24 Mayo / May 18 - 31, 2005

LIBRO ABIERTO / OPEN BOOK

EL AGUILA DEL HUDSON VALLEY

Los Wakefield de Berti

Por Mario Gallardo El Aguila

Bertis Wakefield

n 1835 el escritor norteamericano Nathaniel Hawthorne escribi su cuento "Wakefield". Convertido en un clsico infaltable en las antologas del relato breve, el argumento de Wakefield nos muestra un enigmtico protagonista que deja a su hogar y a su esposa con la excusa de realizar un breve viaje, pero en realidad lo que hace es instalarse secretamente en las cercanas de su casa para, veinte aos despus, regresar sin dar razones a nadie, tras pasar esas dos dcadas envuelto en el misterio. Eduardo Berti, escritor argentino nacido en Buenos Aires (1964), recuerda haber ledo el cuento de Hawthorne en una antologa y a partir de ese momento se convirti en una obsesin que perdur hasta hoy, al punto de convertir a Wakefield -y a su esposa- en los protagonistas de su nueva novela. En su segunda novela, La mujer de Wakefield (Editorial Tusquets), Berti retoma el cuento de Hawthorne y se dedica a contar lo que le pas a aquel matrimonio en ese lapso de veinte aos. En un momento del relato Hawthorne se lamentaba: "Ojal tuviera que escribir un libro en lugar de un artculo de una docena de pginas! Entonces podra ilustrar cmo una influencia que escapa a nuestro control pone su poderosa mano en cada uno de nuestros actos, y cmo urde sus consecuencias un frreo tejido de necesidad". A partir de esa frase, Berti asume la tarea de hacer realidad el sueo de Hawthorne y lleva a cabo un ejercicio de ampliacin de la trama, estableciendo el punto de vista de su narrador en las mismas circunstancias, pero prestando ms atencin a lo que ocurre dentro de la casa, donde Elizabeth Wakefield "espera" su regreso. La gran diferencia es que si en el relato de Hawthorne la seora Wakefield apareca sumisa y sencillamente expectante, en el de Berti su voluntad cobra mayor relevancia, habiendo descubierto a los pocos das de su "desaparicin" la secreta morada del marido. El nico lmite que se impuso Berti fue no modificar el texto original a su conveniencia, con excepcin del final. En-

I
Eduardo Berti

By Mario Gallardo El Aguila

tonces, en la novela, los veinte aos que Wakefield pasa afuera son veinte aos; la fecha en que transcurre la accin fue calculada segn los datos que da Hawthorne, tambin se mantiene la condicin ciertamente kafkiana del protagonista. La accin de La mujer de Wakefield comienza en 1812, en ese Londres que tan certeramente describiera en sus novelas Charles Dickens, y en segundo plano escuchamos los spero sonidos de la revolucin industrial. Lo curiosos es que su autor nunca estuvo en Londres y se limit a trabajar con planos viejos de la ciudad, leyendo a Dickens mapa en mano Y este elemento histrico resulta importantsimo para la novela porque el ambiente que pinta Berti debe mucho al nuevo tipo de sociedad abierta que est gestndose en esa poca. De hecho, a un personaje como Wakefield nunca se le habra ocurrido esconderse a la vuelta de su casa si hubiera vivido en una sociedad cerrada como la de Jane Austen, porque lo ms probable es que a las veinte pginas una ta solterona lo habra descubierto. Lo que permite a Wakefield la posibilidad de perderse y de volverse annimo entre la multitud es una sociedad abierta, en pleno proceso de transformacin. Esta fue la gran novedad del cuento de Hawthorne y lo que lo vuelve tan contemporneo, y esta atmsfera es la que rescata Berti en su novela y lo que la vuelve tan interesante En conclusin, La mujer de Wakefield posee una gran cantidad de novedades con respecto del argumento original de Hawthorne, pero no es nuestra intencin revelarlas aqu. Nuestra intencin es estimular la curiosidad y que los lectores se interesen en esta obra, cuyas pginas seguramente les harn pasar horas de verdadero deleite literario.

n 1835, American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote one of his classics-to-be, Wakefield. Always finding a place in short story anthologies, Wakefield shows us an enigmatic lead character who leaves his home and his wife, supposedly taking a short trip but actually hiding right near his own home. Twenty years later, he mysteriously comes back into the picture. Eduardo Berti, an Argentinean writer born in Buenos Aires (1964), remembers having read Hawthornes story in an anthology. From that moment on, it became an obsession for him, one that has lasted until this very day, to the point where Berti used Wakefield and his wife in the lead characters for his new novel. In Wakefields woman (La mujer de Wakefield) [Tusquet Editorial], Berti takes Hawthornes story up again and writes about what happened during those twenty years. Hawthorne himself once lamented: I wish I had to write a book instead of a twelve page article! Then I could illustrate how an influence that escapes our control puts its powerful hand in each and every one of our acts, and how it weaves its consequences in a harsh web of needs. From this phrase, Berti assumes the task of making Hawthornes dream come true and he carries out a plot broadening exercise, establishing his narrators point of view in the same circumstances, but paying more attention to what happens inside the house, where Elizabeth Wakefield awaits his return. The great difference is that in Hawthornes story, Mrs. Wakefield appeared submissive and simply expectant, while in Bertis story, she becomes quite strong-willed, having discovered her husbands secret dwelling only a few days after his disappearance. The only limit that Berti imposed on himself was not to modify the original text to his convenience, except the ending. In his account, the twenty years in which Wakefield remains absent are still twenty years -- no more, no less. The time frame Berti uses was calculated

from the data provided by Hawthorne, and the lead characters kafkian condition is maintained. The action in Wakefields woman starts in 1812, in the London that Charles Dickens described in his novels, and in the backdrop we can hear the rough sounds of the Industrial Revolution. Curiously enough, the author has never been to London and he limited himself to work with the citys old blueprints, reading Dickens with the map in his hand. This historical event turns out to be crucial for the story, as the environment that Berti describes owes a lot to the new kind of open society. In fact, a character like Wakefield would never have thought to hide around the corner from his own house if he had not lived in a closed society like that of Jane Austen. The most likely scenario is that during first twenty pages, a spinster aunt would have found him. Only a full transformation allows Wakefield to hide in plain sight. This was a great innovation in Hawthornes story, and it adds a contemporary feel. This atmosphere is the one that Berti captures and preserves in his novel, which is partly what makes it so interesting. Wakefields woman possesses a great deal of novelties in respect to Hawthornes original plot, but it is not our intention to reveal them here. Potential readers should now have the curiosity and interest to seek out the novel for themselves, and they will surely find exquisite literary delight.