COPYRIGHTED

by

JOHN STUBBS BRUSHWOOD

1951
 THE ROMANTIC NOVEL IN MEXICO

by-

John Stubbs Brushwood, B. A., M. A*

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

in the

FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY

of

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

1950

COPYRIGHT
 PREFACE

This study seeks to describe and evaluate those novels of the

Romantic Period in Mexico which are not historical. While the latter

are usually nationalistic, the novels studied herein are not neces­

sarily so. It will be seen that these novels are of two kinds: the

amatory, containing little or nothing that is characteristically Mexi­

can, and the novel of customs which attempts to portray the Mexican

scene with success that varies with the individual and the influences

under which he wrote. The Mexicanism which is seen in the novels of

the latter category is especially strong in the works of the novelists

who follow the tradition of Fernandez de Lizardi. The year 1867 marks

an obvious chronological division because it marks the beginning of

that rebirth of interest in literature which was so ardently sponsored

by Altamirano. Within the limits of these dividing factors, the novel­

ists are presented in the order of the publication dates of their first

novels.

The Romantic Period in Mexico is understood to mean the years from

about 1830, the close of the Period of the Struggle for Independence,

to some fifty years later, when Realism had become predominant. This

thesis does not attempt the study of the evidences of Romanticism within

novels that are essentially Realistic, but the study of the works of

those novelists who are obviously Romantic, the evaluation of their

-ii
work as such, and the incidental observation of the tendencies to­

ward Realism that may be found.

Many plots have been summarized because it was felt that the

summaries would clarify the critical discussion and because, in many

cases, the plot is the essence of the novel. 'While such summaries

of better kncwnnovels would be absurd, the plots of most of these

novels need to be told because very few of the novels are at al1 well

known.

The author’s thanks are due many persons and libraries in this

country and in Mexico that have assisted in locating the novels

studied herein. Especial thanks are due Professors Federico de Onis

and Andres Iduarte of Columbia University for their advice throughout

the preparation of the study.

-iii-
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I INTRODUCTION 1

II THE AMATORY NOVEL FROM 1850TO 186? 18

Fernando Orozco y Berra 20

Emilio Rey 2h

Hilarion Frias y Soto 25

Jose Maria Ramirez 27

Aurelio Luis Gallardo 33

III THE NOVEL OF CUSTOMS FROM 1850 TO 1867 36

Florencio M. del Castillo 38

Pantaleon Tovar 51

Jos^ Rivera y Rio 55

Jose Maria Roa Barcena 7I4.

Juan Diaz Covarrubias 81

Nicolas Pizarro 87

Crescendo Carrillo y Ancona 9h

Juan Pablo de los Rios 96

Luis G. Inclan 98

IV THE AMATORY NOVEL FROM 186?TO THE PREDOMINANCE

OF REALISM 103

Lorenzo Elizaga 105

-iv-
Chapter Page

Luis G. Ortiz 107

Francisco Sosa 109

Vicente Morales 113

Victoriano Agileros 116

Jose Rafael Guadalajara 118

V THE NOVEL OF CUSTOMS FROM 1867 TO THE PREDOMINANCE

OF REALISM 120

Ignacio Manuel Alt amirano 122

Manuel Martinez de Castro 133

Jos^ Tomas de Cuellar 137

Adolfo Isaac Alegria 150

Ireneo Paz 152

Jose Francisco Sotomayor 156

Manuel Balbontin 160

Jose Negrete lo3

Pedro Castera 169

Rafael de Zayas Enriquez 173

Manuel Payno 176

VI CONCLUSIONS 180

BIBLIOGRAPHY 192

-v-
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A study of the Romantic novel in Mexico must begin with recogni­

tion of the fact that the novel as a popularly cultivated genre was

absent from the literature of Mexico until the Romantic period, although

the first real novel was written during the Period of the Struggle for

Independence. Generally speaking, literary expression in Colonial Mexico

followed very closely the literary trends in Spain, although there was

relatively little drama and even less fiction written in Mexico. Poetry

was the most widely cultivated genre; and although a large part of the

production was of inferior quality, it followed the mode of the day. It

seems remarkable, therefore, that no novels were produced in Mexico when

the novel was at the height of its popularity in Spain. It has been sup­

posed that the legal prohibition of shipment of novels into Colonial Mexico

left the colonists without interest in that kind of literature. However,

Irving A. Leonard has proved that the intended prohibition was not very

effective.^ The absence of the novel can be more logically explained by

the fact that fiction is nevt_r abundantly produced in an imnature society.

The Conquest, the discovery of an unknown civilization, and the individual

exploits were recorded in chronicles and were given more exalted expression

in poetry. The chronicles, religious and secular, may be regarded as re­

mote origins of the historical novel, but they cannot be considered the

1 Irving A. Leonard: "Romances of Chivalry in the Spanish Indies"

in University of California Publications in Modern Philology, Vol. XVI,
No. 3* p. 219 e€ seq.
 -2-

basis of a consistent tradition in the novel. In fact, any of the

several attempts at the production of prose fiction during the colo­

nial period stands as an isolated example of early interest in that

kind of literature. These works are interesting, however, for that

very reason. Unfortunately, not all of these early attempts are avail­

able for study, but one is able to find comments about them.

Yiiorthy of some mention, though not fiction, are the prose Dialogos

of Francisco Cervantes de Salazar which he wrote as an addition to Vives'

Dialogos when the latter were adopted as a text by the University of

Mexico. Three of these dialogs describe the university, the city, and

the environs of the city. Although they were not written for the purpose

of entertainment, the material contained in them has been interesting to

readers of later times. The three dialogs were translated from Latin to

Spanish by Icazbalceta. They are considered by Gonzalez-Pena to be the

only literary prose of the sixteenth century.'*'

Medina cites a work published in 1620 by Francisco Bramon entitled

p
Los sirgueros de la Virgen sin original pecado. It is apparently a

pastoral story in prose and verse. Gonzalez-Pena cites a novel which

was written by Antonio Ochoa, apparently in 1662, entitled Sucesos de

Fernando o la caida de Fernando.^ An historical narrative which falls

1 Carlos Gonzalez-Pena: History of Mexican Literature translated

by G. B. Nance and F. J. Dunstan, Dallas, Texas, 19b!?, p. 5>0.

2 Jos£ Toribio Medina: La imprenta en Mexico, Santiago de Chile,

1909, Vol. II, p. 87.

3 Carlos Gonzalez-Pena: op. cit., p. 178.

 -3-

short of being a real novel was published V the Mexican savant, Car­

los de Siguenza y Gongora, in 1690. This work, Los infortunios de

Alonso Ramfrez, has some of the characteristics of a picaresque novel.

It is the story of a young man who travels widely in an attempt to find

a satisfactory livelihood, going to Havana, the Philippine Islands, and

various places in Mexico. He serves various masters, including a car­

penter and a traveling merchant, remaining always on the point of star­

vation. The high point of the story, if there is a high point, is his

capture by English pirates. Little is seen of Alonso’s character, how­

ever. Even the harsh treatment he receives at the hands of the pirates

fails to arouse pity. Similarly, human emotion is lacking thoughout

the story. Although the intensity of action rises and falls to some

extent, the variation is tooaLight to create suspense. Since Mexican

literature followed somewhat belatedly the trends of Spanish literature,

one might expect the cultivation of the picaresque novel at that time.

This semi-novel by Siguenza y Gongora is, however, the only example of

the picaresque. A mature picaresque novel did not appear for more than

a century.

The eighteenth century produced two novelesque works. El peregrino

con gufa ^ medecina universal de la alma was published by Marcos Reynal

y Hernandez in 1750. Gonzalez-Pena describes it as "a nonsensical mystic

work with certain novelistic aspects."1 In 1760, Jose Gonzalez de Sancha

1 Carlos Gonzalez-Pena: op. cit., p. 179«

wrote a work entitled Fabiano £ Aurelia. According to Pimentel, it

deals with indecent love affairs.^ The Colonial Period ended before

a real novel was produced. Prose fiction attained the form of a true

novel in the work of Fernandez de Lizardi during the Independence Period,

and became a widely cultivated form of literature during the Romantic

Period.

The antagonisms that had been growing in Mexico from the beginning

of the Colonial Period received fresh impetus from the world-wide trend

toward liberalism that made itself felt during the last years preceding

the independence movement. Through its years as a Spanish colony, the

Mexican social situation had undergone changes which were making the

colony a nation. The works of European thinkers reached Mexico; the

antagonisms arising from colonial status grew more intense. Mexico

then took part in a general movement by seeking and achieving her inde­

pendence. It is natural that such a course should create a new kind of

expression.

The changes occurring in Spain at this time produced a kind of

poetry that was willingly Imitated in Mexico. The frequent mixture

of classic form and romantic idea is the most obvious characteristic

of poetry written in both countries. The patriotism and growing liberal­

ism of the mother country gave direction to the Mexican patriots. It

is unfortunate that the Mexican poets were unable to inject their personal

fire into their poetry. However, the poetry of the Independence Period
is the first general expression in Mexico of nationalistic sentiments.

The mixture of the old and the new, in classic form and romantic idea,

established a tradition that extended well into the subsequent Romantic

Period, especially among those poets who were political conservatives.

The necessities of the struggle for independence called for a more di­

rect expression than was possible through the medium of poetry, however;

and this necessity produced a great amount of work in periodicals and

pamphlets. The pamphlets expressed the opinions of various factions on

the socio-political situation. The most famous of these pamphleteers

of the Independence Period was Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi, ME1

Pensador Mexicano." Through the periodical bearing his pseudonym, as

well as through other periodicals and pamphlets, Fernandez de Lizardi

voiced the argument of the insurgents. Not intimately associated with

any of the insurgent leaders, Fernandez de Lizardi expressed the feel­

ing of the revolutionaries generally rather than specifically. He had

a sense of immediate necessity, and he understood the period and place

in which he lived. More than once he found himself out of favor with

both insurgents and loyalists, because he was willing to compromise when

necessary. However, when he found himself inhibited by censorship be­

yond the point of compromise, he turned to the novel and laid the founda­

tion upon which that genre was to be built in Mexico.

The first novel of Fernandez de Lizardi was published in 1816. The

Periquillo Sarniento is a picaresque novel, portraying Mexico's middle

class, which compensates for its frequent didacticism through a humorous

 -6-

portrayal of a society which was thoroughly understood by the author*

Periquillo, after securing the degree of "bachiller,« sets out to

find the profession that requires the least amount of work and the

least amount of knowledge. His various positions take him into many

phases of Mexican lifej he begins preparation for the priesthood but

wastes his time, he enters a monastery but his worldly ways cause him

to be dissatisfied, he works for a barber, a druggist, a quack doctor,

a sexton, and so on. He is never satisfied. Finally, because of a

cowardly streak, he reforms and becomes a respectable citizen, in con­

trast to the typical "pfcaro." This is the best novel of Fernandez de

Lizardi. The spirit of the novel is one of revolt, its portrayal of

Mexican people and customs makes the first Mexican novel intensely

nationalistic, its popularity has been great, and its influence on the

growth of the Mexican novel has been profound.

La Quixotita £ su prima, which was published in 1818, has had con­

siderable popularity although it is inferior to the Periquillo Samlento.

It is something of a counterpart to the earlier novel in that it treats

the education of women*. The author’s attitude is more positive than it

is in the Periquillo, because in the later book he not only criticizes

the existing situation, but illustrates what he considers the ideal situ­

ation as well. The novel is, therefore, decidedly more didactic than is

the Periquillo. Two cousins are reared in entirely different domestic

environments— one receives the conventional and useless education of women

of the time, the other is carefully educated not only in the social graces,
 -?-

but in household tasks and economy as well, and she is even taught a

trade. Virtue and folly are appropriately rewarded. Interest in the

novel is mitigated by its extreme didacticism, and the picaresque tone

is lacking. The plot structure of la Quixotita is important because it

is much more complicated than a picaresque plot. Several characters

are treated throughout the story, two families are brought into conflict,

their views and the attempt by each family to impose their views upon

the other family are seen.

Fernandez de Lizardi returned to the picaresque in Don Catron de

la Fachenda, published posthumously in 1832. Don Catrin, less likeable

than Periquillo, is the victim of relentless satire by the author. He

is a fop, willing to do anything but work. He will work for no master,

but engages in a series of dishonorable occupations. He has Periquillo’s

cowardice, but lacks Periquillo's common sense, and does not reform. The

novel is second to the Periquillo in interest; it contributes nothing to

the development of the novel in Mexico that cannot be found in the Peri—

quillo Samiento. A semi-fictional work by Fernandez de Lizardi, Noches

tristes y dia alegre, was published in 1818. It relates the terrifying

experiences undergone by a man on four successive nights. Gonzalez-Pena

says it is autobiographical.1 It is important only in that its similarity

to Cadalso's Noches lugubres helps establish the author •s relationship to

one of the European predecessors of Romanticism. Also, among Fernandez de

 -8-

Lizardi1s dramatic works is a second part to Cornelia's EL negro sen­

sible.

The most important factor in Fernandez de Lizardi»s novels is his

treatment of the Mexican people. The treatment is mainly of the middle

class. The characterizations are unsatisfactory in many respects, but

the author succeeds in portraying certain types for the purpose of satire.

His faults in characterization are seen in many of the Mexican Romantic

novelists. The definite line that he draws between good and bad people

in La Quixotita £ su prima is often a fault of his successors. The por­

trayal of Mexican society as a whole is real, not with the realism of

the later French school, but with the natural, unpretentious realism

that has been so prominent in Spanish literature and especially in the

picaresque novel. Through this realism, Fernandez de Lizardi established

a tradition which was to live, through all the excesses of Romanticism,

in the works of the costumbrista novelists and eventually to be absorbed

into Realism. The Mexican novel of the Romantic Period became a much

more complicated work than was the picaresque, and Fernandez de Lizardi

contributed to that progress in la Quixotita £ su prima.

It was quite natural that Mexicans, who had politically become a

part of the movement toward liberalism, would also follow the trend of

Romantic expression in literature. However, two special characteristics

of Mexican Romanticism should be painted out. In the first place, the

lyrical and subjective aspects of Romanticism appealed to Mexicans, the

traditional aspect was less inportant. Secondly, there was no conflict

between Classicists and Romanticists. Classicism and Romanticism

 •9-

flourished side by side. Writers of both schools associated with

each other in the Academy of Letran from the time of its founding in

1836. Carpio and Pesado were members along with Calderon and Rodri­

guez Galvin. The association of such men did not mean that there were

no differences of opinion. Generally speaking, the Classicists were

men of excellent education, traditionalists, and political conserva­

tives. The Romantics, as a rule, were of less exalted financial sta­

tus, favored the abolition of privileges of the church and the wealthy,

and were, consequently, liberals. Such was the schism that rent Mexico

for two-thirds of a century, creating a period of conflict that had a

dominant air of Romanticism— a period characterized by tremendous acti­

vity, by personalism, and by the search for a Mexicanism that was not

found until a national consciousness had been molded by internal and

foreign wars.

The beginning of the Romantic Period is marked by the work of two

men, Fernando Calderon and Ignacio Rodriguez Galvan, both of whom were

primarily poets and dramatists. Calderon's first volume of poetry was

published in 1828 when he was nineteen years old. In this work are seen

Romantic attitudes which become increasingly apparent in his later work.

Read sees in Calderon's work several factors which indicate the general

characteristics of Romanticism in Mexico.

In Calderon's work there are several characteristics that

become outstanding in Mexican romanticism; a profound and
lyric melancholy emanating from the Amerind racial spirit,
manifesting itself in the idea of death as a poetic preoc­
cupation, in the rapture and despair of love, and in a sense
 .10-

of frustration in ideals j an exalted chivalry that admits

no middle ground between nobility of the soul and depravity.^

It is regrettable that, in his drama, Calderon used European ma­

terial as well as inspiration, placing the action in medieval England

and Germany, with the result that there is little to distinguish his

works as Mexican.

Mexican Romanticism was established by Calderon's younger contem­

porary, Rodriguez Galvan, who relied on Mexico for his subject matter,

although his expansion of the subject matter is not always distinctively

Mexican. It is significant that Rodriguez Galvin always lived in poverty

and that he was educated largely through his own efforts. His physical

existence was one of struggle that was entirely in accord with the Roman­

tic ideal, and his haphazard education placed emphasis on the European

Romantics. His work shows a strict sense of moral right that pervades

Mexican Romanticism, frequently in a superficial though vehement way.

It was this sense of moral right which led to the interpretation of

past events in the light of the author's own time, a very different

thing from the recreation of the past as seen In the novels of Scott.

In his poem Profecia de Guatimoc, Rodriguez Galvan identifies indepen­

dent Mexico with the pre-conquest civilization, and harshly condemns the

cruelty of the invaders, and the tyranny of Moctezuma is condemned as

being contrary to the ideals of his people in In vision de Moctezuma.

In his two dramas, Rodriguez Galvan treats two colonial situations in

the Romantic manner. Both of the plays exploit the theme of authority

1 J. Lloyd Read: The Mexican Historical Novel, New York, 1939,

p. 50.
 •11-

used to force the will of a virtuous woman. As in the two poems men­

tioned above, the historical situation is judged by nineteenth century

standards.

If the education of Rodriguez Galvan had been more orthodox, he

might have understood the fundamental characteristics of Romanticism

and he might have been a better technician. As it was, he understood

the noise and violence of Romanticism. He was also a poor dramatist

from the standpoint of workmanship. If he had not possessed these two

faults he might have been Mexico’s first Romantic novelist. Because of

his limitations his prose fiction is too short and incompletely developed.

As in the case of his dramas, he uses Mexican settings. One of them, La

hija del oidor, is set in Mexico City in 1809. The heroine falls in love

with a man who turns out to be a murderer, and she is killed by her father

when her pregnancy and her lover’s identity are discovered. Rodriguez

Galvan had neither the ability to develop the plot fully nor to charac­

terize the personages. He succeeds in creating suspense, but is not

able artistically nor technically to make the story worth while. The

same faults are evident in two other stories, Manolito Pisaverde and La

proceslon. In both he uses the device of hidden identity, the first

being the story of a girl who dons male clothing in order to avenge her­

self on her deceiver, the second concerning the discovery of a long lost

daughter. The stories are in no way superior to La hija del oidor, and

because of their extreme lachrymosity, they may even be accused of lacking

its reality. A fourth story, Tras de un mal nos vienen ciento, written

almost entirely in dialog, is entirely different in spirit. The scene

 -12-

is in 1836 in Mexico City where a visitor from Puebla starts out to keep

an appointment for dinner. There follows a series of incidents in which

the man is repeatedly frustrated so that he gets no food until he returns

home and sends his servant for some. The story possesses a certain pica­

resque tone, and the author pokes fun at the police and at various human

characteristics such as excessive pride in one’s children. The writing

of such a story by the man who wrote the three mentioned above serves to

exemplify the strength of the tradition established by Fernandez de Lizardi,

and it is interesting for that reason rather than for any intrinsic value.

The first three stories mentioned, dated in 1836, 1837, and I 838, respec­

tively, are examples of a number of stories written in Mexico during the

early years of the Romantic Period.

Most of the early short stories are historical. Read considers El

crlollo, written by J. R. Pacheco and dated I836, one of the best.l Its

action is a result of the colonial caste system, and the author was suc­

cessful in recreating the atmosphere of colonial life. Jose/ Marfa Lafragua

placed the setting of Netzula, dated 1832, in pre-conquest times. The

heroine falls in love with her unknown betrothed, thinking he is someone

else. After having sent him away, she finds him dying on the battlefield

and discovers his identity. The setting is artificial. These stories

bear a marked resemblance to some written later in the Romantic Period in

that they are neither short stories nor novelsj they are rather condensed

plots with little and unsatisfactory charaoterization. It is possible

 -13-

that such procedure reflected the unsettled time in which they were

written; it is possible that it reflects the absence of a tradition

in prose fiction. Such stories, some of them anonymous, comprise the

majority of the attempts at fiction during the first half of the nine­

teenth century.

Gonzalez-Pena says that "after Fernandez de Lizardi, there is a

long period of silence in the realm of the n o v e l . T h e r e were very

few works of value produced during that period, but there were a few

attempts more ambitious than the stories mentioned above. Read includes,

in his study, the anonymous novel, Jicotencal, which was published in

Philadelphia in 1826.2 The origin of the novel is unknown, but it is

set in Mexico during the days immediately preceding the Conquest and

during the Conquest itself. The novel is a glorification of man in the

natural state and is a plea for attention to the ordinary moral values.

The work is not outstanding ffcom a literary standpoint. Of even less

value is El misterioso, the work of Mariano Melendez Munoz which was

published in I836. A work of one hundred and thirty-one pages, La

prostitucion o consecuencias de un mal ejemplo was published by I, D.

Castillo in I836.

The first novelist of importance after Fernandez de Lizardi was

Justo Sierra, the elder. Ke was born in Yucatan in 181U, received a

good education, developed liberal ideas, and spent hi3 life in journal­

ism and in politics. He died in 1861. His two fictional works show

1 Carlos Gonzalez-Pena: og. cit., p. 189.

2 J. Lloyd Read: og. cit., pp. 80-97.
 -Hi-

that hewas essentially an historical novelist, though Read feels that

he falls short of the goal in his first novel, Un ano en el hospital de

San Lazaro, first published in 181*1.

It is not truly historical, though Sierra at first had planned

to make it so by dealing with the history of piracy in the
coast region. His plan was so indefinite that he quickly left
the historical factors in a1position of negligible importance
and completed a thoroughly unsatisfactory story of an individual
who had contracted syphilis. The reader cannot escape the feel­
ing that the author was groping his way uncertainly. ^

Sierra1s second novel, La hija del judfo, was first published seri­

ally in El Fe'niz from I8J4.8 to 1850. Later editions are dated 187l*j 1908,

and 1917. The setting is Merida in the middle of the seventeenth cen­

tury. It is the story of a girl, Maria3 whose family has been condemned

by the Inquisition because her father was suspected of being a Jew. Maria

was adopted by a good family, but as she approached majority, the Holy

Office ordered her to enter a convent for fear that the girl might other­

wise recover her family^ confiscated property. She is defended success­

fully by a Jesuit priest who is the spiritual adviser of her fiance^

Sierra succeeds in evoking the past, and he employs Romantic ideas without

falling into the trap of exaggeration that is generally characteristic of

the Romantic novel in Mexico. The best element of the novel is the well

organized plot in which the author was able to coordinate the amatory

and the historical aspects, thereby avoiding the impression of looseness

that is derived from most of the early novels.

The first eminent novelist after Fernlindez de Lizardi, and the first

to follow directly in the tradition established by him, was Manuel Payno.

 -15-

Payno was b o m in Mexico City in 1810. His life extended through the

Romantic Period and through the coming of Realism before he died in

189U in San Angel. He was active in politics, diplomacy, and journal­

ism throughout his life. Consistently refusing to identify himself

irrevocably with any political party, he attained an objectivity in

viewing the Mexican socio-political situation that is evident in his

novels. His first novel, El fiatol del diablo, was published in La

Revista Cientffica y Liter^ria in 181*5 and 181*6. Later editions are

dated 1859, 1871, 1906, 1917, and 1927. It is a very long, rambling

novel in which the plot becomes subordinate to the "costumbrista" ele­

ment in such a way that the work may be better described as a series of

loosely connected sketches than as a novel. Fayno attempts to use a

scarfpin as a connecting defice, but he forgets it before the end of the

work. The supernatural, in the form of the devil, enters as an observer

of society. The most fully developed of the many plots centers around

the attempts of two young men, Manuel and Arturo, to save the wealthy

Teresa from the designs of her guardian, Don Pedro, whose activities are

motivated by lust and avarice. Mary other people, including two young

women who provide important sub-plots, enter the action. The process of

having some personages escape from or trying to apprehend other personages

takes them through a large part of Mexico, and provides the author oppor­

tunity to describe and criticize customs. The action extends to the North-

American Invasion, during which Manuel and Arturo are killed before either

marries Teresa.
 -16-

Although parts of El flstol del diablo are historical, it cannot

be considered a real historical novel.^ That Payno thought of the work

primarily as a series of sketches is evidenced by the fact that he made

additions to the second and third editions. Because of such an attitude,

the plot could hardly be expected to be significant.

This interest in the sketch also made Payno less interested in char­

acterization, as it is generally thought of in a novel, than he was in

describing people. Therefore, he presents a gallery of types that he

had seen in Mexico and which are frequently seen in any country. His

work, however, has a strong Mexican flavor which is imparted to the char­

acters by the description of social conditions in Mexico. Payno was in­

terested in the judiciary and penal systems, and is severely critical of

them. His interest in the foregoing affords them important treatment,

but there is not much in Mexican society that does not pass under his

scrutiny. His picture of society is so complete that it is impossible

to list all the aspects discussed by him. If the work is considered for

its worth as a novel, the author's digressions are frequentj but if it

is considered for its worth as a picture of Mexican society the digres­

sions take on the proper perspective. Payno*s objectivity makes him less

a reformer than was Fernandez de Lizardi. It also makes him less human.

Payno *s life and literary activity encompassed Romanticism and ex­

tended beyond it. His second novel, El hombre de la situacion, was pub­

lished in 1861, after the production of Romantic novels had increased

1 Ibid., pp. 124-125.

 -17

greatly. The novel deals with three generations of the same family,

showing the life of the family in Mexico during the colonial regime.

The head of the third generation goes to Spain to be educated and re­

turns after Mexico has won her independence. He is met in Mexico City

by his father who has just been elected to the Congress. The son is

appalled by what he considers lack of civilization, especially as evi­

denced in his family's manner of life. He sets out to civilize them,

and one gets the impression that Payno intended to launch into a criti­

cism of the society of the time. The work is decidedly inferior to

Payno's other work.

Payno's third and last novel, Los bandidos de Rio Frio, was pub­

lished late in the nineteenth century, after the beginnings of Realism,

and will be discussed in a later chapter.

 CHAPTER II

THE AMATORY NOVEL FROM 1850 TO 1867

The political and social unrest which had hampered the cultiva­

tion of letters, especially of the longer forms, during the years be­

tween Fernandez de Lizardi and 1850 was to continue for many years.

However, after the war with the United States, there were brief peri­

ods of relative calm which afforded some opportunity for the production

of novels. These years saw the peaceful election of Arista; and although

Santa Anna was soon to return to power, even his rule gave some promise

of peace. It is true that these promises of peace were never quite real­

ized, that fundamentally the social and political situation remained un­

settled. The problems arising from this situation were soon to erupt

again in the Reform, and real solution of them was to be further delayed

by the French Intervention. There was, therefore, no well defined liter­

ary movement, there was no guiding spirit, there was no consistent develop­

ment of the novel. The country* s foremost literary circle, the Academy of

Letrah, ceased functioning in 1856, eliminating the one good source of con­

tact for the novelists who were beginning to produce their work without

benefit of an established tradition in prose fiction. The novels that

appeared during this period are the works of men who grasped at every

opportunity for writing. They are written in spite of their author's

environment. The influences and attitudes that were to produce the

Romantic novel in Mexico had been accumulating during the preceding

period, and the time for expression had come and had waited.
 -19-

Although some novelists during the Romantic Period in Mexico fol­

lowed the Lizardi tradition, most of the novelists were trying to emu­

late the French, and it was around the influence of several French novel­

ists that the Mexican Romantic novel developed. The influence of Alexan­

dre Dumas is seen in the adventure novel which concerns itself chiefly

with historical events. Frequently, the influences which the Mexican

novelists claim are largely a matter of lip-service. French novels

were read by the Mexicans, but the latter lacked the ability to apply

what they learned to their own situation. Specific similarities can

be noted as in the initiation scene in Luis Inclan's Astucia and the

one in The Three Musketeers. Indebtedness to Honore de Balzac is ac­

knowledged frequently, but typical absence of any real influence of

Balzac may be seen in the work of Florencio del Castillo, who was called

"el Balzac mexicano". It is reasonable to believe that the Mexicans'

attempt to portray all of society stems partially from the influence of

Balzac, but the Mexican product is more similar to the work of Eugene

Sue. It is quite evident that the Mexicans looked with favor upon

models that are thought now to have little value. The feuilletonistic

quality of the models is retained in the Mexican novels so that they

are frequently episodic, have complicated plots and sub-plots which are

inter-related with varying skill, and undertake the portrayal of a pano­

ramic view of society, presenting social criticism which is discourag-

ingly superficial.

The Mexican novel of this period was either very long or very short.

The long novels generally have complicated plots and are badly organized;
 -20-

the short novels are by their very nature less complicated. In spite

of this, it is frequently amazing to find how complicated a plot can

become in so few pages. These short novels are not "cuentos”; the

general effect is that of abridged novels. Most of the long novels

may be called novels of customs and will be discussed in a later chap­

ter; most of the short novels are amatory. The foregoing statement

does not mean that the length of the novel is absolutely dependent

upon kind.

The amatory novels are not concerned with the portrayal of cus­

toms. They are concerned with the telling of a story of love, and

any picture of customs or element that is characteristically Mexican

seems incidental. This characteristic is the real difference between

the amatory novel and the novel of customs. The novels of customs con­

tain similar stories of love, but they also contain a conscious attempt

at the portrayal of customs— an attempt which achieves varying success.

The amatory novel may have a complicated plot, or it may have a fairly

simple plot that is little more than an outline. In general, the plots

seem condensed and the emphasis is almost wholly on the love story.

FERNANDO OROZCO I BERRA

Carlos Gonzalez-Pena says that the romantic novel appeared in Mexico

with Orozco y Berra. 1 This statement is probably justified by the fact

that his only novel, La guerra de treinta anos, is the first Mexican

1 Carlos Gonzalez-Pena: History of the Mexican Literature, trans­

lated by G. B. Nance and F. J. Dunstan, Dallas, Texas, l$h3* p. 228.
 -21-

fiction to fulfill the requirements of purely romantic subject matter,

typical romantic treatment, and real novel length. It would probably

be more exact to say that the subject matter is purely amorous, rather

than purely romantic. The novel, contrary to the implication of the

title, is the story of the author’s love affairs up to the time of the

writing of the novel. It seems incredible that a man could have loved

so many women in so few years; nevertheless, it seems certain that the

novel is autobiographical to a certain extent, because some of the women

mentioned undertook the task of removing the book from circulation and

succeeded in making it a bibliographical rarity.

The author was born in San Felipe del Obraje, June 3, 1822. He was

taken to Mexico City as a small boy and received most of his education

there, completing his medical study at Puebla in 181|5* His first poems

appeared in El entreacto, a periodical which he published in Puebla with

his brother Manuel, and Manuel Maria de Zamacona. He soon returned to

Mexico City and devoted himself to journalism until his death there on

April 1St 1851. During this period he contributed to El siglo XIX and

El monitor republicano. He left some unpublished plays and poems. His

only novel evidences no Mexicanism except the author's promise to turn

his attention to Mexico later on.2 jn the same place he says that there

are reasons for his setting the novel in Spain rather than in Mexico and

he admits that he is ignorant of the detail which is necessary for this

setting. Federico Gamboa thinks that this is the outstanding fault of

1 Ibid., p. 229.

2 Fernando Orozco y Berra: La guerra de treinta anos, Mexico, 1850,

Vol. 1, p. 9.
 -22-

the novel. 1 After placing the action in Spain, especially in Madrid

and Burgos, Orozco y Berra proceeds to relate an episodic story of love

and disillusionment that has nothing else to make it appealing.

The amorous experiences of the hero, Gabriel, begin at the age of

seven when he innocently kisses one of his schoolmates. The teacher
reprimands him and, in so doing, creates inhibitions which Gabriel
never overcomes. Ifihen Gabriel is eighteen, Agustina, a courtesan who
is older than he, tries to ensnare him. The innocent Gabriel idealizes
her and refuses to have an affair with her.

In this manner Gabriel embarks upon a series of love affairs that

always leave him disillusioned, either because of faithlessness on the
part of the girl or because of his own inability to be content with one
who is faithful. He loves women of all types: gentle ones and vivacious
ones, married women and spinsters, poverty-stricken and wealthy, finally,
he returns to Angela, the only one who has ever really understood his
tortured soul, and finds that she has always loved him and still does.
But he doe8 not see her again until she is dying of lovesickness. Gabriel,
at the end of the novel, is left embittered, believing that worldly happi­
ness must be bought with money or tears, and that money can be had only
by lowering one's standard of honor.

The only real continuity in this novel is Gabriel himself. His re­

lationships with the other characters are interlaced to some extent, but

only two of the women are seen throughout large portions of the story.

The author has introduced many characters, but he lacks the ability,

extraordinary in some of the novelists of the period, to connect all of

his characters and account for them at the end of the novel. The fact

that he does not do so indicates his lack of ability to do otherwise,

since he does make an attempt to connect the elements of the episodic

story. The action is nothing more than love, plus one threatened duel,

which is the direct result of a potential love affair.

1 Federico Gamboa: La novela mexieana, Mexico, 1911*, p. ll*.

 -23-

Ignacio Manual Altamirano says:

La guerra de treinta anos es la historia de un corazon

enfermo; pero es tambi^n”la historia de todos los corazones
apasionados y no comprendidos. Los personales que en
ella retrata, vivian entonces, viven aiin; 1

Gabriel is undoubtedly the principal character. He provides the

only plot continuity, and he is also the character that receives most

of the treatment. He is seen as a noble young man, sensitive, quick to

fall in love, thwarted, unwilling to compromise his honor to gain a de­

sired end, and therefore embittered. He is seen only as a lover. There

is no possible way of telling how he would act in other situations. The

episode concerning the duel is a special case which serves only to empha­

size the honor and sensitivity of Gabriel. As for the women, Altamirano

is unquestionably right when he says they lived and still live. There

are two basic classes: the naive, gentle, virtuous women like Angela,

Julia, and the brunette Rosa, and the sophisticated, daring women like

Agustina, Narcisa, and the blonde Rosa. These women vary somewhat

according to their stations in life, but there is too little differenti­

ation. Gabriel is susceptible to all of them until they are proved or

prove themselves unwholesome. He becomes more bitter after each succeed­

ing disillusionment; and he cannot be happy with one of the more desirable

women. One woman, Serafina, never comes into either category. Her purpose

in the novel is to represent the desirable and unattainable, just as An­

gela's purpose is to represent the attainable and unappreciated. The

present novel, like many in this category, has as its sole purpose the

1 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: Revistas literarias de Mexico, Mexico,

1868, p. U8.
 -2k-

discussion of the sensitivity of the protagonist. The fact that the

action takes place in Spain has no effect on the novel. The author has

not tried to create real people, but forms in "which an unnatural atti­

tude toward love becomes the only characteristic that is clearly seen.

Gonzalez-Pena says that the book Mis written in slovenly and homely

prose; it is prolix, insipid, and tedious.11-1- The prose, poor as it is,

is not the worst element of the novel. What tires the reader is the

endless succession of similar episodes, and the introduction of characters

who do not become parts of the story. The prose, though bad, would be

acceptable if the author had more imagination.

EMILIO RET

Emilio Rey's single novel, or novelette, of 65 pages shows a con­

siderably greater ability as a story-teller than does the novel of Orozco

y Berra. Rey*s novel, jAmor de angel 1, was published in 185k.

The story opens in Naples at an indefinite time, though one assumes

that the action is contemporary with the author. Oton, a blase young
Frenchman, is attracted by Aurelia, whose father, a Frenchman, is in
political disfavor in France. Aurelia falls in love with Otdn. He is
too much the man-of-the-world to really fall in love. He leaves the
faithful Aurelia and goes to London, ostensibly to visit a dying uncle.
In London, he seduces the heretofore unattainable Lade Everard. Otdn
then returns to Paris where he finds that Aurelia, whose father has been
restored to political favor, is the queen of Parisian society, turning
down countless offers of marriage. Purely for the sake of the fame in­
volved, Otdn again charms Aurelia and finds that she still loves him.
He elopes with Aurelia and later deserts her. Four years elapse and the
next scene is a Dutch village where Aurelia lives with her daughter a M
is loved by everyone for her kindness. She receives a letter from Oton,
who is now repentant, saying that he is on his way to her. This news
brings happiness to Aurelia; but her happiness is short-lived, because

1 Carlos Gonzalea-Pe&a: og. cit., p. 229

 -25-

she receives news that Oton has been killed in a train wreck on his way
to her Dutch village. She tarns to her daughter and says, iHija nna I
iTu padre ha muerto I iRuega por el I”-1-

This story was obviously written entirely for the plot, and it is

reasonably interesting. The story could easily be made a full length

novel, but Rey did not choose to develop characters or create atmosphere.

There is, of course, no Mexicanism, nor is there any localism at all.

Naples is in no way different from London or Paris. The Dutch village

is different only in that it is rural. In spite of the brevity of the

novel, it has a more complete plot than has La guerra de treinta anos

of Orozco y Berra.

The characters are quite similar to those of Orozco. Oton is a

typical "calavera" who repents, for an unstated reason, near the aid of

the story. Aurelia is a virtuous, faithful woman who is deceived, but

who is so good that she never becomes bitter. She readily forgives Oton.

Lady Everard serves only for Ot<£n to test his skill as a seducer. These

characters are rather flatj but Rey has not developed other characters

at all, so these three stand out.

The prose is about on a par with that of Orozco y Berra. Any dif­

ference must be in favor of the latter.

