Realism magic 2007.doc

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Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction

In 1980 John Barth rejected membership in any imaginary writer'sclub that did not include Gabriel García !r"ue#$ %hat statement& anhomage directed rom (orth to )outh& mar*s an important shit inliterary relations and can ser+e to signal an increased worldwiderecognition o magical realism ,, -a now widely a+ailable eli.ir&-according to John /pdi*e& and& as I wish to suggest here& an importantcomponent o postmodernism$ ery briely& magical realism combinesrealism and the antastic in such a way that magical elements groworganically out o the reality portrayed$

e in+o*e )chehera#ade's children as its standard bearers becausethey might be imagined as -replenished- postmodern narrators& borno the oten death,charged atmosphere o high modernist iction& butable somehow to pass beyond it$ %hese narrati+e youths herald& perhaps& a new youth o narrati+e ,, itold Gombrowic# proposes theslogan o -man wants to be young- to counter what he belie+es is theoundational nostalgia o e.istentialism& -man wants to be God- ,, and

with that youth a desire or an accessibility that contrasts with thehermeticism o many modernist te.ts$ agical realist ictions do seemmore youthul and popular than their modernist predecessors& in thatthey oten 2though not always3 cater with unidirectional story lines toour basic desire to hear what happens ne.t$ %hus they may be moreclearly designed or the entertainment o readers$ 24ompare& or e.ample& the great modernists 5roust& Joyce& and 6aul*ner with the postmodern magical realists G7nter Grass& García !r"ue#& and)alman ushdie$3 %hat the genre has been e.tending ,, oten +iano+els ,into ilm& including mainstream merican ilm 2%he itcheso :astwic*& Ironweed& 6ield o ;reams& Ghost3 conirms our sense o this accessibility$ But what about the magic< %hese postmodernstorytellers may need magic to battle death& a death moredepersonali#ed e+en than the one their mother aced rom =ing)hariyar> they inherit the literary memory& i not the actual e.perience&o death camps and totalitarian regimes& as well as the pro+erbialdeath o iction itsel$ ?ur in+ocation o )chehera#ade's children also

echoes the title o ushdie's Midnight's Children& the no+el that

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e.empliies the mode o magical realism best or our purposes here,among other reasons because it is "uite real& "uite magical& and notrom @atin merica& where the genre is usually imagined to reside$

nd ushdie clearly had )chehera#ade in mind in Midnight'sChildren> allusions to The Thousand and One Nights prolierate$

)chehera#ade hersel is a popular paradigm o the high modernistnarrator ,, e.hausted and threatened by death& but still in+enting$)chehera#ade& as e+eryone *nows& has ta*en up the cause o the+irgins whom her ather had to ind or =ing )hariyar to sleep withe+ery night and put to death e+ery morning 2in order to assuage hisdisillusionment at his wie's inidelity3$ Aer ather is in danger o

being beheaded because the supply o women is running out$)chehera#ade +olunteers& and begins to tell the *ing stories embeddedin each other he must wait until the ne.t night to hear the end o atale& by which time )chehera#ade has embedded it in yet another$ %he*ing can't bear to *ill her& and so she sur+i+es in this way or athousand and one nights$ By this time she has gi+en birth to threechildren& at which point she conronts the *ing with the situation andhe relents& gi+ing up his disillusionment and its attendant

punishments$ In their embedded structure& one growing out o theother& and continuing or 1001 nights& )chehera#ade's tales point upthe autogenerati+e nature o ictions& indeed o language itsel& acharacteristic made more and more e.plicit in our post,Joycean age$In )chehera#ade's tales& as in Finnegans Wake& language ta*es onmagical properties to light up the nights +erging on nightmares inwhich they are told$ %his generati+ity operates at all le+els in theictions that we are identiying as )chehera#ade's children on thestructural plane with stories that grow out o other stories> on the

mimetic ront with characters who duplicate themsel+es in miraculouseats o doubling> in the metaphorical register with images that ta*e onli+es o their own and engender others beyond themsel+es&independent o their reerential worlds$

@i*e many postmodern te.ts& these children o )chehera#ade ha+e a powerul precursor to o+ercome$ In the case o the @atin mericaniction to which the label o magical realism has most re"uently been

applied& that precursor is :uropean realism ,, a tradition that

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dominated @atin merican letters until mid,century and remainsstrong in modern and contemporary iction$ Indeed& this magicalsupplement to realism may ha+e lourished in @atin merica not only

because it suits the climate there& as lejo 4arpentier has argued in hiswell,*nown essay on lo real maravilloso& but also because indismantling the imported code o realism -proper- it enabled a broader transculturation process to ta*e place& a process within which postcolonial @atin merican literature established its identity$ %he postcolonial nature o magical realism we lea+e or another time& butin any case& the category o magical realism can be proitablye.tended to characteri#e a signiicant body o contemporary narrati+ein the est& to constitute& as we'+e suggested& a strong current in the

stream o postmodernism$ ost importantly& it seems to pro+ide onesource o the replenishment that Barth sees in contemporary iction& are+itali#ing orce that comes oten rom the -peripheral- regions o estern culture ,@atin merica and the 4aribbean& India& :astern:urope& but in literary terms a periphery that has "uic*ly becomecentral and yet still retained the intriguing distance o that periphery$@i*e the rontier& li*e primiti+ism& the lure o peripheralism 2morerecently called by other names li*e the subaltern, the liminal, the

marginal) dies hard& because the idea is so appealing and so central tothe center's sel,deinition$

Geographical stylistics are problematic& but one might speculate aboutthe e.istence o a tropical lush and a northerly spare +ariety o this plant$ In the latter cases& there is less magic and its range is morecircumscribed the programmatic magic o smell in 5atric* )us*ind's5erume& or e.ample& contrasts with the per+asi+e magic in García!r"ue# and ushdie> the occasional magic o %oni orrison's

Belo+ed is somewhere in between the two$ Jean eisgerber ma*es asimilar distinction between two types o magical realism the-scholarly- type& which -loses itsel in art and conjecture to illuminateor construct a speculati+e uni+erse- and which is mainly the pro+inceo :uropean writers& and the mythic or ol*loric type& mainly ound in@atin merica$ %hese two strains coincide to some e.tent with the twotypes o magical realism that oberto Gon#!le# :che+arríadistinguishes the epistemological& in which the mar+els stem rom an

obser+er's +ision& and the ontological& in which merica is considered

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to be itsel mar+elous 2 4arpentierEs lo real maravilloso3$ %he troubleis that it is oten diicult to distinguish between the two strains$ ecan attempt it with reerence to two o 4ort!#ar's stories& otherwise

"uite similar$ -.olotl- is set in 5aris& in the a"uarium section o theJardin des 5lantes #oo& but the .olotl itsel is an merican organismwith a (ahua 2#tec3 name& and so categories begin to crumble ,, justas I was about to put this story nearer the :uropean& epistemological branch o the genre$ 6ollowing my initial impulse& howe+er& we cannote that it is the narrator's identity with the amphibian that begins themagic$ In -%he (ight 6ace /p&- on the other hand& we might say thatit is the e.traordinarily strong presence o the indigenous past inmodern e.ico ,, a more speciically merican cultural phenomenon&

li*e the atmosphere o belie in Aaiti in 4arpentier's The Kingdom of this World ,, that moti+ates the narrator's magical trip bac* into that past& or orward rom it into the modern present$ nd so thesecategories o :uropean +ersus merican ha+e a certain +alidity e+enthough they are ar rom absolute$

In arguing that magical realism& where+er it may lourish and inwhate+er style& contributes signiicantly to postmodernism& it is useul

to consider Brian cAale's idea that modernism is epistemological&concerned with "uestions o *nowledge& while postmodernism isontological& concerned with "uestions o being$ 2In the one we as* how we *now something and in the other we as* what it is$3 cAalecle+erly locates a point in 6aul*ner's Absalom, Absalom where thisline is crossed$ It is the moment when Fuentin and )chre+e lea+e o their attempts to remember and reconstruct& and begin sel,consciously to in+ent$ t this point they may ha+e mo+ed& with Barth&rom e.hausted to replenished iction$ %hat moment o in+ention& the

reali#ation o an imaginary realm& can also be seen to distinguishmagical realism rom realism$ In the ormer& it happens not pro+isionally in the +oices o narrators& but concretely in the realitydepicted$ eturning to )chehera#ade and her children or a moment&we might say that though )chehera#ade preigures an ontologicalmode 2her being is at sta*e& in her role as narrator3& she is primarilyconcerned with epistemological "uestions& with iguring out how toe.tend her store o *nowledge to sta+e o her death$ Aer children& on

the other hand 2whom we must imagine& as Fuentin and )hre+e



imagine )utpen and his ospring& since they ha+e no substantial partin the rame o the tales3& ha+e to contend with their own narrati+ee.istence$ %hey owe that e.istence to the ertility o their mother's

mind 2as well as to that o her body3& but now they must in+ent their ictional identities or themsel+es$ %hey come into being irst as aunction o )chehera#ade's need to narrate& hence almost asepistemological objects& but then they must go orward as subjects&crossing into the ontological domain$ nd they no longer eel& as didtheir immediate modernist predecessors& so crushed by the narrati+e burden o the past> somehow,and we don't "uite *now how ,, theymanage to in+ent beyond it> the diiculty o that tas* is perhapsanother reason why they need magic to perorm it$ 6or this literature

oten plays tric*s> it is eminently perormati+e$

%he group o no+els we had in mind most constantly as we ormulatedour ideas includes Gabriel García !r"ue#& One !undred "ears of

#olitude 219H3& ilan =undera& The $ook of %aughter and

Forgetting 21993& )alman ushdie& Midnight's Children 219803&obert 5inget& That &oie 2 19803& 4arlos 6uentes& (istant elations

219803& ;$ $ %homas& The White !otel 219813& illiam =ennedy&

*ron+eed 2 198D3& 5atric* )us*ind& erfume 21983& %oni orrison& $eloved 21983& @aura :s"ui+el& %ike Water for Choolate 219903&and na 4astillo& #o Far from -od 2 199D3$ ?ther eminent precursorsand contemporaries whom we recall more peripherally are Gogol&James& =a*a& Borges& 4arpentier& 5a#& 4ort!#ar& Grass& 4al+ino&ilson Aarris& llende& and Ben ?*ri$ nd there are many more> thelist is constantly growing$ @atin merican practitioners may head it ,,or ha+e in the recent past ,, but my aim here is to e.tend the mode beyond that region& beyond el boom& which put magical realism on the

map o world literature& and to *eep to +ery recent iction& and so weinclude only a ew @atin merican wor*s$ 2One !undred "ears of

#olitude is no longer -+ery recent&- but it is too seminal to omit$3 weinclude 5inget That &oie here partly or shoc* +alue& because it is notordinarily considered magical realist writing and is not similar to themore canonical te.ts in that mode$ nd yet or those +ery reasons&gi+en its signiicant points o contact with magical realism +ia itscreation o material metaphors& its use o +oices rom beyond the

gra+e& and its conse"uent spiritual aura& it underscores ways in which



magical realism is interwo+en with many strands o contemporaryiction$

%o begin with& it is helpul to list the primary characteristics o magical realist iction$ e suggest i+e

213 %he te.t contains an -irreducible element- o magic& something wecannot e.plain according to the laws o the uni+erse as we *now them$In the terms o the te.t& magical things -really- do happen youngictor and ndrK in (istant elations -really- become a twinned etusloating in a pool> emedios the Beauty in One !undred "ears of #olitude -really- does ascend hea+enward> Grenouille in erfume

-really- distills a human scent rom the bodies o +irgins> 6rancis5helan dead enemies in *ron+eed -really- do hop on the trolley he isriding and spea* to him$ %he irreducible element says to us& in almoste.istential ashion& -I :=sist- ,-I stic* out$- e might e+en see herethe remnants o e.istential anguish at an un,co,optable world& buttempered by the more playul mood o surrealism$ In #o Far from

-od & or e.ample& na 4astillo speciically conirms the irreduciblenature o a dead person's reappearance by +eriying her sighting byse+eral people -:speran#a was also occasionally seen$ Les& seen& notonly by @a @oca& but also by ;omingo who saw her rom the rontwindow$$$$ nd once& although she had thought at irst it was a dream&:speran#a came and lay down ne.t to her mother$-

@i*e the metaphors we shall see in a moment& which repeatedly callattention to themsel+es as metaphors& thus remaining partiallyunassimilated within the te.ture o the narrati+e& the magic in thesete.ts reuses to be assimilated into their realism$ Let it also e.ists

symbiotically in a oreign te.tual culture ,, a disturbing element& agrain o sand in the oyster o that realism$

Irreducible magic oten means disruption o the ordinary logic o cause and eect$ @isa's pains in The White !otel appear before shee.periences the atrocities at Babi Lar that cause them and *ill her$)aleem's claims in Midnight's Children that he caused this or thathistorical e+ent,by singing a song& mo+ing a pepper pot on a diningtable ,, are similar logical re+ersals$ el"uíades' manuscript turns out

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to be a prediction rather than just a recording o e+ents in One

!undred "ears of #olitude& implicitly as*ing whether he and we arethe masters or the +ictims o our ate$ :+en though we may remain

s*eptical in the ace o these proposed se"uences& the enormity o thehistorical e+ents& the human suering in+ol+ed in them& and thedissatisaction we eel at the traditional ways such phenomena ha+e been integrated into cultural logic& cause us to "uestion that logic as aresult o these new ictional arrangements$

In the light o re+ersals o logic and irreducible elements o magic& thereal as we *now it may be made to seem ama#ing or e+en ridiculous$%his is oten because the reactions o ordinary people to these magical

e+ents re+eal beha+iors that we recogni#e and that disturb us$Grenouille's peruming abilities and the uncannily entrancing scent hemanuactures or himsel are magical& but the mass hysteria that theyengender and that tears him literally limb rom limb and de+ours himat the end o the no+el is real& and all,too,amiliar as an analogue or the atrocities o persecution and scapegoating in recent history$ %husmagic also ser+es the cause o satire and political commentary& as wesee less seriously than in erfume when the magical rebirth o @a

@oca in #o Far from -od ser+es to satiri#e the bureaucraticmachinations o organi#ations$ %he particular one in "uestion here is-$?$$$)$& others o artyrs and )aints&- and it is our collecti+edesire to codiy the sacred that is satiri#ed -%he decision as towhether a ''jito' o a $?$$$)$ member would be designated as asaint or a martyr was also +ery touchy or a lot o people$$$$ )aints hadthe un"uestionable potential o perorming miracles while martyrswere simply re+ered and considered emissaries to the santos$-Aowe+er& these bureaucratic problems don't spoil the joy o the

organi#ation's annual con+entions -what a beautiul sight it all became at those reunions 'jitos rom all o+er the world& sometransparent& some loo*ing incarnated but you *new they weren't i youtested them in some way& li*e getting them to ta*e a bite out o ata"uito or something when& o course& ater going through all themotions li*e he was eating it& the taco would still be there$ lthough& itreally wasn't such a respectable thing to do to test a santo& e+en i hehad once been your own chiple childM-



2C3 ;escriptions detail a strong presence o the phenomenal world,this is the realism in magical realism& distinguishing it rom muchantasy and allegory& and it appears in se+eral ways$ ealistic

descriptions create a ictional world that resembles the one we li+e in&in many instances by e.tensi+e use o detail$ ?n the one hand& theattention to the sensory detail in this transormation represents acontinuation& a renewal o the realistic tradition$ But on the other hand& since in magical realist iction& in addition to magical e+ents2li*e Belo+ed's appearances& 6rances 5helan's con+ersations with thedead3 or phenomena 2li*e el"uiades' manuscript& )aleem'stransmitting and recei+ing radio head& or Grenouille's nose3& the bestmagical realist iction entices us with entrancing ,, magic ,, details&

the magical nature o those details is a clear departure rom realism$%he detail is reed& in a sense& rom a traditionally mimetic role to agreater e.tent than it has been beore$ %his is still true e+en when weconsider canonical realist te.ts rom a Barthesian perspecti+e$ %hat perspecti+e "uestions their mimetic "ualities& endowing details withan -eet de rKel&- which renders them principally mar*ers that tell usnot any particular inormation but simply that this story is real> butmagical details can ser+e as mar*ers that lead in the opposite

direction& signaling that this might be imaginary$

?ur second point here has to do not with description but withreerence$ In many cases& in magical realist ictions& we witness anidiosyncratic recreation o historical e+ents& but e+ents groundedirmly in historical realities,oten alternate +ersions o oiciallysanctioned accounts$ García !r"ue#'s rewriting o the history o @atin merica in that o acondo& or e.ample& including a massacrethat has been elided rom the public record& and the opening o The

$ook of %aughter and Forgetting & which restores a man airbrushed outo history by party doctrine& are elements distinct rom the mythicalcomponents o those tales& though related to them$ %he combinationimplies that eternal mythic truths and historical e+ents are bothessential components o our collecti+e memory$ %hus these historiescan include magic and ol* wisdom,e+ents told rom /rsula's or el"uíades' point o +iew& in One !undred "ears of #olitude& or e.ample& recipes and remedies in %ike Water for Choolate and #o

Far from -od $ But history is the weight that tethers the balloon o

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magic& and as i to warn against too great a lightness o magical being& both 6uentes and =undera include dangerous sets o loating angels intheir no+els> they represent the lightness o ahistorical irresponsibility$

%he twin etus at the end o (istant elations& the remainder o oldAeredia's desire to create an angel& loats -with a placidity thatrepudiates all past& all history& all repentance- ,, a dangerouslyunanchored position$ Aistorical anchoring is well demonstrated inwhat John 6oster calls -elt history&- whereby a character e.perienceshistorical orces bodily$ %his phenomenon is e.aggerated and particulari#ed in magical realist ictions$ 4lear e.amples are thecoincidence o )aleem's birth with that o the nation o India& @isa's pains that anticipate her death at Babi Lar& Grenouille's magical nose

born rom the smells o enaissance :urope& the di+ision o 6uentes'characters between @atin merica and :urope$

s we ha+e suggested& the material world is present in all its detailedand concrete +ariety as it is in realism ,, but with se+eral dierences&one o them being that objects may ta*e on li+es o their own and become magical in that way$ 2Aere we are proceeding beyond bothdescription and reerence$3 %he yellow butterlies that appear with

auricio Babilonia in One !undred "ears of #olitude and the bas*etin which )aleem tra+els rom Bangladesh to Bombay in Midnight's

Children are good e.amples& as are the shiny spherical object youngictor Aeredia inds at the ruins o Nochicalco in (istant elationsand the door that opens at 6elipe's touch in 6uentes' Aura$ %hismateriality e.tends to word,objects as metaphors& and they too ta*e ona special sort o te.tual lie& reappearing o+er and o+er again until theweight o their +erbal reality more than e"uals that o their reerentialunction$ )aleem's spittoon and the sheet through which adam #i#

in Midnight's Children irst e.amines his uture wie (aseem unctionin this way& as does the tic* on the tree branch in erfume or therecurring roses& breasts& hotels& and hair in The White !otel $ %he parto )urrealism that could be written down& its te.tual poetics& e.ploitedto the ullest the magic o metaphor& oregrounding the enchanting"uality o all poetry as it deies reason and logic$ In ta*ing this poeticso deamiliari#ation to its e.treme& magical realism& as is otenrecogni#ed& is a major legacy o )urrealism$ Aowe+er& in contrast to

the magical images constructed by )urrealism out o ordinary objects&

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which aim to appear +irtually unmoti+ated and thus programmaticallyresist interpretation& magical realist images& while projecting a similar initial aura o surprising cra#iness& tend to re+eal their moti+ations ,,

psychological& social& emotional& political ,, ater some scrutiny$ %hus=a*a and Gombrowic#& who actuali#e metaphors by projecting inner states outward& as in the case o Gregor& or public characteri#ationsinward& as in the case o the less well *nown ornografia, which& asGombrowic# himsel has said 2in the preace3& -is the grotes"ue storyo a gentleman who becomes a child because other people treat himli*e one&- belong here$

2D3 %he reader may hesitate 2at one point or another3 between two

contradictory understandings o e+ents ,, and hence e.periences someunsettling doubts$ uch o magical realism is thus encompassed by%#+etan %odoro+'s well,*nown ormulation o the antastic as e.istingduring a story when a reader hesitates between the uncanny& where ane+ent is e.plainable according to the laws o the natural uni+erse aswe *now it& and the mar+elous& which re"uires some alteration inthose laws$ But this is a diicult matter because many +ariations e.ist>this hesitation disturbs the irreducible element& which is not always soeasily percei+ed as such$ nd some readers in some cultures will

hesitate less than others$ %he reader's primary doubt in most cases is between understanding an e+ent as a character's hallucination or as amiracle$ %he mysterious character o $eloved in orrison's no+el o that name slithers pro+o*ingly between these two options& playingwith our rationalist tendencies to recuperate& to co,opt the mar+elous$omen outside o )ethe's house as* themsel+es& -as it the deaddaughter come bac*< ?r a pretend< as it whipping )ethe<- bitarther on -5aul ;$ *nows $eloved is truly gone$ ;isappeared& some

say& e.ploded right beore their eyes$ :lla is not so sure$ 'aybe&' shesays& 'maybe not$ 4ould be hiding in the trees waiting or another chance$ -nd at the +ery end o the boo*& we hear that -%hey orgother li*e a bad dream- 2? course we as* oursel+es whether she mayha+e been just that$3 -It too* longer or those who had spo*en to her&li+ed with her& allen in lo+e with her& to orget& until they reali#edthey couldn't remember or repeat a single thing she said& and began to belie+e that& other than what they themsel+es were thin*ing& she hadn'tsaid anything at all$-

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t times li*e these 2other e.amples are the yellow butterlies or 5ilar %ernera's age in One !undred "ears of #olitude& the transormation o the pool at the automobile club in 5aris into a tropical rainorest in

(istant elations& or )aleem's dispersal into the multitudes o India atthe end o Midnight's Children3 we hesitate$ t other times we do not>in One !undred "ears of #olitude the lying carpets& emedios'ascension to hea+en& JosK rcadio's blood tra+eling across acondoand inding /rsula are clearly magic& as are the +oices o idnight'schildren in )aleem's head or 5ar+ati the itch's spiriting him rom5a*istan to India in a bas*et$ But in some cases we get there slowly& asin 6elipe ontero's transormation into General @lorente in Aura& inthe loating twins in the pool at the end o (istant elations& in the

growth o Grenouille's e.traordinary sense o smell in erfume$nother possibility is to interpret a particular bit o magic in anotherwise realistic iction as a clear use o allegory$ %his interpreti+estrategy is tempting in =undera The $ook of %aughter and Forgetting &when we see people rise abo+e the ground in a charmed circle o ideological bliss ,, or =undera an e.ample o the -unbearablelightness- that totalitarian ideologies will tend to engender$ :+en so& Iwould argue that since the magic here is presented as such it belongs

in the mode o magical realism$23 e e.perience the closeness or near,merging o two realms& twoworlds$ e might say& as A$ 5$ ;uerr does in his (reamtime& that inmany o these te.ts -perhaps you are aware that seeing ta*es placeonly i you smuggle yoursel in between worlds& the world o ordinary people and that o the witches$- %he magical realist +ision e.ists at theintersection o two worlds& at an imaginary point inside a double,sidedmirror that relects in both directions$ 6luid boundaries between the

worlds o the li+ing and the dead are traced only to be crossed in One !undred "ears of #olitude& Midnight's Children& That &oie& (istant

elations& The White !otel & and *ron+eed $ I iction is e.hausted inthis world& then perhaps these te.ts create another contiguous one intowhich it spills o+er& so that it continues lie beyond the gra+e& so tospea*$ 6rom the irst sentence& *ron+eed wea+es a web o connections between the lands o the li+ing and the dead -iding up the windingroad o )aint gnes 4emetery in the bac* o the rattling old truc*&6rancis 5helan became aware that the dead& e+en more than the li+ing&

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settled down in neighborhoods$- @ater on& 6rancis sees in his mind'seye -his mother and ather alight rom their honeymoon carriage inront o the house and$$$climb$$$the ront stairs to the bedroom they

would share or all the years o their marriage& the room that now wasalso their shared gra+e& a spatial duality as reasonable to 6rancis as theconcurrence o this moment both in the immediate present o his ity,eighth year o lie and in the year beore he was born$- 4on+enientlyor my purposes& =ennedy has written about (istant elations interms that join his own no+elistic crossing o boundaries to that o 6uentes in (istant elations& according to =ennedy& 6uentes -assertsthat the +arious cultures are not separate but uniied in dream andantasy through history& populated by ghosts and specters who reuse

to die& and who li+e their aterli+es through endless time in ways thatreshape the present$-

nother related boundary to be blurred is the one between act andiction$ cAale again conirms that magical realism is central to postmodernism in a chapter entitled .A World Ne/t (oor,. hee.plores the generali#ed eect o a antastic -'charge' OwhichP seemsto be diused throughout postmodernist writing&- though he claimsthat the hesitation in traditional antastic writing between this world

and the ne.t has been displaced to -the conrontation betweendierent ontological le+els in the structure o te.ts$- %his ormulationthus stresses the magic o iction rather than the magic in it$

23 %hese ictions "uestion recei+ed ideas about time& space& andidentity$ ith -our years& ele+en months& and two days- o rain andan insomnia plague that erases the past and hence the meaning o words& a room in which it is -always arch and always onday&-JosK rcadio who languishes hal,dead and hal,ali+e or years under

a banana tree in the courtyard o his house& and a inal whirlwind thatabolishes a race's second opportunity on earth& our sense o time issha*en throughout One !undred "ears of #olitude$ ?ur sense o spaceis similarly undermined when tropical plants grow o+er the 5arisautomobile club's pool at the end o (istant elations$ s 6redricJameson sets out the project o realism& one thing it achie+es is -theemergence o a new space and a new temporality$- Its spatialhomogeneity abolishes the older orms o sacred space> li*ewise the

newly measuring cloc* and measurable routine replace -older orms

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o ritual& sacred& or cyclical time$- :+en as we read Jameson'sdescription& we sense the erosion o this program by magical realistte.ts ,, and o course by other modern and postmodern ones as well$

any magical realist ictions 2li*e their nineteenth,century Gothic predecessors3 careully delineate sacred enclosures ,, ura's house&acondo& )aleem's pic*le actory and pic*le jars& Branly's house 2in (istant elations3& Baby )uggs' leay clearing ,, and then allow thesesacred spaces to lea* their magical narrati+e waters o+er the rest o thete.t and the world it describes$ agical realism reorients not only our habits o time and space& but our sense o identity as well with o+er i+e hundred children o midnight tal*ing through his head& is )aleemhimsel anymore< )imilarly& we as* oursel+es who is the +oice inThat &oie& and whoQwhat are the relations in (istant elations<CH

ccording to @inda Autcheon& - *n The White !otel & the realist no+el'sconcept o the subject& both in history and in iction& is openlycontested$- %hat contestation is all the more con+incing because itcomes rom within> the magic contests but it contests rom within arealistically rendered historical iction and a realistically concei+edcharacter$s we read magical realist te.ts& the magic seems to grow almost

imperceptibly out o the real& gi+ing us& as ushdie puts it& a dense-conmingling o the improbable and the mundane- 23$ graphicillustration o this phenomenon& really an e.tension o the strongmimetic "uotient o magical realism& and related to its historicaldimension& is the way in which e+ents are usually grounded te.tuallyin a traditionally realistic& e+en an e.plicitly actual manner$ 6elipeontero in Aura reads o the magically potent job he will e+entuallyta*e in a newspaper> we begin The White !otel with ictional lettersrom 6erenc#i and 6reud> ushdie situates his narrati+e in the e+entssurrounding India's independence and the turmoil that ollowed it> emedios the $eaut0's le+itation begins concretely enough& when6ernanda& as she is hanging out the laundry& eels a -delicate wind o light pull the sheets out o her hand and open them upwide$-emnants o this "uality& o magic's gentle blossoming out o reality& persist e+en when the antastical element shows its colors"uic*ly and clearly$ In erfume& or e.ample& Jean BaptisteGrenouille& with his magically powerul and discriminating sense o

smell& is born in geographical space -in 5aris under the sway o a

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particularly iendish stench&- and in a te.tual time ollowing theopening catalog o stenches -barely concei+able to us modern menand women$- @i*e the perumers whose ran*s he joins& Grenouille is a

product o this smelly en+ironment ,, perhaps e+en compensating or his mother's -utterly dulled- sense o smell 23$

nother list& o se+eral secondary or accessory speciications& ishelpul in building magical realist rooms in the postmodern house o iction> this one is longer& more pro+isional& and ser+es less todistinguish magical realism rom the rest o contemporary literaturethan to situate it within postmodernism and to urnish the rooms we'+e just constructed$

213 etaictional dimensions are common in contemporary magicalrealism the te.ts pro+ide commentaries on themsel+es& otencomplete with occasional mises,en,abyme ,, those miniatureemblematic te.tual selportraits$ %hus the magical power o ictionitsel& the capacities o mind that ma*e it possible& and the elementsout o which it is made ,, signs& images& metaphors& narrators&

narratees ,, may be oregrounded$ In (istant elations& 6uentes reersagain and again to the process o storytelling that goes on betweenhim and the Aeredias and Branly as the story o all three gets told$ (ear the end o the no+el& we hear the narrator's anguished cry that -Ididn't want to be the one who *new& the last to *now& the one whorecei+es the de+il's git and then cannot rid himsel o it$ I didn't wantto be the one who recei+es and then must spend the rest o his liesee*ing another +ictim to whom to gi+e the git& the *nowing$ I did

not want to be the narrator$-nd the notion o ghosts in the story can be e.tended to encompassthe story itsel$ Just as @ucie Aeredia seems to be Branly's ghost& and-will li+e the moment my riend Branly dies&- so this story we arereading has been the ghost o the stories that were being told within it&and just as it dies o again as we turn the pages& so it li+es in our reading o it ,, until$$$until$$$we *ill it with a deiniti+e interpretation2CC03$ In Midnight's Children& metaphors or the ma*ing o ictions&

rom the partial +iew obtained by a uslim doctor o his patient

1



through a hole in a sheet& to the chutniication o history in jars thate"ual the no+el's chapters& recur with ama#ing re"uency -%o pic*le isto gi+e immortality& ater all ish& +egetables& ruit hang embalmed in

spice,and,+inegar> a certain alteration& a slight intensiication o taste&is a small matter& surely< %he art is to change the la+our in degree& but not in *ind> and abo+e all 2in my thirty jars and a jar3 Oe"uallingthe thirty one chapters o the no+elP to gi+e it shape and orm ,, that isto say& meaning$ 2I ha+e mentioned my ear o absurdity$3- Belo+edalso seems to ha+e an almost metaictional dimension to her> sheseems to elicit stories at +arious points -'%ell me&' said Belo+ed&smiling a wide happy smile$ '%ell me your diamonds$' It became a wayto eed her$$$$ )ethe learned the proound satisaction Belo+ed got

rom storytelling$$$$ s she began telling about the earrings& she oundhersel wanting to& li*ing it$-

In the tradition o the nou+eau roman& 5inget That &oie is somethingo a ma+eric* in this imaginary anthology$ %here& as in many o obbeGrillet's no+els& we readers ollow a +oice as it articulatesragments o a potential story and induces us to participate in itscomposition$ ?n the one hand& this autogenerati+e mode enables us toilter out the irreducible element& attributing an apparent reappearance

o a dead character& or e.ample& to the process o articulation$ ?n theother hand& the autogenerati+e mode highlights the ertile magic o language itsel& its capacity to create absorbing worlds out o thine+ent$ In a similar way& when the name o 6uentes's character rtemio4ru# appears in One !undred "ears of #olitude& or the poet 5aul:luard in The $ook of %aughter and Forgetting & we e.perience whatseems to be the magical power o literary heritage ,ghostly presenceso a particular sort$ agical realism is not alone in contemporary

literature in oregrounding metaictional concerns> on the contrary&that it does so joins it with other modern and postmodern writing$ Butit tends to articulate those concerns in a special light& to emphasi#e themagical capacities o iction more than its dangers or its inade"uacies$

2C3 %he reader may e.perience a particular *ind o +erbal magic ,, aclosing o the gap between words and the world& or a demonstration o what we might call the linguistic nature o e.perience$ %his magic

1



happens when a metaphor is made real we oten say that blood isthic*er than water& or e.ample& and sure enough& in One !undred

"ears of #olitude& when JosK rcadio Buendía shoots himsel& a tric*le

o his blood -came out under the door&$$$went out into the street&$$$wentdown steps and climbed o+er curbs&$$$turned a corner to the right andanother to the let&- and once inside the Buendía house& hugged thewalls -so as not to stain things&- and came out in his mother /rsula's*itchen 21C9,D03$ hen this sort o literali#ation happens& we maysupply the words& as in this case& or the te.t itsel may pro+ide themshortly beore emedios' le+itation we hear that - emedios the $eaut0

was not a creature o this world- 21883$ )imilarly& in Midnight's

Children& we hear that )aleem is -handcued to history&- and then

witness the in+asion o his head by the +oices o his compatriots$ %hislinguistic magic& which runs through magical realism& thri+es on the per+asi+e interte.tual nature o much postmodern writing and the presence o interte.tual bricolage$ Interte.tual magic in whichcharacters rom other ictions appear is relati+ely common& ma*ing (on 1ui/ote one o our irst magical realist no+els$ ll o thiscelebrates the solidity o in+ention and ta*es us beyond representationconcei+ed primarily as mimesis to re,presentation$ e are surprised

by the literality o the play o language in linguistically moti+atedictional moments$

