Reframing Latin America: A Cultural Theory Reading ... - BGSU Blogs

civilized folk marry the barbarians 211
was a “dead” author and that his creation of Doña Bárbara was rooted in a
broader discourse of foundational fi ction.
Sommer, the Ira Jewell Williams professor of Romance Languages and
Literatures at Harvard University, defi nes the Latin American romance
novel as a love story set in an allegorical frame. Typically, it consists of two
star-crossed lovers who symbolize rival segments of society (races, regions,
political parties, classes, and so forth). The story revolves around their efforts
to overcome the obstacles before them and to satisfy their love. As
the protagonists in the story, they instill partisan feelings on the part of the
reader, who hopes that society will change so that they can live together
happily ever after. Sommer calls this genre a foundational fi ction because
the successful resolution to the relational confl ict creates, or “founds,”
a new society or nation, in which the protagonists and, more important,
their progeny can thrive and forge new paths as new citizens. The novel
becomes a virtual manual or guidebook to nation-building projects, and its
wide acceptance allows the book to rise into the literary canon as patriotic
literature.
Independence from Spain provided the impetus for foundational fi ctions,
as the new Latin American republics, fraught with internal divisions,
lacked cohesive identities beyond being former Spanish colonies. The new
republican leaders took it upon themselves to defi ne the nation’s new identity,
which in their minds meant defi ning the essence or spirit that inspired
independence and nationalism to begin with. Like Facundo, many of the
early unifi cation motifs were rooted in white supremacy and hailed civilization
over barbarism. But even someone like Sarmiento, who called for
the gaucho’s demise, was affected by the foundational fi ction discourse. In
appealing to the memory of the gaucho, he was creating a sort of Romantic
union between barbarianism and civilization.
Latin America’s foundational fi ctions resemble romance novels in French
and British literature, but they differ in telling ways. French and British romances
are tragic, extramarital, and unproductive. They typically involve
love that is unrequited because of social impediments and love triangles.
Latin American romances revolve around a couple. Although the lovers may
face external challenges, they overcome hurdles to achieve fulfi llment that
predicts future success. Also, Latin American romances promote miscegenation
as the solution, if not the goal, whereas European romances rarely address
the issue or use it as an insurmountable obstacle. The reasons for these
differences are potentially quite vast, but one explanation is that French and
British national identities were well-established by the mid-nineteenth century,
so romance novels did not need to service their construction.