HILAR ION FRIAS Y SOTO

Hilarion Frias y Soto was one of the many Mexicans who studied

medicine and devoted their lives to writing. Bora in Queretaro, he re­

ceived his preparatory education in that city and studied medicine in the

1 Emilio Reys jAmor de angel I, Mexico, 1851*, p. 65.

 -26-

capital. The date of his birth is not known. He became interested in

politics, supported the liberal cause, and was a soldier during the War

of the Reform and the French Intervention. He was at one time editor of

El siglo XIX, and he contributed to El monitor republicano and the Diario

del hogar, among other periodicals. His articles were political, histori­

cal, and critical, frequently appearing over the pseudonyms "Safir" and

"El portero del Liceo Hidalgo." He died in Tacubaya on July 2, 1895*

His one novel, Vulcano, was signed in 1861. It consists of only

fifty-five pages. It does, however, have a kind of condensed plot which

is frequently seen in books of the period.

The story opens with the author attending a dinner where some friends
of long standing are telling stories. The host begins to tell a love story,
but is interrupted by the arrival of a letter. He reads the letter silently,
excuses himself, and leaves the house immediately. The author follows him
and sees the end of the story that the host had started to tell. Then the
whole story is told by the host, in the first person.

In 18U-, while the host-hero is travelling to Mexico City, he is at­

tracted by a beautiful beggar girl. He seduces her and she goes to Mexico
as his mistress. After a short time in the capital, the hero gets hope­
lessly in debt trying to support his mistress, Filomena, and she marries
one of his creditors. The husband soon dies, Filomena inherits his for­
tune, adopts the name Julia, and lives in luxury. She meets the hero
again and he offers marriage; but Julia has become so accustomed to luxury
that she knows she would be unhappy without it. She marries another
wealthy man, but carries on an affair with the hero and becomes pregnant.
Then she tells the hero that she had to have an heir to keep her old and
impotent husband's relatives from inheriting his fortune. The hero sees
no more of Julia until his dinner is interrupted by the arrival of the
mysterious letter, which is from Julia's husband, Vulcano. It tells the
hero that Julia has told all and has been forgiven, and advises the hero
to rush to her side. The hero finds her dead from childbirth and his
child beside her, stillborn.

The author has the ability to weave a plot*. There is little more to

the novel. The plot could be developed with considerably more skill. The
 -27-

best thing that can be said for the story is that the reader's interest

is sustained. The scene is in Mexico, but there is no sign of Mexican-

ism. There is some cheap philosophy which is critical of society, but

not specifically of Mexican society. These ideas are reminiscent of those

expressed by Orozco y Berra in La guerra de treinta anos. When Julia re­

jects the hero in favor of the wealthy Vulcano she says:

Nueva Venus, elijo a mi feo y viejo Vulcano; pero no pierdas

la esperanza, que ami algo tiene que hacer en ello Marte.l

The author's summary at the end of the story is:

Vulcano, el dios cojo, el dios de oro, debia ser el emblema de

nuestro siglo.2

The characters are mere shadows. The hero is always willing to

save Julia's honor through marriage when he has enough money. He is

portrayed as a completely admirable character. Julia (Filomena) is an

innocent country girl who becomes a "golddigger". Vulcano is not devel­

oped. We know him only as a source of money for Julia and as the wronged

husband who forgives. These facts, however, are told the reader; he does

not discover them through character development.

JOSE MARIA RAMIREZ

More similar to the novel of customs, but still predominantly ama­

tory, is the work of Jos^ Maria Ramirez. He was born in Mexico City on

April 2h» 183U. He was educated in the Colegio de San Ildefonso and the

1 Hilariin Frias y Soto: Vulcano, Mexico, 1882, p. 39

2 Ibid., p. 55.
 -28-

Seminario Palafoxiano de Puebla. In 1861 he was elected to the Congress,

and at the same time gave up his study of law and devoted himself to

journalism. He was editor of La orquesta, and contributed to El crepus-

culo, El horoscopo, and El diario de avisos. He fought against the French

Intervention, and filled several public offices after the Republic was

re-established. He later retired to private life and died in 1892, in the

city of his birth.

Altamirano has left two facts about the personality of this author.

The first is that he was known as "el viejo" among his friends in the

Colegio de San Ildefonso, because of his serious mien and studious habits.^

Altamirano also points out that Ramirez was quite urbane, that he was a

lover of nature, but only of nature that is civilized. He, therefore,

could not describe wild nature, but this deficit was compensated for by

his knowledge of history, philosophy and literature.2 if this was his

attitude toward nature, it may shed even more light on the personality of

the author to note that he said:

Siempre he preferido los sitios en que se desplegan las bellezas

naturales, en donde sin la intervencion civilizadora de la mano
del hombre, todo crece y se desarrolla libre y naturalmente.3

Ramirez was both poet and novelist. He wrote five novels and a tale

of21 pages, Mi frac, which was published in 1868. The novels are: Ce­

leste, two editions in 1861 and l86hj Ellas £ nosotros, three editions in

1862, 186b, and 1873; Gabriela, two editions in 1862 and 186U; Avelina,

1 Ignacio Uanuel Altamirano: og. cit., p. 68.

2 Ibid., p. 69.

3 Jose Marda Ramirez: Gabriela, Mexico, 1862, p. 20.

 -29-

one edition in l86Uj and Una rosa jr un harapo, one edition in 1868.

His last novel is his best, and the one for which he is remembered.

There is very little in the work of Ramirez that can be called

Mexicanism. Occasionally he puts in a few historical comments which

have nothing to do with the story. As a matter of fact, they do not

even serve to paint a background. Ellas £ nosotros is basically a

simple tale of the hero's grief occasioned by unrequited love. This

story is unnecessarily complicated by the recounting of similar grief

on the part of another man, who serves only to console the hero in

moments of anguish. At no time are the characters real. The two

women are dimly seen and are in no way different from each other. The

two men are slightly different in that the hero is the more sensitive

of the two.

Ramirez attempts an ineffective historical background, by having

the two men fight against some "reactionaries" who enter Mexico City.

The episode contributes nothing to the novel except to date the action

by the knowledge that the time is after the deaths of Lerdo and Generals

Valle and Degollado.^

The story moves very slowly. There is, indeed, very little action

in the novel itself, a large part of the action having occured before

the beginning of the story as Ramirez tells it. The author gives a

great amount of space to the exhibition of his knowledge of literature.

1 Generals Leandro Valle and Santos Degollado left Mexico City with
liberal forces to avenge the assasination of Melchor Ocampo. Degollado
was killed in action on June 15, 1861. Valle was captured and later shot
on June 23, 1861. Miguel Lerdo de Tejada had died of natural causes on
May 22, 1861. Miguel Angel Peral: Diccionario biogrgffico mexicano,
Mexico, 19kh (?), pp. 213, hhB, 817.
 -30-

He talks about many writers of the Romantic Movement— English, German,

French, Spanish. His remarks are laudatory, but have no other signifi­

cance*

Ramirez is oratorical to the point of absurdity. One idea is re­

peated many times. Several figures of speech are used to describe one

thing. To make a bad thing worse, there are no chapters as such— the

author stops occasionally and starts again after a few spaces.

In Gabriela, the hero is named Antonio, as in Ellas jr nosotros.

For all the reader knows, it may be the same Antonio, for he has the

same single characteristic— disillusionment in love. The story is

told in the first person by Antonio.

In order to heal his broken heart, he leaves Mexico City to visit

his uncle’s family in a nearby town. He falls in love with his cousin,
Gabriela, who has two other suitors: an Italian named Salvinio and a
German named Kreutzer.

Although Gabriela encourages Salvinio and Antonio, her greatest

favors are for Kreutzer. One night, Gabriela comes to Antonio's room
and tells him that she is going to elope with Kreutzer. She leaves
letters for Antonio, Salvinio, and her father, a diamond for Salvinio,
and a portrait and a lock of hair for Antonio. Antonio tries to im­
pede the elopement, but Kreutzer is too strong. Antonio's letter tells
him that his spiritual love has come too late. The strength of Kreutzer»s
physical love has won Gabriela. Salvinio and Gabriela's father and brother
go to look for her. Antonio, completely disillusioned, returns to Mexico
City. One day he receives a letter from Salvinio with a black seal and
blood stains, but he burns it without reading it.

This story has more action than Ellas £ nosotros and is, therefore,

better. It still moves very slowly, however* There is much digression,

and there are two complete chapters in which the author stops the move­

ment of the store entirely and discusses what has gone before. The end­

ing of the stoiy, like that of Ellas £ nosotros, is highly unsatisfactory.

 -31-

The men, except Kreutzer, go through most of the story bathed in

tears. The gifts of Gabriela to her three suitors, including the gift

of herself to Kreutzer, probably represent the characters of the men.

Without this episode, these characteristics might be guessed, but they

are not clearly developed. The fact that Antonio's rivals are foreign­

ers is of no apparent importance unless it be to emphasize the great

sensitivity of the Mexican. Gabriela is the strongest character because

she acts more. Her actions, however, lack full justification.

The longest novel of Ramirez and the one which brought him most

fame is Una rosa y un harapo. The scene is Mexico City during the

French Intervention, a fact which is apparent but which has nothing to

do with the story. Here again Antonio appears as the hero. In this

novel he is somewhat different, being a melancholy, dreaiqy, poetic

youth, too young to have suffered disillusionment. He is the friend

of another student, Maximo, the practical, mercenary kind, who stops

school soon after the novel opens and starts a novelty shop in order to

make some money.

Antonio is in love with Piedad and would like to marry her, but
her father, Don Martin, will not allow the marriage because Antonio
cannot offer an eminent social position and wealth. Meanwhile, Maximo
has been courting Eugenia, a girl who has attracted him on account of
her wealth. His suit comes to naught because she comprehends his ma­
terialistic attitude. At this point a legacy enriches Antonio and he
finds himself in a position to marry Piedad, but he and Eugenia are
attracted to each other. Maximo, resenting this change of fortune,
plots to steal Antonio's money and ruin him in the eyes of Eugenia by
associating him with Chucha, a prostitute of their acquaintance. Chucha,
however, loves Antonio, and is sufficiently unselfish to reveal the plot,
and the tragedy is averted.

Meanwhile, Maximo has been spurned by Piedad. Chucha, seeing that

her love is hopeless, kills herself. Maximo thwarted and repentant,
 -32-

kills himself. Antonio develops into real manhood and goes to fight
against the French carrying in his heart Eugenia's promise that she
will wait for him. Nothing more is said about Piedad.

This is a better story than the others discussed. Probably its

greatest defect is that Ramirez takes the trouble to account for all

of his major characters except Piedad, who is simply dropped. There is

more action than there is in the others and all of the action is expli­

cable. It should be pointed out, however, that the story has more action

because the novel is of greater length. Ramirez has not omitted his

usual digression. The development of the plot occupies only about one-

third of the novel. The rest of the book is spent on shallow moraliz­

ing and trite character study. Typical of the gems of wisdom that

Ramirez includes with displeasing frequency, is:

Sed dignos, y sereis dignos de amar. Sed dignos de amar, y

serais dignos de todo.^

An occasional insertion of this kind would be acceptable, but this pas­

sage is a good example of what fills two-thirds of the book.

The characters, though far from fully developed, are seen with some

degree of clarity. Three of the characters show very reasonable change:

Antonio matures into manhood, Chucha shows her noble soul and hopeless

state, Maximo repents when he sees that he has been wrong. Even his

suicide is explicable in the light of the period when the novel was

written. The reader wonders if Ramirez portrays himself through Antonio.

Antonio cannot be clearly seen in any of these three novels, but the

1 Jose Maria Ramirez: Una rosa £ un harapo, Mexico, 1868, p. 153.

 -33-

Antonio of Una rosa £ un harapo seems to have characteristics that

are similar to those of Ramirez as related by Altamirano. The military

experience of Antonio is similar to that of the author. It is also

interesting that the author has portrayed Antonio ls direct opposite in

the character of Maximo.

Ramirez, in Una rosa jr un harapo, makes a studied attempt to "write

brilliant prose, making use of such devices as italicized words for em­

phasis, startling paragraphs of one sentence or even one word, and anti­

theses which are forced and too frequent. He does this more in the last

novel than in the others. It serves to detract from a novel which other­

wise shows improvement over his earlier work.

AURELIO LUIS GALLARDO

Aurelio Luis Gallardo, poet, dramatist and novelist, was born in

Leon, in the state of Guanajuato, on November 3, 1831. At an early age

he moved to Guadalajara where he spent most of his life. He studied

philosophy and the humanities in the Seminario Conciliar of that city.

His first poems were published in 1851, and he continued to write poetry,

drama, and some periodical literature. Speaking of this work, Igulniz

quotes an unidentified critic:

En casi todas sus composiciones predomina un sentimentalismo

exagerado y su forma es muy descuidada; si no es ahora muy
leido, en cambio debesele el haber fomentado notablemente en
Jalisco el gusto por las letras.l

Critics who mention him, do so because of his one novel, Adah, o el

1 Quoted in Juan B. Iguduiiz: op. cit., p. lUO.

r
 -3 k-

acor de un angel, ■which was published posthumously in 1900. The author

moved to the United States during the last years of his life, and died

in Napa, in the state of California, on November 27* 1869.

The novel is divided into three parts. The first part, consisting
of more than fifty pages, describes the author as an extremely sensitive
person, emphasizing how responsive he is to the misfortunes of others.
The only tangible fact presented is that the author*s first love was a
blind beggar's daughter. He was thirteen at the time.

The second part of the book, consisting of more than seventy pages,
is called Adah. The hero, Luis, tells the story by means of his diary.
He falls in love with an English girl and watches her in her garden, wor­
shipping her from afar. One night, he sees a Russian sailor go to the
girl's house. Luis' friend, Alfredo, tells him that the girl is the
wife of the Russian, an admiral in the Russian navy. Luis is so down­
cast that Alfredo decides to cheer him by recounting his own love story
from the pages of his diary. Alfredo's story constitutes the third part
of the book, and is entitled Octavia. Alfredo, an artist, meets Octavia
in Italy. She has been motherless since an early age and has been
pampered by her father. In a convent school, she has been the friend
of an English girl, Adah. Alfredo's story is mainly an account of Octa­
via »s rather unusual life, with the purpose of displaying her strange
character. When in convent school, she bribes the gardener to get her
over the wall one night during Carnival in Rome. She has fought duels
in male garb, and has rescued a girl from an abductor. She is daring,
gentle, compassionate, generous, quick to anger, intellectually superior.
She understands Alfredo's love, but he does not stir her emotionally.
She does not love until, on a voyage, she is captured by Asiatics off
the coast of Greece, and falls in love with a Greek captive, Alcibiades.
Alcibiades' master, however, kills Alcibiades in a fit of jealousy.

The author returns to the time of Luis' problems. Octavia is disil­

lusioned by this time and comes to live with Adah. They can commiserate
because Adah's husband is a boor and she is unhappy too. Luis and Alfredo
call on Octavia and Adah when the fleet is away. Octavia is completely
disillusioned, and Adah must consider her honor. Soon Adah and Octavia
go away with Adah's husband and leave Luis and Alfredo weeping.

This novel is frequently mentioned bry critics and historians, but

never discussed. It deserves very little attention. There is practically

no action except in the third part. This action is quite unbelievable

and occurs in various places which are not clearly identified. The
 -35-

second and third parts are connected only by the fact that Adah hap­

pened to know Octavia in school.

Although there is a considerable amount of character description,

especially of Octavia, there is no real character development. Even

after shoeing, through specially contrived actions, that Octavia has

certain characteristics, Gallardo does not exploit these characteristics.

He has certainly created a heroine who is quite different from the aver­

age heroine of the time, but one that is just as incredible in another

way. He has tried to create in Octavia a conflict between the cold

intellectual and the woman who craves love. The conflict is stated,

but it is not clearly seen in her actions. If Gallardo had exploited

the conflict, he would have risen far above his contemporaries j however,

such development would be strange indeed when found among the other

characters who are standard Romantic shadows with the single amatory

quality.
 CHAPTER III

THE NOVEL OF CUSTOMS FROM 18$0 TO 1867

Considered as a whole, the novel of customs is a more elaborate

work than the amatory novel. It is longer, has a more complicated plot,

shows a conscious attempt to portray the Mexican scene, and evidences

more interest in character development. The influence of the French

Romantic novelists is more apparent than it is in the amatory novel,

the acceptance of Eugene Sue as a model being especially evident.

The novels of customs vary in length according to the narrative

skill of the authors. Florencio del Castillo frequently confines the

action of his novel to a few pages which are really a sort of plot out­

line. Juan Diaz Covarrubias gives promise of narrative skill, but his

work appears hurried and condensed. The novels of Jose Rivera y Rio

and Pantaleon Tovar, on the other hand, may appear hurried, but certainly

not condensed; they are very long, very complicated, and are good examples

of exaggerated plot and improbable coincidence. In some cases, such

novelists show a considerable amount of 6kill in the weaving of their

plots; in other cases, they flounder hopelessly in the mire of what

they have created.

Generally speaking, society is portrayed in the manner of Eugene

Sue, although the panoramic quality is not always present. Social cri­

ticism is superficial and usually without a specifically Mexican appli­

cation. The novelists concern themselves with lust, monetary evil, filial
 -37-

respect, and the like. Occasionally, a more discerning view is taken,

especially in the case of Nicolas Pizarro who discusses Mexico's poli­

tical and religious problems through his characters. Religion is

treated also by Crescendo Carrillo y Ancona who otherwise deserves

little attention. There are few novels which contain real and sustained

Mexicanism. The foremost of these is Luis Inclan's Astucia, though some

recognition should be given to Manuel Payno's El hombre de la situacion

which was published in 1861. Mexicanism from an entirely different point

of view is found in the stories of Jose Maria. Roa B^rcena, a man who, by

his life as well as by his literary production, belongs only partially

to Romanticism in Mexico. Even among the men who are concerned with

the portrayal of society, a purely amatory tale appears occasionally.

The characters of the novel of customs, like those of the amatory

novel, are divided much too definitely into categories of good and bad;

shading in characterization is an exception to the common practice.

Florencio del Castillo attempted the psychological development of charac­

ters and, in some cases, would have achieved success, if he had known how

to integrate characters and action. The most successful novelist in this

respect is Nicolas Pizarro.

The common bonds of the novelists of customs are more evident than

in the case of those who wrote purely amatory novels; but these bonds

are common influences upon all, rather than interchange of ideas and

influences among each other.

 FLORENCE) M. DEL CASTILLO

Florencio M. del Castillo, called "el Balzac mexicano" during his

time, was bora in Mexico City on November 27, 1828. He attended the

Colegio de San Ildefonso and it was his intention to study medicine; but

his interest in literature and journalism, combined with the death of his

father in 181*0, caused him to begin his career as a writer. As a matter

of fact, del Castillo seems never to have had a very strong inclination

toward a medical career. Alejandro Villasenor y Villasenor says that as

a student del Castillo's principal interest was the classics.Villa­

senor also quotes del Castillo's friend, Luis Q. Ortiz, as saying that

the author "escribxa en pequenos cuadernos que el mismo empastaba, un

cuento fantastico o la descripcion de escenas que nunca habia visto,

pero que &L se imaginaba, o bien ligeros artxculos que reflejaban los

vagos deseos de su corazon, las po^ticas aspiraciones de su alma."^

Del Castillo began his career as a journalist by contributing to El

monitor republicano, of which he became editor-in-chief.

Following the success of the revolution of Ayutla, which del

Castillo had supported through the pages of El monitor republicano,

the author became active in politics, serving as a member of the Ayunta-

miento de Mexico and as a deputy to the short-lived Congress that was

dissolved by the coup d'etat of Comonfort in 1857. Del Castillo was

briefly imprisoned for his expressed opposition to this government, but

he again became active in politics after the triumph of Juarez. He was

1 Florencio M. del Castillo: Obras. Novelas cortas. Mexico, 1902.

Biografia del autor, ty Alejandro Villasenor y Villasenor, p. VII.
 -39-

made president of the Ayuntamiento de Mexico and a deputy to the second

Constitutional Congress in 1861. He served as deputy until the Congress

ceased to function as a result of the French Intervention. Del Castillo

first fought against the intervention through El monitor, and later took

up anas against it. He was captured in August of 1863 and was imprisoned

in San Juan de Ulua. Here he contracted yellow fever. After being car­

ried to a hospital in Veracruz, he died on October 27, 1863.

The large part of the author's work, except his periodical writing,

may be classified as short novels. There are five works which unques­

tionably deserve to be so classified. Their length seems to indicate

not an attempt to use a literary form different from the novel, but rather

that they are the work of a very busy man who could not or would not de­

velop his ideas into full-length novels. These novels have appeared

variously in collections of the author's works dated 1850, 1872, and two

in 1902. Iguiniz does not cite any editions of individual works, but

Torres-R^oseco cites threes Horas de tristeza, 181*9;^ Hermans de los

angeles, 1851*; and jHasta el cielo I, 1862. ^ Three of the novels were

signed in 181*9, all three of them appearing in the collection dated 1850.

Amor ^ desgracia, which occupies fifty-six pages of the present edi­

tion, is the story of a Mexican family which finds itself in serious

financial straits as a result of the father's death.

Francisco, the hero, is responsible for the livelihood of his mother

and his cousin, Remedios, who is an orphan, blind, epileptic, bedfast,
and beautiful. In order to buy medicine for Remedios, Francisco has
spent a stun of money which belongs to a former landlord. Francisco

1 Horas de tristeza is also the title of a collection dated 1850. An

editor's note-In the present edition, p. 3, says that the novel appearing as
Amor y desgracia is the one published with the title Horas de tristeza.
2 Arturo Torres-Rfoseco: Bibliograffa de la novela mejicana, Cambridge,
Mass., 1933, p. 1U. *----
 -4*0-

is threatened with imprisonment, and the situation is aggravated by

the fact that his debtor has designs on Remedios. In desperation,
Francisco has decided to become an actor. Such is the situation at
the beginning of the story.

A young doctor, a friend of Francisco’s, has been trying to cure

Remedios. On the day that Francisco is to make his first appearance
on the stage, he realizes that the doctor is in love with Remedios.
Francisco also realizes for the first time that he himself loves Reme­
dios. This puts Francisco in a state of great emotional confusion.
His first theatrical role is that of a mute beggar who recognizes his
mother from whom he was stolen at an early age. She does not recognize
him and he, because he is mute, cannot establish identity. The fate
of Francisco and his family depends on his success. The unhappy state
in which Francisco finds himself as a result of discovering that the
doctor is in love with Remedios enables him to play the role perfectly.
He plays it so perfectly that he actually becomes mute.

Remedios, who is dying with a burning fever which the doctor can­
not alleviate, wishes only to hear the voice of Francisco. Francisco
comes to her side, but she will not believe that it is he, since he
does not speak. Remedios dies, thinking that Francisco will not come
to her.

There is more action implied in this story than is actually pre­

sented. Del Castillo confines his action to three scenes. The first

is the scene in which Francisco discovers the doctor’s love for Remedios,

the second is the scene of Francisco's theatrical debut, the third is

the death scene. It seems obvious, therefore, that the author is not as

much concerned with telling a story as he is with painting melodramatic

scenes. The story, exaggerated and improbable as it is, would be im­

proved by greater extension. The time which transpires in the story as

del Castillo has written it is only three days; but in order to accom­

plish this, the author has had to provide background through Francisco's

writing a letter to his debtor and through Francisco's thought. The two

day period between the theatre scene and the death scene is a blank, but

the implication is that Francisco has been ill and that Remedios has

gotten much worse.

 -ui-

Remedios is a sweet child whose whole life has been unhappy.

Francisco's mother is a long-suffering woman. The young doctor is

portrayed as a brilliant young man, sensitive to the misfortunes of

others, unselfish, and somewhat disillusioned when he realizes that

his science cannot save Remedios. Francisco is portrayed less clearly

than is the doctor. He is desperate in his attempt to save his family

from tragedy, but the only real portrayal of his character is in the

theatre episode where, after nearly failing, he becomes a success when

the realization of his misfortunes overcomes him. By means of very

melodramatic description, the reader sees that Francisco is reacting

to his actual situation and not to his dramatic role.

Del Castillo digresses frequently. One of his digressions is

pertinent, though not necessary, in that he traces the accumulating

misfortunes of Francisco's family from their wealth at a time before

Mexico's separation from Spain to their state at the time of the novel,

which is contemporary with the time of writing. The author considers

Francisco's family typical of many that are condemned to misfortune.^

There is another digression in which he deplores the lack of interest in

the theater in Mexico and attacks the uncritical interest of those who do

attend the theatre.2 These digressions, while not without interest, add

nothing to the novel, and show only superficial thinking on the part of

the author.

1 Florencio M. del Castillo: og. cit., pp. 15-16.

2 Ibid., p. 37-38.
 •42-

Del Castillo submerges his story in melodrama. Every emotion is

concentrated and excessive, every scene pervaded with sadness. The fol­

lowing passage represents the normal flow of the narrative. The young

doctor has just noticed the beauty of Remedios. Francisco is the young

man who enters later in the passage.

Poco a poco la mirada del medico cambi<£, como cambia de color

el ultimo rayo del sol; hubierase dicho que el coraz^n de marmol
del medico se ablandaba, y lo substituia el corazon del hombre
compasivo: su mirada perdi<£ su fijeza, y de pronto se le arra-
saron los ojos de lagrimas: una tinta leve de caiman coloreo sus
mejillas, y se arrodillo junto a la cama.

En aquel momento, silencioso como la muerte, aparecio entre las

sombras que proyectaba la debil luz de la vela, el rostro del
j<fven que un momento antes escribia; mas entonces no era la tris­
teza la que velaba su semblante: sus miradas eran sombrias y
parecfan lucir con un brillo fosforico: sus labios temblaban
y el superior parecia contrafdo violentamente.-*-

La corona de azucenas, written also in 181*9, consists of seventy-

five pages in the present edition. The development of the main charac­

ter is the purpose of the author.

Soledad, an orphan from birth, is reared by a childless woman who

provides her physical comfort. Soledad*s benefactress, however, is not
able to satisfy her emotional needs and Soledad becomes a nervous, intro­
verted, impressionable child. Soledad's benefactress has given her a
rigorous religious training, attempting to create material images of
spiritual concepts. Soledad*s religion is, therefore, very tangible; and
she is glad to go to a convent on the recommendation of her dying bene­
factress. In the convent, Soledad grows into womanhood and becomes a
nun. She has to struggle to sublimate her desire for worldly love,
through feverish religious activity. The situation is made worse when
the old chaplain is replaced by Father Rafael who is a young man and who
experiences difficulties similar to those of Soledad. When Soledad goes
to him for confession, they discover that they are kindred souls and the
struggle between worldly and sacred love begins. Sacred love wins; but
in the process of sublimating her desire for worldly love, Soledad weakens
her physical being and soon dies. After her death, Father Rafael enters

1 Ibid., pp. 12-13

 -143-

the room where the sisters are preparing Soledad's body for burial.
They have just placed the crown of lilies, symbol of virtue, on her
head. When he is left alone in the room, Rafael removes the crown of
lilies so he may keep it as an inheritance from Soledad. Later it is
known in Mexico City that Father Rafael, armed only with a cross, has
gone as a missionary to the Indians.

The author again uses his technique of condensation. The stoiy is

not extended until Soledad becomes a nun, the previous circumstances be­

ing told by the author as background. The only parts of the novel which

are sufficiently extended to allow dialogue are the scenes between Sole­

dad and Rafael. The death scene occupies several pages. The central

interest is the character of Soledad. Rafael is developed along similar

lines. There are no other characters of importance. Del Castillo's

psychological character development is much more believable in this case

than in Amor £ desgracia. The faults are that he has not given enough

explanation, a defect which he could have remedied by extending the novel,

and that he has too frequently entered the story and explained what was

happening to Soledad rather than shown her difficulties through her own

actions and thoughts. He has attempted to justify his development of the

character by quotations from various sources concerning the necessity of

love.

Del Castillo's digressions in this novel are more pertinent than

those in Amor £ desgracia. All of his digressions in La corona de azu-

cenas are concerned with Soledad's personality and they evidence a rather

discerning observer. He describes Soledad as having believeable charac­

teristics, but he lacks the ability to develop the character through her

own action. Especially interesting are his remarks about Soledad »s

 -ir­

religious training by her benefactress, in which he criticizes the

latter's material interpretation of spiritual concepts.^

iHasta el cielo*, the last of the group of three short novels

written in 181+9, consists of sixty-four pages in the present edition.

Antonio is the son of a wealthy, patriarchal shopkeeper who has

come to Mexico from Spain. Antonio grows up under a heavy parental
hand and receives only the education that he needs to carry on his
father's business. After the death of his father, Antonio provides
for his brother, Manuel, the kind of education that he has been denied.
Antonio succumbs to a life of libertinism. He regrets his way of
life when he is attracted to Dolores, a distant relative and friend
of his youth. Dolores is a sensuous person whose natural desires have
been controlled by the religious training of her grandmother. Antonio
and Dolores are married and it is only then that Dolores comprehends
the strength of her natural desires and matures fully into womanhood.
Antonio, however, has contracted a terrible disease as a result of his
libertinism and becomes an invalid. Dolores turns her love to Manuel
who already loves her. They struggle against their temptation and win,
but feel guilty for having been tempted. Finally they confess to
Antonio who forgives them and assures them that the sin is not in the
temptation but in the deed. He tells them also that all three of them
will meet and love in Heaven, where the worldly problem does not exist.
Antonio dies. A few days later, Manuel takes leave of Dolores at the
entrance to the convent which she is going to enter. With the sound of
organ music in the background, they say in unison, " iHasta el cielo I"2
Manuel goes to join the Mexican army.

This novel is quite similar to Ia corona de azucenas both in idea and

development of the plot. Del Castillo is guilty of the same condensation

and the same description by the author of the personalities of his charac­

ters. It may be worth while to note how he approaches this description:

Como la historia que narramos no es de esas en que los lances

y los acontecimientos se amontonan, sino por el contrario, de
aqu6llas en que la acci6n parece caminar con sencillez y lenti-
tud, como ciertos rxos, suaves y apacibles en su superficie, pero
impetuosos y terribles en su fondo, que enganan los calculos del
viajeroj nos es preciso detenernos a cada paso para hacer conocer
los diversos matices del car^cter de nuestros personajes.3

1 Ibid., pp. 63-61+.

2 Ibid., p. 189.
3 Ibid., p. 159.
 -k5~

He does give considerably more attention to the characters than

he does in the two preceding novels* The reader knows something about

five people in this novel. The development of Antonio may be considered

with what we know of his father: the effect of his strict upbringing and

limited education on his attempt to adjust himself socially. In contrast

there is Uanuel who receives what Antonio needed and develops accordingly.

Dolores may be considered with what we know of her grandmother. The author

assumes that Dolores is by nature a passionate woman, and he shows how

this passion was controlled by the religious training which Dolores re­

ceived from her grandmother, and how it caused her to develop into a

very desirable woman when marriage enabled her to express her emotions.

It is a little strange that a man with Antonio's background, shown to be

jealous in the manner of all libertines, could receive the confession of

Dolores and Manuel with such calm. In this scene, del Castillo shows one

of his worse faults, that of putting learned quotations into the mouths

of people who have no reason for knowing them. Antonio says, "Los lazos

de la familia no se rompen en el cielo," and the author notes that this

is a quotation from the sermons of Padre Domingo Lacordaire.-*- It is

strange that this should be said by a libertine with very little formal

education.

There is no date given, in the present edition, for the writing of

/

Culpa. It was never published individuallyj the dates of the collections

in which it appears are not significant. It is, however, quite similar

in every respect to the four preceding novels and will, therefore, be

 -46-

considered here. The author introduces the three main characters at a

party for the heroine, Magdalena, on her saint's day in Chapultepec

Forest. The voluptuous, angelic Magdalena has been fatherless since

the age of five and has been spoiled by her mother who sacrifices her

own comfort and health in order to afford pleasures for her daughter.

Luis, also fatherless since childhood, has grown into a fine, noble

young man. He has had an illicit love affair and was temporarily em­

bittered, but he has overcome his bitterness and feels capable of a

far superior love. Juan is a dashing, wealthy young man-— a cold, cal­

culating man of the world. Luis, the poet, is in love with Magdalena.

She, however, prefers Juan, the reason for this being that her educa­

tion has been largely the reading of novels, with the result that she

is not sufficiently sensitive to appreciate the idealistic love of Luis.

Neither can she appreciate the sacrifices that her mother makes for her

sake.

After a discourse by the author on the inexplicable workings of the

feminine mind,1 Magdalena becomes interested in Luis for no apparent
reason. This love alone is not enough for the fickle Magdalena and she
becomes the mistress of Juan. When Luis discovers this he is completely
embittered. Magdalena's mother dies of grief. Juan forsakes Magdalena
who becomes a prostitute, descends lower and lower, and finally dies in
a hospital at the age of 29, some eight years after beginning the story.

As has been stated above, this novel is so similar to the preceding

that additional comments are hardly necessary* From the standpoint of

a narrative, it shows even less skill. Sixty-four of its sixty-six

pages are used to describe the characters and create the situation for

a very rapid and undetailed account, in the last two pages, of the

action from the time when Magdalena becomes Juan's mistress.

1 Ibid., pp. 459-462.

 -1*7-

Of some interest is a digression in which the author, using Luis

as a starting point, discusses chastity in men and the difficulties

they face.^

The longest of del Castillo's novels is Hermana de los angeles,

which occupies one hundred and fifty-one pages in the present edition.

The earliest edition is dated 1851*. Villasenor says that this is the

author's best known novel.^ It is a story of spiritual versus physical

love.

Manuel and Rafaelita, the children of lifelong friends, grow up

together in exactly the same environment, and therefore are very similar

to each other. They enter into an ethereal wedlock. Lorenzo, a friend

of Manuel's, is of similar temperament and easily becomes a part of the

ideal relationship that has grown up between Manuel and Rafaelita.

Manuel becomes a professional violinist. This work is distasteful

to him because he has to play music which does not express the sadness
that is in his heart. Now that he is more a part of society, Manuel
becomes increasingly conscious of his natural physical desires, and is
attracted to the voluptuous Dolores, sister of the wealthy Don Diego.
Don Diego, a lecherous degenerate of fifty years, has been attracted by
the purity and simplicity of Rafaelita. Dolores is attracted to Lorenzo,
but Iorenzo is not interested. Manuel suffers by his desire for Dolores
and Diego undertakes the seduction of Rafaelita. Lorenzo catches Diego
in an almost successful attempt to seduce her, and they have a duel in
which Lorenzo is treacherously killed. Manuel has an affair with Dolores.

Just before he dies of cholera morbus, Don Diego tells Manuel about
his sordid intentions and foul deed. Manuel now sees things clearly, begs
forgiveness from Rafaelita and is forgiven. Rafaelita dies of an unidenti­
fied malady saying that God is allowing Manuel to live a while longer so
he can mend his ways. Otherwise, these two kindred spirits would have
died together. Manuel realizes that the physical love he has experienced
with Dolores is temporal, but that his spiritual love will live forever.

1 Ibid., pp. 1*29-1*31*.

2 Ibid.: Biografia del autor, by Alejandro Villasenor y Villasenor,

p. XIV.
 -1*8-

This is del Castillo’s most elaborate plot. He evidences the same

weakness as a narrator that he shows in the other novels. The reader’s

impression is that he has taken more time for the writing. Unfortunately,

the novel falls short of del Castillo’s other work in character building.

The author attempts the character portrayal in the same way, but his de­

velopment has very little basis. His idea is preposterous. The fight

between sacred and profane love as seen in La corona de azucenas is a

real problem and this reality compensates for some of the author’s errors

and exaggerations in the treatment of it. The existence of such an

ethereal love as is seen in Hermana de los angeles is hardly believeable.

The three people involved in this marriage are all completely pure and

virtuous. Dolores is insignificant, being shown only as Manuel’s tempta­

tion. Don Diego, the villain, is completely black except for his confes­

sion to Manuel.

Del Castillo’s digressions increase in direct proportion to the length

of the novel. Because of the nature of the material in this novel, the di­

gressions are less interesting than the preceding. The author spends a

great amount of space on superficial and repetitious discussions of the

two kinds of love and on the oneness of the two lovers. In these discus­

sions he frequently quotes from the Bible and other religious writings.

He also quotes from other writings of a sociological or historical nature.

The reader frequently feels that these quotations are used more to display

the author’s erudition than for any other purpose. The only two comments

of interest are one in which he says that Mexican artists are rarely
appreciated by Mexicans,^ and another in which he points to the dangers

of ignorance concerning sex.

The author has left various other prose writings which appear in the

collections that contain his novels and which may be classified as short

stories and articles which resemble the digressions that are found in his

novels. Probably the most frequently mentioned of these prose works is

Dos horas en el hospital de San Andres. Although this is almost as long

as some of the novels, it more nearly resembles a Hcostumbristan sketch

than anything else. The scene is one in which Rafael, performing his

first operation, removes a bullet from a wounded soldier. The time is

during the North American Invasion. Rafael realizes that the case is

hopeless. Careful attention is given to the death scene, the administra­

tion of supreme unction, and Rafael*s reaction. The piece affords op­

portunity for several bits of social comment. Del Castillo criticizes

the hospital, especially its unsanitary condition, but a footnote points

out that reforms have been effected since the piece was written.^ He

questions the fitness of the clergy to administer extreme unction.^ He

eulogizes the medical profession, saying that a surgeon needs more cour­

age than a soldier.^

 -50-

It cannot be overlooked, that Bel Castillo was held in high esteem

by his contemporaries. The quality for which he appears to have been

most highly praised is his elevation of the spiritual. This undoubtedly

was notable in Mexico at a time when a materialistic philosophy was

dominant. It is highly praised by Francisco Zarco in his comments on the

author and especially on Hermana de los angeles.^ Ignacio M. Altamirano

praises this element and also calls del Castillo the creator of the social

novel in Mexico. As a matter of fact, Altamirano, in his usual generous

fashion, praises the author without reservation.