2D3 %he narrati+e appears to the late, twentieth,century adult readers towhich it is addressed as resh& childli*e& e+en primiti+e$ onders arerecounted largely without comment& in a matter,o,act way& accepted,presumably ,, as a child would accept them& without undue"uestioning or relection> they thus achie+e a *ind o deamiliari#ationthat appears to be natural or artless$ :+en erfume& which pursuesGrenouille's magical gits o smell through all their mar+elous +ariety&details them or the most part with a certain air o narrati+e naR+etK$nd Grenouille& through whose nose much o the no+el is ocali#ed2or should we say olactori#ed3& mi.ing perumes in Baldini's shop&-loo*s li*e a child$- Baldini thin*s he loo*s -just li*e one o those$$$willul little prehuman creatures& who in their ostensibleinnocence thin* only o themsel+es- 2813$ ?ten we hear descriptionso phenomena e.perienced or the irst time and participate in the

resh wonder o that e.perience$ )uch is the case when Grenouille irst

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smells wood& when the Buendías disco+er ice or a magniying glass or a train ,, -something rightul& li*e a *itchen dragging a +illage behindit- 2C103& one o a series o -mar+elous in+entions- that shoo* up the

acondoans so that -no one *new or certain where the limits o reality lay- 2C1C3$ s i in homage to the resh +ision o disco+eringice at the start o One !undred "ears of #olitude& at the beginning o Midnight's Children we hear that as )aleem's grandather adam #i# begins a day in =ashmir& -the world was new again$ ter a winter'sgestation in its eggshell o ice& the +alley had bea*ed its way out intothe open- 23$ =undera and %homas& o course& present us with adierent *ind o reshness& the reshness o totalitarian terror ,, whenwe ollow %amina onto the dystopian island o children or @isa into

the shoc*ing e.termination at Babi Lar$

23 epetition as a narrati+e principle& in conjunction with mirrors or their analogues used symbolically or structurally& creates a magic o shiting reerences$ )aleem's lie in Midnight's Children mirrors thato the new Indian nation with which he was born$ Borges' Ale2h

relects all the world and the sel$ In 4ort!#ar story .A/olotl. thea"uarium wall through which the narrator watches the a.olotls and

through which he inally passes to become one is a *ind o magicalspatial mirror$ )imilarly& the place o 4ort!#ar narrator in .The Night

Fae 32,. between modern and #tec worlds& is a temporal double,sided mirror$ In (istant elations as well& the doubling o charactersand stories that constitutes a mirror principle o narrati+e structure isreinorced by relecting suraces within the no+el ,, especiallywindows$ similar *ind o narrati+e mirroring structures The White !otel & where the same story is retold through relected personalities>li*e relections in actual mirrors& the relected narrati+es are and arenot the same as the -original- ones$ oreo+er& in such cases& thenotion o origin itsel is undercut by the repetitions$ %he same is trueo That &oie$ s I ha+e suggested earlier& e+en images participate inthis process$ %hey return with an unusual and uncanny re"uency&conusing urther our recei+ed notions o similarity and dierence$Interestingly enough& ghosts& which igure in many magical realistictions& or people who seem ghostly& resemble two,sided mirrors&situated between the two worlds o lie and death& and hence they

1



ser+e to enlarge that space o intersection where magically realictions e.ist$

+ariation on this mirror phenomenon is the occurrence o re+ersals

o +arious *inds ,, plot,mirroring& so to spea*$ %his is a commoneature in all literature& o course& but in these te.ts it occurs with particular re"uency and highlights the metaphysically re+isionistagenda o magical realism$ In The White !otel & 6reud the analyst isanaly#ed& in a way& through @isa's poetic narrati+es& which includehim& and ultimately by historical e+ents themsel+es& which can be seento deconstruct his analytical system& because the personal past isultimately not the origin o @isa's suering and hence an awareness o

it cannot cure her$ In (istant elations& Branly and @ucie Aerediachange places as haunter and haunted$ nd at the end o the no+el& thereader hears that -Lou are Aeredia&- and inherits the narrati+econusion rom the character 6uentes in the same way that 6uentesinherited it rom Branly$ )o the roles o narrator and listener arere+ersed i 6uentes hands us on the story& he can resume the status o listener and will no longer be condemned& as we ha+e heard him ear abo+e& to be the narrator$ %he powerully charismatic perume in)us*ind's no+el is manuactured by Grenouille to enhance his lie>

ater doing just that& it causes his death$ 6rom the empowered he becomes the o+erpowered$ )uch patterns o re+ersal implicitly igure alac* o human control o+er e+ents what you thought you controlledcontrols you$

23 etamorphoses are a relati+ely common e+ent 2though not ascommon as one might thin*3$ %hey embody in the realm o organismsa collision o two dierent worlds$ In (istant elations young ictor

and ndrK Aeredia are changed into a sinister twin etus ,, really anincomplete metamorphosis& and perhaps on one le+el a criti"ue o minds that cra+e perect magic$ t the end o The White !otel thehellish scene o Babi Lar is metamorphosed into a *ind o paradise o earthly delights$ In Midnight's Children& 5ar+ati the itch changes)aleem into an in+isible entity or a while$ In India& o course& beliesregarding reincarnation ma*e metamorphoses through time particularly ubi"uitous& and many o the characters in Midnight's

Children duplicate a deity& )aleem's much mentioned nose 2to cite

18



only one instance3 corresponding to Ganesh the elephant,headed god'strun*$ )aleem's -chutniication o history- ,, his art o transormingand preser+ing the chaotic passage o time and e+ent ,, is more

metaphorical in nature than these other e.amples& but similarlymetamorphic in spirit$

2H3 any o these te.ts ta*e a position that is antibureaucratic& and sothey oten use their magic against the established social order$)aleem's midnight congress is a clear alternati+e to the 4ongress5arty& which the narrator seems to belie+e maintains a death grip onIndian political lie> his magic is e.plicitly used against the -blac* widow- Gandhi's magic$ %he uni+ocal authority o one +oice rom

abo+e is "uestioned by the cacophony o many +oices rom all o+er$%hat the rather lo+able 6rancis 5helan in *ron+eed is a bum& not wellintegrated into the capitalist system& is no accident$ In The $ook of %aughter and Forgetting & it's a bit more indirect$ -4ircle dancing ismagic&- we hear$ %he magical le+itation o party members as theydance in a ring& li*e the chorus o girls who agree with their teacher&has a sinister air> the magic signals the danger o conormism& o rising on the unbearably light wings o coherent doctrine rather than

being grounded in incoherent reality$ s we learn in =undera's ne.tno+el& being is unbearably light enough by nature> i we ungroundoursel+es still urther with doctrines and theories& then we loatdangerously ar rom reality$ =undera and ushdie& especially& createa poetics o sub+ersion& o the non,co,optability o people& e+ents&laughter& lo+e& objects& e+en images$ nd with this we are bac* atnumber two on this list o secondary eatures& with the materiality o metaphor ,, with language that asserts its rights o opacity& o resistance to reerentiality$ @i*e the hat in The $ook of %aughter and

Forgetting & which loats inappropriately o a mourner's head to rest inan open gra+e& or )abina's hat in The 3nbearable %ightness of $eing &which signals the nonconorming nature o )abina's desire& this *indo language is linguistically unruly& whate+er its political thematics$%urning to that thematics or a moment& in se+eral instances& magicalrealist te.ts are written in reaction to totalitarian regimes$ G7nter Grass publishes The Tin (rum and )us*ind erfume ater orld ar II 2in both cases "uite a long time ater& it is true& but partly in

response to it and to the (a#i period in Germany3> @atin merican

19



writers o magical realism critici#e (orth merican hegemony in their hemisphere> =undera is opposed to the power o )o+iet 4ommunism>ushdie writes Midnight's Children in opposition to rs$ Gandhi's

autocratic rule$ %oni orrison writes $eloved in direct response to theatrocities o sla+ery and its atermath& and Isabel llende builds The

!ouse of the #2irits in part to criti"ue the barbarity o 5inochet's4hilean regime$ %hese te.ts& which are recepti+e in particular ways tomore than one point o +iew& to realistic and magical ways o seeing&and which open the door to other worlds& respond to a desire or narrati+e reedom rom realism& and rom a uni+ocal narrati+e stance>they implicitly correspond te.tually in a new way to a criti"ue o totalitarian discourses o all *inds$ )chehera#ade's story is rele+ant

again here& or e+en though she narrated or her own lie& she had thee+entual welare o her state on her shoulders as well& and her eortsliberated her country rom the tyranny o =ing )hariyar's rule$

%hat realism has been a :uropean& or irst world& e.port& inconjunction with its mimetic program& its claim to ashioning anaccurate portrait o the world& has in some instances tended to ally it

with imperialism ,)panish& :nglish& 6rench& ussian& /$)$ ,,endowing it with an implicitly authoritarian aura or writers incolonial situations$ %a*ing all o this into account& we can see thatmagical realism does continue in the critical +ein o realism& but itachie+es its critical aims with dierent& postsurrealistic& resources and"uestions homogeneous systems in the name o plurality$

Jameson's discussion o realism and romance in the nineteenth centuryis helpul here$ Jameson argues that -it is in the conte.t o the gradualreiication o realism in late capitalism that romance once again comesto be elt as the place o narrati+e heterogeneity and o reedom romthat reality principle to which a now oppressi+e realisticrepresentation is the hostage$- It is that -now oppressi+e realisticrepresentation- that some o magical realism as an inheritor o romance disturbs$ Jameson claims that in the nineteenth century& or the most part& the rein+ention o romance substitutes -new positi+ities- li*e theology and psychology or the older magical

content and that modernism li*ewise substitutes a *ind o +acant

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e.pectancy 2usually o city streets3$ %hus he belie+es that this newromance's -ultimate condition o iguration- is a transitional momentwhen two dierent modes o production& or o socioeconomic

de+elopment& coe.ist$ )ince their conlict is not yet socially maniestas such& its resolution is projected as a nostalgic or a utopian harmonyand hence is ultimately not politically progressi+e$

%his is where magical realism may dier& because since we aresituated clearly in reality& that harmonic world& either in the past& or the uture& is not constituted& and the conlicts o political systems aremore in e+idence$ ccording to Jameson& romance can ma*e classconlict ade into bad dreams or antastic scenarios$ %he irreducible

element in magical realism& in conjunction with its documentaryelements& may wor* against such ading& or cooption$ @isa's pains inThe White !otel & or e.ample& are not just a bad dream but themagical premonition o a terrible& but an unmista*ably real& historicalnightmare$ @i*ewise with the magical and not magical atrocities o theatermath o partition in Midnight's Children or the banana companymassacre in One !undred "ears of #olitude or the mass hysteria thatde+ours Grenouille at the end o erfume$ %hrough that combination

o history and selecti+e magical detail 2as opposed to the creation o aseparate imaginary realm3& magical realism mo+es beyond the way inwhich& as Jameson ormulates it& in high realism and naturalism& timeseems sealed o in its -perected narrati+e apparatus$- nd& as weha+e been seeing& the techni"ues o that apparatus& -the threeoldimperati+es o authorial depersonali#ation& unity o point o +iew& andrestriction to scenic representation- are also oten disrupted by the postmodern ictional strategies o magical realist te.ts$

s it has with other historically rele+ant ictions& the cultural and psychological pluralism which has inspired much magical realism can pro+e politically problematic$ hen I was wor*ing on this essay in@ondon& the contro+ersy o+er ushdie #atani &erses was unolding ,,a grisly maniestation o the collapse o a distinction between wordsand the world& as well as o the political and social realities ushdie's boo*s describe$ %he ushdie,li*e character o the poet in *ranian

Nights 2the short drama presented at the oyal 4ourt %heatre in

@ondon in response to the crisis3 laments& -hat madness ha+e my

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+erses unleashed< iction greater than any poet's imagination$ (ow jo*es become daggers and rhymes become bullets$- li*e their mother beore them& these children o )chehera#ade ear or their li+es& and

the linguistic magic we ha+e been describing e.pands to alarming proportions$ s Aoward Brenton 2one o the authors o the piece3 putsit in an aterward& -eality& as we *now& is stranger than most iction$%he scenes we are obser+ing could easily be e.cerpts rom a ushdieno+el$- hat's more& the particular strange terror o the reality wewitnessed in the ushdie aair is precisely that it was partiallyengendered by a iction$

Jean,6rancois @yotard ends his boo* on The ostmodern Condition by

responding to criti"ues o postmodern culture which ad+ocate a returnto reerentiality& a rejection o sel,reerential discourses& such as thosewe ha+e been discussing$ @yotard argues against our e.pecting areconciliation among dierent language games& against hoping that atranscendental illusion will -totali#e them into a real unity&- becauseor him& -the price to pay or such an illusion is terror$- s we ha+esuggested& se+eral o these no+els& most notably The $ook of %aughter

and Forgetting, Midnight's Children& The White !otel & and (istant

elations& imply that the price to pay or a comorting te.tualuni+ocality may be terror$

23 In magical realist narrati+e& ancient systems o belie and local loreoten underlie the te.t 2more ghosts here3$ In the superstitiousatmosphere o erfume we hear that the inhabitants o the Grasseregion belie+ed that their -only possible reuge rom thismonster$$$was under the$$$ga#e o the adonna-> -other& "uic*er wits banded together in occult groups- and hired -at great e.pense a

certiied witch rom Gourdon-> -still others$$$ put their money on themost modern scientiic methods& magneti#ing their houses&hypnoti#ing their daughters& gathering in their salons or secret luidalmeetings& and employing telepathy to dri+e o the murderer's spiritwith communal thought emissions-$ )imilarly& while not speciicallyallied to any particular doctrine& this numinous moment in *ron+eed

occurs in the conte.t o the pro+incial merican 4atholicism that per+ades the story 6rancis at one point -elt blessed$ Ae stared at the

bathroom sin*& which now had an aura o sanctity about it& its aucets

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sacred& its drainpipe holy& and he wondered whether e+erything was blessed at some point in its e.istence& and he concluded yes$- :+enThat &oie is set not in an urban area& but in the countryside o 6rance&

+ery much within the ancient magic circle o country +illage lore and belie& a*in in this to The !ouse of the #2irits, $eloved, %ike Water for

Choolate, and #o Far from -od $

agical realism has tended to concentrate on rural settings and to relyon rural inspiration ,, almost a postmodern pastoralism ,, though Midnight's Children and (istant elations are powerul e.ceptions$ character in #o Far from -od & or e.ample& embodies a latter,day)aint 6rancis in the )outhwest countryside$ s the appropriately

named 6rancisco secretly hides out among the aga+es and hedgehogcactus to *eep watch on his belo+ed 4aridad's trailer& the narrator notes that -anyone loo*ing up at a row o crows puing away atcigarette butts would only be inclined to loo* down to see who wassupplying them$- But this may be changing$ 6or e.ample& $igfoot

(reams by 6rancine 5rose is set in the city and uses the linguisticmagic o materiali#ed metaphor I ha+e been describing$ 6rom thereappearance o -bigoot- once a wee* in the tabloid she wor*s or&

comes bigoot's presence in era's mind& on the pages o her ownstories& and in her world$ Aer writing ta*es the bigoot theme a steparther than her predecessors did she tells us that her story -'* MA*4( $*-FOOT' was a *ind o landmar* in Bigoot literature&changing the ocus& bringing Bigoot home$- %he antastical -bigoot-impulse comes home with a +engeance when a story era ma*es upturns out to be real ,, and she has to deal with the unsettlingconse"uences$ %he *ind o tabloid writing era does and her credulouscity audiences seem li*ely sources or recent magical realism> they are

urban& -irst world&- mass cultural analogues o the primiti+e belie systems that underlie earlier @atin merican e.amples o magicalrealism$

283 s )eymour enton has pointed out& a Jungian rather than a6reudian perspecti+e is common in magical realist te.ts> that is& themagic may be attributed to a mysterious sense o collecti+erelatedness rather than to indi+idual memories or dreams or +isions$

%he communal magic o storytelling igures prominently in That

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&oie& Midnight's Children& (istant elations& The !ouse of the

#2irits, $eloved & and #o Far from -od $ 6urthermore& the magic inmagical realism is unrepentent& unrecuperable& and thus may point

toward the spiritual realms to which Jungian psychology is recepti+e>as we ha+e seen& the magic cannot usually be e.plained away asindi+idual or e+en as collecti+e hallucination or in+ention$ $eloved

ta*es an unusual turn here& because& as we ha+e noted& right at the endwe get what could be interpreted as a disclaimer concerning her magical e.istence$ %he people who had seen her -orgot her li*e a baddream&- and inally -reali#ed they couldn't remember or repeat asingle thing she said& and began to belie+e that& other than what theythemsel+es were thin*ing& she hadn't said anything at all$- In the inal

analysis& though& her e.istence remains shadowy& or we can ,, and perhaps should ,, discount this disclaimer& this ater,the,act rejectiono her magic& and consider that just because the people -began to belie+e- this& it is only part o the whole story$

The White !otel is particularly rele+ant in regard to 6reud and Jung&or there& we seem at irst to ha+e the e+er more analy#able dreamsand hallucinations o a patient ,, 6reud's patient no less ,, but we

disco+er in the end that her ears ha+e magically pro+en to preigureher historical circumstances& which in turn may reacti+ate uni+ersalarchetypes$ hat's more& the boo* also seems to demonstrate in the psychological realm Gerald Gra's ormulation about postmodernliterature -hereas modernists turned to art& deined as theimposition o human order upon inhuman chaos&$$$postmodernistsconclude that& under such conceptions o art and history& art pro+idesno more consolation than any other discredited cultural institution$5ostmodernism signiies that the nightmare o history& as modernist

esthetic and philosophical traditions ha+e deined history& haso+erta*en modernism itsel$- In %homas' no+el& the art o psychoanalysis cannot help us with the nightmare o history$

293 carni+ales"ue spirit is common in this group o no+els$@anguage is used e.tra+agantly& e.pending its resources beyond itsreerential needs$ %hese te.tual communities re+eal economies o potlatch rather than ones characteri#ed by a hoarding o resources$

:ither on the le+el o plot or o language ,, or both ,, they are

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linguistic analogues or the *inds o primiti+e iestas celebrated byauss& Bataille& and 5a#& antitheses to the more utilitarian modes o most estern capitalist enterprises& whose linguistic economies might

be represented by 6laubert's notion o the mot 5uste the one e.act&economically eicient& word or a particular thing$

%his is 6laubert's idea& o course& not always his practice& and as;ominic* @a4apra has shown& it is possible to align 6laubert's stylewith a carni+ales"ue spirit& which is embodied& among other elements&in his problemati#ed ideal o pure art$ :+en so& whether or not oneaccepts that +iew o 6laubert& and ta*ing into account @a4apra'swarning about delineations o recent orms -pro+iding an unjustiied

sense o originality in the present&- I thin* we can still argue that thete.ts I am e.amining here go rather arther in the carni+ales"uedirection than 6laubert does$ %heir use o magical details& especially&details which are oten not allegorically signiicant or clearlyreerential at irst glance 2e+en i they become so on relection3&celebrate in+ention mo+ing beyond realistic representation$ I amspea*ing comparati+ely here& and while 6laubert has recently beenshown to be more postmodern than we might thin*& his te.ts less

uni+ocal& there are dierences$ 6laubert does not& or e.ample& tell usthe same story twice& rom two dierent worlds& as does 4ort!#ar in.The Night Fae 32. 2although the two +iews o the ommies

agrioles in Madame $ovar0 may lead to that3> he does not tell us thesame story rom an embedded set o narrators as ;$ $ %homas doesin The White !otel 2though the shit o narrator in the irst chapter o Madame $ovar0 might be seen to pa+e the way or such shits3> nor does he gi+e us a +ertiginous array o tenuously connected details and+ersions as does 5inget in That &oie or 6uentes in (istant elations&

or use the same e.act image o+er and o+er again as ushdie does withthe hole in the sheet or the spittoon in Midnight's Children 2although:mma's blac* wings o hair and blac* eyes once again can lead ustoward those techni"ues& as can the bo+ine elements in Madame

$ovar0 or the parrotic ones Jonathan 4uller disco+ers in - )impleAeart-3$

4orresponding in the conceptual domain to what& e+en with all these

"ualiications& I belie+e is a generally e.tra+agant& carni+ales"ue style&

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we can mo+e rom the grand and e.tra+agant passions o the Buendiasin One !undred "ears of #olitude to the lo+e o 5edro and %itae.tending o+er their entire li+es in %ike Water for Choolate> these

passions probably *ill the characters in the end& but or the most partwe eel a certain elation at their outrageousness 2though that's not allwe eel3$ %he same or %amina's nearly ludicrous 2though mo+ing3 andhighly romantic idelity to her husband in The $ook of %aughter and

Forgetting > she spends more than he may ha+e been worth& but we'reglad$ Midnight's Children is perhaps the most carni+ales"ue o all& inits conscious adoption o the style o a Bombay %al*ie ,, a cast o thousands& songs& dances& e.aggeratedly sumptuous scenarios&horriying blood and gore$ 2 4arlos 6uentes' recent Christo2her

3nborn ollows this same +ein$3 %his& then& is oten a baro"ue mode o o+ere.tension$ It is appropriate here at the end o the list to in+o*e)chehera#ade again& with her number o 1001 ,, a numeral o e.cess&emblematic o the notion that there is always one more6

In conclusion& I again cite @yotard& who characteri#es the postmodernas -that which searches or new presentations$$$in order to impart astronger sense o the unpresentable$- agical realism e.empliies this

notion& irst o all in its parado.ical name$ 5art o its attraction or postmodern writers may be its willully o.ymoronic nature& itse.posing o the unpresentable& its acti+ation o dierences$ %ike Water

for Choolate& or e.ample& ends not with the magical e+ent o %itaand 5edro's passionate combustion& although that scene is theculmination o their lo+e and the no+el that chronicles it& but with the practical detail concerning the passing on o %ita's recipes& airmingthe combination o the magical and the real in the te.t$ @yotard couldalmost be imagined to ha+e the oppositional terms o magical realism

in mind when he calls or resistance to retrogressi+e desires or -thereali#ation o the antasy to sei#e reality- ,, desires which mightdissol+e the delicate compound o magical realism$ /sing @yotard'sterms& we might say that in magical realist te.ts& -the answer is- to-wage a war on totality&- to -be witnesses to the unpresentable- ,, andthe irreducible> in sum& to airm the magic o the storyteller's art& toin+ite )chehera#ade's children o+er to play& whate+er their ignoranceo the rules o our games& and howe+er antastically they may be

dressed$

CH



Magical Realism and Postmodernism: Decentering Privileged

Centers

Because the term -magic- or -magical realism- has persisted or o+er hal a century but is not yet entirely current& it is useul to trace itsorigins and use briely beore situating the mode with regard to postmodernism$ ost commentators agree that it originated with theGerman art critic 6ran# oh& who in 19C coined the word to& andhere I am "uoting the O/ford (itionar0 of Art & -describe the aspect o (eue )achlich*eit characteri#ed by sharp,ocus detail> in later criticism the term has been used to co+er +arious types o painting inwhich objects are depicted with photographic naturalism but which because o parado.ical elements or strange ju.tapositions con+ey aeeling o unreality& inusing the ordinary with a sense o mystery$- Mutatis mutandis& I will ta*e the same deinition to apply to theliterary mo+ement o the same name$ 6rom the e.ample the O/ford

(itionar0 of Art oers& namely& the paintings o the Belgian enKagritte& the rele+ance o the term to surrealism and its en+ironment

can be deduced$ It is also in this en+ironment& and more speciicallywith iguel ngel sturias and lejo 4arpentier& who bothre"uented )urrealist circles& that Jean 6ranco& in her An *ntrodution

to #2anish7Amerian %iterature& situates the emergence o that particular @atin,merican prose most commentators include under therubric o magic realism$ Both sturias and 4arpentier discussed theidea o magic realism in their own wor*s& lin*ing it e.plicitly tosurrealism& sturias using the +ery word -r8alisme magi9ue- in a 19HC

inter+iew in %es %ettres Fran:aises, while 4arpentier chose torechristen it in his inluential essay -;e lo real mara+illosoamericano&- originally preacing :l reino de este mundo and collectedin his 19H +olume Tientos 0 diferenias$ It should immediately bestated& though& that e+en beore it was generally applied to @atinmerican literature the term had already been used with regard to particular tendencies or mo+ements in German,ustrian and 6lemishliterature$ In act& although Brotherston& reerring to earlier publications by ngel 6lores and @uis @eal& noted in 19 that the

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term was irmly established well beore the 19H0s& 6ranco in her 19H9 *ntrodution apparently ound it necessary to apologi#e or her use o it in a note stating that -this term has recently been coined to

categorise no+els which use myth and legend- and in her slightlyearlier The Modern Culture of %atin Ameria 219H3& she had not usedthe term$ Aowe+er& in her 19D #2anish Amerian %iterature sine

*nde2endene she reely and unreser+edly uses 4arpentier's -realmara+illoso&- at least i I am to go by the 198 edition o the )panishtranslation o that boo*$ )o does 4edomil Goic in his 19C Aistoria dela no+ela hispanoamericana& though he preers the term-superrealismo- or the entire tendency o which he sees 4arpentier's-real mara+illoso- orming only a part$ In the inter+ening years& o

course& the appearance o Gabriel García !r"ue#E Cien a;os de soledad 219H3 ,and within its wa*e the worldwide attention gi+en tothe so,called @atin merican boom& much o which its the categorywe are here concerned with ,, had ensured the international literary,critical success o the term -magic realism- also in non,)panishcritical writing& though still with almost e.clusi+e reerence tocontemporary )panish merican iction$

@i*e magic realism& the term -postmodernism&- though e+en now itmay seem new to some& goes bac* se+eral decades& as has been amplyillustrated by ichael =Shler and Aans Bertens in their sur+ey articleso 19 and 198H& respecti+ely$ gain li*e magic realism& the term-postmodernism- has gained wide recognition and acceptance onlysince the 19H0s& and particularly so in the 80s in which it has come tostand or a general mo+ement in the arts& and e+en in orms o beha+ior and daily lie$ 6rom a literary,critical perspecti+e& particularly with regard to prose ,, the genre which has igured most

prominently in recent literary discussions o postmodernism ,, theterm primarily stands or a combination o those technicallyinno+ati+e "ualities most highly regarded by contemporary criticalmo+ements such as poststructuralism$ ;rawing on discussions by;ouwe 6o**ema& llen %hiher& @inda Autcheon& Brian cAale& IhabAassan& ;a+id @odge& lan ilde& and others& and simpliying mattersa great deal& I would argue that the ollowing eatures are generallyregarded as mar*ing postmodernism sel,rele.i+eness& metaiction&

eclecticism& redundancy& multiplicity& discontinuity& interte.tuality&

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parody& the dissolution o character and narrati+e instance& the erasureo boundaries& and the destabili#ation o the reader$ ostcommentators seem to agree that the +ery term -postmodernism-

originated in the 19D0s in @atin merica& with the critic 6ederico de?nís& and was rein+ented or reused& co+ering dierent ields andcarrying dierent meanings& throughout the 0s and 0s both in:urope and the /nited )tates$ Let& most commentators would alsoagree that in its present meaning and with its present scope the termgained acceptance primarily with reerence to merican& that is& /$)$& prose iction$

In the period in which -postmodernism- and -magic realism- gained

their present meanings& then& their use was restricted& respecti+ely& to (orth, and )outh,merican prose de+elopments$ ?nly recently& and primarily since the early 80s& ha+e these terms allowed or spillageinto other linguistic or geographical areas$ Aowe+er& I thin* ewwould deny that since they ha+e started doing so they ha+e come todi+ide not just the (ew& but also the ?ld orld between them$ %heynow seem almost the only shorthands a+ailable to categori#econtemporary de+elopments in estern iction$ Increasingly& though&

it has pro+ed diicult to distinguish the categories co+ered by theseterms clearly$ -5ostmodernism- has been undeniably the moresuccessul term to co+er de+elopments in other technicallysophisticated estern literatures$ ?ten& this has not happened withoutconsiderable hesitation& as witnessed by the ongoing discussion withregard to the 6rench nouveau roman and nouveau nouveau roman$)till& G7nter Grass& %homas Bernhard& 5eter Aand*e& Italo 4al+ino&John 6owles& ngela 4arter& John Ban+ille& and ichel %ournier& aswell as ;utch authors illem Bra*man and @ouis 6erron& all o whom

during the H0s and 0s were considered by some as highlyidiosyncratic authors& or representati+es o purely national mo+ementsor tendencies& during the 80s ha+e increasingly come to be anne.ed by postmodernism$ Indeed& on the basis o the catalog o eatures I listed beore& such inclusion seems ully warranted$ Let& judging rom thedeinition I "uoted at the beginning o this essay& it would be hard todeny that much o the wor* o many o these authors might just aseasily be categori#ed as magic realist$ %his& in act& is what has been

happening$ ichard %odd& in an essay called -4on+ention and

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Inno+ation in British 6iction 1981,198 %he 4ontemporaneity o agic ealism&- discusses ngela 4arterEs Nights at the Cirus&)alman ushdieEs #hame& and ;$ $ %homas' The White !otel $ Ae

sees these no+els as challenging& in a magic realist way& both theearlier modes o historical and documentary realism pre+alent in post,ar British iction and the more con+entional orms o romance$ tthe same time& though& he sees these no+els as achie+ing their magicrealist program by way o the +ery same techni"ues usually singledout as mar*ing postmodernism$ Geert @ernout& in an essay on.ostmodernist Fition in Canada,. claims that -what is postmodernin the rest o the world used to be called magic realist in )outhmerica and still goes by that name in 4anada$- Ais list o 4anadian

magic realists includes obert =roetsch& Jac* Aodgins& %imothy6indley& and udy iebe& all o whom he considers to be writing in atradition that would also include Borges& Grass& (abo*o+& ushdie&and 4al+ino& but that would e.clude Bec*ett& obbe,Grillet& andicardou$ ll o these authors are postmodernists& he concludes& but-maybe we do need a more speciic term or the irst *ind o postmodernist wor*s than 'metaiction' or 'suriction&' and 'magicrealism' may in the end not be all that bad- 2103$ It would seem& then&

as i in international critical parlance a consensus is emerging in whicha hierarchical relation is established between postmodernism andmagic realism& whereby the latter comes to denote a particular straino the contemporary mo+ement co+ered by the ormer$ )uch& or instance& is already the attitude ta*en by two late 80s sur+ey wor*s on postmodern writing Brian cAale ostmodernist Fition 21983 and@inda Autcheon A oetis of ostmodernism 219883$

@oo*ing at it rom the other side& rom that o )panish merican

literature& a similar de+elopment can be deduced rom a recent article by Julio ?rtega on .ostmodernism in %atin Ameria,. in which heconsiders the wor* o a number o authors who until recently wouldha+e been discussed almost e.clusi+ely within a magic realistramewor*$ ?b+iously& to anyone e+en minimally ac"uainted with thenarrati+e pyrotechnics o a García !r"ue#& a 4ort!#ar& a 6uentes& a;onoso& or the early argas @losa& this possibility will ha+e suggesteditsel immediately rom the catalog o eatures I listed earlier as

distinguishing postmodernism$ I magic realism& then& seems irmly

D0



established as part o postmodernism& the "uestion remains as to +hat

part it plays in this larger current or mo+ement& and where and why$

4arlos 6uentes& in an article in which he describes how he came towrite about e.ico the way he does& says that one o the irst thingshe learned ,rom ?cta+io 5a# ,, is that -there were no pri+ilegedcenters o culture& race& politics$- It is precisely the notion o the e.,centric& in the sense o spea*ing rom the margin& rom a place -other-than -the- or -a- center& that seems to me an essential eature o thatstrain o postmodernism we call magic realism$ In literary,criticalterms& this e.,centricity can in the irst instance be described as a+oluntary act o brea*ing away rom the discourse percei+ed as central

to the line o technical e.perimentation starting with realism andrunning +ia naturalism and modernism to the *ind o postmodernism@ernout assigned to his second group o authors& the -metaictionists-or -surictionists- < la Bec*ett& obbe,Grillet or icardou$ :+enthough these +arious mo+ements may ha+e thought o themsel+es ascritical or sub+ersi+e o one another& and o the respecti+e societiesthey stemmed rom& their issuing rom -pri+ileged centers- made their discourse suspect to those marginali#ed ,, geographically& socially&

economically ,, by these same societies$ %o write e.,centrically& then&or rom the margin& implies dis,placing this discourse$ y argument isthat magic realist writing achie+es this end by irst appropriating thetechni"ues o the -centr-,al line and then using these& not as in thecase o these central mo+ements& -realistically&- that is& to duplicatee.isting reality as percei+ed by the theoretical or philosophical tenetsunderlying said mo+ements& but rather to create an alternati+e worldorreting socalled e.isting reality& and thus to right the wrongs this-reality- depends upon$ agic realism thus re+eals itsel as a ruse to

in+ade and ta*e o+er dominant discourse2s3$ It is a way o access tothe main body o -estern- literature or authors not sharing in& or notwriting rom the perspecti+e o& the pri+ileged centers o this literatureor reasons o language& class& race& or gender& and yet a+oidingepigonism by a+oiding the adoption o +iews o the hegemonic orcestogether with their discourse$ lternati+ely& it is a means or writerscoming rom the pri+ileged centers o literature to dissociatethemsel+es rom their own discourses o power& and to spea* on

behal o the e.,centric and un,pri+ileged 2with the ris* o being

D1



judged -patroni#ing- by those on whose behal such writers see* tospea*3$

%hat magic realism implicitly proposes this decentering& and that itdoes so also in other literatures than )panish merican ones& I will tryand illustrate with regard to some recent :nglish language no+els thatall single out some -pri+ileged center- as embodied in traditionalliterary discourse& and then& +ia postmodernist and magic realistmeans& -displace- it$ I will deal in some detail with J$ $ 4oet#ee Foe

2198H3& and then briely touch upon John 6owles' The Frenh

%ieutenant's Woman 2 19H93& )alman ushdie Midnight's Children

2 19813& and ngela 4arter Nights at the Cirus 2 1983$

Foe& in typical postmodern ashion& is a rewrite o an :nglish-classic- ;eoeEs obinson Crusoe$ In the autobiographical tale o its protagonist& obinson Crusoe literally is the story o white maleestern colonialism& and thus ser+es an important symbolic unctionin the est's cultural conception o itsel and its world it is the epic o that hero o middle,class ideology& homo eonomius$ 4oet#ee no+elis not told rom the perspecti+e o obinson Crusoe but rom that o )usan Barton& a woman shipwrec*ed on 4rusoe's island$ )he tells4rusoe's story to the hac* writer and journalist 6oe& hoping to sell it$Ae is only moderately interested in her story o a morose& surly& andinept old man& uneasily and uncomortably li+ing on his island with anunruly and disgruntled sla+e$ Ae is more interested in )usan's own past& and especially in her se.ual e.periences$ ? course& we *nowthat ;eoe obinson Crusoe presents us with a totally dierent 4rusoeand 6riday& and ma*es no mention o a woman$ s )usan's story& in4oet#ee's te.t& is presented as the authentic or true +ersion o ;eoe's

subse"uent iction& we are as*ed to conclude that the :nglish author remo+ed )usan rom the story and reimagined 4rusoe and 6riday or commercial purposes& thus adapting it to his public ideologicale.pectations$

@oo*ing at it rom the opposite end& o course& the "uestion is why4oet#ee added )usan Barton to the classic story& and why he had her gi+e her +iew o 4rusoe& 6riday& and 6oe$ Aere& a passage rom theend o part three o Foe can pro+e helpul$ 6riday is& literally& dumb

