Thoughts on Historical Fiction and Magical Realism

Historical fiction: historically based incidencts and/or characters altered or elaborated upon by an author, who may choose to mix fact with myth and/or the surreal or abstract. Blending the real and the surreal may often give the text a chaotic feel, in which the reader is never quite sure if what they're reading is/was real or not. Similar to a psychological narrative in which real and dream aren't seen as separate, but

El Reino de Este Mundo seems to display quite modern prose, mixing the history and the surreal as well as dream and reality in an seemingly chaotic structure. This brought to mind a favourite book of mine: Arthur Schnitzler's Dream Story. Schnitzler, an Austrian author who was of the same progressively psychoanalytic generation as Sigmund Freud, was a pioneer in stream-of-consciousness narrative. Dream Story eloquently blurs the real from the dream and the reader is never quite sure if what is happening is really happening. Curious fact: Stanley Kubrick carried a copy of Dream Story in his pocket for over 30 years, struggling to find a way to bring such an abstract and indeterminate story to the screen. Such a psychological and psychoanalytic book that delves into the deepest desires of the conscious and subconscious/unconscious (what have you) was a challenge that proved nearly impossible to (re)create on film. He finished the film, Eyes Wide Shut, though died before its theatrical release. It is arguably his best film, though I recommend reading Dream Story before seeing the film as the film can be tough to follow. Schnitzler and Kubrick, like Carpentier, achieve in creating an obra that is chaotic and unpredictable, abstract, often unbelievable, though curiously fascinating and thought provoking. The reader/viewer are never quite sure what to think or believe and is left to imagine and decide for themselves. In doing so, Carpentier seems to illuminate the strange way in which an ancient world became the New World, and is able to show how Latin America's fantastical and marvelous beginnings were/are chaotic and indefinite. He shows Latin America's splendor by combining seemingly unbelievable historical incidents with myth and stipulation. All three works, however, can be tough to follow and to fully understand and this, perhaps, is another achievement. Each author/auteur achieves in creating a dreamlike sequence of events that, though based on the real, is blended with the surreal, ultimately attaining lo real maravilloso.

P.S.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Pensamientos sobre la segunda mitad

First of all, thank you all for the comments. Second, I'd like to apologize for my ill mannered use of profanity when discussing my frustration with how tediously slow the first reading went. Third, I'd like to re-issue a constructive and critical statement regarding the text's complexity, in which I will include this week's reading, although this time I will refrain from diction that would be unfit for a university level discussion group, and that may dock me points for being bitchy - I mean for complaining. Like the first mitad, the second mitad of Leyendas de Guatemala, was slow going. I found that spreading the readings out, one act/chapter/cortina per sitting, to be helpful, though retaining important points, the gist, or even the main point of each part was tough. The need for constant reference to the dictionary may hinder the fluidity of the read, and the abstract style of the plot structure makes it tough to get a feel for where the obra is going, especially when the second half becomes a . . . play? Asturias, you had me at "El Cuco de los Sueños va hilando los cuentos," lost me at pretty much each chapter, kept me turning the pages when you talked about a priest obsessing over a ball that turns out to be the devil, and stole my heart all over again with tortugas barbadas (awesome, though I was dado plazer when I found out my last name, Carey, means sea turtle in Spanish, yeah thats right). Ohh Asturias, how I wish you'd va hilando mis cuentos.