Florencio del Castillo es, sin duda, el novelista de mas senti-

mientos que ha tenido Mexico, y como era ademas un pensador pro-
fundo, estaba llamado a crear aqux la novela social. Sus pe-
quenas y hermosisimas Dyendas de amores son la revelacion de su
genio y de su caracter. En esas leyendas no se sabe que admirar
mas, si la belleza acabada de los tipos, o el estudio de los
caracteres, o la exquisita ternura que rebosa en sus amores,
siempre pudicos, siempre elevados, o bien la elegancia o fluidez
del estilo, o la verdad de las descripciones, que son como foto-
grafxas de la vida de Mexico....2

It has been noted before that del Castillo was called "el Balzac

mexicano" by his contemporaries. This appelation is as flattering as

are Altamirano's comments. Indeed, del Castillo made no attempt to por­

tray society as did Balzac. His novels are stories of love, and the por­

trayal of society is submerged in the loves of the characters. It is

true that the reader does glimpse society, and this was probably outstand­

ing at a time when few novels contained any Mexicanism at all. His

character development, though inadequate and not always believeable, is

1 Ibid., quoted by Alejandro Villasenor y Villasenor in Biografxa

del autor, XIV-XIX.

2 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano; og. cit., pp. b8-h9.

 -51-

better than the average of the time and, therefore, places him closer

to Balzac. Since del Castillo gives great car© to character study, it

may -well be that he had been influenced by the creations of Balzac.

Such influence, however, is deduced from the attempt rather than proved

by the result, for del Castillo certainly never approached the excel­

lence of Balzac.

Several facts are apparent to the reader, on considering del Ca­

stillo's work as a whole. He had very little ability as a narrator.

The synopses of his novels may be deceptive in this respect, because

he always had the outline of a story which he never developed fully,

choosing rather to indulge in superficial philosophizing. He is a

poor stylist, is declamatory, and portrays too many lugubrious scenes

and lachrimose people. His descriptions of life among the middle and

lower classes of Mexico are abortive, but are more complete than one

usually finds in the novel during the time when del Castillo was writ­

ing. In spite of all his faults, del Castillo must be given credit for

his character development. His mistakes and exaggerations in this re­

spect are many. However, his is the first conscious attempt in the Mexi­

can novel to develop characters psychologically, and therein lies his

contribution.

PANTALEON TOVAR

This author, better known as a dramatist than as a novelist, was

b o m in Mexico City on July 27, 1828. He obtained his education in

that city and evidenced an early interest in literature. He fought

 -52-

against the North American Invasion and the French Intervention, ^ flee­

ing to New Orleans after the success of the French. He went from there

to Havana, and then to New York, returning to Mexico in 1867. He was

active in Mexican politics, except for the period of exile, from 1861

until he died in his native city on August 22, 1876. He expressed his

liberal views as one of the editors of EL siglo XIX and as a collaborator

on El guardia nacional, El cabrion, El constitucionalista, and El federa-

lista.

His novel, Ironias de la vida, was published in 1851 and consists

of two volumes of more than three hundred pages each. He attempts to

portray Mexican society and Altamirano is undoubtedly right in his sug­

gestion that the author took Eugene Sue’s Les nysteres de Paris as a

model.^ The novel has a plot so complicated that it is almost impos­

sible to write a synopsis. There are really several plots going on

concurrently, being connected whenever the author is able to do so.

The scene is in Mexico City and is contemporary with the time of

writing. The story centers around the misdeeds of the villain, Don
Jacinto, and his henchman, Simon. Don Jacinto is a "mayordomo de con-
vento" posing as a model of virtue, generosity, and religious living.
He and Simon, however, have a long record of murders, seductions, and
subversive political activity. Simon keeps in contact with the under­
world while Don Jacinto maintains his appearance of respectability.
The story is one of seduction, attempted seduction, robbery and murder.
Hipolito, a poetic youth whom Don Jacinto is trying to swindle, joins

1 The author’s activity from the time of the North American Inva­
sion until 1861 is not clear. Gonzalez-Pena says that Tovar was perse­
cuted and banished during the war of Reform. Carlos Gonzalez-Pena:
op. cit., p. 217. Diaz Covarrubias says that Tovar was in prison when
The former was writing El diablo en Mexico. Juan Diaz Covarrubias:
El diablo en Mixico, Mexico, 1860, p. £7.

2 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: op. cit., p. 5l.

 -53-

forces with two of the latter's victims, Antonia and Gertrudis, a prosti­
tute, to bring about the villains downfall. He ^is killed when Antonia
entices him and causes him to drink poison. Simon, however, is able to
escape to the United States with some stolen money, and later return to
Mexico where he lives in luxury.

The author digresses frequently, but the novel contains enough action

to make the digressions relatively negligible. The action is poorly inte­

grated, and this fault is aggravated by the fact that the characters are

not sufficiently clear to make the reader remember them from one appear­

ance to the next. The connection between the various sets of action is

very weak until the actual denouement begins with the alliance of Hipo-

lito, Antonia, and Gertrudis.

Tovar attempts to portray social types. These types appear more

universal than Mexican. There are two villains: Don Jacinto who is

controlled by sex-lust, and Simon who is controlled by money-lust. Don

Jacinto is so completely villainous that he is quite unbelieveable. Si­

mon is more human, being humorous on occasion. Hipolito, the melancholy

poet, has his highly improbably character further exaggerated by his

fortuitous appearance at strategic moments throughout the novel. The

great number of unbelieveable occurences in the development of the story

weaken the credibility of all the characters. The most successful char­

acter portrayal is one that does not figure in the action. This is Hila-

rioncito, a fop who frequents the drawing rooms of the wealthy, display­

ing his bad literary taste. The women are all virtuous and usually in­

nocuous. Antonia and Gertrudis are the only ones who show any initiative.

In the case of every character, the single trait which has been given him

by the author is greatly emphasized, and all emotions are intensified to

an absurd degree.
 -Sii-

The lower class characters are more believable than the upper

class. Tovar uses some of the language of the lower class, but he is

not consistent in this respect. He inserts an occasional word or ex­

pression of the lower class into speech that is otherwise similar to

that of the upper classes. All such words and expressions are itali­

cized. The lower classes are shown in their own haunts. The picture

of them is much clearer than the picture of the upper classes who are

shown only in the standard scenes of visits, walks, and courting. The

people of culture read George Sand, Eugene Sue, and Payno's Fistol del

diablo.

The digressions are mostly concerned with the emotions of the

characters. The most serious digression is one in which he discusses

lack of education as the cause of crime.^ It is notable that the minor

criminals in the story are not punished, because of legal inefficiency.

After pointing out Tovar's indebtedness to Sue, Altamirano goes on

to say that the author has not achieved his goal of producing a Mexican

novel comparable to that of Sue, and that his bitterness and political

frustration were probably the cause of this failure.2 Gonzalez-Pena

3ays that Tovar wrote novels of rhetorical pessimism.^ Both of these

statements are quite just; and the rhetorical pessimism of Tovar con­

tributed largely to his failure. Although he makes good triumph to a

1 Pantaleon Tovar: Ironias de la vida, Mexico, 1851* Vol. 2,

pp. 386ff.

2 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: op. cit., p. 52.

3 Carlos Gonzalez-Pena: og. cit., p. 235.

 -55-

certain extent, evil is never conquered, and he leaves the impression

that good must fight a losing battle. This pessimism so completely

fills the book that the bad characters and their atrocities are unbe­

lievable.

His second novel, 1& hora de dios, was written when the author

was in Cuba and was published in Havana in 1865. Like Ironias de la

vida, it is a novel of Mexican customs.

JOSE RIVERA Y RIO

Less pessimistic, but similar to Tovar in other respects, is Jose

Rivera y Rio. His first novel was published in 1851, three more were

published in 1861, two in 1869, one each in 1870, 18?1, and 18”2, and

his last novel was published in 1876. It is apparent that the period

of sustained literary activity was from 1869 until I876. There is no

suggestion as to what his activities were between 1851 and 1861. It

is known that he fought against the French Intervention, was captured

and sent to France, whence he escaped to the United States and lived

for some time in New York City."*" Gonzalez-Pena says that he frequented

1 This information is contained in a letter which is attached to

the inside cover of volume one of the New York Public Library copy of
Jose' Rivera y Rio: Los dramas de Nueva-York. Mexico, 1869. The letter
is from Colonel Albert S. Evans to the Regents of the As tor Library.
It is dated Libby House, New York, February 2, 1890. The letter says,
"While in Mexico with Mr. Seward I made the acquaintance of the author
of these volumes who desires me to say to you that he was taken prisoner
by the French at Puebla and sent to France from whence he escaped to the
United States. Here he remained for some time in exile and while here,
spent many hours in the Astor Library. He demonstrates his appreciation
of the library as a noble public institution by presenting these volumes
and requesting that they be placed on its shelves."
 -56-

Altamirano's study along with Marcos Arroniz, Florencio M. del Castillo,

and Juan Diaz Covarrubias.-*- It is also known that he contributed to La

camelia, a variety weekly dedicated to the interests of women. ^

The title of the first novel, Los misterios de San Cosine, suggests

the influence of Eugene Sue. In spite of the fact that Altamirano says

the author, by devoting himself entirely to the novel, could rival the

works of Frederic Soulie,^ the work of Eugene Sue is the obvious influ­

ence throughout his work. He did not achieve Sue's success for a num­

ber of reasons. In the case of Los misterios de San Cosine, the obvious

reason is that he could not include enough material in a novel of

eighty-eight pages. This brevity was never repeated. Three novels

were published in 186l: Fatalidad y providencia with a total of eight

hundred and five pages, Martires j verdugos which consists of two hun­

dred and forty-eight pages, and Las tres aventureras with a total of

eight hundred and six pages. Martires jr verdugos is an attempt to

portray Mexican society through the two main characters: Ignacio, a

stoic and sceptic, and Enrique, an epicurean.

The scene is in Mexico City and is contemporary with the time of

writing. Ignacio is made jealous by his beloved's attentions to anoth­
er suitor, Don Anacleto, who is a rich business man. Enrique, Ignacio's
cousin, takes Ignacio with him and Felix, a friend of Enrique's, to a
house of prostitution for an evening, hoping to make Ignacio forget his
sorrow.

It is revealed that Enrique intends to seduce Piedad, the daughter

of a poor blind man, who lives in a house owned by Enrique's father.

1 Carlos Gonzalez-PeHa: op. cit., p. 260.

2 Jos^ Porn£a e Hijos: Catalogo, No. 10, Mexico, 191*8, p. 1*5.

3 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: op. cit., p. 55.

 -57-

Felix has been building up to the seduction of Edwige, one of Piedad's

sisters. Enrique threatens to eject Piedad and her family unless she
irill become his mistress. In order to prevent this, Ricardo, a young
artist who is in love with Piedad, sells an engraving of Piedad that
he was to enter in competition.

Although Felix never succeeds in seducing Edwige, she realizes the

folly of her love and dies of a broken heart and shame for having loved
so foolishly. Edwige’s neighbors become incensed and start to avenge
her. Felix jumps from a window and wounds himself during his flight
from the angry neighbors.“

Paquita, Ignacio’s sweetheart, marries the wealthy Don Anacleto.

Ignacio, who has donned the cloth, sees his avenger in Don Anacleto
who is a cruel and unjust husband. The thwarted Enrique dies in a
house of prostitution, completely inebriated. Ricardo and Piedad
marry and find happiness and artistic success. The welfare of Pie­
dad’s father is assured by the success of Natalia, a third daughter,
as a religious singer.

There is a reasonable amount of action involved; but most of the

action is concerned with Enrique, and most of the digression is con­

cerned with Ignacio. This lack of balance is the principal fault of

the plot. The plot is subordinate to the digressions because Ignacio

is treated in detail. The contrast presented by the two men consti­

tutes the author’s method of portraying good and bad. He makes good

triumph, but only at the cost of exaggerating probability of action

such as the success of Natalia, who has no part in the novel other than

that of the means of her father's security.

Ignacio and Enrique are the only characters that are treated with

care. They are shown through their two philosophies. Unfortunately,

Rivera y Rio was not a profound thinker; and the many philosophical

digressions that occur, especially in the development of the charac­

ter of Ignacio, become tiresome and absurd. A good example of Igna­

cio's pseudo-philosophical remarks comes after the death of Enrique,

 -58-

when Ignacio views the body and says, "mueres como Platon entre las

botellas."^ The profoundness of this remark is about on a par with

that of the author's digressions. The two men adhere so strongly to

their opposing philosophies that neither of them seems human. The

other characters in the novel are simply pawns for Enrique and Ignacio.

All of the good women are gentle and sweet. Paquita is haughty, but

she is suitably rewarded. The bad women who are in the houses of

prostitution are seen very dimly. Rivera y Rio was not as much con­

cerned with portraying evil as he was in making good triumphant.

Although this is obviously an attempt to portray Mexican society,

the novel's success in that respect is slight. There are scenes in

the houses of prostitution and there are scenes among the financially

poor. The former are quite vague. The latter are distinguished only

by the stated existence of poverty, rather than by a wholly distinc­

tive atmosphere.

In 1869, Rivera y Rio published two novels: Los dramas de Nueva-

York, with a total of six hundred and forty-seven pages, and El hambre

y el oro which contains five hundred and eleven pages. In Los dramas

de Nueva-York the author weaves a much more complicated plot than that

of Martires jr verdugos. It is not worth while to go into the details.

There are hundreds of characters. Most of them are rich and immoral

or thugs at the lowest rung of society. There are wealthy libertines

who carry on affairs with dancers and courtesans, poverty-stricken

1 Jose Rivera y Rio: Martires jr verdugos, Mexico, 1861, p. 238.

 -59-

social climbers who attempt to swindle the rich, suspicious wives,

shrewd wives, innocent and idealistic Vassar girls, a shameless ne1er-

do-well who makes his aging mother go to work, a sadistic woman who

mistreats pets until the S.P.O.A. stops her, a mother who will not let

her daughter marry, a few people of the middle financial class who are

targets for the wealthy and whose daughters frequently become mistresses

of the wealthy, and a number of people of the lower class who are uni­

formly evil. These characters are woven into a story built upon in­

trigue, of lovenests in Harlem, of broken homes, of broken fortunes,

and of the eventual happiness of the few people who are good. The novel

shows a tremendous imagination and a considerable ability to tell a

story. The plot does become rather strained when, at the end of the

second volume, the author has to connect all the threads of his story

and make the good people triumph in spite of the fact that most of his

characters are evil.

The novel, of course, is not concerned in any way with Mexico.

It is a distorted picture of customs in New York during the period

following the Civil War. The reader cannot believe that such a large

percentage of the population was corrupt, nor can the reader accept

so many improbable coincidences. The novel does contain an interest­

ing physical picture of New York.

El hambre £ el pro is set in Mexico during the early days of the

Reform Movement. The historical setting has little to do with the

content of the novel, the author’s obvious purpose being to portray

through the novel what he considers to be some of the evils of Mexican

 -60-

society— specifically, the carelessness about hereditary tuberculosis,

and the power of money. The novel is poorly organized, being held to­

gether by one person, Don Beltran, a doctor who is acquainted with all

the other characters. The plot is principally concerned with two char­

acters, Cecilia, who seeks good social position, and Loreto, who craves

moneyi but many other characters enter the story and eventually take on

almost equal importance. These characters become involved in a plot

which depends upon the device of mistaken identity for suspense and which

suffers by the author’s desire to emphasize the social evils that he has

chosen to present. Although Rivera y RJlo tries to relate all the char­

acters to each other, he has only moderate success; and he introduces

one character, Pablo, who has nothing to do with the progress or outcome

of the plot. The story of the financial ruin of Pablo’s family is told,

interrupting the progress of the main plot, for the sole purpose of em­

phasizing the power of money and the evil character of the villain, Don

Javier.

This novel is a good example of the lack of organization that is

typical of the works of Rivera y Rio. It contains what might have been

a good plot in the parallel stories of Cecilia and Loreto, but the au­

thor's attempt to present a panoramic view of Mexican society makes the

plot too diffuse, and the reader's attention is fbcused on various epi­

sodes which the author intends to be shocking.

Don Beltran, the doctor, is the representation of all that is good.

Augusto, Loieto’s lover, is an idealistic young man. All of the other

important characters are immoral to some extent. Loreto overcomes her

 -61-

immorality and deserves a happy end. The others receive their just re­

ward. There is some shading in the characters. Rivera y R^o does not

draw quite as definite a line between good people and bad people as does

Florencio del Castillo and many other novelists of the time.

There is a considerable amount of digression from the action itself.

The digression, however, is rather closely related to the action. The

author has not been successful in portraying Mexican society except in

his emphasis on the problem of tuberculosis and on the unfortunate power

of money. He digresses on these, and describes them through the plot.

His thesis against the power of money is undoubtedly part of the reason

for the introduction of Pablo's story into the novel. There is nothing

of importance in the nature of description of Mexico or of Mexicans, al­

though there is some flavor of Mexicanism in the historical situation

and in casual comments about the places and people.

The author* s next novel, Bsqueletos sociales, was published in 1870

and again in 1873, in an edition which consists of three hundred and

eighty-three pages. More than half of the book is devoted to cheap

philosophy that strongly resembles that of Orozco y Berra. The plot

is comparatively simple. The action centers around four students whose

personalities and material circumstances are described by the author as

the characters are introduced. Jorge is a wealthy student who is embit­

tered because of the duplicity of his sweetheart, Julia. Agustin is a

member of the middle class and is cynical because of Catalina’s deceit.

Felipe is penniless, a philosophical young man, and is enamoured of Rosa,

but he realizes that his suit is futile because he will never have any
 -62-

money. Aquiles is a -writer, a translator, a lover of German literature

and thought, and is in love with Virginia, the sister of Jorge. The

plot which proceeds from this confusion is simpler than is characteris­

tic of Rivera y Rio, but the tendency to include too many characters is

still present. The action, in this case, is a means of illustrating di­

gressions concerning faithfulness in love, strength of will in adverse

circumstances, and the decency of the middle class. Because of its com­

parative simplicity, the author has been able to control the development

and outcome of the story with fair success, but this improvement is mini­

mized by the extraordinary amount of digression. The digressions appear

somewhat more learned than those of Orozco y Berra, but they are funda­

mentally the same. There is little in the book that is typically Mexi­

can, in spite of the fact that the novel is placed by means of a few

historical references, such as the Tacubaya incident. These references

are only incidental in the story.

Although Rivera y Rio has described his characters and has told

something about their personalities, they are not clearly seen. Fre­

quently, there is an illogical change in a character, as in the sudden

and unexplained interest of Aquiles in the handling of arms. The dialog

is unnatural. However, the lack of contrast in the present novel makes

it more believable than the others. The characters are quite similar

and their dialog is similar, but all of the characters have a sufficiently

similar environment to make this logical.

La virgen del Niagara, which consists of five hundred and ninety-two

pages, was published in 1871 and again in 1873. In 1872, Rivera y Rio
 -63-

published Memorias de unos naufragos, which consists of six hundred and

thirty-five pages. In spite of the fact that the Mexicanism in the

novels of Rivera y Rio frequently lacks reality, the ones that are set

in Mexico are more credible than those in which the author leaves the

Mexican scene. When he does this, the novel becomesextremely exag­

gerated. An example of this tendency has been shownabove in the dis­

cussion of Los dramas de Nueva-York. Rivera y Rio lived in New York.

In Memorias de unos naufragos he speaks of places he has never seen,

and the effect is proportionately worse. The group of stories is held

together by the plan of a group of men— all of them disillusioned in

love— to make an Arctic voyage on which they will all kill themselves,

thereby fulfilling their desire to commit suicide and, at the same time,

bring glory to themselves. The setting is in Newfoundland and on the

open sea. The men take turns telling the stories oftheir lives.

The group includes men of varied origins and varied experience,

but with such a lack of individuality that the story of any one of them

might be the story of any of the others. The longest story is that of

Alonso, a Mexican, who tells of his experiences with women of many kinds.

He describes the innocent woman, the silly woman, the angelic woman, the

elderly woman, the tearful woman, the poetic woman, the coquette. He

lost his only real love, after deserting her and repenting.

By making this book a series of stories, Rivexay Rio has made it

unnecessary to draw together the various elements of a complicated plot.

The women in the stories die or become prostitutes. All of the men have

the same end. There is not attempt at character delineation. All of the
 -Oil­

men have the same, single characteristic. Through Alonso's story, the

author is able to place the female characters in specific little groups,

each composed of a distinct type, without having to concern himself with

making them fit into a novel.

At the beginning of the book, there is an introduction concerning

previous Arctic expeditions, with this exception, the material not con­

cerned with the stories of the various men consists only of the type of

thought that is characteristic of Rivera y Rio, witn special emphasis on

the nature of love.

The last novel'5’ of Jose Rivera y Rio, Poores y ricos de Mexico, was

published in 18?6 and again in I88I

4. Igufniz also cites a third edition,

1886, from the Porrua catalog of September, 1907.2 The present edition

consists of four hundred and ten pages. The novel is typical of the

work of Rivera y Rio. A careful analysis of this novel illustrates

fully the author's imagination and his shortcomings as a narrator, as

well as the manner in which he treats nexican society. The setting is

in Mexico City in 1S7-, and the author treats of the social evils and

political corruption of the time. The abortive revolution apparently

1 At the end of the present edition, the author promises the reader
that some of the same characters may be found in subsequent novels. He
does not indicate whether or not the novels have been written. Jose
Rivera y Rio: Fobres y ricos de Mexico, Mexico, I88ii, p. UlO.

A footnote in the present edition says that some of the minor

characters appear in other works of the same novelist, listed as: Los
barrios de Mexico, El hijo de la talamera, El diablo en palacio, and
Honrados y plcaros. The footnote gives no information concerning the
places or dates of publication, and no mention of the wrorks has been
found elsewhere. Ibid., p. 311.

2 Juan ri. Iguiniz: op. cit., p. 310.

 -65-

refers to the first attempt by Porfirio Diaz to place himself in power.

No historical personages are mentioned. The novel is preceded by an

introduction of two parts, in which the rich of Mexico and the poor of

Mexico, respectively, address the reader in the first person plural*

This introduction gives the author a chance to accuse the rich of almost

complete depravity and to characterize the poor as being virtuous, help­

less, or both virtuous and helpless. This attitude is the keynote of

the novel.

The story opens at a party given for the bride and groom, Bartolo
Gutierrez and Gabriela Olivares. Both of the principals have reached
middle age and are physically unattractive. Bartolo and Don Severo,
Gabriela’s father, are men who have recently acquired wealth through
questionable means. In the same chapter there is an account of the
burial of Eugenio del Valle. The time of the burial coincides with the
end of the wedding party. Eugenio is a young man who has committed
suicide, leaving his father, mother, three sisters, and two brothers in
grief. Eugenio has left a manuscript with a friend, Julio, which will
explain the reason for his action. Julio is to share the information
with two other friends, and the three friends agree to meet at a stated
time for the purpose of reading the manuscript. Such is the situation
on the twenty-first page of the novel.

There follows a description of Eugenio’s family which has been

wealthy, but is now in poverty as the result of legal action hy jeal­
ous relatives and a falsifier of documents. The father, Don Pelix,
is now a copyist. The three sisters are clothing menders, an occupa­
tion from which they are becoming consumptive. The mother, Dona Ursula,
old beyond her years, reads to her daughters from Madame Genlis and
El ano cristiano while they sew. The oldest sister, Rosario, is re­
solved not to marry, because she cannot marry a man of the wealthy
class and can see no happiness in marrying a man of her own financial
class. The second sister, Catalina, is more romantically inclined, but
has no sweetheart. The youngest, Concha, is in love with a mddical stu­
dent, Antonio Rosales, who wants to give up his career and become a
pharmacist in order to expedite his marriage to Concha. The sisters
are discussing this offer when they are interrupted by a noise outside.
The author apologizes for leaving the question without solution and
for not introducing Eugenio's brothers. He promises to introduce them
later. Eugenio’s family is left on page thirty-one.

In order to explain the noise which interrupted Eugenio's sisters,

the author introduces two new characters. Arturo, otherwise known as
 -66-

Pinolillo, is plotting with "El Paje", a procurer, the seduction of For-

tunata, a seamstress who has had to leave the employ of Arturo's parents
because of Arturo's unwanted advances. In order to pay El Paje, Arturo
has to borrow money from the usurer, Don Macario, through the influence
of Don Macario's son, Enrique, who has learned from his father and ex­
acts his own reward from Arturo. El Paje is unable to persuade Fortunata
and realizes that he will have to trick her. In order to do this, he
tries to get a street fiddler to tell Fortunata that her father is ill,
El Paje planning to waylay the unsuspecting girl on the way to her father's
side. The violinist, however, is an honest man, and reveals the plan of
El Paje to the neighborhood, whereupon a riot starts and creates the com­
motion which interrupted the conversation of Arturo's sisters. In the
street fight, Fortunata's father is actually wounded. This scene ends
on page ninety.

The scene changes to the house of the wealthy Don Casildo and his
wife, Amalia, where a party is just beginning. All the guests are men
who belong to the newly-rich group, so hated by Rivera y Rio. The men
are engaged in various illegal enterprises: contraband, worthless mine
stocks, railroad monopoly, falsification of documents, and swindling the
government. Amalia soon retires to her bedroom where she awaits Arturo
who is her lover. Arturo, however, does not come this night, because he
is interested in carrying out his designs on Fortunata. The guests in­
clude Bartolo and Don Severo. The party ends in a drunken brawl. Some
of the men leave to go to their mistresses. The chapter introducing and
describing these characters ends on page one hundred and nineteen.

There follow several chapters, each giving special attention to one

of the men introduced at the party. Don Sabas, the railroad magnate,
uses El Paje as his procurer. Meanwhile, Don Eduardo, another degenerate
rich man, has an affair with Joaquina, the wife of Don Sabas. Don Sabas
discovers this and threatens his wife with a beating and expulsion from
his house. Joaquina, however, is a determined woman, and faces her hus­
band with accusations and threats of retribution that force him to agree
that she may continue hear affair with Don Eduardo.

Don Rodrigo, who commissions clothing to individual menders, receives

partial retribution for his unfair dealings with his clients when Don
Ladislao threatens to reveal Don Rodrigo's lowly birth unless he will buy
some worthless mine stock from Don Ladislao.

Don Evaristo, the source of whose income is unkown to his acquaint­

ances, arranges with some thugs for the kidnapping and extortion of Don
Cleto, another rich degenerate.

Don Abundio has become rich on the profits of his gambling house.
He refuses to take care of his two sisters, in spite of his wealth, and
they resort to prostitution.
 -67-

Don Silverio, another of the rich men at Don Casildo's party,

has a daughter, Angelina, who is pregnant as the result of an affair
with Gaspar, son of the family that swindled the fortune of Eugenio's
father. Gaspar will not marry her, but the problem is solved when the
family doctor suggests that Don Silverio arrange a marriage with the
fatuous Enrique, with whom Angelina is now in love.

On page one hundred and ninety-two, the author returns to Julio

and the other two friends of Eugenio at the time when they meet to read
his manuscript. Eugenio's story follows: His first love is Carlota.
His brother, Ricardo, is in love with Ines, otherwise known as "La Hada
Azul." At a dance, the scions of two well known families steal jewels
from both of these women. Ricardo and Eugenio become heroes by recover­
ing the jewels. Later, Ricardo discovers that In^s is the mistress of
Don Ladislao, and is heartbroken. Eugenio is more fortunate. His family
is still wealthy at this time, and they are able to save Carlota's family
from ruin. Furthermore, Eugenio becomes a hero again when he rescues
Carlota from a mad bull at a fiesta in the country. However, after
Eugenio's family loses their fortune, the rich Don Eduardo deceives
Carlota, elopes with her, and even succeeds in making her parents be­
lieve that he has married her. Later, Eugenio sees Carlota in poverty,
having been deserted by Don Eduardo.

Eugenio then falls in love with Clementina, the daughter of a

fireworks vendor. All parties concerned finally decide that there is
too great a difference between them to make a happy marriage. Clemen­
tina has an affair with Don Casildo, her mother acting as the go-between.
Meanwhile, Eugenio becomes interested in politics and in the planned
revolution. He is invited into the homes of many of the rich opportun­
ists who have already been introduced. It seems that the revolution
may be successful and they want to be able to use Eugenio for their
own purposes.

The third and last love of Eugenio is Marta. He first meets her
in a cemetery where she is praying by her mother's grave. Their idyl­
lic love is marred by Marta's feeling of impending tragedy. The prob­
able success of the revolution enables Eugenio to borrow money and plan
wedding. The revolution fails, Eugenio is no longer granted credit, he
cannot marry Marta, and he commits suicide. Eugenio's story ends on
page three hundred and forty-two. It is broken only by an interlude
of fourteen pages, beginning on page three hundred and seven, in which
Victor, the second brother of Eugenio, on the eve of the revolution,
takes Eugenio through a slum section of the city to make Eugenio remem­
ber the poverty-stricken after his political success. The circumstances
of several families are described.

Following Eugenio's story, the author returns to Fortunata who is

waylaid by El Paje on her way to her wounded father. He carries her to
Arturo who forces her. Fortunata goes to Arturo's parents. Arturo's
 -68-

father, the only respectable wealthy man in the novel, deplores his son's
misdeed and promises Fortunata material reparation with apologies for
its inadequacy. Arturo's indulgent mother can see no harm in anything her
son does, and she considers the poor people of no importance. Valeriano,
Fortunata's beloved, attacks Arturo and leaves him with a lasting scar
across his face. In spite of the efforts of Arturo's mother, Valeriano
and Fortunata are never found.

On page three hundred and fifty-three, the author begins the process
of bringing evil days upon all the depraved rich people. Don Casildo dis­
covers Amalia's affair with Arturo when she becomes pregnant. He forces
her to leave his house. Later, a muscular representative of Amalia forces
Don Casildo to make a settlement in her favor. An arrangement is made with
the doctor to dispose of Amalia's child.

Don Silverio dies of leprosy. Enrique swindles Angelina's inheritance

and deserts her. Don Macario, eager for high interest rates, makes loans
that he cannot collect and becomes insane as a result of his folly. The
kidnapping of Don Cleto is carried out, the culprits, except Don Evaristo,
are caught and punished. Don Evaristo's name is never connected with the
crime. Gaspar, who has for some time been stealing from his parents, robs
a cathedral with some friends, and his parents spend a great deal of money
to keep him out of prison. Don Rodrigo is blackmailed by an illegitimate
son. Bartolo, with friends during an orgy for which the women are supplied
by El Paje, discovers that one of the prostitutes is his own illegitimate
daughter. Don Sabas and Don Eduardo have a duel in which neither is hurt
though both empty their guns. The duel is stopped by the seconds and the
opponents come to an agreement by which Don Eduardo will restore Joaquina
to Don Sab^s. Don Sabas has an argument with Don Abundio about the lat­
ter's dishonesty in running his gambling establishment. Don Sabas talks
openly about Don Abundio's dishonesty, and the latter's business suffers.
Don Abundio repents, extends some aid to his sisters, and becomes a priest.

The rest of the denouement appears in small print on the last page
of the novel. Concha and Catalina Valle marry worthy young men one year
after the death of Eugenio. Don Ladislao and Ines go to the United States
where Don Ladislao's dishonest practices result in his going to Sing-Sing,
and Ins's becomes a prostitute with an establishment on Fifth Avenue. Don
Evarista is shot and killed while holding up a stage coach. Don Cleto is
ill as the result of torture by his kidnappers. The poor people continue
peacefully in their same existence.

The lack of proportion may be seen in the foregoing synopsis. It may

also be seen that Rivera y Rio is not without narrative ability. If he

had confined himself to the characters introduced by the nintieth page of

the novel, he might have produced a well organized plot. There would still
 -69-

be inprobable coincidences, these being characteristic not only of the

man, but of the literature of the time. Many of the author's faults may

be attributed to the carelessness of a man writing in a great hurry. He

breaks the flow of the narrative by inserting pieces of dialog in dramatic

form."*" A similar departure from the novelesque manner is the description

of places, especially rooms, in which the characters are found, in a manner

that gives the effect of a stage direction. Another effect of hurried

writing is the difficulty with which the author sometimes connects a

character with the others in the novel. Rivera y R^o tries to tie his

rambling plot together in this manner, and he takes pride inhisability

to account for all the characters at the end of the novel.

Aunque no hemos dejado en las penumbras del olvido a ninguno

de los personajes principales de este libro, si el lector se
interesa por saber detalles y noticias de algunos de los que
figuran en segundo t^nnino, as£ como por hacer conocimiento
con otros que no dudamos le han de interesar, procurese nues-
tras novelas subsecuentes.

There are times, however, when his attempts to connect the various char­

acters are quite unacceptable. One such case occurs at the end of the

chapter about Angelina, Gaspar, and Enrique. After the action has been

completed and the problem solved, the author adds an entirely unrelated

paragraph saying that Gaspar is, incidentally, the son of the enemies of

Eugenio's family.^ These faults are not as objectionable as are the in­

trusions of the author's personality in the form of chattinesswith the

1 Jose Rivera y Rfo: op. cit., p. 205.

2 Ibid., p. lj.10.

3 Ibid., p. 192.
 -70-
•

reader. The name of one of the streets in the poorer section of the

city is "Amargura," and Rivera y Rio assures the reader that everyone

knows this street is not far from the one called "Misericordia. He

also uses euphemisms that have the feeling of genteel gossip. A case

of this is the reference to am escapade by Gaspar as a fright that he

had given his parents.^ These expressions are always in italics. The

author uses them in a satirical manner, leaving the feeling that he and

the reader know perfectly well what is going on, and can therefore look

askance at the cautious expression.

The characters are similar to each other, but there is some shading.

There are basic characteristics that are generally adhered to. The rich

people are evil— Arturo's father is, inexplicably, rich and good. The

poor people are good or driven to evil by the rich. The rich people

always get their money by unfair means. In physical appearance, the

rich men are monsters. The one-eyed Bartolo is perhaps the most disa­

greeable in appearance.

Bartolo tiene un color amarillentoj es enjuto de carnes, y

alto y tieso comon un pino, su cabeza es estrecha y dimunuta,
su frenta deprimida, (no volvamos a hablar de sus ojos pues
serxa una redundancia)j su boca es grande, coronado el labio
superior de un bigote escaso que comienza a blanquear, su
nariz tienda a roma, su cuello es largo y desproporcionado,
y en fin, nada agradable tiene su conjunto. 3

The impecunious intellectuals are pale, thin, and inclined to faint

when surprised. These men are bold enough to fight duels or rescue

1 Ibid., p. 32.

2 Ibid., p. 381.

3 Ibid., p. 9.
 -71-

young ladies from enraged bulls without vacillation, but they are com­

pletely overcome by disappointment in love or the death of a friend.

The impecunious non-intellectuals look noble or horrible, depending on

their occupations. None of them, however, is quite as ugly or as depraved

as the rich men. Shading makes some of the men worse than others, and an

occasional streak of goodness may be seen in the lower class evildoers,

as in the case of the man who demanded the settlement for Amalia.^

There is more shading in the women than in the men. The epitome

of virtue and loveliness is Marta, the keynote to her character being

her first meeting with Eugenio when she is praying at the grave of her

mother.^ There are women of minor importance who are criminals. Amalia

has an illicit love affair, but she is not a prostitute. Joaquina is

a woman of considerable moral and physical strength. Strangely enough,

the mother of Arturo and the wife of the only good rich man in the novel,

is completely scornful of the welfare of others and concerned only with

the happiness of her son. Bartolo’s mother, through the coarseness of

her manners, shows their lowly origin.

Rivera y Rio's descriptions of places are used to emphasize the con­

trast between rich and poor. This contrast is always evident in the

description of dwelling places. Most of the newly rich live in very or­

nate places, decorated in poor taste. The people of Eugenio's class still

have a few remnants of their former furnishings, always in good taste.

The dress of the rich is elaborate, and the coarseness of the newly rich

1 Ibid., p. 1|0U.

2 Ibid., p. 277.
 -72-

is shown in their lack of care for their fine clothing. Bartolo spills

wine and food on his exquisite clothing at the wedding party.'*' A few

other customs are portrayed objectively. Ricardo hires a military band

to serenade Lie's. ^ The author describes the crowd which gathers to wit­
's
ness the execution of the kidnappers,J although he does not describe the

execution.

The author's unfavorable attitude toward the time is seen through­

out the novel. He expresses himself quite freely, but his observations

are superficial and are always along the lines set forth in the intro­

duction to the novel. Rosario, the oldest sister of Eugenio, does not

want to marry, and Rivera y Rio explains it in the following manner:

Rosario que era la mayor, estaba resuelta a no aceptar los

homenajes de hombre algunoj era algo esceptica y se resignaba
a vivir sola, convencida de que un hombre de recursos y como-
didades no busca por companera a una pobre, ni menos en. los
tiempos de cruel y horrible positivismo que alcanzaraos.

Arturo's mother knows that he has designs on Fortunata, but does not ob­

ject. The author says that she

comprendia que a su hijo le gustaba la recamara, y como estaba

educada a la moda, no le parecia mal que Arturo tuviese en su
misma casa un agradable entretenimiento sin que se espusiese a
las consecuencias del amor vago.-5

Arturo borrows some money very foolishly, permitting Enrique to take ad­

vantage of him. Speaking of Arturo, the author writes:

1 Ibid., p. 13.

2 Ibid., p. 208.

3 Ibid., p. 373.

h Ibid., p. 27.

