente, aquele
que nos pode contar a história, pode, sem dúvida, constituir um
perfil de história mais atrativa, muito semelhante aos filmes norte
americanos, com mais chances internacionais. Entretanto, não se
torna mais uma história «fabricada»?
Em pesquisa realizada em 2008, pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Pesquisa
Social 2 , com os moradores das favelas do Rio de Janeiro, constatouse
no quesito imagem das favelas as seguintes estatísticas: para
os entrevistados, a imagem social das favelas é «completamente
distorcida». A favela não é «reduto de marginais» para 85.1%
dos entrevistados e não é lugar de «negro e pobre» para 93.1%.
Para 65.4% dos entrevistados a cobertura que a imprensa faz dos
acontecimentos na favela é sensacionalista, pois distorce os fatos e
usa de preconceitos. Diante do exposto, nos leva a aproximarmos,
ainda mais, sobre a possibilidade de manipulação da realidade
operado no filme Cidade de Deus. Ao fazer um recorte da realidade
para esquematizar o discurso fílmico, quem o produz já está se
posicionando de acordo com seus critérios e objetivos.
O esforço em alcançar uma verossimilhança com tantas legitimações
e impressões de realidade pode fazer com que o espectador crie uma
imagem deturpada de uma suposta origem e reduto da violência que
assola cotidianamente a cidade. O sociólogo Octavio Ianni, reflete
como essa descontextualização produz efeitos nocivos e duradouros
no modo como, no Brasil, são percebidos os problemas sociais:
NOTAS
2 | A pesquisa em referência
engloba vários quesitos.
Aborda a infra-estrutura, o
tráfico de drogas, a imagem
social da periferia, ou
seja, as condições de vida
dos moradores da favela.
Disponível em: http://www.
cufa.org.br/in.php?id=materias/
mat315.
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Muito tempo depois, praticamente um século após a abolição da
Escravatura, ainda ressoa no pensamento social brasileiro a suspeita de
que a vítima é a culpada. Há estudos de que a «miséria», a «pobreza»
e a «ignorância» parecem estados de natureza, ou da responsabilidade
do miserável, pobre, analfabeto. Não há empenho visível em revelar a
trama das relações que produzem as desigualdades sociais (1997:97).
2. GÊNERO COMERCIAL EM EVIDÊNCIA – GANGSTER
–
A aproximação do filme ao gênero de gangster nos amplia o modo
de leitura discursiva sobre a película e nos proporciona desalinhavar
a hipótese de verossimilhança defendida e aproximar-nos ao
caráter manipulativo através de uma história «fabricada» dentro de
estruturas reconhecidas.
La representación de la violencia tampoco puede manifestarse de
manera realista. La contundencia sonora de las metralletas, la sequedad
de los cortes en un montaje ajeno a la retórica discursiva, la carencia
completa de emociones en la ejecución de esa violencia, la ausencia de
todo rasgo de espectacularidad… provocan una sacudida que no deja
espacio para la reflexión y que persigue antes el escalofrío (thrill) que la
caracterización. (Heredero, 1996:189).
O cine de gangster trata de um discurso sobre o choque entre a
nova ordem social capitalista com a oposição delitiva que exercem
frente a ela os marginados pelo sistema. Historicamente falando,
o gangster precede ao crack de Wall Street e é apadrinhado pela
prosperidade econômica e desenvolvimento capitalista dos anos
vinte, já no cinema o gangster sucede a quebra da bolsa e é um filho
da depressão logo redimido pela regeneração do New Deal dos anos
trinta. «El gangster de la ficción hunde sus raíces en esta dicotomía
y expresa, por ello, una contradicción mucho más profunda todavía,
que afecta de lleno a una corriente importante, casi medular, del
pensamiento americano». (Shadoian apud Heredero, 1996:145). O
pensamento motriz da América como terra fértil de oportunidades
e ao mesmo tempo como sociedade igualitária e democrática se
vê submersa a uma contradição ideológica: «la bondad de la lucha
por el triunfo y la maldad implícita en el hecho de sobresalir sobre el
resto de los ciudadanos, el elogio del individualismo y el reproche al
deseo de distinción sobre los demás». (Heredero,1996:145). En film,
os gangsters do cinema desempenham esta metáfora que expressa
o problema central da mitologia americana, ou seja, «el conflicto
entre la ley y el libre albedrío, entre la inocencia y la corrupción,
entre las reglas de la conveniencia civil y el universo de los sin ley».
(Divisa, 2007:233)
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Películas como Hampa dorada (1931), El enemigo público (1931)
o Scarface (1932) —a las que tomaremos aquí como los títulos más
representativos del modelo— no sólo describen de manera análoga y,
sobre todo, muy estilizada el ascenso y caída social de sus protagonistas,
sino que los elementos narrativos y moldes argumentales que sostienen
dicha trayectoria (cuya conexión con la realidad no puede ser, a pesar
de todo, más que efímera y episódica) guardan una gran similitud entre
ellos hasta el punto de parecer casi siempre los mismos, como si la
realidad fuese unívoca y los hampones de la calle tan esquemáticos
como los que presentan estas ficciones (Heredero, 1996:157).
De acordo com Heredero, desde a década de trinta, já se
observa como a construção e as reproduções das características
gangsteriana geram arquétipos e narrativas de fácil identificação. O
primeiro ponto em questão, a ascensão e a caída dos gangsters, é
de fácil constatação em Cidade de Deus. Extremamente evidenciado
na trajetória de Zé Pequeno, o qual atinge o apogeu econômico
e mandatário, construído ao longo da película e de maneira mais
acelerada, exibido ao final do filme, a sua queda quando é extorquido
pela policia ficando pobre. Aproveitando desta informação sobre
a temporalidade narrativa assistida em Cidade de Deus, abre-se
espaço para a constatação de outro fio condutor que endossa a
adaptação ao gênero «La ascención es lenta y trabajosa (aunque
se cuente con ritmo rápido), genera mucha actividad por parte del
sujeto y ocupa la mayor parte del espacio narrativo. La caída es
rápida, contundente y casi precipitada; no se necesitan muchos
fotogramas para representarla» (Heredero, 1996:175).
O transcurso do gangster transcorre exclusivamente, segundo
Heredero, quase sempre dentro do universo delitivo, ou seja, conflitos
entre grupos rivais para realizar ajustes de contas e dificilmente reflete
o entorno social em que prolifera essa contra-sociedade criminal.
Características também comprovadas na película ao observar a
predominância, quase que exclusiva, entre os enfrentamentos e a
ausência de reflexão sobre a origem do caos.
A natureza do gangster segundo Shadoian citado por Heredero,
«no sufre culpabilidad ni tiene segundos pensamientos porque no
hay disociación entre lo que pretende ser y lo que realmente es»
(1996:6) De acordo com o perfil psicológico interpretado por Zé
Pequeno comprova-se uma ausência de culpabilidade diante de
suas atrocidades, é um indivíduo totalmente carente de convicções
morais, sociais e políticas, a sua ambição por querer ser o líder da
favela se comprova até o final do filme sem lugar a retrocesso. «Los
trazos de crueldad, infantilismo, coquetería o patología patológica
se refuerzan desde la mímica de los rostros y destacan en relieve
sobre un fondo grisáceo, compuesto por figuras secundarias que
siempre se muestran mucho más comedidas que los protagonistas
en su expresividad facial» (1996: 186). Tanto em Dadinho quanto
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em Zé Pequeno percebe-se um excesso interpretativo de tom
agressivo e cruel que destaca dos demais. Já no campo emocional,
freqüentemente, são personagens que apresentam carências
afetivas, também comprovadas no perfil de Pequeno quando este
é rechaçado pela namorada de Galinha e quando presencia Bené
presenteando a Buscapé com uma máquina fotográfica. Outro
pilar que também abarca o esquema narrativo exibido pelo cine de
gangster e endossado por Cidade de Deus é a conexão rápida e
concisa das diferentes cenas filmadas, a velocidade e a capacidade
de síntese de uma estrutura seqüencial cortada e fechada onde
um plano engloba o anterior, cultivando um caráter seco, áspero e
tripidante. A narrativa em off também é um recurso muito popular
encontrado no gênero de cine negro a exemplo: em Perdición
(1944) e Detour (1945), uma vez que «en las películas, sirve a
varios propósitos... sitúa al espectador en la mente del protagonista,
para que pueda experimentar de forma más íntima la angustia del
personaje» (Silver; Ursini: 2004:20). Através da narrativa em off de
Buscapé comprova-se este recurso de aproximação e vínculo com
o expectador.
O recurso flashback e os pontos de vista identificados pela câmera,
assomam-se ao gênero e se repete em Cidade de Deus em diversas
ocasiões. O filme inicia com facas sendo amoladas ao som de uma
batucada. Em um canto estão presas algumas galinhas que aos
poucos vão sendo mortas e depenadas. Porém uma delas consegue
se soltar e foge. Ao acompanhar a trajetória dela que escapa
rapidamente da degola mergulhamos na seqüência seguinte, a qual
antecede o final do filme em formato de flashback e ponto de partida
para toda a história: através de um giro da câmera para um lado
e outro feito a partir do personagem Buscapé, apresenta-se uma
gangue de jovens e crianças com armas nas mãos em oposição
a um grupo de policiais, imagem semelhante às clássicas cenas
de duelo e com uma clara metáfora presente, pois, temos os «dois
lados da moeda»: bandidos versus policias.
Como afirma Heredero, na composição do gênero sempre terá lugar
à opção de redenção pela influência que exerce sobre o bandido a
mulher amada. Constatado na trajetória de Bené e Cabelereira, os
quais repugnam a vida de malandro em prol do amor de Angélica e
Berenice, respectivamente, e a presença marcante do personagem
amigo, companheiro inseparável do gangster, cuja a morte ou
rompimento com a quadrilha como a exemplo em Hampa Dorada,
antecipa a do chefe, em nosso contexto, papel vivenciado por Bené.
Já a morte do gangster, quase sempre, obedece a um final: «la
muerte, bien a manos de la policía o acribillado por alguna banda
rival» (Divisa, 2007:279). Desta forma se vivencia o desfecho de Zé
Pequeno, ou seja, é morto pela quadrilha rival: os meninos da Caixa
Baixa.
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Já a utilização de jornais, meio de comunicação informativo, guarda
seu protagonismo dentro deste formato fílmico uma vez que «es
un elemento utilizado para potenciar la progresión narrativa (con
valor sintético añandido) y para reforzar, desde fuera, el efecto de
verosimilitud que se busca en el interior de la historia». (Heredero,
1996:179). Fato recorrente na película e marcado pelo elo existente
entre a profissão de Buscapé (o qual começa fotografando o crime)
e seu vínculo empregatício: o jornal.
O sentimento de dualismo entre o campo e a cidade também tem
lugar cativo no gênero conforme expõe Heredero, como a exemplo
em El último refugio (1941). O campo trás de forma romantizada
os valores «incontaminados» e o lado urbano propicia a corrupção
deste. Em Cidade de Deus verifica-se a mesma dualidade, porém
representada entre o asfalto e a favela. Aqui a projeção da corrupção
está vinculada à favela já que o asfalto ganha um papel romantizado,
de pureza e ordem social.
A mitologia norte-americana do êxito, do triunfo pessoal, o mito
self made man (‘homem feito por si mesmo’), a luta por se afirmar
como indivíduo retrata o sonho americano arquétipo. Esta mitologia
vivenciada na fase de prosperidade econômica dos anos vinte cairá
como conseqüência da depressão. A luta por conquistar o triunfo e
as conseqüências do fracasso em alcançá-lo são os vetores que
organizam muitas destas ficções. Nas palavras de Heredero:
las tensiones extremas generadas por ambos procesos, las heridas
sociales y personales, económicas o morales, que llevan consigo se
revelan, entonces, como la contrapartida de la confianza ilusoria en
la posibilidad ilimitada de ascenso social y de los estímulos culturales
que aquella sociedad prodiga en torno al combate por el éxito individual
(1996:159).
Diante disso, torna-se impossível não presenciar no processo de
ascensão do gangster a mitologia assinada pelo capitalismo, ou
seja, as praticas corriqueiras como a concorrência desmedida, a
eliminação dos mais fracos, a ostentação e o luxo como símbolos
do poder, o culto ao dinheiro e etc. Fazendo uma ponte com o filme
em estudo, assimila-se fortemente este mito do self made man na
figura do gangster e também no personagem de Buscapé, sutilmente
trabalhada, o qual se converte em fotógrafo, carreira a qual está
predisposta à «fama artística».
2.1. CIDADE DE DEUS E SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – DISCURSO
CARICATO -
Baseando-se em um exemplo de produção cinematográfica
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atual, no intuito de demonstrar a recorrência em adaptar a uma
linguagem comercial, neste caso, entretanto, sem sugerir a presença
exclusiva do gênero gangster, mas, sobretudo, em resgatar a
similaridade do tema e discurso em torno das favelas, encontra-se
no formato do filme Slumdog Millonaire (Quer ser um milionário?,
2008), dirigido pelo britânico Danny Boyle, baseado no livro Q and A
de Vikas Swarup, lançado em 2005, semelhantes correlações com
Cidade de Deus. O filme está situado em Mumbai (Índia), trazendo
à luz a realidade das favelas. A história discorre em torno de dois
irmãos Jamal e Salim, o concurso Quem quer ser milionário? e os
mafiosos urbanos. Com o enfoque na infinita pobreza das favelas,
caracterizada nas péssimas condições de infra- estrutura e carência
total financeira, demonstrado em uma das cenas onde jamal utiliza
um banheiro improvisado e se mistura com seu próprio excremento
e nas seguintes cenas onde Jamal, Salim e Lakita dormem junto
ao lixo em uma cabana também improvisada e buscam alimento
no abundante lixo periférico, nota-se um tom diferenciado no
recorte cinematográfico feito por Meirelles em Cidade de Deus.