DC



his tongue has been cut out$ s )usan reali#es that 6riday's story iscentral to whate+er happened on the island& she agrees to 6oe's proposal that she teach 6riday to write$ Aer eorts remain largely

unrewarded$ )till& at the end o part three 6riday is able to write awhole page o -o-s$ 6oe comments that ne.t day she has to teach himthe -a-$ %his passage can be e.plained in two ways$ 6irst& the -o- can be read as #ero$ 6riday is thus made out to be unctionally illiterate ineighteenth,century :nglish society$ lternati+ely& the -o- can be readas the Gree* omega& and thus as a +ery pointed comment on theci+ili#ation landed$ s ar as he is concerned& this ci+ili#ation is a-re+erse- one that approaches things rom the wrong end$ ittingly or unwittingly& 6riday is condemned to remain outside the pale o white

ci+ili#ation in which& as ichel 6oucault has argued& language is power$ nd obinson Crusoe& as intimated earlier& is a linguisticcodiication o the comple. o metanarrati+es legitimi#ing esternmiddle,class society$ (ow we can also understand the symbolism o 6riday's cut,out tongue the ci+ili#ation that 4rusoe embodies literallyreduces all who do not spea* its discourse to silence$ %o learn to writestarting with the -a- or alpha o 6oe's alphabet would then mean that6riday should adopt the discourse& and the corresponding world+iew&

o white colonial ci+ili#ation$ Mutatismutandis mutandis the samething holds or )usan Barton$ )he& o course& is not illiterate$ Bothorally and in writing& she can tell her own story& and she does so in Foe$ Let& history ,, in irst instance literary history& but by implicationalso history in general ,, has written her out o the story$ %hus& sheares e+en worse than 6riday who& in the story sanctioned by history&was at least allowed to linger on as a minor character$ 4onsider thetitle o the boo*$ .Foe. means -ad+ersary&- or e+en -enemy&- and it isclear that the implied author o the iction that will result rom )usanBarton's true story 2always in the conte.t o Foe& o course3& namely& obinson Crusoe& is both her and 6riday's enemy& according to thedictates o a society that e+aluated human beings in terms o their economic +alue& and or which blac*s& Indians& and members o non,:uropean races were useul as sla+es& but or which women held noeconomic interest whate+er$

Irony& o course& has it that .Foe. is the name o the author we *now

as -;eoe&- and that he& along with )amuel ichardson& was the irst

DD



commercial writer in :nglish literary history$ I obinson Crusoe&then& turns out to be an ideological rewrite o a +ery dierent andmuch more untractable reality& the name -;eoe- turns out to be ully

as much an ideological rewrite& itsel an ob5etive orrelative or thecommercial ideology o capitalism$ By opting or the real name o thewriter o obinson Crusoe as the title or his own rewrite& 4oet#eeindicates that he is not so much concerned with the igure o .obinson Crusoe. but rather with the eponymous boo* as linguisticcodiication o a particular pri+ileged center's world+iew$ ?b+iously& itcannot be a coincidence that it is a white male )outh rican& o ri*aner stoc*& that writes both woman and the negro bac* into thisstory$ Ais Foe is a linguistic reaction to the li*ewise linguistic

codiication o an ideology that lies at the +ery basis o his owncountry's origins and way o lie$ 6rom his own wilully e.,centric+antage point& he in+ades& sub+erts& and corrects that codiication& andhence its underlying ideology$ %o now circle bac* to my originalargument the only way or 4oet#ee to write woman& and +ia her thenegro& bac* into the classic story is by means o magic realist de+ices$:specially the ourth and last section o Foe is re+ealing in thisrespect as the pri+ileged center discourse lea+es no room or a

-realistic- insertion o those that history ,, always spea*ing thelanguage o the +ictors and rulers ,, has denied a +oice& such an act o recuperation can only happen by magic or antastic or unrealisticmeans$

)imilar arguments could be de+eloped with regard to the other threeno+els I wish to analy#e briely$ The Frenh %ieutenant's Woman

situates itsel in the conte.t o nineteenth,century :nglish realism$ s6owles himsel has stated& the no+el is a partial rewrite o Aardy A

air of $lue 40es& and ta*es as its starting point what was marginaland e.,centric to the nineteenth,century :nglish no+el se.uality& and particularly emale se.uality$ %he boo* appeals to the realist traditionin its orm& style& and tone& but at the same time undermines thattradition in the way it handles its characters& and by its metaictionaluse o the narrator's +oice$ In combination with the multiple endings tothe no+el& these elements ace the reader with his own reedom asreader& complementary to the reedom the emale protagonist ,, the

.Frenh %ieutenant's Woman. rom the title ,claims or hersel& and

D



which is totally opposite to the determinism implicit in Aardy'salready almost naturalistic +iew$ Important to my argument is that themultiple endings& upon which the eect o the boo* to a large e.tent

hinges& are accounted or in a magic realist way& +ia the inter+entiono 6owles' - fo22ish im2resario$- %his impresario ,, ob+iously a doubleor 6owles himsel ,, is present throughout the no+el as obser+er andmetaictional commentator$ hen in the penultimate chapter the storyhas reached a -realistic- happy end in line with the meliorati+eintentions o many :nglish and merican 2illiam ;ean Aowells& or instance3 realists& the impresario appears and puts bac* the hands o his watch& and thereby also the narrati+e time o the no+el$ %his allowsor an alternati+e ending& highlighting the e.istentialist reedom,theme

o the no+el& and orcing the reader to ma*e his own decision as towhich ending he preers& acing him with his own reedom$

ushdie Midnight's Children both in+o*es and sub+erts the typically:nglish tradition o the colonial no+el as written by =ipling or 6orster 2howe+er di+ergent in other respects these two authors may be3$ Inthis tradition the white man's +iew o the land& and o its inhabitants&holds a central position$ 4olonial nature and society thus assume the

role o the -other&- the e.otic& the strange$ t +ariance with thistradition& in ushdie's no+el the ocus lies with the Indiansthemsel+es& and with their +iews o their country and society$ 6romthis perspecti+e& the e.otic becomes something the est has projectedupon India$ Aere it is the esterner who becomes -other$- agic&which in the colonial no+el oten unctions as the sign o the othernesso non,estern society and ci+ili#ation& with ushdie becomes dailyreality& and hence magic realism in the sense o 4arpentier's lo real maravilloso indigenous magic$ ll together& the children born in India

at the +ery moment the country gained its independence rom:ngland& communicating with each other in such a magic realist way&literally gi+e +oice to an entire subcontinent> a proper +oice this time&as the subjects o their own story and not as the objects o an :nglishcolonial no+el$

6inally& we notice something similar in ngela 4arter Nights at the

Cirus$ In the irst ew lines o this no+el the Gree* myth o @eda and

the swan is alluded to$ Indirectly& the rape o @eda by Teus engendered

D



the oldest estern wor* o literature *nown to us Aomer *liad $%hroughout the boo*& this myth& in the +arious guises it recei+ed in thecourse o literary history& is reerred to again and again$ t the end o

Nights at the Cirus& though& in contrast to the original myth& thewoman in the guise o a -swan- will gently ,, though passionately ,,ma*e lo+e to the male protagonist$ %he outcome o this act remains to be seen& but we may speculate that it will be +ery dierent rom whathappened -the other time- whereas Aomer ounded a male line inestern literature& 4arter oers us a rewrite o Aomer that redeinesthe uture o humanity rom a eminist ideology$ nd once again& sucha rewrite only pro+es possible with the help o magic realist meansthe emale protagonist& -6e++ers&- is a -bird&- not just metaphorically

but also literally$ nd the no+el is replete with magic realism in itsnumerous manipulations o time& place& scenery& and character$ %ogi+e just one e.ample during a +isit to his palace in )t$ 5etersburg&the Grand ;u*e shows 6e++ers his collection o toy eggs containingall sorts o miniatures$ 6e++ers is in+ited to choose one egg as a present& ob+iously in return or se.ual a+ors$ )he is tempted tochoose a miniature train& but the ;u*e tells her the ne.t egg is meantor her$ %his egg contains a gilded& but empty cage$ 6e++ers& who has

been trying to *eep the ;u*e rom physically engaging her by insteadcaressing his male member& reali#es she is about to be trapped

%he bitter *nowledge she'd been ooled spurred 6e++ers into action$)he dropped the toy train on the Isahan runner ,, merciully& it landedon its wheels ,, as& with a grunt and whistle o e.pelled breath& theGrand ;u*e ejaculated$

In those ew seconds o his lapse o consciousness& 6e++ers ran helter,

s*elter down the platorm& opened the door o the irst,classcompartment and clambered aboard$

-@oo* what a mess he's made o your dress& the pig&- said @i##ie$

?b+iously& it is not a coincidence that the three no+els I ha+e brielydiscussed here argue the emancipation o those categories ,, womenand non,estern peoples ,, that were also central to Foe$ I t is precisely these categories that were traditionally e.cluded rom the

DH



-pri+ileged centers- o culture& race& and gender& and thereore romthe operati+e discourses o power$ (ot or nothing 4arter reers toeminism in terms o -decoloni#ation$-

I we account or magic realism's unction within postmodernismalong these lines& this might also urnish us with a possiblee.planation or the pioneering role o )panish merican literature inthis mode$ ;uring the period under consideration @atin merica was perhaps the continent most e.,centric to the -pri+ileged centers- o power$ t the same time& though& it was nominally independentenough early enough to utter its -other- ,ness in the way I ha+esuggested abo+e$ ?r perhaps it might be more accurate to say that

precisely the discrepancy between its nominal independence and itscontinuing cultural dependence e.acerbated the eeling o e.,centricity o many @atin merican authors& and thus alerted them tothe problematics o centers and margins in literature& and hence to the possibilities o magic realism& at an earlier stage than authors romother continents or countries& or rom other groups& races& or genders$)till& these would ollow soon enough& as oten as not speciicallyappealing to @atin merican e.amples& as ushdie does to García

!r"ue#$%his brings me to a inal point$ García !r"ue# himsel re"uentlymentioned 6aul*ner as his e.ample$ %he )outherner 6aul*ner isundoubtedly one o the most e.,centric& in the sense we ha+e heregi+en to that word& o merican authors$ ? late& o course& 6aul*ner has been claimed or postmodernism$ )hould we now also start callinghim a magic realist< %he +ery act that this notion probably stri*esmost o us as e.tra+agant still might well say more about the

resistance o merican scholarship to applying this particular term tomerican literature than about that literature itsel$ nd this regardlesso the act that John Barth& many o whose te.ts would surely "ualiyas magic realist& has e.pressed unreser+ed admiration or Borges& andor a number o @atin merican magic realist authors$ In -%he@iterature o eplenishment- he proclaims Gabriel García !r"ue#'sOne !undred "ears of #olitude his supreme e.ample o postmodernism -the synthesis o straightorwardness and artiice&

realism and magic and myth-> yet this article& and its e"ually amous

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predecessor %he @iterature o :.haustion& are in+ariably only adducedto buttress the use o the term postmodern$ %he reason why /$)$scholarship seems most resistant to applying the term magic realism to

its own literary products is perhaps that the /nited )tates has been themost -pri+ileged center- o all in our postwar world$ %he preerence/$)$ scholarship shows or the term -postmodernism- emphasi#es toan almost e.tra+agant degree the technical side o literaryachie+ements& at the same time oten insisting on the play,character o the te.t$ ? course& this is one way o deusing the possible politicalrepercussions or implications o contemporary te.ts$ Ironically&ar.ist and neo,humanitarian critics& inside and outside the /nited)tates& here ind a common ground to decry postmodernism or its

supposed lac* o ethical or materialist concern$ Aowe+er& bystubbornly restricting the term to a geographically limited segment o literature and by moreo+er e.clusi+ely i.ating upon one aspect o thisliterature& these critics ail to see that the really signiicant resistancewithin the international postmodern mo+ement is being put up bymagic realism$ In their blindness& in act& they all +ictim to the same*ind o -pri+ileged center- ideology that they claim to combat a rarecase o bad aith indeedM

%o my mind& then& the cutting edge o postmodernism is magicrealism$ s ;ouwe 6o**ema remar*s& the postmodernist de+ice o -permutation- ,, which he circumscribes as -permutation o possibleand impossible& rele+ant and irrele+ant& true and alse& reality and parody& metaphor and literal meaning- ,, is -probably the mostsub+ersi+e one with regard to earlier con+entions- )igniicantly& it isalso this de+ice that is central to the deinition o magic realism I"uoted at the +ery beginning o this article$ nd ob+iously& I would

see the sub+ersion being wor*ed here as not just relecting uponearlier con+entions& but also upon the metanarrati+es or ideologiesthese con+entions uphold$ In this& I eel supported by most o thecritics I ha+e hitherto had occasion to mention$ %odd sees the threemagic realist no+els he discusses& Nights at the Cirus& ushdie's)hame& and ;$ $ %homas' The White !otel & as respecti+ely puttingorth a eminist program and showing up the ill eects o political and psychological repression$ @inda Autcheon& in her A oetis of

ostmodernism& de+otes an entire chapter to -;ecentering the

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5ostmodern %he :.,4entric&- claiming that -the theory and practiceo postmodern art has shown ways o ma*ing the dierent& the o,center& into the +ehicle or aesthetic and e+en political consciousness,

raising- 2D3$ nd in her more recent The Canadian ostmodern= A#tud0 of Contem2orar0 4nglish7Canadian Fition& she insists atlength upon the e.,centricity o 4anadian literature& stating that-O 4anada'sP history is one o deining itsel against centres&- andlin*ing the 4anadian e.perience to that o repressed -minorities&-appro+ingly "uoting )usan )wan The $iggest Modern Woman of the

World> ?@B) 2 198D3 as saying that -to be rom the 4anadas is to eelas women eel ,cut o rom the base o power$- 6or her too& -the e.,centrics& be they 4anadians& women& or both&$$$sub+ert the authority o

language&- and ,echoing ngela 4arter ,, -not surprisingly& languagehas been called the major issue in the general history o colonisation&whether in terms o gender or nationality- )pea*ing o magic realismas -an internali#ed challenge to realism oered by @atin mericaniction&- she argues that -this *ind o realism was less a rejection o the realist con+entions than a contamination o them with antasy andwith the con+entions o an oral story,telling tradition- 2C083$ s4anadian heirs to Gabriel Garcia !r"ue# she mentions obert

=roetsch& )usan )wan& Jac* Aodgins& and ichael ?ndaatje$

e would speciically argue or the political consciousness,raising powers o magic realism within postmodernism$ ith Julio ?rtega& Idisco+er in the great no+els o ulo& rguedas& García !r"ue#&4abrera Inante& 6uentes and @e#ama @ima& a @atin mericangroundtone re+eals itsel as an artistic and cultural practice thatreshapes the traditional models and the need or inno+ation into new&uni"ue& and powerul articulations o historical necessities& into

penetrating statements o critical and political con+ictions$ %heseno+els ha+e their roots in the common scene o Internationalodernism& while at the same time conronting it with its own needs& problemati#ing it& and parodying it$ %hey li*ewise go beyond e.istingdeinitions and ramewor*s by gi+ing their postmodernity an e+enmore critical accentuation& +oicing yet new aesthetic needs and socialre+indications$

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6rom the list o authors ?rtega oers& and to which many other namescould be added& oremost among them that o the argas @losa o %a

asa verde 219H3& Conversain en %a Catedral 219H93& and %a

guerra del fin del mundo 219813& it is clear that this @atin mericangroundtone o an artistic and cultural practice +oicing aesthetic needsand social re+indications is also a magic realist one$ nd thisgroundtone& it seems to me& is also there in magic realist wor*s bynon,@atin merican writers$In order to come ull circle& to myopening remar*s magic realism& as I ha+e now discussed it& in itsartistic and cultural,political practice& is clearly continuing in thetrac*s o its earliest progenitor& surrealism$ s such it also mar*s theinclusion& in the discussion about postmodernism& o that -hal- that

Aelmut @ethen still relati+ely recently regretted as ha+ing beene.cluded rom earlier theoretical discussions o this phenomenon bynglo,merican critics& namely& the complementary heritage o thecontinental :uropean a+ant,garde$ %he e.clusi+e attention gi+en tonglo merican modernism is in itsel an indication o -pri+ilegedcenter- discourse$ In this respect& then& merely to tal* o magic realismin relation to postmodernism is to contribute to decentering that pri+ileged discourse$

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The Metamorphoses of Fictional Space: Magical Realism

4oncerning OparablesP a man once said hy such reluctance< I youonly ollowed the parables you would become parables and with thatrid o all your daily cares$ nother said I bet that is also a parable$%he irst said Lou ha+e won$ %he second said But unortunately onlyin parable$ %he irst said (o& in reality in parable you ha+e lost$ ,,6ran# =a*a& -?n 5arables-

I am interested in ictional space$ Aow& in reading or +iewing aictional world is space 2the sense o direction and distance& the sheer

up and downness and bac* and orthness& the sale3 to be imagined<agical realism ma*es the problem e.tremely interesting$ %hecopresence o oddities& the interaction o the bi#arre with the entirelyordinary& the doubleness o conceptual codes& the irreducibly hybridnature o e.perience stri*es the mind's eye$ Impossible things& )almanushdie writes& -happen constantly& and "uite plausibly& out in theopen under the midday sun$- Imagine the space in a -realistic- no+el$%hin* o 4onrad$ %he na+igational routes& the lines on a map& the

rational cartographical space& unold lucidly and unmista*ably$ 2It is&o course& the representation o the space that you ta*e or granted&and in which you wal* and mo+e about$ It is such a amiliar space thatyou can easily see right through it$3 (ow thin* o )penser$ ?r& i )penser seems too remote& thin* o #tar Trek 2any generation3 and tryto imagine how +ery dierent arrangements o things coe.ist&dierent sets o possibilities& dierent spaces$ (ow imagine theictional world that )penser creates$ ?r thin* o any such world inwhich the plasticity o antasy,space displaces normal e.pectationsand learned beha+ior and superimpose it upon one o 4onrad'sictional worlds$ %ry to imagine it as i two distinct geometries had been inscribed onto the same space$ %hin* o it as copresence& asduality and mutual tolerance& as dierent geometries at wor* constructing a double space$ agical realism ocuses the problem o ictional space$ It does this by suggesting a model o how dierentgeometries& inscribing boundaries that old and reold li*e "uic*sil+er&can superimpose themsel+es upon one another$

1



@et me introduce a parable$ ?nce upon a time& not so long ago& nor soar away& in a +illage on the pampas& on the prairies& alonginterminable 5aciic beaches& there li+ed two brothers$ %hey were

ordinary real,lie people who got up each day and did what they wereused to doing eating normally& wal*ing in more or less straight lines&attending to nature's many calls& eeling the winds o air and heat that blew& seeing with the +ariable translucencies o light& and li+ing in thelinear unolding o time$ %hen one day they grew tired o thiscommonplace e.istence and began to rein+ent the world$

%he irst brother began by as*ing whether it was truly necessary towal* in straight lines rom one point to another$ Ae reasoned that it

might ma*e more sense to wal* in cur+ed lines& since they might pro+e to be more interesting& or e+en 2in the long run3 "uic*er$ ter all& the uni+erse sometimes seems to be composed o chun*s o cur+edspace& so cur+ed lines might ma*e more sense than straight ones$ Aewent on to thin* about other things that he had been taught to accept&all +ery ordinary matters& but which might be only assumptions thatcould be changed or e.changed the notions that planes ha+e suraces&that one line and only one may pass through a gi+en point& that

distances between points remain constant& or that time passes linearly$ll these mundane assumptions about human e.perience could beo+erturned and strange& but prooundly e.citing& propositions wouldollow$ (ew worlds would emerge& open to e.ploration yet blan*lyloc*ed to the commonplace thin*ing that the rejected assumptions permit$

eanwhile& the second brother began to weary o the unde+iating predictability o ordinary lie$ Ae grew tired o the hea+iness o

gra+ity& o the solidity o substance& o the boring on,goingness o cause and eect& and o the sensation o heated air that seemed to bethe blowing o the wind$ Ae began to imagine a world in which thingsloated together again& li*e "uic*sil+er& and in which things called outmeaningully to each other& but did not cause one another$ Ae began tosuppose that all human e.perience could be counteractual$ )uppose2he mused3 that the wind were made o light$ )uppose that the s*ycould be made o lowers and that the clouds were bundles o sot

C



petals& then rain might be the perume o rose or o poppies$ @et ussuppose that the winds blow 2or illumine3 the embryos o our desires$

In this way the two brothers began to in+ent resh e.istences$ But it isimportant to obser+e that they did so in +ery dierent ways without paying much attention to others& their precursors& who had tried to perorm similar rein+entions in the past$ %he irst brother began byassuming a single proposition that was contrary to reason and to theli*elihoods o human lie$ t dierent times& he in+ented dierent propositions 2they were li*e the a.ioms o unli*e geometries3 that ledaround the compass in all& but always dierent& directions$ %he propositions that he in+ented were oten antirational and not at all

intuiti+e& li*e the a.ioms o dierential geometry$ )till& he was able todraw rom them ascinating conse"uences$ ?nce he had made them&e.traordinary worlds became possible& and narrati+es about theseworlds& beore unimaginable& now thundered in his +oice$ %he it,goes,without,sayings o realistic iction that he had grown up belie+ing began to ade into insigniicance 2or into the +ast +olume o literarycon+entions3 to be remembered& but no longer to be assumed& ne+er again to be re+ered$ %hus he was able to assume that a library could be

ininite& that a man might lose his ability to orget detail 2and hence toma*e abstractions3& that God could suspend time or one person butnot or others& that a coin could ha+e only one side& that a boo* mightha+e an ininite number o pages& not one o which could e+er beredisco+ered& or that there might be a world somewhere 2call it %lSn3in which perception preceded e.istence$ ?nce he had in+ented thesecounterintuiti+e propositions& they began to unction in his reshaccounts li*e a.ioms in antastic geometries$ ?nce you accepted them&you could not escape where they led$

(ow the second brother shared the desire to begin reshly and todiscard what had become dustily commonplace$ Ae ollowed adierent method o rein+ention$ Ae began by imagining spaces inwhich common and uncommon things e.isted side by side men died&grew old& had children& were born& remembered or orgotten> yetlowers rained rom the s*ies& human persons metamorphosed intoanimals or angels& ghosts and chimeras abounded& and human

psychology lent the structures o its obsessions to the world so that it

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became& in its rein+ention& a labyrinth o emblems$ In the second brother's narrati+es there were no single a.ioms rom whiche+erything descended& or rom which the world hung& but there were

instead two codes that were interwound& twisted in a grip closer than blood and mind& in a tight choreography o antitheses$ %he one code put things into place "uite normally so that men were shot and died&had ambitions& were deserted& became lonely& and sought sublimationsli*e& say& ma*ing gold ish$ %he second code organi#ed e+ents so thatany number o strange things might occur a man might bee+erywhere ollowed by butterlies& another might swim to the bottomo the sea and ind lost +illages where lie continued or where ancientturtles lay by the thousands waiting to be eaten& another might sell the

sea so that it could be cut into chun*s and reassembled elsewhere onland& still another might build a lighthouse out o ice$ In the second brother's imagined narrati+es& the possibilities o the two worlds werealways copresent& their codes lo+ingly interwound& and clung iercelyto each other$

Both brothers learned to tell stories about their rein+ented worlds witha straight ace& without shrugs& secret win*s& or other hints that it was&

ater all& just a tale$ 2%he world had not been rein+ented& onlytemporarily disguised$3 )ome people thought that their talent asstorytellers was simply this *nac* o telling about their newlyimagined worlds without drawing attention to themes out o theordinary& o gi+ing their worlds narrators who ne+er raised problemsor suggested that readers and hearers should loo* or e.planations$ Inthe second brother's narrati+es& there ne+er were any e.planations because none were e+er re"uired$ I the irst brother ga+ee.planations& they were antastic yet always rational$ Both brothers'

worlds easily generated belie$

(o doubts there are always people 2more than preachers& policemen& politicians& and pedagogues might wish to admit3 who would li*e torein+ent the world$ I they cannot do it or themsel+es& e.cept in sleepor when the og is thic*est& then they beg others to do it or them$ )othe two brothers "uic*ly gathered disciples& ollowers li*e scattered*nights& who swore to rein+ent their own worlds according to the rules

the brothers had created$ s their ollowing grew& the number o



disciples increased& uncertainties stuc* to the brothers' ame& they became associated with strangers& their origins were orgotten and2worst o all3 they became conused with one another$ %here were

some ad+enturers among the new worlds who said that the brotherswere actually just one person who possessed a single magic ormula>others who made ga#etteers o all the real world's in+isible cities&supposing that they li+ed in this place or that> still others who thoughtthat they were imposters& pan+estites& masters o bunco andBuncombe$ s it oten happens& a myth 2a collecti+e networ* o littlemyths3 sprang up around the brothers& and they became at once moreand less than their true disciples *new them to be$ %hey weree+erywhere& and e+eryone spo*e much o them and o their power and

inluence& but who were they< eally& people as*ed& who really arethey< ho& really<

4onsider ne.t the ollowing anecdote rom literary history& which Ishall oer complete with scholia but in a much shorter orm than my parable$ hen ;on Fuijote irst erupted upon the hori#on o :uropeanliterature& bearing the dust o )pain upon his body and the goldenworlds o chi+alric romance in his mind& a cataclysm con+ulsed

literature$ n e2isteme had been shattered and a new one 2o ambiguous interiors& doubtul +alidations& and declariied certainties3called or its ollowers$ %hey were not long in appearing Gil Blas&5arson dams& r$ 5ic*wic*& 5rince ysh*in& :mma Bo+ary&Fuentin 4ompson& eaulnes& oss& a host o siblings and ospringappeared and& e+en now& themsel+es part o a dying e2isteme& continuesporadically to do so$ Let the precursor& the =night himsel& isendlessly instructi+e and will help& i not to identiy& then to grasp thereasons or the misidentiication o the two brothers$

In the second part o his ad+entures 2published about ten years ater the irst part3& ;on Fuijote encounters a character named ;on l+aro%are and con+erses with him$ (ow ;on l+aro %are is a character in+ented by another writer& not 4er+antes& and he has ridden out o the pages o another boo* indeed& he has arri+ed at the same inn as ;onFuijote rom the pages o the 6alse )e"uel& a +andali#ed continuationo the successul irst part o 4er+antes' no+el$ In eect& 4er+antes has

hired him to meet ;on Fuijote in the true continuation and swear&



ater their con+ersation has been concluded& that the ;on Fuijote withwhom he has just enjoyed such a wise discussion was not& and couldnot be& the ;on Fuijote whom he had pre+iously met in another place

2and boo*3$ It is enough& obert lter remar*s& to gi+e the reader -ontological +ertigo$- %he bi#arre encounter e.empliies an important point about iction something new may come along& smash common prejudices& show a new path or storytelling& but be e.tremely diicultto get straight& elusi+e to its core$ 2nd& as the two brothers ha+e beenthought to be pan+estites& bunco,artists who ha+e stolen s*ills romlong,dead antasists& so e+en ;on Fuijote has seemed to some only acarryo+er rom the sel,parody o the romances& or a ugiti+e romsi.teenth,century comedy$3 ;on Fuijote& the reshest and the most

imitated character in :uropean iction& e+erywhere displays thediiculties o getting straight his no+el mi.ture o e.terior andinterior& o dust and golden lec*s$

;on Fuijote is& ichel 6oucault writes& -himsel li*e a sign& a longthin graphism& a letter that has just escaped rom the open pages o a boo*$ Ais whole being is nothing but language& te.t& printed pages&stories that ha+e already been written down$ Ae is made up o

interwo+en words> he is writing itsel wandering through the worldamong the resemblances o things$- Ae was new& became a model2ac"uired his *nights3& was borrowed& brought :uropean literature intoits modern phases$ )cholars such as lter and arthe obert delightin demonstrating that he ga+e& and continues to gi+e& the modernno+el its tas*s$ 4omposed out o stories himsel& a narrati+emicrocosm& ;on Fuijote ought to ha+e been precisely imitable& acharacter splendidly reiterati+e$ Let he was not$ %he uncertainty o literary history 2i there is such a discourse3 stems rom the playul

potential o paradigms$ %hey remain reely elusi+e& ne+er hinged upona didactic center$ 2)ome might say that& at its best& literature is alwaysunhinged$3

@iterary paradigms possess considerable plasticity$ %hey disregard+isas and other credentials when they cross rontiers 2li*e the5etrarchan sonnet or the picares"ue no+el3& but that does not show thatthey are easily naturali#ed$ %hey oten remain& li*e resident aliens&

within their host culture& but always unassimilated$ 6urthermore& old

H



paradigms inspire weary +ariants o themsel+es$ (ew ones e+o*edoubles& phantasmal igures that lur* within other igures& li*edistorted mirror images$ /nli*e the process o paradigm shits that

%homas =uhn has mapped or science& in which new paradigms ariseout o a genuine need to resol+e anomalies and radically displace whathad pre+iously been accepted& the paradigm shits o literature otenseem more li*e the shits o dancers within an intricate choreographyneither lost nor orgotten& old positions may be resumed$ %hus ;onFuijote& the most imitated character in :uropean literature& wasalready in his conception the most inimitable netted& enmeshed&reenmeshed& trapped innumerable times& but impossible to capture$

(ow what o the two brothers who grew tired o ordinary e.perienceand set out to rein+ent the world< re there actually two brothers< 2?r only two<3 %he two modes o rein+ention are two distinct modes o antasy& both o which are relati+ely common in contemporaryliterature$ Both oppose themsel+es to canonical realism in literature$%hey are also opposed to another contemporary mode& the minimalistwriting that is sometimes called -dirty realism$- 6antasy is normallyma.imalist$ Aence the two brothers' modes o antasy are easily

conused both transorm the world& both call upon assumptions thatare against the world's li*elihoods& both are counterintuiti+e& but theyare also stri*ingly dierent$ It is possible to distinguish them$ Indeed&whene+er ways o writing appear similar and are diicult to *eepseparate& then it ma*es sense to e.amine them on the le+el o commonictional elements$ Aow such undamental and recurring concepts as+oice& plot& character& time or space unction& what assumptions theyentail and what deinitions they ma*e possible& should tell one howthe uncertain boundaries are to be drawn$ 4onsider space$

)pace& understood in its most primiti+e sense 2a distance to becrossed& an openness between points& one o which is occupied by a percei+ing subject& illed by something& sunlight& moonlight& hot dust&cold mud or emptiness3 seems omnipresent in literature& but rather hard to place$ %here doesn't seem to be a +ocabulary suicientlycapacious to discuss space$ Lou may tal* about deictics& copresence&coordination& distances& suraces& e.teriors& interiors& +olume and

plasticity& but the units o measurement are lac*ing literary space& in



being conceptual& cannot be measured& but it an be e.perienced$ It isthis e.perience that leads me to claim that space is in+ariably presentin iction though ne+er precisely so$ It is +ery much an aspect o the

e.perience o reading& and without it a ictional world would be 2Ithin*3 impossible to imagine$ :+en unsophisticated readers& do read inimages o space& do interpret iction as ha+ing ta*en place in space&and they do tend to recall what they ha+e read in terms o directions&distances& places& worlds& and other *inds o spatial imagery$ 2%hee.periment is openly a+ailable as* a reader& a student or a child& torecall a iction and then obser+e the deormations& the condensations&the simplicities that will reconstruct the spatiality o the readinge.perience$3 s Gaston Bachelard obser+es 2and as 5roust

demonstrates3 memory is& in its structures& highly spatial$ It seems towor* through +isual images o place$ In speciic memories& intricatediachronic comple.ities may be collapsed into simpler spatialarrangements$ Georges 5oulet ma*es a similar point memories and places& changes in time and changes in space& spatial image andtemporal phase& all intersect in 5roust such that the recapturing o losttime is possible only under the orm o the redisco+ery o lost places$icardo GullUn puts the problem o ictional space elegantly the

eecti+e test o narrati+e& he argues& is whether it aects the reader and ma*es him or her eel and -understand the meaning o space inwhich the character e.ists$-

%he problem o space in literature may be simpliied or discussion$6ictional space in+o*es an e.perience o place 2+olume& distance&coordination& interiority& e.teriority& and so orth3 which may be both&or either& that o characters and that o readers$ It is constituted bydeictics and descripti+e phrases that place characters and things

2-e.istents- to use )eymour 4hatman's term3 within a ictional world$%his -place&- a conte.tual en+elope& emerges rom the wor* o iction&either gradually and by bits or else all at once 2which is what readerslearn to e.pect when they read& say& 4onrad who li*es to establish aninitial setting orth o place3& but in either way it does emerge$ 5lace isa rudimentary ictional world$ It can be imagined as e.istingsomewhere though it is not easy& as ushdie remar*s& -to be preciseabout the location o the world o the imagination$- 2(ot only do

ictional worlds o+erlap& in some sense& the actual world& but they also

8



o+erlap each other& each superimposition being radically di+ergentrom the others$ +oyageur among ictional worlds must learn toleap& land& and adjust with all the aptitude o the @ittle 5rince$3 ?

course& there is much more to a world than space$ ictional worldmay incorporate +alues& eelings& principles& laws& and 2some3coherence& but its space& howe+er s*etchily concei+ed or incoherently presented& is a necessary condition or being imagined$ hether youthin* o the worlds in iction as -possible&- -alternati+e&- or simplyictional does not matter much or this discussion what counts is thatthey are linguistically created& emerge rom deictic and descripti+eields& dier rom te.t to te.t& and can be e.perienced in reading$James 5helan& in an e.emplary mo+e& argues that the ictional worlds

o no+els& though -created out of language&- are best thought o asworlds from words that -contain the elements o character and action&which are essentially nonlinguistic and which are more central to our e.perience- than the mere words that ma*e them possible$ Gi+ensuicient signiiers 2not too many will be necessary3 signiicationollows& the imagination holds its raw materials close& begins to wor*&and a ictional world emerges$ It will ha+e to possess some coherence2meeting the test o -coherence criteria-3& but this will not need to be

the same *ind o coherence that you ind in the actual world$

%he concept o a ictional world& in which signiication generates thee.perience o bul*& e.tension& and placing& may then be 2roughly3subdi+ided into three categories 213 ictional worlds in which all thedeictics and descriptions operate as i they were being used in thee.trate.tual world and which& thus& constantly beg comparison to thatworld> 2C3 ictional worlds in which all indications o distance&capacity& or arrangement are generated in accordance with sel,

contained assumptions& gameli*e rules that are e.perienced as a.ioms>2D3 ictional worlds in which the indications o local place aresometimes those o the e.trate.tual world but at other times are thoseo another place& +ery dierent in its assumptions& and which& i itwere to e.ist purely& would be a closed a.iomatic world o the second*ind$ It is ob+ious that the second and third types o ictional worldanswer to the principles o world rein+ention that the two brothers inmy parable disco+ered$