As I see most of the class has already discussed the plot-line, the apparent change of structure and its possible meanings, intentions and/or achievements, I would like to draw attention to a couple parts of the segunda mitad which got me thinking, and I would like to see what others think. First, I will draw attention to one of my favourite philosophical passages of the obra and then compare it to a famous line written by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. (Note: Feedback to the following textual stimuli is both encouraged and expected.)"¡Nada existe, Chinchibirín, todo es sueño en el espejismo inmóvil, sólo la luz que cambia al paso de Cuculcán que va de la mañana a la tarde, de la tarde a la noche, de la noche a la mañana, hace que nos sintamos vivos. ¡La vida es un engaño demasiado serio para que tu lo entiendas Chichibirin!" This passage reminded me of the famous lament by Segismundo en La Vida es Sueño en que lamenta: "La vida es sueño, y los sueños sueños son." This brings about a discussion of dream v. reality as well as free will v. destiny. What is Asturias getting at here? As most of the leyendas seem to deal with a mezcla of gods and mortals, I would assume he would argue - at least that it was Mayan belief - that the gods dictate the lives of the mortals and that we are bound by the path that they set for us. Guacamayo may be the counter argument, a modern voice speaking out against conventional Mayan belief, and though he may be acting as the crazy drunk, he may be on to something with this whole free will thing. Or he might just be un borracho. Thoughts?

The second recurring issue which I would like to address is that of Guacamayo's sexist(?) remarks, which include: 'Las mujeres son vegetales,' 'La mujer es la locura . . . es el piquete de la tarántula.' and 'La noche se hizo para la mujer.' I am not quite sure what he is getting at and if or why it is important. As I have written a proficient quantity, arguably above-and-beyond if I may be so bold, I insert the preceding quote with the hopes that someone explain to me Guacamayo's beef with mujeres.

Oh, I forgot. We discussed in Medieval Spanish Lit that a 'toothache' had sexual connotation back in the day. Guacamayo, quien duele no "sólo la muela, todos los dientes", you horny bastard.

Leyendas de Guatemala

Our first reading was as tough to read as it was long. Asturias has a talent for fantastical imagery that takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through jungles and forests brimming with life, across paisajes of immaculate beauty, and weaves harrowing tales of both mortals and the divine, the real and the surreal. While one cannot deny the creative ingenuity of the obra, the complexity of each sentence often leaves the reader stranded and perplexed. As would reading similar prose in one's native language, a student of Spanish is left dumbfounded, struggling for grip of the works' direction, aim and purpose. Maybe the author's advancement of surrealism and of creative prose are worth praise from critics, though as a fan of minimalism and beauty in simplicity, straightforward prose, as opposed to the elaborate, fantastic, and the surreal. I couldnt help marveling at the similes, metaphors and imagery, though also couldn't help wishing he would jusI think that our ability to imagine, to create magical lands, culture and fictional people and creatures sets us apart from anything else on this planet, and I confess that I lack said imaginative brain processes that would enable me to (re)create such rich environments as Asturias does, but I can't help question why its important? What is the point? What does it add to the obra?

I will attempt to answer my own questions: What Asturias succeeds at is similar to what James Cameron recently achieved in Avatar: immersing the audience in an imaginary environment. As does Cameron's use of 3D optics provide the viewer a sense of involvement and presence, within an alien world. When critiquing the obra it is important to understand that his aim and the purpose of the obra no es para moralizar, sino llevarnos en una adventura surreal por un mundo complejo y llena de cosas, animales y colores vibrantes y fantasticas. Simple sentence structure and a minimalist approach wouldn't achieve the sense of involvement in one's surroundings, and may fail in producing a convincing glimpse into a magical and fantastic world. The dreary and hopeless post-apolcalypse world that Cormac McCarthy creates in The Road, similarly wouldn't achieve the author's aim of immersing the reader in a new world without such complex prose and imagery (though the world which McCarthy paints is no mystical or magical land, but a gray, bleak, wretched world in which the coming of death is what one awaits in fear, though secretly longs for.) Finally, this work is important because it extends our anthropological understanding of an ancient and mystical world by enrapturing the audience in a storytelling of truly epic proportions, mientras mezclando lo antiguo con lo moderno en prosa de realismo magical incomparable. In sum, however, I'm a stubborn bastard and a sucker for works of meticulous simplicity, such as that of Hemingway, and may be sh*t-out-of-luck in a class where the main focus is magical realism.

ps. I think I speak for most of the class when saying, holy sh*t that was a lot to read for the first weekend.

Introducción

Hola.

Me llamo Eben y soy de California. Estudio español y psicología. Ojala que disfrute mi blog.