Enquanto que no filme de Meirelles se omite as ausências em prol
ao «espetáculo» da violência, em Slumdog a violência assistida
vem das ausências mostradas. Porém, independente da abordagem
do contexto se presencia o esquema gangsteriano. Iniciarei pelo
paralelo entre Jamal e Salim e Bené e Zé Pequeno. Salim apresenta
o mesmo perfil de gangster que Zé Pequeno, percorre o caminho do
mal, é ambicioso e almeja o poder, o dinheiro a qualquer preço. A
figura caricata dos gangsters advém dos meninos de rua que tentam
sobrepor à mediocridade e à pobreza que os rodeiam e através da
ambição, da vaidade, do afã pelo poder, deslizam pela cara oculta
do delito, como expõe Heredero.
Entretanto, Jamal percorre o caminho do bem e se opõe às
maldades e violências como Bené, apesar de este ser cúmplice
de Zé Pequeno, não cometia assassinatos, era amigo da galera
e suavizava a maldade do companheiro. Até uma fase do filme
Jamal era amigo inseparável de seu irmão, estavam sempre juntos,
inclusive planejando alguns assaltos «infantis» em prol de comida. Já
a personagem de Latika, bonita e atrativa, funciona como motivo de
rompimento entre os irmãos, um discurso clichê, também presente
no gênero. E por Latika, Salim apresenta um momento, no final do
filme, de arrependimento, de redenção, e a liberta para ir ao encontro
de seu irmão. A mitologia norteamericana do éxito também está
presente em ambos protagonistas. Um no caminho do mal, porém
ávido pelo triunfo pessoal e o outro no caminho do bem, através de
um conto de fadas em se tornar milionário através de um concurso,
também alcança a sua conquista e reforça o mito self made man
americano, evidenciando assim como Buscapé em ter sobrevivido à
opção em rechaçar a vida fácil do crime, e o mito do happy ending
(‘final feliz’) em ambos os filmes. O dualismo espacial também se faz
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ecorrente, de uma lado a favela, a miséria, e de outro a realidade
urbana, a riqueza, neste caso, evidenciada na casa do mafioso para
quem Salim trabalha. Aqui encuadra a origem da corrupção oriunda
na sociedade urbana a qual genera a distorção no sistema social e
tras como consequência o desiquilibrio e a constituição de marginais.
A ascensão e queda do gangster é de fácil reconhecimento e o tempo
narrativo para construir sua trajetória é muito similar a de Cidade de
Deus, ou seja, ascensão lenta e queda rápida, seguida de morte.
3. O MANIPULADO: UM CONTEXTO ÀS AVESSAS
A sensação mais inverossímil que se passa e creio ser a mais
denunciativa no ato de observar a desfiguração dos fatos é a de
alimentar uma imagem de que a favela se resume a bandido, à
violência, à ignorância e ao narcotráfico. Além deste equívoco há
outro de grande relevância que é o de atrelar esta imagem não a
uma ideologia de cunho humanístico, de reflexão discursiva, mas,
sobretudo, em fixar uma ideologia social de cunho «glamourizado»
em torno do espetáculo das armas, dos tiros, da obsessão
pela ascensão, da sagacidade do líder, do culto ao dinheiro, da
individualidade desmedida, dos confrontos intermináveis e da
cocaína em abundância. Através da estética privilegiada retrata
uma opção de vida, exatamente opcional, que seduz e emplaca
uma atrativa oportunidade para se obter o poder, o respeito, a fama,
o desinteresse pelo trabalho e a absoluta aceitação de que a vida
é descartável diminuindo a sensibilidade emotiva do espectador
em prol da adrenalina sensorial despertada. A vida de bandido se
converte em carreira de status social. Ao espetacularizar a pobreza
e a marginalidade, o filme perde seu impacto como crítica social,
embora sirva como elemento de catarse para uma classe média que
prefere ir ao cinema para ver na tela grande o «verdadeiro Brasil»
enquanto deixa para as classes baixas as imagens de um «falso
Brasil». Um clichê discursivo, vazio de sentidos históricos 3 e com
empenho em reforçar a fronteira que distancia e protege o «nós
asfalto» do «outro favela» o que, conseqüentemente, pode criar um
clima favorável para cooptar novos adeptos diante da fragilidade
do tecido social. O que poderia ser uma oportunidade para uma
reflexão social, tornou-se uma exuberância estética com interesse
comercial internacional 4 .
O interesse em converter-se em traficante, marginal, incluindo
crianças e adultos, não apresenta uma base explicativa, tampouco
se chega a um motivo contundente, uma vez que, nenhum tipo de
ausência é abordado no filme, ou seja, de moradia, de educação,
de alimentação, de sistema de saúde. O estilo de vida elucidado na
película se torna agressivo e desumano em contato com a realidade.
NOTAS
3 | Faço referência à forma
pela qual o tema favela nos foi
abordado, ou seja, destituído
de contexto histórico. Foinos
apresentado como um
filho órfão, o que pode nos
conduzir a uma simplificação
equivocada e distorcida da
realidade.
4 | Enfatizo o interesse
internacional já que «o
maior avanço de Cidade
de Deus está nas parcerias
internacionais de co-produção
[...]. Em 2001, ainda em fase
de roteiro, Cidade de Deus
conseguiu a co-produção
da Miramax, nos Estados
Unidos, e do Studio Canal,
na França.[...] Tais parcerias,
realizadas pela primeira
vez com empresas fortes
e de grande penetração
internacional, abriram portas
importantes para o cinema
brasileiro, garantindo com
antecedência o lançamento
em países estrangeiros e
facilitando a circulação dos
filmes por festivais e mercados.
Da mesma forma, essa aposta
antecipada representa uma
importante confiança de
qualidade do produto final. Até
então, os filmes da retomada
só foram negociados após
estarem prontos[...]. http://
www.centrocultural.sp.gov.br/
revista_dart/pdfs/revista%20
dart%2012.pdf
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Na própria Cidade de Deus a comunidade conta com 80 instituições,
dentro de vários ramos: a dança, o teatro, a música, a literatura, o
artesanato, entre outras, ou seja, é um meio urbano como qualquer
outro, com centro comercial, com escolas, com centros de lazer,
com bancos, com supermercados, em proporções mais precárias,
porém presentes. O dia a dia deles é comum a vida dos brasileiros,
trabalham, estudam e se divertem, levando em conta o recurso de
cada um. Como demonstra na pesquisa 42% dos moradores da
favela, quase que 50%, acreditam viver nas mesmas condições
sociais que o asfalto. De acordo com o filme, tudo isso é inexistente
e praticamente toda a favela é traficante, com baixo nível escolar
e praticamente sem nenhuma expectativa de vida ou sonhos a
conquistar. Contrastando com os dados estatísticos a grande
maioria das crianças tem acesso à escola (83,4%), embora de baixa
qualidade, porém o que aprendem garante seu desenvolvimento no
trabalho (para 54,8% dos entrevistados). Na película, a maioria das
crianças dedicam suas vidas ao tráfico e portam armas, porém não
se torna explícito ser por uma opção de sobrevivência, mas sim por
interpretarem, de forma natural, que esta é a carreira profissional
inerente ao meio para atingir o poder, o êxito.
A presença da família foi totalmente solapada da tela do cinema,
nos da a entender que a maioria surge da «terra». Não há
questionamento sobre a necessidade ou a ausência dos pais ou
de pessoas queridas. Demonstram serem pessoas incapazes de
travar um diálogo saudável, não existe outro assunto que não seja
o mundo do crime. São desprovidos de conteúdo moral, intelectual,
espiritual e social. São humanos? Fixaram uma etiqueta ao redor
desta comunidade que nos falta uma nomenclatura apropriada a fim
de defini-los.
No que tange ao narcotráfico 5 , ou seja, de uma forma geral, a origem
da violência, o motivo desestabilizador para o surgimento desta, não
tem lugar no filme. Da forma que nos apresenta nos sugere que seja
um produto fabricado naquele meio, ou seja, a droga é plantada
e colhida ali assim como todo o tipo de violência. O externo, ou
seja, a sociedade está excluída de qualquer responsabilidade e
protagonismo sobre o tema, já que a sua «pureza social» foi defendida
através de suas lindas praias, da galera bonita e de raça branca e
dos lindos pores-do-sol. Outro ponto de forte dissenso é o tópico
referente à projeção da idéia de «mundo à parte» com seus «seres à
parte». De acordo com a pesquisa, evidencia-se que quase 70% dos
moradores das favelas se sentem integrados à sociedade quando
que no filme a história passa quase que exclusivamente dentro dos
muros da favela, concretizando um mundo exótico ao olhar externo.
Na pesquisa não se evidencia esta falta de conexão com o meio,
não há este muro entre o asfalto e a favela, este bloqueio é criado de
fora para dentro, principalmente por aqueles que possuem nas mãos
NOTAS
5 | O narcotráfico foi
identificado como um
produto interno da favela,
desconsiderando-se os
poderosos e influentes
protagonistas atuantes nesse
meio, ou seja, «o asfalto». De
acordo com Zaluar, em seu
livro: Cem anos de favela,
nos relata: «A entrada dos
cartéis colombianos e das
máfias ligados ao narcotráfico,
particularmente o da cocaína,
trouxe para o país as mais
modernas armas de fogo, que
foram distribuídas entre os
jovens traficantes e “aviões”,
envolvendo uma rede de
intermediários que inclui desde
logo policiais e “matutos”, ou
seja, os que trazem as drogas
de outros estados ou países
e que as vendem em grandes
quantidades (“ a peso” e não
em papelotes)» (UNDCP apud
Zaluar, 1999:210).
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a possibilidade de desmistificar tal construção. Refiro-me à mídia, a
qual «padroniza» e «condiciona» a elaboração de um pensamento,
de uma convicção, ou até mesmo, de uma ideologia, através dos
noticiários ou produtos culturais, podendo reforçar, desta forma,
este imaginário periférico, cometendo um ato de violência com este
povo já tão violentado moralmente.
A narrativa do filme desconsidera de todos os modos o passado da
nação Brasileira, a qual foi «vítima» de um processo de colonização
intenso e devastador, principalmente, nas conseqüências sociais
deixadas. E sobre elas me adentro no que se refere à raça negra 6 .
Uma identidade que esteve presa às mazelas de todos os tipos de
preconceitos e amarguras, e hoje, todavia, segue sendo projetada
sob a imagem organizada em forma de gueto.
Percebe-se, através das coincidências observadas (na adaptação
ao gênero de gangster), que a obra não está baseada em um
formato de história ingênua, ou seja, descompromissada com a
bilheteria expectadora. Há interesses comerciais bem visíveis, com
uma indústria por detrás ávida por atingir o sucesso internacional,
abordagem sobre a qual não faço críticas, pois não se pode fazer
apologia ao filantropismo, uma vez que, os custos precisam ser
pagos e estamos diante de um produto comercializável. Apenas o
evidencio como alicerce influenciador no caráter manipulativo em
questão. Assim sendo, tratar o tema, favela, com menos efeito
estético e com mais conteúdo argumentativo, interessaria ao olhar
estrangeiro?
As coincidências elencadas na adaptação ao gênero comercial —
gangster—proporcionam uma aproximação muito mais da ficção do
que da realidade. Ao visualizar os arquétipos caricatos do gênero
sustentado na narrativa de Cidade de Deus, os quais desde a década
de trinta já são utilizados, perde-se a convicção realista defendida
na obra e passamos a assistir mais uma história «confeccionada». O
que se afirma como realidade e isso não se pode omitir é o tema da
violência e do narcotráfico associados às favelas. Isso é realidade
no mundo, não apenas em Cidade de Deus. Diante deste tema,
de importante e notória realidade, sugere-se haver sido utilizado
como um discurso real para «diluir», «disfarçar» e «incorporar» o
formato do gênero comercial na concepção do filme. Ao assistir à
trajetória narrativa da película através de suas imagens impactantes
e escalofriantes, a suposta realidade evidenciada através do
acúmulo de violência projetada, paralisa ao expectador, o que o faz
endossar a autenticidade da história tendo como referência verídica
o conteúdo jornalístico que assola o país diariamente vendendo a
mesma manchete: favela, reduto de marginais e de narcotráfico.
Entretanto, tendo em consideração, que essa referência «verídica»
tampouco está isenta de sensacionalismo e especulação midiática,
NOTAS
6 | Enfim, em 1850
registra o fim do tráfico de
escravos e em 1888 o fim
da escravidão através a lei
Áurea. O negro sobreviveu
ao fim da escravidão e
chegou aos nossos dias
sendo encapsulados e
«animalizados”» dentro de
formatos discursivos que se
assemelham aos «guetos» sob
o codinome favela.
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cabe aqui igual reflexão sobre a realidade e a possibilidade de
manipulação do tema em questão.
A idéia em desenvolver a história fechada dentro dos muros da favela,
remonta a ideologia de caráter internacional, uma vez que, este
cotidiano, o qual se torna exótico à mirada estrangeira, endossada
pela curiosidade e ignorância alheia por desconhecimento, poderia
alavancar, substancialmente, o interesse pelo consumo do filme.
Após esta análise faz mister acrescentar que, em minha restrita
opinião, a delicadeza sobre a temática requeria outro tipo de
abordagem pela facilidade com que a ficção se mescla com
a realidade protegida sob a chancela: Cidade de Deus (uma
comunidade verídica) e, sobretudo, representada pelos próprios
moradores das favelas explorando a linguagem construída neste
meio social. Colocar o nome do filme Cidade de Deus, diretamente
faz alusão à comunidade em referência, mas também às favelas
cariocas, as quais, mais uma vez, passam da posição de vítimas às
de culpadas, através dos estereótipos «distorcidos», com os quais
foram representados. A questão baseado em fatos reais (assinado
pelo filme), causa uma idéia preliminar de aproximação à realidade,
porém, no caso presente, aludindo à fonte que deu origem ao filme,
o livro de Paulo Lins, o qual foi idealizado de forma imaginativa 7 ,
embora alguns personagens tenham ganhado nomes verídicos,
como argumenta o autor, aproxima-se mais uma vez do caráter
ficcional. Sobre o caráter «natural» do elenco, por assim defini-lo,
emplaca uma verossimilhança que nos intimida na hora de questionála,
porém o exercício manipulativo se revela no ato de «generalizar»
o comportamento, as atitudes, os pensamentos apenas sobre a
ótica da marginalidade envolvendo uma comunidade inteira, com
salva exceção do único sobrevivente possuidor de um bom coração
e cultivador de valores morais: o personagem Buscapé. Através
da exceção não se pode projetar o todo, porém através do todo se
projeta e defende uma ideologia —um discurso—.
