2. You define magical realism and identify its use in each author's work, but to what end do they use the technique? In what ways are the two author's blurred worlds similarly created through magical realism? You could have clearly linked magical realism to the colonialism themes throughout your essay. We talked a lot about these authors dealing with characters and places that are undergoing evolutions in politics, in religion, ...in culture at large. Your essay would have been stronger and clearer if you had make the link between the theme and the style, between colonialism and magical realism's usage in portraying the changing culture. In simpler terms, you need to more context to the points you start.
Juan Rulfo’s influence on the Latin American writer (particularly Isabel Allende) can be seen both stylistically (magical realism and intoned with nature) and thematically (colonialism and its effects on the indigenous). Although Rulfo’s structure and shifts between character narration (as seen in Pedro Paramo) is more complex than Allende’s, both authors provide insight into their characters, which allows the reader to get a clear understanding of the who, what, why, and where of their novels. Another dynamic that is explored in both Rulfo and Allende’s novels is the role of women and their effects on a society that is male dominated.
Both Rulfo and Allende use magical realism as a means of creating a fantasy world that combines magical elements with reality. The straightforward manner in which the two authors present this aesthetic style of writing allows the reader to accept the “real” and “fantastic” as normal occurrences that are almost parallel to that of real life experiences. For example, in Rulfo’s Pedro Paramo, magical realism can be seen early on that can leave a reader to ask the question: Is this a ghost town or are the people real? The character Juan Preciado says while exploring the city of Comala, “As I passed a street corner, I saw a woman wrapped in her rebozo; she disappeared as if she had never existed. I stared forward again, peering into the door less houses. Again the woman in the rebozo crossed in front of me (8).” Although Allende’s usage of magical realism is not as obvious as Rulfo’s, it can still be seen through certain illustrations or recollections given by characters in her story. In The Stories of Eva Luna, the short storyTwo Words explores this dynamic of magical realism with the apparent curse placed upon the Colonel by Belisa Crepusculario. “He was repeating his secret words, as he did more and more obsessively. He said them when he was mellow with nostalgia; he murmured them in his sleep; he carried them with him on horseback; he thought them before delivering his famous speech; and he caught himself savoring them in his leisure time. And every time he thought of those two words, he thought of Belisa Crepusculario, and his senses were inflamed with the memory of her feral scent, her fiery heat, the whisper of her hair, and her sweet-mint breathe in his ear, until he began to go around like a sleepwalker, and his men realized that he might die before he sat in the presidential chair (17).”
Colonialism is a reoccurring theme throughout Allende’s novel; however, in Rulfo’s novel, the theme of colonialism is seen not as often through the eyes of character illustrations, but through the scenery and setting in which they inhabit. Another important factor presented through colonialism by the two authors is the practicality of the indigenous people who are living under this colonial rule. For example, in Toad’s Mouth, the character Hermelinda uses her creativity by creating a recreational environment for the men while also making a profit in return. Although her eventual departure baffles the men she once entertained, they used her departure as a diversion; “the management of Sheepbreeders, Ltd., installed swings, bought a target for darts and arrows, and had an enormous open-mouthed ceramic toad imported from London so the drovers could refine their skill in coin tossing, but before a general indifference, those toys ended up on the superintendent’s terrace, where as dusk falls the English still play with them to combat their boredom (62).”
The colonialism presented in Rulfo’s novel is at the hands of a tyrannical love sick man named Pedro Paramo; his reign over Comala leaves the land in total despair both financially and spiritually. The practicality of the indigenous people that still inhabit Comala is illustrated towards the end of the novel. “Toward dusk the Indians rolled up their wares. They walked into the rain with their heavy packs on their backs. They stopped by the church to pray to the Virgin, leaving a bunch of thyme as an offering. Then they set off towards Apango, on their way home. “Another day,” they said. And they walked down the road telling jokes, and laughing (87).” This shows that although the land in which the indigenous people inhabit is suffering through one of its worst times, they are still able to rationally asses this particular day as a normal occurrence; giving you the impression that they are optimistic and steadfast about their desperate situation.