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I& or the sa*e o contrast& you thin* briely about the irst *ind o ictional world& it should be possible to remember e.amples romamong the canonical te.ts o :uropean realism$ %he worlds o those

narrati+es are :ngland& 6rance& ussia& or some amiliar elsewherethat can be located on an actual,world map$ %he realistic te.t may besaid to borrow di+erse modes o discourse& including geographicaldiscourse& that belong to the truth claims made in the world outsidethe te.t$ By and large& this has always been the way o constructingthe transparent window through which e+ery reader o realistic ictionis in+ited to peer$ %he te.t begs comparison& and the reader will easilyma*e it space in this sense 2because it is already amiliar3 can be&without the constructi+e orce o counterintuiti+e or gameli*e a.ioms&

made +i+id beore the mind's eye$

In antasy& the second category o ictional world& space may ha+e anyimaginable properties that an a.iomli*e assumption ma*es possible$4onsider the spatial properties o a classic wor* o antasy in :nglishliterature )penser The Faerie 1ueene$ In that iction& space hasse+eral identiiable properties that consistently maniest themsel+esthroughout the narrati+e$ 6or instance& distance is both uncertain and

e.tremely plastic$ 4haracters tra+eling between two points wille.perience dissimilar journeys& long or one character& short or another& empty or ull o obstacles& metamorphic in e+ery eature$ %he plasticity o space in The Faerie 1ueene ollows rom a te.t,speciica.iom distance relects the moral re"uirements o indi+idualcharacters$ wor* o iction may contain more than one a.iomli*eassumption 2though there are ne+er a great number& it seems3> inantasy& these assumptions do not always need to wor* harmoniouslytogether$ )pace may ta*e many unli*e shapes at dierent points in the

narrati+e$ %hus& in the world o The Faerie 1ueene it is possible or interiors to be larger than e.teriors$ The Cave of Mammon contains alabyrinthine interior in which a single chamber& the throne room o 5hilotime& commodiously holds in2de3inite multitudes o ambitiouslystri+ing people> the mouth o the Blatant Beast is said to contain&+ariously& either hundreds or thousands o rows o teeth$ %he BlatantBeast's multiple. oral ca+ity displays more clearly than any other aspect o )penser's narrati+e the a.iom o interiority an interior may

contain all the space that it re"uires independently o its e.terior

0



parameters$ 26or students o popular culture& who may not read manyenaissance te.ts& the phenomenon o anamorphic spatiality& in whichinterior +olume does not correspond to e.terior surace& can be

obser+ed in the BB4 classic& (r6 Who& oten replayed on merican5B)& where the doctor's %;I)& li*e the Blatant Beast's mouth&contains more than the geometry o its e.terior predicts$3 %hese twote.t,speciic spatial a.ioms in The Faerie 1ueene indicate how spaceis constructed in much antasy$ )pace in #tar Trek & either pre+ious or ne.t generation& is also anamorphic because time is described ashighly malleable subject to warp actors& re+ersibility& andsegmentation$ ?ne te.t,speciic assumption in #tar Trek demands thatthe potential o space 2its shapes& its commodiousness& its +ery

na+igationality3 ollow upon& and relect& the nature o time$ Inantasy& one or two counterintuiti+e a.ioms can create an imaginabledisposition o spatial arrangements that will di+erge immensely& e+enincredibly& rom e.trate.tual e.perience$ %he antastic method might be compared to a geometry or to a game$ In either case& the upshot is acleidoic& sel,consistent disposition o spatial e.istents andrelationships that ollows rom the narrati+e's initial assumptions$hat occurs in antasy is memorably e.empliied in Borges' narrati+e

.TlDn, 39bar, Orbis Tertius. %lSn is a ictional world created withinthe literature o the people o /"bar 2itsel "uite ictional3 -theliterature o /"bar was one o antasy and$$$its epics and legends ne+er reerred to the reality& but to the two imaginary regions o lejinasand %lSn$- %he space o %lSn obeys& as its chie and consistent a.iom&the epistemological principle o Ber*eley that nothing can e.ist 2thatis& ha+e a place in space3 unless it has been percei+ed$ 6or theinhabitants o %lSn the problem o what happens to certain copper coins when they are not being obser+ed is considered a parado.e"ui+alent& the narrator obser+es& to those created by the :leatic philosophers$ .TlDn, 39bar, Orbis Tertius. might be read as ametanarrati+e 2and as a metaspatial commentary upon the nature o ictional space3& and its lessons are to be ound in many o Borges'narrati+es$ In -The -arden of Forking aths&- or instance& alldirections are biurcated& all spatial arrangements labyrinthine& notsimply because the narrati+e concerns a mysterious labyrinth and themise en ab0me eect is powerul& but because the central narrati+e

concept is that time biurcates& that time is labyrinthine& not directly

1



linear& and that ictional space mirrors what is true o time$ Aence itseems that& considered rom the aspect o spatiality& two writers o antasy as di+erse as )penser and Borges appear to share similar

methods or creating space,constructi+e assumptions$ Both writenarrati+es in which space is e.tremely plastic& gi+en to unpredictableshapes and deormations& and both lin* this plasticity to thee.perience o time$ )penser& it is true& employs this method or the purposes o characteri#ation while Borges ollows it in order tocomment upon the nature o narrati+e& but the similar method in bothwriters ser+es to point out the common resources o antasy$

%he secret o the irst brother's rein+ention o the world seems to be

no more than to e.tend this common principle to inno+ati+e possibilities$ 6or e.ample& in Italo 4al+ino's wonderully Borgesian *nvisible Cities& arco 5olo creates or =ubla =han an atlas o ictional cities& each one o which is constructed upon the a.iom thatthe spatial dispositions o a human city can ollow rom& and buildupon& a single human "uality in a total projection$ In a thin citye+erything must be thin& including aspiration& hope& and desire$ In acity o signs not only do all buildings signiy& but they do nothing but

signiy$ =ubla =han's empire& Brian cAale writes& is a heteroto2ia-adically discontinuous and inconsistent& it ju.taposes worlds o incompatible structure$- *nvisible Cities magniies the pluralworldhood built into antasy& but it does not undamentally alter the2antastic3 principle o the imaginati+e copresence o worlds$

In narrati+es that ha+e come to be called magical realist& a third *indo space unolds$ ?ne way to describe this space is to borrow a phrasethat @ubomír ;oleVel uses to characteri#e the world o =a*a's iction

in magical realism space is h0brid 2opposite and conlicting propertiescoe.ist3$ %ypically& a magical realist ictional world asserts itsconnection to an e.trate.tual world 2as neither The Faerie 1ueene nor *nvisible Cities does directly3 and may e+en& in the manner o canonical realism& seem to create a enestral translucency throughwhich reality lic*ers$ %his opening toward an e.periential world may be noted in all magical realist narrati+es$ 2t least& I cannot thin* o any e.ceptions& nor e+en how there could be an e.ception that was

still an instance o magical realism$3 (o+els as di+erse as )alman

C



ushdie Midnight's Children his The #atani &erses or obert=roetsch What the Cro+ #aid incorporate the e.trate.tual world e+enwhile constructing a te.tual space that ma*es unli*elihoods possible$

=roetsch's careul e+ocation o an lberta spring in the opening passage o What the Cro+ #aid and his painsta*ing account o rurallie in Big Indian& its pretechnological mind,set dominating thetechnological world that it inhabits& clearly e.empliies the no+el'sactual,world grasp$ ushdie's colorul descriptions o Bombay& withits clash o races and language groups& and his detailed transcriptionso street tal* and ngloIndian slang 2words that cannot be ound e+enin the pages o !obsonEobson& but only on the streets o Bombay or @ondon3 e+o*e a world that you might e.perience outside the no+els$

%he hybrid nature o this space becomes e+ident when you obser+ethe ease& the purely natural way in which abnormal& e.perientiallyimpossible 2and empirically un+eriiable3 e+ents ta*e place$ It is as i they had always already been there> their abnormality normali#edrom the moment that their magical realist worlds were imagined$ %henarrati+e +oice bridges the gap between ordinary and bi#arre&smoothing the discrepancies& ma*ing e+erything seem normal$ 2%henarrati+e +oice itsel constitutes the -midday sun- o which ushdie

spea*s$3 In this hybrid space& eruptions occur normally and suddenolds crease the seemingly predictable& the illusi+e e.trate.tual&surace$

4onsider the openings o two magical realist no+els$ Aow reducibleare they to actual,world accounts< =roetsch What the Cro+ #aid & inthe midst o realistic description& starts rom the image o a youngwoman raped by a swarm o bees -5eople& years later& blamede+erything on the bees it was the bees& they said& seducing era @ang&

that started e+erything$- ushdie The #atani &erses begins with twomen& both actors& alling rom the s*y as an ir India light e.plodeso+er the coast o the /nited =ingdom -%o be born again& sangGibreel 6arishta tumbling rom the hea+ens& 'irst you ha+e to die$ Ao jiM Ao jiM %o land upon the bosomy earth& irst one needs to ly$'- )uchopenings raise a large number o te.tual "uestions$ =roetsch's no+ele+o*es rural superstition& the irrational pretechnological 2weather centered3 belies o armers in a technological culture$ The #atani

&erses opens by pointing toward the abrupt entrance o postcolonial

D



subjects into the ormer imperial center> an entrance withouttransition& without preparation$ It would be li*e alling rom the s*y&since little could prepare the postcolonial subject's di+ided sel or the

mi.ture o similarity and dierence& acceptance and rejection& that thee.perience o the empire's capital will bring$ e+ersing thesigniicance o the opening& you may also suppose that the image o the two Indian actors alling rom the s*y re+eals the indierence withwhich postcolonial subjects are recei+ed where did the0 come rom<%hey ha+e no bac*ground& no meaningul e.istence$ Both theseopenings lead into the narrati+es in e.tremely precise ways$ %hey are both intricately related to the subse"uent action& and both aree.pressed in a narrati+e +oice that is noteworthy or its calmness& or

its attention to acts and its personal lac* o di+ision or biurcation$

ushdie's no+el soon introduces the problem o transormation& o metamorphosis

utation<

Lessir& but not random$ /p there in air,space& in that sot&imperceptible ield which had been made possible by the century and

which& thereater& made the century possible& becoming one o itsdeining locations& the place o mo+ement and o war& the planetshrin*er and power,+acuum& most insecure and transitory o #ones& illusory discontinuous& metamorphic$$$under e.tremeen+ironmental pressure& characteristics were ac"uired$

Aow are you to imagine metamorphic characteristics 2Gibreel becomes& or may become& the archangel whose name he bears> )aladin

seems to become )atan3< %hese initial mutations cohere with the pattern de+eloped

%hroughout the no+el o metamorphoses& o ac"uiring and losingcharacteristics$ ushdie's ictional world possesses an actual,worldsubstance that you might almost ta*e or granted& air& but it is a-transitory- #one& subject to -e.treme en+ironmental pressure&- inwhich mutations occur$ %he ictional world o The #atani &erses

comprises cities& such as @ondon and Bombay& but it also includes the

desert city& Jahila& the city once made o sand& once disordered but



now ordered& now the object o Gibreel's +isionQdream$ %here areother #ones in ushdie's narrati+e$ %hey are all discontinuous& illusory&and metamorphic 2laes within which dierent *inds o e.perience

old into each other$%he opening passage o What the Cro+ #aid illustrates how dierentspaces can be superimposed upon one another$ %his te.tual con+entionmay be called the principle o spatial olding$ =roetsch immediatelyestablishes the common eatures o springtime in lberta 2-thecrocuses bloomed in spring as they had always bloomed& the bualo beans crac*ed yellow& the +iolets and the buttercups and the shootingstars too* their turn-3 and then he creates a magical old$ era @ang&

asleep in -a swarm o wild lowers&- is raped by a swarm o bees$ %wodistinct *inds o ictional world ha+e been enolded together$ herethe bee swarm comes rom& why it chooses era as its "ueen& how her anatomy can concei+e a child rom such an impregnation& or e+en howher cry& at once terriied and ecstatic& can reach the town more clearlythan a locomoti+e's whistle& are not "uestions that are as*ed$ Gi+en theneutral +oice o the narrator& they are not e+en "uestions that could beas*ed$ %he te.t e.cludes them$ %he world o What the Cro+ #aid & li*e

that o The #atani &erses& is hybrid$ It is as i there are two worlds&distinct and ollowing dissimilar laws& that interpenetrate andinterwind& all unpredictably but in a natural ashion$

lthough it is unmista*ably a te.tual mode& magical realism has beengi+en powerul conte.tual accounts$ It has sometimes been e.plainedas the representation o primiti+e& or nai+e& reality& more li*ely to beound in )outh than in (orth merica$ 2%his may seem li*e a simplegeographical allacy& but one can see the allure& as with a macaw or a

toucan& o thin*ing along this path$3 In this way& magical realism has been seen as relecting nai+e superstition& let behind in sophisticatedindustrial societies$ agical realism can be enlisted in the analysis o postcolonial discourse as the mode o a conlicted consciousness& thecogniti+e map that discloses the antagonism between two +iews o culture& two +iews o history 2:uropean history being the routini#ationo the ordinary> aboriginal or primiti+e history& the celebration o thee.traordinary3& and two ideologies$ riters li*e to play this game

4arlos 6uentes claims that García !r"ue# 2comparing him to the



e.ican no+elist& Juan ulo3 is the -writer who reines to their essence and con+erts into literature the traditional themes o thecountryside$- lejo 4arpentier gi+es a amous account o the

geographical enrootedness o magical realism?ur art has always been baro"ue rom the splendid pre,4olumbiansculpture and that o the O#tecP codices to the best contemporaryno+els in merica and e+en including the colonial cathedrals andmonasteries$ :+en physical lo+e has become baro"ue in the tangledobscenity o 5eru+ian guao$ Aence we do not ear the baro"ue instyle& nor in the implications o OaestheticP conte.ts& nor in the +isiono the human orm entwined in +erbal and chthonic +ines$$$$ e do not

ear the baro"ue& our own art& or it is born rom trees& rom timber&rom retables and altars& rom decadent car+ings and calligraphic portraits and e+en late neo,4lassicisms$ It is a baro"ue created by thenecessity to name things& although in so doing we distance oursel+esrom the techni"ues in +ogue$

lthough tempting& the geographical allacy& locating the bi#arreunli*elihoods o magical realism in the bi#arre landscape o @atinmerica& collapses many le+els o te.tual e+idence and seems& latly&to deny the parallels between @atin merican 2or nglo,Indian or 4anadian3 magical realism and the tradition o :uropean antasye.empliied by& say& =a*a or Bulga*o+$ %he analysis o a te.tualeature such as ictional space reestablishes magical realism's deeplin*ages both to a shared :uro,merican traditions o antasy and tothe transcultural problem o the way2s3 o writing$

agical realism in+ol+es& at the +ery least& 4artesian dualities

antinomies between natural and supernatural& e.plicable andine.plicable$ 2It also employs a certain mode o narrati+e +oice&though critics oten ignore this when they thin* about magicalrealism$3 agical realism can be& and indeed is& used to describe+irtually any literary te.t in which binary oppositions& or antinomies&can be disco+ered$ 6urthermore& it is oten employed so loosely as ahistorical,geographical term that its te.tual implications tend to become obscured$ %he uncertainties o inding the di+isions o postcolonial culture in literary te.ts can be shown by two essays

H



analy#ing =roetsch's e.ploration o the unli*ely in the midst o the all,too, li*ely$ )tephen )lemon in+o*es te.tual e+idence rom What the

Cro+ #aid to demonstrate the presence o contradictory +oices caught

in a discursi+e dance& e.pression and suppression losing and resuming positions& in which magical realism's opposed codes maniest theinterloc*ed discourses o colonial and postcolonial literatures$ %henarrati+e eects o magical realism stem rom a -binary oppositionwithin language&- he writes& -that has its roots in the process o either transporting a language to a new land or imposing a oreign languageon an indigenous population- 2113$ agical realism& thus& constitutesa -spea*ing mirror- o the colonial encounter which always constructsa -condition o being both tyranni#ed by history yet parado.ically cut

o rom it& caught between absolute systems o blind cognition and projected realms o imaginati+e re+ision in which people ha+e nocontrol- 2183$ ?n the other hand& Brian :dwards& an ustralian criticwriting a year earlier& cites much the same te.tual e+idence along anopposed path$ :dwards inds only an intricate play within the-multiple possibilities as the condition o communication in language-that lowers beneath the issiparous te.tual surace o What the Cro+#aid 293$ - game is on&- he writes& -the play begins- 2983$ here

)lemon inds only the te.tual embodiment o the principles o postcolonial discourse& :dwards inds only multiple. cogniti+e patterns the trac*ing o which oers a more -e.citing prospect thanthe closure o i.ed deinition& a contract which limits discourse-21013$ Both )lemon and :dwards problemati#e te.tual detail 2usuallythe same detail3& e.pose this detail to an array o theoretical concepts&and systematically transorm What the Cro+ #aid into a thoroughlytransnational iction$ Both disco+er te.tual issures and both ollowthe paths into them& but the upshots are stri*ingly dierent$ :dwardsinds imagination in magical realism> )lemon& history$ :dwardslocates te.tual labyrinths> )lemon& mappable conte.t$ agical realismmight seem& to the wary reader& to create the ne.us or all theoretical problems a notional Wunderkammern o riddles& conundrums& pu##les& and aporia$

In =a*a& one conse"uence o superimposing distinct worlds is thecreation o a number o bi#arre creatures that owe their natures both to

the natural and to the supernatural worlds$ Lou might see the rapist



bee swarm in =roetsch's no+el in this way as a single hybrid creature&human and apian& belonging to two distinct worlds& the possibilities o hybridi#ation always present& ne+er e.plained$ %he creatures into

which characters metamorphose 2through the +arious transitory #ones3in The #atani &erses are also hybrid& calling upon more than oneworld or their identity$ 2Lou should also see that this hybridism isunli*e the unitarily monstrous chimeras o much traditional antasy&such as )penser $latant $east & that belong to one world only$3 %hishybridism occurs within the olding o worlds when one& bearing itsown distinct laws& erupts into the other$ t such moments it seems asi two systems o possibility ha+e enolded each other two *inds o cause and eect& two *inds o organism& two *inds o conse"uence

2ater ha+ing been raped& era becomes pregnant& neither dead rom bee stings nor e+en ill3& and two *inds o space$ Lou might e+en see inthis interolding two *inds o te.tuality$ ?ne *ind o writing writeso+er& and into& another$ agical realism is a term that describes theictional space created by the dual inscription o alternati+egeometries$

)uch world interpenetration ta*es place in a number o ways$ It would

be easible& i there were room to institute either ta.onomies or ga#etteers& to compile an atlas& a ictional geology& o olds$ In thisessay& it is at least possible to suggest the range o worldinterpenetration by one distinction and two e.amples$ ?n the onehand& the hybrid constructions o magical realism ensue& as they do inthe opening lines o What the Cro+ #aid and The #atani &erses&when something dierent rom& e+en inconsistent with& clashes hardagainst ordinary in,the,actual,world e.perience$ It comes rom outsidean already granted world 2crocuses and bualo beans& say& or ir India

lights to @ondon3 and inorms it$ ?n the other hand& one world maylie hidden within another$ In the second case& the hybrid constructionemerges rom a secret& always already contained within& orming anocculted and latent dimension o the surace world$ %his& I thin*& iswhat oten happens in García !r"ue#' s iction$ %he pattern may beseen 2to ta*e only one e.ample3 in his tale *nnoent 4r8ndira$ In thatnarrati+e the principle o hybrid construction maniests itsel mostclearly in the green blood that lies occulted& but always waiting to be

re+ealed& within the +eins o :rKndira's inotauric grandmother$ In

8



the depths o an always reconstructible labyrinth& she lur*s> withinher& the always natural& yet neither seen nor oreseen& green blood 2li*ethe gems that hide within the oranges that /lisis and his ather grow

and smuggle3 waits$ %his is the pattern o hybrid construction thatseems to be largely dominant in The #atani &erses& where themetamorphoses& though occurring in the -#ones&- re+eal somethingimportant about the characterhood o the characters> in What the Cro+

#aid & the une.pected olds come e.clusi+ely rom outside$

%he co,presence o distinct ictional worlds that distinguishes magicalrealism rom both traditional antasy and rom canonical realismsuggests a model or te.tuality itsel$ %he magicalness o magical

realism lies in the way it ma*es e.plicit 2that is& unolds3 what seemsalways to ha+e been present$ %hus the world interpenetration& the dualworldhood& the plural worldhood e+en& o magical realism are no morethan an e.plicit oregrounding o a *ind o ictional space that is perhaps more diicult to suppress than to e.press$ 4anonical realismmay be seen as 2in some sense3 a more diicult mode o iction because it must run consistently against the grain$ ealism's typicallimpidity arises rom the muscular suppression o narrati+e potential$

%his is stri*ingly e+ident in narrati+e minimalism& or dirty realism& inwhich the clash o disparate semiotic domains is careully a+oided$%he actual world's di+ersity is canceled& cropped& or brushed out inorder to create ictional worlds o great intensity& but narrow semiotic potential$ (ot many dierent kinds o things occur in dirty realism$%he possibilities o border,crossing or boundary,s*ipping betweendomains are bloc*ed& methodically delimited$ %he magic in magicalrealism names the te.tual con+entions that& e.panding the potential o storytelling& oreground its literariness$ ;ierent semiotic domains are

allowed to clash 2and to interpenetrate3 in order to tell richer& moredi+erse tales$ agical realism& in its ma.imalist pyrotechnics& ollowsthe path that narrati+e minimalism closes$ In this it seems near to thecore o traditional storytelling$ %he brothers in my parable ha+e beensuccessul because they ha+e disco+ered only what iction does bestimagine worldhood and e.plore the possibilities o its +ariousness$

oland Barthes reers to -stereographic space- the space o an

interte.tual enhanment in which one te.t& or sli+er o a te.t&

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associates itsel with& pulls into its own te.tual space& some other te.t&or te.tual shard$ In literature 2whate+er the case elsewhere3& one spacecan contain other spaces$ nd while this may seem parado.ical in the

e.treme& it does belong to the e.perience o reading$ :+en children arecapable o remembering one te.t in terms o another& or recallinganother te.t e+en while reading the one beore them and o constructing the space 2or rudimentary world3 o one te.t in terms o&and e+en as& the space o another$ )tereographic space is the ield 2or comple. place3 o te.tual inscription$ In ;errida's analysis o this problem& space is seen as the relational habitation o all sign systems&and it is this& the domain o te.tuality& o inscriptions& that producesthe -spatiality o space$- In reading& one may see not only a world in

words& a world rom a te.t& but also worlds within the te.tual world$ Itis a process more intricate than seeing a merely singular world in agrain o sand$

Imagine a place *nown as Fueng,Fueng$ @isten to the +oice o aspeculati+e tra+eler rom that anti"ue land describing one o their customs

%he people o Fueng,Fueng drin* the eyeballs o li+ing animalsusing a slender metal straw$ %he tric*& that only practice can teach& isto pierce the eyeball through the iris to the e.act centre and then drin* the +itreous gel in many tiny sips$ In Fueng,Fueng& they alsoe.ecute blasphemers in a similar manner$ %he community *neels andangrily pierces the condemned person's body with its metal straws$hen the e.ecution has been inished nothing much is let but s*inand bones$ %hese dry in the desert air until& withered and empty& they blow away into the bleached hori#on along the world's lat edge$ %he

condemned& li*e hus*s& are soon orgotten$ (ow imagine that the people o Fueng,Fueng board an irbus&carrying their metal straws in their light bags& and ly to @ondon$ Itdoesn't matter why they are ma*ing this light& but perhaps they wishto locate a writer who has asserted& against their doctrine& the world'sroundness$ %hey may wish to practice their distincti+e mode o punishment upon the streets o @ondon$ ?nce they land and begin towal* along those streets& they will be li*e an alien world superimposed

upon :nglish space& their doctrines and practices olded into the world

H0



they ha+e entered$ %hat ordinary space will now contain them&encysted but highly acti+e& and will ine+itably ma*e a little room or their cultural practices$ Aowe+er alien& they are present& ma*ing a

small 2but dangerous3 part o the :nglish world$ In this manner& the plural worldhood o magical realism relects and e.empliies thete.tual theory o inscriptibility one world lies present& though hidden&within the other& just as one te.t lies latent within another te.t$ It is the possibility o inscriptions being reinscribed upon others& or upon eachother 2o multiple. inscriptibility3 that& in ;errida's +iew& generates thehuman notion o space$ %here seems to be no single& ree,standing&uncontaminated pure te.t& but only the threads& the wea+es& the nets&and the labyrinths o te.tuality$ )imilarly& there seems to be no pure&

singleormed space in iction unless it has been purposeullyconstructed& as in much nonmagical realism& to simpliy both humane.perience and human writing$ hat I ha+e been calling co,presenceand te.tual enolding may be seen as the model& the metamorphicimage& o writing$ In magical realism& plural worlds& li*e distinct *indso writing& li*e parabolic trajectories& approach each other& but do notmerge$ agical realism lies close to a pure model o te.tuality& but itis also the undamental mode o storytelling$ It is neither recent nor

ancient& but always the present shape o iction$

H1



The Textualization of the Reader in Magical Realist Fiction

mong the mysteries o reading& the greatest is certainly its power toabsorb the reader completely$ ,, ictor (ell& %ost in a $ook

ccording to Bloy& we are the +ersicles or words or letters o a magic boo* and that incessant boo* is the only thing in the world> or rather itis the world$ ,Jorge @uis Borges On the Cult of $ooks

I we can treat the world as a te.t& as @eon Bloy did& does it ollowthat we can treat te.ts as worlds< n e+en bolder "uestion i we can

literally read the te.t o the world& can we also enter& literally& theworld o a te.t< n airmati+e answer to the second "uestion& whichis based on the postmodern assumption that te.t and world aresynonymous& seems preposterous$ %he idea that a person in the worldoutside o a te.t might literally enter the world o& let us say& aictional te.t is counterintuiti+e$ Let this +ery idea lies behind adistincti+e magical realist topos& which I will call a -te.uali#ation$-

te.tuali#ation usually occurs in one o two ways$ 6irst& a reader or sometimes an author& or e+en a nonreader& will be literally& andthereore magically& transported into the world o a te.t$ Aere aresome literary e.amples$ In Julio 4ort!#ar story -%he 4ontinuity o 5ar*s- the reader o a mystery no+el is& or becomes& a character& inact the +ictim& in the no+el he is reading$ ichael :nde no+el -%he (e+erending )tory- has as protagonist a boy who becomes soabsorbed in reading a %ol*ien,li*e antasy no+el that he enters itsworld and becomes its hero$ In oody llenEs story -%he =ugelmass

:pisode- a proessor o humanities at 44(L enters the ictional worldo Madame $ovar0 and has an aair with :mma$ It is& o course& acomparatist who irst recogni#es the unusual presence o =ugelmassin 6laubert's te.t$

second type o te.tuali#ation ta*es place when the world o a te.tliterally intrudes into the e.trate.tual or reader's world$ In 4al+ino *f

on a Winter's Night a Traveler & the irst line o the eponymous insetstory is a wonderul e.ample o the second type -%he no+el begins in

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a railway station& a locomoti+e hus& steam rom a piston co+ers theopening o the chapter& a cloud o smo*e hides part o the irst paragraph$- ?r in the same author's *nvisible Cities& the city o

%heodora& ha+ing e.terminated all species o animal lie& is in+aded by the multitude o imaginary creatures ound in the boo*s o itslibrary& by grions& sphin.es& chimeras& hydras& harpies& etc$ InBorges' -TlDn, 39bar, Orbis Tertius- the imaginary world o %lSn&about which the narrator has read so much& begins to in+ade andsupplant the world o the narrator$ nd in llen's story& :mma Bo+ary+isits =ugelmass in (ew Lor* 4ity$ more elusi+e e.ample o thistype emerges in the last three pages o García !r"ue# One !undred

"ears of #olitude$ %here& ureliano Babilonia& the last $uendGa& reads

about his own lie and his amily's history& in a manuscript written& beore the e+ents too* place& by the magician el"uíades$ %he worldo the manuscript he reads is indistinguishable rom his world& theworld o acondo$

Beore the twentieth century& te.tuali#ation ables o either type arerare& and e+en in the postmodern era& that is the postwar period& whenthere appears to be a spate o them& such stories are& in act& not +ery

re"uent$ Let two o them& llen's and 4ort!#ar's& ha+e achie+ed a *indo canonical status$ %he purpose& though& o this essay is not so muchto catalog or to e.plicate in detail te.tuali#ation stories as to e.ploresome o the psychological& cultural& and philosophical implications o this magical moti$

s the preceding e.amples suggest& this essay will ocus less on thete.tuali#ation o real readers 2i such a thing e.ists3 or o icti+ereaders 2ideal& implied& etc$3 than on the te.tuali#ation o ictional

readers& that is& readers who are already characters in the ictionalworld o some te.t and who themsel+es get literally absorbed into theworld o ictional stories at the hypodiegetic le+el$ 6urthermore& our attention will ocus primarily on the letor in fabula$ e will pay littleheed to te.tuali#ations into nonictional te.ts& such as happens tooody llen's =ugelmass& whom we last see& alas& in a te.tboo* o emedial )panish& -running or his lie o+er a barren& roc*y terrain asthe word -tener - 2-to ha+e-3 ,, a large and hairy irregular +erb ,, raced

ater him on its spindly legs$-

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I

%he seeming impossibility o a te.tuali#ation occurring in the world o the real reader signals the magical realist nature o this topos$ %o enter

the world o a te.t literally& and not just literarily& is on the same order o impossibility as entering into the world inside a mirror or a painting$ t best you might brea* the mirror or po*e a hole throughthe can+as with your inger& but with a te.t the +ery means o literalentry seem especially elusi+e$ Aow do you get in< %he mind has littleother recourse than to the pro+erbial -blac* bo.&- and indeed=ugelmass enters Madame $ovar0 through some such thing a plywood cabinet in the oice o the magician 5ers*y$

6ew writers ha+e discussed e+en the possibility o a te.tuali#ation& butthose who ha+e& e+en the most imaginati+e& treat such -e+ents- asscandalous& e.traordinary& unbelie+able$ %hus 5roust in #+ann's Wa0

uses te.tuali#ation as a metaphor to describe the astonishment o arcel's aunt had she *nown )wann's true social status& namely& as aguest in the drawing rooms o counts and princes$ )he would& says5roust& -ha+e ound this as e.traordinary as ha+ing had li,Baba todinner& who& once alone& would re,enter his ca+e resplendent with

unimaginable treasures$- ?r consider oland Barthes on ate.tuali#ation o the second type -suice it to imagine the disorder the most orderly narrati+e would create were itsdescriptions$$$con+erted into operati+e programs and simplye/euted $$$$ O%Phe no+elistic real is not operable$-

%he wondrous passage rom one world to another& the interpenetrationo irreconcilable worlds such phenomena seem incredible$ %hey also parta*e o a dreamli*e "uality which aligns them with a host o other magical realist de+ices and motis$ gain 5roust ser+es us as a+aluable witness$ ?n the irst page o #+ann's Wa0& arcel describeshow as a child he would put down his bedtime boo* and enter thedreamli*e state between sleep and wa*ing$ t that point he woulde.perience the dissolution o the boundary between the sel and theworld o the te.t -it seemed to me that it was mysel the te.t spo*eo- 2-il me semblait 9ue 5'8tais moi7mHme e dont 2arlait l'ouvrage &-93$ nother indication o the oneiric resonance o te.tuali#ation is the

act that& li*e so many other dream occurrences& it arises out o the

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literali#ation o a common metaphor$ In :nglish I can say& and I otendo& that I ha+e -lost mysel- in a story& or that I am -totally absorbed- by a no+el$ ?ther Indo,:uropean languages ha+e similar idioms

-mi 2erdo in un libro- or -il libro mi ha 2reso- an Italian will say& anda German might say -dieses $uh hIlt mih gefangen$ - In ate.tuali#ation the reader is literally -absorbed by- or -lost in- a iction$

%he wide diusion o these metaphors relects& o course& aninteresting and pu##ling psychological phenomenon that oten occursin the reading o iction$ %o read a -gripping- story is to eeltransported into its ictional world$ %he intensity o my identiication

with hero or heroine& the depth o my desire or pity or ear& the*eenness o my longing to +isit iddleearth or iddlemarch impart&howe+er briely& the illusion that I am no longer reading& but that I amactually in the story$ In -4ontinuity o 5ar*s- 4ort!#ar memorablye+o*es this e.perience o total immersion in a ictional te.t$ Aisdescription ser+es as the psychological basis or the surprisingte.tuali#ation that concludes the story$ 4ort!#ar's reader reads a no+elthat spreads -its glamour o+er him almost at once$- s he reads hetastes -the almost per+erse pleasure o disengaging himsel line byline rom the things around him$- %hen comes the immersion -ord by word& lic*ed up by the sordid dilemma o the hero and heroine&letting himsel be absorbed to the point where the images settled downand too* on color and mo+ement& he was witness to the inalencounter in the mountain cabin$- )imilarly& the author o The

Neverending #tor0 describes young Bastian Balthasar Bu.'s gradualimmersion in the story& beore the actual te.tuali#ation occurs$ %heyoung protagonist inds it +ery diicult to return to reality ater

reading the story> he identiies strongly with trKju the story's hero>and he both longs and ears to enter the imaginary realm o 5hant!sien$

In ictor (ell's important study o the psychology o pleasure reading& %ost in a $ook & these ictional +iews o reader immersion arecorroborated$ (ot only does (ell ind reader -trances- similar todream states& he also describes reader immersion in terms that couldalso apply to te.tuali#ation$ %his ser+es to conirm the notion that

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te.tuali#ations dramati#e an interesting psychological pu##le arisingrom many readers' e.perience the state o being in two worlds atonce& in the boo* and outside o the boo*$ (ell obser+es that -li*e

dreaming& reading perorms the prodigious tas* o carrying us o toother worlds- 2C3& and that when a person comes out o a readingtrance& he or she seems to be -returning rom another place- 21,C3$