Diante do exposto, creio que fica claro a intenção ficcional do filme
em contraste com a forma verídica com a qual tentou-se justificar
a película, defendida nas palavras de seu diretor: «[...] a gente não
inventou aquela história».
Deste modo, conclui-se que o cinema é espetáculo e sempre foi,
desenvolveu-se com esse fim. Nesse sentido, a representação
de problemas complexos, como a questão da oposição favela e
asfalto, deve ser analisada de forma cautelosa, já que os discursos
identitários, reafirmados pelos discursos cinematográficos, tornamse
senso comum no imaginário coletivo, assim sendo, é importante
que eles sejam questionados e desestabilizados na busca de novos
significados.
NOTAS
7 | Entrevista realizada com
o escritor Paulo Lins, o qual
comenta o processo de criação
do livro Cidade de Deus.
Publicada na revista: Caros
Amigos (Edição 74), em maio
de 2003.
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4. UMA PALAVRA FINAL
Não poderia concluir este estudo de cunho investigativo sem
pronunciar algumas palavras finais. A intenção do trabalho proposto
não foi de criticar a obra de Fernando Meirelles e tampouco depreciála.
Deixo aqui documentado minha admiração pelo filme como arte.
Torna-se inquestionável o alavanque ocorrido no cinema nacional
em detrimento à película. Serviu como um fôlego novo para o Brasil
dentro do âmbito não só nacional, mas, sobretudo, internacional.
Rompeu paradigmas e fixou a qualidade cinematográfica brasileira.
No que tange ao formato do conteúdo apresentado, também deixo
constatado, que para tantas outras pessoas o filme pode ter servido
como discurso reflexivo dentro de algum ponto de vista específico, e,
através de um viés argumentativo ou outro, tenha «desestruturado»
a sensibilidade do expectador em busca de reflexões sociais.
Meu interesse específico foi o de (re) interpretar a obra desmontando
os estereótipos reafirmados a fim de aludir à realidade, já que, muitas
vezes, me surpreendia endossando o «verossímil representado» e,
em esses momentos, via-me submersa em este «imaginário coletivo»
estruturado no mesmo formato cinematográfico estereotipado. Foi
então, que me dei conta, do necessário que seria realizar este
trabalho, principalmente para recapacitar meus olhos em torno da
comunidade favela.
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REFERÊNCIAS
AUMONT, J; MARIE, M (1990). Análisis del film. Traducción: Carlos Losilla. Barcelona: Paidós.
BENJAMIN, Walter (1985). A obra de arte na era da sua reprodutibilidade técnica. In: ___.
Obras escolhidas: magia e técnica, arte e política. 2.ed. São Paulo: Brasiliense.
CUFA, Pesquisa realizada pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Pesquisa Social. Acessada dia 15/ 7/
2009. http://www.cufa.org.br/in.php?id=materias/mat315 .
DAVIS, Mike (2006). Planeta favela. Tradução: Beatriz Medina. São Paulo: Boitempo.
DIVISA RED S.A (2007). Orígenes del cine: Estados Unidos. Valladolid: Divisa.
DOMÍNGUEZ, Trinidad Núñez (2005). El cine: ¿espejo de la realidad? Ayuntamiento de
Madrid.
FAUSTO, Boris (1995). Brasil, de colônia a democracia. Madrid: Alianza.
HALL, Stuart (ed) (2001). A identidade cultural na pós-modernidade. Tradução: Tomaz Tadeu
da Silva e Guacira Lopes Louro. Rio de Janeiro: DP&A.
HEREDERO, F.C; SANTAMARINA, A (1996). Cine negro: maduración y crisis de la escritura
clásica. Barcelona: Paidós.
IANNI, Octávio (1997). A idéia de Brasil moderno. São Paulo: Brasiliense.
LINS, Paulo (2002). Cidade de Deus. 2ed. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.
MORETZSOHN, Claúdia. Entre câmeras e traficantes (entrevista com F. Meirelles).
06/08/2002, www.Globo.com
MELLO, Cléa Corrêa de. «O desafio crítico de Cidade de Deus». Tempo Brasileiro, Rio de
Janeiro, n. 141, p. 123-49, abr./jun. 2000.
MOTTA, Cláudio. «Cidade de Deus reage à violência na tela». Globo Barra, Globo,
28/1/2002.
ORICCHIO, Zanin (2003). Cinema de novo: um balanço da retomada. São Paulo: Estação
liberdade.
RIBEIRO, Paulo Jorge. «Cidade de Deus na zona de contato: alguns impasses da crítica
cultural contemporânea». Revista de crítica literaria latinoamericana. Lima/Hanover, n. 57, 1°
semestre 2003, p. 125-139
SHOHAT, E; STAM, R. (2002) Multiculturalismo, cine y medios de comunicación: Crítica del
pensamiento eurocéntrico. Barcelona: Paidós.
SILVER, A; URSINI, J. (ed)(2004). Cine Negro. Köln: Taschen.
ZALUAR, A; MARCOS, A. (1999). Um Século de Favela. Rio de Janeiro: FGV.
Gênero comercial em evidência: O filme Cidade de Deus manipula a realidade? - Raquel de Medeiros Marcato
452ºF. #02 (2010) 80-95.
95

К ПЕРЕВОДУ
СТИХОТВОРЕНИЯ Г.
АРЕСТИ
«DEFENDERÉ LA
CASA DE MI PADRE»
Владимир Луарсабишвили
Преподаватель по сравнительной литературе
Тбилисский государственный университет им. И. Чавчавадзе
Рекомендуемая ссылка || ЛУАРСАБИШВИЛИ, Владимир (2010): “К переводу стихотворения г. Арести «defenderé la casa de mi padre»”
[статья он-лайн], 452ºF. Электронный журнал о теорий литературы и сравнительной литературе, 2, 96-111 [дата консультаций: дд/мм/гг], <
http://www.452f.com/index.php/ru/Vladimer-Luarsabishvili.html >.
иллюстрация || Патрициа Лопез
Оригинальная || статья в Гернике 2009 Nº3 | Принята: 16/06/2009 | Опубликована : 01/2010
Лицензия || не коммерческая, CC-ND 3.0 от Creative Commons.
96

452ºF
Резюме || В статье рассматриваются разные варианты перевода стихотворения Г. Арести
¨La casa de mi padre¨. Автор анализирует теорию и практику перевода на примере нескольких
переводчиков. На примерах конкретных переводов в статье описываются переводческие
взгляды К. Гамсахурдиа, М. Цветаевой, В. Набокова, Х. Борхеса и др.. В конце, автор
предлагает собственный вариант перевода стихотворения Г. Арести ¨La casa de mi padre¨.
Ключевые слова || Перевод | Переводчик | Техника перевода | Арести | Зыцарь.
Abstract || In this article, several versions of the poem “My father’s house” by Gabriel Aresti
are analysed. The author studies in depth the theory and the practice of translation with the
example of several translators. In the article, several specific examples of diverse translations by
K. Gamsakhurdia, M. Tsvetaeva, V. Nabokov, J. Borges, etc, are quoted. At the end of his work,
the author suggests his own version of the russian translation of the poem by Gabriel Aresti “My
father’s house”.
Key-words || Translation | Translator | Translation technique | Aresti | Zytsar.
97

0.
В журнале «Герника» помещен перевод стихотворения классика
баскской поэзии XX века Габриеля Арести «Defenderé la casa de
mi padre», выполненный российским баскологом Ю. Зыцарем
(1). В течении девяти лет я переводил на грузинский язык стихи
Густаво Адольфо Беккера, Федерико Гарсии Лорки, Хуана
Рамона Хименеса, Педро Салинаса и баскских поэтов (Унамуно,
Селайя, Арести) и за это время, естественно, неоднократно
возникал вопрос о технике и нормах литературного перевода.
Ранее я читал вышеупомянутое стихотворение Г. Арести в
переводе Роберто Серрано и Романа Игнатьева (2), который,
несомненно, отличается от варианта Ю. Зыцаря. Результатом
прочтения обоих явился третий, мой вариант, а также настоящая
статья с изложением авторского взгляда на литературный тип
перевода.
Для начала предлагаю читателям ознакомиться с обоими
переводами указанного стихотворения Г. Арести.
Перевод Юрия Зыцаря:
Дом моего отца
у самых верхов границы
я защищу от волхвов, волков,
землетрясений, ростовщиков,
мафии
и юстиции.
От всего защищу,
как ни тих и ни щупл.
Всю защиту ему обеспечу.
Обесконечу.
Как задаток приму синяки.
Потеряю скот, поля, сосняки.
Дивиденды, доходы, проценты,
последние центы.
Всё, исключая ключи от рая,–
всё потеряю.
Но дом отца?..
У самого краха края
род жены решит (– дня ясней),
что, мол, муж-то мул,
и уж муж ли, эй,
и уж нужн ли ей?
Отберут у меня и оружие.
к переводу стихотворения г. арести «Defenderé la casa de mi padre» - Владимир Луарсабишвили
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Что ж, и тут я не запищу:
просто пальцами защищу.
Срежут пальцы с рук,
руки срубят, уже беспалые…
Друг!
Не плачь ты о бедном малом.
Плачь ты лучше о небывалом:
удалóм, пусть и неудáлом.
Я зубами заскрежещу:
рук
об
руб
ками
не пущу.
Пусть я мул, даже мум и му, старый пень в дыму,
но и думать о доме не дам – сомну.
Но тогда уж,
дойдя до плеч,
подберутся к душе
в груди.
Что же – лечь?
Не-ет, минуточку подожди.
В самый плача миг
на палачий мир
я душой замахнусь:
дом отца –
рушить?
Стой? Куда ж ты бежишь-то, гнусь!
Задушý
за дýшу.
Но допустим,
когда-нибудь пусть
где-то в толще лет – голубой чащé,
да не будет ей путь пуст,
срок придет и моей
душé.
А за ней и потомкам,
моим котёнкам.
А дом отца?..
А вот он-то,
как солдат после фронта,
лишь смеясь над векáми,
и лишь вéками щурясь вслед,
ни один не обронит камень.
Вот
свят
Свет.
к переводу стихотворения г. арести «Defenderé la casa de mi padre» - Владимир Луарсабишвили
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Перевод Роберто Серрано и Романа Игнатьева:
Я защищу
Дом своего отца.
От волков,
От засухи,
От ростовщиков,
От правосудия
Я защищу
Дом
Своего отца.
Я потеряю скот,
Огороды,
Сосняки;
Я потеряю
Проценты,
Ренты,
Дивиденды,
Но я защищу дом своего отца.
Они отнимут у меня оружие,
А я руками защищу
Дом своего отца;
Мне отрубят руки,
А я культями защищу
Дом своего отца:
Они оставят меня
Без рук,
Без плеч
И без груди,
А я душой защищу
Дом своего отца.
Я умру,
Потеряется моя душа,
Погибнет мое потомство,
Но дом моего отца
Останется
Стоять.
1.
Вкратце ознакомимся с суждениями некоторых классиков
перевода, с авторами, которые способствовали созданию
науки о переводе. В книге Ампаро Уртадо Албира (2007)
перевод рассматривается как умение, знание создания, которое
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состоит в знании обследования процесса перевода и решении
переводческих сложностей, имевших место в конкретном
случае. Опираясь на известное различие между знаниями
пояснительным (знать как), вытекающим и действенным
(оперативным), умение перевода определяется как знание,
главным образом, оперативного типа и, поэтому, приобретенное
в основном практикой.
Однако, для определения перевода этот автор считает возможным
опереться и на другую классификацию, предложенную
Jakobson в 1959 году, согласно которому существуют три вида
интерпретаций словесного знака:
1. Интралингвистический перевод, или реформуляция —
толкование словесных знаков при помощи других знаков
того же языка;
2. Интерлингвистический перевод, или перевод —
толкование словесных знаков при помощи другого языка;
3. Интерсемиотический или трансмутативный перевод —
толкование словесных знаков посредством незнаковых
систем.
Jakobson указывал, что интерлингвистический перевод является
настоящим переводом. Этот взгляд позднее разделили и другие
авторы. Например, Ljudskanov (1969) рассматривал перевод, как
процесс преобразования знаков и поддержания неизменного и
искал действующий алгоритм для человеческого и механического
перевода; Arcaini (1986) ссылался на интерсемиотический
перевод между лингвистическими и иконическими знаками
и писал о словесных и иконических кодах; Steiner (1975)
интерлингвистический перевод рассматривал как особенный и
привилегированный тип коммуникации.
Albir ставит три вопроса: почему нужно переводить?, для чего
нужно переводить? и для кого нужно переводить? По его мнению,
переводить надобно вследствии существования отличающихся
языков и культур; на вопрос «для чего нужно переводить»,
отвечает: для коммуникации, для преодоления барьера
некомуникации, предназначение перевода — коммуникативное;
а на третий вопрос — «для кого нужно переводить?» отвечает:
для того, кто не знает язык и культуру оригинала. Переводчик не
переводит для себя (за редким исключением), а цели перевода
могут быть разными.
Марко Антонио Кампос в статье «Поэзия и перевод» ставит
те же вопросы. По его мнению, существуют два основных
повода для перевода — перевод как средство существования
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и перевод для наслаждения. Допустимо относиться к переводу
и как к работе и одновременно, по своему вкусу, выбирать
авторов. Он переводил для удовольствия делать открытия,
по общности восприятия, в благодарность автору, который его
чему-либо научил или взволновал. Для чего переводить? В
первую очередь, чтобы дать возможность читателю на родном
языке открыть неизвестного писателя; также, дабы вернувшись
к уже переведенному, исправить лексические, рифмические
неточности, негибкость перевода или излишнюю литературность.
