Mito e ideologa en la obra de Jos Mara Arguedas by William Rowe Review by: Anthony J. Vetrano Hispania, Vol.

64, No. 3 (Sep., 1981), p. 486 Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/342075 . Accessed: 04/12/2011 11:03
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Hispania

64 (September 1981)

graphic and historical factors bearing upon the creative process remain to be explored. In order to fill this gap, Robe scrutinizes Azuela's activities in 1914 and 1915, with the help of the author's memoirs and personal correspondence, supplementing the latter with newspaper reports and even the odd eyewitness account-truly a feat some sixty years after the event! The volume falls into two broad divisions, each one consisting of two chapters. Section one focuses on the milieu of author and period and on the circumstances surrounding the composition of Azuela's novelistic masterpiece. Section two is devoted to a reproduction of the original text, followed by an English version. Chapters 1 and 2 offer informative background material, gleaned painstakingly from a host of sources. The picturesque town of Lagos de Moreno, Azuela's patria chica, springs to life, with its strong regional identity and somewhat overdeveloped sense of self-sufficiency. Of course, even regional uniqueness can be a relative term. When we are told that chests swell with pride at the mention of "revered local heroes," the reader tends to be reminded of similar phenomena in widely different geographical and cultural contexts. The hermetic quality which is attributed to Azuela's home town cannot help bringing to mind the inward-looking community evoked by another distinguished Jalisco author in one of the most artistically perfect among the novels of the Mexican Revolution. Few would quarrel with Professor Robe's conclusion: Azuela does merit further serious critical attention, though it may not be quite accurate to say that "there has been but one published book-length study of Azuela and his writings" (p. ix). Like so many others, Leal returned to his premier amour when, one decade after his first study, he published his Twayne book Mariano Azuela (New York, 1971). Azuela and the Mexican Underdogs provides a valuable springboard for future research. Its detailed account of the author and his milieu, and particularly the original version of the novel in the "elusive" El Paso del Norte, which Robe's perseverance has brought to light, are sure to open new avenues to Azuela scholars. KURTL. LEVY University of Toronto Mito e ideologia en la obra de Jos ROWE,WILLIAM. Maria Arguedas. Lima: Instituto Nacional de Cultura, 1979. Paper. 220 pp. The Spanish American novela indigenista, which attained its finest expression in the novels of the Ecuadorian Jorge Icaza (Huasipungo, 1934), and the Peruvians, Ciro Alegria (El mundo es ancho y ajeno 1941), and Jose Maria Arguedas (Los rios profundos, 1958), depicts, in varying degrees, the anachronistic, feudal existence of the disenfranchised Indian masses of the Andean Highlands. Icaza, the most militant of the three novelists, presents a starkly naturalistic portrait of the primitive world of the Ecuadorian Indian, with all its disillusionment and despair, resulting from the eternal exploitation by the evil triumvirate of landholder, political boss and avaricious curate. Alegria's work, while also focusing on the theme of the Indian and social justice, is much more tempered in tone. Characterized at times by a highly poetic prose, the novel imparts to the reader invaluable insights into the rich folklore of an indigenous

community whose members share little with the squalid, subhuman Indians of Icaza. As Professor Rowe points out in this extremely perceptive, critical study of the prose fiction of Arguedas, whereas both novels make use of an external, third-person narrator, and portray the Indians as mass protagonists, Los rios profundos, in its introspective, first-person narration, is technically and aesthetically a superior work. Seen through the eyes of the 14-year-old Ernesto, the psychic, mythical Quechua world of the Peruvian Indian becomes palpable for the reader-spectator. In terms of the structure of Rowe's study, following an introductory chapter in which he proposes "investigar la conexi6n entre lo mitico y lo social," as well as "demostrar la presencia, en el lenguaje de Arguedas, de estructuras derivadas de la cultura quechua" (p. 14), there is a brief presentation of the existing criticism on the Peruvian novelist. Subsequent chapters deal with detailed, critical analyses of Arguedas' Indianist prose works, extending from his first collection of short stories (Agua, 1935) through his novels (Yawar fiesta, 1941; Los rios profundos, 1958; El Sexto, 1961; Todas las sangres, 1964; and El zorro de arriba y el zorro de abajo, 1971, published two years after Arguedas had taken his own life). Rowe concludes his study with a brief "Postdata" and a comprehensive Bibliography. Particularly commendable is Rowe's discussion in Chapter II ("El lenguaje literario de Arguedas"), in which Arguedas' artistic use of language-reflected in the unique combination of Quechua syntax with Spanish vocabulary--lends authenticity to the Indian world of his novels. In addition, Rowe's extensive analysis of Arguedas' most mature novel, Los rios profundos (Chapter III), and Todas las sangres (Chapter V), reflects an intelligent, balanced treatment of theme, structure and narrative technique. In sum, this study, which is virtually free of typographical errors (except for "Arguades," p. 54; "atraverdn," p. 85; "contatco," p. 111), reveals Rowe's thorough mastery of his material, as well as his fine qualities as a literary critic. He is to be congratulated for having written an invaluable critical work which can be used profitably by both students and scholars interested in the outstanding contributions of Jose Maria Arguedas to the contemporary Spanish American novel.
ANTHONY J. VETRANO

Le Moyne College (Syracuse) R. CASTAGNARO, ANTHONY,editor. Vinte Contos Brasileiros. With an introduction by Wilson Martins. Washington: Georgetown University Press, 1980. v + 218 pp. Vinte Contos Brasileiros is a collection of short stories in Portuguese with a biographical sketch of each author in English, notes to help in the understanding of the text and suggested essay topics (temas). Wilson Martins, in his brief but useful introductory essay on the short story in Brazil, explains that the anthology is intended as a reading text for North American students who have a basic knowledge of Portuguese. The selection and criteria in presenting this collection of short stories, however, do not appear to be entirely consistent with this aim. Why include biographical sketches in English in an anthology which can only be appreciated by those who have a