(ell sees reader trance as a result o pleasure reading& which he callsludic reading$ @et us say& then& that the trance o the ludic reader is thesubjecti+e mode or condition o te.tuali#ation$ %he ludic reader longsto escape rom the e.trate.tual world into the te.t$ Aence the pejorati+e e.pression -escapist reading$- ?r the ludic reader would

li*e to ha+e the world o the te.t cast its aura o+er the actual world&enli+ening and enriching it$ %e.tuali#ations in recent iction do in actdraw on the *inds o te.ts that are most oten the object o ludicreading 4ort!#ar's protagonist reads a con+entional crime no+el& 4nde's a antasy no+el& and the 5in* 5anther in =enneth Graham'ste.tuali#ation able or children reads a ghost story$ =ugelmass&though a proessor o humanities& treats Madame $ovar0 as a cross between sot porn and soap opera$ @udic reading in particular seems to

open readers to the pleasures and perils o te.tuali#ation$But the te.tuali#ation o the ludic or nai+e reader is parado.ical$ 6or itis as much the reader's detachment rom& as his or her in+ol+ement in&the world o the te.t that enables the eeling o pleasure$ (ot beingliterally in the te.t permits the reader to enjoy the e.citing anddangerous ictional world without ha+ing to suer the conse"uenceso li+ing in this world$ /pon this delicate balance between detachmentand identiication rests the traditional apologia or iction reading

through it we gain e.perience without ha+ing to undergo the sueringand an.iety that actual e.perience in the e.trate.tual world entails$ Ina te.tuali#ation this balance is upset$ %he world o the te.t loses itsliteral impenetrability$ %he reader loses that minimal detachment that*eeps him or her out o the world o the te.t$ %he reader& in short&ceases to be reader& ceases to be in+ulnerable& comortable in his or her armchair& and saely detached& and becomes instead an actor& anagent in the ictional world$ s our ables o te.tuali#ation show& this

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condition poses a serious threat not only to the reader's pleasure andthe integrity o the te.t read& but also to the reader himsel$

II

@et us assume that I am sitting in an armchair$ %he irst sentence o 4ort!#arEs -4ontinuity o 5ar*s$- reads -Ae had begun to read theno+el a ew days beore$- ew sentences later I read that the reader is -sprawled in his a+orite armchair$- eading the last sentence o thestory I learn that a murderer is snea*ing up behind the man in thearmchair who is reading a no+el in which& at that point& a murderer issnea*ing up behind a man in an armchair reading a no+el$ I become*eenly conscious o the act that I too am sitting in an armchair

reading a story about a man in an armchair reading& who is about to bemurdered$ In+oluntarily I turn my head and loo* behind me$ )ae$ ButI ha+e been reading a story about a man reading a story$ %he irst man becomes& or is& the man in the story he is reading$ m I& or could I become& the man reading the story about the other man reading astory< re we all in the same story< re we all the same reader<

%e.tuali#ation ables tend to ma*e readers more conscious o the acto reading itsel$ %hus a te.tuali#ation is a magical realist topos whichincludes a pronounced metaictional dimension$ s such&te.tuali#ations e.plicitly raise in the reader's mind the ollowing"uestions what is the ontological basis& i any& o a ictional world<hat is the ictional basis o the e.trate.tual world< hat is thereader's role in onstituting both worlds< %he magical realistdimension o our moti transorms such "uestions into powerulables$ In Borges' -TlDn, 39bar, Orbis Tertius&- or e.ample& thenarrator reads about the imaginary country o %lSn$ %he intensity o

his attention has the eect o causing the ictional world& literally& tointrude into his own$ 4on+ersely& when Bastian Balthasar Bu. returnsrom his ad+entures in the ictional world o 5hant!sien& he has become a dierent person$ 6iction has remade him$ s these e.amplesshow& te.tuali#ation ables ta*e seriously& and literally& "uestions o how ar readers may constitute ictional te.ts& or may be constituted by them$

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e may ind it helpul to consider this magical realist topos as one o the most important narrati+e e.pressions o postmodern literarytheory$ Both ocus on the reader$ s Jonathan 4uller has written&

contemporary critics -ha+e concurred in casting the reader in a centralrole& both in theoretical discussions o literature and criticism and ininterpretations o literary wor*s$- ith the disappearance o the author < la $arthes and with the all o the determinate te.t < la 6ish& itseems that criticism now is ma*ing its last stand with the reader$ orethan e+er beore& literary studies are concerned with the transormati+e powers o the consciousness o readers and o communities o readers&and with the bearing these powers ha+e on deining& e+aluating&misreading& and interpreting te.ts$ 6rom olgang Iser through the

whole spectrum o reader response criticism to )andra Gilbert and)usan Gubar& theorists ha+e taught us to be more aware o how thereader constitutes or acti+ates the literary te.t$

te.tuali#ation is& in a sense& a magical literali#ation o a commonmetaphor used to describe one eect o reading& that is& -totalabsorption- in the story$ I we mo+e up to the le+el o proessionalliterary discourse& we ind that this principle o literali#ation still holds

true$ It is as i magical realist authors read and ta*e literally themetaphors used by literary theorists$ Aere& or instance& is a sentencerom olgang Iser describing oman Ingarden's inluential theory o reading -%he literary wor* is more than the te.t& or the te.t onlytakes on life when it is realiJed & and urthermore the reali#ation is byno means independent o the indi+idual disposition o the reader$- Iser goes on to say that the reader -sets the wor* in motion- and-animates- elements o the te.t$ (one o these metaphors should beta*en literally$ %he processes o acti+ation and animation that

Ingarden and Iser so colorully describe ta*e place in the reader'smind& not in the e.ternal world$ %heir essential point is that readersmentally ill in gaps in te.ts& gi+e aect and e.citement to elements o the story$ In this sense& readers ha+e to be considered producers& not just recei+ers& o te.ts$

Let theories such as these do raise interesting "uestions about thee.treme limits o te.tual acti+ation$ %o what e.tent can a reader bring

the world o a te.t into being< hat role does reader identiication or

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misreading play in animating te.ts< t one point Iser himsel seems toapproach the borders o magical realism when he asserts& without"ualiication& that -reading remo+es the subject,object di+ision that

constitutes all perception- 2H3$ 6ables o te.tuali#ation e.plore themost e.treme answers to such "uestions$

I we loo*& then& at these magical realist wor*s as allegories o literarytheory& what do they tell us about the nature o reader response< ?r& to put the "uestion another way& what else do they re+eal about theinterpretati+e preoccupations and an.ieties o our time<

ost te.tuali#ations concern characters who are engaged in reading$

5ostmodern theorists and writers also ocus on the reader& but there isanother& little ac*nowledged& reason that writers in particular do so$%hey tend to identiy with the reader$ %his strong identiication arisesout o the act that postmodern writers and readers in general share thesame condition$ %his is the condition o belatedness$ sharp&sometimes painul eeling o belatedness is one o the deiningeatures o the postmodern outloo*& as the term -postmodern- itsel suggests$ %he postmodern writer is acutely aware o the greatachie+ements o his or her precursors and is an a+id reader o these precursors$ ?ten& the postmodern writer is haunted by the eeling thati something has not already been written& then it is probably notworth writing$ any o the characteristic eatures and strategies o postmodern writing ,, such as the preoccupation with the past andhistorical representation and the reliance on "uotation& pastiche& and parody ,, arise out o the eeling o being late and deri+ati+e$

@i*e the postmodern writer& the reader is also an epigone& a latecomer$

Both seem to be on the recei+ing end o long& drawn,outde+elopments$ Both seem to occupy essentially passi+e positions$Both tend to see themsel+es as gleaners& rather than sowers or reapers$In the temporal se"uence o author,te.t,reader& the reader comes last$%he reader is thus positioned in relation to author and te.t as the postmodern writer is to his or her precursors and their te.ts$ Aence thela+ish attention gi+en to the reader by such "uintessential postmodernwriters as Jorge @uis Borges& /mberto :co& and Italo 4al+ino$ Borges& perhaps the paradigmatic postmodernist& is a good case in point$ Ais

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+arious authorial personae& his narrators& and his protagonists areusually in+eterate readers$ Borges himsel seems to write little& and thethings he writes tend to be glosses on his reading or stories about his

or his a+atars' reading$ Borges is& howe+er& amous or gloriying inhis belatedness& in his deri+ati+eness$

%he great tradition o past writing puts the postmodern writer into the position o a reader& who may be thrilled by the riches o the past or eel o+erwhelmed by their authority$ In the reader& the postmodernwriter has ound an ideal igure through which to e.plore thesplendors and miseries o belatedness$

%he real tas* o the postmodern writer is to transcend the readerlycondition& to transorm his or her belatedness into something originaland interesting$ %he magical realist te.tuali#ation o the reader is inact a iguration and parody o this writerly process$ %hrough ate.tuali#ation& the ictional reader ceases to be a reader and becomes acharacter in the te.t$ %he reader magically transcends his or her statusas passi+e epigone& brea*ing the iron law o temporal succession$Aence the wonderul anachronism o =ugelmass popping up in :mmaBo+ary's bedroom$ In the se"uence author,te.t,reader& the te.tuali#edreader leaps bac* to the prior& more powerul& and less belated te.tual position$ 6urthermore& by thus changing the te.t the author has produced& the te.tuali#ed reader encroaches on the authorial positionand assumes to some e.tent the authorial unction o producer o te.ts$%he simplest way in which the reader changes the te.t is by appearingin it$ @i*e the successul postmodern writer& the te.tuali#ed reader transcends the readerly condition$

But in doing so the reader becomes a ri+al and antagonist o theauthor$ %he te.tuali#ed reader seems to represent a signiicant threat tothe already tenuous authority o the postmodern writer$ @udic or otherwise& the letor in fabula may do to the postmodern te.t what the postmodern writer does to the te.ts he or she has read and rewritten$

%his struggle or contest between author and reader& with the te.t asarena& may help e.plain the sad ate o so many te.tuali#ed readers&who become +ictims& i not tragic igures$ =ugelmass is last seen

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running or his lie& chased by a -large& hairy irregular +erb- 4ort!#ar reader in -4ontinuity o 5ar*s- is about to become the murder +ictimin the world o the crime no+el he reads$ Borges in -TlDn, 39bar,

Orbis Tertius- laments the irre+ocable destruction o the real world bythe intrusi+e ictional world o ?rbis %ertius$ nd the reader,author in;uranti The !ouse on Moon %ake becomes a wraith& imprisoned inthe ictional story he in+ented$ %hese te.tuali#ed readers ne+er return&it seems& to the e.trate.tual world$ I te.tuali#ations are closely relatedto dreams& then their speciic type is usually the nightmare$

%he authors o te.tuali#ation ables usually in+ent readers o the ludictype$ %he sort o iction these readers consume is mostly escapist& and

so it seems appropriate that such readers should literally escape intothe world o the te.t$ Let the act that these readers' intrusions aremostly disastrous suggests that the authors o te.tuali#ation ablesreject nai+e or escapist reading as an acceptable mode o reader response$ Indeed& they seem to be saying that escapist reading in thisorm may be ha#ardous to your health$ :scape into the world o thete.t is truly the ultimate reader response it is the most e.treme one but also the inal one$ llegorically& these ables tell us that ludic

reading distorts the te.t& i only by admitting some gooy reader intoit$ %he strong emotional identiications that lie at the heart o escapistreading bring about a alse& warped understanding o the story$ %rue&all readers are to some e.tent producers o te.ts& but ludic readers tendto be incompetent producers$ %heir sudden appearance in the world o the te.t& which is their mode o production& establishes beyond a doubttheir lac* o discrimination$

5ostmodern writers abo+e all need to be concerned about the eects o

ludic reading$ %his is because so much postmodern writing isattracti+e to the escapist reader$ ?ne o the most contro+ersial aspectso postmodern iction is its commercial +iability$ n astonishingnumber o postmodern wor*s ha+e become bestsellers in merica ,,one thin*s o iction by John 6owles& /mberto :co& García !r"ue#&and ilan =undera ,, and this usually means that such wor*s ha+esucceeded in drawing large numbers o escapist readers$ any postmodern wor*s are -double,coded- ?ne code& usually imitati+e o

the orms o popular iction& contributes to a wide readership and

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commercial success$ %he second code& incorporating a whole range o e.perimental techni"ues and postmodern philosophical issues& is less popular and more adapted to serious readers& other writers& and those

we might call the cognoscenti$ Ideally& readers would relate to bothcode le+els& but there is always the ear that the mass public willapprehend only the popular code and thereore read the wor* in adistorti+e& reducti+e way$ %he treatment o the escapist reader inte.tuali#ation ables thus seems to be both an e.pression and ane.orcism o this an.iety$ %he ludic reader& merrily misreading& lands inthe world o the te.t& and& his or her status as reader ha+ing thereby been eliminated& the maleactor is summarily punished$

III%he magic in magical realism emerges rom the interpenetration o irreconcilable worlds$ %e.tuali#ation is arguably the paradigmatictopos o magical realism because o the way in which it showcasesthis mystiying phenomenon$ %e.ts may encompass worlds and worldsmay be te.ts& but the way they come together& clash& and use in ate.tuali#ation +iolates our usual sense o what is possible$

?ne more point beore closing$ %e.tuali#ations are a speciice.pression o the postmodern ascination with ontology& that is& thestudy o possible worlds$ s used by Brian cAale and %homas5a+el& the term ontology reers to the -theoretical description o auni+erse- ?ne o the central tas*s o ontology in this sense is toe.plain how a world& such as that ound in a ictional te.t& isconstituted$ nother tas* is& in cAale's words& the e.ploration o what happens when -dierent *inds o worlds are placed inconrontation or when boundaries between worlds are +iolated- 2H03$

%he +iolation o the boundary between the world o a ictional te.tand the e.trate.tual world in te.tuali#ation ables has manyramiications or in"uiries into the relationships that are possible between possible worlds$

s this study suggests& one o the main ad+antages o magical realismas a literary mode lies in its e.traordinary le.ibility& in its capacity todelineate& e.plore& and transgress boundaries$ ore than other modes&magical realism acilitates the usion o possible but irreconcilable

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worlds$ s the e.emplary locus o such usions& te.tuali#ation ableswill remain important sources or the study not only o postmodern poetics& but also o magical realism itsel$

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Pschic Realism! Mthic Realism! "rotes#ue Realism: $ariations

on Magic Realism in Contemporar %iterature in &nglish

)ince the early 1980s when I was as*ed by my colleague Jeaneisgerber to contribute a chapter on magic realism in the literaturesin :nglish to a boo* which would co+er dierent geographical areasand dierent ields& I ha+e been interested in the concept itsel& butalso increasingly dissatisied with the way in which it is being usedand misused$ %here has been a tendency in recent debates& especiallyater )tephen )lemon's inluential article 2which appeared inCanadian %iterature a ew years ago and is included here in re+isedorm3& to systematically consider the concept o magical realism -in itsspeciic engagement with postcoloniality$- )lemon has had theindisputable merit o brea*ing new ground and o encouragingcomparati+e analyses across postcolonial cultures including& in hisown country& between :nglish 4anada and FuKbec$ Aowe+er& magicrealism is not e.clusi+ely a postcolonial phenomenon& but a mucholder one whose +arious oshoots re"uire more precise and speciicdeinitions$

I would li*e to point out at the outset that one should perhaps rerain&at least when reerring to contemporary wor*s in :nglish& romspea*ing o -magic realist writers&- or magic realism is oten usedonly sporadically in an author's oeu+re& and sporadically e+en in thoseo his or her te.ts commonly regarded as -magic realist- ith a +iewto ma*ing the concept a little less conused and certainly moreteachable& I ha+e loo*ed in detail at three no+els ,, The *nfernal

(esire Mahines of (otor !offman by the British no+elist ngela4arter& The *nvention of the World by the 4anadian Jac* Aodgins& andThe Car2athians by the (ew Tealand poet and no+elist Janet 6rame ,,which at irst sight ha+e little in common apart rom the amous label$%he irst can be read as a Gothic antasy& the second as a regional andmythic no+el& the third& clearly more e.perimental& as metaiction$ llthree are at the crossroads between no+el and romance& all threecontain a "uest or an initiation journey as well as passages that& to alesser or greater degree& depart rom ordinary realism$



6aced with such a dead end& it occurred to me that it was becomingurgent to thin* out new categories that would lea+e more room or bordercases and help to situate any contemporary magic realist te.t& or

part o a te.t& more accurately in a larger conceptual andterminological constellation$ close e.amination o the three no+elsled me to coin three additional concepts ,, psychic& mythic& andgrotes"ue realism ,, that could e+entually be applied to other magicrealist wor*s o iction as well$

ngela 4arterEs The *nfernal (esire Mahines of (otor !offman isthe irst,person story o ;esiderio& an old and amous politician& whorecords the e+ents o ity years beore when he became a national

hero by ridding his country o ;octor Aoman& thereby putting an endto the -Great ar$- %hat war had started when the ;octor's -inernal-e.periments& which consisted in liberating the subconscious byma*ing people's most secret desires materiali#e& opened a racture inthe real that promptly turned the city into phantasmagoric chaos$ (othing in it was what it seemed and -e+erything that could possiblye.ist& did so- 2113$ s a result o Aoman's magic tric*s with mirrorsand cloc*s& it also became the -*ingdom o the instantaneous- 2183 as

the usual notions o time and space were sub+erted& and images beganto prolierate -along the obscure and contro+ersial borderline betweenthe thin*able and the unthin*able- 2CC3$ It was a battle between -anencyclopedist and a poet- the ;octor& -scientist as he was& utili#ed hisormidable *nowledge to render the in+isible +isible- 2C3& whereashis greatest enemy& the inister o ;etermination& saw the city as -ane.istential crossword pu##le that might one day be sol+ed- 2C3$

;esiderio& an out,and,out rationalist& was chosen by the inister to

ind and assassinate the ;octor$ Let& as his name ma*es clear& he wasnot himsel immune to desire and had unwisely allen in lo+e with the;octor's beautiul daughter lbertina& to whom he dedicates the boo* we are reading$ %he pseudo,allegorical story o his obstacle,riddenmission parodies the romance con+ention$ %he rea*s& grotes"ues&marginals& disguised or imaginary creatures who orce their way into4arter's narrati+e clearly ha+e a parodic unction they are meant tocomment on the ways in which we construct our personal and cultural

notions o identity& se.uality& and gender$ ;esiderio's selhood& which



should normally be central in a "uest no+el& is constantly sub+erted bythe act that& e+erything in the outside world being the projection o someone's desires& there is no way o demarcating his or her

consciousness rom that o others$ :+en good and e+il areindeterminate$ %o ;esiderio's "uestion whether he casts ;octor Aoman as God or )atan& the inister o ;etermination replies -smy parable suggests& the roles are interchangeable- 2D93$ %he liberatedsubconscious can itsel become a new tyranny when it is no longer opposed by reason$

%he boo* depicts in a parodic way the war 2the merican title is The

War of (reams& 193 between reason and the irrational that has

dominated :uropean thought e+er since the :nlightenment$ 4arter'smodels ,de )ade& )wit and& o course& :$%$$ Aomann 2li*e the;octor& a great admirer o o#art3 ,, oered& in their own way and intheir respecti+e literatures& more or less shoc*ing alternati+es to bourgeois realism$ In :nglish iction the war against reason waswaged in the gothic no+els and later in the -antastic- reaction againstcanonical realism with such writers as 5oe in merica or 4arroll&)te+enson& and ilde in :ngland$ @ate,twentieth,century :nglish

te.ts labeled -magic realist- reintegrate& as it were& into the realisticmode -antastic- elements that ha+e been e.cluded rom themainstream$ %hey usually center on an indi+idual whose issured sel renders him or her particularly sensiti+e to the maniestations o anotherwise in+isible reality and whose +isionary power can be induced by drugs& lo+e& religious aith or& as is the case in 4arter's no+el& eroticdesire$ %he -magicis almost always a reiication o the hero's inner conlicts& hence the +agueness o the spatial setting ,, 4arter's no+el isallegedly ta*ing place in an unnamed )outh merican country ,, and

the thematic recurrence o elements lin*ed with the initiation journey$The *nfernal (esire Mahines of (otor !offman is an e.treme orm&almost a caricature o this type o no+el$

6or this particular sort o magic realism generated rom inside the psyche ,, and sometimes reerred to as -psychomachie- ,, I would li*eto suggest the term -psychic realism- It goes bac* to the earlier&:uropean +ariety and can be ound in the wor*s o& among others&

assimo Bontempelli in Italy& :rnst J7nger in Germany& Johan ;aisne

H



and Aubert @ampo in Belgium& Julien Green and Julien Grac" in6rance$ In contemporary literature in :nglish there are e.amples o psychic realism in little )imon's conrontation with the -@ord o the

6lies- in illiam Golding's no+el& a curious racture in the abric o anotherwise entirely realistic no+el> in the heightened +isions o Gibreel2induced by religious er+or3 and the hallucinations o osa ;iamond2induced by loneliness3 in )alman ushdie The #atani &erses> in thema#e in which the protagonist is lost in John6owles 6owles' The

Magus& though here& as in 4arter's no+el& the magic is masterminded by a godli*e impresario behind the scenes$

In :urope& magic realism has been more successul on the 4ontinent

than in Britain$ -I thin* the main problem with magical realism in thiscountry is a moral& or puritanical one&- John 6owles writes> -what theBritish will not accept is that magic realists can ha+e their ca*e andeat it ,, both 'bend' reality and be really serious$- 4omparing it with its)outh merican maniestations& ngela 4arter remar*ed that Britishmagic realism -has to draw on a much more literar0 and attenuatedol*loristic tradition$- ?n the other side o the tlantic& lejo4arpentier had already sensed something similar in 19D when&

+isiting Aaiti ater ha+ing li+ed or o+er a decade in 5aris& he wasstruc* by the contrast between the -mar+elous reality- o the4aribbean and the artiicial way o -pro+o*ing the mar+elousin the?ld orld$ %his led him to coin the term lo real maravilloso

ameriano to describe a -magic- reality not created by the imaginationor projected rom the subconscious but inherent in the myths andsuperstitions o non,:uropean populations and in the +ery topographyo the mericas$

In the (ew orld& where the climate is oten less temperate and thelandscapes more dramatic than in Britain& magic realism does indeedoten display a deep connectedness between character and place$ %he4anadian Jac* Aodgins' second no+el opens with a tidal wa+e thatwashes o+er the little pulp,mill town o 5ort nnie on ancou+er Island and ends with a landslide that destroys the place> in obert=roetsch What the Cro+ #aid & a drun*en armer& caught in a bli##ardon his way home rom the ta+ern& tries to mount an imaginary horse

and is ound ro#en& -plowing the snow&- the ne.t morning> in ichael



?ndaatje unning in the Famil0& the grandmother @alla& snatchedaway by the swollen ri+er& dies in the looded -blue arms o a jacaranda tree$- %he interpenetration o the magic and the real is no

longer metaphorical but literal> the landscape is no longer passi+e butacti+e ,, in+ading& trapping& dragging away& etc$ In his aterword to?'Aagan Ta0 Eohn& ?ndaatje notes that in this and other prairie no+els&-the landscape$$$is not a landscape that just sits bac* and damns thecharacters with droughts$ It is "uic*sil+er& changeable& human ,, andwe are no longer part o the realistic no+el& and no longer part o the:uropean tradition- -ythic realism&- ?ndaatje suggests& would be amore apt way o portraying the west than -magic realism$-

I would li*e to adopt the term -mythic realism- and apply it not just tothe 4anadian est but to all the countries that still possess-unconsumed space&- where -magic- images are borrowed rom the physical en+ironment itsel& instead o being projected rom thecharacters' psyches$ It seems to me that ?ndaatje's term is a suitableone or )econd orld countries rom which indigenous cultures ha+elargely +anished& e+en though they remain hauntingly present in the place itsel$

t the crossroads between 4arpentier and ?ndaatje& the Guyaneseilson Aarris asserts li*e the latter that -landscape is not a passi+ecreature$- In the story o one o his e.peditions as a land sur+eyor heoers a good illustration o the magic spar*ing out o the physicalen+ironment$ hile he was gauging the 5otaro ri+er or hydroelectric power about a mile or so rom the %umatumari rapids& one o hisanchors gripped the bed o the stream and could not be dislodged$ %woyears later& on another similar e.pedition& the anchor got caught again

at e.actly the same place& but this time the situation was moredesperate& and the man ordered to se+er the anchor rope was sorightened that he could not manage to do so$ %hey joined eorts to pull& and out came not just one anchor but two& the second hoo*ed intothe one that had been lost there two years beore$ 6or Aarris theatmosphere became at once magically crowded with all sorts o echoes and presences

8



It is impossible to describe the *ind o energy that rushed out o thatconstellation o images$ I elt as i a can+as around my head wascrowded with phantoms and igures$ I had orgotten some o my own

antecedents ,, the merindianQrawa* ones ,, but now their aceswere on the can+as$ ?ne could see them in the long march into thetwentieth century out o the pre,4olumbian mists o time$ ?ne couldalso sense the lost e.peditions& the people who had gone down inthese )outh merican ri+ers$ ?ne could sense a whole range o things&all sorts o aces ,, angelic& terriying& daemonic ,, all sorts o contrasting aces& all sorts o igures$ There +as a sudden eru2tion of

onsiousness, and +hat is fantasti is that it all ame out of a

onstellation of t+o ordinar0 ob5ets, t+o anhors$

@ater in alae of the eaok & the concrete anchors are translatedinto what he calls -a narrati+e iction o ju.tapositions- or -anarchitecture o consciousness$-

@i*e ilson Aarris& ichael ?ndaatje& and lejo 4arpentier& Jac* Aodgins is +ery much aware o uncanny correspondences betweencharacter and place$ 6rom ancou+er Island& and proud o sharing thesame coastline as Gabriel García !r"ue#& Aodgins has ne+er made asecret o his admiration or the @atin merican no+elists> hehumorously ac*nowledges his debt to them by ma*ing the giant wa+ethat in+ades ancou+er Island in The esurretion of Eose2h $ourne

lea+e all sorts o 5eru+ian mar+els behind$ %hese include a godli*e5eru+ian sailor thrown na*ed on the soa*ed yellow daisies o ngela%urner's sheets and the beautiul aimey& the -wal*ing miracle- whoturns the little town upside down$ By ha+ing one o the Islanders reer to her as -that cormorant with the chee*y behind&- Aodgins stresses

the real,enough physicality o that magic +isitant rom another world&endowed by the earth,bound people o 5ort nnie with supernatural powers and indeed capable o bringing one o them literally bac* tolie$

%he ob+ious echoes o One !undred "ears of #olitude and The

Autumn of the atriarh throughout Aodgins' no+el The *nvention of

the World probably e.plain why this no+el was hailed as magic realistin the irst place$ %here are& to mention only a ew e.amples& the

9



parallel between JosK rcadio's oundation o acondo and=eneally's oundation o the e+elation 4olony o %ruth onancou+er Island& both at the end o a journey in search o&

respecti+ely& the sea and the promised land> =eneally's machinesupposed to represent God and de+ised to impress the Irish peasantsmuch as el"uíades' contraptions impressed the inhabitants o acondo> the Lear o ist reminiscent o the our years o rain inacondo> the mode o narration itsel& at least in some o its sections&where the record o past e+ents& in a plurality o +oices& oten beginswith the now,amous -many years later- opening o García !r"ue#'sno+el& almost a trademar* o magic realist narrati+e style$

Interestingly& these deliberate imitations o One !undred "ears of #olitude reer only to =eneally and ser+e to denounce the immoralityo this bad -magician&- who resorts to tric*ery only to e.ploit or manipulate his too credulous ollowers$ %hey are part o the-in+ented- world that Aodgins opposes to the -created- one in theno+el$ close loo* at the dierent treatment o his two -ghosts- ,,Aorseman& the better side o ade& and Brendan& =eneally's invented

twin ,, throws light on this distinction between the -creation- o the

sel& rendered through what I ha+e called -psychic realism&- and mere-in+ention&- rendered through magic tric*s$ =eneally and his twinBrendan are +ery similar to the patriarch and his impostor,doppelgWnger 5atricio ragonKs in García !r"ue# TheAutumn of the

atriarh utumn o the 5atriarch$ Aorseman and ade& on the other hand& are& li*e ;r$ Je*yll and r$ Ayde& two opposed andcomplementary acets o one character$ Aorseman is ade's better sel& his -e.act duplicate- 21C3$ Ais une.pected arri+al at the weddingeast where he is reunited with his other hal clearly signals ade's

-second growth&- the act that he has inally become whole& the -newman- worthy o the -new woman- he has just married$ %he change inthis character who& throughout the boo*& has been pictured as a good,or,nothing and& indeed& as a small,scale reincarnation o =eneally& isso literally e/tra7ordinar0 or the onloo*ers that only an intrusion o the supernatural can account or it$ nd or that matter& only asupernatural apparition can turn the cacophonous brawl into such animmediate and -total silence- %his is a typical e.ample o what I ha+e

called -psychic- realism& that is& a physical maniestation o what

80



ta*es place inside the psyche$ ?nly through an attenti+e sorting out o these dierent *inds o magic realism can one a+oid suchmisinterpretations as obert =roetsch's& who misconstrues Aorseman

as death& or )tephen )lemon's& who sees him as the ghost o =eneally$hen it came to creating his unintellectual new :+e& Aodgins tappedthe mythic potential o the still uncharted 2at least on the literarymaps3 and largely -unconsumed space- o his nati+e ancou+er Island$ @i*e ilson Aarris' concrete anchors& it pro+ided him with his-narrati+e iction o ju.tapositions- aggie's commune does indeedoccupy the same space as =eneally's -e+elation 4olony o %ruth&-itsel created on the same physical space as the a*e religious

commune in which a historical ancou+er Island igure& the notoriousBrother NII& ensla+ed his ollowers bac* in the 19C0s$ %heconiguration o the landscape also helped Aodgins to gi+e aggie'se.perience a mythic dimension a marginal rom the start li*eancou+er Island on which she li+es and li*e Ireland where she hasher personal -re+elation o truth- 2two green and rainy islands o appro.imately the same si#e on the edge o a continent3& aggie becomes the -new woman- precisely because o her trans,island& that

is& transindi+idual "uest$ )he dramati#es a central preoccupation inJac* Aodgins' iction& the e.ploration o the mysterious region wheretwo li+es -o+erlap$- %his -o+erlapping- occurs at the +ery momentwhen aggie gets rid o abricated myths to accept the reality o ade$ In that epiphanic moment the magic realist collision o ade'sshoe on aggie's map subtly shits into hyperrealism as the shoe becomes looded with the light o lo+e -this was li*e a child's shoe& plain and worn,o+er and scued& with water stains soa*ed into thesides& a white line li*e the edge o an al*ali la*e& li*e a child who has

wal*ed through puddles& playing$ 6or a moment she wanted to touchit& to put her ace down& to eel the childli*e shape o it with her hands$)he was tempted to brush the mud away& with her ingertips- e are bac* momentarily to 6ran# oh's rather indiscriminate use o -magisher ealismus&- and -neue #ahlihkeit - 2new objecti+ity3$ (othing indeed is more - sahlih- than a shoe& but because it isillumined rom inside 2-aus unsrem *nnern-3 in a particularly intensemanner& this ordinary object ac"uires a heightened reality +erging on

weirdness$ 5ersonally& I see here a case o hyperrealism not unli*e

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some passages in 4anadian writer lice unro's stories or thetechni"ue o a 4anadian magic realist painter li*e le. 4ol+ille$

%he magic realism o Aodgins' The *nvention of the World combines-magic- occurrences X la García !r"ue# with psychic and mythicelements such as I ha+e mentioned abo+e$ nd it is complemented bywhat I propose to call -grotes"ue realism&- a combination o (orthmerican tall tale& @atin merican baro"ue& and Ba*htinian-carni+ales"ue$- Grotes"ue elements are used to con+ey the anarchiceccentricity o popular tellers who tend to ampliy and distort realityto ma*e it more credible$ Aodgins resorts to it in his use o the local+oices that recount the most memorable e+ents o the past$ %hus the

story o the baili o 4arrigdhoun who& ater recei+ing his mortalwound in the ight with =eneally& staggers down the mountains&lea+ing behind him a trail o blood -that scorched the grass and meltedstones$- @ater -these stones ormed a pa+ed red trail rom ield to ieldthe women would use whene+er they went out to gather ur#e-agniied in each new retelling& such e+ents come to assume epic proportions$

I would suggest& urther& that -grotes"ue realism- be used not just or popular oral discourse but also or any sort o hyperbolic distortionthat creates a sense o strangeness through the conusion or interpenetration o dierent realms li*e animateQinanimate or humanQanimal$ :.amples are the two +ehicles crashing into each other li*e two prehistoric beasts at the beginning o Aodgins' no+el& or theconusion between puppet and human igure in the central episode o ichael ?ndaatje *n the #kin of a %ion$ Aodgins' The *nvention of the

World ends with the -grotes"ue realist- lists o guests and gits at the

wedding o aggie and ade$ In this particular conte.t& the term-grotes"ue realism- recalls Ba*htin's carni+al body& and beautiullycon+eys Aodgins' intention$ %his last section& entitled.#eond-ro+th,. Growth&- does indeed& li*e Ba*htin's carni+ales"ue&emphasi#e the regenerati+e power o a new communal and popular consciousness in a selish and materialist world$ t the same time thegrotes"ue is or Aodgins a way o a+oiding pomposity when he ma*esserious points& as he clearly does in the unashionable happy ending o

his no+el$

8C



%o analy#e Aodgins' no+el along these lines re+eals a much greater comple.ity and originality than merely placing it in a postcolonialconte.t that ails to distinguish among dierent +arieties o magic

realism and thus reduces the scope o Aodgins' central metaphor$ %he-4olony- represents& in act& the coloni#ation and e.ploitation o others in all possible orms& rom the unregenerate ade's e.ploitationo nai+e tourists to all the alse prophets who& li*e =eneally& claim toha+e had a re+elation on a mountain top 2913$ aggie's own re+elationon the same mountain top is one o lo+e& sellessness& and solidarity$@i*e another ictional aggie ,, :thel ilson in #+am2 Angel ,, whoimmediately preceded her in the same -unconsumed space- o British4olumbia 2itsel a magic ju.tapositionM3& aggie =yle manages to set

up a generous and decentrali#ed grotes"ue commune o -=ra#ies&- theclosest& Aodgins seems to say with tongue in chee*& one can e+er hopeto approach utopia$

Janet 6rame& another -postcolonial- writer at the remotest edge o :mpire& (ew Tealand& is more -literary- in her use o magic realismthan Jac* Aodgins$ Aer ascination with words and word games& her jumbling o dierent le+els o reality& her relish or parado.es and all

manner o tric*eries o language are "uite unli*e the ol*loristic and popular magic realism o a 4arpentier& closer to the playul eruditiono a Borges or a 4ort!#ar$ %here is& howe+er& no e+idence that she hasread& let alone been inluenced by& these writers$ Aer +eryidiosyncratic language games con+ey a uni"ue and intensely poetic+ision o 2post3modern culture$ 6rom her earliest wor*s 6rame hase.plored the interace between realms usually regarded asantagonistic sanity and madness& lie and death& language and silence$In her latest no+el The Car2athians& the mimetic coherence o the te.t

is constantly shattered by shits o ontological le+els and& twice& bymagic realist occurrences that are actually epiphanic moments o heightened consciousness$

6or years the protagonist attina Brecon& a well,o (ew Lor*er& hasliterally -consumed- space by buying real estate all o+er the world>her latest whim is a place called 5uamahara in (ew Tealand to whichshe eels attracted because o the aori legend attached to its

beautiul orchards$

8D



%he story goes that a young woman& chosen by the gods to retrie+e thememory o the land& metamorphosed at her death into a tree on whichthe -emory 6lower- continues to blossom$ attina settles in one o

the detached houses o =owhai )treet& an epitome o modern (ewTealand& planning to collect acts on its residents as raw material or her husband& a no+elist suering rom a pathological writer's bloc*$

%he irst racture in the realistic surace o the narration occurs whenattina's point o +iew is appropriated by her no+elist,neighbor ;innyheatstone& who thus turns her against her will into a character in her typescript$ t this juncture her thus ar literal and jet lag,induceddisorientation begins to aect her o+erall perception o reality as she

is made to share ;inny's compressed +ision o time and place$ )he begins to sense a mysterious presence in her room at night& -an animalo long ago and ar away breathing near her in the dar*- 293$Brea*ing all con+entional rules o logic and physics& this magicin+asion into her room hints at the e.istence& at another le+el o perception& o what ilson Aarris has called -some occult dimension-o the past$ e could& then& see here an e.treme orm o -mythicrealism&- a synecdoche or any possible encounter between )el and

?ther$ hat attina is e.periencing is not just the -dreamtime- o theland's irst people but& more generally& the poet's capacity to abolishdistance and time and to identiy with any other li+ing creature or& as;inny .Wheatstone *m2oster. puts it& -in an imposter& all points o +iew are burgled because the imposter has no point o +iew-

second& e+en more disturbing occurrence ta*es place one nightwhen attina witnesses the lethal eect o a phenomenon called -theGra+ity )tar- on =owhai )treet$ s is generally the case in magic

realism we are oered no e.planation o e+ents& and the calmdistancing o the narrati+e +oice ma*es us orget the implausibility o the strange happenings -It was midnight when attina was awa*ened by the cries- ,, the cries are those o her neighbors& but they sound li*e primiti+e wails or grunts& their eyes gleam in the dar* li*e animaleyes& their clothes are in shreds and they seem to ha+e orgottenhuman speech altogether$ hat alls on them rom the s*y loo*s li*erain& yet is no real rain but a shower o linguistic particles&

-apostrophes& notes o music& letters o the alphabets o all languages-

8



%he ne.t morning the empty street is impeccably clean& with no tracelet o its residents> only a ew minute letters on attina's tableclothremain as e+idence that she has not dreamed the nightmarish e+ent$

)he hersel& we are told& has escaped the midnight holocaust by-simply clinging li*e an insect at the point o destruction to the Memor0 Flo+er.