Автор советует не переводить уже переведенное, если
не удастся улучшить его, или, по крайней мере, изложить
новую — ощутимую и отличающуюся версию. К тому же при
переводе язык обогащается в процессе бесконечной словесной
трансформации. Это такой же прекрасный объект, как писанный
стих или картина, или же снятый фильм (4).
Касательно переводчика, первым соображением является
знание обоих языков. Тут рождаются три вопроса:
1. Должен ли переводчик знать оба языка на одном уровне?
2. Должны ли переводчик и устный переводчик иметь схожие
лингвистические знания?
3. Должен ли переводчик быть теоретиком языков или же
специалистом лингвистики?
По мнению Ампаро Уртадо Албира (2007), билингвизм не
является условием sine qua non для переводчика (тем более,
что два случая — письменный и устный перевод, отличаются
друг от друга). Кроме того, переводчик, безусловно, должен
владеть и внелингвистическими знаниями, например о культуре
стран переводимых языков. Хотя практика показывает, что часто
и этого бывает недостаточно (3).
Теперь вкратце рассмотрим традиционную классификацию
перевода.
San Jerónimo различает мирской и религиозный перевод. Vives
(1532) различает версии, которые учитывают лишь значение,
другие — фразы и слова, и третьи — вид равновесия между
сутью и словами, в которой слова добавляют смыслу мощь
и изящество. Fray Luis de León (1561) различает перевод
(trasladar) и провозглашение (declarar): первое является
«верным и точным» и «если возможно сосчитать слова, дабы
заменить их точным количеством», а второе, как «игра слов,
добавляя и упраздняя по собственному желанию». Dryden
(1680) предлагает различать metafrasis (перевод слово в слово),
parafrasis (перевод значения) и imitation (вольность отклонения
в форме и значении). Schleiermacher (1813) различает перевод
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коммерческих, литературных и научных текстов.
В поэтическом переводе выделяют свои, особенные типы. Этот
вопрос изучали: Holmes (1969: 195-201, 1978: 69-82), Holmes,
de Haan and Popovic (1970), Lefevere (1975), Popovic (1976), de
Beaugrande (1978), Etkind (1982), Raffel (1988), Saez Hermosilla
(1987) и другие (5-11).
Holmes (1988) — поэтические тексты многовалентны.
Поэтический перевод это метапоэма, а переводчик — метапоэт.
Etkind (1982) — стих это «система конфликтов» (между
синтаксом и метром, метром и ритмом, поэтической традицией и
поэтической инновацией). Автор различает 6 типов поэтического
перевода:
1. информационный (в прозе и без художественного
притязания);
2. интерпретативный (связанный с историческим и
эстетическим изучением);
3. указывающий (с наличием некоторых эстетических
критериев, однако без выявления эстетически определенной
системы);
4. приблизительный (с наличием частичной эстетической
системы; например, ритм без метра, ритм без рифмы и т. д.);
5. имитативный (когда переводчик является поэтом и
свободно выражается);
6. рекреативный (истинный поэтический перевод, который
передает стих вместе с характеристиками оригинала).
Raffel (1988) — поэтический перевод это «игра равновесия».
2.
Во избежание влияния, я умышленно прочел книгу переводов Г.
Лорки, изданную в Москве в 1987 году (12), лишь после того, как
сам перевел некоторые стихи Лорки. Я сравнил два перевода
одного и того же стихотворения.
Известное стихотворение Лорки «Гитара» из «Канте Хондо»
было переведено Мариной Цветаевой (Лорка: 44-45). Изучение
роли великой русской поэтессы в мировой литературе не
является целью настоящей статьи, ее изучали и изучают
писатели и литераторы. Мы лишь подчеркнем ее переводческую
технику на примере двух стихотворений. Известно, что Цветаева
много переводила (Саакянц: 31) с разных языков, в том числе
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и с испанского. В «Гитаре» поэтесса совершает переводческий
трюк, который у нее проскальзывает и в другом стихотворении
Лорки — «А потом...» (Лорка: 46-47).
В конце стихотворения («Гитара») Цветаева переводит
(намеренно не употребляем глагол «пишет»):
Так прощается с жизнью птица
под угрозой змеиного жала.
Тогда как в оригинале у Лорки эти строки выглядят как:
И маленькая мертвая птица
на ветке.
В данном случае налицо изменение поэтического текста.
Однако, в другом стихотворении мы сталкиваемся уже не с
изменением, а с дополнением и удалением оригинала:
Умолкло, заглохло,
остыло, иссякло,
исчезло.
Эта строфа отсутствует в стихотворении Лорки, но
присутствует в его переводе. Кроме этого поэтесса заканчивает
перевод стихотворения, стирая последнюю строчку, которая
является самостоятельным предложением:
Пустыня —
осталась.
Тогда как в оригинале после строфы «Пустыня/осталась»
присутствует еще одно, последнее предложение: «Un onduloso
desierto».
Тут же следует отметить, что метры испанского, русского и
грузинского языка отличаются друг от друга, что осложняет
сравнение оригинала с переводами. То же самое случилось и с
переводами Беккера (Беккер: 1985) (с книгой, которую я прочел
после трех лет публикования моих переводов в литературных
газетах).
Уместно вспомнить взгляд М. Цветаевой на перевод: «Я перевожу
по слуху — и по духу (вещи). Это больше, чем смысл» (Саакянц:
31). На наш взгляд, весьма субъективное мышление. Ведь откуда
известно, в какую строку вложил Лорка свой «дух»? Может, в том
самом последнем предложении, которое пропустила (стерла)
переводчица?
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Тот же взгляд на перевод имел и грузинский писатель К.
Гамсахурдиа: «Переводческая деятельность — сложнейшая
работа. Переводчик не должен следовать переводимому тексту
дословно. Например, когда я переводил Вертера, то пропустил
некоторые места оригинала, так как они ничего не говорили
грузинскому читателю. Такой принцип при переводе обязателен,
так как перевод — это передача души произведения, а не букв»
(Гамсахурдиа: 564-656).
«Не говорили грузинскому читателю» — не субъективизм ли это?
По мнению К. Гамсахурдиа «не говорили», а по мнению другого
переводчика может и «сказали бы», будь они переведены. В другом
переводчике, к примеру, подразумеваю Владимира Набокова:
«В причудливом мире словесных превращений существует три
вида грехов. Первое и самое невинное зло — очевидные ошибки,
допущенные по незнанию или непониманию. Это обычная
человеческая слабость — и вполне простительная. Следующий
шаг в ад делает переводчик, сознательно пропускающий те
слова и абзацы, в смысл которых он не потрудился вникнуть
или же те, что, по его мнению, могут показаться непонятными
или неприличными смутно воображаемому читателю. Он не
брезгует самым поверхностным значением слова, которое к его
услугам предоставляет словарь, или жертвует ученостью ради
мнимой точности: он заранее готов знать меньше автора, считая
при этом, что знает больше. Третье — и самое большое — зло в
цепи грехопадений настигает переводчика, когда он принимается
полировать и приглаживать шедевр, гнусно приукрашивая его,
подлаживаясь к вкусам и предрассудкам читателей. За это
преступление надо подвергать жесточайшим пыткам, как в
средние века за плагиат» (Набоков: 389).
В. Набоков был писателем глубоко индивидуального мышления.
То же самое можно сказать и о М. Цветаевой, как и о некоторых
других писателях, непечатаемых советской властью. Однако,
тут же следует отметить, что несмотря на схожесть мышления,
Набоков и Цветаева были диаметрально отличающимися
личностями. Это отличие четко вырисовывается в их отношении
к переводу. Leigh Kimmel опубликовал статью «Набоков как
переводчик», в которой изучает эволюцию переводческой
доктрины писателя (Leigh: 2001). Автор статьи выделяет две
группы переводчиков: одни при переводе предпочитают сохранить
целостность текста, другие переводят «душу» произведения
(так, как М. Цветаева). На примере двух переводов В. Набокова
автор старается выяснить эволюцию переводческой сути.
Первым переводом Kimmel рассматривает «Аню в стране
чудес». Автор оригинала Льюис Кэролл играет английскими
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словами, опираясь на их множественные значения и особенно
на схожесть звучания разных слов, создавая юмористический
эффект. При переводе оригинала Набоков сроднил его с русским
языком. Начал он с замены имени «Алисы» на «Аню» и каждый
новый иностранный элемент «переводил» на русский. Таким
образом, он все более отдалялся от оригинала и в результате
получил перевод «говоривший что-то русскому читателю», если
позаимствовать у К. Гамсахурдиа.
В отличии от рассмотренного перевода, Набоков переводил
«Евгения Онегина», руководствуясь противоположными
принципами. Первой задачей переводчика было сохранить
целостность текста, составив для этой цели 1100 страничный
комментарий. Он разумел свой перевод не как чтение
литературного текста, а как руководство к русскому оригиналу для
тех, кто не владеет русским языком на уровне, достаточном для
прочтения произведения. Автор статьи не согласен с мнением,
что Кэролл переводился для детей, а Пушкин для ученых,
чем и объясняется такая смена тактики перевода. Известно,
что Набоков сам менял содержания своих произведений
при переводе (в случае с «Camera obscura», которую он
переименовал в «Laughter in the Dark» и фактически написал
заново). Согласно мнению Kimmel, возможно Набоков пришел
к выводу, что лишь автор имеет право изменять содержание
текста.
В связи с переделыванием чужого произведения широко
известна история переводов «Рубай» Омара Хайяма Э.
Фицджеральдом, но особый интерес вызывает перевод
английских стихов уже на испанский язык (21,22). Согласно
легенде, Борхес-сын унаследовал талант писателя от своего
отца. За исключением нескольких востоковедческих текстов
и новеллы «El Caudillo», Хорхе Гильермо Борхес опубликовал
лишь немного стихотворений, в числе которых были три
произведения, озаглавленные «Momentos» (которые напечатал
престижный журнал «Nosotros» в Буэнос-Айресе в 1914 году).
Позднее, Борхес-отец перевел с английкого языка «Рубаи»,
руководствуясь переводом Э. Фицджеральда.
Э. Фицджеральд впервые опубликовал адаптацию «Рубай»
в 1859 году, всего в течение жизни вышли четыре редакции
перевода. Пятая, последняя, вышла после кончины переводчика
в 1889 году, включая примечания, которые Фицджеральд
составил к четвертому изданию. В оригинале каждый «Рубаи»
представляет собой строфу из двух стихов, каждый делится
на два полустишья, составляя в сумме четыре (откуда и берет
начало название ruba’i). Строки рифмуются между собой, за
исключением третьей линии, которая или рифмуется, или нет.
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Переводя, Фицджеральд выбрал схему AABA.
Каждое четверостишие представляет собой отдельный стих,
имея началом описательный элемент или рассказ, тогда как в
последней линии заключается мораль или философский вывод.
Фицджеральд соединил некоторые строфы оригинала, не следуя
принятой персидской системе. Его упорядочение менялось от
первого до пятого издания, которое уже содержало 101 строфу,
тогда как оригинал насчитывал всего 75.
Перевод «Рубай» на испанский язык, совершенный Борхесом,
минимум третий. Первый, в 1907 году, был опубликован в
мадридском журнале «Renacimiento» в 1907 г. без указания
переводчика. Второй перевод принадлежит перу Карлоса Мусио
Пеньи, со вступительной статьей Альваро Мелиана Лафинура,
а в 1922 году в журнале Рафаэля Лосано была опубликована
серия «Лучшие стихи (лирика) лучших поэтов», в числе которых
был Омар Хайям. Кроме того, «прямой перевод с персидского»
опубликовал Вентура Гарсия Кальдерон . В 1925 году вышел
перевод Адольфо Саласара, а в 1927 году Хоакина В. Гонсалеса.
К чести Борхеса нужно отметить, что это был первый перевод на
испанский язык, который сохранил метр оригинала. Английский
оригинал состоит из десятисложного стиха со знаком ударения на
последнем слоге, который, в случае переноса на испанский язык,
превращается в одиннадцатисложный. При переводе Борхес
устранил рифму и чередовал парокситоны одиннадцатисложного
(несущие знак ударения на предпоследнем слоге) с окситонным
десятисложным стихом, так что, несмотря на различное
количество фонологических слогов, все стихи подсчитываются
как одиннадцатисложные согласно общепринятым метрическим
нормам.
В остальном, конечно же эта работа является не переводом, а
воссозданием, как и в случае с Фицджеральдом. Однако, Борхес
пошел дальше Фицджеральда, удаляя часть оригинальных
строф Фицджеральда, изменяя чередование оставшихся и
добавляя некоторые из собственных. Выходит, что Борхес,
вдохновленный переводом Фицджеральда, написал собственные
«Рубай» на испанском языке, а Фицджеральд, в свою очередь,
вдохновленный оригиналом Хайяма написал свои «Рубай» на
английском языке.
В цитируемой нами выше статье Марко Антонио Кампос
выделяет 7 типов перевода (4).
1. Перевод как творение — когда автор точно переводит
иноязычного поэта, одновременно наряжая его
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3.
собственным стилем (например, Борхес и Октавио Пас);
2. литературный перевод — жажда каждого писателя
заключается в соответствии словесных объектов оригинала
и перевода. Совершенный перевод поэзии невозможен; по
крайней мере, расплывается или теряется музыкальность.
Как читатель и переводчик автор признается в уважении и
влечении к поэтическому переводу. Конечно, не имеется
в виду дословный перевод, где ничего не слышно или
мало что слышно, который совершает академический
персонал, страдающий отсутствием слуха. Они уважают
текст в дословном смысле, однако не уважают поэзию;
3. свободный перевод — разновидность перевода
как творения и перевода как личного труда. Его также
величают «либризмом». В этом случае, переводчик
отдаляется от оригинала и погружается в мир свободных
действий, до того, что стих становится родным.