5 Ibid., p. I4.6 .
 -73-

^ Estarxa aquel muchacho predestinado a ser ministro de ha­

cienda?
A no dudarlo: <iy Enrique a ser corredor de Palacio y
negociante como su papa, de creciitos, de viudas, de retirados,
etc.?

This incident is typical of occasional humorous comments. Another such

comment occurs when the author describes a bullfight at a rural fiesta

where the participants are having trouble finding a game bull. Rivera

y Rio says that one of the bulls resembles certain generals in that he
2
will do nothing but run.

The novel contains only one specific bit of optimism concerning

the customs of the time. Yvhen Gaspar*s parents buy his freedom and

silence the news of his misdeed with money, the author points out that

the independent newspapers printed the whole story and criticized the

corruption of justice.^

The author's pessimism does not necessitate the triumph of evil.

In his novels he criticizes the faults that he sees in society, but

evil never triunqphs. It may be seen from the foregoing that some of

his efforts in this direction are quite illogical. His last novel is,

in this respect, similar to the earlier ones. It contains all of the

elements found in the earlier novels except the treatment of foreign

places. Qualities found consistently in the author's work are the

overly complicated plot, the categorized characters, the changing

style, the disagreeable intimacy of the author with the reader, the

1 Ibid., p. 56.

2 Ibid., p. 211.
 -7U-

superficial social criticism. A positive statement of the author1s

characteristics must recognize partial factors— a considerable abil­

ity to organize the plot, great imagination, some fairly good dialog,

some shading in characters, a partial comprehension of his society, a

fundamental belief in the triumph of good.

JOSE MARIA ROA BARCENA

Jose Maria Roa Barcena may be called a Romantic novelist only

with due reservations for his adherence to the classic-conservative

tendency which existed among some of his contemporaries. This ten­

dency is seen in his life and in his work. He was born in Jalapa in

1827 and was largely self-educated. He was a business man throughout

his life except for the period between 1853 and the fall of Maximilian.

He did not stop writing after that time, but the large part of his

prose fiction was written before his retirement from the public scene.

After coming to Mexico City in 1853, Roa Barcena contributed to El

Universal, La Cruz, El Eco Nacional, and La Sociedad, and served for

some time as editor of La Sociedad." He supported the establishment

of the empire under Maximilian, but later censured the emperor's

liberal policies. After Maximilian's fall, Roa Barcena suffered brief

imprisonment. Although his political beliefs never mitigated the re­

spect that he commanded from his contemporaries by his personal integ­

rity, he retired from public life after that time. He died in Mexico

City on September 21, 1908.

 The literary reputation of Roa Barcena rests chiefly on his poetic

and historical works; but his prose fiction presents excellent pictures

of some of his countrymen, and it also gives an interesting insight into

the thought of a convinced and honest conservative. These works were

published in various collections in 1870, 18?8, 1882, 1883, 1897, 1910,

and 19l|l. The contents of the collections vary slightly.-*- An interest­

ing contrast may be seen between two groups of Roa Barcena*s prose

works— a contrast that is especially interesting in view of the author*s

personality. Some of his novels, or "cuentos," are very Romantic in

material and expression; others, more within the "costumbrista" tradi­

tion, lack even the Romantic characteristics frequently found in the

works of the "costumbristas.” Manuel G. Revilla has said that between

these two groups of stories one finds '*una muy grande diferencia, asf

en los asuntos como en el tono dorainante y en el estilo, tanto, que no

parecen haber sido escritas unas y otras narraciones por la misma pluma."^

All of Roa Barcena*s stories, except Lanchitas and Combates en el aire,

were written before 1870 and appear in the collection dated that year.

The collection also contains some translations. The stories written

after that date are similar to those in the realistic group; there is,

therefore, some reason to assume that the romantic stories were written

before the others, but there are no exact dates to support this.

1 Arturo Torres-Rioseco: og. cit., p. 1+8.

2 Manuel G. Revilla: Elogio del historiador £ novelista D. Jose

Marfa Roa Barcena, Mexico, 1909,p. 11.
 -76-

One of the stories of the Romantic group is Una flor en su

sepulcro. It is a purely amatory tale, told in diary form, of the

hero's love for Maria. The story contains the usual elements of its

kind: description of Maria, the hero's difficulty in persuading her

to reciprocate his interest, their sharing of poetry and sketches

through the help of a servant, the death of the fragile Maria, and the

hero's tortured memory. Roa Barcena presents the story as the diary

of a friend, and considers it an example of the amatory experience of

a young man of the time.

Aquellas paginas, escritas bajo la influencia de un recuerdo

debilitado por el tiempo, pueden ser consideradas como el
estudio de las fluctuaciones del corazon en esa ^poca de la
vida en que se experiments la necesidad del aax>r, y, no en-
contrando el objeto a que deba consagrarlo, se agita como la
aguja tocada al iman, cuando una mano inquieta le impide sena-
lar hacia el Norte.

Another story, Buondelmonti, is just as Romantic, but uses en­

tirely different subject matter. Based on an historical event, it is

a tragic love stoiy portrayed against the background of the struggle

between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in thirteenth century Florence.

/ O
Roa Barcena is faithful to the historical account, * but he changes the

emphasis of the outcome. Historically, the tragedy lies in the wars

between the two opposing factions ensuing from the Buondelmonti affairj

as treated by Roa Barcena, the tragedy lies in the frustrated love of

the hero for his beloved of the opposing faction. Roa Barcena takes

1 Jose Maria Roa Barcena: Obras. Tomo I, Mexico, 1897, p. 5»

2 J. C. L. Sismondi: History of the Italian Republics, New York,

1907, p. 58.
 -77-

the shadowy personages of the historical episode and makes them into

average characters of Romantic fiction.

The only work of Roa Barcena which by material and form can be

properly called a novel is La quinta modelo, a novel of political sa­

tire that, in tone, belongs to the group of Romantic stories.

The action takes place during several years, beginning in 181*-.

Gaspar Rodriguez, a liberal, returns to Mexico after his party has
returned to power. Vihen he is elected to the Congress from his pro­
vincial district, he is surprised that he is not met in Mexico City
by cheering throngs. His experience during the session of the congress
shows his political ignorance, a certain amount of misguided idealism,
and the tendency of the whole legislative body to produce words rather
than action. Gaspar quickly becomes a tool for the selfish, and as he
surrenders to them, he becomes less and less considerate of his family.
His wife, Octaviana, has educated their son and daughter along strict
religious lines. Gaspar proceeds to undo much of her work, first by
enrolling his son, Enrique, in a progressive school, and second, by
opposing the marriage of his daughter, Amelia, to the model young
gentleman, Alberto, wishing to have her marry one of his crude politi­
cal associates. Fortunately, Gaspar*s error is corrected before this
unhappy union can be effected; but Enrique is less fortunate, becoming
the victim of a secular education and certainly the most perverse char­
acter of the nineteenth century novel in Mexico.

Y/ith Enrique in school and with his wife and daughter completely
crushed by the mad course of his liberalism, Gaspar goes to his farm
and establishes a model community which is to be run by the peons on a
democratic basis. The peons know nothing of democracy and are not in­
terested in the experiment. Left to their own initiative, the farm is
rapidly on the way to ruin. Enrique comes to the farm and initiates a
program of adult education which is meaningless to the peons. Further­
more, Enrique's personal life leads him to a sad state of moral degrada­
tion and eventually to his murder by one of his father's associates. The
democratic experiment itself fails and ends in the sacking of Gaspar*s
house by the peons. Complete ruin is avoided only through the efforts
of the local priest who has heretofore been scorned by Gaspar.

Gaspar becomes insane, but his wife and daughter retain at least
some measure of happiness through the triumph of their beliefs. Amelia
marries Alberto.

Roa Barcena develops the plot well and curiosity concerning specific

developments is kept alive in spite of the fact that purpose and ultimate
 -78-

outcome are obvious from the beginning. The characterizations of Gas­

par and Enrique are made to fit the purpose of the novel, and they be­

come caricatures. The two women and Alberto are typical virtuous char­

acters with that one factor emphasized even more than was customary

among the author’s contemporaries. The peons are presented as overgrown

children, with neither the ability nor the desire to improve their lot.

Gaspar's political associates are fools and boors. The priest repre­

sents the only hope for a stable society.

The tone of the novel is partially Romantic. If the element of

political satire could be removed, the plot mechanism and the characteri­

zation would remain as an average novel of the time. However, political

satire is the main point of the novel and it portrays Mexicanism from

the standpoint of a conservative. The satire is obvious and its effect

would be enhanced by less exaggeration. There is some humor which is

still enjoyable, but the humor is now at the expense of Roa Barcena as

well as at the expense of his pawns. The author’s bitterness is apparent,

but meaningless.

Those works which belong to the realistic group are all "cuentos."

The best of them are a series of stories connected by a framing-tale

in the work entitled Noche al raso.

A lawyer, an old soldier, a druggist, and an auctioneer are travel­

ing by coach from Orizaba to Puebla in 181*0. After the coach breaks
down, the travelers decide to spend the night telling stories. Each
traveler is cleverly identified by his immediate actions after the ac­
cident: the auctioneer appraises the value of the wrecked coach, the
druggist applies a mud plaster to his bruised arm and plans to capital­
ize on the idea if it is successful, the lawyer plans to bring suit
against the owner of the coach, and the old soldier calmly rips pieces
of wood from the coach and builds a fire. The lawyer's story, El
 -79-

crucifijo milagroso, is an anecdote concerning the efforts of a promi­

nent attorney to rid himself of the company of an irksome provincial
who claims kinship with him. The druggist and the auctioneer tell
stories about how they were duped in cleverly maneuvered tricks of the
picaresque tradition. The titles of the stores, La docena de sillas
para Igualar and El cuadro de Murillo, suggest the content of the stories.

The old soldier, a verbose fellow, tells two stories, El hombre del
caballo rucio and A dos dedos del abismo. The first story contains an
element of fantasy. The setting is rural and offers the only description
of the countryside found in the collection. This stozy concerns the at­
tempts of the ranchers to catch a ghostly horse and rider who have been
causing damage to their herds. One of them finally catches the ghost
horse by the tail, but the tail comes off and the fugitives disappear.
The rancher drops the tail and it burns, leaving a bare spot on the
ground where grass never grows again. The humor in this story is dif­
ferent from the humor in the other stories because it is closely re­
lated to fear.

An element of near-fantasy is found in the old soldier* s second

story. The Marques del Veneno, an eligible bachelor, is disturbed be­
cause his name is linked with that of a certain young lady, Loreto,
with increasing frequency. He sees Loreto at social gatherings and
finds her agreeable, but he has no desire to marry her or anyone else.
He is even more disturbed to find that Loreto's father, Don Raimundo,
assumes that he and Loreto are going to be married. Don Raimundo is
so verbose that the Marques does not have a chance to clarify the mat­
ter. The situation goes from bad to worse until the Marques decides
he must marry Loreto to avoid dishonoring her family. The solution
comes when he discovers that Don Raimundo is insane, and the supposed
wedding plans are products of the old man's imagination.

When dawn comes, the travelers walk to Fuebla, where they decide
to bring suit against the owner of the coach for inconveniences caused
them. Their fellow traveler, Rascon, is to handle their case. However,
the owner of the coach offers Rascon a better fee, and the latter has
the travelers arrested for destruction of property. They are convicted,
but they escape and leave town. The owner of the coach is forced to sell
his mules in order to pay Rascon, the only one who profits.

The stories of Noche al raso show Roa Barcena at his best as a nar­

rator. They are not notable for their originality, but the author’s man­

ner of presentation is excellent. Roa Barcena recounts the stores in an

informal, conversational tone. He is inclined to use very long sentences,

and he allows each narrator to project his own character into the
 -80-

story. The characters of the narrators are portrayed in the same

manner as are the characters in the stories themselves. They are all

types, and Roa Barcena achieves humor by emphasizing weakness rather

than strength in his delineation of them. They do not become carica­

tures, however, because they are able to laugh at their own weaknesses.

The types which are presented are more universal than Mexican; but they

are sufficiently real to assure the reader that such people were known

by Roa Barcena, and this sense of reality is enhanced by the author’s

unostentatious portrayal of customs and scenes in Mexico City.

The well-known Lanchitas was published for the first time, and

separately, in 1878. In tone and content it is similar to the stories

of Noche al raso. It contains a supernatural element similar to that

of El hombre del caballo rucio and is told in the conversational tone

that characterizes all of Roa Barcena*s works in the realistic group.

This conversational tone, like that of an old man telling stories to

his grandchildren, reaches perfection in Combates en el aire, a sketch

in which Roa Barcena recalls a favorite pastime of watching kites and

comparing them with various personalities of his acquaintance.

Roa Barcena1s works contributed little to the technique of novel

writing. His only real novel is La quinta modelo, but in that case the

author’s ability in plot construction is overshadowed by the political

satire. His real contribution lies in his more realistic works, in which

he was able to combine good, if brief, narration and authentic atmosphere.

 -81-

JUAN DIAZ COVAERUBIAS

The tragic life of this poet and novelist began in Jalapa in 1837.

His father was the poet Jose de Jesus Diaz. After the death of his fa­

ther, Juan was brought by his mother to Mexico City where he later stu­

died in the "Colegio de San Juan Letran." In 185U he began the study of

medicine, and in 1857 was an interne in the hospital of San Andres. Ac­

cording to Antonio Carrion, he had suffered an unhappy love affair in

185^} and his life was further saddened by the death of his mother in

1857. During the War of Reform, he joined the liberals as a doctor, and

was killed, along with others of his profession, in the Tacubaya inci­

dent on April 11, 1859.

Undoubtedly influenced by his father, the author began writing poetry

at an early age. His first volume of prose was published in 1857 and

again in 1859. This work, Impresiones £ sentimientos, is not a novel.

It is a collection of essays, autobiographical sketches, poetry by the

author, and fiction. All the stories are similar to other fiction of

the time. A typical one concerns Victor, who has to give up the study

of medicine because he lacks funds. He teaches languages in a girls

school, and has a platonic affair with a student who is delicate and

tubercular. Marriage is impossible because of Victor's financial cir­

cumstances.

One of the stories in this volume is extended to the length of six

chapters and exploits the common themes of the cruelty of the rich and
the struggle of the poor to maintain honesty and virtue. The story is

1 Juan Diaz Covarrubias: Impresiones £ sentimientos, Mexico, 1859.

Apuntes biograficos by Antonio Carrion, pp. IV-V.
 -82-

quite similar to those of Florencio del Castillo. Diaz Covarrubias,

however, is a more capable narrator, and his prose is on a decidedly

higher level. The author's pessimism allows evil to triumph completely.

Impresiones y sentimientos contains dissertations on various topics

that were favorites of the time. In a chapter devoted to a discussion

of love, the author questions the accuracy of the common conceptions of

love. He cites the mother who is ashamed of her deformed child, and

several unwise matrimonial choices, frequently using fiction to illus­

trate his point. In other dissertations, the author takes a more di­

rectly critical view of society: the "beata" who contributes nothing

to others, the philanthropist who lends aid to orphan girls, especially

beautiful ones, the politician who is always on the winning side. These

dissertations are like the digressions frequently found in novels of

Diaz Covarrubias and his contemporaries. They are made readable in this

case by the fact that Diaz Covarrubias treats each subject as a separate

unit and is clever in his brief, fictional illustrations.

The first purely fictional work of Diaz Covarrubias is La clase

media, published in 1858 and again in 1859. The edition of 1859 con­

tains one hundred and nine pages. The length of the novel and the kinds

of characters portrayed remind the reader of Florencio del Castillo.

However, the number of characters and the complicated plot resemble the

work of Jose Rivera y Rio. The author's purpose is to describe the con­

ditions of the middle class in Mexico City in 185U. The term "clase

media" refers to those people who try to live honorably, but who are

placed in a precarious position because of their lack of money. They

 -83-

are definitely not members of the lower class, because their ambitions and

ideals are of the highest quality. Diaz Covarrubias follows the pattern

of his contemporaries in making these people the victims of the wealthy

who wish to seduce their daughters, rob them of their meager material

wealth, and thwart them in their attempts to become successful in the

various professions. In the present novel, most of the action takes place

in a middle class residential section. By providing such a setting, the

author is able to surround his principal characters with personages whom

he considers typical of the "clase media": widows, orphans, a struggling

law student, an artist, a retired army officer. Little is done to indi­

vidualize these characters; misfortune is the theme of the novel and the

fate of the characters. Diaz develops a feeling of kinship among all the

members of the class because of their common fate.

Although the plot is not as complicated as those of Rivera y Rio, it

is surprising that the author tries to accomplish so much in so few pages.

The result is a hurried ending that seems incomplete. The personage who

promises to become the hero in the beginning of the novel is superceded

by another man who likewise fails to become the central character. If

there is a central character, it is that of the "clase media" as a whole,

but the author has failed to be convincing even in this case. The lack

of strength on the part of the middle class is hardly believable because

their fortunes are controlled completely by the powerful rich.

The writing is not as facile as that of Impresiones y sentimientos.

Phrases are repeated to the point of monotony, and the series of short

paragraphs create a staccato effect.

 -82i-

The author's best work, Gil Gomez el insurgente o la hija del

medico, was first published in 1858. There have been four editions

since then: one in 1859, two in 1902, and one in 1919. It is an

historical novel set during the revolutionaiy struggle of Hidalgo.

The novel shows considerable improvement over La clase media in writ­

ing and in character development. It consists of two stores— one

historical and the other amatory— that are poorly interwoven, although

the author has been sufficiently successful to make one dependent on

the other. The inability to coordinate the two plots completely is

the greatest fault of the novel.

La sensitiva, published in 1859, is a tale rather than a novel.

It consists of only fifteen pages. Unlike any of the author's other

works, it does not attempt to portray either the society or the history

of Mexico.

It is set in no particular time nor place. Luisa, the heroine,

is a pure, angelic girl of sixteen years who expresses her love for
Fernando when he declares his. Isabel, who is something of a coquette,
comes to town with her father, the Marques of — -. Fernando becomes
enamored of Isabel and follows her when she returns to court. Disil­
lusioned after about a year, Fernando returns to his home and finds
Luisa dying of grief because of his inattention. The lovers embrace
and all is forgiven just as Luisa dies.

There is almost no action in the story. The author's attention

goes to the description of characters, especially of Luisa and Isabel.

The book is written in prose that is better than average, and the

author succeeds in creating an atmosphere of idyllicism interrupted

by worldliness. It is a treatment of romantic love that is decidedly

more sane than is usually found during the period.

 -85-

The last novel written by Diaz Covarrubias, El diablo en Mexico,

was published posthumously in i860. It was written as a criticism of

the importance of money and the enforcement of parental will in matri­

mony.

The story is set in Mexico City during the years 1856 and 1857.
Enrique, a young lawyer, is the son of an aristocratic family. He
falls in love with Elena, the daughter of another aristocratic family.
Elena's mother, however, objects to their marriage because Enrique's
family is of moderate financial circumstances. Concha is the daughter
of a rich and respectable, but not aristocratic, merchant. She wants
to marry Enrique, and her family is agreeable. Guillermo, the playboy
brother of Concha, wants to marry Elena and he has her mother's favor.
Don Nicanor, an employee of Concha's father, loves Concha, but his
suit is not favored.

After a series of amatory scenes and oaths of undying love, six

months elapse and the reader discovers that Elena and Guillermo have
been married, and Concha and Enrique have been married. No reason,
other than paternal will, is presented. The novel ends here without
going into the resulting unhappiness that the reader expects.

The plot begins with a situation that is quite common in novels of

the time, and the story is developed in an orthodox manner up to the

lapse of time. On the basis of the author's other work as well as

taste of the time, the normal ending would be the portrayal of very

unhappy lives for the four main characters. The author's failure to

do this seems not to be the result of any desire on his part to be dif­

ferent, but rather to his inability, for some unknown reason, to finish

the novel in an orthodox manner. It is not hard to conjecture a reason

in view of his unhappy life and tragic death. The plot is simpler and

is more polished. The characterization is on the same level.

Probably because of the circumstances of his death, criticism of

Diaz Covarrubias has frequently been criticism of the novelist who

 -86-

might have been rather than of the novelist who actually was. Altami-

rano grants Diaz Covarrubias his customary generous critic ism. Gonza-

lez-Pena says:

Dfaz Covarrubias revealed the faculties and the broad vision

of a novelist; he lacked, however, the maturity of style and
thought that can only be obtained through time and the exercise
of artistic disciplines. He also revealed strong nationalistic
tendencies; he painted Mexican characters and scenes and devoted
many of his pages to Mexican customs.... The prose of Diaz Cova­
rrubias is fluid and pleasing; its inpurities may be overlooked
because of the spontaneity and simplicity of the work.

The consideration of Diaz Covarrubias as a novelist must be confined to

three works: La clase media, Gil Gomez, and El diablo en Mexico. Gil

Ck^mez is unquestionably the best of these. Even this work reveals no

broader vision than that of the author*s contemporaries. The real lack

is not breadth of vision, but perspective. The nationalistic tendencies

are obvious in Gil Gomez, but the portrayal of Mexican society in the

other two novels is largely overshadowed by the amatory element. In an

evaluation of the man, it should be remembered that the works of Diaz

Covarrubias are the product of a youth during a period of social up­

heaval. In an evaluation of his works, it must be recognized that the

author did not rise above his time. It may be said that his prose is

better than that of most of his contemporaries. His characterization is

inferior to that of Florencio del Castillo. His view of society is not

as complete as that of Rivera y Rio. All three novels show a lack of

narrative ability which places him as an average novelist of the period.

1 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: o£. cit., pp.

2 Carlos Gonzalez-Pena: op. cit., pp. 230-231.

 -87-

NICOLAS PIZAREO

The only available information concerning the life of Nicolas

Pizarro is to be found in Altamirano's Revistas literarias. Because

of the lack of information concerning the author, it is helpful to

note what Altarairano says in order to make certain deductions on the

basis of his statement.

La novela, sin embargo, volvio a aparecer con su color de actua-

lidad y con su estudio contemporiineo. Un escritor instrufdo,
fuera ya de la edad de la juventud y con una larga experiencia
del mundo fu^ el nuevo autor. D. Nicolas Pizarro Suarez habxa
concluido y rejuvenecido su Monedero, y habia escrito nuevamente
su Coqueta, dos novelas que llamaron niucho la atencibn y que se
leyeron con avidez. Decimos que hab^a rejuvenecido su Monedero,
porque recordaraos que cuando muy jovenes y haciendo todavla
nuestros estudios de latinidad, esta novela apenas comenzada, nos
produjo agradable distraccibn en los ratos de ocio del colegio.
Pero Pizarro no la concluyo/ entonces o no la popularizo', y noso-
tros no leinos su desenlace; de modo que en 1862, cuando su
autor tuvo la bondad de regalarnos sus obras, nos parecib nueva
enteramente.

Both of Pizarro's novels were published in 1861 rather than in 1862 as

stated by Altamirano. El monedero was published by the "Imprenta de

Nicolas Pizarro"; la coqueta was published by the "Imprenta de Ana

Echeverria de Pizarro e hijas"j both printing houses are in the same

street. There is reason to believe, from this information, that Pizarro

may have died in 1861. If this be true, it may be concluded that Pizarro

was not especially interested in a literary career. It is known that he

had begun El monedero many years before. His only other novel was prob­

ably published posthumously. It is reasonable to think that he was a

1 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: op. cit., p. 56.

 -88-

printer by trade. The content of his novels reveals a man profoundly

and intelligently interested in the society and politics of his time.

One would expect his name to appear in politics or, at least, in jour­

nalism, but it does not.

El monedero is a long and complicated novel with too many characters

to afford a well integrated plot. It does, however, frequently attain

an air of reality that is uncommon among its contemporaries.

The story opens in San Angel, a resort for the capitol's rich, in
the year 1846. Fernando Henkel, a successful ironworker and engraver,
has fallen in love with Rosita, daughter of the wealthy Don Domingo
Diez de Davila. He meets Padre Luis, a village priest, and becomes
interested in a model community that the latter establishes.

The occupation of Mexico City by the North American troops is the

blow that causes the death of the tottering Don Domingo, who leaves
Rosita penniless as the result of some bad investments made before his
death. Rosita goes to live with the family of Clara, her maid. Fer­
nando’s servant, Gregorio Fausto Roldan, marries Clara when Fernando
establishes Gregorio as a shopkeeper. He assumes the name of Don Fausto
de Roldan. Fernando then becomes engaged to Rosita. However, Fernando
suffers a nearly fatal accident and is saved by Maria, a girl who loves
him and by her action demands his attention. Rosita discovers this and
decides to enter a convent.

Throughout the novel, Padre Luis and Fernando have been correspond­
ing about the success of the Nueva Filadelfia experiment and the attempt
of Padre Luis to obtain absolution from his vows so he may marry. Both
Padre Luis and the desired absolution arrive in Mexico City just as
Rosita is about to enter the convent. Luis and Maria fall in love, and
Fernando marries Rosita.

There is a great deal of action in the story, but veiy little of it

is interesting. Some suspense is provided by the fact that the reader

is never quite sure who will become Fernando's bride. The rest is trite,

except the experiment of Padre Luis and the interest that is kept alive

by his correspondence with Fernando. This correspondence has the adverse

effect of interrupting the progress of a story that is none too strong at

 -89-

best. The author is sufficiently gifted as a narrator to concern him­

self, in the denouement, with what interests his reader. At the end of

the novel, he creates a satisfactory outcome for the main characters, and

does not concern himself with the others, thereby making the denouement

seem decidedly more real than is the case in most novels of the period, in

spite of the artificiality of the Padre Luis situation.

The characters are more interesting than the plot. Although it is

true that the plot could have been improved by the use of fewer characters,

it is also true that some of the minor characters are the best. The main

characters are not well developed. The fact that Fernando is an Indian

is soon forgotten, and he receives the standard, superficial treatment

that is usually accorded the hero of the time. The other main characters

receive similarly standard treatment. None of the minor personages have

fully developed characters, but some of them are clearly drawn 'types. Fray

Gil is one of the best of these. He is courageous, humorous, down-to-earth,

and his homespun philosophy adds a touch of humor and reality to the novel.

Gregorio is the loyal servant, intelligent but uneducated, eager and

humorous in his desire to advance financially and socially. Don Domingo

is an hispanophile.

The reports from Padre Luis to Fernando about the progress of Nueva

Filadelfia are interesting, though not as specific as the reader might

wish. Among other things, Padre Luis plans for adult education.^ The

author succeeds in integrating his criticisms of society with the story

1 Nicolas Pizarro: El monedero, Mexico, 1861, p. 132.

 -90-

so that there are fewer essay-type digressions than there are in most

novels of the period. Humorous satire is aimed at Don Domingo and at

Gregorio’s newly-acquired dignity.

The novel contains some Indian words and a little Indian lore.

There is no idealization of the Indian. The growth of Fernando's inter­

est in Marfa is a somewhat idyllic presentation, but it seems out of

place in the present novel.

Considering the setting of the novel, one would expect more about

the United States and the occupation of the capitol. There is one North

American in the novel who does not concern the story. A North American

soldier named walker seeks to ingratiate himself with Fernando upon the

latter's return to Mexico City. He is a thoroughly obnoxious person who

has designs on Fernando's fortune.- He is unsuccessful and is dropped by

the author. The United States is mentioned in one other place, when

Padre Luis comments on the existence of racial discrimination in this

country and says that it does not exist in Mexico.^

Altamirano considers La coqueta little more than a love story.

Su novela La coqueta es de menor importancia. Es un cuento de

amoresj pero tambi^n es la fisiologfa del corazfn de la mujer
casquivana de nuestro pais. Esta leyenda es un euadro lleno
de fescura y de sentimiento en que las situaciones interesan,
el colorido seduce y en que la virtud resplandece siempre con
el brillo de la victoria.^

The novel is considerably richer in ideas and in character study than

Altamirano's comments intply. The story is much simpler than that of

El monedero. It begins in Veracruz on May 1858. On that day, Juarez

1 Ibid., p. lla.

2 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: o£. cit., pp. 58-59-

 -91-

and his officials arrived in that port. This historical event has noth­

ing to do with the development of the plot, but it does provide occasion

for some comment by the personages of the novel about the constitution

and the political situation.

The hero, Andres Iturbide,^ is an employee of a commercial house in

Veracruz, having come to that city after losing one of his hands while
fighting for the liberal cause at Salamanca. Andres has met, in Vera­
cruz, his half-brother, Rafael Bravo, the natural son of their father,
who is now a ship's captain. This meeting culminates a long search to
which Andris had been committed by his father when the latter was dying.
The two brothers seem to have become uncommonly fond of each other in a
very short time. Andres is threatened with yellow fever, not being ac­
customed to the region, and Rafael has his negro servant, Francisco, keep
a constant watch over Andres. Francisco was formerly a slave in Cuba,
and was saved by Rafael in his attempt to escape. Rafael is now planning
to be married to a person whom he, in his ecstasy, can describe only in
the most extravagant terms.

Don Leandro Rocaviva, the employer of Andres, invites the latter

to accompany him to the house of Magdalena Malibran, a famous coquette.
Andres has not participated in social affairs since the loss of his hand,
and he views the prospect with some misgiving. However, he is quite suc­
cessful in Margarita's home, where amateur dramatics are a favorite pas­
time. He discovers that Magdalena is a woman of no mean intellectual
ability. Through succeeding visits, Andres finds that Magdalena is not
a coquette of the ordinary kind, but rather that she is acutely conscious
of the difference between the positions of men and women in matters of
choosing and winning lovers, and resents the difference. Andres falls
in love with her, and she with him, though Andres can hardly be sure of
her love. She does not stop flirting with other men, and continues to
make a fool of Don Leandro.

Rafael is rejected by his beloved and becomes temporarily insane.

A little later, Andris is stricken with yellow fever and is tended by
no less a personage than Juan Dfaz Covarrubias. Magdalena comes to see

1 Andris is told by Rafael that he has heard of a man, prominent

among the liberals, who has a name identical with that of Andres. Andris
has also heard of this man. Nicolls Pizarro: La coqueta, Mexico, 1861,
p. 85.

2 Ibid., p. 168. In a footnote, the author relates the circumstances

of the tragic death of Diaz Covarrubias and says he wishes to pay tribute
to him by showing what he might have been if he had lived. The date of
his appearance in the novel is earlier than that of his death.
 -92-

Andres and everyone realizes that she must really love him. Rafael
comes to see Andres and, though the room is darkened, recognizes Mag­
dalena who is kneeling by the bed. Rafael screams and rushes from the
room. Andre's realizes that Magdalena is the cause of Rafael* s unhappi­
ness. Rafael, in spite of a raging storm, orders his small boat to put
out for his ship, and the small boat is destroyed in the bay. Rafael
is washed ashore and nursed to health by a beachcomber, but everyone
else thinks he is dead.

The story is interrupted here by the relation of the beachcomber's

story— utpist imprisonment, contraction of leprosy from the man to whom
he was chained, and rejection by society.

Andres recovers and wants to marry Magdalena, but the shadow of

Rafael stands in their way. 'While the two are talking on a balcony,
a shot is fired in the direction of Andres. O n investigation it is dis­
covered that Francisco has been murdered in his effort to save Andre's.
The murderer escapes and his identity is never discovered, though Andres
thinks he recognized Rafael.

Three years lapse between this time and the circumstances portrayed
in the epilogue. Magdalena is the wife of Don Leandro and lives an unin­
teresting life performing her duties as the mistress of the house. Andres
has fought with the liberals and his somber life has been brightened by an
occurrence after the battle of Silao, near Guanajuato. The author chooses
to explain this happy event by portraying the current situation of Andres.
There is an idyllic portrayal of Andres, his wife Angela, and their small
daughter Magdalena, living on a farm which Andres owns and runs on a com­
munal basis.

All of the action in the novel is centered around Andre's and Magda­

lena. Pizarro builds the story around these two characters with a con­

siderable amount of skill, introducing only the necessary minor person­

ages. The denouement is concerned only with Andre's and Magdalena. The

story progresses in proper chronological order, the only unnecessary

background material being the history of the Malibran family and the

story of the beachcomber. The progress of the story is somewhat slow

as a result of the long discussions between Andre's and Magdalena about

love. Other ideas setting forth social and political ideas are more in­

teresting.
 -93-

The characters are more completely developed than those of El

monedero. Andre's is not very different from the ideal hero of the

time, but some fullness is added to his character by his feeling about

the loss of his hand. His calmness and considered liberalism are set

against the impetuosity and lack of political understanding of Rafael.

The idealism of Andre's--he defended the liberal cause without remunera­

tion— is set against the materialistic attitude of Don Leandro. The

merchant thinks that liberty cannot be worth much if money will not

buy it."*" Magdalena's friend, Juanita, furnishes the contrast to Mag­

dalena's character. Magdalena is known as a giddy coquette, but is

fundamentally a reasonable person. Juanita is a demure, gentle person,

who is fundamentally coquettish. The development of these characteris­

tics is sometimes accomplished through direct statement by the author,

but is frequently shown through action. The author uses the character

of Francisco to emphasize one of his arguments. Francisco is the ideal

faithful servant to Rafael. Andre's tries to persuade Francisco to have

p
tea with him, but Francisco does not think it suitable. The democratic

attitude of Andre's, however, so influences Francisco that he later gives

his life to save -that of Andres.

There are some essay-type digressions in the novel, but most of the

ideas are expressed through the mouths of the characters, as in the case

of racial equality mentioned above. Andres explains that the constitu­

tion has nothing to do with religion, and that the priests are too

1 Ibid., p. 56.
 -9ii-

frequently considered the church.1 The illness of Andres provides op­

portunity for more comment on the same subject. A confessor is called,

but refuses to administer last rites unless Andres will refute the con­

stitution. Andre's refuses and an argument ensues which worsens the con­

dition of Andres, and makes the priest obnoxious to all present, especi-

ally to the doctor, Juan Diaz Covarrubias.c Direct description is em-

/ o
ployed to explain the system used by Andres on his farm.-’

In spite of the fact that there is little action in La coqueta,

the reader* s interest is maintained by the ideas expressed and by the

characterizations. The prose of the present novel, as well as that of

El monedero, is facile; and the author has the ability to paint a fairly

realistic picture of sultry, unsanitary Veracruz.

CRESCENCIO CARRILLO Y ANCONA

The works of Carrillo y Ancona are interesting for their subject

matter rather than for their merit as fiction. The author was born in

Izamal, Yucatan, in 1836, was educated in Merida, and was active in re­

ligious affairs throughout his life. He became bishop of Yucatan in

1887. He was an eminent scholar, and he published works on theological,

archeological, and historical subjects, as well as fiction. He died in

his native state in 1897*

Carrillo y Ancona* s first work qf fiction, Historia de Welinna, was

published in 1862. A second edition appeared in 1883 and a third in

1 Ibid., p. 7£-8l.
2 Ibid., pp. 187-191.
3 Ibid., pp. 27U-276.
 -95-

1919- The edition of 1862 consists of seventy-eight pages. Santiago

Burgos Brito says of the novel:

La "Historia de Welinna" es una pequena novela que como pro-

ducto de la mente de un historiador, no es mis que presentar
al lector sus vastos conociroientos histiricos y las costumbres
del pueblo maya. Sus personajes son creaciones de una iraagi-
naciin poco exhuberante, no tienen vida propia, son singles
ficciones que, dado el papel que debian representar en la obra,
de propaganda religiosa, con puntas y ribetes de amores terre-
nales, no podran salir acabados de las manos de un escritor que
como el senor Carrillo, unia a su caracter sacerdotal su natural
tendencia a los estudios puramente cientificos; pero como no se
propuso escribir sino una leyenda historica, como tal, tiene ver-
dadera importancia y debe leerse como un amenusajno compendio de
la historia antigua de la peninsula de Yucatan.

The action of the story takes place in and around T-ho (Merida),
begins in the year l5Ul, and extends to 1550. Welinna, a Maya maiden,
is visited in a pastoral setting by her warrior betrothed, Yiban. Yi-
ban tells her that their king, Tutul Xiu, has decided to cease resis­
tance and become an ally of the Spaniards. Yiban is converted to
Christianity by Padre Hernandez, a priest with the Spanish army, be­
fore the battle between the Mayans who still resist and the Spanish
aruy with their newly acquired allies. The Spaniards win the battle,
but Yiban is taken prisoner with six other Mayas and two Spaniards.
Welinna runs to Yiban*s side as he is about to be sacrificed^ but the
enemy chief decides that he will sacrifice one prisoner each year.

The second part moves forward nine year to the time when Yiban is
supposed to be sacrificed. Pray Diego, a priest of Merida, tries to
inculcate Christian faith in Welinna. Later, when she is on the altar
preparing to die with Yiban, Fray Diego enters, stops the proceedings,
plants the cross in the place of the idol, and rescues the couple.
Welinna is converted, and Yiban rejoices in the fact that he is able
to take his wife in the name of Jesus Christ.

The work is of little value as a novel. The plot is elementary and

the characters are dim shadows. Nor is it a scholarly work. The author's

erudition is shown only through the fact that the book is a kind of sam­

pler of Carrillo's knowledge about his favorite subject. The prose is

1 Quoted in Juan B. Iguiniz: o£. cit., pp. 61-62.

 -96-

correct, but certainly uninspired. The interesting factor is the

author's use of Indian personages in a pastoral setting and "with noble

savage characteristics.