Another similarity in which Allende and Rulfo share in depicting colonialism is that they provide graphic detail about the land in which the indigenous people inhabit, thus giving the reader an empathetic view of the way indigenous people really lived. In The Road North, you see a grandfather and granddaughter living in destitute but making the necessary sacrifices to ensure both family tradition and stability. “Her husband traded his best rooster for some planks and built her a coffin he decorated with Biblical scenes. Her granddaughter dressed her for her burial in the white tunic and celestial blue cord of Saint Bernadette, the one she herself had worn for First Communion and which fir perfectly her grandmother’s emaciated body. Jesus Dionisio and Claveles set out for the cemetery pulling a small cart carrying the paper-flower-decorated pine box. Along the way they were joined by friends, men and shawl-draped women who walked beside them in silence (201).” Rulfo provides a setting on the other hand that depicted Comala during the aftermath of Pedro Paramo’s breakdown after losing Susana; “From that day on the fields lay untended. Abandoned. It was a sad thing to see what happened to the land, how plagues took over as soon as it lay idle. For miles around, people fell on hard times. Men packed up and left in search of a better living (80).”
Women are depicted by Rulfo and Allende as nurturers and subservient objects who are subjected to the tyrannical beliefs of men that dominant their societies; however, these women also play a significant role in the way their societies’ are shaped, and, they hold more power over their male counterparts than they would like to believe (or care to acknowledge). In the character of Pedro Paramo, we see a cunning tyrant who has taken over Comala for inexplicable reasons initially, but, as the novel starts to progress, it is learned that at the root of his madness and conquering of the land is a woman named Susana. As told by Dorotea to Juan, “He loved her. I’m here to tell you that he never loved a woman like he loved that one. By the time they brought her to him, she was already suffering—maybe crazy. He loved her so much that after she died he spent the rest of his days slumped in a chair, staring down the road where they’d carried her to holy ground. He lost interest in everything. He let his lands lie fallow, and gave orders for the tools that worked it to be destroyed (80).” Then, the narration shifts to Pedro, who is explaining his reasoning for taking everything: “I waited thirty years for you to return, Susana. I wanted to have it all. Not just part of it, but everything there was to have, to the point that there would be nothing left for us to want, no desire but your wishes (82).”
For Isabel Allende, the female character can be found in almost all of her stories. The female character is usually depicted as a weak link that has character flaws that enables their confidence; they are usually objectified or viewed as useful by men. However, once they have matured or have become empowered, they leave a long lasting impression on their male subjects. For example, in the short storyWicked Girl, the character Elena Mejias is a naïve little girl who has a crush on a new arrival named Juan Jose Bernal. Although her efforts to seduce Juan were painfully rejected and she shifted away, it is learned that her attempt to seduce Juan has left a long lasting impression on him that appears to have him obsessed. “For a few moments, they were alone, face to face in the narrow kitchen. Bernal, who had waited so long for this opportunity, held Elena by the arm while he told her how it had all been a terrible mistake, how he had been half asleep that morning and had no idea what he was doing, how he had never meant to throw her to the floor or call her what he did, and would she please take pity on him and forgive him, and maybe then he could come to his senses, because for what seemed a lifetime he had been consumed by a constant burning desire for her that fired his blood and poisoned his mind (34).” What was even more empowering about this female character was not only her lack of acknowledgement of what Juan was trying to convey, but her lack of recollection of what he was talking about in the first place. Elena had transitioned into adulthood and decided to let her childhood be a distant memory, for “the pain of that first rejected love was locked in some sealed compartment of memory.”
Both Rulfo and Allende’s stories are not only famous for their magical realism style of writing; they also provide insight into the culture of Latin American people that may be unknown and often times, not acknowledged by literary elitists. What allows these two writers to convey their themes of colonialism, male dominance, poverty, and the effects of such things in great retrospect is that they themselves have experienced first hand how these things affect a society. Rulfo and Allende will arguably go down as not only two of the most influential Latin American writers in the history of literature, but two of the most influential writers to ever grace the literary world with their innovative thoughts.
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