Можно привести пример Эдварда Фицджеральда,
который в 1859 году опубликовал «Рубаи» Хайяма;
4. перевод как личный труд — автор рассматривает
переведенные стихотворения как часть своего
литературного наследия, в том числе, когда они включаются
в текст, или же в конце собственного произведения;
5. перевод перевода — когда переводчик не владеет
языком оригинала и основывается на другие языки.
Примерами могут служить переводы Октавио Паса (с
японского, китайского, шведского и венгерского) и Хосе
Эмилия Пачеко (с польского и современного греческого);
6. перевод как современная адаптация древнего текста на
том же языке — перевод Альфонсо Рейеса («Myo Cid») и
Генри У. Лонгфелло («Historia de los reyes de Noruega»);
7. адаптация — дидактическая или сжатая передача
оригинала.
Считаю, что техника переводов Фицджеральда, Борхеса,
Цветаевой и Гамсахурдиа значительно удаляет читателя от
оригинала. Переведенный ими текст не только не содержит
все абзацы или главы первичного текста, но также не
является носителем целостности оригинала. Если в одних
случах теоретически допустимым яляется замена слова или
предложения, то это никак не случай с авангардской поэзией
Лорки, где одно слово (оно же предложение) является носителем
отличающего значения. Будучи стертым (устраненным), оно
вырывает из оригинала идею, которую должен был передать
переводчик.
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Рассмотрим случай дополнения авторского текста. Возможно,
М. Цветаева вставила вышеупомянутый абзац в стихотворение
Лорки «Гитара» для усиления несущего эффекта (идеи). Вопервых,
Лорку нет надобности «усиливать» — его «сила» может
заключается в стертой переводчицей поэтической форме и
нечего тут «полировать и приглаживать» (Набоков). Во-вторых,
вставленная строфа, по своей анатомии русская, в ней ничто
не пахнет Испанией. Это логично, ведь Цветаева принадлежит
к тому числу русских писателей, которые глубоко чувствовали
русское слово. При желании насладиться русской поэзией, я с
удовольствием перелистаю том Ходасевича, Цветаевой или
Ахматовой, но не буду искать русской души в переводах Лорки,
Хименеса или братьев Мачадо. Наверое это и имел в виду В.
Набоков: «Но вот за перо берется подлинный поэт, одаренный
и тем и другим, и между сочинением собственных стихов
находит отдохновение, переводя что-нибудь из Лермонтова
или Верлена. Обычно он либо не знает язык подлинника и
безмятежно полагается на «подстрочник», сделанный не столь
блестящим, но значительно более образованным человеком,
либо, зная язык, не обладает педантичностью ученого и опытом
профессионального переводчика. В этом случае чем больше его
поэтический дар, тем сильнее искрящаяся рябь его красноречия
замутняет гениальный подлинник. Вместо того, чтобы облечься
в одежды автора, он наряжает его в собственные одежды»
(Leigh: 1998).
Так каким же должен быть переводчик? В последний раз
обратимся к В. Набокову: «...Теперь уже можно судить, какими
качествами должен быть наделен переводчик, чтобы воссоздать
идеальный текст шедевра иностранной литературы. Прежде
всего он должен быть столь же талантлив, что и выбранный им
автор, либо таланты их должны быть одной природы. В этом и
только в этом смысле Бодлер и По или Жуковский и Шиллер
идеально подходят друг другу. Во-вторых, переводчик должен
прекрасно знать оба народа, оба языка, все детали авторского
стиля и метода, происхождение слов и словообразование,
исторические аллюзии. Здесь мы подходим к третьему важному
свойству: наряду с одаренностью и образованностью он должен
обладать способностью к мимикрии, действовать так, словно он и
есть истинный автор, воспроизводя его манеру речи и поведения,
нравы и мышление с максимальным правдоподобием» (Набоков:
395).
Конечно, Набокова вряд ли можно назвать скромным человеком:
он приравнивает себя к Пушкину будучи его переводчиком. Я
не считаю, что переводчик должен иметь одинаковый талант с
гением, тогда бы гении сами переводили свои произведения (но
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ведь переводил Набоков свои?). Наверное, главным стремлением
переводчика должна быть передача «души» произведения при
максимальной сохранности формы оригинала. Пусть не все
будет «гладко» на языке перевода, пусть «пахнет» оригиналом,
это лишний раз пробудит в нас стремление прочесть шедевр в
оригинале. Для меня, как для читателя и переводчика, перевод
Р. Серрано и Р. Игнатьева гораздо ближе (не только к тексту
оригинала, но и к его духу), чем перевод Ю. Зыцаря. Последний,
по собственному признанию переводчика, далек от оригинала
(1), но представляет безусловный интерес с точки зрения
альтернативного метода перевода.
В конце хочу выразить благодарность Ю. Зыцарю и Р. Серрано
и Р. Игнатьеву, переводы которых вдохновили меня написать
настоящую статью и предлагаю свою версию перевода
вышеупомянутого стиха Г. Арести:
Отстою отчий дом.
От волков,
засухи,
лихоимства
и правосудия
отстою отчий дом.
Лишусь
стад,
огородов,
сосновых пущ,
добра,
доходов,
долей
но отстою отчий дом.
Отнимут оружие, и руками
отстою отчий дом;
отнимут руки, и плечами
отстою отчий дом;
отнимут плечи, предплечья и грудь
и душой
отстою отчий дом.
Умру.
Потеряется душа моя,
погибнет потомство мое,
но отчий дом
устоит.
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(3) Hurtado Albir A. Traducción y Traductología. Introducción a la traductología. Tercera
edición. Madrid: Cátedra, 2007.
(4) Campos A. M. Poesía y traducción // Hieronymus. Núm. 3.
(5) Holmes J. Forms of Verse Translation and the Translation of Verse Form // Babel. 15. 1969.
P. 195-201.
• Describing Literary Translations: Models and Methods // Holmes J., Lambert J. and van
den Broeck R. (eds.). Literature and Translation: New Perspective in Literary Studies
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82.
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(6) Etkind E. Un art en crise. Essai de poétique de la traduction poétique. Lausanne: l’Age
d’Homme, 1982.
(7) Raffel B. The art of Translating Poetry. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania State University Press,
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Traductología del sentido. Universidad de Extremadura, 1987.
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(13) См. 12, с. 44-45.
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Москва: Издательство «Художественная литература», 1988. С. 31.
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грузинском языке). Газета писателя. № 13 (63). 1-7 мая 2003 г.
(18) Гамсахурдиа К. Перевод и чистота языка // Избранные произведения. Т. VII. Тбилиси:
Издательство «Сабчота Сакартвело, 1965. С. 564-656.
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к переводу стихотворения г. арести «Defenderé la casa de mi padre» - Владимир Луарсабишвили
452ºF. #02 (2010) 96-111.
111

THE
SURREALIST
COLLECTION OF
OBJECTS
Leticia Pérez
PhD student in the Department of Comparative Literature
State University of New York, Buffalo
Recommended citation || Pérez, Lericia (2010): “The Surrealist Collection of Objects” [online article], 452ºF. Electronic journal of theory of literature
and comparative literature, 2, 112-126 [Consulted on: dd / mm / yy], < http://www.452f.com/index.php/en/leticia-perez.html >.
Illustration || Javier Arce
Article || Received on: 23/04/2009 | International Advisory Board’s suitability: 09/12/2009 | Published on: 01/2010
License || Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
112

452ºF
Abstract || In this article I shall discuss the Surrealist collection of objects as a form of art which
arises out of mass production forces of the new era. These goods, deeply rooted in the capitalist
laws of use-, exchange- and surplus-value, carry in themselves two materialist approaches which
end in dialectical materialism. On the one hand, they epitomize the supreme forces of commodity
fetishism ingrained in capitalist structures; on the other hand, they arouse unconscious desires
which respond to the needs of the society of consumption. Thus, I will explore the act of objectcollecting
in the most radical Surrealist practices (dream objects, found objects, poème-objets,
calligrammes, readymades and Surrealist objects) as a way to not only delve into a new art, but
also to reflect on societal ongoing transformations and paradoxes.
Key-words || Collection | Commodity fetishism | Capitalism | Consumption | Commercial culture
| Use-, exchange- and surplus-value | Materialism | Idealism | Surrealist objects.
113

What is decisive in collecting is that the object is detached from all its
original functions in order to enter into the closest conceivable relation
to things of the same kind. This relation is the diametric opposite of any
utility, and falls into the peculiar category of completeness. What is this
“completeness”? It is a grand attempt to overcome the wholly irrational
character of the object’s mere presence at hand through its integration
into a new expressly devised historical system: the collection. And for the
true collector, every single thing in this system becomes an encyclopedia
of all knowledge of the epoch, the landscape, the industry, and the owner
from which it comes. It is the deepest enchantment of the collector to
enclose the particular item within a magic circle, where, as a last shudder
runs through it (the shudder of being acquired), it turns to stone (Benjamin
2002, “The Collector”, pp. 204-205).
In this passage, Walter Benjamin underscores the historical character
of the object, which, once divested of the commercial laws of
exchange-, use- and surplus-value, becomes a part of the collection
system. Thus, the item is displaced from its original locus only to
be circumscribed within a new milieu which charges it with magical
properties. Likewise, Surrealist objects, in reversing Hegel’s idealism
into Marx’s materialism, embody the inward drives of commodity
fetishism which allow for their alliance with mass production forces
of the new era. Therefore, I shall discuss the dialectical character
of Surrealist goods by exploring the unconscious processes of
the psyche and the fetishist forms of commodification ingrained in
capitalist structures. Following Benjamin’s notions in The Arcades
Project (2002), Freudian and Marxist postulates on fetishism, and
Rancière’s claims in The Politics of Aesthetics (2004), the aim of
this article is to argue for the impact of object-collecting as a way
of acquisition on the most subversive Surrealist practices: dream
objects, found objects, poème-objets, calligrammes, readymades and
Surrealist objects. Ultimately, these acts of collection transfigure the
physical qualities of the element at hand by virtue of the dislodgement
from its natural medium and its immersion into a fantastic realm,
which is symptomatic of society’s contradictions.
To begin with, I would like to explicate the Surrealist tendency to
collect objects in view of Rancière’s theorizations on the distribution
of the sensible; that is, the delimitation of the visible and the invisible,
the audible and the inaudible, the thinkable and the unthinkable, the
possible and the impossible (2004, p. 12). To put it simply, Rancière
appeals to forms of inclusion and exclusion in the process of
acceptance of a new artistic practice. Thus, the Surrealist category
of object-collecting can be conceived as a previously disregarded
art, which eventually is included within the aesthetic domain by
revealing what is shared by an artistic community, that is, the tension
of the object as a form of commodification and as a subjective act of
creation. In Rancière’s terms, the accumulation of common goods
can be an expression of the beauty of the ordinary, which “becomes
a trace of the true if it is torn from its obviousness in order to become
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a hieroglyph, a mythological or phantasmagoric figure” (2004, p. 34).
The commodity fetish not only illustrates this enigmatic level of the
true, but also enacts the antagonisms inherent in the modern era.
This notion carries in itself two materialist approaches. Firstly, Marx’s
theory of fetishism interprets human relations as an extension of
the interplay with commodities. Secondly, Freud’s readings of fetish
stand for the selection of an object which is attributed to a specific
body part (Lehman 2007, p. 36). Hence, the antithesis between
object and subject reveals the complexities of Surrealist works,
which, by subverting the traditional mechanisms of art production,
not only insist on the materiality of the aesthetic product, but also on
the unconscious desires it arouses.
In order to exploit the inner and outer properties of the industrial
item, the Surrealist collector, then, assumes the function of the
historian, who, by appropriating events in his proximity, disrupts the
spontaneous flux of history. He renders legibility to the undifferentiated
mass of materials while, at the same time, he delves into their
secret elements. In the same vein, the collector does violence to
the article by tearing it from its natural medium and placing it within
a universe of unusual significations. According to Benjamin, “the
object constructed in the materialist presentation of history is itself
the dialectical image. The latter is identical with the historical object;
it justifies its violent expulsion from the continuum of historical
process” (2002, “On the Theory of Knowledge, Theory of Progress”,
p. 475). Thus, the Surrealist artifact is an enactment of the dialectical
movement, in that it carries in itself its own contradiction. Whereas it
emphasizes its subjective value by reacting to commodity fetishism,
it is also a form of art production which responds to the needs of a
new market place. As Ulrich Lehman states: “Decorative objects with
Surrealist over- or undertones, such as Alberto Giacometti’s plaster
works, emerged from the utopian attempt by Surrealists in the latter
half of the 1930s to create new object categories that would reflect
systematic contradictions and display a novel definition of the work of
art” (2007, p. 23). This utopian sense accounted for by Lehman can
be interpreted as the Surrealist desire to open up new artistic registers
which, by overcoming the boundaries among the different disciplines
and genres, reflect the antagonisms of the modern era. Whereas this
innovative aestheticism acts as a vehicle for the critique of capitalist
power structures, it also belongs to such a rebuked system. Hence,
the emphatic character of the Surrealist artifact entails an overturn
of the exacerbated 19 th -century materialism, that is, a shift away
from its empirical and mechanical notions to the disclosure of its
alienating constituents. In that sense, the detachment of the object’s
components, which originally form a unity, generate a discordant
effect. This is commonly known as the reversal of Hegel’s idealism,
which results in the absolute segregation of object and subject, and
in the penetration into the unconscious.
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Materialist philosophy, unlike its idealist counterpart, interprets the
world as matter in motion, which renders psychic processes concrete,
and exists regardless and outside consciousness. Likewise, whereas
idealism asserts the primacy of the enigmatic and unknowable,
materialism attests to the plausibility of knowing the world and its laws
(Cornforth 1952, p. 30). Hence, a profound emphasis is placed on
the dialectics of the object, which correlates its external and internal
nature, and the parallel between appearance and essence. This
turnabout ends up in the formulation of dialectical materialism as “the
fully, profoundly objective, completely materialist overall approach
to the external world, the striving to comprehend the totality, the
whole object–both its inner and outer aspects” (Gollobin 1986, p.