Carrillo did not publish any more literary works until 1886. He

published a few short pieces of little consequence between that time

and 1892, continuing the use of material from his native region. None

of these tales was published more than once. Two of them, El sanctuario

de la aldea, published in 1886, and El rayo del sol, published in 1892,

are tales of miraculous appearances of the Virgin in Yucatan. They are

told for the religious purpose that is evident in Historia de Welinna,

and show the same lack of imagination and the same precise prose.

JUAN PABLO DE LOS RIOS

Juan Pablo de los Rios is another novelist who, like Nicolas Piza-

rro, has left no record other than his fiction. Unfortunately, his

single novel does not reveal the ideas of the author as is the case with

Nicolas Pizarro. In his Revistas literarias, Altamirano regrets the death

of many literary men between the time of the North American Invasion and

the end of the French Intervention, and says that Rios died of sadness

and of fever while on board ship leaving his country.Commenting on the

literary work of Rios, Altamirano says that the author, at the time of

writing, had experienced the sweetness and bitterness of life and was in

a position to know all classes of society.^

1 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: op. cit., p. 5.

2 Ibid., p. £l.
 -97-

The author’s only novel, El oficial mayor, was published in 1861;.

It is set in Mexico City in 185-, and is written very much in the manner

of Jose Rivera y Rio. The plot is of the same kind, but is more ingeni­

ous. All the characters are carefully fitted into the plot; however, the

author does have to project the epilogue into the future in order to dis­

pose of all the characters satisfactorily. Except for one lengthy inter­

ruption used to relate the life story of one of the personages, the plot

is compact. Although the prose is not outstanding, it evidences greater

care than is found in most novels of the time.

In general, the characters lack distinction. They represent the

unscrupulous wealthy and the struggling middle class in a manner that

was common during the time. One personage of more than average interest

is General Hernandez, a soldier-politician of lowly birth whose activi­

ties are always directed to his social and political betterment. Rios

detracts from a good characterization by emphasizing the general's evil

to such an extent that he becomes unreal. Similar exaggeration is found

in the case of another potentially good characterization when the faith­

ful servant is caused to spend his entire life working for a master with

whom he has not been associated since the master's childhood. Other

characters are exaggerated in the same manner, but lack the potentiali­

ties of these two. It is particularly regretable that Rios did not grasp

the opportunity to create a truly Mexican character in the general.

El oficial mayor contains a great amount of detail on domestic

furnishings, clothing, and etiquette that is presented largely through

the author's description.

 -98-

LUIS G. INCLAN

Luis Inclan was born near Tlalpam, D. F. in 1816. He took a

course in philosophy in the Seminario Conciliar de Mexico, but his

love of the country caused him to return to the ranch where he was

born. He became the owner of the ranch and lived there until 182*7•

He then sold the ranch and came to Mexico City where he bought a print­

ing and lithographing establishment. Iguiniz says that Inclan collabo­

rated on several periodicals.^ In 1865, Inclan published Astucia, el

jefe de los hermanos de la hoja, o los charros contrabandistas de la

rama. He left two unpublished novels of customs when he died in Mexico

City in 1875.

There have been three editions of Astucia since its initial appear­

ance-—two in 1908 and another in 1922. Each edition is in two volumes.

The Bouret edition of 1908 consists of two volumes of four hundred and

thirty-six and four hundred and forty pages, respectively. Inclan is

generally considered the successor of Fernandez de Lizardi as the por­

trayer of the Mexican scene, and the novel is considered completely Mexi­

can. Federico Gamboa, speaking of Astucia and Manuel Payno •s Los bandidos

de Rio F r io says:

Esta "Astucia" de larguisimo tftulo, con ser novela cansada y

difusa, lo es menos que el "Periquillo," y su nacionalidad mexi-
cana mucho rai.s acentuada que la del inolvidable picaro. "Astucia"
y los "Bandidos" no se inspiraron en Gilblases ni otros sefiores
extranjerosj copian y reproducen lo nuestro sin toraar en cuenta
modelos ni ejemplos, influjos o pautas; antes, alardeando de un
localismo agresivo y soberano, que ensancha hasta lo trascendental
y realza hasta la hermosura sus cualidades y primores.^

1 Juan B. Iguiniz: op. cit., p. 175.

2 Federico Gamboa: o£. cit., p. 15.

 -99-

Mariano Azuela says that Inclan is "el autentico sucesor de Fer­

nandez de Lizardi" and that Astucia has something "tan medularmente

nuestro, que me atrevo a asegurar que desde ese punto de vista no ha

sido superado hasta nuestros d x a s , G o n z a l e z - P e n a follows Gamboa,

adding that its strong nationalistic flavor compensates for the novel1s
2
lack of artistic merit.

The story begins in Michoacan in I83U when the hero, Lorenzo, is

a child, and extends well into the hero's maturity. Having reached
the age of independence, Lorenzo is unsuccessful both in a love affair
and in his attempt to make a living. Finally he decides that his best
move is to join the "hermanos de la hoja." His father disapproves; but
on finding that Lorenzo has already given his word, Lorenzo's father in­
sists that he fulfill it. During the initiation ceremony, Lorenzo takes
the alias "Astucia" from an advice given him by his father: "con astucia
y reflexion se aprovecha la ocasion.1'^ Astucia becomes chief of the her­
manos. The story of the activities of the hermanos is interrupted by the
stories of the lives of various members of the band. These stories are
told around the campfire and are integrated, to some extent, with the
principal action. The story of "Pepe el diablo" involves the mistreatment
of his father by a wealthier man, and Pepe's plot to avenge himself. The
story of another member, Tacho Reniego, tells of his varied love life.
He is currently attracted by Camila, the relative of a friend of the
hermanos. However, Tacho is still attracted also by a woman whom his
father has forbidden him to marry. Pepe, remembering the motto of the
hermanos, "todos para uno, uno para todos,"h goes to Tacho's father
and finds that the latter is against the marriage because the girl is
the illegitimate daughter of a former prostitute who now pretends to be
a respectable woman. Disguised as an old lover, Pepe threatens to ex­
pose the former prostitute unless she moves away. The woman and her
daughter leave, aid Tacho's complete attention is turned to Camila, of
whom his father approves.

1 Mariano Azuela: Cien afios de novela mexicana, Mexico, 1 9 h 7 , p.

2 Carlos Gonzalez-Pena: og. cit., pp. 2 3 h - 2 3 $ .

3 Luis G. Inclan: Astucia, jefe de los hermanos de la hoja; o los

charros contrabandistas de la raxna, Paris-Mexico, T$08, Vol. I, p. 139.

ii Ibid., Vol. I, p. 133.

 -100-

There are incidents of conflict, the best of which are provoked

by the opposition toward the hermanos of another and less honorable
outlaw called "el Buldog." In the openingq^isode of the second volume
el Buldog and his men are defeated by the hermanos. The story of an­
other of the brothers, Alejo Delgado, follows. He tells of his adven­
tures as a spendthrift and of his affair with the immoral Remedios,
who tries to extort money from him.

The wife of Pepe el diablo dies and all the brothers weep. This
episode is followed by the story of Jose Morales. Jose spends his
youth in the household of a clergyman who acts as Josh's tutor in re­
turn for the latter*s services. Jose acts as go-between for Elisa, a
young girl of the household, and Don Carlos, the village blade. The
romance does not culminate, and Jose marries Elisa. However, Jose's
financial situation requires Elisa's working, and she deserts him when
Don Carlos returns to the village. Don Carlos, in turn, deserts Elisa,
and the latter then asks Jose/fs forgiveness. Jose supports her, but
will not accept her as his wife.

In a battle with an enemy of overwhelming numbers, all the members

of the band are killed except Astucia, who thinks he is dying, but is
saved by a friendly doctor. Astucia is imprisoned, but he escapes and
takes vengeance on the condemning judge by writing him a letter of grati­
tude as if the judge had helped him escape. The letter is intercepted
and the judge imprisoned.

Through a loose interpretation of honesty, Astucia sets himself

up as "Coronel Astucia, jefe de la Seguridad Publica." He does this
so he may be in a position to care for the families of the other her­
manos, having been deterred from suicide by his conscience in the form
of his dead father's voice. Astucia falls in love with an honorable
woman, Amparo, but they cannot be married for fear that Astucia's iden­
tity will be discovered. The two lovers take oaths of fidelity and
Amparo becomes Astucia's mistress. After Astucia has accomplished his
goal of assisting the families of his friends, he loses his power. He
starts the rumor of his death and disappears for a time. Then he re­
turns, reassumes his real name, and is legally married to Amparo.

The foregoing synopsis gives some idea of the structure of the

novel and of the kind of material used. It cannot give an accurate

description of the quality for which the novel is commonly praised— its

Mexicanism. Considering the structure of the novel, one finds that it

is a mass of poorly organized material in purely arbitrary divisions

that are called chapters. The main plot which is centered around the
 -101-

life of Astucia is frequently broken by the many minor plots that are

poorly connected with the main plot, when they are connected at all.

Inclan's ability as a stylist is as questionable as his ability in plot

construction.

The atmosphere of rural life is consistent throughout the novel,

in spite of the irregular plot construction. This accomplishment is

due to the author's choice of characters. The large majority of them

are rural people, people with whom Inclan was intimately acquainted.

It is obvious that the author was sufficiently free of foreign influ­

ences to enable him to create genuine Mexican characters. He is not,

however, a complete stranger to his time. Azuela points to the similar­

ity of the initiation ceremony to that in The Three Musketeers.^- The

plot construction reminds one of Jose Rivera y R^o. The gentle treat­

ment of women, the weeping men, and Astucia1s inclination to kill him­

self are all typical of the time. However, the very fact that Astucia's

suicidal hand is deterred is an example of the "honor ranchero" which

Azuela considers a typical expression of Mexicanism.^ The same thing is

seen early in the novel when Lorenzo's father insists that he keep his

word. It is interesting to note that Lorenzo's father does not weep on

this occasion, but all the members of the band of outlaws weep when the

wife of Pepe el diablo dies. This mixture of sentiment and stoicism is

seen throughout the novel.

There are no completely developed characters in the novel. Astucia

is certainly the most complete. There are no classified types. The merit

1 Mariano Azuela: og. cit., p. 61;.

2 Ibid., p. 62.
 -102-

of the character portrayal rests on the fact that by portraying many

people ■whose characters complement each other, Inclan creates a group

of characters that are obviously Mexican. The national flavor for

which the novel is praised is created more through the characters than

through the plot. The flavor is enhanced by the use of rural expressions.
/ /
Inclan's position as a successor to Fernandez de Lizardi rests

solely on the fact that both of them express Mexicanism. Astucia has

been called a picaresque novel.^ Although the episodic nature of the

novel gives it something of the appearance of a picaresque novel, there

are obvious reasons why Astucia cannot be compared with the work of

Fernandez de Lizardi on that basis. In an evaluation of the two men,

the most important consideration is their purpose. Fernandez de Lizar­

di wrote with a didactic purpose. He succeeded and, in addition, achieved

a work of some artistic merit and of strong Mexicanism. Inclan's purpose

was to write a novel. Strictly speaking, he failed, but produced a work

of strongly Mexican flavor though of questionable artistic merit.

1 Juan B. Iguiniz: o£. cit., p. 175*

 CHAPTER IV

THE AMATORY NOVEL FROM 1867 TO THE

PREDOMINANCE OF REALISM

The superficial calm immediately following the war with the United

States was interrupted when the Reform Movement became an open and de­

termined conflict in January of 1858. This movement provided the liber­

als with the direction and purpose that had been lacking throughout the

preceding period of anarchy. The issues were clear on both sides j but

the strong opposition of the conservatives and the division of the liber­

als into moderates and radicals were to keep the country unsettled for

many years. The War of Reform ended with the liberals in power after

three years of bloody conflict. Not long after their success, the liber­

als made a diplomatic blunder which gave the conservatives an opportunity

to support the establishment of a monarchy, and the state of unrest con­

tinued until the fall of Maximilian in 1867. This date marks the triumph

of liberalism which, although crippled during the rule of Porfirio Diaz,

had established itself as a unified force. The date also marks the begin­

ning of an era of peace which lasted until 1910 except for the struggle

to power of Porfirio I)£az from 1875 to 1877.

Romanticism and liberalism are closely identified with each other

during the years of turmoil in Mexico, and the large majority of the

writers of prose fiction belonged to the Romantic-liberal group. After

the beginning of the War of Reform, the production of prose fiction almost

ceased. The only novelist who produced most of his work during that period
 -10U-

was Juan Diaz Covarrubias. More prose fiction was written after the

triumph of the liberals under Juarez and some was written during the

reign of Maximilian, but the quantity was decidedly less than it had

been during the years immediately preceding the War of Reform. Many

novelists were either in exile or completely engaged in the struggle

against the Intervention. Once liberalism and political calm had been

reestablished, the novelists again turned their attention to literature.

Literary men realized that Mexican literature had become almost nonex­

istent during the turmoil of the Reform Movement and the Intervention,

and they saw the necessity of conscious encouragement of literary pro­

duction. This attitude was a common one among writers, and it brought

them together for purposes of literary encouragement with no distinc­

tions made for political affiliations. In the novel, there was the

necessity not only of a revival of interest in novel production, but

also of the creation of interest in the portrayal of Mexico. It would

be unjust to say that the novel before I867 contained no Mexicanism, but

it can be stated certainly that the European models were too much imita­

ted and too little adapted. The leader of the new movement in litera­

ture, and especially in the novel, was Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, whose

plea was that European novels be studied but not copied. Altamirano's

attitude toward foreign literature was the same one that led to the

gradual turn to Realism.

In addition to his desire for the improvement of novelists as

writers, Alta m i r ano wanted the novel to be used for didactic purposes.

The Mexicanism that he pleaded for involved more than the simple portrayal
 -105-

of customs and places— it involved a portrayal of the soul of Mexico

and a teaching of values from the liberal point of view. That Alta­

mirano was frequently misunderstood will be seen in the remainder of

this chapter and in the one that follows. However, it is equally true

that real Mexicanism became increasingly apparent. Moreover, the purely

amatory novels became fewer in proportion to the novels of customs. The

amatory novels did persist to some extent in the same tradition of love,

frequently supported by foreign glamor, that had existed before 1867.

There are, however, relatively few novels that emphasize the amatory

element to the practical exclusion of everything else. The trend of

the time as expressed by Altamirano was toward the novel of customs.

The amatory novels were anachronisms.

LORENZO ELIZAGA

Lorenzo Elizaga, journalist and novelist, was an editor of El Eco

de Ambos Mundos in 187-U-- His only novel, Mauricio el ajusticiado o una

persecueion masonica, was published in 1869* The novel is interesting

principally because of the author's ability to organize the material

necessary for a novel whose action takes place in several places and over

a period of twenty to thirty years.

The story opens in an Italian town with the seduction of Marietta

by a Spanish gentleman of Cadiz, Fernando de Gonzaga. When Mauricio,
the child of this illicit union, is about seven years of age, he is kid­
napped by his father. Marietta drowns herself, and Ludovico, who loves
Marietta, kills Fernando. The elder Gonzaga, an honorable old gentle­
man, cares for Mauricio until the former is ruined financially by some
of the thugs involved in the kidnapping of Mauricio. Meanwhile, Ludo­
vico has set out in search of Mauricio who now lives with the elderly
 -106-

Antonio, a former servant in the Gonzaga household. Antonio sends

Mauricio to Mexico to work for a merchant, Don Marcos.Ludovico finds
the hidden Gonzaga fortuneand goes to Mexico.

Once in Mexico, Don Marcos encourages Mauricio*s study of painting.

Mauricio falls in love with the elegant Luisa, but sinks into bitterness
and disillusionment when her father wishes to buy a painting that Mauri­
cio has made of her. Encouraged by his friend, Ramon, Mauricio marries
Maria, a model who becomesa jealous, disagreeable wife.

His quest for companionship leads Mauricio to joinaMasonic order,

on the insistence of his friend, Manuel, Having no money, Mauricio pays
his fees with paintings, only to find out later that Manuel is keeping
them for himself. Mauricio and Ramon threaten to expose Manuel; but the
latter, through a skillful plot, causes the members of their order to be­
lieve that Mauricio has betrayed some of the secrets of the order, causes
Maria to believe that Mauricio is unfaithful so that she takes poison,
and causes the police to believe that Mauricio has murdered his wife.
Mauricio is condemned to death and executed. Ludovico, a member of the
same Masonic order, discovers the treachery of Manuel and kills him with
a Masonic dagger.

The only apparent purpose of the novel is to tell something about

Freemasonry. The author states that he used two sources: Clavel, Histo­

ria pintoresca de la Francmasonerxa and Cesar Moreau, Compendio de la

francmasoneria, su or^gen, su historia, sus doctrinas, etc.^ A large

part of the novel is not concerned with this subject at all. The preface

and the relatively few digressions are concerned with Freemasonry. All

that is shown of Freemasonry in the story itself is presented after Mau­

ricio comes to Mexico; and the only remnant of Mauricio*s former life that

appears after that time is Ludovico. Except for the role of Mauricio*s

order, the story after his coming to Mexico is a typical amatory novel of

the time. In the use of foreign settings, Elizaga differs from his con­

temporaries in that he does not emphasize their glamor. In spite of the

1 Lorenzo Elizaga: Mauricio el ajusticiado, Mexico, 1869, p. 399.

 -107-

peculiarities of the novel, Elizaga has enough narrative ability to

keep the stoiy moving and the reader interested. One finds the exag­

gerations and improbabilities of the time, but the use of more dialog

than was customary among his contemporaries makes Elizaga1s novel more

readable.

The characterization is slight. It is incomplete and the person­

ages are hardly advanced above the stage of being good or bad. A few

types appear in minor roles, especially among the neighbors of Antonio.

One of the more interesting is "un folletinista que escribia a un tiempo

cuatro novelas para otros tantos periodicos. Other members of the

lower and middle classes appear as criminals in a tavern in Cadiz and

as "tertulianos" in the shop of Don Marcos. None of these personages

receives detailed -treatment.

The death of Mauricio occurs during the reign of Maximilian, and

the story dates back from there. History has nothing to do with the

plot, nor does the novel pretend to treat the social evils of the time.

It bears some similarity to such novels, and the general tone is the

same, with the pessimism of the author recalling Pantaleon Tovar rather

more strongly than any of his other contemporaries.

LUIS G. ORTIZ

Luis G. Ortiz, better known as a poet and translator than as a

novelist, was b o m in Mexico in 1832. He attended the "Colegio de

Minerxa" and the "Colegio de San Juan Letr/n." After having served

1 Ibid., p. 156.
 ■108-

in the Secretarxa de Hacienda, Ortiz left Mexico in 1865 and spent

several years traveling in Europe. On his return he was made director

of the Diario Oficial and later resumed his former duties. He was a

member of several literary and scientific societies, among them the

"Liceo Hidalgo." Ortiz died in Mexico City in l69li.

Iguxniz cites an 1871 edition of the author’s first novel,

Angelica.^- There is an edition of 1872 that has the same bibliographi­

cal data. The novel is signed and dated 1866. Its sub-title is "Re-

cuerdos de un viaje a Italia" and, except for the exaltation of the

glamor of foreign lands, it is a purely amatory novel.

Carlos del Bosque, a Spanish-American who is on a tour of Italy,

is attracted to the mysterious Angelica. She and Carlos visit the
interesting places of Rome and Florence, providing the author oppor­
tunity for a kind of travelogue.

/ Carlos accompanies Angelica to Belgium, her native land. Here

Angelica meets some old friends and the pangs of jealousy make Carlos
conscious of his love. Angelica returns Carlos’ love, but they remain
silent until a declaration is effected through the strategy of their,
servants, Nancy and Fritz, who make use of Carlos' jealousy and Ange­
lica's tuberculosis to bring it about.

Carlos discovers that Angelica is the daughter of an unidentified

prince. The two lovers go, accompanied by the servants, to Angelica's
castle where they live in blissful and purely idealistic love. Ange­
lica spends the days holding Carlos' hand and being kind to the peasants.
Fritz and Nancy are married. This idyllic existence continues until
Carlos receives a telegram saying that his mother is ill. He leaves
with Angelica's blessing, because she could not love an ungrateful man.

The plot's one distinction is its simplicity. It has no purpose

other than to combine an idealistic love affair with foreign glamor,

producing an unreal effect which the author tries diligently to enhance

by the use of poetic prose.

1 Juan B. Iguxniz: op. cit., p. 2k9»

 -109-

La noche hab£a ya enlutada el triste cielo de la ciudad de

las siete colinas.l

The story is at no time credible, and though the novel is pervaded

by goodness, it is also pervaded by melancholy. The characters are quite

clearly seen, but they are as impossible as the plot. The few minor char­

acters are of no importance. The two lovers and the two servants are im­

bued with a celestial goodness that is never mitigated.

The novel does not reveal the slightest evidence of Mexicanism.

Ortiz was later to come under the influence of Altamirano, but tiis novel

was written before that time. The second novel by Ortiz, El vizconde de

Muhldorf, was also published in 18?1, and is also foreign to Mexico.

Gonzalez Obregon cites a third novel, Petra's de la nube un angel, as hav-

2
ing been published in 1887.

JKANCISCO SOSA

Francisco Sosa was born in Campeche in l81|8. He began and completed

his education in Merida and devoted himself to literature from that time

until his death in Coyoacan in 1925. He was poet, journalist, historian,

biographer, critic, and novelist. He was a member of many learned soci­

eties including the "Liceo Hidalgo.” In addition to his literary activity,

he was interested in the politics of the day and filled several public of­

fices, including that of deputy to the National Congress. From 1909 until

1913, Sosa was director of the ”Biblioteca Nacional.”

1 Luis G. Ortiz: Angelica, Mexico, 1872, p. 20.

2 Luis Gonzalez 0breg8n: Breve noticia de los novelistas mexicanos

en el siglo xix, Mexico, 1889, p. 32.
 -110-

The prose fiction of Francisco Sosa is contained in a volume en­

titled Doce leyendas de Francisco Sosa, published in 1877. Three of

the stories contained in this volume were published separately: Mag­

dalena and El Doctor Cupido were published in 1871 and 1873> respectively,

and Una venganza was published without date. The stories of this collec­

tion vary in length from around thirty pages to around eighty pages. The

amount and kind of material vary greatly; the treatment affords some

novelettes and some short stories.

The first of the "leyendas”, En el mar, is similar to many short,

amatoiy novels, containing the situation of the ideal love, the heroine

who dies and the hero who finds his happiness in the memory of her. The

story is simple— a fact that must be attributed to the author* s good

taste, because the novel contains all the basic requirements for a story

of many amorous involvements.

Sosa, however, is faithful to a single theme. He is unable to tell

an interesting story because he is primarily interested in the exaltation

of love. The characters are very poorly done, with no more development

than is necessary to create the melancholy atmosphere.

Magdalena is similar in tone to the preceding story. It is the story

of an unfaithful lover, her ultimate unhappiness, and the contrasting hap­

piness of the virtuous hero with Magdalena*s opposite. The plot is pre­

sented against a background of the War of the French Intervention, but

the historical element is unimportant.

Amor ^ venganza has an historical setting in Campeche in the year

1597. It is the story of the idyllic love of a fisherman and his sweet­

heart which is interrupted when the jealous Venturate leads a band of

 -Ill-

English pirates in the sacking of the town. The situation is superior

to those of the former stories, but the sixteen pages do not allow the

detail that would make the story real.

El Doctor Cupido is the stoiy of a dying girl who is saved by the

sight of her beloved, and the ensuing parental consent which had been

withheld. Sosa spends fifty-six pages in the telling of this purely

amatory episode which, though it is not unpleasant, does not present

the possibilities that are found in Amor y venganza.

A more real situation is found in La hoja seca, an interesting

variation on the purely amatory story.

Enriqueta.has a stupid sweetheart simply because she feels that

every girl should have a sweetheart. One day while sitting in the
Alameda, Enriqueta scribbles "te amo" on a dry leaf. The stupid Ata-
nasio comes by at that time and, thinking the message is for someone
else, becomes jealous. Enriqueta is disgusted and tosses the leaf
away. It falls near Carlos, a young man who she has previously met
at a dance, and at their next meeting they express their mutual love.

The compact situation, ideal for a short story, is unnecessarily prolonged

over a space of nineteen pages.

El privado is set in Merida in 1677. Both the viceroy and his favo­

rite are unsuccessful in carrying out their designs on Elena who finally

marries her sweetheart. The favorite is seen with some clarity as he is

motivated by jealousy to betray the viceroy's plan.

Un protector is the story of a man who is imprisoned because of his

attempt to kill his wife's seducer. The story is left without solution,

the seducer trying to have the husband condemned to death. Its tone is

similar to that of Por una madrasta in which two women marry for conveni­

ence— one for money, the other for personal freedom. Both of them succumb
 -112'

to illicit romantic love and receive just retribution. Still in the

same tone is Una venganza, anundistinguished story in which a jealous

woman seeks to confuse a more beautiful rival about the worth of two

suitors. The longest story of this group and, strangely enough, the one

with the slightest plot, is Luisa, the story of a girl who is encouraged

by her parents to marry for convenience. Finding her marriage an unhappy

one, she accepts two former suitors as lovers and gradually sinks into

moral degradation.

Sosa portrays an unusual situation in El sueno de la magnetizada.

Julio leaves his sweetheart, Maria, for a trip abroad. During his
absence she accidently breaks off a needle in her finger. Her father,
a doctor who is interested in hypnosis, hypnotizes her to l^Lll the pain
when he removes the needle. Under the hypnotic spell, Maria dreams that
Julio is lost in a shipwreck. This tragedy actually happens and Maria
wastes away and dies on the day when she and Julio were supposed to have
been married.

There is no characterization, and the effect of the story is ridiculous

rather than mysterious.

The last of the stories, Rosalinda, concerns a girl who is able to

marry the man of her choice following the death of her mother who wished

her to make a marriage of convenience. The heroine's father, a gentleman

of extraordinary common sense, approves his daughter's choice.

In plot development, Sosa has very little sense of proportion. The

length of the story is frequently inconsistent with the amount of action

involved. There is very little real digression, but some scenes, parti­

cularly those of amorous contemplation, are prolonged. This lack of pro­

portion is evident in the more unusual stories as well as in the trite,

 -113-

amatory stories where it might more logically be expected. Most of the

stories are condensed novels rather than short stories; remembering simi­

lar works by other writers of the time, Sosa's good taste is evident in

the simplicity of his plots. He was frequently concerned with the creation

of a melancholy effect but found little success.

On the whole, Sosa's characters do not live, because he too often

used them simply as a means for gaining the desired effect. Occasionally,

however, a personage is seen with enough clarity to fill in the shadow.

Sosa does not portray types, and there is nothing about the characters

in his stories to identify them as Mexican. With the exception of some

historical allusions, the stories contain little Mexican flavor. There

is no more portrayal of customs than can be seen in the usual story of

courtship and faithful and unfaithful lovers and spouses. Most of the

stories are sufficiently simple to be credible and this is their princi­

pal claim to reality. Sosa frequently grants his lovers an exaggerated

sentimentality in his desire to create a melancholy atmosphere.

VICENTE MORALES

This novelist, journalist and dramatist was editor of El Monitor

in 1877. He had already presented one drama at that time, and later

presented SofJia in 1879. The publication dates of his novels extend

from 1872 until 1880.

Morales' first novel, Silverla de Epinay, is set in Paris in l8lii.

It is an amatory tale, complicated by intrigue which fails to make the

 -Hi­

story interesting. The author attests to add glamor by having the hero

killed while fighting for Napoleon at Waterloo.

Neither the plot nor its presentation shows any commendable ability

as a narrator. The injection of history serves only to provide an heroic

end for Renato, but it is a device which may well have given the novel a

certain amount of popular appeal. Its characters are the standard ones

for this kind of novel: weeping men, faithful friends, ambitious mother

who sees her mistake too late, and thoroughly unscrupulous villain. These

personages are mere shadows cast over a stage filled with the author's

exaggerated sentimentality. The novel portrays no Mexicanism. It does

not portray society, nor even humanity.

In a preface to the novel, Juan de Dios Peza commends the moral im­

port of the novel in general and of this novel in particular, saying the

story is true to life.^ This novel and the judgment of it by Juan de

Dios Peza are excellent examples of how Altamirano was misunderstood

when he referred to morality.

Morales' second novel, Brnestina, was published in 1873* It con­

sists of only thirty pages and is dedicated to Juan de Dios Peza. Set

in Madrid at an unstated time in the nineteenth century, it is the story

of a wife who is almost seduced by a family friend who has a nearly irre­

sistible attraction for her. She confesses her dilanma to her husband,

and he removes the obstacle to their happiness by killing the friend. An

argument between two of the personages gives the author opportunity to

air his views on Rousseau. The situation presented in this novel is more

1 Vicente Morales: Silveria de Epinay, Mexico, 1872, Prologo.

 -115-

real than that of Silveria de Ephnay; otherwise it is inferior to the

earlier novel.

Gentes de historia, Morales' third novel, was published in 1873

and again in I87I*. The scene is Mexico City in i860, immediately after

the defeat of the reactionary forces. Set against a flimsy historical

background is an involved story of several love affairs in which amorous

triangles and quadrangles are considered commonplace. In spite of the

fact that the action takes place in Mexico, there is no real Mexicanism.

The historical element is negligible— the author states that different

persons served on different sides, one wealthy man contributes money to

the reactionary cause, one of the heroes is killed while fighting against

the French Intervention. The plot is full of improbabilities because

Morales' attempt to connect the various love affairs is awkward. The

novel also suffers from too many characters on the same level of impor­

tance. The good and bad persons are not so categorized by their politi­

cal beliefs, but are mixed. There is, however, a very definite line of

demarcation between good and bad persons on the basis of superficial

morality. Beyond this and the exaltation of the idealistic type of

person there is no characterization. Morales sees that justice is granted

each personage according to his merits.

In I87 U 3 Morales published Angela, a tale of some forty pages, and

Gerardo, a full-length novel. Gerardo is the story of a man's moral de­

gradation, with emphasis on the evil of gambling. The setting is Mexico

City sometime during the nineteenth century. The plot is better organized

than that of Gentes de historia, but there are even more improbabilities.
 -116-

The author*s lack of ability as a narrator is seen in the use of two

personages for no other purpose than to bring about the duel between

two others. Although there is some criticism of society in the novel,

the author's real purpose seems to be the weaving of a complicated plot.

The didactic element is directed toward the moral issue rather than

toward that problem in its relation to Mexican society. Gerardo's fall

into moral degradation is the study of what can happen to one man, rather

than a study of society.

Morales' characterization is poor. There is no evident reason for

the hero's start on the road to evil; and rehabilitation of such a per­

son through one love, which had previously meant no more to him than

many other loves, seems highly improbable. Occasionally, a character

can be clearly seen. The heroine, Julia, enters a convent and later re­

grets her action. The progress of her thought, leading to her escape,

is creditably shown. It is unlikely, however, that even Julia's deter­

mination would lead her to the extreme of burning the convent. In this

manner, all of Morales' characterizations are incomplete, and inconsis­

tent even within their degree of completion.

A sixth novel, El esceptico, was published in i860.

VICTORIANO AGUEROS

The fame of Victoriano Agiieros rests on his publication of the

Biblioteca de autores mexicanos rather than on his slight original work;

but one of his works, Leyenda de navidad, deserves mention as an amatory

 -117-

novel with uncommon moderation for a work of its kind. Born in Tlal-

chapa (Gro.) in 1 Q % , Agueros studied in Mexico City and prepared for

a career in law, but entered journalism in 1871, and soon after was made

editor of La Iberia. He collaborated on other periodicals and founded

El Tiempo in 1883 and remained at the head of the enterprise until his

death in 1911, He died in Paris where he had gone after representing

Mexico at the coronation of George V of England.

A volume by Agueros entitled Dos leyendas was published in 1877

and contains the Leyenda de navidad and an epistolary novel entitled

Paginas xntimas. Gomez Flores says:

La segunda novela, denominada Paginas xntimas, esta constitujjda

por una serie de cartas de un nobiiisimo enamorado, que plantean
la exposicion del argumento, y que ya al final se desenvuelve
con la sencilla narracicmque el autor hace de los ultimos aconi­
tecimientos que el protagonista deja de referir en sus cartas.

Leyenda de navidad was published separately in 1879.

Amelia is the daughter of a wealthy family and leads a sheltered

life. Felipe walks by her house every day, looks at her in church, and
gives other such signs of being in love with her. After two years of
this flirtation, Felipe writes her a love letter which Amelia coyly re­
turns. Felipe is offended and does not press his suit. On Christmas
Eve, Amelia goes to a party at the home of her friend Emilia whom she
has not seen for several months. She learns that Felipe is going to
marry Emilia and that he has confessed to Emilia that he has loved just
once before and his love was rejected.

The story is supposedly told with nostalgic effect on the following

Christmas Eve. Here is the novel's most obvious fault. The story has

nothing to do with Christmas Eve, and Agueros does not have the ability

to create nostalgia that Altamirano shows in La navidad en las montafias.

1 Quoted in Victoriano Agueros: Obras literarias, Mexico, 1897,

p. XX.
 -118-

The reality of the present novel comes through the simplicity. The in­

sertion of too many letters, the lack of action, the incomplete charac­

terization are all to be dispraised. Without including in the novel any­

thing that is eminently Mexican, Agueros presents a novel with the sole

purpose of recounting a love story, but without the foreign glamor that

is frequently characteristic of such novels written in nineteenth century

Mexico. It is a little exaggerated, but it is not absurd. These quali­

ties place it on the edge of the tradition of La navidad en las montanas

and Isaacs' Maria, but its lack of "costumbrismo" and the author's short­

comings as a narrator keep the novel from taking a place beside them.

JOSE RAFAEL GUADALAJARA

Jose Rafael Guadalajara, poet, journalist, and novelist, was born

in Mexico City in 1863. His single novel was first published in 1891

with the title Sara. It was published again in 1899 with the title

Amalia and a third, undated edition with the same title. All three edi­

tions are sub-titled "Paginas del primer amor." The prologue of the

third edition was signed by the author in Mexico City in 1911, and the

author says that the novel was written twenty-four years before. The

setting of the novel is Mexico City in 1883 when the author was twenty

years old, and the novel is written as an autobiography. About one-half

of the novel consists of the hero's letters to Amalia and his talks with

her when she is on her balcony. In this novel, the heroine's illness

leads to insanity rather than to death.

 -119-

The progress of Amalia's illness is not credible from a medical

standpoint; but granted this misunderstanding, the story may well be

true. There is very little narrative, none until the second half of

the novel. Like many of the earlier amatory novels, it is meant to do

nothing more than create an atmosphere of goodness, exalted love, and

melancholy. The two main characters are perfect examples of virtue and

have no other qualities. The author makes no attempt to put life into

the other characters, with the possible exception of the priest who is

presented as a good and sympathetic man.

A novel written at this time could hardly be completely free of

the attempt to portray Mexicanism, but this element is slight in Amalia.

The author describes Holy Week in Mexico City, and shows his weakness

in this attempt by making a large part of the chapter direct quotation

from Un ano en Mexico by Gustavo A. Baz. The only other glimmer of

Mexicanism is the rustic speech of one of the peasants on the hacienda.

This feeble Mexicanism is not a real part of the novel. The novel re­

mains essentially amatory.

1 Jose Rafael Guadalajara: Amalia, Mexico, n.d., chapter xxii.

 CHAPTER V

THE NOVEL OF CUSTOMS

FROM 1867 TO THE PREDOMINANCE OF REALISM

The feeling of the literary leaders in Mexico during the years

following 1867 is expressed partially in the name of Altamirano!s

periodical, El Renaciroiento. The dearth of literature that had been

caused by the War of Reform and by the French Intervention was recog­

nized and regretted by writers of all political faiths. The desire to

recreate interest in literary production brought together men like Alta-

mirano and Manuel Payno, Ignacio Ramirez and Roa Barcena. The leader

of the movement was Altamirano who gave it voice through the establish­

ment of El Renacimiento, through the revival of the old "Liceo Hidalgo,”

and through his own literary work. Altamirano saw the desirability of

using European models for the study of technique. He believed, however,

that the results of such study should be applied to the cultivation of

a genuinely Mexican novelj and he believed that the novel could be used

to teach the morality that is found in basic honesty and order. The

ideas of Altamirano were immediately accepted to some extent by most of

his contemporaries; but the development of a truly Mexican novel was to

accompany the development of Realism.

The most obvious tendency of the novel after 1867 was away from the

panoramic view of society. The novelists paid more attention to charac­

terization and to specific setting. The novel of customs, which had pre­

viously tended to be long, found cultivators of the short novel in two of

 -121-

the best novelists of the period, Altamirano and Jose Tomas de Cuellar.

Very long novels were not infrequent, however, as in the case of Manuel

Martinez de Castro. Generally speaking, even the long novels were bet­

ter organized than were their predecessors, and social criticism was

more specific.

Under the influence of Altamirano’s ideas, foreign novels took on

a new importance in Mexico. Certainly the acceptance of foreign ideas

was nothing new in Mexico, nor was the use of European novels as models

at all strange to Mexican novelistsj but after 1867, there was an in­

creasing tendency to study novel technique rather than slavishly imitate.

It was this study that brought Realism into Mexican prose fiction. At

the same time, a tendency that had always existed in Mexican fiction to

some extent was leading directly to Realism. This tendency was a native

or natural realism that had existed through the "costumbrista" approach

in the works of certain novelists from Fernandez de Lizardi to Cuellar.