%hese two magic realist episodes articulate Janet 6rame's centralopposition in the boo* between what she calls poetically the .Memor0

Flo+er. and the .-ravit0 #tar6. %hey are two *ey moments in a no+elconcerned with the clash& beyond all posts and all colonialisms& between two -global- +iews o reality& identical on the surace though

in act completely antagonistic one is that o the poets& whose +irtualcreations 2-orchards in the s*y-3 are meant to enhance the naturalorganic connections between all li+ing creatures& between past and present& between the li+ing and the dead$ %he other is that o theelectronic media whose technologically controlled world o all,at,onceness li*ewise abolishes distance and time but also obliterates thelin* with the past and the lo+ing connection between people$ Becausethey are steeped in the electronic culture o global communication&

dominated& as Baudrillard has argued& by simulations and discourseswith -no irm origin& no reerent& no ground or oundation&- the=owhai )treet residents are as ephemeral as the commodities so easilydisposed o in their consumer society$ %hus they disappear& withoutlea+ing a trace$

hat is at sta*e in The Car2athians is nothing less than the sur+i+alo man*ind$ Janet 6rame& with the hyperlucidity characteristic o her wor*& prophesies the apocalyptic end o an electronic culture that has

penetrated the most remote places o the earth but is totallydisconnected rom organic reality$ %he last stage o attina's initiationta*es place on a aori arm or -marae- where an old woman answersher in"uiry about wea+ing la. by saying that irst she must -kno+la.&- or la. is ali+e -it *nows about you$$$$ OLPou must ha+e aspecial eeling about la. to be able to grow it& cut it without ma*ing it bleed& scrape it without hurting it& and wea+e it without going againstits wishes- Beyond all the clea+ages o cultures there remains a

common language o nature 2la.3 and lo+e 2-a special eeling-3& and

8



the language o the poets 2-Aouse*eepers o ncient )pringtime-3which alone can counterbalance the semiotic babble o contemporaryelectronic culture and& ultimately& as the no+el itsel testiies& ensure

sur+i+al$ t the end o The Car2athians we learn that attina hasne+er had any objecti+e e.istence but is the +erbal creation o her sonJohn Aenry& a no+elist who wrote the boo* as a tribute to the parentshe lost when he was se+en years old$ By the combined power o lo+eand meaningul poetic language he has brought them bac* to lie& justas attina hersel had been able& in her own small way& to re,member the dis,membered residents o =owhai )treet$

@i*e ;inny heatstone in the no+el& Janet 6rame is hersel an

-imposter- who handles parado. with playul de.terity$ )hehumorously resorts to sel,conscious artiice and to all the de+ices o postmodernist discourse to e.press her anti,postmodern stance$ )hedebun*s the postcolonial paradigm by blurring the center,margindistinction what attina inds at the urthest antipodean remo+e romthe center 2 (ew Lor*3 is not the -new- e.otic world she had hoped& but rather an intensiied +ersion o her own& with which =owhai )treetaoris and 5a*ehas ali*e are e+en more amiliar than she is hersel$

By means o magic realist strategies& Janet 6rame parado.icallymanages to create a poetical superrealist +ision o our estern culturein which the two worlds she opposed at the beginning o her literarycareer ,, -this world- and -that world- ,, are held in antagonistic balance$

4ompare& then& the +ariations on magical realism in the authors whomI ha+e discussed$ ngela 4arter resorts to a parodic -psychic realism-to destabili#e culturally constructed notions o identity and gender by

showing that& li*e all human constructs& they are& in act& projectionso indi+idual antasies$ Jac* Aodgins e.periments with a +ariety o magic realisms to stress the distinction between tric*ery and reality&in+ention and creation& and to reinscribe his protagonists' personal"uests in a speciic physical and cultural landscape o their own$ Janet6rame& in one instance& carries -mythic realism- to its antipodeane.treme to hint at the poet's all,encompassing +ision o lie and death$In the other instance& she carries magic realism to the border o

antasy and science iction& where language 2o both the Gutenberg

8H



and the arconi gala.ies3 loses its roots in the human anddisintegrates in a mere collection o unconnected particles$)igniicantly& the linguistic apocalypse cannot be ully placed in any

o the categories discussed in this essay$ Both -psychic- and -mythic-realism posit& or their projections rom inside and in+asions romoutside& a lin* between human beings and the world& a bac*ward andorward mo+ement between the indi+idual psyche and the psyche o nature$ But in global electronic culture& the distinction between subjectand object has been neutrali#ed or turned into interchangeablee"ui+alence$ -Grotes"ue- realism& too& pro+es unsuited to 6rame's+ision& or it re"uires a sense o corporeality and community that hasalso been canceled in the electronic culture she describes$

%he tidal wa+e o magic realism that in+aded the no+el in :nglish at atime when some o its practitioners were spea*ing o its -e.haustion-has undoubtedly led to a re+itali#ation o the genre& pushing the limitso realism and displacing established relations o power in such a waythat British literature has now lost its leading position while other literatures in :nglish& brea*ing new ground and oering new paradigms& are coming to the oreground$ It may seem strange& in adiscussion o magic realism& that I ha+e dropped the irst term o the

o.ymoron and replaced it by alternati+e adjecti+es that in act "ualiythe real$ %his is perectly legitimate& howe+er& or the magic and thereal do not ha+e e"ual weight in 6irst and )econd orld iction in:nglish$ ll the te.ts I ha+e discussed or alluded to de+ise ways o heightening the real& rather than doing away with it$ %heir authorsoten slip into the +arious modes o magic realism that I ha+eelaborated here just at the point when they ha+e something particularly signiicant to say& magic realism being thus& as it were& a

postmodernist e"ui+alent to the epiphanic moments o the modernists$%heir iction remains strongly anchored in the real and the moral ,, aar cry rom a no+el li*e One !undred "ears of #olitude$ :+en the ewdeliberate echoes o García !r"ue#'s iction in Aodgins' The

*nvention of the World are indirectly at the ser+ice o a moral +ision$uch as the nglophone world wants to challenge traditional realism&it is not the Aispanic world$ %he pragmatic and puritanical 4rusoe& notthe well,balanced magic realist couple )ancho Q Fui.ote& stands at theront door o its house o iction$ s or 6riday& he has gone his own

8



way& bac* to the -mar+elous- reality o his nati+e rica& where no+elsli*e Ben ?*ri's The Famished oad clearly pull the balance in theopposite direction$

88



Past'(n Stories: )istor and the Magicall Real! Morrison and

*llende on Call

%he storyteller ta*es what OsQheP tells rom e.perience ,, OherP own or that reported by others$ nd OsQheP in turn ma*es it the e.perience o those who are listening to OtheP tale$$$$ In e+ery case the storyteller is aOwoPman who has counsel or Ohis or herP reader$$$$ %oday ha+ingcounsel is beginning to ha+e an oldashioned ring$$$because thecommunicability o e.perience is decreasing$ ,alter Benjamin& -%he)toryteller&- in *lluminations

In the postmodern world o dead authors and destabili#ed subjects&-e.perience- sounds li*e something embarrassingly anti"uated$ (onetheless& repossessing historical e.perience is Isabel llende'swor*& as it is %oni orrison's$ In The !ouse of the #2irits llendewrites to -*eep ali+e the memory- o her country 4hile$ )imilarly& in#ong of #olomon& orrison is e.plicitly concerned with the process o -rememory&- as she will be later in $eloved6 -)omewhere&- she otensays& -someone orgot to tell somebody something$- orrison states

-e don't li+e in places where we can hear those stories anymore> parents don't sit around and tell their children those classical&mythological& archetypal stories that we heard years ago$ But newinormation has to get out& and there are se+eral ways to do it$ ?ne isthe no+el$- 6or these authors& memory is grounded in the recuperationo the historical$ llende and orrison& li*e the storytelling women protagonists they create& are animated by the desire to preser+e paststoo oten tri+iali#ed& built o+er or erased& and to pass them on$

%he interrelation o history& ontology& and the magically real ,, andhow these authors' inter+entions posit women as both the site o andlin* between these categories ,, will be the subject o this essay$ %herelation between ontology and naming is e.plicitly igured in bothThe !ouse of the #2irits and #ong of #olomon6 orrison locatesdeining power in speech and listening& sur+i+al s*ills "uite distinctrom mere mimetic tal*ing and passi+e hearing$ llende sub+erts thedamic power o literal naming and so posits a new genesis& one in

which woman challenges her always,already allenness$ Instead& as in

89



orrison& women become the site o a history that sur+i+es and sonurtures the present$

It is in the re+elation o amily histories that the worlds o The !ouse

of the #2irits and #ong of #olomon are constituted worlds ull o wal*ing& tal*ing ghosts& women with green hair and no na+els&mar+elous worlds$ agic realism& unli*e the antastic or the surreal& presumes that the indi+idual re"uires a bond with the traditions andthe aith o the community& that sQhe is historically constructed andconnected$ :choing lejo 4arpentier& who irst named the phenomenon& critic arguerite )u!re#,urias contends that -themar+elous OD lo real maravilloso P presupposes an element o aith on

the part o the author or the audience$- )he argues urther that both theantastic and the surrealistic re"uire -the total negation o aith andtradition$ It is here where magic realism splits away- 210D3$ /nli*emagical realism& the antastic and the uncanny posit an indi+idual whoe.periences a world beyond the community's parameters$

lthough the term magic realism has been used primarily tocategori#e a @atin merican literary practice& I assume its rele+ance ine.amining an aspect o rican merican literature$ Gabriel García!r"ue#& whose One !undred "ears of #olitude is the most amouse.ample o the mode& oten cites the rican 4aribbean coast o 4olombia as the source o his magically real$ nd Isabel llende hasasserted that magic realism -relies on a )outh merican reality theconluence o races and cultures o the whole world superimposed onthe indigenous culture& in a +iolent climate$- %hese& too& are thedynamics o ricans in the mericas> they are inscribed& thoughdierently& in both llende and orrison's te.ts$ /ltimately& I will

argue that llende re+ises García !r"ue#'s master te.t by positingwomen as the site o the magical$ dditionally& in contradistinction toGarcía !r"ue#& llende's magical realism gi+es way in the end to political realism$ Let& despite critical +alori#ation o her use o themagical& I will e+entually contend that llende does not itcomortably into )u!re#urias' paradigm$ Instead& she emini#esgeneric codes to employ magic realism as a bridge to a historyreco+erable in the political realm& a history that she will ultimately

constitute in her te.t as distinct rom the magical$

90



I

%he athers may soar and the children may *now their names$ ,, %oniorrison& #ong of #olomon& epigraph

In %oni orrison's #ong of #olomon& women are simultaneously thesite o the historical and the magical$ lthough orrison uses a malecharacter& il*man ;ead& as the principle narrating character& hisunt 5ilate perorms the role that alter Benjamin names she is thegi+er o stories& o counsel& the lin* to a precarious but necessary past$%hough we hear the stories told by acon and uth& il*man's parents& these tellers do not communicate the past reely& but onlywhen they eel coerced$ %he irst time il*man hears o his ather'schildhood is when acon is orbidding his son to go to his unt5ilate's$ il*man challenges his ather

-Lou *eep saying you don't ha+e to e.plain nothing to me$ Aow doyou thin* that ma*es me eel< @i*e a baby& that's what$ @i*e atwel+eyear,old babyMM-

-;on't you raise your +oice to me$$$$ atch you mouthM- acon

roared$s a result o this conrontation acon decides to relate his own+ersion o @incoln's Aea+en& the arm where he and 5ilate grew up&and o how his ather got his name$ Let he ends by saying& -I ha+en'tchanged my mind& I don't want you o+er there--hy< Lou still ha+en'tsaid why&- his son pleads$ nd acon doesn't$ t the end o thecon+ersation& -his ather had e.plained nothing to him-

6ar rom the ostensible complicity Billie Aoliday e.presses in -Aush (ow& ;on't :.plain&- il*man's insistence that the past be related tohim pro+o*es both his ather's personal and projected censorship$ (otonly does acon reuse to -tell things- but he also insists that his sonwatch his own mouth$ %he power o the oral& as in )hahra#ad li'shysteric bestseller on the dangerous blac* woman& is mar*ed as potentially out o control& a dar*ened -wild #one- to be eared andcontrolled$

91



5ilate& unli*e her brother& tells stories spontaneously and continually$)he is a symbol o *inetic orality& a )hahra#ad li,an nightmare-when she was neither singing nor tal*ing& her ace was animated by

her constantly mo+ing lips$ )he chewed things$ s a baby& as a +eryyoung girl& she *ept things in her mouth ,, straw rom brooms& gristle& buttons& seeds& lea+es& string$$$$ Aer lips were ali+e with smallmo+ements- 2D03$ 5ilate is also the symbol o aurality$ )he ta*es theonly word her ather e+er wrote& her name which he copied rom theBible& puts it in her mother's snu bo. and strings it to her ear to gi+eit meaning$ orrison in+erts the blac* tradition o recording amilynames in the Bible$ 5ilate ta*es the word out o the Bible and puts it inher ear to symboli#e her belie that the +alue o the word is in the

hearing& in the telling& that the li+ing tradition is an oralQaural one&rather than a written one$

5ilate the counselor& the storyteller& teaches il*man to +alue thesetraditions$ )he begins& as critic Joseph )*erret points out& by teachingthe teenaged il*man and his best riend how to tal* properly

-ho's you little riend<$$$;o he tal*<-

-Leah$ Ae tal*$ )ay something- Guitar sho+ed an elbow at il*manwithout ta*ing his eyes o 5ilate$

il*man too* a breath& held it& and said& -Ai$-

5ilate laughed$ -Lou all must be the dumbest unhung (egroes onearth$ hat they telling you in them schools< Lou say -Ai- to pigs andsheep when you want 'em to mo+e$ hen you tell a human being-Ai&- he ought to get up and *noc* you down$- 2D3

%heir manhood& 5ilate schools them& has more to do with their speechthan their se.uality> it is contingent on their no longer being -dumb&-on their mastering speech$ Aer admonishment& -Lou all must be thedumbest unhung (egros on earth&- appropriates into her owneducational discourse etishi#ed phallic myths about the blac* male$%he power to sub+ert myths o phallic symbolism& change their locus&and a+oid their +iolent translation& their hanging& is situated in the

power o speech$

9C



5ilate also teaches them how to listen& a sur+i+al strategy not taught&she points out& at the schools they attend$ Aearing her spea*& theymust also learn to respect the storyteller$ hen 5ilate starts out& Guitar

interrupts her to as* about her ather's death-ho shot your daddy< ;id you say somebody shot him<- Guitar wasascinated$$$$

-6i+e eet into the air$$$$-

-ho<-

-I don't *now who and I don't *now why$ I just *now what I'm tellinyou what& when& and where$-

-Lou didn't say where$- Ae was insistent$

-I did too$ ? a ence$-

-here was the ence<-

-?n our arm$-

$$$Ae ga+e up on -where$- -ell& when then<-

-hen he sat there ,, on the ence$-

Guitar elt li*e a rustrated detecti+e$ -hat year<-

-%he year they shot them Irish people down in the streets$ as a goodyear or guns and gra+ediggers I *now that$- 21,C3

By the end o their +isit the boys learn to +alue the interaction between 5ilate and themsel+es& as well as the inormation& doubleentendres& and coding o the tales> they absorb the lessons barnacled tothe undersides o speech and meaning& without imposing their owndemands on the story$ %hey -watched& araid to say anything lest theyruin the ne.t part o her story& and araid to remain silent lest she notgo on with its telling- 2D3$ %hey must learn to occupy the space between speech and silence& between stories to pass on and not to pass

9D



on& between being hung and unhung> they must learn to ac"uire anddeine their -manhood- and also to stay ali+e$

@istening& not only to what he wants to hear but to what is being said& becomes central in il*man's "uest or lie$ %hese +alues are learned but not yet incorporated by a twel+e,year,old on an aternoon +isit$Lears later in )halimar he inally reali#es that the commodities inwhich his ather has in+ested are not& ultimately& o +alue$ %here& on amidnight hunt& -there was nothing$$$to help him ,, not his money& hiscar& his ather's reputation& his suit& or his shoes$ In act they hamperedhim- 2C803$ eali#ing this& il*man begins to rely upon the +aluesthat 5ilate has taught him& how to tal*& be silent& and listen -6eeling

both tense and rela.ed& he san* his ingers into the grass$ Ae tried tolisten with his ingertips& to hear what& i anything& the earth had tosay& and it told him "uic*ly that someone was standing behind himand he had just enough time to raise one hand to his nec* and catchthe wire that astened around his throat- 2C8C3$ %he power o listeningallows il*man both to sa+e his own lie and to igure out what it is&who he is& that he is sa+ing$ @istening also allows him to pu##le outthe pieces o 5ilate's song and recogni#e in it his amily history$ nd

again that which he had relied upon in the past pro+es useless$ ?n asleepy )halimar morning& il*man is pulled out o his own thoughts by the children playing a game& singing 5ilate's song -il*man too* out his wallet and pulled rom it his airplane tic*et stub& but he had no pencil to write with& and his pen was in his suit$ Ae would just ha+e tolisten and memori#e it$ Ae closed his eyes and concentrated while thechildren$$$ perormed the round o+er and o+er again$ nd il*manmemori#ed all o what they sang- 2D0H3$ In il*man's search& 5ilate's+alues again triumph o+er his ather's censorship and constraint$ %here

is nothing in il*man's wallet that will help him> he must rely uponthe s*ills he has learned in listening to the children$ )tripped o pencils and pens& il*man abandons his status as obser+er and becomes a participant in his own history$

In rican merican culture& naming is oten a creati+e and sub+ersi+e practice in a country that has historically denied& manipulated& andmangled blac* names$ eappropriation& in other words& leads to

agency& to the power to redeine white declarati+es$ %he community in

9



#ong of #olomon renames ercy Aospital -(o ercy Aospital$- %hestreet they call -;octor )treet- city oicials insist is not -;octor )treet$- 6ine& they nod& -(ot ;octor )t$- ?n 5ilate's porch& during that

irst storytelling session& il*man irst eels that his identity isconnected somehow to his name

gain Guitar spo*e up$ -Lou his daddy sister<-

-%he only one he got$ in't but three ;eads ali+e$-

il*man& who had been unable to get one word out o his mouth ater the oolish -Ai&- heard himsel shout -I'm a ;eadM y mother's a

;eadM y sisters$ Lou and him ain't the only onesM-$$$Ae wondered why he was suddenly so deensi+e ,, so possessi+eabout his name$ Ae had always hated that name$$$$ (ow he was beha+ing with this strange woman as though ha+ing the name was amatter o deep personal pride& as though she had tried to e.pel himrom a +ery special group$ 2D83

(ames& il*man inally reali#es& bear witness& bear witness to

-yearnings& gestures& laws& e+ents& mista*es& wea*nesses- 2DDD3 andresistance$ orrison hersel contends that -each thing is separate anddierent> once you ha+e named it& you ha+e power$- ;run* one night&trying to sort out all his ather has loaded on him in e.change or the blow il*man had dealt him at the dinner table& il*man and Guitar again end up pondering names

-hat's your trouble< Lou don't li*e your name<-

-(o$$$$ (o& I don't li*e my name$-

-$$$$ )weet Aagar$ onder what her name is$-

-$$$s* 5ilate$-

-Leah$ I'll as* 5ilate$ 5ilate *nows$ It's in that dumb,ass bo. hangingrom her ear$ Aer own name and e+erybody else's$ Bet mine's in theretoo$ I'm gonna as* her what my name is$- 288,893

9



lthough he doesn't *now it& 5ilate has already taught him that simplee.planations aren't there or the as*ing$ (ames are historicallyembedded& and their reco+ery in+ol+es a certain *ind o responsibility

to them& a responsibility that il*man isn't yet ready to accept$ %healways,already absence in the history o blac* naming in the /nited)tates emerges in il*man's e.change> he doesn't li*e a name hedoesn't& he says lines later& e+en *now$ 5ilate replaces that absencewith collecti+e naming il*man's& her own& and -e+erybody else's$-?nly ater il*man ac*nowledges this ne.us can he connect himsel in history$

II

hate+er the man called each li+ing creature& that would be its name$,, Genesis C19

5ilate's biblical name also signiies its homonym& pilot& one who leadsthe way> llende gi+es her character& 4lara del alle& a name thatliterally means light& brightness& lucidity ,, one who lights the way$The !ouse of the #2irits re+ol+es around 4lara's amily her husband&:steban %rueba& a conser+ati+e senator& patron& and patriarchal -head-o amily> Blanca& their daughter> and lba& their granddaughter$llende plays on 4lara's name& ha+ing %rueba call out to -4lara& theclearest- O 4lara& claríssimaP&11 writing o her death that -she seemed to be detaching hersel rom the world& growing e+er lighter Om!s clara&P&more transparent OaYn m!s claraP& more winged&- 2C893 and at hisdeath& murmuring& -4lara& clearest& clair+oyant- 2D13$ 4lara's emaleospring are christened with seried synonyms Blanca means white&lba means dawn& the beginning o light& -4lara- both diused andrenewed$

@i*e orrison with 5ilate& llende locates 4lara as the site o naming>and this wrests damic power rom her husband& %rueba$ hen she is pregnant& he starts

-I hope this time it will be a boy so we can gi+e him my name&- IO %rueba P jo*ed$

-It's not one& it's two&- 4lara replied$ -%he twins will be called Jaime

and (icol!s& respecti+ely&- she added$

9H



$$$I got urious& arguing that those were names or oreign merchants&that no one in my amily or hers had e+er had such names& that at leastone o them should be called :steban& li*e mysel and my ather& but

4lara e.plained that repeating the same name just caused conusion inher noteboo*s that bore witness to lie$ Aer decision was inle.ible$2113

;espite %rueba's temporary irst person narrati+e -control- in thissection o the no+el& 4lara's appropriation o his rights o namingdisplays llende's irony& or %rueba delimits his e.pansi+e use o thedroit du seigneur precisely on the basis o maintaining a economically-pure- and patriarchal amilial structure

hene+er a woman showed up at his door with a newborn baby in her arms as*ing or his surname$$$he would send her away$$$$ Ae iguredthat when he was ready to ha+e children he would ind a woman o hisown class& with the blessings o the 4hurch& because the only oneswho really counted were the ones who bore their ather's surname> theothers might just as well not ha+e been born$ 2HH3

Let ultimately his amily also rejects his surname and the +alues it

signiies$

long with her power o naming& 4lara's clair+oyance& li*e 5ilate'smagic storytelling& is a commodity that men wish to pri+ati#e andcontrol$ %rueba belie+es that Blanca will beneit rom limitede.posure to her mother's magic$ Ae thin*s& with absolute conidence&that her -destiny was marriage and a brilliant lie in society& where theability to con+erse with the dead& i *ept on a ri+olous le+el& could be

an asset$ Ae maintained that magic& li*e coo*ing$$$was a particularlyeminine aair- 21DH3$ %rueba's tri+iali#ation o his wie's anddaughter's magical inclinations conirms his ear o the public& theemini#ed political& and the power o the magical ,or to what& by theend o this no+el& will 4hile's dead be testiying< %rueba responds tothe power o the magical by mo+ing rom the amilial to the protected political$ hen 4lara's mother& (i+ea& worries that -people are goingto start lining up and loo*ing at O 4lara P as i she were a monster&- her ather anticipates -the damage to his political career that could be

9



caused by ha+ing a bewitched child in the amily- 293$ omen's power& e+en when obscured by the prepubescent gender neutrality o achild& is tolerated by men i it does not impinge on the masculinist

world o public aairs$/ltimately& it is Blanca's political and se.ual displays rather than her magical ones that cause her ather displeasure$ %he conlict betweenwomen's desires& e.pressions& and the e.pectations o their decorumwithin the established social order is at issue when %rueba responds toBlanca's lo+e or 2and lo+ema*ing with3 the peasant and politicalsinger 5edro %ercero$ s he wishes to domesticate her magical power&he also wishes to delimit any step outside o the paternally protected

domestic world& particularly one that in his se.ualQpolitical economysignals a -all- ter disco+ering her aair& %rueba beats Blanca andthen +ents his anger on 4lara& accusing her o raising her daughter -without morals& without religion& without principles& li*e a libertineatheist& e+en worse& without a sense o her own class$-

-5edro %ercero hasn't done a thing you ha+en't done yoursel&- 4larasaid when she could interrupt him$ -Lou also slept with unmarriedwomen not o your own class$ %he only dierence is that he did it or lo+e$ nd so did Blanca$-

%rueba stared at her Oand thenP he lost control and struc* her in theace& *noc*ing her against the wall$ 2C003

In his consideration o the aair& %rueba erases his daughter'sdisplayed agency and& instead o assuming his own& insists on hiswie's responsibility$ By denying his role in the upbringing or which

he upbraids 4lara& he implies that the mother& oman& :+e isresponsible or her -all$- hile 4lara is implicated in this all& shehersel has not orsa*en the pri+ileges she enjoys as a yet nonallenwoman$ hen 4lara responds by naming %rueba's beha+ior& howe+er&she too& o+ersteps the line$ It is 4lara's bringing %rueba's past rom theunspo*en to the articulated pri+ate that precipitates his stri*ing her$%his deining act symboli#es 4lara's step beyond the slash separatingthe allenQnonallen opposition& or the +iolence he had directed at

98



other women and rom which he had rerained with 4lara is what hadmar*ed her -pri+ileged- and contained status$

4lara& li*e 5ilate& and li*e /rsula in One !undred "ears of #olitude&appropriates naming power& that is& ontological power$ 4ritic GordonBrotherston asserts about One !undred "ears of #olitude that -theO Buendía P amily$$$owes its e.istence and its coherence to /rsula&their guardian$ Aer insight alone can detect the -real- moti+es behindher ospring's actions> her memory alone can retain their history$-1C

)imilarly& 5ilate is responsible or il*man's conception and birth$)he gi+es her sister,in, law uth a potion to add to acon's ood inorder to bring him bac*& i temporarily& to their unshared bed$ nd the

%rueba amily owes its e.istence to 4lara& who seems to attract %ruebamagically to marry her$

4lara and 5ilate pass this deining power on to their descendants$ lba-writes- the te.t that becomes the no+el that we read with the help o 4lara's noteboo*s& which name and -bear witness to lie$- hen lbais being tortured under :steban García's direction& -her Grandmother 4lara& whom she had in+o*ed so many times to help her die& appearedwith the no+el idea that the point was not to die since death cameanyway& but to sur+i+e& which would be a miracle$ 4lara also broughtthe sa+ing idea o writing in her mind& without paper or pencil& to *eepher thoughts occupied and to escape the doghouse and li+e- 213$1D

s 5ilate teaches il*man the s*ills that sa+e him the night o thehunt& and that allow him to memori#e the song o )olomon when hehad neither pencil nor pen& so through 4lara's teaching lba li+es$ ndas il*man sings to the dying 5ilate the song she sang as he was being born& so lba li+es to ta*e on 4lara's tas* o recording amily

history and politici#ing it$

ware o the separation o the magical and the historical in One

!undred "ears of #olitude& llende sub+erts the potential apoliticismo magic realism$ t the end o The !ouse of the #2irits& she eclipsesmagic with political realities& oregrounding the historical legacy preser+ed and handed down& as magic was earlier& by her womencharacters$ ario ojas argues that -%he Aouse o the )pirits- is aemino,centric no+el in that the emale characters here are not in the

99



traditional roles ound in masculine writing& but rather are orce ieldsthat challenge patriarchal despotism& social,se.ual prejudices&dictatorship and political repression$-1 nother critic argues that the

eminist perspecti+e llende brings to her no+el -surely pre+ents itrom being categori#ed as a mere rewor*ing o One !undred "ears of

#olitude$-1 %he critic's choice o -mere- e.presses the dynamics o reception with a no+el that so hea+ily rewor*s a 2male3 master$1H Inother words& llende's allusions in this irst no+el& or some who ha+eread García !r"ue#'s earlier masterpiece o magic realism& wor* tooloudly$ But rather than being simply mimetic& they oten create te.tualruptures& spaces through which she both emini#es and politici#es themagical mode$

llende's ultimate allegiance to the political and historical mar*s her te.t's dierence rom García !r"ue#'s$ eerring to One !undred

"ears of #olitude& Brotherston states that -the greater the danger that agi+en e+ent may seem to be historical& the stronger is García!r"ue#'s mythical antidote the banana company's massacre o thousands o stri*ers& or e.ample is ollowed by endless rain$$$whichwashes away precise memory$- llende in+erts this techni"ue ,, the

stronger the historical moment& the more distant the magical ,, as i tocounter the threat o history becoming -merely- enchanted and sosubsumed$ %he historical reerences in llende's no+el are e.plicitthough she ne+er mentions 4hile& se+eral o her characters ob+iouslyrepresent 4hilean political igures$ Blanca's lo+er& 5edro %erceroembodies the amous political poetQsinger ictor Jara& whose handswere also mutilated$ %he 5oet& with his ship igure collection and hisdeath soon ater that o the 5resident& is ob+iously 5ablo (eruda$ %he4andidateQ 5resident is& o course& llende's uncle& )al+ador llende$

%hese characters are irmly rooted in their historical conte.t in themwe ind no traces o the earlier domestic magic o 4lara and her emale ospring$

In the beginning o The !ouse of the #2irits llende seems to employa emini#ed magic realism as a techni"ue to pull the reader into a political,historical no+el$ I& as )u!re#,urias suggests& -myths andhistorical reerences coe.ist> they nurture each other- 21003& in The

!ouse of the #2irits& they most oten do so only in the isolated

100



domestic spaces that 4lara's amily inhabits$ In Narrative Magi in

the Fition of *sabel Allende& 5atricia Aart goes e+en urther&suggesting that there is a -continuous campaign during the no+el$$$to

place magical realism in tri+ial settings$- ith the e.ception o thelimited town reactions to osa the Beautiul and the interaction o theora sisters and their sKanced entourage& the magical world o 4laraand her amily is theirs alone> or& at least& we ha+e little indication o how their magic interacts with the rest o the community& as )u!re#,urias' analysis would posit it must$ s a result& the immediacy o this world ades ater (ana& (i+ea& and 4lara die$ lba attests to this&saying -It is a delight or me to read O4lara'sP noteboo*s rom thoseyears& which describe a magic world that no longer e.ists$$$where the

prosaic truth o material objects mingled with the tumultuous realityo dreams and the laws o physics and logic did not always apply- 28C&emphasis mine3$ By the no+el's close& lba has little living access toher magical matrilineage$ ?nly the memory o the magical sur+i+es& but this memory helps lba to sur+i+e the penetration o the patrilinear political sphere$ In contrast to orrison& where myths andhistorical reerences do coe.ist throughout the no+el& the magic inllende's world is swept away by the political cataclysm she

describes$

It is a critical commonplace to note that marginali#ed authors codetheir te.ts when they ha+e reason to anticipate that their perspecti+eswill threaten an audience's assumptions and challenge hegemonies thatha+e the power to silence their +oicing$ 6or /$)$ readers& e.plicit politics in the no+el may suggest -gauche- reenactments o the protestno+el& the potential compromising o aesthetics or -mere- polemics$/$)$ critics still spea* o llende's 2and others'3 ability to -transcend-

the political$ llende seems to ha+e reali#ed that the literary mar*et o readers and critics e.pects @atin merican no+els to ollow the patterno a amily chronicle in a magical world$ nd it is e.actly thisstereotypical +ision o @atin merican iction on which manyre+iewers ha+e myopically ocused$ any @atin merican maleauthors enjoy a+id international audiences> llende has been one o aew post,Boom @atin merican woman no+elists who does$ )hema*es a conscious and politically astute gesture& I would argue& to

maneu+er within the realms o politics and magic to create the wedge

101



that gained her boo* crosso+er status$ obert ntoni suggests that-there is a gradual shit in the ocali#ation$$$as the boo* shits$$$romamily saga 2antasy3& to lo+e story& to political history$- )he uses

magic to engage her reader> this is hardly an -alluring& sometimesmagical tale OandP tumultuous story o lo+e among three generations&- but rather a powerul icti+e inter+ention in the historical constructiono the 4hilean coup$