90). In this fashion, items are classified according to a desire for both
unveiling the unconscious processes of the psyche and reflecting the
movement of the subject into the object, which ultimately results in
the reification of intellectual and creative acts (Lehman 2007, p. 24).
Dalí’s progressive gradation is indicative of this exploration of the
object in the domains of art. In the journal Cahiers d’Art, he proposes
the following step-by-step definition:
1. The object exists outside us, without our taking part in it
(anthropomorphic articles);
2. The object assumes the immovable shape of desire and acts
upon our contemplation (dream-state articles);
3. The object is movable and such that it can be acted upon (articles
operating symbolically);
4. The object tends to bring about our fusion with it and makes us
pursue the formation of a unity with it (hunger for an article and edible
articles) (1932, p. 207).
In line with the aforesaid progression, the journal Cahiers d’Art in
1936 enumerated the following objects in order to illustrate the
Surrealist experimentations with a diversity of materials: dream
objects, found objects, poème-objets, readymades and Surrealist
objects, among others. In this periodical as well, Breton’s article
‘Crisis of the Object’ mentions the most renowned contributions,
placing special emphasis on Max Ernst’s assemblages, Man Ray’s
found objects, Marcel Duchamp’s readymades and Pablo Picasso’s
Surrealist objects (1936, p. 22).
These plastic creations also affect 20 th -century Surrealist prose and
poetry, where the paradox of the industrial era is reflected. Precisely,
dream objects manifest not only the psychological operations of the
mind but also the laws by which the market place is ruled. Hence,
imagination and reality are fused in these oneiric objects, which
reenact the instinctive processes of human consciousness in the
moment of awakening; that is, this grey area which could respond
to Lacan’s imaginary as the site for delusory images and radical
alienation in the process of the selfhood’s configuration.
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This Imaginary 1 (the visual element) is articulated by the Symbolic
(language), where the signifier and the signified are intertwined in
the realm of signification, crucial to the interpretation of unconscious
desires. As Benjamin remarks, “the realization of dream elements in
the course of waking up is the canon of dialectics. It is paradigmatic
for the thinker and binding for the historian” (2002, “On the Theory
of Knowledge, Theory of Progress”, p. 464). Similarly, the Surrealist
recollection of dreams and the metamorphoses undergone by the
object in this imaginary world is an epitome of its inner tensions. On
the one hand, it needs to consolidate its position as a circulating
commodity within the empirical world. On the other hand, it reveals
dreamlike transpositions of reality emerged from the unconscious.
In Nadja (1928), Breton invests the object with introspective qualities
which point to the symbolism of clothing. As Lehman states, “traces of
the woman are felt in her sartorial shell, and evoke the metaphorical
potential of clothing as simulacra” (2007, p. 25). In the same vein,
Yves Tanguy in his Indefinite Divisivility (1942) [fig. 1], a work created
out of amorphic figures, seems to suggest the idea that the subject
moves into the object, that is, the technique and art of the individual
pervades reality by virtue of dream figures which determine the visual
aspect of the work. Thus, in this painting, the text is the realization
of the drives by way of the creative process (Lehman 2007, p. 27).
The found object is another Surrealist practice based on the
collection of unusual items and, once removed from its original
context, their scientific and fantastic properties are exploited. The
element is deprived of its functional value and, at the same time,
is transposed into an enigmatic world of significations. Emak Bakia
[fig. 2], Fisherman’s Idol [fig. 3] and Collage ou l’âge de la colle are
illustrations of found objects which show Man Ray’s “marvelous
faculty of grasping two mutually distant realities… of bringing them
together and drawing a spark from their juxtaposition” 2 . In Emak
Bakia (1926) Ray’s compositional elements are an old cello, obtained
from the Parisian flea market, and the horse hair of the bow, used
for playing the instrument. Man Ray points humorously to the age
of the cello with the addition of a long white beard. Fisherman’s Idol
(1926) is the story of some pieces of cork found in the seaside resort
of Biarritz. As Man Ray manifested, he was delighted by the beauty
emanated from this object merged with net-floats and life-belts in
tatters. Three vital elements took part in the configuration of the object
(water, air and earth), and the fourth element (fire) was facilitated by
Man Ray’s imagination. Collage ou l’âge de la colle (1935) is the
collection of objects that Man Ray kept in his desk (a T-square, tape
measure, rulers, snapshots…). This found object is the result of the
arrangement of goods that Man Ray’s maid carried out. The grace
of the items’ ordering captivated the artist to such an extent that he
NOTES
1 | See Schwartz, Arturo (1977)
citing Breton in Man Ray: The
Rigour of Imagination. New
York, Rizzoli International
Publications, Inc., 177
2 | See Breton (1928): Nadja,
in Margaret Bonnet, Philippe
Bernier Ètienne-Alain Hubert,
José Pierre (eds.), Oeuvres
Complètes. Paris, Gallimard,
vol. 1, 678.
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endered it a work of art by gluing it and punning on the word collage:
in French colle is the equivalent to glue, âge answers for age, and
the title literally means “Collage or the age of glue” (Schwartz 1977,
p. 157). Through these illustrations, Man Ray’s collecting ability can
be read as a way of actualizing “latent archaic representations of
property connected with taboo” (Benjamin 2002, “The Collector”, p.
209). In other words, by appropriating these accidental goods, he
confers them a sacred value to be experienced by others. Hence,
the viewer is challenged to explore the nooks and crannies of his
imagination in order to decipher the enigmas posed by the artist.
In Nadja (1928), Breton recounts his interest in the unusual items
of the flea market at Saint-Ouen: “I searched for objects that I
could not find anywhere else, old-fashion, fragmented, unusable,
rather incomprehensible, in the end perverted in regard to whether
I understood or liked them, as for example an irregularly shaped
white half-cylinder, varnished and showing reliefs and indentations
which meant absolutely nothing to me” 3 . In this passage, the object is
interpreted according to the conditions of commodity production and
its accidental encounter. Walter Benjamin, in his essay “Surrealism:
The Last Snapshot of the European Intelligentsia”, accounts for the
temporal dislocation of the object as a fabricated commodity and its
incidental discovery: “It first came across the revolutionary potential
that appeared in the ‘outmoded’, in the first iron constructions, in the
first factory buildings, in early photography, in the objects that are just
becoming extinct, the grand pianos, the clothes of five years ago,
mundane gathering places after the vogue begins to retreat from
them” (1999, p. 210). With this statement, Benjamin seems to point
to the revolution of the object in the industrial era, as it discloses
potential forms of alienation, objectification and reification inherent in
capitalist structures, that is, in the notions of fabrication, circulation
and consumption. The item undergoes a series of transformations,
from its form and texture to its perceptual experience, of which found
objects are a unique example. In Paris Peasant (1926), Aragon
intertwines past memories with a present event in which goods seem
to be infused with human spirit:
What memories, what revulsions linger around these hash houses:
the man eating in this one has the impression he is chewing the table
rather than a steak, and becomes irritated by his common, noisy table
companions, ugly, stupid girls, and a gentleman flaunting his secondrate
subconscious and the whole unedifying mess of his lamentable
existence; while, in another one, a man wobbles on his chair’s badly
squared legs, and concentrates his impatience and his rancours upon
the broken clock. Two rooms: a bar room with a zinc counter and a door
opening on a low-ceilinged, smoke-filled kitchen, and a dining room
extended at the end by an alcove just bit enough to accommodate a
table, a sette and three chairs [...] 4 .
NOTES
3 | Caws, Mary Ann, ed. (2002):
Surrealist Poets and Painters:
An Anthology. Cambridge, MA
& London, The MIT Press, 73.
4 | Personal communication
with Henry Sussman. Also see
Sussman, Henry (1997): The
Aesthetic Contract: Statutes
of Art and Intellectual Work
in Modernity. Stanford, CA,
Stanford University Press
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Here, the accumulation of common articles is indicative of the
unexpected transformations undergone by the object within the
physical world, which dismantles rational and discursive modes
of thought, and also points to the contact with the human as the
agent of such transgression. In other words, the phenomenological
constituents of experience (space and time) are replaced by
subjective impressions which appeal to the sensuous faculties of the
industrial article, rather than to its functionality.
Surrealist objects proper, another modality based on the idea of
incidental discovery, are rooted in materialist and psychoanalytical
notions of fetishism, by virtue of which their material properties
and the dream world of the psyche are explored. In so doing, the
Surrealist artist exploits metaphorical devices which open up a
universe of textual and textural suggestiveness. Mechanisms such
as the automatic writing or the fortuitous assembly of words or
fragments present a complex of temporal and spatial discontinuities
which frustrate expectations of intelligibility. This diversity of Surrealist
projects, strategies and cross-disciplinary alignments can be called,
in Sussman’s terms, “aesthetic subcontracts” 5 . The collage, erected
as the main compositional strategy of Surrealist objects, agglutinates
disparate elements which generate unusual associations and
often sexually suggestive narratives. Breton’s poème-objets [fig.
4], Apollinaire’s calligrammes [fig. 5], or Man Ray’s assemblage
photographs are the embodiment of collage techniques. Just as
Man Ray’s L’Amour fou [fig. 6] is an ensemble of diverse-natured
photographs, Breton’s poème-objets bring two disparate objects
closer in order to generate unexpected meanings. These plastic
and poetic compositions are inspired by Picassian collages, as they
represent a synthesis of words and images, genres and materials 6 .
Apollinaire’s Surrealist calligrammes also resort to Picasso’s
fragmentary techniques, as they rescue an image emerged from the
poetic discourse by virtue of complex associations of verbal and visual
signs. According to Bohn, “the role of the reader is thus to identify
textual patterns and to translate them into structural equivalents at
the cognitive level” so that the structure beneath the surface can be
elicited (Bohn 1993, pp. 20-21). Michel Leiris is representative of this
tendency with his calligramme “LE SCEPTRE MIROITANT”, where
the words “amour”, “miroir” and “mourir” reproduce a mirror effect
resulted from the combination of the capital letters “ROI” and “MOI”.
Apparently, this image contains a psychoanalytical message related
to narcissism, omnipotence and death (Spector 1997, p. 224). By
virtue of this multiperspectivism, deeply rooted in Cubist strategies,
Surrealist objects act out the antagonisms of Marx’s materialist
principle; that is, they define themselves by virtue of their connection
with other objects or constituents, but in so doing, they consolidate
their position within the production of commodities.
NOTES
5 | See Spector, J., Jack
(1997) citing Breton in Arte y
escritura surrealistas (1919-
1939). Trans. by Pedro Navarro
Serrano. Madrid, Editorial
Síntesis, 224.
6 | See Jung, G. Carl, ed.
(1964): Man and his Symbols.
London, Dell, 295.
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The subjectivism with which Surrealist objects are impregnated
also helps Dalí and De Chirico develop their own strategies. Dalí’s
paranoiac-critical method, illustrated by his painting The Persistence
of Memory (1931) [fig. 7], is based on the systematic manipulation
of images and objects which generate delirious associations and
interpretations. Likewise, De Chirico’s compositions reveal dreamlike
transpositions of reality emerged from the unconscious. As a founder
of the so-called pittura metafisica, he manifests regarding the function
of the object: “Every object has two aspects: The common aspect,
which is the one we generally see and which is seen by everyone,
and the ghostly and metaphysical aspect, which only rare individuals
see at moments of clairvoyance and metaphysical meditation. A
work of art must relate something that does not appear in its visible
form 7 ”. His conception of pittura metafisica is overtly influenced by
the philosophies of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, who discovered
the “dreadful void” and senselessness of life. In striving to find artistic
expression for that emptiness, De Chirico delved into the existential
dilemmas of contemporary man.
Lastly, Duchamp’s readymades, conceived as an antidote to retinal
art, respond to these eccentric experimentations with objects since
they are elevated to the dignity of an artwork by the will of the artist.
By being originated in the age of mechanical reproduction, they evoke
Benjamin’s theorizations on the decay of the aura in the modern
artwork. He claims that the artwork possesses auratic qualities that
are progressively exhausted as a result of mechanization within the
industrial age:
Every day the urge grows stronger to get hold of an object at very close
range by way of its likeness, its reproduction. Unmistakably, reproduction
as offered by picture magazines and newsreels differs from the image seen
by the unarmed eye. Uniqueness and permanence are as closely linked in
the latter as are transitoriness and reproducibility in the former. To pry an
object from its shell, to destroy its aura, is the mark of a perception whose
“sense of the universal equality of things” has increased to such a degree
that it extracts it even from a unique object by means of reproduction.
Thus is manifested in the field of perception what in the theoretical sphere
is noticeable in the increasing importance of statistics. The adjustment of
reality to the masses and of the masses to reality is a process of unlimited
scope, as much for thinking as for perception. 8
Whereas found objects are charged with auratic qualities and
segregated from mass culture, readymades are neutral materials
which the artist arbitrarily selects and appropriates by signing and
exhibiting them. Their acquisition is analogous to the activity of
research that Marx mentions in the afterword of Capital, and that
Benjamin evokes later on in his Arcades Project: “Research has
to appropriate the material in detail, to analyze its various forms of
development, to trace out their inner connection. Only after this work
NOTES
7 | Benjamin, Walter (1968):
“The Work of Art in the Age
of Mechanical Reproduction”,
in Hannah Arendt (ed.),
Illuminations. New York,
Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.,
225.
8 | See Paz, Octavio (1970)
citing Duchamp in “The Ready-
Made”, in Joseph Masheck
(ed.), Marcel Duchamp in
Perspective. New Jersey,
Prentice Hall, 88.
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is done can the actual movement be presented in corresponding
fashion. If this is done successfully, if the life of the material is
reflected back as ideal, then it may appear as if we had before
us an a priori construction” (2002, “On the Theory of Knowledge,
Theory of Progress”, p. 465). Here, an exhaustive analysis of the
object is suggested in order to reflect on its sensuous and intellectual
constituents.