The infiltration of Realism into Mexican fiction was slow. The first

prose fiction that can unquestionably be called Realistic was the work

of Emilio Rabasa, but many evidences of Realism can be seen in earlier

works which are essentially Romantic. The best example of the change

in a single novelist may be seen in the case of Manuel Payno, whose

literary career extended over the years in such a way that he progressed

from the characteristics in the natural realism of the Lizardi tradition

to those found in the novels produced by Realism in France and in Spain.

 -122-

IGNACIO MANUEL ALTAMIRANO

Carlos Gonzalez-Pena thinks that, from a strictly literary point

of view, Altamirano may be considered the first Mexican novelist. The

following discussion of his works will largely justify the opinion of

Gonzalez-Pena. Altamirano's understanding of fictional literature and

his influence on the other writers of his time make him the most import­

ant Mexican novelist before Realism.

Altamirano was born of Indian parents in Tixtla, in the present

state of Guerrero, in 183^1• Until the age of fourteen he lived in pov­

erty and ignorance, not even speaking Spanish. At this time, his father

was elected "alcalde" of the village, and the boy came to the attention

of the schoolmaster. So began an amazingly active career of scholarship,

literary endeavor, and public service.

Altamirano won a scholarship to the Instituto Literario de Toluca

and began his studies there in 181$. His success as a scholar caused him

to be named librarian of the school. This experience was probably one of

the most important influences on his career. Gonzalez Obreg^n says that

"ahx fue donde nutrio su espxritu de saber y erudicion."^ Here also he

studied literature under Ignacio Raroxrez, that iconoclast who left the

imprint of his spirit on all who knew him.

The years following found Altamirano in several posts: teacher of

French in a private school, dramatist; and theatrical producer. He

1 Carlos Gonzalez Pena: o£. cit., p. 301.

2 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: Obras. Tomo I. Rimas.Artxculos

literarios, Mexico, 1899 . Noticia biografica by Luis Gonzalez Obregon,
p. vi.
 -123-

entered the "Colegio de San Juan Letran" in Mexico City, but withdrew

in l85i* to carry arms for the liberal cause during the revolution. He

returned to his study of law, and he became the moving spirit of a

group of young intellectuals of liberal ideas. He became a deputy to

the National Congress in 1861, and again fought for the liberal cause

against the French Intervention, attaining the rank of colonel.

In 1867, Altamirano, with Ignacio Ramirez and Guillermo Prieto,

founded El Correo de Mexico. His greatest contribution through the

medium of journalism came in 1869 with the founding of El Renacimiento.

This periodical is the written expression of Altamirano's attempt to

rejuvenate, purify, and Mexicanize literary production in his country.

His journalistic endeavors included the editorship of El siglo XIX,

El Monitor Republicano, and La Libertad. He contributed to many peri­

odicals, El Semanario Ilustrado and El Federalista being among the more

important. Nor did his influence stop with journalism. He was a member

of many literary and scientific societies, founded a society of dramatic

authors, served as officer of others, and, most important of all, revived

the old "Liceo Hidalgo," which served a purpose similar to that of the

periodical, El Renacimiento.

Altamirano was active in politics and in education until his death,

with an increasing attention to education in the later years. He served

as Fiscal de la Suprema Corte de Justicia, Procurador General de la Na-

cion, Oficial Mayor de la Secretaria de Fomento, Professor of Administra­

tive Law in the National School of Commerce, Professor of General and

Mexican History in the School of Jurisprudence, and Professor of Philosophy

in the same institution.

 -12k-

He was appointed Consul General in Spain in 1889, and discharged

similar duties in France before his death in 1893* He died in San Remo,

Italy, where he had gone for the sake of his health. He was cremated

and his ashes sent to Mexico for internment.

Altamirano’s ideas and interest in literature may be found in many

genres: poetry, novel, speeches, costumbrista sketches, criticism, and

even a mediocre drama entitled Morelos en Cuauhtla which he wrote and

produced before coming to Mexico to enter the "Colegio de San Juan

Letran. ” The author has left many evidences of his genius throughout

his work, but his interests were so varied that he did not leave a

large body of work in any one genre. His poetry was published in one

volume. His novels, refreshing as they are because of the author’s good

taste, are not really complete novels.

Altamirano's genius was too short of flight to create full-length

novels, and he lacked the organizing ability necessary to present
his excellent material in impressive plots. As a result, his works
are little more than short stories.1

Two of Altamirano’s novels, Clemencia and El Zarco, have considerably

more claim to be called novels than have the author’s other fictional

works. I* navidad en las montanas is neither novel nor short story.

Las tres flores, Antonia, and Julia are short stories or tales. All of

the author’s works, except those published posthumously, were first

published in periodicals and later published as Cuentos de invierno

in 1880.

Las tres flores was first published in El Correo de Mexico in

1867 as a translation by Altamirano under the title of La novia. Gon-

/ rJ 2
zalez-Pena thinks it is the author's own work.

1 J. Lloyd Read: The Mexican Historical Novel, New York, 1939, p. I6 7 .

2 Carlos Gonzalez-Pena: og. cit., p. 302.

 -125-

Lisbeth has to say goodbye to her lover, Ludwig, because, on the

morrow, she is to marry Enrique, her family’s choice. On the wedding
day, Lisbeth’s flowers are three kinds that represent hope, fidelity,
and constancy. At different points in the ceremony, the flowers of
hope and fidelity disappear. At the celebration which follows the
wedding, lisbeth thinks she is waltzing with Ludwig, but Enrique tells
her that Ludwig has killed himself. Then Lisbeth notices that the
flower of constancy has disappeared. She says, "Ludwig ha rnuerto y
yo tambien estoy muerta — "^and falls into the arms of Enrique.

The scene is in Prague at an unstated time. Lisbeth and Enrique

are of high birth; Ludwig's social position is not mentioned. There is

nothing in the story to identify it with any particular place, nor is

this necessary for the completion of the author's idea. All of the ac­

tion takes place within two days. The lovers' farewell serves as an

introduction for the wedding day, and the rest of the action takes place

on the wedding day, and is centered perfectly around the flowers and

Lisbeth's reaction. There is no character development except that which

must appear in any story of true love and arranged marriage. Unless this

very situation be a satire on customs, there is no "costumbrismo" in the

story. It appears to be a story written during the author's youth before

he had decided on the purpose of prose fiction. It is nothing more than

a gentle love story told with the good taste and touch of melancholy

that were to be characteristic of all the work of Altamirano.

Julia was first published in El Siglo XIX as Una noche de julio.

Contrary to the implication of the earlier title, the action takes piace

over a period of several years, from 1855 to 1863, and in Mexico City,

Puebla, and Taxco. It is told in the first person by the hero, Julian,

a name which, according to Altamirano, disguises a famous Mexican general.

1 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: Rimas. Cuentos de invierno. Las tres

flores, Mexico, i860, p. 18.
 -126-

Julian becomes involved in an amatory quadrangle, his pride causing him

to refuse his beloved when she finally decides that she loves him.

The story is well developed though it cannot pretend to be a full-

fledged novel. The action is slight and could have been improved by

following the life of Julian when he was away from Julia. The character­

ization is done with enough skill to make Julians pride seem logical

and the change in Julia's love quite believable. Mr. Bell, an English­

man with mining interests in Taxco, is materialistic, but is not por­

trayed as a thorough scoundrel. Altamirano rather creates sympathy for

him. The historical material is nothing more than a background, but

Mexicanism is apparent in the setting and in the description of places,

especially Taxco — a factor which adds charm and reality to this story

as well as to the later prose works of Altamirano.

Clemencia may well be considered Altamirano's best novel. It was

first published in £1 Renacimiento in 1869 and a second edition was

printed the same year. It was then published serially by the Grand

Journal de p/rou in Lima and by El Ateneo in New York. The fifth edi­

tion is its appearance as one of the Cuentos de invierno in 1880. Un­

dated editions have appeared in Mexico and Paris, and in Valencia. The

story is set in Guadalajara in 1863 . Read considers Clemencia an histo­

rical novel, but says that "the historical material serves only as a

frame for the action of two officers in the army of the republic."^

1. J. Lloyd Read: op. cit., p. 165.

 -127-

The story is somewhat reminiscent of Dickens' The Tale of Two Cities.

Fernando Valle is as unattractive and unpopular as his fellow offi­

ce!} Enrique Flores, is personable and sought after. The two men meet
the cousins Isabel and Clemencia. The two women are in love with Flores;
and when Isabel rejects Flores because he tries to seduce her, Clemencia
immediately rejects Valle in favor of Flores. Valle challenges Flores,
but their commanding officer intervenes.

During the evacuation of Guadalajara, the families of Clemencia

and Isabel are able to escape through the aid of Valle, but they think
that the aid comes from Flores. Valle has to leave his column briefly
to carry out his plan and Flores, who has been promoted, accuses him of
neglect of duty. In the ensuing trial, Valle proves that Flores is a
traitor and the latter is jailed, under the custody of Valle. Valle,
realizing the profound effect that the death of Flores will have on
Clemencia and Isabel, exchanges uniforms with Flores and allows him to
escape. He completes his escape through the help of the families of
Clemencia and Isabel and joins the French. They discover his treachery,
and Clemencia's father offers his fortune to save Valle, but to no avail.
V a lle is shot and Clemencia becomes a Sister of Charity.

Clemencia is as much a novel of customs as it is an historical novel,

but it is far different from the novels of customs that appeared before

it and from many that continued in the same tradition for some years

after the publication of Clemencia. The author does not attempt to paint

a panorama of society, but uses the four chief personages in a well inte­

grated plot. The customs of Guadalajara are portrayed and contrasted

with those of Mexico City through these four people and through the minor

personages.

The characterization of the four main characters, except for Isabel,

is well done. The contrast drawn between Valle and Flores and the develop­

ment bringing out the basic qualities in the two men form a good example

of Altamirano's ability as a novelist and constitute one of several things

which indicate that he might have achieved true greatness had he been able

to concentrate his efforts on the production of prose fiction. Isabel is

 -128-

not a companion character to Clemencia, but is subordinate to her through­

out the novel. Clemencia is very little different from the average hero­

ine who does not see the real value in a man, but the character is drawn

in a sane and convincing manner. Isabel is much the same character, seen

somewhat more dimly because of her less important role. The minor person­

ages receive very little treatment because there are no peculiar types

portrayed.

As in all the works of Altamirano there is an overall feeling of

sadness that goes unrelieved. The charm of his descriptions mitigates

this general impression to some extent, but does not really relieve it.

La navidad en las montanas was published serially in La Iberia in 18?0.

The second edition appeared in 1891 in Paris, and another edition appeared

in Paris without date. A text edition was published in New York in 1917.

The book cannot be properly considered a novel, but it fits into no other

category. It is an extended "costumbrista" article. A Reformist officer

is traveling toward a mountain village where he intends to spend the night

of Christmas Eve. He meets the village priest and is introduced by him to

the villagers and to the village itself. The soldier's reminiscences, the

rural atmosphere, and the fact that it is Christmas Eve combine to create

a pleasant nostalgia that has the effect of an idyll. The effect is

marred only by the author's taking opportunity to criticize lack of sin­

cerity on the part of the clergy, the worshipping of saints in a pagan

manner, the system of education, and the custom of sending undesirable

citizens to the army. These criticisms, while honestly and simply stated,

detract from the atmosphere of the story.

 -129-

Having arrived at the village,the officer witnesses the culmina­

tion of the romance of two villagers, Carmen and Pablo. Their story is

told and forms an independent unit of fiction. The story itself is unim­

portant, though it is perfectly acceptable. The characters are more in­

teresting than the story, despite the lack of complete development. The

priest and Pablo are the most complete because the author uses them to

support two arguments. The priest of the story is Altamirano's ideal

village priest, wise, good, and humble. Pablo is used in connection with

the criticism of the custom of sending such men to the arny. Aside from

these two men, the characterization is a piece-meal affair that gives a

better picture of the village as a whole than it gives of any individuals.

The real charm of the book rests on the nostalgia which Altamirano

has more successfully transmitted to the reader through this book than

through any of his other works, and in the excellent description of

natural scenery.

El Zarco was finished in 1888, but was not published until 1901,

some eight years after the death of the author.According to Francisco

Sosa, Altamirano was reading the first chapters to meetings of the "Liceo

Hidalgo" in 1886.^ The novel was published twice in 1901 and once each

in 1917» 1923, and 191*1. Two more editions were published without date

in San Antonio, Texas. A text edition was published in New York in 1933*

All editions except the text reprint the preface by Francisco Sosa. The

sub-title of the novel is "Episodios de la vida mexicana en 1861-1863" and

the novel is supposedly concerned with a situation provoked by the ffLate-

ados," famous bandits of the time.

1 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: El Zarco, Buenos Aires-Mexico, 191*1.

Prologo by Francisco Sosa, p. 7.
 -130-

The fiery action that one expects at the beginning of the novel is
soon replaced by an amatory situation in which Manuela, one of the two
heroines, elopes with the chief of the plateados to avoid marrying the
honest, noble, and dull Nicolas, who is the choice of her mother. There
follows a series of complications in which Manuela's mother dies, Manuela
finds that life with her bandit lover is not as glamorous as she had ex­
pected, the plateados are defeated, Nicolas is condemned to death for
defying an officer, released, and discovers that he really loves Pilar,
the foster sister of Manuela. At the end of the story, Manuela comes
to Nicolas and Pilar to beg their forgiveness just before she dies.

The merit of the plot is on a par with that of Clemencia, but the

characterization in the earlier novel is more convincing. The charac­

terization in the present novel is acceptable, especially when compared

with the works of other authors of the time, but there is nothing in

El Zarco that nearly equals the degree of excellence Altamirano attained

in the delineation of Flores and Valle. Manuela and Pilar are co-heroines,

but Manuela is much the stronger of the two. The difference that is to be

shown between the characters of the two women can be divined by the reader

from the outset. All of the personages are stock characters. Their dif­

ference from other similar characters of the time has its basis in Alta-

mirano's discretion.

As is always the case with Altamirano, the principal charm of the

work lies in his description. This element in El Zarco is fully as good

as in La navidad en las montanas. There is much more of it than there

is in Clemencia, and it is beautifully executed because the setting is one

that Altamirano deeply loved, a small village in the tropical region.

In addition to El Zarco, Altamirano left five other unpublished novels

at his death: Atenea, Beatriz, Los Cimarrones, La Condesa de Calderon,

and Los Galeanas.'*' Atenea, an incomplete novel, was published by the

1 Arturo Torres-Rioseco: op. cit., p. 7.

 -131-

"Iraprenta universitaria" in Mexico City in 1935* The scene of the novel

is Venice. A hero who has nothing to live for, the hero's feeling that

Venice is a city of ruins, and a mysterious woman in black constitute

the background of the story. The hero and heroine, both of Argentine

ancestry, talk of patriotism. They are intellecutals who scorn the pos­

sibility of an ideal love and agree to carry on a correspondence concern­

ing the subject. The novel ends abruptly before the end of the first

letter, and it is impossible to tell whether the author intended to de­

velop the story or to use the fiction as a framework for a series of

letters. In either case, any fictional development would probably have

been interrupted by the letters. The memory of Altamirano is happier

without such a work.

Altamirano has no opportunity to use his greatest gift as a novel­

ist, his power of description. The fact that there is nothing Mexican

in the fragment of the novel indicates that Atenea is a product of the

author's youth. There is one evidence of a great novelist in the atmos­

phere of mystery created at the beginning of the book.

Although the plots of Altamirano always leave something to be de­

sired, there is ample evidence in the works discussed above to support

the belief that the lack is the result of the author's frenzied life

rather than inability. His characters are decidedly superior to the aver­

age of his time. His style is pleasing. And although Altamirano, in any

one of these three elements, from time to time, falls victim to the exag­

gerations that were so common among his contemporaries, his works never

lose their overall saneness and good taste. Above all, his descriptions
 -132-

are valuable. They are highly readable, they enhance the feeling of

reality, and they point the way to the portrayal of Mexicanism by other

writers. The lessons for other novelists that are found in the novels

of Altamirano were often poorly learned. He attempted to strengthen

these lessons through his critical comments; and although it may frequent­

ly seem that he accomplished little, he is commonly regarded as the most

influential Mexican writer of his time, and it is, of course, impossible

to measure the full extent of his influence.

After the fall of Maximilian, Altamirano felt that the political

calm would cause more abundant literary production, and he attempted to

guide and encourage his countrymen* s efforts. His principal means for

doing this were the periodical, El Renacimiento, and the "Liceo Hidalgo1*.

He wished to convince his contemporaries of two things: first, that

Mexico furnished ample subject matter for the novelist and second, that

the novel could be used for indoctrination. In his plea for the develop­

ment of a national novel, Altamirano did not mean that foreign literature

was to be ignored. Far from it, foreign works could be used as models;

but the Mexican products should have a Mexican flavor. The historical

past had not been exploited, nor had the many types of people, nor even

the varied physical appearance of the country. The success of Altamirano *s

plea was not immediate. For some time the majority of novelists confined

their settings to the cities and their personages to stock characters used

for the superficial criticism of contemporary society. The influence of

Realism was strongly felt before the ideas of Altamirano were accepted

with a satisfactory degree of success.

 -133-

The principle of indoctrination through the novel had a more im­

mediate effect with no more fortunate results.

It was easy for writers of an immature society to substitute

superficial conventionalities for the deep moral principles
Altamirano had in mind. By morality he meant what Plato meant
when he used the word; but unfortunately, not all of his fol­
lowers had the philosophical background necessary for a com­
plete understanding of its true nature.^

The outstanding characteristic of Altamirano1s criticism was his

almost indiscriminate encouragement of all writers.

Tal vez se note por algunos, que nuestro estudio no es ver-

daderamente un estudio crxtico, y con sobrada razon. Ni tene-
mos la capacidad que se necesita, ni creemos tampoco llegada
la oportunidad de hacer juicios severos sobre las obras de los
j<4venes que se empenan en el adelantamiento intelectual de su
paxs. La literatura renace hoy; Jserxa discreto exigirle la
madurez y el perfeccionamiento que solo es dable conseguir a
pueblos mas viejos y mas experimentados y cuya escuela data de
luengos siglos? ti'Serxa discreto desanimar a los j&venes, mos-
trdndoles los infinitos obstaculos que tiene que salvar el
estudioso para llegar a adquirir un nombre en el mundo de las
letras? Fuera esto matar el entusiasmo por satisfacer un senti-
miento de vanidad feminil. Los que mucho saben nos dan el ejem-
plo de moderaci<4n y de juicio en esta parte, y acogen con marcada
benevolencia las obras de los discxpulos.^

This attitude must be understood if the overly generous comments of

Altamirano are not to appear absurd.

MANUEL MARTINEZ DE CASTRO

Martinez de Castro's first novel, Julia, was published in 1868 and

again in 187U. It is an historical novel, the action taking place be­

fore and during the North American Invasion. The author does a fairly

creditable job of integrating fiction and history, but frequently gives

1 J. Lloyd Read: o£. cit., p. 17U.

2 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: Revistas literarias, pp. 199-200.

 -1314-

up the attempt and writes a purely historical account, interrupting the

course of the narrative. Although his style is far from elegant, it is

quite readable. The plot is much too complicated and there are too many

characters, but there are moments of great interest. The hero is a don-

juanesque character whose faults are obliterated by true love and patri­

otism. On one occasion, he has a duel with an army officer whose wife

he has seduced. The officer is fatally wounded, but kills his wife be­

fore he dies. The scene is written with the expected exaggeration, but

with a care for detail that is unusual in novels of the time. On another

occasion, Luis and several of the other principals are at a country house,

with their servants, when the place is attacked by bandits. The author

paints an extremely vivid picture of the ensuing fight in which the prin­

cipals escape, three servants are killed, and the house is burned.

The fictional element that is more or less woven into the historical

in these two long volumes is similar to the average novel of customs of

the time. The trials of Julia, her poverty, attempt to protect her virtue,

true love, and undesired marriage forced by poverty are the central theme

of the novel. Her character is more forceful than that of the average

heroine, and Luis is a good study of a brave, fundamentally good, impetu­

ous hero. Two other lovers are scarcely identified. There is a natural­

ized Spaniard who is a traitor to Mexico, and several Worth Americans in

minor roles who invariably say "God damn" and proceed to speak in Spanish.

The author's second novel, Una madre i una hija, was published in

1875. The scene is Mexico City in 1853*

 -135-

Zurita lends financial aid to the revolution of Ayutla and is de­

ported. When he returns to Mexico, he sells his business and buys a
hacienda. Life on the hacienda proves distasteful to his wife, Regina,
so Zurita establishes her and their small daughter, Rosa, in the capital.
He continues to live on the hacienda, making periodic trips into the city.
On an unexpected trip, he discovers that Regina is having an affair with
Fuentes, a family friend. Fuentes escapes to Veracruz, and Zurita punishes
his wife by constantly praising her virtue until she begs for death. He
will not kill her, so she leaves, becoming a prostitute after her financial
resources are exhausted. Rosa is entered in the "Colegio de las Vizcainas"
where she remains until she is thirteen years of age, with no knowledge
of her mother. Her father then takes her to his home. After the girl
hears about her mother, she wishes to see her in spite of the latter1s sin.
Zurita does not want this, and the girl's persistence causes him to send
her back to the colegio.

In order to escape the colegio, Rosa marries Montoya, a dishonest

politician, who has seen her in the choir. Following some two years of
marital boredom, Rosa has an affair with Eulalio Estrada, a thoroughly
honorable man who has been sharing with Rosa the struggle between true
love and conjugal honor. Rosa bears the child of Estrada. Montoya's
crass materialism prohibits his even realizing that he has been cuckolded.
Although their secret is secure, the strength of their love causes Rosa
and Estrada to elope to Ciudad Victoria where they live blissfully until
Estrada is killed by bandits while on a business trip. Rosa returns to
Mexico City and to her mother, who was found and presented by Montoya
during his suit of Rosa. Regina soon dies, and poverty forces Rosa into
prostitution.

The plot, considered for its own sake, could be the work of any

one of a number of writers of the time. The novel's distinction lies in

the motivation of the action through the characters. Martinez de Castro

does not do a complete job in this respect, the novel being a combination

of the social novel of the time with occasional examples of detailed

character study. Zurita's method of punishing Regina is similar to

nothing in the Mexican novel prior to its time. The conflict that de­

velops from the love of Rosa and Estrada and their decision that they

must elope in spite of the fact that they have not been discovered are

skillfully developed. Zurita, Montoya, and Estrada receive enough treat­

ment to reveal three very different characters. Zurita provides material

 -136-

comfort for his family, expects orthodox fidelity and obedience in return,

and cannot comprehend any deviation from this scheme which he has esta­

blished. Montoya is completely selfish, not having the most elementary

interest in the comfort or happiness of anyone but himself. Estrada is

concerned with both the physical and emotional welfare of Rosa, and is

the cause of her only happiness.

The relationship between Regina and Rosa is interesting, but not well

developed. Granted Rosa’s curiosity and her need of a mother, Rosa's in­

sistence on seeing her mother in spite of the latter*s sin and in spite

of Zurita's objection seems improbable. Her insistence would be more

credible if Martinez de Castro had shown a growing resentment of Rosa

toward her father. His failure to do this exemplifies the novel's great­

est shortcoming. Vthen the author's analysis does not seem credible, the

novel becomes the average social novel of its time. This quality is al­

ways present, and it combines with the author's mediocre style to keep

him out of the ranks of the great novelists.

The author's third novel, Eva, was published in 1883. It is an

historical novel about the injustices of the age of Santa-Anna and the

French Intervention. In the gradual change of the heroine's attitude

following her rape by a group of soldiers and in the development of in­

cestuous desires in her deformed brother, Read finds "a nascent sense

of the desirability of close observation and technical detailed study

of individuals.” He finds, too, that the novel is a mixture of Romanti­

cism and Realism, with an attempt to apply the procedure of the school

1 J. Lloyd Read: o£. cit., p. 259.

 -137-

of Emile Zola.'*'

A fourth work by Martinez de Castro was published in 1889* It is

entitled Elvira and sub-titled "Fragmentos arrancados a las memorias de

y P
un solteron para el Diaro del Hogar."

JOSE TOMAS DE CUELLAR

Jose Tomas de Cuellar was born in Mexico City in 1830. He was a

student at the !,Colegio de San Gregorio" and at the "Colegio de San

Ildefonso." In 161*7 he was at the "Colegio Militar" and participated

in its defense on September 13 of that year. It may well be that this

spectacle was the cause of his never taking up arms again. Feeling that

he had some ability as a painter, he became a student in the "Academia

Nacional de San Carlos," and he executed several paintings which are of

some merit. His artistic ability did not justify continuation in this

career, however, and he turned to photography. He made a series of

photographs of famous men, with their biographies printed on the reverse.

In 181*8 he began his career as a journalist, and before his death was

connected in some capacity with almost every periodical of his time.

He published a volume of verse in 1852 and a drama in 1855. Very

little artistic work came from his pen during the period extending from

181*8 until the end of the French Intervention, and very little is known

of his life during that period. He moved to San Luis Potos^ in 1868,

and published La Ilustracion Potosina there until his return to Mexico

City in 1870. In 1872 he began his diplomatic career with an appointment

1 Ibid., pp. 256-259.

2 Juan B. Iguiniz: og. cit., p. 206.
 -138-

to a post in the Mexican Legation in Washington. He resigned the post

in 1882 and returned to Mexico where he served in the foreign office

until 1890. He was blind at the time of his death in Mexico City in

189k.

Cuellar’s first novel, El pecado del siglo, was published in 1869.

It is an historical novel set in Mexico in 1789, during the rule of the

viceroy Revillagigedo. It is a long and complicated novel concerned

with the actions of three supposed gentlemen who are really scoundrels

and who bring an inordinate amount of grief upon all with whom they

come in contact. Except for occasional references that date the action,

such as references to the viceroy or to the Inquisition, there is very

little of the historical in the novel. It does not have an atmosphere

of history, and stripped of the references that date it, the novel is

more like one of the many works decrying the social evils of the nine­

teenth century than it is like an historical novel. Its five hundred

and eighty pages are filled with interrelated plots that are poorly

connected. There is very little shading in the characterization, and

the characters are used to emphasize the author's criticism of such

things as libertinism, punishment by death, and superficial religious

sentiment.

Fortunately, Cuellar's desire to express a strong Mexicanism led

him to a different road, and in 1871 he began to publish the short novels

which comprise the series known under the general title of La linterna

magica. These are the novels on which his fame rests, and are the ones

which give him the right to be placed among those successors to Fernandez
 -139-

de Lizardi who kept alive the portrayal of real Mexicanism while all

around them flourished Mexicanism that wished to conform to a foreign

pattern. The first four volumes of La linterna magica were published

in 1871, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh volumes were published in

1872. These seven volumes comprise what is known as the "primera epoca."

The "segunda epoca" was published from 188? to 1892. This second series

includes all the titles of the first series as well as four more novels

in three volumes. The second series also includes volumes of Cuellar's

poetry and articles. One of the novels of the second series, Baile £

cochino, was published in 1886, before the "segunda epoca" was published

as such. A volume containing the novels Baile jr cochino and La noche

buena was published in 19^1. In the present consideration of La linterna

magica, the various titles will be discussed in the order of first publi­

cation, differing from the order of their appearance in the "segunda

8poca" since the second series published the novels of the first series

mixed with the later works.

Critics and literary historians are uniform in their statements

that Cuellar was a successor to Fernandez de Lizardi. Various critics

associate him with Inclan, Payno, Angel de Campo, and Altamirano. Cue­

llar was one of Altamirano's circle of intimates and undoubtedly owes

much to that man for encouragement in his attempt to portray the Mexican

scene. A discussion of his works will show that Cuellar was very much a

man of his time, and still sufficiently independent of other writers to

employ a technique which individualizes him. These similarities and dif­

ferences are best discussed after a study of his novels, but it is

 —lUo-

desirable that Cuellar* s own statement about what he wanted to do pre­

cede the discussion.

Creyendo encontrarme algo bueno, he dado por desgracia con que

mi aparato hace mas perceptibles los vicios y los defectos de
esas figuritas, quienes por un efecto optico se achican aunque
sean tan grandes como un grande hombre, y puedo abarcarlas jun­
tas, en grupos, en familia, constituidas en publico, en congreso,
en ej^rcito y en poblaci^n...

Pero no tema usted que invente lances terribles ni fatigue

la imaginacion de mis lectores con el relato aterrador de cnmenes
horrendos, ni con hechos sobrenaturales; supongo y no gratuita-
mente, a los lectores fatigados con la relaci6n de las mil y una
atrocidades de que coraponen muchas novelas, de esas muy buenas,
que andan por ahi empeluznando gente y causando pesadillas a las
jovenes impresionables.

Yo he copiado a mis personajes a la luz de mi linterna, no

en trama fantastico y descomunal, sino en plena comedia humana,
en la vida real, sorprendiendoles en el hogar, en la familia, en
el taller, en el campo, en la c^rcel, en todas partesj a unos con
la risa en los labios, ya otros con el llanto en los ojos; pero
he tenido especial cuidado de la correccion de los perfiles del
vicio y la virtud: de manera que cuando el lector, a la luz de
mi linterna, rfa conmigo, y encuentre ridxculo en los vicios, y
en las malas costumbres, o goce con los modelos de la virtud,
habr^ conquistado un nuevo pros^lito de la moral y de la justicia.

Ssta es la Linterna Magica; no trae costumbres de Ultramar

ni brevete de invencionj todo es mejicano, todo es nuestro, que
es lo que nos importa; y dejando a las princesas rusas, a los
dandies y a los reyes de Europa, nos entretendremos con la china,
con el lepero, con la polla, con la comica, con el indio, con el
chinaco, con el tendero y con todo lo de ac/.

Ensalada de polios is set in Mexico City and the surrounding country­

side. As in all the novels of La linterna magica the time is contenporaiy

with the author.

Having tried many jobs with notable lack of success, Don Jacobo 3aca
decides to "lanzarse a la revolucion." He joins a group of men who are
bandits in the name of liberty. His wife, Dona Lola, is left under the
protection of Don Jacobo *s friend, Don Jos4 de la Luz, creating a situation

1 Jose Tomas de Cuellar: I«i linterna magica. Ensalada de polios.

Barcelona, 1890, Prologo, pp. viii-ix.
 -124.1-

which Dona Lola and Don Jose find quite pleasant. Pedrito, the son of
Don Jacobo, is a "polio" who knows how to do nothing, but succeeds in
ingratiating himself with a general who gives Pedrito a job because of
his sedulous effort to please. He soon loses the job, however, because
he is completely worthless.

Concha, the daughter of Don Jacobo, elopes with the wealthy Arturo
and becomes his mistress. Tfihen Blanco, another "polio", looks longingly
at Concha, he and Arturo have a duel in which the latter is killed.
Blanco is sentenced to death, but is freed through political influence.
Concha, meanwhile, is destitute, and has an affair with Pedrito's old
general, but she is glad to be rid of him and to become the mistress
of Blanco when the latter is freed.

Pedro and his associates once meet Don Jacobo who has become the
leader of his band. The author notes that "Don Jacobo comenzd' a ser
criminal por miedoj despues lo fue por necesidad y al ultimo por habito."
Don Jacobo is ultimately captured and hanged, and Pedrito succeeds him
as the bandit chief. Cuellar recapitulates the positions of the other
characters at the end of the novel, but makes no attempt to dispose of
them or further relate them in the manner of the time.

The plot of this novel reveals that Cuellar is not a gifted narrator.

The plot offers little in the way of innovation except that the author

does go into rural sectionsj but his treatment of rural scenes has no

particular value, for he lacks the sensitivity of Altamirano before

natural beauty. The plot differs chiefly from its contemporaries in

that its complications are less carefully worked out— a statement that

can be made about almost all the novels of Cuellar. This characteristic

contributes to the reality of the novel, but it was not done for that pur­

pose. The fact is that the interest of the author, as well as that of

the reader, is in the characters, and the sickly quality of the plot

"per se" is unimportant.

There are several types portrayed in the present novel, the princi­

pal one being the "polio". This person is a favorite with Cuellar, and

1 Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 233-

 -li*2-

recurs throughout La linterna magica more often than any other. A glimpse

of the "jamona" appears in Dona Lola. Others are more dimly seen in Don

Jose, the general, and Concha. The tragicomic element in the characteri­

zation of Don Jacobo makes him the most rounded of the characters. Com­

plete characterization, however, was not the purpose of Cuellar. He

wished to portray types, emphasizing a single side of the character. The

result is a series of caricatures.

The brevity of the novel is due largely to rapid development of the

action. The readability is enhanced by skillful handling of dialog.

Cuellar’s moralizing is evident, but is not offensive because it is a

part of the story and because his writing has a certain earthy, natural

realism that makes sensible thought of ideas which would appear super­

ficial if presented in more elegant style and language. Some exaggera­

tion of expression and of sentiment is present, but it appears slight

when surrounded by other novels of the time.

Historia de Chucho el ninfo is the story of a spoiled child and the

people around him, Cuellar’s purpose being to show the development of

the "polio”. Chucho is allowed to have nis way and is given no sense

of responsibility. He must satisfy his ego with illicit love affairs

and duels.

Just as in Ensalada de polios the plot of the present novel is

loosely constructed. The author’s lack of ability in this respect is

further shown by the introduction of a number of personages needed for

the portrayal of customs, but not for the development of the story. Even

the satire is less compact than in Ensalada de polios because, in the

 -UU3-

latter, Cuellar builds the plot around a group of similar characters.

In the present work, Chucho is the only character of exactly that type.

In order to show the development of a "polio," the author makes use of

many other types, thereby sacrificing some of the sharpness of his satire.

Perez is a tragicomic character, but he does not possess the reality of

Don Jacobo.

The story of Isolina la ex-figurante begins in Santa Maria del Rio

where Pico, the prompter for a company of traveling actors, rescues
Isolina from the unwanted attentions of Don Pepe Garcia, the local
"cacique." Isolina takes refuge with Dona Anastasia, a go-between.
Pico decides to make Isolina an actress. In her first performance,
when she is calling her son in a scene of intense emotion, Pico* s dog
bounds onto the stage and ends Isolina*s career.

Pico and Isolina then go to Mexico City where they meet the tra­
veling actors and Don Pepe who is now a member of Congress. Pico
challenges Don Pepe and Isolina faints. Don Pepe volunteers to go for
medicine, but realizing that he has lost Isolina, he changes the pre­
scription and she dies. Pico goes to Yucatan, and Don Pepe is filled
with remorse.

The picaresque tone of this novel creates a stronger resemblance

to the Periquillo than is found in any of Cuellar’s other works. One

completely extraneous incident mars the novel. When Isolina is at the

house of Dona Anastasia, a "polio" falls in love with her. Rebuffed,

his scheme to abduct her with the help of other "polios" fails. Cue­

llar is able to portray his favorite character.

Las jamonas has a plot of similar importance. The characters por­

trayed are varied and interesting. The story is principally concerned

with two "jamonas" of questionable virtue, but a variety of characters

comes within their orbit. The sharpest satire is through Sanchez, a

government office-holder who has taken advantage of the oppoxtunities

presented by revolution. He is willing to sell his influence, and when

 -Ibk-

he is unable to do so, turns against Juarez, his former chief. More

humorous is Don Aristeo, an old gentleman of very strict moral ideas,

who falls in love with a young girl whose ideas are decidedly different.

Ricardo, the poet, loves and deserts a woman. Various situations offer

opportunity for satire: the woman who has an illicit affair without com­

punction, the husband who thinks he is being deceived and cannot decide

whether to challenge his rival or be a "marido de Balzac", the courtesan

who kills herself when she realizes that old age is close upon her.

The longest novel of La linterna ma'giea is Las gentes que *bon asi.»

At the end of the first volume of the edition of 1872, the author states

that friends and critics thought he should write longer novels, and he

was abandoning his principle of brevity at the request of his readers.'1'

Like Isolina the action in this novel takes place largely outside Mexico

City. A small boy, Alberto, is the charge of a village priest near San

Luis Potosi. The boy is so adept at thieving that he acquires the nick­

name "Coyote." As he grows up, his sly tactics are replaced by the use

of a gun and he insists on being called Jos/ Maria Gomez. He and his
/
companion, "el Pajaro," soon become famous bandits.

The ensuing story involves the love affair of Jose Maria and the

wife of a cruel and jealous hacienda owner, the fortunes and misfortunes

of their illegitimate son, and the totally unrelated stories of a group

of travelers who are set upon by Josi Maria and his band.

The length of this novel enables the author to show some aptitude

for invention. It is obvious, however, that his abilities are more

1 Hugh Byron Carnes: Facundo su obra, Mexico, n.d., p. 62.

 -Un­

suitable to the cultivation of the short novel, for even here the length

is attained mainly by the development of a secondary plot which is poorly

related to the main plot and which might be a novel in itself. Within

the secondary plot, there is a third plot— the story of one of the charac­

ters, told in retrospect— which is equally independent. The complications

arising from these three plots give the work a stronger resemblance to the

average novel of the time than is usual in the works of Cu/llar. As always,

he is most at ease in the treatment of the middle class and especially of

the less pretentious people. None of the favorite types are presented in

the main plot. Some types who appear also in earlier novels are treated

in the secondary plot. Since these types are not given primary importance,

Cuellar's satire is less effective. His characters are less precise when

he does not develop them as types, and some of those in the present novel

have no more distinction than the characters of Rivera y RJlo or Tovar.

Gabriel, the son of Jose Maria, and Don Santiago, Gabriel's patron, are

typically good characters. The evil characters are more clearly defined.

Especially through Jose Maria does Cuellar develop a rural Mexicanism.