III

here there is a woman there is magic$$$$ %his woman is a consort o the spirits$ ,, (to#a*e )hange& #assafras, C02ress and *ndigo

%he mythical and magical do not ade in orrison's narrati+e butrather become sharper& more immediate as il*man's story unolds$Guided by 5ilate& il*man tra+els rom his ather's world& in whichthere is no room or spirits or spirituality& to his own where he absorbshis history& and li*e his grandather& learns to ly$ orrison says that in#ong of #olomon& she blends -the acceptance o the supernatural and a proound rootedness in the real world at the same time& without oneta*ing precedence o+er the other$- )u!re#,urias suggests that centralto magic realism is -the +alidity o interior worlds o aith which blossom in e+eryday realities and coe.ist with other a+ailablerealities- 2103$ orrison's no+el is an e.ample o a wor* where themythical and the historical coe.ist and& indeed& nurture each other$

s 4lara is the principal +essel o magic in The !ouse of the #2irits&5ilate unctions as its center in #ong of #olomon6 il*man conirmsthis when he thin*s to himsel -Aere he was wal*ing around in themiddle o the twentieth century trying to e.plain what a ghost had

done$ But why not<$$$?ne act was certain 5ilate did not ha+e a na+eland i that was true anything could be- 2C983$ 5ilate's perectly smooth belly acts as il*man's conirming reerent he measures the limits o -reality- against that which he *nows$ Ae *nows that 5ilate has nona+el& and so he reasons& -why can't ghosts e.ist<-

il*man's belies are not conined to domestic realities> rather& theyare shared with and by the community$ 5ilate's daughter eba's ight

10C



with her most recent man illustrates the community's collecti+eacceptance

ew neighbors who had heard eba's screams had gathered in5ilate's bac*yard$ %hey *new right away that the man was a newcomer to the city$ ?therwise he would ha+e *nown$$$not to ool with anythingthat belonged to 5ilate& who ne+er bothered anybody& was helpul toe+erybody& but who also was belie+ed to ha+e the power to stepoutside o her s*in& set a bush aire rom ity yards& and turn a maninto a ripe rutabaga ,, all on account o the act that she had no na+el$293

5ilate reads her neighbor's respect dierently> she eels that her ha+ingno na+el isolates her rom her people& -or& e.cept or the relati+e blisson the island Owhere no one *new her secretP& e+ery other resourcewas denied her partnership in marriage& conessional riendship& andcommunal religion$ en rowned& women whispered and sho+ed their children behind them- 2183$ Let in truth the community o the)outhside accepts her> theirs is a relationship o dynamic resource$ather than isolating 5ilate& they build their own intricate sets o belies around her dierence> and once they ha+e deined it and itslimitations& they play by the rules they ha+e established$ hen eba'sman beats her& the community eels that he should ha+e *nown not tomess with -anything that belonged to 5ilate$$$$ )o they didn't ha+emuch sympathy or him$ %hey just craned their nec*s to hear better what 5ilate was telling him- 293$ il*man is not 5ilate's sole listener>as she does with her nephew& 5ilate tells the community a story$ ?ncethe story is o+er& and eba's man has run o down the road& -aneighbor oered to dri+e them Oto the hospitalP and o they went-

293$ )o the broader community supports her& i sometimesgrudgingly$ arcelline accepts eba's Aagar rushing into The #ho22e

at closing time& e.pecting somebody to do her hair& because she's5ilate's -5ilate *now I turned her down she wouldn't li*e it- 2D1H3$ sGuitar and il*man ha+e learned& the community *nows thatdierence must be respected and learned rom$

hat is commonly regarded as lying outside the parameters o -reality- in the estern world is accepted and conirmed by the

10D



community in #ong of #olomon$ )u!re#,urias argues that this aithdierentiates magic realism rom antastic or surrealistic literature$orrison approaches the magical in #ong of #olomon through the

e+eryday& placing it within her cultural conte.t$ rican mericans-are a +ery practical people&- she tells us -but within that practicalitywe also accept what I suppose could be called superstition and magic$hich is another way o *nowing things$$$$ %o blend those two worldstogether at the same time is enhancing$- It is this cosmology that lejo4arpentier spea*s o in his 199 essay o deinition& -@o realmara+illoso americano&- to be ound at the end o this course$ Aere&or the irst time& he distinguishes surrealism and the antastic rom lo

real maravilloso on the ground that it does not e.plore another or

second reality& but rather ampliies the parameters o our presentreality$ 4ritic ;arwin %urner asserts that orrison& too& ampliies thatreality$ )he -commands the storyteller's s*ill to persuade a reader tosuspend disbelie by disco+ering the credibility in the magic o thetale- and thus brings her or him into this world o ampliied realities$oreo+er& she oten does this through the storytelling itsel$ %hereader has no pri+ileged relation with an omniscient narrator butlearns at the same time and in the same way as& or e.ample& uth&

il*man's mother& does$ %hrough this storytelling strategy& as 5ilateunolds the tale to uth& we irst disco+er that 5ilate has seen her ather -acon seen him too$ ter we buried him& ater he was blowno that ence$ e both seen him$ I see him still$ Ae's helpul to me&real helpul$ %ells me things I need to *now- 2113$ %he audience become -participatory readers&- e.tended listeners o the tale and thusinclined& by e.tension& to imbibe the cosmology o the community$

In contrast to the ;el alle world& characters who are not 5ilate's

amily members may also e.perience this world o tal*ing ghosts andstrange premonitions$ 6urthermore& 5ilate is not the only storyteller rom whom we hear these e+ents$ acon's wor*man& 6reddie& tellsil*man stories o his amily -Ghosts *illed my mother&- hee.plains -)he was wal*ing cross the yard with this neighbor riendOand there wasP a woman comin down the road$$$$ hen the womangot near& the neighbor called out howdy and soon's she said the word&the woman turned into a white bull$ ight beore their eyes- 21103$

(or is the belie in the magical conined to the community o the

10



Bloodban* and stories o their ancestors$ ;uring il*man andGuitar's irst storytelling session on 5ilate's porch& she tells them o the man she wor*ed or whom she tried to sa+e rom alling o a cli

one day as he stood in the *itchen as*ing her or some coeeAe said he couldn't igure it out& but he elt li*e he was about to allo a cli$ )tanding right there on that yellow and white and redlinoleum& as le+el as a latiron$$$$ )o I told the man did he want me tohold on to him so he couldn't all$ Ae loo*ed at me with the mostgrateul loo* in the world$ -ould you<-$$$But as soon's I let go he elldead,weight to the loor$$$$ nd you *now what< Ae went down soslow$ I swear it too* three minutes- 213

It is not the reality o the cli we are con+inced o> rather& it is thee.perience that 5ilate and this man share and the intensity o his aiththat we are e.pected to belie+e$ Interestingly& the two ,, the reality o the cli and the man's belie in it ,, are e"ually -magical&- as are their conse"uences$ %hey aptly demonstrate the 4arpentier's ampliicationo the categories o the real$

orrison pulls readers into her own ampliied reality ,, a reality

solidly rooted in the world o rican mericans& in blac* culturaltraditions$ %he aith that is a necessary component o magic realism isorganic to the cosmology upon which orrison draws$ 6or thisreason& magic is clearly present throughout orrison's iction in #ula&most notably in the ;eweys and the plague o birds that precede )ula'sreturn> in Tar $ab0& in the blind horsemen that inhabit Isle de4he+aliers and the breathta*ing scene o the rican woman in theyellow dress who spits at Jadine while balancing an egg on her

shoulder$ $eloved 's most basic premise lies in the magical it is thecommunity's shared belie in magic that enables them to sa+e )etherom its negati+e eects$

%his cosmology has complicated the reception o orrison's no+els&or readers are drawn into a space that seems to suspend their usualconnections to the -logical- and the -real- Let orrison's world is nota antastic one cut o rom cultural and communal traditions& butrather it is closely tied to them$ %he magic in her iction unctions to

10



bring readers into a space that is clearly rican merican and is sowithout pretense or e.planation$

In an inter+iew& orrison asserts o the lying myth in #ong of

#olomon= -I it means Icarus to some readers& ine> I want to ta*ecredit or that$ But my meaning is speciic it is about Blac* peoplewho could ly$ %hat was always part o the ol*lore in my lie> lyingwas one o our gits$ I don't care how silly it may seem$$$$ it's in thespirituals and gospels$ 5erhaps it was wishul thin*ing$$$but suppose itwasn't<- )olomon& the lying rican& is not simply a antastic igmento a single author's imagination> rather& he springs rom her imagination and blac* cultural traditions$ %hat he is presented in her

no+el without e.planation ,, his -git- is simply assumed& as is all o the magic in the no+el ,, demonstrates the element o aith in magicand represents a brea* with the e.planatory mode o rican mericanliterature$ -I don't *now why I should be as*ed to e.plain&-orrisonasserts$ )he does not write to oer legitimation or her culture& her traditions& her words$ In many ways though& orrison's role ise.planatory& or she reco+ers history or her people& using her language on her own terms$

I$

hile we remained silenced it was as i nothing e+er happened> thatwhich isn't named& almost doesn't e.ist$ ,, Isabel llende& :+a @una

llende and orrison use magical realism dierently llende to bridge the powerul story o a troubled political era and orrison tostrengthen generational ties to rican merican cosmologies and thusoer to a deracinated generation strategies or sur+i+al$ Let& they

assume similar responsibilities$ 4lara& lba& and 5ilate are thestorytellers> they are women recording history$ Aer no+els& orrisontells us& -should clariy the roles that ha+e become obscured> theyought to identiy those things in the past that are useul and thosethings that are not> and they ought to gi+e nourishment$- %his& too& isllende goal -In %he Aouse o the )pirits-& in some sense Irecuperated the world that I had lost& that was ta*en rom me$ I eel asi The !ouse of the #2irits is the si#e and orm o a bric* to show theworld what was my house$- :ach +ision reac"uaints us with a history

10H



that has been erased or that has written women out o it> each wor*s to*eep memories ali+e so that we can learn rom past mista*es& so thatwe can ta*e a bric* and use it in the oundations o what we build$

Let neither llende nor orrison attempts to oer deiniti+ee.planations$ alter Benjamin suggests that the storyteller's counsel-is less an answer to a "uestion than a proposal concerning thecontinuation o a story which is unolding$- Both The !ouse of the

#2irits and #ong of #olomon resist linearity and closure$ orrisonincorporates material that -suggests what the conlicts are& what the problems are$ But it need not sol+e those problems because it is not acase study& it is not a recipe$- Both no+els wor* richly with the tas*

orrison suggests$ Both are -beautiul and powerul& but$$$also wor* to record and reclaim their histories&- histories that& li*e 4lara's name&enlighten& and li*e 5ilate's& point the way to an understanding o the past and thus to a more ruitul rec*oning with the present and uture$

10



Saleem Fathered + (s,ar: Midnight-s Children! Magic Realism!

and The Tin Drum

)alman ushdie Midnight's Children 219813 is characteri#edthroughout by a translation& as lamboyant as it is s*illul& o themes&topoi& e+ents& characters& images& and abo+e all rhetorical andmetaphorical strategies& rom western ictions& o which GabrielGarcia !r"ue# One !undred "ears of #olitude 219H3 and G7nter Grass' The Tin (rum 21993 are the two most signiicant& into theIndian terms o ushdie's own narrati+e$ agic realism is& amongother things& a shorthand term or many o these strategies Midnight's

Children owes its -magic&- one could say& to García !r"ue# and its-realism- to G7nter Grass& e+en though such a ormulation smac*s o that somewhat primiti+e +ersion o interte.tuality employed by Grass'hero& ?s*ar& when he -shuleOsP the loose lea+es o as2utin andO Goethe'sP 4letive Affinities li*e playing cards& so creating a new boo*- 2G 8H3$

Midnight's Children as*s to be categori#ed as magic realism& i only

because o its ob+ious and oten,noted indebtedness to García!r"ue#& the fons et origo o magic realism or the present generation$In its multiplied antasies& its introductions o the supernatural into thee+eryday& its hauntings and its -traic o the dead- 2G D83& itscharacters atally crushed by their obsessions& and abo+e all in itsapocalyptic +ision o the e.tinction o a amily rom the earth&standing synecdochically& at its conclusion& or a more generalapocalypse& it is indeed a most -!r"ue#an- boo*& and its magic islargely a -!r"ue#an- magic$ But insoar as Midnight's Children can be seen or the most part as an imitation o history& it is chielyindebted to The Tin (rum$ In boo*s where ambiguous paternity ormsa large part o the search or origins 2and in a metaiction where-origins- must also be metate.tual ones3& the putati+e ather o ushdie's hero,narrator& )aleem )inai& must be 2by a somewhat subtler genealogial model o interte.tuality3 Grass' dwar& ?s*ar& e+enthough& metaphorically spea*ing& )aleem thin*s o himsel as-athered by history- 2 1183$

108



Both Grass' and ushdie's heroes are -handcued to history- 2 C03&obliged to bear witness to their times& with -no getting away rom thedate- 2 93 or either o them$ Lear by year& e+ent by e+ent& the times

build up their sel+es as well as their stories> -mysel& in my historicalrole- 2 8H3 lin*s sel and story through comic #eugmas o synchronicity& li*e ?s*ar's obser+ation that -=urt's whooping cough&simultaneously with the ri*a =orps& came to an end- 2D0H3& andhyperbolic assertions o responsibility& li*e )aleem's comment that-(ehru's death$$$too& was all my ault- 2C93$

%his is a completely dierent notion o the historical rom that oundin Garcia !r"ue#& where time is measured not by dates but by

generations o unli*ely length> cyclical time is at odds with linear time> the connections to *ey elements o @atin merican history ingeneral or to 4olombian history in particular are deliberately styli#edand abstracted> the boo* is more about Aistory than it is about thehistory o 4olombia$ Indeed& 4olonel ureliano Buendía& who isGarcía !r"ue#'s nearest approach to a historical character& either e.trinsically 2being& it seems& modeled on an actual historicalcharacter3 or intrinsically 2being acondo's chie lin* to the rest o the

world in historical& political& and military terms3& has a historical statuse.plicitly deconstructed within the te.t -the proprietress argued$$$that4olonel ureliano Buendía& o whom she had indeed heard spea* atsome time& was a igure in+ented by the go+ernment as a prete.t or *illing @iberals- 2D93$ -eal acts that no one belie+ed in- jostle -thealse O+ersionsP that historians had created- 2DCC3 to deconstruct&indeed& the +ery notion o history$

)aleem and ?s*ar share grotes"ue physical deormities by the end o

the boo* they are both impotent and suering the e.cruciating painso physical dissolution$ Indeed& )aleem has become& in his own eyes&-a big,headed& top,hea+y dwar- 2 3$ %hey share& urther& analienated perspecti+e on their world& and a picares"ue lie journeyappropriate to a tric*sterQartist,hero with a thousand,and,one aces andse+eral names> but& abo+e all& they share an artistic compulsion to see* their own identity through& in )tephen =ellman's phrase& a -sel, begetting no+el&- one which will also account or the history o their

time and place$ )aleem's ace is -the whole map o *ndia- 2CD13 and

109



his thirty years o lie are a microcosm o India's thirty,year courserom Independence through :mergency 219,83$ @i*e ?s*ar& -thereal lead OwhoP had been cast in the role o an e.tra- 2- CH3& )aleem&

this -perennial +ictim Oo historyP& persists in seeing himsel as OitsP protagonist- 2 CD3$

t the +ery beginning o his story& ushdie pays conspicuous thoughobli"ue tribute to Grass in his account o the German connections o )aleem's supposed grandather& adam #i#$ #i# spent i+e years inGermany> his nose yields three drops o blood 2 103 in seeming echoo the three 5arsialian drops on the snow to which ?s*ar alludes 2-93> his German anarchist riends& ?s*ar 2who& incidentally&

-died$$$li*e a comedian- O C9P3 and Ilse& unsettle his uslim andIndian presuppositions& yet at the same time distance him with their -?rientalist- notion -that India ,, li*e radium ,, had been 'disco+ered' by the :uropeans$$$that he O#i# P was somehow the in+ention o their ancestors- 2 113$ %hus ushdie& although he +alori#es many o Grass'literary strategies throughout& ma*es clear that he will transpose or translate them on his own terms$ )ince 2in his re+iew o García!r"ue# Chronile of a (eath Foretold 3 ushdie sees -:l realismo

magical& magic realism& at least as practiced by O García P !r"ue#&OasP a de+elopment out o )urrealism that e.presses a genuinely '%hirdorld' consciousness&- it is not surprising that he inds its techni"ueshelpul in ma*ing such transpositions$ ushdie might well agree with)tephen )lemon that -ead as post,colonial discourse$$$magic realismcan be seen to pro+ide a positi+e and liberating response to the codeso imperial history and its legacy o ragmentation and discontinuity-2C13$ s runa )ri+asta+a has pointed out 2HH,C3& ushdie poses anideological& postcolonial opposition to that linear& imperialist +ersion

o history which represses and distorts India's own sense o its history$In her terms& )aleem both suers rom and reports on a -disease o history- in need o (iet#schean& 6oucauldian& perhaps especially2ahatma3 Gandhian& medicines$

-%o understand just one lie& you ha+e to swallow the world- 2 1093$It is legitimate to see this ,, as )ri+asta+a does ,, as a speciicallyIndian urge to encapsulate the whole o reality$ nd I ha+e not

orgotten that Ganesh& the elephant,headed Indian -patron deity o

110



literature&- is the patron deity o idnight's 4hildren& that )aleem hasone Indian parent and that idnight's 4hildren as metaiction is&among other things& as %imothy Brennan tells us& a speciically

postcolonial metaiction& -OaP no+el$$$about %hird,orld no+els- 28>my emphasis3$ But or my immediate purpose I need to stress thatushdie& li*e Grass and García !r"ue#& is writing an -encyclopedic-iction& and to do so he is deploying strategies adapted largely romthese two major estern models$ %his adaptation Brennan describesaccurately 2albeit somewhat pejorati+ely3 as ushdie's -o+ertcosmopolitanism ,, OhisP %hird ,, orld thematics as seen through theelaborate ictional architecture o :uropean high art- 2C3$

:ach o the three boo*s is shaped encyclopedically& in the irstinstance& as the amily chronicle o an e.tended& claustrophobic&ingrown& "uasiincestuous& matriarchal& and doomed amily$ But Grassand ushdie& unli*e García !r"ue#& want us& ha+ing swallowed theworld and the amily& to go on to -understand one lie$- The Tin (rum

and Midnight's Children are& o course& both Bildungsromans ,, indeed Knstlerromans ,, as well as genealogical allegori#ings o historicaland metate.tual particularities$ Both autobiographies start&

)handeanly& well in ad+ance o the hero's birth$ )aleem's listener ears&indeed& that he will ne+er reach it -Lou better get a mo+e on or you'lldie beore you get yoursel born- 2D83$ Both are much concerned withtracing origins& and particularly with establishing paternity& or the (ame o the 6ather is multiple in each$ ?s*ar is sure& at least& who hismother is& but has a choice o two athers> )aleem collects athersthroughout the boo* 2though his biological or -true- ather turns out&signiicantly or the interte.tual allegory& to be an :nglishman3 andhas at least three mothers$ %hey pass their ambiguity o origins on to

the ne.t generation =urt 2he o the whooping cough3 is 2probably3 theson o ?s*ar's 2probable3 ather rather than ?s*ar's own son> =urt& the blac* mar*eteer& the "uintessence o the normal and ordinary in postwar Germany& ine+itably and rom the beginning rejects ?s*ar's paternal claim upon him ,, a taste or drumming& ?s*ar has to admit&is not inheritable$ adam )inai& on the other hand& although certainlynot )aleem's son& has the elephant ears that go with )aleem's elephantnose to assert a clear ainity o Ganesh,li*e temperament$ It seems

111



li*ely that adam will ac*nowledge )aleem's paternal claim uponhim$

?s*ar and )aleem are both -thirty,year,old heroes&- in %heodoreTiol*ows*i's sense o the term$ %hey retreat& at thirty& to -the ringes-o lie 2- 1D83& an insane asylum and a pic*le actory& respecti+ely& torec*on up the moral debts o an indi+idual as well as a collecti+e pastand to come to grips with their own share o collecti+e responsibilityand guilt or -those who had come to grie on the shoal o OourPe.istence- 2- H93$ %hen& acing the indestructible principles o e+il intheir li+es& ?s*ar's -ic*ed itchQBlac* as pitchM- and )aleem'sidow 2a -Blac* ngel- whose historical maniestation was Indira

Gandhi3& and ha+ing written these boo*s as testaments& they turntoward death$ %hey are -human beingOsP to whom history could do nomore- 2 3$

%hese two heroes are both rea*s who& or much o their li+es& possessa pair o uncanny powers )aleem's telepathy and sense o smell>?s*ar's impossibly e.pressi+e drumming and glass,shattering +oice$%hey are both clairaudient rom birth -I lay in my crib and listened&and e+erything that happened& happened because o me- 2 1DD> c$ -

03$ Born under strange circumstances& surrounded by omens and prophecies& endowed with ambiguous talents& these child,+oyeurslearn too much& or -the grownups li+ed their li+es in OtheirP presencewithout ear o being obser+ed- 2 1C93$

-I was lin*ed to history both literally and metaphorically& both acti+elyand passi+ely&- says )aleem $ Ais and ?s*ar's passi+e roles aswitnesses and their magical capacities or witnessing pro+ide a

pseudorealistic rationale or their accounts o both pri+ate and publichistory& in which their more acti+e role usually ta*es the orm o strange inluences o+er crowds and indi+iduals$ 6urthermore& they both play at being messianic$ ?s*ar becomes the leader o the gang o ;usters& or whom his glass,shattering +oice ma*es him a moc*,4hrist> )aleem becomes the leader o the 5a*istani army trac*ingteam& or whom the guiding power o his remar*able nose ma*es hima moc*,Buddha$ %hey are also or a while part o small collecti+es o similar rea*s$ ?s*ar's riendship with his ellow,dwars anticipates

11C



both )aleem's uneasy ellowship& by way o the telepathic lin*ing between him as human radio recei+er and the 'gang' o idnight's4hildren 2the thousand and one children born at the midnight o

India's independence3& and his later and easier one with his ellowentertainers& the magicians o the (ew ;elhi ghetto$ Both heroes losetheir primary powers under similarly dramatic circumstances$ 6irst amisguided sinus operation on )aleem's titanically o+erstued nosedepri+es him o the apparent source o his telepathic powers& and thenthe blow o a -sil+er spittoon- at his -parents' uneral pyre- 2DD3depri+es him o his magic sense o smell$ ?s*ar starts to grow againater being struc* by a stone at his putati+e ather's uneral& which blow 2echoing his original all downstairs as )aleem's loss echoes his

original nasal episode and his concussion3 prompts ?s*ar& li*e a tiny5rospero& to bury his drum and return& part,way& to normal lie$ (otethat here& as oten& ushdie multi2lies episodes rom Grass> in thiscase he is doubling the e+ents which irst pro+ide and then ta*e awaytheir special magic powers$

)aleem and ?s*ar are witnesses to their places as well as to their times$

García !r"ue#'s acondo is a landscape o the soul& one shiting phantasmagorically o+er time in si#e& status& and culture& whileushdie's Bombay and Grass' ;an#ig are utterly speciic& time,bound&mappable urban topographies& to which we are gi+en city guides& aswell as bird's,eye +iews with both spatial and temporal perspecti+e-?ur Bombay& 5admaM$$$ grew at brea*nec* speed& ac"uiring acathedral and an e"uestrian statue o the ahratta warrior,*ing )i+ajiwhich 2we used to thin*3 came to lie at night and galloped awesomely

through the city streets ,, right along arine ;ri+eM ?n 4howpattysandsM- 29D3$ )aleem can ne+er be as inward as this with the places o his e.ile& in 5a*istan 2-I won't deny it I ne+er orga+e =arachi or not being Bombay- O D0P3& any more than ?s*ar can render the speciicactuality o ;7sseldor with the same passionate attention which has been s"uandered on e+ery stone and corner o ;an#ig$ %heir +isions o their respecti+e cities are small,scale +ersions o their synoptic +isionso :urope& India& and the world

11D



I ha+e made the istula and the )eine low and set the wa+es o theBaltic and tlantic dashing against coasts o pure disembodiedstring$$$the resulting landscape$$$I call :urope or short$ 2- 08> c$

DD& D8& D83%he world as disco+ered OtelepathicallyP rom a bro*en,downcloc*tower Oli*e ?s*ar's +iew o ;an#ig rom the )toc*turm& -

9HP$$$in 4alcutta I slept rough in a section o drainpipe$ By nowthoroughly bitten by the tra+el bug& I #ipped down to 4ape 4omorinand became a isherwoman$$$standing on red sands washed by threeseas$ 2 1D3

?s*ar's +ision o the world is also a +ision o world war -OPt my eetI saw not only :urope but the whole world$ mericans and Japanesewere doing a torch,dance on the island o @u#on$$$ountbatten waseeding Burmese elephants shells o e+ery caliber$$$while rain ell inIreland& O=onie+ and Thu*o+P bro*e through on the istula- 2DD3$

%he thirty years o history to which 2and or which3 these heroes eelresponsible include partitions& shiting o boundaries& transers o population& -ten million reugees- 2 D3& racism& atrocity& war$

German currency reorm& leading to the -economic miracle- or thesole beneit o the -bourgeois,smug&- has its analogies in the years o the great land reclamations which ga+e Bombay its hollow goldenage$ %hese two postwar prosperities are sharply satiri#ed or their rauds& a*es& and complacencies$

Louth gangs 2similarly nic*named3 are proleptic or adult gangs ineach boo*& as the child,hero alls +ictim to his contemporaries$

certain ian bdullah& ?s*ar,li*e& shatters glass by his high,pitchedhumming& but or once ushdie miniaturi#es a point rom Grass& or bdullah smashes only a single glass eye& and one 2*ey3 window 2 83$ )mall, and large,scale irebugs destroy godowns and mills&synagogues and cities ?s*ar's catalog o ;an#ig's millennium,longhistory o arson suitably culminates with the ussian in+asion 2-D83$ %he dictatorship o Indira Gandhi& who bulldo#es slums andensures& with +asectomies and castrations& that India's hope& theidnight's 4hildren& will ha+e neither progeny nor uture& is a

11



historical clima. o e"ui+alent status& or ushdie's iction& to the persecutions o Jews in ;an#ig and other& remoter& horrors o the%hird eich& as ?s*ar percei+es them$ -6ascinated by an immediate

reality that came to be more antastic than the +ast uni+erse o OtheirPimagination&- as García !r"ue# puts it 23& ?s*ar and )aleem indthe historical actualities -antastic- to the point o horror& and oten past the point o endurance$ %hey are indeed human beings -to whomhistory could do no more$- But they are not deconstructing thehistorical in a+or o the mythical& as García !r"ue# usually does&inding& because o the alsity o history& that atrocities can only betrul0 remembered in legend$ ather& or Grass and ushdie& thehistorical has a clear ontological status& but it may be percei+ed&

described& and interpreted in such a way as to show the mar+elouslygrotes"ue inherent in the actual$

%he e+ents o history and the nature o history coalesce in that regionwhere both are made o words$ 4hoice and change o nationality gowith the juggling o boundaries> so do choice and change o language$-%he old ol*s had been turned into Germans$ %hey were 5oles nolonger and spo*e =ashubian only in their dreams- 2- C893$ %he

conse"uences o the Indian language riots& triggered in the story by)aleem's inad+ertently moc*ing Gujarati jingle& are as inlammatoryas are many o ?s*ar's drumming e.ploits -But the boundaries o these states were not ormed by ri+ers& or mountains$$$they wereinstead& walls o words$ @anguage di+ided us$$$$ I am warming o+er allthis cold history& these old dead struggles between the barrenangularity o arathi$$$and Gujarati's boggy& =athiawari sotness- 2 1893$ %hese riots -ended&- as it happened& -with the partition o thestate o Bombay- 219C3& a major historical e+ent clearly 2 2ost ho

ergo 2ro2ter ho3 brought about by )aleem's seemingly trilinginter+ention$

%he linguistic causes and conse"uences o history& which are gi+ensuch emphasis in these accounts& may ser+e to remind us that magicrealism is not only& as it is so oten described& out o partial tribute tothe painterly origins o the term& a way o seeing ,, -reality is a"uestion o perspecti+e&- says )aleem 21H3 ,, but also a way o

sa0ing6 ?n a larger scale it is a way o telling a story$ ?n a smaller

11



scale& it is a way o showing reality more truly with the aid o the+arious magics o metaphor$

Both ushdie and Grass 2unli*e García !r"ue#3 tell a irst,person&seemingly episodic story in a se"uence o chapters& grouped in eachcase into three boo*s o eight& iteen& and se+en chapters respecti+elyin Midnight's Children& o si.teen& eighteen& and twel+e chaptersrespecti+ely in The Tin (rum$ In ushdie the chapters& whichcorrespond to pic*le jars 2o which& as )aleem would say& more later3&e.plicitly add up to )aleem's age as he ends the boo* thirty$ In Grassthe last o his orty,si. chapters is called -%hirty&- or the same reason$:ach chapter in both boo*s has a title which captures pithily and

emblematically a *ey object or situation& and many o ushdie's titlesare suiciently similar to Grass' to remind us o some thematicresemblances$ 2I gi+e the ushdie title irst in each pair$3 %itles li*e-%he 5erorated )heet- and -%he ide )*irt&- -ccident in a ashing4hest- and -In the 4lothes 4upboard&- -/nder the 4arpet- and -/nder the at&- suggest& among other similarities o plot& the wombli*eretreats suited to the +oyeurism and escapism o these largely passi+eheroes$ -ll,India adio- and -)pecial 4ommuni"uKs- suggest the

metaphor o telecommunications as the means by which -news-ma*es itsel *nown& a+ailable or turning into -history$--ercurochrome- and -;isinectant- suggest the *ey role o hospitalsin each hero's lie& and ?s*ar subtitles his penultimate chapter -doration o a 5reser+ing Jar$-

)aleem and ?s*ar are writing& telling& or reading out their storieswithin a rame narrati+e& to a clearly delineated listener& a -narratee&-who is a stand,in or the implied reader and a perpetual reminder o

the present tense o narrating time$ Bruno& ?s*ar's warder in theinsane asylum& and 5adma& )aleem's ellow,pic*ler in the pic*leactory& e+entually his iancKe& but chiely his -necessary ear- 2193&are both permitted to interrupt and e+en to contribute short sections o their own$ Both pro+ide ,, 5adma through her -parado.ical earthinesso spirit- 2103 ,, some )ancho,li*e& that is& -5an#aic&- realism& somereader,responsi+eness rom within the te.t& to *eep the narrator's taleon trac* and his "ui.otic eet on the ground$

11H





*ey set o ushdie's rhetorical strategies or ma*ing themoralQemotional concrete$ )aleem's mar+elous nose can identiy -thenauseating odour o deeat- 2D13 and -the old aroma o ailure- 2C0C3

or detect that -unairness smelled li*e onions- 2D03$ -)mells assailO ?s*arP- throughout as well 2H83$ gain ushdie multi2lies aGrassian trope$

ll three authors are lin*ed through such igures o speech as thehyperboles o amnesia& or o ushdie's charming +ariation on a theme by García !r"ue# -or orty days& we were besieged by the dust- 2 C13$ )uch characteristic e.aggerations testiy to an aesthetic o abundance& the eature which most clearly distinguishes their wor*

rom the sparer imaginings o =a*a and Borges& their immediate predecessors in the interwea+ing o the tangible and the mar+elous$?ne o ushdie's minor characters encapsulates this aesthetic destiny-a painter whose paintings had grown larger and larger as he tried toget the whole o lie into his art$$$wanted to be a miniaturist and$$$gotelephantiasis insteadM- 2 83$ 5erhaps the most concentratedlymagical o such metaphors are those o abstractions reiied$ %heinectious weeping in ?s*ar's ?nion 4ellar& the objecti+e correlati+e

o the collecti+e pseudo,remorse 2ollowing the collecti+e amnesia3 o the Germans& is li*e the -pigmentation disorder- 2 193 which occursamong those prosperous Indians who turn white upon inheritingcolonial prerogati+es rom the departing British$ :ach ailment ser+esas a compact moral allegory or a collecti+e historical phase$

?s*ar's -carni+al ma*e,belie+e- 2C3& the telepathic connectionsamong the idnight's 4hildren& the games that the ;elhi magicians play with illusion& all suggest in conte.t that -eality can ha+e

metaphorical content> that does not ma*e it less real- 2 C003& butrather& in terms o magic realism& more real -O%Phe magicians were people whose hold on reality was absolute> they gripped it so powerully that they could bend it e+ery which way in the ser+ice o their arts& but they ne+er orgot what it was- 2 D993$ )aleem seems tocontrast an Indian magic realism& li*e that e.empliied by thesemagicians& with a 5a*istani antasy& denigrating the latter -OIn myIndian childhoodP I was beset by an ininity o alternati+e realities&

while in Omy 5a*istani adolescenceP I was adrit& disorientated& amid

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an e"ually ininite number o alsenesses& unrealities& and lies- 2 DCH3$ )uch an attitude has political conse"uences -=arachiites hadonly the slipperiest o grasps on reality& and were thereore willing to

turn to their leaders or ad+ice on what was real and what was not$O%hey wereP beset by illusionary sand,dunes and the ghosts o ancient*ings- 2 D083$

hat seems to be )aleem's description o his own style li*ewisesuggests a commitment to magic realism -atter o act descriptionso the outrK and bi#arre& and their re+erse& namely heightened& styli#ed+ersions o the e+eryday,these techni"ues$$$are also attitudes o mind-2 C183$ -Aeightened& styli#ed- descriptions can be ound& or

e.ample& in insertions o rerain,structured prose poems 2+ery similar in orm to some o ?s*ar's incantatory lights3 into )aleem's irst, person narration& already crammed with -matter o act descriptions o the outrK and bi#arre$-