Readymades, then, can be considered to be an enactment of
that a priori construction and appropriation illustrated by research
processes. At the same time, they become objects of idol and
mockery, and are invested with magical properties which emphasize
their disturbing, absurd nature. The selection of these pieces, devoid
of aesthetic value, is based on “visual indifference”, which manifests
Duchamp’s sense of irony, humor and ambiguity. Thus, Duchamp
selected a series of items (the snow shovel, the comb, the urinal)
encountered in daily reality and devoid of aesthetic pleasure. In his
words,
The great problem was the act of selection. I had to pick an object without
it impressing me and, as far as possible, without the least intervention of
any idea or suggestion of aesthetic pleasure. It was necessary to reduce
my personal taste to zero. It is very difficult to elect an object that has
absolutely no interest for us not only on the day we pick it but which
never will and which, finally, can never have the possibility of becoming
beautiful, pretty, agreeable or ugly 9 .
Once the object is chosen, inscription, a substitute for the idea of
fabrication, is another requirement in the configuration of the work.
In the process of inscribing the object, the strategy of pictorial
nominalism opened up an ample spectrum of rhetorical relations
between the object and its name. Duchamp experiments with
tautology, metaphor, synecdoche, allegory, anagrams and acrostics,
among others. Some of these experiments are his Bicycle Wheel
(1913) (bicycle wheel mounted on a stool) [fig. 8], In advance of the
broken arm (1915) (snow shovel) [fig. 9], Hat Rack (1917) (hat rack)
[fig. 10] and Fountain (1917) (urinal) [fig. 11] and. The last condition
of the encounter between the object and the artist is the signature.
Rather than attributing a special value to his authorship, Duchamp
proliferates the signature of pseudonyms such as Richard Mutt (for
the Fountain) and Rose Sélavy (for Fresh Widow). In addition to
these defining characteristics, the imprint of the transient is pivotal
to the configuration of readymades’ semblance. In many cases, the
originals have disappeared (Fountain and Bottle Rack), and the only
documentation that attests to their existence is a photograph. In other
instances, multiple replicas have emerged as a way to subvert the
idea of originality and preservation of the artwork (Bicycle Wheel and
Hat Rack). Despite their connection with mass culture and commodity
fetishism, readymades are also charged with a subversive spirit and,
NOTES
9 | See De Duve, Thierry
(1997): “Echoes of the
Readymade: Critique of Pure
Modernism”, in Martha Buskirk
& Mignon Nixon (eds.), The
Duchamp Effect. Cambridge,
The MIT Press, 104-107.
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as a result, they negate their engagement with empirical reality.
The Surrealist collection of objects is a significant activity which
eventually comes to be included within long-lived artistic disciplines
(painting, poetry, sculpture). By placing emphasis on the intellective
and sensuous aspects of the object, this artistic practice seeks
to reconcile the antagonisms of the industrial era. Hence the
emergence of dialectical materialism. This tendency merges the
twofold materialist approaches of Freud’s psychoanalysis and Marx’s
processes of commodification inherent in capital structures. The
aesthetic modalities commented here (dream objects, found objects,
poème-objets, calligrammes, Surrealist objects and readymades)
answer for commodity fetishism as a way of penetration into social
relations in a widely objectified culture. Therefore, for the Surrealists,
things are devoid of human mediation, and thus, converse and
engage with one another in a reified universe of fantastic connections.
This preliminary study of Surrealist artifacts has placed emphasis on
the Marxist notions of commodity fetishism as a way of delving into
the object’s inner and outer properties. In so doing, I have explored
different aesthetic domains (literature, painting, Surrealist objects
proper) to prove the prominence of matter over ideas and to unravel
the intersections between visual art and language. Nevertheless, the
universe of Surrealist objects and their existing visual and rhetorical
correlations is an ample field which requires further research to
establish more solid relations.
The Surrealist Collection of Objects - Leticia Pérez
452ºF. #02 (2010) 112-126.
122

Figures
Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3
Figure 4 Figure 5
The Surrealist Collection of Objects - Leticia Pérez
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123

Figure 6 Figure 7
Figure 10
Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 11
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The Surrealist Collection of Objects - Leticia Pérez
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L’ESPAGNE
SOUS LE REGARD D’UNE
FRANÇAISE:
LA RELATION DU
VOYAGE D’ESPAGNE
(1691) DE MADAME
Melissa Guenther
Doctoral Student
University of Waterloo
Citation recommandée || GUENTHER, Melissa (2010): “L’Espagne sous le regard d’une Française : la Relation du voyage d’Espagne (1691) de
Madame d’Aulnoy“ [article online] 452ºF. Revue électronique de théorie de la littérature et de littérature comparée, 2, 127-136 [Date de consultation:
jj/mm/aa], < http://www.452f.com/index.php/fr/melissa-guenther.html >.
Illustration || Mar Oliver
Article || Reçu: 04/10/2009 | Apte Comité Scientifique: 13/11/2009 | Publié: 01/2010
License || Creative Commons Paternité-Pas d’Utilisation Commerciale-Pas de Modification 2.0 License.
127

452ºF
Résumé || La Relation du voyage d’Espagne de Madame d’Aulnoy a eu une grande importance
littéraire et peut être considérée comme le miroir du monde espagnol à l’époque classique. En
observant la culture des Espagnoles, elle lui attribue de la valeur et ne se contente donc pas
de valoriser la sienne. Par ailleurs, elle définit sa propre identité en tant que femme et en tant
que citoyenne française. L’objectif de cet article consistera à présenter la femme espagnole
sous le regard d’une voyageuse-narratrice, en proposant une analyse culturelle et sociologique
des descriptions faites par Madame d’Aulnoy, plus spécifiquement celles du caractère et des
coutumes des femmes espagnoles.
Mots-clé || Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy (1650-1705) | Relation du voyage d’Espage (1691) |
Littérature française | Récit de voyage | Écriture par des femmes | 1600-1699 | Espagne.
Abstract || Madame d’Aulnoy’s Relation du voyage d’Espagne (1691) had an immense literary
importance and can be considered a mirror to the culture of Spain and its customs in the late
Seventeenth-Century. Madame d’Aulnoy’s observations do not aim to pass judgment on Spanish
culture nor are they an attempt to promote to French culture over that of Spain. However, by
observing the culture and customs of the Spanish Other her observations allow her to define
her own identity as a French women. This article will examine how this French female writer,
Madame d’Aulnoy, portrays Spanish women and to what extent the prejudices and practices of
classical travel literature are present in her descriptions.
Key-words || Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy (1650-1705) | Relation du voyage d’Espagne (1691) |
French literature | Travel literature | Women writers |1600-1699 | Spain.
128

Voyageuse et aventurière, Madame d’Aulnoy nous raconte ses
aventures dans un nouveau pays, en tant qu’étrangère en Espagne,
avec la publication de la Relation du voyage d’Espagne en 1691.
Moins connue actuellement que ses cabinets de contes de fées, la
Relation du voyage d’Espagne de Madame d’Aulnoy a eu une grande
importance littéraire et peut être considérée non seulement comme
le miroir du monde espagnol mais aussi une réflexion du monde
français à l’époque classique. L’auteure fait le portrait de l’Espagne
au moment où leur culture et leur littérature s’étaient infiltrées en
France et où les descriptions de l’exotisme ibérique faisaient fureur
parmi les lecteurs français. La Relation tire avantage non seulement
de la vogue des récits de voyage, mais également de celle de
l’écriture épistolaire. Rédigé sous forme de lettres destinées à une
cousine en France, le récit ne fournit qu’une perspective, celle de la
voyageuse française devant les Espagnols. En observant la culture
des Espagnoles, elle lui attribue de la valeur et ne se contente donc
pas de valoriser la sienne. Par ailleurs, elle définit sa propre identité
en tant que femme et en tant que citoyenne française.
Pour aborder la Relation du voyage d’Espagne (1691) de Madame
d’Aulnoy, un des récits de voyage les plus appréciés du XVIIe siècle,
il faut connaître l’histoire de l’auteure, une histoire si mémorable et
parfois aussi discutée que ses écrits. Marie-Catherine Jumelle de
Barneville, la comtesse d’Aulnoy, est née en 1650 en Normandie et
est morte à Paris le 14 janvier 1705. En 1666, à l’âge de seize ans,
elle a épousé le baron François de la Motte d’Aulnoy, un nouveau
riche qui avait 46 ans. En 1669, une accusation de lèse-majesté
est lancée contre le mari de Madame d’Aulnoy par Madame de
Gudannes, la mère de Madame d’Aulnoy. C’était la conséquence
d’une série de débâcles financières qui avaient détruit la réputation
du mari (Seguin, 2005: 399). Le 4 novembre de la même année,
l’innocence du baron d’Aulnoy a été affirmée par le Conseil du Grand
Châtelet, mais à cause de son rôle dans l’accusation du baron, la
mère de la comtesse d’Aulnoy s’est exilée en Espagne. Rien n’est
certain concernant la participation de Madame d’Aulnoy dans cette
affaire, mais ce qui est incontestable c’est qu’elle s’est cachée depuis
le procès de son mari jusqu’à la parution de ses premiers livres en
1690. En ce qui concerne son lieu de résidence pendant ces années
voilées de mystère, certains critiques croient qu’elle a dû passer
du temps en prison suivi d’un an au couvent (Thirard, 2006:par. 1),
et une autre source établit qu’elle s’est exilée en Espagne avec sa
mère à cause de sa culpabilité (Foulché-Delbosc, 1926: 13). Même si
ancundocument ne le certifie, il est probable que Madame d’Aulnoy
ait voyagé en Espagne entre 1679 et 1681 (Seguin, 2005: 7), sans
doute pour se soustraire aux rumeurs qui circulaient à cause du
scandale (Hester: 89), mais aussi pour rendre visite à sa mère qui
s’était installée à Madrid (Seguin, 2005: 400). C’est donc grâce à
cet événement dramatique et inoubliable dans l’histoire de Madame
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d’Aulnoy que le récit de voyage en Espagne est le plus célèbre publié
au du XVIIe siècle (Mcleod, 1989: 91) a été publié.
Très célèbre aux XVII e et XVIII e siècles, la Relation du voyage
d’Espagne a été oubliée dans les siècles suivants, éclipsée par le
succès des deux anthologies de contes de Madame d’Aulnoy 1 . De
nos jours, les critiques commencent à attribuer une valeur littéraire à
cette œuvre (Mcleod, 1989: 93), mais une grande partie des analyses
tentent de déterminer si Madame d’Aulnoy a véritablement voyagé
en Espagne ou si ses descriptions sont du plagiat créatif. Ne tardons
pas sur le thème de la véracité de cette œuvre, puisque ce qui mérite
davantage de retenir l’attention est le regard critique et descriptif
posé sur la culture des Espagnoles et l’Espagne dans ce récit. Cette
Relation, remplie d’observations détaillées, a fourni tant de nouvelles
connaissances sur le pays, les mœurs et les morales espagnoles,
que ce récit a été utilisé pour enrichir les dictionnaires de l’époque,
de même que l’Encyclopédie de Diderot et d’Alembert (Melzer,
2006: 42). Née de la probable expérience de Madame d’Aulnoy en
Espagne, la Relation du voyage d’Espagne est reconnue comme
le plus célèbre et le plus instructif récit d’un voyage en Espagne au
XVIIe siècle (Prud’homme, 1995: 166).
Genre en évolution, le récit de voyage est le résultat d’une tradition
fort ancienne, qui va du périple médiéval de Marco Polo 2 aux récits
d’exploration en Amérique et hors d’Europe du XVIe siècle des
voyageurs comme Jacques Cartier 3 , André Thévet 4 et Jean de Léry 5 .
À la place du voyage lointain, les Français du XVII e siècle ont exploré
les pays voisins peu connus (Requemora, 1997: 128). À cause de la
nouveauté de leurs sujets, les écrivains voyageurs de l’époque ont
tous eu l’avantage d’une certaine liberté descriptive (Grélé, 2003:
209), mais en même temps cette liberté les obligeait à prouver la
véracité de leurs ouvrages, et à combattre pour leur réputation. Le
proverbe «a beau mentir qui vient de loin» démontre par excellence
le préjugé défavorable contre lequel les écrivains voyageurs doivent
lutter (Chupeau, 1977: 540). Madame d’Aulnoy aborde la question
de la véracité des récits de voyage dans son adresse «Au Lecteur» :
Je n’ai écrit que ce que j’ai vu, ou ce que j’ai appris par des personnes
d’une probité incontestable. Je n’en allègue point des noms inconnus,
ni des gens dont la mort m’ait fourni la liberté de leur supposer des
aventures. […] je me contente d’assurer que ce qui est dans mes
Mémoires, et ce que l’on trouvera dans cette Relation, est très exact et
très conforme à la vérité (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 31).
En plus de cette adresse, Madame d’Aulnoy justifie la véracité de
ses écrits à plusieurs reprises dans ses lettres 6 .
La nouvelle célébrité des relations de voyage exigeait, pour maintenir
NOTES
1 | Les Contes des Fées
(publié en 1697) et Les Contes
Nouveaux, ou les Fées à la
mode (publié en 1698).
2 | Devisement du monde,
1298.
3 | Bref récit et succinte
narration de la navigation
faite en 1535 et 1536 par le
capitaine Jacques Cartier […],
1545.
4 | Cosmographie et
singularités de la France
antarctique, 1557.
5 | Histoire d’un voyage fait en
la terre du Brésil, 1578.