This element of banditry recalls Astucia.

Gabriel and Don Santiago reappear in the last novel of the first

series, Gabriel el cerrajero. This novel contains two plots which are

really independent of each other.

One of them deals with the jealousy of Don Manuel, a business man
whose wife, Lola, regularly receives the middle-aged Zubieta as a visitor.
At first Don Manuel trusts them, and rightly; but he realizes that the
neighbors are gossiping, and discusses the problem with his wife. Remem­
bering that her mother was a victim of jealousy, she worries, and her un­
easiness causes Don Manuel's first real jealousy. Zubieta does not know
whether or not he should continues his visits, and his uneasiness further
 -ll|6-

contributes to Don Manuel*s discomfort. Finally, Zubieta goes to Rio de

Janeiro just as Don Manuel's jealousy is about to drive Lola to the point
of wanting someone else's love.

The other plot concerns the coming of Don Santiago and Gabriel to
Mexico City. Don Santiago is swindled and his plans for the education of
Gabriel are frustrated. The latter becomes a locksmith's apprentice, having
been thoroughly indoctrinated by Don Santiago in the dignity of manual labor.
Gabriel meets people of the lower and middle classes, including a former
mistress of his father and their two daughters whom Gabriel sees as they
are thrown out of gambling establishment, drunk. Calloused by hardships
and disillusionment, Gabriel simply walks away and leaves them.

The novel is similar to the others of the series. It shows less nar­

rative skill. The denouement is presented in an epilogue, thus making the

novel appear incomplete. It should be noted that it is the last novel of

the first series, and Cuellar may have been anxious to finish it before

leaving for Viiashington.

The types are presented mainly through the personages connected with

the Gabriel plot. The characters involved in the jealousy plot are more

fully developed than is usual with Cuellar. His study of these characters

is more detailed and scientific.

The characters of Baile y cochino are the principal interest, and the

reader hardly notices the weakness of the plot. A variety of types is

seen: the old man with the young mistress, young girls who use a dance

as a means of seeing their sweethearts, fussy old women, girls of ques­

tionable morals who please some men and disillusion others.

Cuellar returns completely to the technique of his earliest novels

in Los mariditos.

Dona Marianita borrows a little money so her young son, Ernesto, may
marry Rebeca. Ernesto has a German friend who tries to convince him that
he does not make enough money as a clerk to support a wifej but Ernesto,
trusting in God and the lotteiy, pays no heed. Desiring to be pretentious,
 -11*7-

Ernesto steals from his employer so he and Rebeca can impress their
friends with pre-wedding gifts. He especially wishes to impress two
musician friends of Rebeca who, incidentally, introduce him to Colonel
H , one of the newly rich, who satisfies Ernesto's need for a rich
"padrino." On his wedding night, Ernesto becomes unjustly jealous of
the colonel. A little later he is imprisoned for theft, and has to
swallow his pride because he can gain his freedom only through the in­
fluence of the colonel. Instead of mending his ways, Ernesto becomes
a criminal, and Rebeca becomes the mistress of the colonel.

Two other personages are used to complement rather than develop the

plot. Dofia Lugardita tries unsuccessfully to borrow money for the mar­

riage of her son. Here the author supports the belief that mothers fre­

quently push their sons into marriage before they are sufficiently mature.

Another woman, Dona Refugio, is the widow of one of these youthful mar­

riages, and is in dire financial straits.

The plot is well integrated, being centered around one point of

satire, as is the case in Ensalada de polios. The novel is, as a matter

of fact, a treatment of another phase of the life of a "polio.” Cuellar

thinks that these youthful marriages may be an evil that is characteris­

tic of his people and he introduces the German to give the more practical

viewpoint of a foreigner. Other characters provide opportunities for

satire on other things. Dona Lugardita, for instance, is the head of a

mestizo family. Her sons hate their sister, Virginia, because her skin

is lighter than theirs and is, therefore, more acceptable socially.

A provincial family is placed against the background of a large city

in Los fuerenos.

Don Trinidad Ramirez arrives in Mexico City with his wife Candelaria,
his son Gumersindo, and his daughters Clara and Guadalupe. They hardly
arrive before they are introduced to a life of dissipation by a group of
”pollos.” Soon, too, Clara and Guadalupe attract young men. Ignorant of
the ways of city life, they stand in a good way to lose the happiness of
 -IbQ-

the whole family; and they are saved only by Dona Candelaria's decision
that they must go back home.

The contrast offered by the situation in this novel gives Cuellar

the opportunity to satirize both sides and to make his satire on life in

Mexico City very keen. Actually, the city dwellers provide satire and

the provincials provide humor. In spite of its lack of plot, it is one

of the most readable of the novels.

In La noche buena the types are portrayed at a dance given at the

home of Julia, mistress of an unidentified general.

The general, formerly a happy family man, now suffers the discomfort
that jealousy brings. He and Julia are tired of each other; and he comes
to her house now rather to watch her than to visit her. At the dance,
Julia flirts with a member of the Congress, with one of the general's
subordinates, and with the meek father of two neighboring girls. Almost
all of the guests have come because of some business or social obligation.
The men, especially those who are under Julia's spell, drink cognac. The
women gossip. Otilia, one of Julia's friends, disappears with her student
sweetheart. The jealous general and the legislator decide to duel. Rosa-
litos, one of the general's friends, dissuades them, saying that Julia is
not worth it. The general returns to his family. Rosalitos, young and
unattached, decides to make love to Julia.

As in Baile £ cochino, the characters completely dominate the plot.

What plot there is seems so perfectly natural that it does not demand the

reader's attention.

The influences that combined to produce the work of Cuellar are many.

All of them were at work among his contemporaries, and it is the fact

that these influences produced a distinct product through the pen of Cue­

llar that makes him rise above the average of his time. He was, of course,

influenced by the costumhrista tradition. Many of the subjects treated

by Cuellar are of such a universal nature that similar ones might be found

in the work of more than one costumbrista. The most immediate work of
 - 11*9-

this type in Mexico is the anonymous Cartas de Don Caralampio. This work,

published in i860, is a series of letters in which the author discusses

a number of subjects which occupied the attention of Cuellar* The work

is similar to that of Cuellar in tone and in style, as well as in ideas.

The influence of Balzac is evident in the scheme of la lintema

magica. That the result is utterly different from the work of Balzac

cannot refute the basic influence. The influence of Eugene Sue is pre­

sent in Cuellar’s occasional attempt to present the panoramic view of

society, as it is in the work of practically every other novelist of the

time. This influence is, therefore, not necessarily first-hand. The in­

fluence of several Mexican novelists might be pointed out. The brevity

of Cuellar's novels makes one think of Florencio del Castillo, but the

similarity stops there. The short novel was far from strange in Cuellar's

time. The portrayal of Mexicanism is reminiscent of any one of many

novelists who attempted the same thing. Inclan is a link in the chain

that connects Cuellar with Fernandez de Lizardi, but it is doubtful that

Inclan directly influenced Cuellar, because the Mexicanism of Inclan is

accidential while that of Cuellar is planned. Two personal influences

were Manuel Payno and Altamirano, both of whom were known by Cue'llar.

These men undoubtedly strengthened Cuellar's realism and his desire to

create a national novel.

Cue'llar is a Romantic, in form, in spirit, and frequently in ex­

pression. He is also a realist, but a natural realist rather than a

scientific realist. He portrays honestly and directly what he sees, but

rarely does one find any interest in the scientifically detailed study
 -150-

that was reaching this hemisphere from France before Cuellar stopped writ­

ing and which is seen so plainly in the work of Martinez de Castro* The

types that he portrays, however, are selected with care. Azuela feels

that his works are outmoded, that they do not have the lasting quality

of those of Fernandez de Lizardi and Inclan.'1' In spite of the fact that

the author’s ideas and characters are placed in a particular period and

bear the mark of that period, nany of them still live in new houses and

wear new costumes. Their appearance is sufficiently outmoded to be often

ridiculous, but not old enough to be quaint. Cuellar rarely goes deeper

into a character than is necessary to develop the type required for his

satire. His satire is keen, but it is not cruel. It is humorous, and

his moralizing is not offensive, except for the reader who cannot under­

stand him because he feels that Cuellar is passe7.

Cuellar’s naturally realistic approach places every idea and every

person within a Mexican atmosphere. The constancy of this atmosphere,

kept alive by physical appearances and dialogue even when the types and

ideas are universal, dominates the foreign influences that the author

shows in the manner of other novelists of the time.

ADOLFO ISAAC ALEGRIA

This poet, journalist, and novelist, better known as Satanas, was

born in Jalisco. He came to Mexico City in the last third of the nine­

teenth century and remained there until his death.

1 Mariano Azuela: og. cit., p. 98.

 -151-

His first book, El llbro de Satanas, was published in 186?. Its

sub-title reads: "Algo que parece novela y no es. Verdades Claras y

obscuras, tintes, alegres y lugubres." Two works listed by Igudaiiz as

Satanas and Algo, the first published in 1882 and the other without date,^

seem to be the same work* El libro de Satanas bears no resemblance to a

novel except that it discusses ideas which are frequently found in novels

of the time. It has neither plot nor characters. It is a collection of

the author’s impressions on a variety of human emotions and customs, in­

cluding love, hope, virtue, remorse, glory, honeymoon, suicide, war, and

fashion. Although Alegria’s prose style is certainly not polished, his

manner of expression has a certain compelling force that makes the reader

continue, expecting some startling observation. The central point around

which all of Alegria’s thought revolves is that this is a changing world,

still in its adolescence, which will eventually reach maturity. Unfor­

tunately, the reader’s expectations are never gratified because, in spite

of the worth of his basic idea, Alegria's thought never materializes into

anything of importance.

A similar criticism can be made of his second book, La luz en las

tinieblas, which was published in 1870. This is a novel which, according

to the author, is supposed to illustrate the doctrines set forth in El

p
libro de Satanas. The story is set in Mexico City in the middle of

the nineteenth century.

Alfredo falls in love with Raquel, an illegitimate child with a vir­

tuous heart who has become a prostitute out of necessity. Rodriguez, a

1 Juan B. IguJLniz: og. cit., p. 16.

2 Adolfo Isaac Alegria: La luz en las tinieblas, Mexico, 1870, Preface.

 -152-

swindler, has previously tried to make Raquel his mistress, but has been
spurned. Later, Alfredo meets Judith, the sister of Raquel. Their father
was killed by Rodriguez so he might take advantage of their mother. Rodri­
guez tries to trick Alfredo into a jealous murder of Judith's uncle who
intends to recover Judith's rightful inheritance from Rodriguez. Alfredo
sees through the plot, and is the witness of the murder of Judith's uncle
by Rodriguez. Alfredo has him brought to justice and he is hanged. Then
Alfredo questions his action, wondering what command he had over the life
of Rodriguez. His worry causes him to neglect Raquel, and after a month
she dies of cerebral fever. Judith lives on unhappily. Alfredo joins
the liberal forces and is killed at Tacubaya on April 11, 1859.

It is undeniable that this novel exemplifies the doctrines set forth

in El libro de Satanas. The books are similar in both style and idea. The

story is similar to those of Rivera y Rio and Pantaleon Tovar, the pessi­

mism more closely resembling the latter. Alegria's plot is, however,

simpler and better integrated.

The characters are poorly drawn and serve only to perform actions

that give the author opportunity to digress. Some ideas are expressed

through Alfredo j but the author cares little about the means by which he

expresses his ideas. The action throughout the story is forced in order

to emphasize a point. The ideas expressed in the novel never reach beyond

the superficial, thereby being consistent with the ideas expressed in El

libro de Satanas.

IRENEO PAZ

Ireneo Paz was b o m in Guadalajara in 1836. He was educated in the

"Seminario Conciliar" of that city and later studied law, receiving his

degree in 1861. He began to practice his profession and also to contri­

bute to the political press. He defended the Reform Movement through the

press, and later took up arms against the French Intervention, attaining
 -153-

rank of colonel. Beginning in 1876, he held various public offices, includ­

ing that of deputy to the National Congress, and continued his journalistic

work. In the latter field he founded two periodicals, El Padre Cobos and

La Patria, a daily of which he was publisher for almost forty years. He

was the author of eighteen novels and the publisher of many by other au­

thors. He died in Mixcoac (D. F.) in 192h»

Most of this author’s novels are historical. There are, however, two

novels which are not in any way historical. The fijst of these is la piedra

del sacrificio, published first in 1871, a second edition appearing in 187^4

and a third in 1881. It is the author’s first novel and its five-hundred-

odd pages show little more than a gift for fictional invention. The novel

is, however, interesting for that reason.

The story opens in Guadalajara near the middle of the nineteenth

century. On the way to Mexico City, Florencio is attracted by a young
girl, Marxa. After a series of flirtations and a duel in which he kills
a man, Florencio is sent to prison where he spends two years before he is
released through the political influence of Marxa. Maria will not see
him, though he is sure that she loves him. Finally a meeting is arranged
for Florencio and Marfa through the good offices of the former’s servant.
They meet and express their love, Florencio gently kissing Marxa after she
faints from sheer love. Marxa is about to reveal the obstacle to their
love when the lovers are interrupted by Marfa's mother, Gabriela. Floren­
cio is about to commit suicide when his servant finds Marxa's diary and
gives him new hope. The diary reveals that Marfa is the illegitimate
daughter of Florencio*s father. Florencio leaves the diary and rushes
to the home of Marfa, eager to embrace his sister, only to find that she
and her mother have left. The faithful Francisco traces them to Zapopam,
but Florencio arrives there after the death of the hopeless Marfa. Flo­
rencio tries to lose himself in the social life of Guadalajara. Unable
to continue in the role of Pagliacci that he has assumed, Florencio kills
himself.

The inventiveness of Paz does not mean that he has excellent narra­

tive ability. It is significant that Marfa and Florencio speak to each

other only three times throughout the entire novel— on the way to Mexico
 -151*-

City, on the way back to Guadalajara, and during their one secret meeting.

The device of telling the story through the medium of the two diaries is

extremely awkward, and the language is dull. Read says with good reason

that the author's conception of a novel is "a story reeled off like a ball

of y a r n . P a z does successfully center the plot around Florencio.

The present novel resembles Orozco’s La guerra de treinta anos more

closely than it does any other novel, but the present plot is much more

compact. It is a curious mixture of the purely amatory novel in the manner

of Luis Ortiz and Emilio Rey and the novel of customs in the manner of

Jose Rivera y Rio and Pantaleon Tovar. It has the pure and idealistic

love of the former with no attempt at poetic idyllicismj it has the more

complicated plot of the latter, without the panoramic view of society or

even the opinion that the entire society is corrupt. Florencio's inor­

dinately rapid commitment to prison is one of the very few incidents that

could possibly be considered social criticism. The novel contains, there­

fore, little that identifies it with Mexico-only the names of Mexican

places and a little description.

The characters are weak and do not properly reflect the influence of

their environment. Florencio is a lover for whom there is an obstacle in

the case of every woman who loves him. All his sweethearts are the same,

their single outstanding characteristic is love of Florencio. The charac­

terization is as exaggerated as the plot. In conjunction, one seems no

more improbable than the other. The exaggeration is consistent throughout

the novel. It is no more improbable, for instance, for Marfa to swoon

1 J. Lloyd Read: og. cit., pp. 238-239

 -155-

from the force of love for a man to whom she has spoken three times than

it is for Florencio to be eager to accept Marfa as his sister.

The author's second novel, Amor y suplicio, was first published in

1873 and has a pre-conquest setting. His third novel, Amor de viejo, was

published in 187k and again in 1882. It is non-historical and is completely

different from La piedra del sacrificio, the first obvious difference being

that it is much shorter. The scene is in Mexico City and the time is con­

temporary with the author.

Don Facundo Cabeza de Vaca, a miserly person, allows his wife and
daughter to die of malnutrition and lack of attention. After their death,
Don Facundo becomes more and more miserly. When he is in his fifties he
has accumulated a fortune of some eighty thousand pesos. Therefore,
when he is attracted by the eighteen-year-old Dorotea, his many years of
deprivation enable him to rationalize that he can afford to be married.
Dorotea fears him because she knows the fate of his first wife and child.
Don Facundo showers luxurious entertainment on Dorotea. Finally, strongly
influenced by her mother, Dorotea consents to marry Don Facundo.

Don Facundo and Dorotea have a blissful honeymoon; but on the first
day that Dorotea plans to shop, Don Facundo goes to his money chest and
finds it empty. He has squandered his fortune in courting Dorotea—
whenever he took money from his chest his eyes were closed and his mind
feverish. When Don Facundo tells Dorotea that his money is gone, she
naturally thinks that he is lying, and she feels that her fears are justi­
fied when he returns to his miserly ways.

The plot is slight, the purpose of the novel being a satire on a

particular type of person. Paz spends too much time on direct description

of the character of Don Facundo while telling about his life up to his

meeting with Dorotea. The character of Don Facundo is exaggerated, but

the result is a good caricature. Dorotea is a girl of the middle class,

in whose character the author shows a credible conflict between the desire

for financial security and her reservations about marrying an elderly man

of Don Facundo*s reputation. Her attitude toward him is a combination of

 -156-

fear, disgust, and humorous interest in his awkward approach to court­

ship. Once when Don Facundo is trying to offer Dorotea a gift and a

letter containing a proposal of marriage, the following conversation

ensues:

— Y que tenemos hoy de modas?

— Hay muy pocas que yo sepa, Don Facundo, contesto Dorotea.
— Entiendo que el uso ahora esta simplificando el lujo de un
modo extraordinario.
“ S*?
— Me parece, segun he observado entre las senoras, que todo se
arregla ahora con listones, alfileres y blondas.
— [Ah! si senor, y tambie'n entre los senores sucede lo mismo.
— Como?
— Dicen que estan en boga los dientes postizos.

The situation is worthy of Cuellar, but Paz does not make the best

of it because he has neither Cuellar's sense of humor, nor the briskness

of Cuellar's prose style, nor Cuellar's ability to identify such a situ­

ation with his native land.

In his historical novels, Paz returns to the days of the conquest

in Dona Marina, published in 1883, and after that time deals with

national themes. Read finds the works known as Leyendas historicas to

be novels whose framework is taken from well known histories and popular

accounts with a slight fictional element added. The strength of the

fictional element varies in the several novels which sometimes degenerate

O
into a dull recounting of history.

JOSE FRANCISCO SOTOMAYOR

Jose Francisco Sotomayor was born on an hacienda near Zacatecas in

1831* He was educated in the "Instituto de Ciencias" of Zacatecas and in

1 Ireneo Paz: Amor de viejo, Mexico, 1882, pp. 2i|-25.

2 J. Lloyd Read: op, cit., pp. 2l*0-25l.

 -157-

the "Seminario Conciliar” of Guadalajara. In 1852 he took the Franciscan

habit, but ill health obliged him to become a secular priest. He followed

his career in his native region until his death in Zacatecas in 1898. The

author of religious and historical works as well as of novels, Sotomayor

shows in the latter genre a stern attitude concerning what he considers

morals and religion, and attempts to inject his ideas into novels that are

supposed to counterbalance the effect of novels which, according to Soto­

mayor, have an undesirable effect on the reader.

Sotomayor*s first novel, El solitario del Teira, was published in

1673. The story opens in 1827 when a traveler visits the ruins of an

hacienda in Zacatecas and hears the story of Padre Alfonso. This story

is a series of plots connected by Padre Alfonso which begin in the same

place in 1810. Woven into these plots is an account of the War of Inde­

pendence from its beginning to the time of Iturbide. The revolution it­

self has little to do with the plot, but news of it is brought to the

hacienda by travelers. Fundamentally, the several plots are similar to

the average novel of customs of the time ; but in each episode Padre Al­

fonso succeeds in bringing about a happy ending: rescuing the kidnapped,

providing for the homeless, converting an agnostic. Padre Alfonso is the

thread that holds the plots together, and his action is too small a part

of the total action to justify his role as the novel* s single unifying

force. His real purpose is to express the author*s religious and social

ideas, and the author is more concerned with that purpose than he is with

the strength of the plot. The individual plots could be short novels of

the time. Only one character is directly connected with the historical
 -158-

background. The only effect of the war on the people of the hacienda

is that it causes them to move.

Padre Alfonso is the only character that even approaches full de­

velopment. He is characterized through direct description by the author

as a completely good priest. The other characters never live, but are

simply examples of virtue or of evil that can be converted.

All the characters are patriotic, but want independence without

violence. Protestantism is attacked vehemently, and the conversion

of the count provides occasion for a discussion of many religions with

Catholicism revealed as the only satisfactory one. In addition to the

religious ideas, the author emphasizes what he believes to be desirable

social customs. He believes, for instance, that a young man should not
/ 2
visit his fiancee, but her parents.

The author is greatly impressed by ruins and seeks to transmit to

the reader the atmosphere of something mystic and sacred that he finds

in ruins, with references to Chateaubriand.

Sotomayor1s second novel, Las ruinas del monasterio, was published

in l87li. The opening scene is similar to that of El solitario del Teira

except that the time is during the reign of Maximilian. The story which

is told by the traveler to the friar whom he finds among the ruins of the

monastery goes back to a few years before the revolution of Ayutla. It

is principally the story of the three sons and one daughter of an ideal

Christian family who becomes a missionary, a secular priest, a lawyer and

a nun. Set against this family is a second family who spoil their son

1 Jose Francisco Sotomayor: El solitario del Teira, Zacatecas, 1873,

p. 98.

2 Ibid., p. 187.
 -159-

and pay too much attention to the fashions of the day, with the result

that the son becomes a scoundrel. The lawyer son of the good family

provides most of the action through his amorous and political involve­

ments. He is a thoroughly upstanding man, but his association with

worldly things causes him to be the innocent victim of more than one

plot. The members of the good family are dispersed by duty and politics,

but are finally reunited except for the gentle nun who dies. The narrator

reveals himself as the missionary.

As is the case with the earlier novel, the author is more concerned

with writing religious propaganda than with writing a novel. The ideal

priest is portrayed in the earlier novel, the ideal family in the present

one. Although the plot is better integrated than that of El solitario del

Teira, it still shows a decided lack of narrative abilityj and the novel

suffers from too many personages who are used purely for exemplary pur­

poses. There is very little characterization beyond the well defined

categories of good and bad. The characters serve only in the author's

defense of the church, a project which Sotomayor supports with frequent

quotations from Chateaubriand's Genie du Cristianisme.

A semi-literary work was published by Sotomayor in I876. Its title

^*as Gardes de la pradera o el nuevo amigo de las familias, and it is

sub-titled "Instrucciones e historias morales."

The author's last novel, Un santuario en el desierto, was published

in 1877 and again in 1890. Its opening scene is similar to those of the

first two novels, but the time is not definitely set.

 -160-

It is the story of Adolfo, the son of a prominent family, who has

been corrupted by undesirable companions, set against the story of Mau-
rilio, an orphan -whose education has been entrusted to a religious man
with the result that Maurilio is a model young man. He accepts a post
as secretary to Adolfo's father who considers him another son. In this
manner, Sotomayor is able to make the two young men live parallel lives,
emphasizing the difference caused by their backgrounds. Adolfo and Mau­
rilio fall in love with the same girl, Domitila. She prefers Maurilio,
but her family prefers Adolfo because of his wealth. Finally Domitila
consents to marry Adolfo. Just before the wedding, it is revealed through
Maurilio's foster-mother that he is really the son of Adolfo's parents
and Adolfo is an unwitting inposter as the result of a plot which exchanged
them when they were infants. The wedding is halted in a melodramatic
fashion and Maurilio marries Domitila. Adolfo, being thus punished for
his misdeeds, disappears.

The novel is similar to the earlier ones in every respect, but the

plot is developed with a little more care and the melodramatic denouement

is of some interest. The religious propaganda is presented through the

contrast in the two principal characters and through a young priest who

is a friend of Maurilio. The same carelessness of style that appears in

the earlier novels is found in the present one. The greater capacity for

invention shown in this novel does little to compensate for the author's

more basic faults.

MANUEL BALBQNTIN

This soldier and novelist was born in Mexico City in l82ii. He was

a student in the "Colegio Militar" and left there to fight against the

North American Invasion. Continuing his career as a soldier he fought

during the War of Reform and during the French Intervention. After the

surrender of the Mexican forces at Matamoros, Balbontdn spent an official

leave of nine months in New York, having had to flee Matamoros because of
 -161-

his inability to raise troops.^ After returning to Mexico, Balbontin

resumed his military career and attained the rank of colonel in 1870.

He completed works of technical and historical nature, as well as novels,

before his death in 189U.

Torres-Rioseco cites a work published in 1873, Los torpedos,as Bal­

bontin' s first novel.^ The work is not cited as a novel by Iguiniz. In

1873, a long sketch by Balbontin was published under the title Un dia del

mes de enero a los kO grados de latitud norte. This edition is signed in

New York, April, 1872. The second edition in 1881; adds the wordsME1 in-

vierno" at the beginning of the title, and is signed in New York,April,

1865. The latter date is more consistent with the author's biography.

A third edition was published in 1893* The first edition consists of

seventy pages and is the author's account of a day in New York. It is

not a novel, but it shows some gift for narration and a gift for observa­

tion that is seen in Balbontin's later work. The author describes his

boarding house, a trip with a friend to Central Park where they watch

the skaters, dinner back at the boarding house, the efficiency of the

fire department, the rescue of a child by a fireman, and the evening’s

entertainment at a music hall. The account frequently has the tone of

a travelogue, but this tone is one of reality rather than of glamor. Bal­

bontin's attitude is favorable toward the United States, and he thinks

that it is absurd to consider a people without feeling when thy have so

many free educational institutions and hospitals.

1 Manuel Balbontin: Memoriae, San Luis Potosi, 1896, pp. U36-7, i;96.

2 Arturo Torres-Rioseco: og. cit., p. 10.

 -162-

Meroorias de un muerto, a criticism of Mexican society, was published

in 187h and again in 1888. The historical element is strong, the novel

covering the period from 185U until the end of the French Intervention.

The spirit of the author's friend, Pascual Pinto Pasos, who was killed
in the campaign of 1851*, appears before the author in his bedroom. After
a conversation concerning the state of things on Earth, the spirit departs,
leaving his memoirs concerning his stay in Hell. Hell, which is located
on the planet Jupiter, is very little different from Earth. Punishment
is suitable to the faults one has committed on Earth, i. e., pride is
punished by enforced humility. The thing that differentiates Hell from
Earth is that in Hell there is no hope of redemption and the soul is con­
demned to an eternity of restlessness similar to that on Earth. Other­
wise, life in Hell is very pleasant. All of the worldly pleasures are
there. The Infernal library includes the works of Latin, Greek and Medi­
eval poets, novels of Sue, Hugo, and Dumas, and gems of Mexican literature
from Aztec poetry to "El Pensador Mexicano."

In the second installment of his memoirs, the spirit is sent to Earth

to promote the success of the liberal movement in Mexico. The author inter­
mingles sub-plots concerning earthly friends of Pinto Pasos, thereby telling
the earthly story of the spirit and providing opportunity for criticism of
war, corrupt government, absurd social conventions, and religious hypocrisy.

In the third part, the spirit is sent to Venus where he is to study

life and customs in order to bring the ideas to Earth. On Venus, he com­
pares an ideal city with a second city that resembles one on Earth. In the
ideal city, the religion is monotheistic and is based on the Golden Rule.
The head of the government is elected for one year and is never eligible
for re-election. Women have greater freedom, especially in matrimonial
consent. Native art is appreciated.

In the fourth part, the spirit returns to Earth, sees the end of
Maximilian, and then returns to his Infernal home where he is awaited by
his mistress, Amparo, who is furnished him by the Infernal government.

The plot construction is superior to many novels of the time, but

the novelty of the approach makes comparison unjust. The action on earth

is motivated by historical eventsj the unearthly action is always for the

purpose of comparison. Characterization is insignificant. It is interest­

ing, however, that the spirit has an idealistic attitude toward his old

Earthly sweetheart, and that he feels he must win the love of his Infernal

mistress.
 -163-

The author's ideas constitute the principal attraction of the novel.

Interest in these ideas and the author's fair narrative ability give the

novel an initial attraction that wanes as the general superficiality of

Balbontin's ideas becomes apparent. With the loss of this attraction,

the uneven prose style of the author becomes tiresome.

Balbontin later published Ines in 1892 and Tulitas la pelona in 1893*

each of them called "novela militar." Another volume, Cuentos de colores,

was also published in 1893*

JOSE NEGRETE

Jose Negrete, son of the Mexican minister to the Belgian court, was

born in Brussels in 1855. After spending his early life in Brussels,

France, and Italy, he came to Mexico at the age of eleven and studied at

the "Colegio de San Ildefonso" and at the "Escuela Nacional de Jurispru-

dencia," receiving his degree in 1876. Entering journalism as one of the

editors of La Revista, he defended the political faction of Lerdo de Tejada,

taking up arms in its behalf for a short time. After this faction became

integrated with that of Porfirio Diaz, Negrete became active in politics.

He was sent on an official mission to San Francisco, and died in Tepic

while returning to Mexico in 1883.

Iguiiiz believes that Negrete was capable of literary production

superior to the work he left.

Lastima que hubiese empleado su tiempo y sus dotes literarias

en propugnar la inmortalidad por medio de las obras oue, sobre
temas harto escabrosos y obscenos, produjo su pluma.

1 Juan B. Iguxniz: og. cit., p. 236.

 -161;-

Negrete is the author of five literary works. The first of these,

Memorias de Paulina, was published in I87U. It is not cited as a novel

by Torres-Rioseco and is not available for study. The second work is

Historias color de fuego, published in 1875* In 1878 Negrete published

La nina martir, an exaggerated novel of love and revenge. Ireneo Paz,

in a prologue to the novel, says that Negrete seeks inspiration in actual

events and produces "algunas revelaciones que hielan la sangre, que hacen

estumecer los huesos, que ponen miedo, espanto, melancolia, odio y qui^n

sabe cuantas cosas mas en el corazo^n."-*- Paz tells of an occasion when

Negrete reads portions of the then incomplete novel to a group of friends

with electrifying effects.

...aquellas escenas liigubres, aquellos dialogos terribles, aque-

llas descripciones desgarradoras, iban de acuerdo con la terapes-
tad que tronaba en el cielo produciendo mas impresion a los cir-
cunstantes que no respundxan a la voz que leia m^s que con sus-
piros ahogados y con exclamaciones de rabia o de terror.^

The story of rape, seduction, torture, and perversions of various

kinds becomes more absurd than frightening. The authors ability to

weave a plot is good except for the fact that he too frequently reverses

chronology in order to maintain suspense. The use of France as the scene

for some of the action is purely arbitrary. The mention of place names

is the only way the reader may identify the scenes of action.

Negrete spends most of his character building talent on one person,

showing the cause and progress of her fall and intense jealousy. The

other characters are less well developed, but it should be noticed that

1 Jose Negrete: La nina martir, Mexico, 1878, Prologo by Ireneo Paz,

p. vi.

2 Ibid., p. vii.
 -165-

Negrete views all society with a jaundiced eye. This attitude provides

unpleasant incidents that are decidedly more gruesome than are customary

among his contemporaries, but the novel is hardly as frightening as Ireneo

Paz would have it. Any such effect that the author might create is miti­

gated by his lack of skill in composition.

Another novel, La mujer verdugo, was published in 1878 and is a se­

quel to La nina martir. Negrete's last and most interesting work, Memo­

riae de Merolico, was published in i860.

The book begins in a picaresque tone, in the first person, with the
main character's account of the insignificant circumstances of his birth
in Switzerland. As he grows up, his parents want him to take chaigs of
the family estatej but he, wishing to be a doctor, flees to Paris where
he takes refuge with an uncle. Very materialistic and very much the lo-
thario, he takes advantage of his uncle's patronage until the latter ejects
him for his persistence in having an affair with Luisa, who is also the
mistress of the uncle.

While wandering aimlessly after the preceding episode, the student

is approached by a servant who wants a doctor for his dying master. Mero­
lico assures the servant he is a doctor and submits to being blindfolded
and led to their destination. When the blindfold is removed, Merolico
finds himself in a sumptious palace and before a very aged man who informs
him that he is interested not in a doctor, but in any man. The old man
reveals himself as a sorcerer who has discovered cures for all diseases
and can prolong life but cannot conquer death. Some twelve years before,
however, his daughter was stolen from him. Since the old man is now dying,
he wants someone to carry on the search. He arms Merolico with his scien­
tific formulae, a sum of money, and the promise of half of the old man's
enormous fortune when the girl is returned to her relatives. Merolico
accepts and leaves the house just before it and its inhabitants are blown
to bits. This is the explanation for Merolico's travels throughout the
remainder of the book. A note on page forty says that Merolico's travels,
except for his experiences in Mexico, are omitted in this edition.1

Following this introductory portion, the narrative is dropped and

there are several chapters which are really sketches giving the author's
impressions of Mexico. They are entitled "La mujer," "El teatro," "El
'Globo' a las doce de la noche," "En el seno de la prensa y de la Camara,"

1 Jos^ Negrete: Memories de Merolico, Mexico, 1880, p. 1*0. No other

edition is cited by Igulniz or 'Ey forres-Rfoseco.
 -166-

and "Los sabios de Mexico*" In the last chapter the author returns to
the narrative. Merolico thinks he sees the sorcerer's daughter, but the
story is left unfinished.

The narrative element is interesting and is handled with some skill,

but it is not exploited. The narrative is dropped on the fortieth page

of the novel and is not resumed until the last chapter, the intervening

chapters being completely without plot. Apparently the author's purpose

was to interweave the narrative of his search for the sorcerer's daughter

with satirical sketches about people and customs of various countries.

The satire would be much more entertaining if the picaresque tone, also

abandoned on the fortieth page, had been retained throughout the novel.

The author's opinion of society is consistent throughout the work.

He recognizes the base desires and sense of expediency in all persons,

and his characters are portrayed in this way, Merolico receiving the

largest amount of treatment. Negrete seeks to accomplish his purpose

through witticisms which sometimes amuse and sometimes disgust. Mero­

lico 's character is revealed through his attitude toward worldly things,

especially love.

La inocencia es una cosa esencialmente monotona. Si Dios hubiera

querido la reelecci<£n de la inocencia, el mundo no valdrfa la
pena de nacer. Con raz<£n Adan salio del Paraiso.

...el amor a los quince anos camina en ferrocarril, a los treinta

en diligencia y a los cuarenta con muletas.^

No se como en las ordenes monasticas se imponen tantos votos a

los frailes: hecho el primero, el de pobreza, ya se han hecho
tacitamente los demas.^

1 Ibid., p. 7.

2 Ibid., p. 8.
 -167-

La mujer facil es la unica posiblej la beldad que se/ resiste,

solo tiene atractivo para los caracteres de primer orden, o
para los vagos de primera clase.

Yo que me resigno gustoso a pertenecer a las medianias de pa­

tente, no necesito el afrodisiaco de la dificultad, para rendir
culto a esa segunda naturaleza que completa el instinto con el
deseo.

Merolico describes his uncle in a way that clearly exemplifies the

tone of the first part of the novel.

Me vi apretado estrechamente entre los brazos de un Milon de

Crotona en "terra Cota," gordo, mofletudo, con un cuemo de
caza decorado pomposamente con el nombre de nariz, una boca
semejante a la del Etna, y una bata, de anchos pliegues, propia
para estudiar en ella las infinitas diversidades de la flora.

Merolico is surprised to find that his mistress, Luisa, is also the

mistress of his uncle. Luisa considers it a perfectly logical arrange­

ment.

La mujer tiene dos amos: el que la da amor, y el que la da dinero.

Tu llamaste con la campana del corazcfn; pero el otro llamo con la
campana del bolsillo.3

In the several essays in which Negrete satirizes Mexican society,

he does so in a general way rather than by showing the reflection of

customs in chosen individuals. Most of his criticisms are trite. He

says that Mexican women in their dress are guided by the desire to im­

press others with their elegance rather than by good taste.^ He accuses

people of attending the theatre to see other people and to be seen rather

1 Ibid., p. 1*2.

2 Ibid., p. 10.

3 Ibid., p. 2l*.

1* Ibid., pp. 1*3-U1*.

 -168-

than to enjoy the play.'*" He continues to use the witticisms that are

a combination of wisdom and humor. In a tavern "El Globo," he finds

that the people reveal their personalities more freely than when they

are sober.

Los borrachos son como son, mientras que los "frios" son como
quieren ser.^

Negrete is bitter about the lack of independence in the press.

El que en Mexico lee un perit^dico los ha leido todosj esto en

materia de informaciones; ahora en cuanto a la manera de juz-
gar los hechos, basta sustituir cada adjetivo con su equiva­
lents contrario, _y ya queda armado esa fantasma que se llama
opinion publica.

Ya se ha dicho muchas veces que ^la prensa aqujf esta dividida

en dos grandes categor^asj periodicos vendidos y peric^dicos
que estaide venta.^

Most of the nation’s legislators are fools and many of them open

to bribery. £ The learned men of Mexico are accused of having only a

superficial knowledge and of making no original contributions.^*

These constantly occuring witticisms, written in extremely choppy

prose, detract from the weight of Negrete’s ideas.

1 Ibid., pp. h9-j?0.

2 Ibid., p. $k.

3 Ibid., p. 62.

it Ibid., p. 63.