6 | Madame d’Aulnoy ajoute,
dans une lettre, qu’elle a
dû s’informer à l’égard de
plusieurs aspects pour mieux
présenter l’actualité espagnole
à sa cousine : «L’exactitude
que j’ai à vous apprendre les
choses que je crois dignes
de votre curiosité, m’oblige
très souvent de m’informer de
plusieurs particularités que
j’aurais négligées, si vous
ne m’aviez pas dit qu’elles
vous font plaisir, et que vous
aimez à voyager sans sortir
de votre cabinet» (d’Aulnoy,
2005: 157). Elle utilise le
style de son écriture comme
justification de la véracité de
ses écrits aussi : «Je vous dis
les choses à mesure qu’elles
me viennent dans l’esprit, et
je les dis toutes fort mal; mais
comme vous m’aimez, ma
chère cousine, cela me rassure
contre mes fautes» (d’Aulnoy,
2005: 218). Autrement dit, ses
fautes et la spontanéité de
son écriture sont précisément
ce qui crée le style naturel
et la vraisemblance dans sa
relation.
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l’intérêt du lectorat français, de mettre l’accent sur le divertissement
et l’intrigue, et pour cette raison, les ouvrages consacrés à la société
espagnole —exotique et fascinante— attiraient les lecteurs en grand
nombre. Aussi, la littérature espagnole s’infiltrait de plus en plus
en France et les Français ont commencé à la lire dans sa forme
originale, donc, en espagnol. Par exemple, le Don Quichotte de
Miguel de Cervantes, un texte lu et apprécié par Madame d’Aulnoy
(d’Aulnoy, 2005: 339), reflétait une image exotique et mystérieuse
de l’Espagne. (Palmer, 1971: 223-224). Même les salons littéraires
français s’intéressaient à tout ce qui était espagnol (Rogers, 1926:
208-209). Autrement dit, l’Espagne était à la mode. L’intérêt français
provenait non seulement de la question de la Succession espagnole
—qui déterminerait le futur de l’Espagne— mais aussi du déclin
du pouvoir que l’Espagne vivait à cette époque, et, également, en
raison de la mort mystérieuse de Marie Louise d’Orléans, épouse
de Charles II, roi d’Espagne (Mcleod, 1989: 94). En raison de ce
«goût français», l’écriture de voyage en Espagne et les descriptions
de ces voyages portaient souvent préjudice au pays et à son
peuple. Les stéréotypes qui se répètent d’un texte à l’autre sont
ceux de «l’auberge espagnole», de leurs vices et de leurs mœurs
peu civilisées, de leur passion dans l’amour, de leur violence et de
leur vengeance excessives, de leurs croyances superstitieuses, et
finalement de leurs coutumes barbares. Ces images défavorables
de l’Espagne primitive qui proviennent des idées préconçues des
voyageurs sont également évidentes dans quelques observations
de Madame d’Aulnoy.
Bien que la Relation du voyage d’Espagne de Madame d’Aulnoy
tente de créer un portrait de l’Espagne au XVIIe siècle, ce récit ne
fournit qu’une perspective, celle de la voyageuse française fâce
à les Espagnoles. La majorité des descriptions fournies par cette
Relation traitent seulement une partie de la société espagnole —les
membres de la haute société, et plus précisément, les femmes— et
fournissent alors une image pas tout à fait juste des Espagnoles
dans leur totalité. En observant la culture des Espagnoles, Madame
d’Aulnoy lui attribue de la valeur et ne se contente donc pas de
valoriser la sienne. Selon Emmanuel Lévinas, aussitôt que l’on n’a
accès qu’à une seule perspective sur une culture, il y a un manque
au niveau de la réciprocité, nécessaire à l’identification de l’Autre.
Même s’il est évident que l’individu observé est observateur à son
tour —autrement, l’Autre Espagnole observe la voyageuse aussi—,
cela ne figure ni dans le texte ni dans les descriptions de Madame
d’Aulnoy.
Pour reprendre l’idée de Tzvetan Todorov selon laquelle l’exotisme
se divise en deux catégories —soit celle d’un peuple plus avancé
et supérieur soit celle d’un peuple moins avancé et inférieur qu’un
autre—, il semble que les descriptions de Madame d’Aulnoy
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s’inscrivent au cœur des deux tendances à la fois; elle décrit tantôt
les Espagnoles comme étant supérieurs aux Françaises, tantôt
inférieurs en ce qui concerne les plus grandes différences culturelles.
En somme, le regard de la narratrice sur les Espagnoles oscille entre
objectivité et jugement de valeur, ce qui est évident dans la citation
suivante :
Vous m’allez dire que les Espagnols sont fous avec leur chimérique
grandeur. Peut-être que vous dirai vrai ; mais pour moi qui crois les
connaître assez, je n’en juge pas de cette manière. Je demeure d’accord,
néanmoins, que la différence que l’on peut mettre entre les Espagnols et
les Français est tout à notre avantage. Il semble que je ne devrais pas me
mêler de décider là-dessus, et que j’y suis trop intéressée pour en parler
sans passion. Mais je suis persuadée qu’il n’y a guère de personnes
raisonnable qui n’en jugent ainsi (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 285).
Tous les jugements de la narratrice proviennent de son histoire et
de ses expériences, et c’est donc à partir de son propre système de
valeurs qu’elle peut formuler un jugement sur l’Autre. La notion de
relativisme culturel est donc très importante, puisqu’elle n’implique
pas toujours une négation de l’Autre, comme en témoigne d’ailleurs
le récit de Madame d’Aulnoy. En effet, la narratrice observe les
différences entre les deux cultures et prend soin de remettre ces
différences dans leur contexte sociétal. L’écriture de Madame
d’Aulnoy correspond également, dans son approche de l’Autre, à la
définition de l’ethnographie : d’écrire la culture de l’Autre.
Madame d’Aulnoy souligne, à l’égard de la situation de l’Espagnole,
que les femmes souffraient d’une liberté limitée et de l’assujettissement
aux hommes. Elle s’est aperçue des contraintes pesant sur les
déplacements de la femme depuis sa troisième lettre où elle explique
qu’il n’est pas permis à une femme de demeurer plus de deux jours
dans une hôtellerie sur les chemins en Espagne. L’isolement des
femmes dans la société espagnole s’étend jusqu’à la cour de Madrid,
où les femmes se mettent aux balcons et aux fenêtres à chaque
occasion ; où les carrosses ont toujours les rideaux fermés ; où les
maîtresses sont envoyées au couvent après que le roi en a fini avec
elles, pour qu’«elles se fassent religieuses» (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 285); et
finalement, où les femmes portent des vêtements magnifiques pour
profiter de chaque occasion de se montrer.
Madame d’Aulnoy illustre la subordination de la femme avec un
exemple frappant l’imagination. Il s’agit des règles du dîner à
l’espagnol où les hommes mangent seuls à table et leurs femmes
par terre, sur un tapis avec les enfants. Selon la narratrice, ce n’est
pas pour des raisons de respect qu’ils mangent de cette manière
(d’Aulnoy, 2005: 310), mais cette façon de dîner signale une
différence entre les deux sexes. Madame d’Aulnoy expose cette
coutume davantage quand elle raconte aux lecteurs l’épisode où elle
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a dû se mettre au tapis pour manger :
Le couvert était mis sur une table pour les hommes, et il y avait à terre,
sur le tapis, une nappe étendue avec trois couverts pour doña Teresa,
moi et ma fille. Je demeurai surprise de cette mode, car je ne suis pas
accoutumée à dîner ainsi. Cependant, je n’en témoignai rien et je voulus
y essayer, mais je n’ai jamais été plus incommodée ; les jambes me
faisaient un mal horrible ; tantôt je m’appuyais sur le coude, tantôt sur
la main ; enfin, je renonçais à dîner, et mon hôtesse ne s’en apercevait
point, parce qu’elle croyait que les dames mangeaient par terre en
France comme Espagne. Mais [les hommes], qui remarqua ma peine,
[…] me dirent […] qu’absolument je me mettrais à table. Je le voulais
assez, pourvu que doña Teresa s’y mît ; elle ne l’osait, à cause qu’il y
avait des hommes, et […] elle nous avoua […] qu’elle ne s’était jamais
mise dans une chaise […] (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 195-196).
Madame d’Aulnoy critique davantage le comportement des
Espagnoles à la cour quand elle examine le manque de formalité
dans leur conduite par rapport à la cour de France :
[les femmes] ne se baisent point en se saluant. Je crois que c’est pour ne
pas emporter le plâtre qu’elles ont sur le visage ; mais elles se présentent
la main dégantée ; et, en se parlant, elles se disent tu et toi, et elles ne
s’appellent ni madame, ni mademoiselle, ni Altesse, ni Excellence, mais
seulement doña Maria, doña Clara, doña Teresa. Je me suis informée
d’où vient qu’elles en usent si familièrement, et j’ai appris que c’est pour
n’avoir aucun sujet de se fâcher entre elles […](d’Aulnoy, 2005: 211-
212).
Pour la narratrice, qui a une expérience française du monde, cette
indifférence à l’égard de la politesse de la société semble choquante
et signale aussi la différence entre les comportements féminins des
deux cours. Madame d’Aulnoy ajoute que :
[c]’est la coutume à Madrid que le maître ou la maîtresse du logis passent
toujours devant ceux qui leur rendent visite. Ils prétendent que c’est une
civilité d’en user ainsi, parce qu’ils laissent, disent-ils, tout ce qui est
dans leur chambre au pouvoir de la personne qui y reste la dernière
(d’Aulnoy, 2005: 371).
Cette description de l’altérité aboutit à une représentation de
l’Espagnole exotique, une image également renforcée par la
représentation de doña Teresa, où Madame d’Aulnoy présente la
conduite féminine idéale :
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[L]es trois chevaliers demeurent là, parce que ce n’est pas la coutume
en Espagne d’entrer dans la chambre des dames pendant qu’elles sont
au lit. […] Doña Teresa me reçut avec un accueil aussi obligeant que
si nous avions été amies depuis longtemps. […] [Q]uand il fut question
de se chausser, elle fit ôter la clef de sa chambre et tirer les verrous.
Je m’informai de quoi il s’agissait pour se barricader ainsi ; elle me dit
qu’elle savait qu’il y avait des gentilshommes espagnols avec moi, et
qu’elle aimerait mieux avoir perdu la vie qu’ils eussent vu ses pieds.
Je m’éclatai de rire, et je la priai de me les montrer, puisque j’étais
sans conséquence. Il est vrai que c’est quelque chose de rare pour la
petitesse, et j’ai bien vu des enfants de six ans qui les avaient aussi
grands (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 191-192).
Même si Madame d’Aulnoy rit de cette règle selon laquelle les hommes
ne devraient jamais voir les pieds d’une femme, cette description ne
sert pas à ridiculiser la coutume, mais à montrer la femme idéale qui
respecte et considère comme importantes les mœurs et les pratiques
culturelles de l’époque. Madame d’Aulnoy présente aussi une image
des Espagnoles plus équilibrée, puisqu’elle expose les deux pôles,
telle qu’on les voit dans la littérature du XVII e siècle. Mais il faut être
conscient du fait que l’auteure relève des exemples extrêmes afin de
rendre ses anecdotes plus exotiques.
Ainsi, l’ouvrage de Madame d’Aulnoy nous renseigne sur la façon
dont les Français percevaient une autre culture. Pour elle parfois
«[l]e voyage n’est que la confirmation de ce que [elle] pensait
savoir d’avance ou de ce que [elle] avait lu dans un livre antérieur»
(Cioranescu, 1983: 57) et elle insiste souvent sur la supériorité
française par rapport aux Espagnoles. Par exemple: les châteaux
en France sont plus beaux qu’en Espagne (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 55, 170),
la France est plus civilisée parce que les femmes ne mangent pas
à terre (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 196), les princesses françaises profitent
de plus de liberté en France (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 210), et les Français
respectent la formalité dans leur comportement (d’Aulnoy, 2005:
212) pour citer quelques exemples. Souvent, les comparaisons
avec la France servent à établir l’infériorité de l’Espagne, mais il y
a quand même, en de rares occasions, des passages critiques où
l’auteure fait une comparaison qui inverse les statuts. Par exemple,
en comparaison avec l’Espagne, où les membres d’une classe ne
se mêlent pas aux autres, la haute société française permet, dans
une certaine mesure, les mélanges de classe et, pour cette raison,
est jugée inférieure. Elle remarque également que les Espagnoles
possèdent une beauté incomparable (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 213), que
les femmes d’Espagne marchent mieux que les Françaises quand
elles portent les talons et, en fait, elles marchent comme elles volent
(d’Aulnoy, 2005: 200), et que l’amour est beaucoup plus passionné
et ingénieux en Espagne qu’en France (d’Aulnoy, 2005: 314-315).
Ses jugements ne sont donc pas toujours négatifs ou dépréciatifs.
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Indépendamment de la question des préjugés et des stéréotypes
contenus dans la Relation du voyage d’Espagne, le texte de Madame
d’Aulnoy est remarquable non seulement pour les descriptions d’un
voyage long et ardu entrepris par une voyageuse du XVIIe siècle,
mais aussi à cause du fait qu’en tant que femme de lettres, elle a
eu tant de succès dans un genre antérieurement dominé par les
hommes. Sa Relation fait partie de celles qui, au XVII e , ont initié
la mode du voyage en Espagne et ont influencé l’avenir du genre.
Madame d’Aulnoy, doit sa réussite à son genre de même qu’à son
sujet. Elle témoigne des Espagnols à une époque où les descriptions
de l’exotisme ibérique faisaient fureur parmi les lecteurs français
notamment à cause des intérêts de la France par rapport à la
situation culturelle, politique et économique de l’Espagne à la fin du
XVII e siècle. Les descriptions vives et détaillées de Madame d’Aulnoy
témoignent à la fois des découvertes et des idées préconçues au
sujet de l’Espagne et des Espagnoles, et ce, dans une perspective
féminine et française. Contrairement à l’usage de l’époque, Madame
d’Aulnoy est généralement équitable dans ses choix descriptifs
et l’image des Espagnoles perpétuée par la relation de Madame
d’Aulnoy n’est pas seulement une image de l’Espagnole exotique ou
inférieur. Autrement dit, il est évident que Madame d’Aulnoy, par ses
descriptions, apprécie les différences entre les deux cultures.
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