5 Ibid., pp. 6U-66.

6 Ibid., pp. 68-70.

 -169-

PEDRO CASTERA

Pedro Castera was a Romantic novelist with strong inclinations

toward Realism. The details of his life are obscure, and one wonders

what created his desire to criticize the exploitation of mine workers

as well as what caused him to write with such apparent haste. He was

born in 1838, but the place of his birth is not known. He fought against

the French Intervention, attaining the rank of "comandante.” Iguiniz

says that mental illness caused him to enter the hospital of San Hip<£-

lito around 1867 and that he remained there until his recovery several

years later. ^

The rest of his life was apparently devoted to literature and

journalism. Jimenez Rueda mentions one book of verse by Castera, and

also says he was a musician. He died in Tacubaya on December 5* 1906.

It may be supposed that he resided in Tacubaya for some time since he

chose that for the setting of his best known novel, Carmen, which was

first published in 1882. This publication was near the beginning of

his literary career, his only previous publication being a work which

was left incomplete and which is entitled Cuentos mineros. Un combate.

It was published in 1881.

Carmen was published in 1882, 1887* 1896, 1910, and 1920. The

novel is strikingly similar to Jorge Isaac’s Maria, but the setting is

1 Juan B. Iguiniz: og. cit., p. 6I4..

2 Julio Jimenez Rueda: og. cit., p. 179.

 -170-

faithfully Mexican. The "costumbrismo" in Carmen is neither as abundant

nor as colorful as that in Maria; the plot of Carmen is more complicated

than that of Maria, and in spite of some improbabilities, is more interest­

ing.

One night the hero is returning home, intoxicated, when he finds an

abandoned infant in a basket near his door. As the child grows up, she
is allowed to believe that the hero and his mother are her parents. The
hero spends two years in France on business. Although Carmen has dis­
covered that the hero is not her father, her affection grows constantly.
When, after returning to Mexico, the hero finds that Carmen is in ill
health, he calls in a doctor who finds that Carmen has hypertrophy of
the heart, and he also discovers that the love of Carmen and the hero
transcends the filial-paternal relationship. Manuel tells the hero that
part of Carmen*s treatment must be the hero's declaration of love. The
hero’s hesitancy and the confused emotions of the lovers provide a series
of sentimental scenes after which they decide to marry.

When the hero tells his mother of the proposed marriage, she is hor­
rified because she knows that Carmen is really the daughter of the hero
and Lola, a former sweetheart. After months of separation from Carmen,
the hero is told by Lola that Carmen is not really their daughter, but a
tool used to deceive the hero.

The hero, having obtained written proof of Lola's revelation, hastens

to his home where his mother rejoices with him. Carmen, however, is at
the point of death, having grown steadily worse during the hero's absence.
She rallies slightly after his arrival, and they decide to be married the
next day, but she dies during the night.

The plot is well integrated and is balanced except for the long series

of sentimental scenes which contain virtually no action. Improbabilities

are present in the plot, but they are less obvious in the novel than they

are in the synopsis. The greatest inprobability is one of characteriza­

tion— the peculiar love of the hero and Carmen. The hero attempts to ex­

plain how his love is a composite of many kinds of love.

Un carifio mezcla de todos los cariSfos, un amor en que se condensan

todos los amores, algo de inexplicable y de extraKo que llena mis
noches de fiebre y mis dias de sueffos, que me vigoriza y enerva,
me exalta y abate, y que multiplica mi vida, por la multiplicidad
de las sensaciones que me produce. Amor ardiente e inmenso que
 -171-

vive de las ilusiones mas castas y de los mas fogosos deseos.

Amor que me mataria si ella muriese, porque yo respiro, pal-
pito y vivo para ellaj la amo de todos modos y con todas las
energxas de mi espiritu, con todos mis pensamientos y con
todos los latidos de mi corazon.

This confused love, which embodies all kinds of love, provides the

basis for the development of the two principal characters. Granted the

existence of such a love, the characterizations are believable. The

love of the hero and Carmen provides the dominant tone of the novel.

The other characters have little significance. It would be unfair to

say that they are not real, but little is seen of them except in the

few instances of great drama. In such cases, the mother and Lola ap­

pear cruel. Castera attempts to justify this cruelty, but he fails to

do so completely.

The "costumbrismo" which contributes so much to the worth of Isaac's

Maria is comparatively slight in Carmen. There is description of an eve­

ning of trees and flowers in an idyllic tone, but the urban setting of the

novel does not allow true beauty and enthusiasm in this respect.

A second work, Impresiones y recuerdos, was published also in 1882.

It is a collection of twelve short stories and sketches. One of the

stories is a condensed amatory novel. Three others are short stories,

amatory with unexpected endings: Los ojos garzos tells the story of a

man who falls in love with a woman because of her beautiful eyes, later

discovering that she is blind; in Un amor artfstica, the hero becomes

enamored of a girl when he hears her, unseen, playing the piano, only to

discover that the pianist is her father; the hero loves Angela, in the

1 Pedro Castera: Carmen, Paris-^Mexico, 1910, p. 61*.

 -172-

story by that title, because of the wonderful perfumes she uses, and later

discovers that she uses them to conceal the odor of her cancerous mouth.

The sketches have trite themes dealing with opinions expressed about the

author after his death, the cynicism of old age, and ideal love. The au­

thor is greatly concerned about growing old and indulges in much superfi­

cial speculation about his death, displaying a tiresome religiosity. There

is no apparent insincerity on Casterafs part; he is simply not a profound

thinker. Most of the sketches are tiresome, but the stories are well

written from the standpoint of plot. The characterization is slight and

hardly necessary for these stories, and the prose is mediocre.

Los maduros, published also in 1882, is entirely different from

Carmen. The characters are developed in much greater detail, and the

social criticism carries considerable force. The action takes place in

a mining town near Guanajuato, and the novelist begins the novel by des­

cribing the conditions that are the result of the bonanza, emphasizing

the senseless extravagance that is found among the wealthy.

Luis, a brawny miner, has to support his mother and his seven
younger siblings. He is attracted to an Indian girl, Josefa (Pepa), who
brings lunch to her father, but Luis knows that he cannot marry because
of his duties to his family. When Pepa is left an orphan, she comes to
live with the family of Luis. In order to earn more money, he decides
to work in the mine as a "maduro"; to still persistent gossip, he de­
cides to marry Pepa but to preserve her virginity since he will soon die
because of the nature of his work.

Before he can many Pepa, he is blinded by a powder explosion in

the mine. On the same day, his mother and all his siblings except the
oldest boy die of cholera morbus in an epidemic that has struck Guana­
juato. Luis recovers his sight and, since he no longer has to work as
a "maduro," is able to overcome the evil effects of that occupation. He
and Pepa are married.
The plot is well developed up to the time when Luis becomes a maduro.
Castera keeps within the realm of the probable and, at the same time,
 -173-

provides enough action. The remainder of the novel is improbable and

abrupt. The logical action ceases and the author devotes himself to an

improbable means of getting Luis out of his difficulties, without regard

for reasonable plot development. Not only are the facts of the denouement

improbable, the happy ending is in itself illogical because it is inconsis­

tent with the feeling of impending tragedy that Castera creates in the

first part of the novel and it mitigates the force of his criticism.

The kind of people treated is more interesting than the characteriza­

tion itself. All the characters are of the lower class. The author cri­

ticizes the wastefulness of the rich through his own comment and through

dialog, but the rich never enter the story* Luis is described in great

detail as a healthy laborer; Pepa is a strong Indian girl who is innocent,

but by no means weak physically. Both Pepa and Luis have keen senses of

duty and morality, but they are not self-righteous martyrs. All the char­

acters achieve a reality that is not present in those of Carmen. This

reality is enhanced by some use of the speech of the lower classes which

is always explained by orthodox Spanish in parentheses.

No more works by Castera appeared until 1890, when two novels, Dramas

de un corazon and Querens, were published. *

RAFAEL DE ZAIAS ENRIQUEZ

This friend and follower of Altamirano was journalist, poet, and

novelist. He published Altamirano’s Clemencia in the Grand Journal de

 -171*-

Perou when he was editor of that periodical. By 1876, the author had

written at least two dramas of which the dominant characteristic is

theatricality.^ The first novel of Zayas Enriquez was published in 1881

and consists of one hundred and twenty-three pages. It is entitled

Remordimiento and is sub-titled "Memorias de Agustin S.” His second

novel, Oceanida, was published in 1887 • It is an extremely complicated

novel with a story within the story motivating the main plot. Much of

the action of the main plot takes place in New York and in Savannah,

Georgia. The secondary plot is a series of incidents in which the heroine

is involved during her life as a wanderer and later as a circus rider

throughout Europe. Only the final scenes take place in Mexico.

The narrative ability shown in this novel is considerable, the ima­

gination is stupendous. There is too much action, the plot is too cont-

plicated, and there are many improbabilities, but Zayas Enriquez completes

and integrates the various elements of the plot as if it were a puzzle.

The story within the story is more improbable and more complicated than

the plot, and it is somewhat episodic. The author is able to create

genuine suspense, not so much concerning the outcome of the novel as con­

cerning the outcome of distinct episodes.

Oce'anida is the dominant character throughout the novel. The rest

of the characters are divided between the good and the bad. Oceanida is

a mixture of good and bad, completely ruthless in her vengeance, completely

1 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: Rimas. Cuentos de inviemo. Clemencia,

Mexico, 1880, Preface.

2 Carlos Gonzalez-FeSa: og. cit., p. 322.

 - 175-

pure in her true love. Zayas Enrxquez does not fully justify this

contradiction, nor does her vengeance seem just in every case. One man

slapped her when she approached in a situation and in clothing that made

him think she was a prostitute. She was later the cause of his death.

The other characters represent the customary vices of the bad people.

Some personality differences are presented by people in varying social

situations, such as the jealous clown and the middle-class Parisians.

Without lengthy digressions, Zayas Enrxquez includes some social

criticism. The incident of the lynching of Toby carries a criticism of

the action mainly through the action itself, but there is some digression

in defense of the Negro. In his treatment of Oceanida’s religious order,

the very fact that her experiences cannot be revealed carries a condemna­

tion. There is very little Mexicanism in the novel since it takes place,

for the most part, outside that country.

El teniente de los Gavilanes, published in 1902, is set in Mexico

and has a much stronger national flavor. It is an historical novel in

that it is set in i860, presents characters involved in the military ac­

tion of the time, and mentions some historical personages. Although the

historical element is woven into the plot to some extent, it can hardly

be said that the plot is dependent upon it. The plot contrasts two young

men, one good and one bad. The foster father of the ne’er-do-well suffers

as a result of the latter’s evil, sees his happiness destroyed, and joins

a group of bandits who decide to support the government against the French.

The plot is complicated as in Oceanida, but is not as well integrated. The

story is not well balanced because too much time is spent on amorous
 - 176-

involvements leading up to Cenobio's joining the bandits, with relatively

little action after that time. Characterization is done with more skill

and there is enough shading to make many of the characters real. The

women are more clearly seen than are the men. Most of the national flavor

comes through the treatment of the bandits, who the author says are the

losers in the various revolutions.

MANUEL PAINO

Between 1888 and 1891, Manuel Payno1s third novel, Los bandidos de

Rio Frio, was published in Barcelona, without date. Spell places the

date of composition in 1882 while Payno was in Spain.^ Read, however,

shows that the novel was probably not finished until 1891.^ Three edi­

tions have appeared since that time: one in Mexico in 1919, another in

Mexico and Buenos Aires in 1927, and an undated edition in San Antonio,

Texas.

Like Payno's two earlier novels, Los bandidos de Rio Frio may justly

be called an historical novel. The tone of the novel is essentially that

of El fistol del diablo, but there are some notable differences. The

greatest point of similarity is that both novels contain an historical

element which is balanced by a "costumbrista" approach. This combina­

tion is absent from the unfinished novel, El hombre de la situaci^n,

which was published in 1861. The story of that novel, as far as the

1 J. R. Spell: "The Literary Works of Manuel Payno" in Hispania,

1929, Vol. XII, pp. 3U7-356.

2 J. Lloyd Read: op. cit., pp. 259-260.

 -177-

author carried it, precluded the social criticism that was present in

El fistol del diablo, although it is possible that the first part of the

novel was intended to set the stage for social criticism in the remainder

that never appeared. Because of the use of many historical personages,

Los bandidos de Rio Frio possesses a stronger historical element than does

El fistol del diablo. However, the historical element is hardly more sig­

nificant than the social criticism. Read presents a good discussion of

both elements and shows how Payno has gone through a process of literary

maturation, having absorbed the influence of a number of European novel­

ists including the French Realists and Naturalists.^

Like El fistol del diablo, the present novel is in many respects

a typical novel of customs of its time5 also like its well known prede­

cessor the novel possesses a fundamental realism which distinguishes

it from its average contemporary. The portrayal of the Mexican scene

was by no means new to Payno, but it is quite probable that Altamirano

encouraged him in this portrayal and also in his study of foreign novel­

ists. The main contribution by these foreign novelists to the work of

Payno is the technique of handling minute detail, one of the improvements

over Payno1s earlier work. In general, it may be said that the difference

between his two best novels is a matter of refinement. Los bandidos de

Rio Frio is even more scant of plot than is El fistol del diablo, being

a series of events in the lives of a number of people, presented without

even the connecting device of the scarfpin. The various plots are inter­

woven to some extent, but the only personage who is ever acquainted with
 -178-

all the threads of action is a lawyer who has little to do with the action

of the novel. Payno uses him to consolidate the plots at the end of the

novel. The author may certainly be criticized for his shortcomings in

plot construction. It should be said, however, that Payno was never in­

terested in that element of fiction writing. His interest is in charac­

terization and in portrayal of the social scene.

The author's disgust is evidenced frequently in his picture of soci­

ety and he does not hesitate to present revolting scenes. Such realism

is more evident in the present novel than it is in El fistol del diablo

because the former deals with the lower class to a greater extent and

because the author has been influenced bv the Europeans. Payno's natural

tendency toward realism has been enhanced by greater attention to detail.

This fact is also evident in the characterization. In his first novel,

Payno was able to give his characters some reality, but in Los bandidos

de Rio Frio he was able frequently to make them vivid and to make them

grow. Although he does show to some extent that tendency of his time to

draw a definite line between good and bad characters, he provides a good

amount of shading, presents conflicts within the characters, and may show

them as victims of their environment or of their own misdeeds.

Los bandidos de Rio Frio is an example of what the preceding novels

might have been if their authors had possessed Payno's perception and

ability to profit from the study of European models. In defense of

Payno*s contemporaries, it should be said that some of them possessed

a far superior conception of what a novel should be from a structural

 -179-

standpoint. It is quite possible that Payno1s work might have influenced

the novel in the direction exemplified by his work had not the attention

of the novelists, being more profoundly influenced by European Realism,

turned from the diffuse and panoramic to the specific.

 CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSIONS

It is a fact that any classification of the novels studied in the

preceding chapters must be modified by exceptions. The general classi­

fication into amatory novels and novels of customs must allow for the

existence of elements of each kind in the other kind. The amatory nov­

els contain little evidence of their Mexican origin, their authors be­

ing much less concerned with what they saw than with what they imagined.

Many of them have foreign settings, with the apparent purpose of exalt­

ing the foreign, rather than of portraying the Mexican. Even those that

take place in Mexico are usually set there by statement rather than by

portrayal of the genuinely Mexican. The amatory novels that were writ­

ten after I 867 occasionally contained some portrayal of customs or of

characters that are identified with Mexico, but they must be classed as

amatory novels because they were chiefly concerned with the idealization

of love and imitation of the foreign.

The novel of customs constitutes a more complicated category be­

cause it includes the works of men who followed directly the tradition

of Fernandez de Lizardi as well as those who were influenced primarily

by Europeans. This division is not absolute because the novelists of

the Lizardi tradition— Payno, Inclan, Cuellar— were influenced to some

extent by foreign novelists. They differed from their contemporaries

in that they were able to see and comprehend Mexico as it really was.

The other novelists of customs were unable to capture the essence of

 -181-

Mexican society. In all fairness, it must be admitted that they

honestly tried to portray the society of their time, but they were

too dependent upon their models to achieve originality and to compre­

hend their environment fully. After 1867, there was a general, though

gradual, turn to the portrayal of Mexico— a trend which was to develop

into a study of the country, its people, and its problems.

Before proceeding to a more detailed discussion of the findings

of this study, a word must be said about the historical novel which,

although it is not a part of this study, is related to it, because it

grew with Romanticism and matured with the other novels of the period.

The differences in the novel as seen before 1867 and after that date

are as pertinent in the study of the historical as in the study of the

present novels. They display merits and faults that are quite in accord

with their contemporaries. The fictional element suffers from the same

exaggerations, the writing is on the same general level. They were con­

cerned with contemporary history and with colonial and pre-conquest

history interpreted according to the standards of the nineteenth century.

They are full of the severe morality that is found in the other Romantic

novels. Authoritarianism in any form was such a hateful thing to the

historical novelists that it would have been impossible for them to re­

create the past in the manner of Scott.

Such liberal emphasis contrasts rather sharply with the tra­

ditional emphasis of much of European romanticism, and explains
the fact that Erckmann-Chatrian made a deeper impression on the
Mexican historical novelists than did Walter Scott.^

1 J. Iioyd Read: op. cit., p. 317.

 -182-

It will be seen that foreign influence on the other Romantic novelists

was more a matter of impression than of study.

Influences

The sources of inspiration of the novels produced in Mexico during

the Romantic Period were the Lizardi tradition of natural realism and

the novels of certain French writers whose influence was more general

than specific. The first source was the less active during the Romantic

Period, but it produced the novels which have a strong Mexican quality,

as seen in the works of Payno, Inclan, and Cuellar. Altamirano is par­

tially within the Lizardi tradition, but his is a special case because

he was able to blend elements of the tradition with other characteris­

tics of the prose fiction of his time. This natural realism that has

been referred to here as the Lizardi tradition was not the intentional

realism of the French school. It was not a matter of technique, but

rather of the unconscious attitude of the author toward the life around

him, the kind of realism that has been so characteristic of Spanish litera­

ture. Certainly this realism, as seen in the work of Fernandez de Lizardi,

was a part of Mexico’s heritage from Spain. It is possible, therefore,

that Lizardi1s successors were influenced by the tradition rather than

specifically by the works of Lizardi. Since Lizardi*s work was available

to them, it is possible that they read it, but this cannot be proved.

There are no striking similarities to the work of Lizardi except in the

general tone. For the most part they are episodic and some of them have

picaresque qualities, but these characteristics did not necessarily stem

 - 183-

from Lizardi. The important consideration is that they were influenced

by the same tradition, whether directly by Lizardi or not. All of them

received some French influence. In the case of Payno, the French influ­

ence is seen in his later work, in the form of detailed description and

revolting scenes that were the result of French Realistic and Naturalis­

tic influence. Inclan shows little specific influence: the initiation

scene following Dumas. The scheme of Cuellar's series, La lintema

magica, in which he attempts the portrayal of different types and of

different segments of society, recalls Balzac. All three show some of

the superficial criticism of society and much of the lachrymosity that

were characteristic of their contemporaries.

It is difficult to point out specific influences of the French

novelists, except in a few cases like the ones described above. The

Mexicans read French and frequently mentioned French novelists, either

in their introductions or through their characters. Some of these

novelists are claimed as sources of influence by the Mexican authors:

Chateaubriand, Balzac, Sue. Dumas might be cited in the case of the

historical novelsj but his only apparent influence on the present

novels is in the case of Inclan. The element of intrigue as found in

these novels might come from Dumas or from any one of many other Roman­

tic sources. Sotomayor made use of Chateaubriand by employing quota­

tions in his attempt to create an extraordinary emotion in the presence

of ruins. Beyond the use of quotations, Sotomayor is utterly different

from Chateaubriand. Balzac and Sue are the ones most frequently claimed

as models. These claims, in the case of Balzac, were all too often a

matter of lip service. The Mexican novelists did not comprehend the
 -18U-

realism of Balzac, but rather saw in his work a hectic panorama of soci­

ety. Confused with their half-determined purpose of portraying Mexican

society was their desire to Europeanize themselvesj hence their picture

of Mexican society is more exactly their picture of French society in a

Mexican setting. However, most of them did include at least a little of

what was characteristically Mexican, and this Mexicanism attains consid­

erable importance in a few novels.

Since the Mexican novelists were impressed by the panoramic view

of society and by the sensational, the novel of customs most nearly

resembles the work of Eugene Sue. This novelist is mentioned at least

as frequently as is Balzac, and it is Sue that Altamirano points out

as the inspiration of several of his predecessors. This influence pro­

duced novels with very complicated plots and unrealistic coincidences.

Many of the novels were extremely long. The best examples of the in­

fluence of Sue are the novels of Rivera y Rio and of Tovar, mainly be­

cause of the extension of their works; but the influence is apparent in

all the novels of customs written before 1867 except those of Carrillo

y Ancona and Roa Barcena.

A little of the diffuse and panoramic is found in some of the ama­

tory novels— works with involved plots in which the portrayal, of society

was completely shadowed by the amatory element, as in the works of Orozco

y Berra and Ramirez. More typical of the amatory novel, however, is the

relatively simple tale of exalted love, often combined with foreign gla­

mor. The outstanding qualities of these novels are the sensitivity of

the characters and the love of the exotic, both of which are general
 -185-

characteristics of Romanticism and do not stem from any particular

source. These simple tales are rare after 1867, because the tendency

to portray the national scene had become strong enough by that time to

exert its influence on practically all novelists.

The novels of customs after 1867 were, in general appearance,

similar to those of the years preceding^ but two forces were clearly

at work: the good taste of Altamirano, and the influence of the French

Realists and Naturalists. In spite of the fact that the novels were

still often diffuse and to some extent improbable, the strength of Mexi-

canism increased and sensationalism was replaced by a more logical de­

velopment of events. The influence of the French Realists and Natural­

ists is seen with the characteristics of earlier novels in the works of

Payno, Martinez de Castro, Castera, and Zayas Enrxquez. In the works

of these men, the French influence contributed attention to detail, por­

trayal of revolting scenes, and care in character development that had

not been present in the earlier novels.

Portrayal of society

The amatory novels contain no portrayal of society except insofar

as the nature of the work must reflect a certain aspect of the society

that produced it. In the case of the amatory novels, this fact means

only that some Mexicans thought that sensitivity and exoticism were de­

sirable qualities that should be cultivated. In doing so, they were ac­

cepting qualities that were not characteristically Mexican^ and although

Mexican society was partially receptive to works of this type, the amatory
 -186-

novels were not as numerous as the novels of customs, nor did numerous

editions appear as often.

The most realistic portrayal of Mexican society is found in the

novels of the Lizardi tradition. Mexico is portrayed through the use

of types rather than of individualized charactersj there is no consis­

tent creation of atmosphere. Inclan portrayed a rural Mexicanism, and

the tone of his novel is more consistently Mexican than is the case with

his contemporaries because his rural types tend to create a total impres­

sion rather than differentiate themselves. Unfortunately, Astucia is

marred by its many sub-plots which intrude upon the general tone of the

novel. Payno painted a broader picture of Mexico— rural and urban, up­

per, middle, and lower classes. He makes use of types and of specific

criticism of social institutions. Cuellar is dependent upon types ex­

clusively} and even when he leaves his customary urban setting, the

rural is dimly seen. Altamirano differs from these men in that much of

his Mexicanism is developed through the description of natural scenery.

His portrayal of customs is best when the setting is a village. Rela­

tively little is seen of the upper class in the works of these men as

compared to the works of the other novelists of customs. Generally, the

lower class is considered to include only the criminals and those in the

most abject poverty. The so-called middle class, therefore, occupies a

position of prominence that is not in agreement with the actual situation

in Mexico. The rural people show a strict sense of honor, the urban

people are inclined to be dishonest. While the urban middle class is

not portrayed as wholly dishonorable, it is riddled by corruption in

 -187-

politics, in business, and in matrimony. They live under a political

system that is inefficient and suffer principally from the miscarriage

of justice. These people are presented as materialistic and uncultured.

When they attempt to emulate their social superiors, they make fools of

themselves. They are, however, more human, more real, than their coun­

terparts in the other novels of customs. It is highly significant that

this realism was not more generally cultivated. Since the Mexicans pre­

ferred something that was less real, the implication is clear that they

were trying to be something that they really were not. Their desire to

portray their society became confused with their desire to Europeanize

themselves.

The novels of customs written under the French influence portray

a society that is unbelievable because of the endless tragedies and

improbable coincidences, and because of the fact that the characters

are generally either completely good or completely evil. The powerful

class was the wealthy class, frequently the nouveaux-riches. Members

of this class were usually immoral in every way, complete villains.

The middle class consisted of people of good social position who had

been wealthy but had lost their fortunes, professional men, and honest

tradesmen. In general, the members of this class were as good as the

wealthy were bad. They suffered misfortune after misfortune as a re­

sult of the selfishness of the wealthy. Set against the duels, drunken­

ness, sexual immorality, and dishonest business practices of the upper

class, these people are portrayed as virtuous, diligent, and long-

suffering. The women were always the targets of the wealthy "Calaveras"j
 -188-

the families were swindled by the nouveaux-r iches; the professional men

found it difficult to establish themselves in their fields. The lower

class was given little attention; it consisted of some criminals, and a

few people who attempted to maintain their dignity against great odds.

The field of action is most often among the middle class, sometimes among

the wealthy, never primarily among the lower class. The view of society

is decidedly pessimistic. No hope is seen for the moral improvement of

the wealthy; little hope is seen for the betterment of the middle class.

When good triumphs in the action of a novel, it is a triumph for certain

individuals, not for the class. There is very little real social criti­

cism. The novelists dwell upon such things as conjugal honor, filial

respect, the power of money, the strength of sincere love, and the like.

Criticism of social institutions that are Mexican appear from time to

time, but they are too infrequent to present a picture of real Mexican

society.

With the greater attention to the typically Mexican and to more de­

tail that is seen in the novels written after 1867, more attention to the

lower class is found. Notably in the work of Castera, the problems of a

common laborer are presented. However, there was still not enough of

such presentation to afford an accurate picture of Mexican society.

Improvement of the novel as a literary form

There was no novelist of major importance during the Romantic Period

in Mexico. The general level of these novels, considered as a literary

form, is low; but some improvements may be seen as the novelists began
 - 189-

to understand the medium in which they sought to express themselves.

Many of the novelists were poor narrators. Imagination was greater

than narrative ability, and the novelists were frequently unable to

coordinate the mass of action that they wanted to relate. For this

reason, some of the best examples of narration are the simple amatory

tales. However, the short novel was not always cultivated so advan­

tageously, for usually they have the appearance of condensations of

longer and more complicated ones. Although some novelists showed more

narrative ability than others, there was no notable improvement until

1867. Altamirano was able to develop plots with no confusing sub-plots

and no reverse chronology, and he understood the meaning of a chapter.

He accomplished these improvements principally through the sacrifice

of the panoramic view of society. Those novelists who insisted on pre­

senting such a view continued to produce diffuse and confused plots.

It is apparent, however, that many of the novelists after 1867, while

inferior to Altamirano, were somewhat restrained by a central point of

criticism or by a central theme. This tendency is seen even in the work

of as poor a narrator as Ireneo Paz. The greatest improvement in this

respect came with the intensification of purpose that accompanied the

influence of French Realism and Naturalism.

The best characterization in the novels of the period is to be

found in the works of the followers of the Lizardi tradition and in

those novels that border on Realism. The characters that possess the

highest degree of reality are types rather than individualized char­

acters. In general, the novelists showed little skill in characterization,

 - 190-

being inclined to portray the personages as unbelievably virtuous or

unbelievably depraved. More attention was given to the struggle of

good versus evil than to individualized characters. Very few novel­

ists before 1867 attempted anything more than character portrayal by

direct description. Del Castillo attempted psychological development,

but was only partially successful^ Pizarro was able to use his charac­

ters as exponents of his ideas. Altamirano contributed less to improve­

ment in characterization than he contributed to other aspects of the

novel. Though he did portray some real Mexicans, his characters were

still too clearly divided between good and bad. The first marked im­

provement in characterization came under the influence of French

Realism and Naturalism. In the works of some of the novelists before

the predominance of Realism— Payno, Martinez de Castro, Castera— there

is an attempt to coordinate characters and action so that they motivate

each other.

The most obvious improvement in the novel of the period is in prose

style. With the exception of Roa Barcena and, to a limited extent, of

Pizarro, there was not one novelist before I867 who was pleasantly read­

able. Some were declamatory, others were dull. Some affected a style

by the use of short sentences and paragraphs, or by a staccato descrip­

tion that resembles a stage direction, or by repeated figures of speech.

All these techniques are more offensive than effective. Altamirano wrote

in a normal manner with no apparent attempt to convince the reader of his

literary ability. His occasional verbosity is pardonable. Such good taste

is seen in many novelists after 1867, though others wrote carelessly.

 -191-

The creation of a pervading atmosphere was almost unknown among

the Mexican Romantic novelists. Altamirano was the most successful.

Even the novelists in whose work Mexicanism is strongest, achieved that

Mexicanism more through the use of types than through the creation of

a total atmosphere. As the novelists approached Realism, increased at­

tention to detail pointed to the possibility of such an achievement,

but it was not attained in the present novels.

The Mexican Romantic novelists tried earnestly to portray society

as they saw it and to criticize it according to what they thought it

should be. They tried to carry out their task artistically. That they

lacked the ability tq comprehend their society fully was no more an in­

dividual fault than was the general lack of artistic ability. They were

writing without the benefit of an established tradition in Mexican prose

fiction; they were confused by the desire to Europeanize themselves;

they were writing in a political environment which was anything but con­

ducive to the production of literature. Although there were some authors

whose works are not as good as they could and should have been, it would

be foolish to question the seriousness of the novelists, considered as

a group. The progress that was made by the Romantic novelists, especi­

ally evident in the changes seen after 1867, was indicative of the

progress that the Mexican novel was to continue to make.

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I. General Background

Alaman, Lucas: Historia de Mejico, Mexico, Editorial Jus, 19k2.

Bancroft, Hubert Howe: Histoiy of Mexico, San Francisco, Cal., Ban­

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La Cruz, Mexico, J. M. Andrade y F. Escalante, 1855-1858.

Garcia Calderon, Francisco: Latin America: its rise and progress,

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Gruening, Ernest Henry: Mexico and its heritage, New York and London,
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El Renacimiento, Morelia, Imprenta de la viuda e hijos de Arango,

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Riva Palacio, Vicente: Mexico a traves de los siglos, Barcelona,

Espasa and Mexico, BallescJ, 1878-1F 79.

Sierra, Justo: Evolucion politica del pueblo mexicano, Mexico, La

Casa de Espaita, 19R0.

1 The first section of this bibliography includes only general

works and periodicals which serve as background for an understanding
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 -193-

El Siglo XIX, Mexico, 181+3-1885.

Zamacois, Niceto de: Historia de Mexico, Barcelona and Mexico, J. F.

P^rres, 1878-1902.

Zea, Leopoldo: Apogeo £ decadencia del positivismo en Mexico, Mexico,

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s El positivismo en Mexico, Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Econdinica,

191+27

II. Bibliography, Biography, and Criticism

Abreu Gdinez, Ermilo: Clasicos, romanticos, modernos, Mexico, Botas, 1931+.

Agueros, Victorianos Obras literarias, Mexico, Irapr. de V. Agueros, 1897,

Altamirano, Ignacio Manuel: Obras. Tomo I. Rimas. Articulos literarias,

Mexico, Inpr. de 7. Agueros, 1899.

Azuela, Mariano: Cien anos de novela mexicana, Mexico, Botas, 191+7.

Balbontin, Manuel: Memorias, San Luis Potosi, Tip. de la Escuela I.

Militar, I896.

Barrera, Isaac J.: Literatura hispanoamericana, Quito, Univ. Central,

3.931+.

Carnes, Hugh Byron: Facundo y su obra, n.p., Univ. Nacional Autonoma de

Mexico, n.d.

Castillo, Florencio M. del: Obras. Novelas cortas, Mexico, Impr. de

V. Agueros, 1902.

Chaunu, Pierre: Eugene Sue et la seconde republique, Paris, Presses

universitaires de France, 151+8.

Coester, Alfred: 11A bibliography of Spanish American literature,n in

The Romanic Review, Vol. Ill, No. 1, pp. 68-101.

: The literary history of Spanish America, New York, Macmillan,

Cross, W. L.: The development of the English novel, New York, Macmillan,
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Cuellar, Jose Tomds de: La linterna magica, Mexico, Univ. Nacional Auto­
noma, 191+1.
 -191+-

Diaz Covarrubias, Juan: Gil Gomez el insurgente, Mexico, Impr. de V.

Agueros, 1902*

Gamboa, Federico: La novela mexicana, Mexico, Eusebio Gomez de la

Puente, 1911+.

Gonzalez 0greg<in, Luis: Breve noticia de los novelistas mexicanos en

el siglo XIX, Mexico, Tip. de 0. R. Spiridola, ltib9.

Gonzalez PeHa, Carlos: History- of Mexican literature, Trans, by G. B.

Nance and F. J. Dunstan, Dallas, Southern Methodist Univ. Press,
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IgudSiiz, Juan B.: Bibliografia de novelistas mexicanos, Monografias

bibliogrificas mexicanas, 1^26.

Jimenez Rueda, Julio: Historia de la literature mexicana, Mexico,

Botas, 191+2.

: Letras mexicanas en el siglo XIX, Mexico, Fondo de Cultura

Economics, 191+1+.

Leguizamon, Julio A.: Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana,

Buenos Aires, Edit, reunidades, 191+5.

Leonard, Irving A.: "Romances of Chivalry in the Spanish Indies," in

Univ. of Cal. Publ. in Mod. Phil., Vol XVI, No. 3, pp. 219 et seq.

Levrault, Leon: Le roman des origines a nos jours, Paris, Mellattee,

1932. ~ ‘

Lopez-Portillo y Rojas, Jose: La novela, Mexico, Tip. Vizcaino & Via-

monte, 1906.

Luquiens, Frederick Bliss: Spanish American literature in the Yale

University library, New Haven, Yale Univ. Press ancT”London,
Oxford Univ. Press, 1939.

McClelland, Ivy Lillian: The origins of the romantic movement in Spain,

Liverpool, Institute of Hispanic Studies, 1937.

McLean, M. D.: El contenido de "El Siglo diez £ nueve," Washington,

Inter-american bibliograpEical and library association, 191+0.

Melendez, Concha: La novela indianista en Hispanoamerica, Madrid,

Impr. de la liEr. y casa edit. Hernando, 1951+•

Millares Carlo, Agustxn and Mantecon, Jos^ Ignacio: Ensayo de una

bibliografia de bibliografias mexicanas, Biblioteca ae Ta H feria
del libro y exposicidn nacional del periodismo, 191+3.
 -195-

Mille, Pierre: The French novel, Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1930.

Peers, E. Allison: A history of the romantic movement in Spain,

Cambridge, University Press, l5l|0.

Peral, Miguel Angel: Diccionario biografico mexicano, Mexico, Edit.

P. A. C., i9l*lu

Pimentel, Francisco: Obras completas. Vol. V, Mexico, Tip. Econlmica,

1903-190l±.

Catalogo, no. 10, Mexico, Porrua, 19li8.

Read, J. Lloyd: The Mexican historical novel, New York, Institute de

las Espanas en los Estados Unidos, 1939.

Revilla, Manuel G.: Elogio del historiador y novelista D. Jose Maria

Roa Barcena ..., Mexico, Irapr. de M. Leon Sanchez, 190^1

Roa Barcena, Jose Maria: Obras. Tomo IV, Mexico, Impr. de V. Agiieros,
1902.

Rodriguez Galvan, Ignacio: Poesias. Vol. I, Varacruz-Puebla, La Ilustra*

cidn and Paris, A. Donnameitej' 1883.

Saintsbury, George E. B.: The English novel, New York, Dutton, 1913.

: A history of the French novel, London, Macmillan, 1917.

Sanchez, Luis Alberto: Historia de la literatura americana, Santiago

de Chile, Ercilia, 191+2.

Sismondi, J. C. L.: History of the Italian republics, New York, Dutton,

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Spain and Spanish America in the libraries of the University of Califor­

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Spell, Jefferson Rea: Contemporary Spanish American fiction, Chapel

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 -196-

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Torres-Rfoseco, Arturos Bibliografia de la novela mejicana, Cambridge,

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HI. Novels

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Alegrfa, Adolfo Isaacs El libro de Satanas, Mexico, Impr. de ”La

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• La luz en las tinieblas, Mexico, Impr. de Tomas F. Neve, 1870.

Altamirano, Ignacio Manuels Atenea, Mexico, Impr. Universitaria, 1935.

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. zarco, Buenos Aires, Espasa-Calpe, 19is0.

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s El rayo del sol, Merida, Impr. Gamboa Guzman, 1892.

 -197-

• El sanctuario de la aidea, Merida, Impr. Gamboa Guzman, 1886.

Cartas de Don Caralampio Molinero del Cerro a Dona Bibiana Cerezo, su

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Castera, Pedro: Carmen, Paris and Mexico, Libr. de la vda. de Ch. Bouret,
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Castillo, Florencio M. del: Obras, Mexico, Impr. de V. Agiieros, 1902.

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H. Miralles, 18907

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— — : La linterna migica. Las gentes que "son asi,11 Santander, Impr.

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 -198-

Diaz Covarrubias, Juan: La clase media, Mexico, Tip. de M. Castro, 1859.

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— -- 187_
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 -199-

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: Gabriela, Mexico, Tip. de V. G. Torres, 1862.

: Una rosa y un harapo, Mexico, Impr. de F. Diaz de Le^n y Santiago

White, 1868.

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■: El hambre £ el pro, Mexico, Impr. de J. Rivera, 1869.

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 -200-

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