%he magicians& li*e )aleem& bend reality without e+er orgetting whatit is$ %hey& too& are magic realists and thus e+idently artists$ But so& ina humbler way& is )aleem's oster mother& ary 5ereira -'nobodyma*es achar,chutney li*e our ary$$$because she puts her eelingsinside OitP$'- nd the eelings o others as well +ery early in his lie-she stirred O)aleem'sP guilt into green chutney- too 283$ )heresembles in this respect ?s*ar's supposed ather& at#erath& whoseepitaph is that -he& an impassioned coo*& had a *nac* or metamorphosing eelings into soup- 2- DH3$ %hese se+eral parentigures supply our artist,heroes with a method or metaphor based onthe emotional signiicance o material things& on ood as art& thehomeliest yet the most per+asi+e o the innumerable metaphors in

these boo*s or the operations o the creati+e imagination$

%he primary sel,rele.i+e image or the creati+e imagination in Midnight's Children seems to be )aleem's eponymously telepathic powers& but it is "uic*ly replaced by the more widely diusedolactory image& which& in turn& modulates into the gastronomicimages o his jars o chutney 2he is ollowing in ary's ootsteps3$@ined up& they constitute the chapters o the boo* itsel$ )imilarly&?s*ar& who can create an art wor* simply by coughing and snee#ing

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2D93& is chiely *nown or his drumming$ %his audible art orm is2synesthetically3 mirrored in Aerbert %ruc#ins*i's historical bac* scars2a tip o the hat to =a*a's -In the 5enal 4olony-<3& which are& in turn&

reproduced in Bruno's string constructions& a mise en ab0me& li*e?s*ar's -e+er so ragile house o cards- 2- CDC3& literallye.changeable with ?s*ar's own storytelling$ -:+ery time I tell OBrunoPsome airy tale& he shows his gratitude by bringing out his latest *notconstruction- 293$

)pea*ing more abstractly than usual& ?s*ar says& -ine+itably thethread o e+ents wound itsel into loops and *nots which became*nown as the abric o Aistory- 2DD3$ :+idently Bruno can& with his

string art& reiy the metaphoric -abric o history- into the concreteloops and *nots o -a igure& which in accordance with r$at#erath's O?s*ar'sP story& I O Bruno P shall call 'eugee rom the:ast'- 2083$ nd there ollows a recapitulation o ?s*ar's ad+enturesin the amiliar catalog orm ,, all turned into string& that is& Aistory$ Itclima.es in Bruno's attempt to delineate& in the orm o -a singleOstringP igure which& moreo+er& should present a striking resemblane

to himself - 2?s*ar& my emphasis3& that Goethe,asputin dialectic ,,

-how many miles o string I ha+e tied into *nots& trying to create a+alid synthesis o the two e.tremes- 21C3& Bruno complains ,, whichhas shaped ?s*ar's artistic lie$ Bruno has thus made a mise en ab0me

in string 2c$ :ddie msel& in Grass' (og "ears& who turned Aistoryinto scarecrows3 o ?s*ar's -new boo*&- The Tin (rum& itsel thesynthesis o ?s*ar's two sacred te.ts$ nd ushdie has multiplied& andcomplicated& li*e so much else in the patterns adapted rom Grass&such allegories o interte.tual origins$

%he two chie a+atars o the artist in these boo*s are those o theartistas,entertainer ,, their chie role within the ation o each boo* ,,and o the artist,as,historian ,, their chie role in the narration o each boo*$ %he two roles o+erlap in& or instance& ?s*ar's -paintOingP the bloc*ade o Berlin on the table,top with champagne- 23$ Bothheroes are aware o themsel+es in motley& as court jesters& as ools inthe carni+al tradition 2see& e$g$& - C3$ %heir most direct inluenceupon history is in such scenes as the incitements o the @anguage

iots in ushdie and the 5ied 5iping o the ?nion 4ellar in Grass&

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where their enacting o their -historical role- 2 8H3 is chielymaniested in their role as entertainers$ -:ntertainers wouldorchestrate my lie- 21013& says )aleem$ Bebra& the masterentertainer

o the troupe o dwars with whom ?s*ar is briely ailiated& li*ewiseorchestrates ?s*ar's$ Both heroes ma*e their li+ing largely asentertainers& though again art and history o+erlap in ?s*ar'semployment as a car+er o epitaphs upon gra+estones$ s narratorsthey are also entertainers> they are +ery conscious o the need to holdtheir audience& which consists& in the irst instance& o their reader,surrogates& Bruno and 5adma$ )aleem& as (ancy Batty hasemphasi#ed& is particularly struc* 2as is García !r"ue#3 by theanalogy o his role as storyteller to that o )chehera#ade and o his

story to the rame narrati+e o The Thousand and One Nights$

%he literal connections between the heroes and history are deliberatelystrained> it is a necessary iction or both narrators to see themsel+esas -protagonists&- yet& parado.ically& also as -+ictims$- But howe+er remote or indirect )aleem's and ?s*ar's -attemptOsP at rearranginghistory- 2 CH03& or howe+er strained their metaphoric grounds or supposing that they are acting upon history 2while being& at the same

time& its central +ictims3& their sel,delusion is most appropriate tomagic realism& or it empowers those subjecti+e distortions and thosegrotes"ue shits o perspecti+e that touch the historical with themar+elous$ %hese are *ey metaphoric strategies in magic realism as awhole& perhaps& insoar as it constitutes a criti"ue o history$

-y Oglass,shatteringP number was concei+ed along historical lines&-says ?s*ar 2G D183$ ?s*ar's and )aleem's obligations as historianso+erride in the end their obligations as entertainers$ %he gastronomic

metaphors or art become metaphors or history& as )aleem inally puts his whole -number- together$ -5ic*le,umes$$$stimulate the juiceso memory- 21HH3& and it is an almost 5roustian taste o chutney that brings )aleem bac* to his Bombay heritage& +ery much as ?s*ar& inthe asylum& must recollect his lie& through the process o redrummingits e+ents& in order to compose his story$ -It happened that way because that's how it happened- 2H13 is )aleem's inal& historian's& justiication or whate+er most strains credulity in his account$ %he

ma*ing o art or story is thus a perect image o the operations o

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magic realism& or what is true is also -what the author can manage to persuade his audience to belie+e- 2 C0,13$ %hus& i you are s*illedat incorporating -memories& dreams& ideas- into your chutney& and

possess -abo+e all a nose capable o discerning the hidden languageso what,must,be,pic*led&- you may& li*e )aleem& create magicthrough the mimetic& in a -chutniication o history> the grand hope o the pic*ling o timeM- 29,H03$

In this essay I ha+e only touched on the +ariety o ushdie'sinterte.tual strategies and merely suggested the astonishing density o allusions to and echoes o The Tin (rum in Midnight's Children$ (or ha+e I more than hinted at ushdie's bricolage o other te.ts& both

estern and Indian$ %o what purpose or eect is his +oraciouslyappropriati+e pastiche 2I adapt Jean 6ranco's terms here3 o G7nter Grass& amounting to& in Bader's pithy& nonjudgmental ormulation& -anIndian Tin (rum-< Gi+en that& as 6ranco puts it& -there is no innocentrelationship between discourses- 2103& what are we to ma*e o ushdie's totali#ing interte.tuality< %here is no e+idence o a satire or criti"ue o Grass$

Is ushdie& as )ri+asta+a would ha+e it& in+erting the processes o -colonial- domination& or is he displaying the -o+ertcosmopolitanism- o which Brennan& more judgmentally& spea*s< Aismimicry o Grass seems to me to be& rather& a celebration& in the modeo magic realism& o -people who had been translated& whohad$$$entered the condition o metaphor&- and o -writing$$$at therontier between$$$cultures- 2 ushdie& &oies& HD& 93$ith the help o ushdie's recent critical collection& *maginar0 !omelands& we cannow piece together the +iews that underlie his magic realism&

e.pressi+e as it is not only o a speciically -third,worldconsciousness- but also o the more generally -international- and-migrant- status that he claims to share with& among many others&G7nter Grass$ )uch a writer is ree& he says& -to choose his parents$$$OromP a polyglot amily tree- 2C0,C13 in this way& I suggest& )aleem'sinterte.tual relationship to ?s*ar is a genealogical allegory o ushdie's 'choosing' o Grass$ nd or the -migrant- writer& magicrealism is the appropriate mode& or it pro+ides the -stereoscopic

+ision- with which he can -see things plainly- enough to -in+ent the

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earth beneath his eet- 219& 1C& 193$ %hus ushdie inds themar+elous in what& li*e acondo& is magic precisely because it is real2D0C3& -imbuing the$$$world Oand the world o the te.tP with$$$radiance

and meaning- 2C13 by means o his -translation- o Grass$ -It isnormally supposed&- says ushdie& -that something always gets lost intranslation&- but he clings& -obstinately& to the notion that somethingcan also be gained- 213$

1CD



Magical *rchetpes: Midlife Miracles in The Satanic $erses

Jungian psychology& with its interest in the occult& with its high regardor primiti+e cultures and their mythological world+iews& and with itsrelentless search or mythological parallels in the dreams o modernmen and women& has the potential to inspire resh psychological perspecti+es on magical realism& which has oten been analy#ed interms o purely ormalistic or political and cultural concerns$ lthoughthe 6lemish no+elist Aubert @ampo may ta*e credit or irst sensingthe ainity o the Jungian interest in archetypal images and mythsderi+ing rom the e.perience o the collecti+e unconscious& and the phantasmagorical and mythological motis o magical realism in his19H essay (e ring van MDbius& his intuition has not yet inspired a broadly based study o the Jungian conte.t or magical realism inliterature that )eymour enton 198D study Magi ealism

edisovered & 1918,1981 ma*es the case or pri+ileging in the studyo the +isual arts$ s things stand& literary critics still need con+incingthat archetypal criticism and magical realism are made or each other$

%his essay's aims are more modest& howe+er$ It will attempt todemonstrate ,, with the hope that such a demonstration will inspireurther and more comprehensi+e studies that a Jungian psychoanalyticapproach to magical realist te.ts can be o +alue in disengaging s0mboli meaning6 )ymbolic meaning is the bridging concept thatlin*s the study o psychology and literature$ ll narrati+e te.ts,e+ente.ts li*e Madame $ovar0 that unction mainly within the charmedcircle o realism& e+en romans d'anal0se that come with their owninternal analysis o moti+ation& character& etc$ ,, are +ehicles or latentsymbolic meaning& in spite o themsel+es& so to spea*$ But magicalrealist te.ts& with their inspiredly absurd supernaturalism that+igorously resists analysis& psychological or otherwise& are primecandidates or the hermeneutics o symbolic meaning$ %here is in suchte.ts a hermeneutical blan*& a terra inognita mar*ed -here li+emonsters$- )uch magical realist monsters should be the "uarry o ahermeneutics o symbolic meaning that& when successul& will ind insymbols not only meaning but a -surplus o meaning&- to borrow 5aul

icoeur's ormulation$

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%he test case or this essay will be )alman ushdie %he #atani

&erses 2 19883& a te.t most widely *nown or its sensational role in the-ushdie air&- which has now o+ershadowed the censorship o

Joyce 3l0sses as the twentieth century's most signiicant challenge toree artistic e.pression$ It deser+es& howe+er& to be e"ually well*nown as a masterul e+ocation o a male midlie crisis in magicalrealist symbolic terms$ %o do justice to the no+el& this psychologicaltheme must be seen as important as ushdie's contro+ersialre+isioning o the oundation myth o Islam$ %he midlie phantasmagoria surrounding the all o )aladin 4hamcha and Gibreel6arishta is peopled with monsters& symbols that point to intrapsychic processes and transormations$ :+entually& the no+elist's imagination

shows the way out o the midlie labyrinth into a new lie ,, at least&or )aladin 4hamcha& one o se+eral bewitched& bothered& and bewildered orty,year,olds in The #atani &erses$

yths and dreams are oten ull o incongruous and unli*elyhappenings& and so are magical realist te.ts$ Jungian approach tosuch a te.t has the ad+antage o recogni#ing in these sensationalincongruities the mythological motis that are *eys to the

interpretation o dreams$ %his essay will proceed in three relateddirections in analy#ing the mythopoetic world o The #atani &erses$6irst o all& in the theme o light and magical descent through the air it will disco+er a symbol o the :ternal Louth's ortunate all into lieas discussed in arie,@ouise +on 6ran# now classic study o thatarchetype& uer Aeternus= A s0hologial #tud0 of the Adult #truggle

+ith the aradise of Childhood 2 1903$ s regards the typicallymagical realist theme o metamorphosis 2in this case primarily )aladin4hamcha's metamorphosis into a pop mythology de+il& complete with

hoo+es and horns3& the Jungian concept o the shado+ will allow adiscussion o political and cultural issues to eed into psychologicalissues& a discussion that does not reduce one set o concerns toanother$ 6inally& the *ey archetypal image o the :ternal Louth in The

#atani &erses 2the boy on the bicycle3 will establish the psychological conte.t o another major magical realist theme& thetheme o dream becoming reality& in an episode that is crucial or understanding the resolution at the end o the no+el o the issues

regarding midlie crisis raised at the outset$

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In spite o its alleged -diiculty- 2early deenses o the no+elsometimes seemed to imply that& since it was tedious and unreadable&it was presumably incapable o causing any serious damage to Islamic

sensibilities3& The #atani &erses belongs to a *ind o postmoderniction that seems -clearly designed or the entertainment o readers-in a way that contrasts with the deliberate hermeticism o manymodernist te.ts$ lthough it has achie+ed notoriety as the occasion or a bitter conrontation between Islamic undamentalism and esternsecularism& The #atani &erses really deser+es to be read as a serio,comic -entertainment- 2to use Graham Greene's modest generic tag3 ,,a masterpiece o the genre& one should add$ It is& as ushdie has saidmore than once& a unny no+el$ nd it is worth ta*ing seriously$

y basic "uestion would be& as regards The #atani &erses as amagical realist te.t can Jungian psychology pro+ide a conte.t thatenables the reader to detect unconscious symbolism and to assignsymbolic meaning without disregarding the te.t's own symbolicconstructs and sel,interpretations< 4onsider& or e.ample& the problems in+ol+ed with assigning meaning to the ollowinghallucination o Gibreel 6arishta 2ha+ing miraculously sur+i+ed a all

rom an e.ploding jetliner earlier in the day& he and )aladin ha+e beenta*en in by osa ;iamond& an elderly :nglishwoman whose houseo+erloo*s the :nglish 4hannel3

unning along the midnight beach in the direction o the artellotower and the holiday camp& ,, running along the water's edge so thatthe incoming tide washed away its ootprints& ,, swer+ing and einting&running or its lie& there came a ull,grown& large,as,lie ostrich$;own the beach it led& and Gibreel's eyes ollowed it in wonder& until

he could no longer ma*e it out in the dar*$ 2183

%he ostrich 2presumably a three,toed )outh merican ostrich& that is& arhea& not a true ostrich3 is clearly a reminder o osa ;iamond's aair in the rgentine pampas with a man whom she eels Gibreelmysteriously resembles$ Gibreel's synchronistic hallucination can beassigned meaning through ju.taposition with the rgentinian idyll o osa ;iamond alone$ But it also mar*s the beginning o Gibreel'sin+oluntary +isions& which are a major structural element o the no+el$

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%he presence o the artello tower reers the reader bac* to theopening o Joyce 3l0sses as a subte.t ,, but to what purpose< Isushdie presenting Gibreel as another )tephen ;edalus< It seems

unli*ely& but it is just possible> i so& are his later 2re3+isions o theoundation myth o Islam to be ta*en as similar to )tephen's ambitionsto orge in the smithy o his soul the uncreated conscience o his race<In the end& the ostrich hallucination resists interpretation> it has the playul opacity o a magical realist representation o an intrapsychice+ent& not the relati+e transparency o an allegory or o a soon,to,be,interpreted dream te.t$

By way o comparison& here is 4hristopher Isherwood's nonictional

account o an intrapsychic e+ent in a diary entry or (o+ember 1C&190

)itting with closed eyes in the dar*ness& I suddenly -saw- a strip o carpet$$$$ s I watched& I -saw&- in the middle o the carpet& a smalldirty,white bird& something li*e a parrot$ ter a moment& it began tomo+e& with its "uic* sti wal*& and went under the bed$ %his wasn't adream$ I was normally conscious& aware o what I saw and an.ious tomiss no detail o it$ s I sat there& I elt all around me a curiouslyintense silence& li*e the silence o deep snow$ %he only sinister thingabout the bird was its air o utter alooness and intention6 I had caughtit going about its business,+ery deinite business,as one glimpses amouse disappearing into its hole$

hat does this +ision o the -dirty,white bird- -going about its business- signiy< playul allusion to the white rabbit in Alie inWonderland & with Isherwood as lice< n allegory o the state o his

soul 2-dirty,white-3< n encounter with a shamanistic power animalor guardian spirit< n epiphany o 6laubert's amous parrot& and hencea reproo o Isherwood's decision to abandon his career as a writer inorder to become a edantic mon*< Isherwood says nothing& interpretsnothing$ @i*e Gibreel's ostrich& Isherwood's parrot ultimately meansnothing& although it certainly is something,but what< %o return to%odoro+'s distinction between the mar+elous and the antastic and toelaborate the mar+elous leads us not to as* can this be possible<what could this mean< but rather what is this<

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%hus the "uestion o meaning is apparently neither here nor there&when magical realism seems bent on ollowing 4octeau's injunction-astonish meM- (o doubt& political and social allegory is present in

many magical realist te.ts& but the search or allegorical meaning isnot the only option we ha+e when dealing with magical realism'smar+elous tric*s meaning may be s0mboli as well as allegorical$llegory is "uic*ly decoded& and once decoded& is o no urther interest$ 4$ G$ Jung's theory o the symbol 2a symbol has no preassigned meaning& but rather a latent potential or generatingmeaning3 is useul in that it lea+es a space or astonishment as well asor the eventual disco+ery o meaning$ perspecti+e inormed by the procedures o the Jungian analysis and interpretation o dream images

and symbols can add a dimension o symbolic meaning to magicalrealist ostriches$ Just as the apparently meaningless dream te.t slowlyyields meaning under the pressure o analysis& so a Jungian psychoanalytical approach may create a conte.t in which intriguing but to all appearances purely sensationalistic procedures o magicalrealism become meaningul as strategies o symboli#ation$ nd notonly in terms o psychological meaning Jungian psychological perspecti+es enrich the discussion o political issues as well$

It is true that The #atani &erses' own internal commentary is more political and social than psychological$ 6or instance& one reerence point that the no+el ma*es e.plicit or its use o magical realistsymbolic strategies& especially metamorphosis& is the power o racistdeinitions o the ?ther& as e.perienced by the %hird orld immigrantcommunity in the /nited =ingdom$ agical realist metamorphosis issel,interpreted& or instance& in a strange dialogue between )aladin4hamcha& who has been partially metamorphosed into a goatli*e de+il

igure& and a ormer male model now changed into a manticore 2man,tiger3 in the hospital ward in which 4hamcha is reco+ering rom aracially moti+ated police beating

-%he point is&- it said iercely& -some o us aren't going to stand or it$e're going to bust out o here beore they turn us into anythingworse$$$$- -But how do they do it<- 4hamcha wanted to *now$ -%heydescribe us&- the other whispered solemnly$ -%hat's all$ %hey ha+e the

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power o description& and we succumb to the pictures they construct$-21H83

%he Immigrant as ?ther& deined and described in terms o degradingand animalistic racist stereotypes& undergoes& in the world o magicalrealist procedures& an actual metamorphosis into manticore& de+il& or other antasmagorical igures$ In magical realist terms& metamorphosisis as common an e+ent as racist stereotyping is in terms o traditionalsocial realism$ 4hamcha's own metamorphosis into a pop mythologyde+il 2horns& clo+en hoo+es& and enlarged phallus3 is not seen by the police who are carting him o as anything e.traordinary> the e+ent-was being treated by the others as i it were the most banal and

amiliar matter they could imagine- 2183& because their image o the%hird orld immigrant as se.ually potent de+il was the -picture- their racist imaginations had already -constructed- and superimposed onhim$

Behind other strange e+ents that might seem to represent a somewhatgratuitous use o magical realist supernaturalism lies a orceul presentation o images o the daily racial harassment inlicted on@ondon's immigrant community& as in this Bangladeshi housewie'sinterior monologue

5lus also they had come into a demon city in which anything couldhappen& your windows shattered in the middle o the night without anycause& you were *noc*ed o+er in the middle o the street by in+isiblehands& in the shops you heard such abuse you elt your ears woulddrop o but when you turned in the direction o the words you sawonly empty air and smiling aces& and e+ery day you heard about this

boy& that girl& beaten up by ghosts$ ,, Les& a land o phantom imps&how to e.plain$ 2C03

agical realism in ushdie's hands becomes a way o rendering her e.perience o a world in which all usual e.pectations o happiness andsecurity are undermined by disguised threats and hidden dangers& theresult o racist hostility and +iolence$ 6or this aging and disorientedBangladeshi housewie& -the arri+al o a ully de+eloped de+il& ahorned goatman& was$$$something +ery li*e the last& or at any rate the

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penultimate& straw- 2C13$ But young people& including her own twodaughters& react dierently$ 6or them& 4hamcha as de+il is the hero o their wildest dreams& and his popularity creates a ad or wearing

rubber de+il horns$The #atani &erses& howe+er much it has allen into the +orte. o tendentious journalistic commentary ater the sentence o deathimposed on the author on 6ebruary 1& 1989& by the yatollah=homeini 2an unspea*ably sadistic magical realist alentine& so tospea*3& deser+es to ha+e the brilliance o its conjoining o the politicaland the psychological celebrated$ %he two nati+es o Bombay who allrom the jetliner onto a 4hannel beach are& we ind out soon& just orty

years old& and this symbolic age sets them up or a shared midliecrisis in which cultural conusion and stage,olie disorientation are both to play important roles$ )aladin 4hamcha and Gibreel 6arishtaare as helplessly embroiled in psychological comple.ities as they arein the net o postcolonialist racial oppression$ In particular& the twomajor magical realist themes o metamorphosis and o miraculouslying and alling ,, themes that deri+e rom what %odoro+ called -the psychological mar+elous&- a subcategory that encourages symbolic

interpretation ,, turn out to ha+e signiicant psychological as well associal rele+ance$

)ymbolic interpretation is ultimately the study o interte.tuality ,, inthe case o psychoanalytical approaches to literature& o studying therelationship between literary and psychoanalytical te.ts$ %he te.t thatI intend to ju.tapose with The #atani &erses is a major wor* by amajor Jungian analyst$ arie,@ouise +on 6ran# was trained both asclassical philologist and 2under Jung's personal direction3 as a

psychotherapist> her literary sense is unusually acute or anonspecialist$ Aer boo* uer Aeternus includes an e.emplary psychological reading o )aint,:.upery The %ittle rine& whose+ision she critici#es or its immature attitude toward lie and itso+erreliance on youthul +alues$ Aer anatomy o the 2uer aeternus

archetype 2the archetype o the -:ternal Louth-3 and o the 2uer

personality o the man who has allen under its archetypal sway&seems especially enlightening or a study o The #atani &erses& in

that it pro+ides a psychomythological conte.t that enhances one's

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appreciation o the no+el as a magical realist perormance with greatdepth o symbolic meaning$

In $e0ond -ood and 4vil (iet#sche speculated on the way dreams canenter reality and ga+e as an e.ample dreams o lying& whose impacton the wa*ing lie maniests itsel as das -efhl einer ge+issen gDttlihen %eihtfertigkeit 2-the eeling o a *ind o godli*elightness-3$ 6or those blessed with this sense o the lightness o being&light may come to operate as a central metaphor or lie$ In uer

Aeternus& howe+er& +on 6ran# problemati#es this happy metaphor&since she considers it to be indicati+e o the 2uer's too angelic distancerom lie$ 6or the man with a 2uer personality& high lying and

youthul irresponsibility and reedom may come to an abrupt endthrough a all into lie& which may turn out to be a ortunate all or atragic crash& depending on how the crisis is resol+ed$

ith +on 6ran#'s interpreti+e ramewor* in mind& the opening sceneo The #atani &erses may be read as a magical realist symbolicrepresentation o the 2uer's all into lie$ %he angelically namedBombay ilm star Gibreel 2Z Gabriel3 6arishta 2Z ngel3 tumbles romthe s*y& singing a song& the burden o which 2based on Gramsci'ssaying3 is that -to be born again& irst you ha+e to die- 2D3$ppropriately enough or the theme o death and rebirth& the time is-just beore dawn one winter's morning& (ew Lear's ;ay or thereabouts- 2D3$ 6alling along with Gibreel is the moc*,heroicallynamed )aladin 4hamcha 2alias -)poono&- rom hamha& spoon or ,metaphorically ,, toady or sycophant3& a long since transplantednati+e o Bombay who identiies passionately with :nglish culture&has married an :nglish aristocrat by the name o 5amela& and wor*s in

@ondon as a radio actor$ Both ha+e sur+i+ed the terrorist e.plosionthat has destroyed minutes earlier the ir India Jumbo jet $ostan&whose name& appropriately enough or the adumbration o the Jungianmythopoetic theme o -the adult struggle with the paradise o childhood- 2the subtitle o +on 6ran# uer Aeternus3& designates oneo the gardens o paradise in Islam$ %hey all -rom a great height&twenty,nine thousand and two eet- ,, the earlier estimate o the heighto ount :+erest& India's and the world's highest mountain$ %he two

are now plummeting -li*e bundles dropped by some carelessly open,

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bea*ed stor*- 23& a simile that underscores the theme o all as a prelude to rebirth ,, in this instance& rebirth at midlie& since we learnthat Gibreel is -within a wee* o his ortieth birthday- 2113 and that

4hamcha is the same age$In her analysis o the a+iator,author )aint,:.upKry airy tale The %ittle rine& arie,@ouise +on 6ran# characteri#es the 2uer 's-ascination or dangerous sports& particularly lying andmountaineering- as an e.pression o a desire -to get as high as possible& the symbolism o which is to get away rom the mother& i$e$rom the earth& rom ordinary lie- 2C,D3$ %hus -to come down toearth- 293 means or +on 6ran# -to come down into lie- 21DH3& and

this all can result in a -crash landing- 21C9& 1D83 or someone whoselie is run by the energies o the unconscious archetype o the :ternalLouth$ )uch a all is a liminal situation raught with peril> at the sametime& it e.tends the opportunity o rebirth and renewal$

I 6arishta is ,, literally ,, a high lyer& his emale counterpart ande+entual nemesis& the angelically named lleluia 2-llie-3 4one&emale mountaineer and con"ueror o :+erest& is waiting or him in@ondon$ In spite o the allen arches that seem to condemn her romnow on to a limping lie on earth 2this is the physical sign o her metaphorical status as a allen 2uella& the emale counterpart o the 2uer 3& she is haunted by a 2uella's dream o attaining the greatest possible symbolic distance rom lie& which or her is concreti#ed inthe ambition o reali#ing a solitary ascent o ount :+erest$ llie'ssudden appearance in Gibreel's lie at the moment when he had losthis aith in Islam and was gobbling down +ast amounts o orbidden por* in a Bombay restaurant as a sign o his apostasy& had seemed to

signal the beginning o a new lie or him at -that moment when hislie had been in pieces at his eet&- -she had become its meaning- 283$

But this -climber o mountains& +an"uisher o :+erest- compoundsthrough her high altitude 2uella characteristics Gibreel's own midlie 2uer problems$ (ear the end o the no+el& when she has arri+ed inBombay on the irst leg o her project o a solitary ascent o :+erest&Gibreel *ills her and her suspected lo+er in a it o jealous rage>shortly aterward& he puts a pistol in his mouth and *ills himsel in the

1DC



presence o his erstwhile chum )aladin 4hamcha$ Gibreel's suicidemay be seen retrospecti+ely as the death by ire2arm3 o a modernIcarus& a mythological parallel brought up earlier in another conte.t&

when llie is shown relecting on -the dangers o attempting to fl0=what laming alls& what macabre hells were reser+ed or such Icarustypes- 2D03$ Behind Gibreel 6arishta's tragedy lies the mythological paradigm o what happens when ,, in +on 6ran#'s words ,-Icarus loseshis wings and alls- 21H3 ,, or Gibreel& not rebirth& but insanity&murder and suicide$

on 6ran#'s description o the man whose lie is dominated by thearchetype o the :ternal LouthQ uer Aeternus sheds some additional

light on Gibreel 6arishta's psychological ma*eup$ 6irst o all& the 2uer suers rom a mother om2le/ that *eeps him rom maturing -ingeneral& the man who is identiied with the archetype o the 2uer

aeternus remains too long in adolescent psychology> that is& all thosecharacteristics that are normal in a youth o se+enteen or eighteen arecontinued into later lie& coupled in most cases with too great adependence on the mother- 213$ Gibreel 6arishta's original name&Ismail 2Ishmael3& already suggested the drama o the Biblical and

=oranic braham'sQ Ibrahim's illegitimate son sent out into the desertwith only his mother Aagar to protect him$ Ais stage name 6arishta2ngel3 also suggests this dependence& since it deri+es rom hismother's term o endearment

Gibreel conided to )aladin 4hamcha that his choice o pseudonymhad been his way o ma*ing a homage to the memory o his deadmother& -my mummyji& )poono& my one and only amo& becausewho else was it who started the whole angel business& her personal

angel& she called me& farishta& because apparently I was too damnsweet& belie+e it or not& I was good as goddamn gold$- 213

(e.t& the sa+ior or essiah comple. that +on 6ran# indscharacteristic o the 2uer 2C3 is represented in Gibreel's insanedelusion that he has actually become his namesa*e the archangelGabriel$ %his orm o megalomania begins to haunt him in a series o dreams that ma*e up the e+en,numbered chapters o The #atani

&erses6 2%hese are the chapters that deal with a re+isioning o the

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oundation myth o Islam and that some oslems ha+e oundoensi+e$3 :+entually dream becomes reality& and Gibreel 6arishta belie+es that he has become the archangel Gabriel in order to sa+e

@ondon rom apocalyptic destruction$ In the tragedy o his lie& thisessianic delusion constitutes a -atal law- 2D13& since one reasonor his suicide is his ear that this delusion 2labeled -paranoidschi#ophrenia- in the no+el3 ,, which has already turned him into ahomeless lunatic muttering in the streets o @ondon ,, will ne+er ceaseto plague him$ (e+ertheless& all is not delusional with Gibreel i heails to reali#e his antasy o becoming the archangel Gabriel& at leasthe sa+es the lie o )aladin 4hamcha& whom he pulls rom a burning building$ In that sense ,, as )aladin's angel ,, he deser+es his name$

(on Euanism is another characteristic o +on 6ran#'s 2uer that inds a parallel in Gibreel& who as a Bombay ilm star -had so many se.ual partners that it was not uncommon or him to orget their names e+en beore they had let his room- 2C3$ nother characteristic& that o ha+ing a rih fantas0 lie& turns out to be an understatement whenapplied to Gibreel& whose antasies concerning the oundation myth o Islam ma*e up almost hal the no+el$ 6inally& +on 6ran# considers that

+ork is o great therapeutic +alue or the reco+ering 2uer & whoseinitial reluctance to settle down to a tas* and to stic* with itconstitutes -one o the many sel,delusions$$$ by which he *eepswithin the mother and OmaintainsP his megalomaniac identiicationwith the god Othe archetypeP- 213$ It is important to stress that it was precisely at the moment when Gibreel stopped wor*ing in the ilmstudios o Bombay that his megalomanic identiication with the angelo the apocalypse began$

t this point where political and psychological commentaries begin too+erlap& it is possible to interpret in two ways Gibreel's tragic ailureto ma*e good on his e.pectations o a new lie$ ?n the one hand&Gibreel's hallucinatory sel,delusion is a rendition o 6ran# 6anon'sinsight& "uoted in The #atani &erses& that -the nati+e is an oppressed person whose permanent dream Omy emphasisP is to become the persecutor$- %he paragraph in which this "uotation is embedded showsGibreel 6arishta Q rchangel Gabriel o+erwhelmed by just such an

apocalyptic dream o persecutory power -Ae would show them ,,

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yesM ,, his 2o+er6 ,, %hese powerless :nglishM ,, ;id they not thin* their history would return to haunt them< $$$%hen away with all ogs$Ae would ma*e this land anew$ Ae was the rchangel& Gibreel- 2DD3$

But the insane nature o 6arishta's identiication with the rchangelGabriel must deri+e partly rom the act that& as a Bombay ilm star&citi#en o India and lo+er o the :nglishwoman lleluia 4one& he is precisely not in the situation o 6anon's colonial nati+e& but rather in amore comple. postcolonial situation& to which the nati+e's dream o becoming the persecutor no longer e.actly corresponds$ 6or 6arishta&6anon's nati+e's dream has become an insane delusion& which& rather than e.pressing a genuinely re+olutionary impulse& e.presses mainly a 2uer 's sa+ior comple.& e"ually ill adapted to his personal lie as it is to

social reality$ nd to bring matters to the point where theaccumulating allusions to )ha*espeare's ?thello ind their tragiccorrespondence& Gibreel's jealous murder o lleluia 4one and her alleged lo+er can be accounted or partially as the result o anoutbrea* o what +on 6ran# has called the 2uer's -dar* gangster,shadow- 2113 ,, the especially +icious underside o the charmingyouth$

on 6ran# +iews the 2uer's all into the complications o adult lie asthe precondition or renewal and maturation -i you ha+e succeededin alling down& you are not at the end o the story> you just ha+e toclimb up again$ 6alling down is only one rhythm in lie$ %he gloriousspar* is li*e a star plunging rom hea+en that must all into the mud$But then it has to rise out o the mud again- 21C3$ Gibreel's tragedy isthat his all leads to no renewal o lie& but rather to lie complicationsthat he is completely unable to handle$

6or )aladin 4hamcha& howe+er& the midlie crisis will turn outdierently ,, although he will pull through only by the s*in o histeeth& sa+ed rom the ire by Gibreel and later by Gibreel's suiciderom Gibreel's rage o+er -the little satanic +erses- with which )aladin&Iago,li*e& has dri+en him mad$ %he two orm an odd couple& onedestined to li+e& the other to *ill himsel$ %he sadism that presideso+er their relationship is not the least pu##ling and disconcertingaspect o the no+el$

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@i*e Gibreel& )aladin is age orty when he alls with Gibreel rom the jumbo jet $ostan ,, a paradise that had changed into a hell than*s to aterrorist hijac*ing$ Ais magical realist midlie all into lie leads

directly to his metamorphosis into a goatish& horned& and clet,ootedde+il& in which shape he is as distressingly grotes"ue as =a*a'shomologous hero as ungeheueres 3ngeJiefer in The Metamor2hosis&Gregor )amsa& the sound o whose amily name may well bedeliberately echoed in -4hamcha- But& unli*e Gregor )amsa andunli*e his companion Gibreel 6arishta& )aladin 4hamcha seems by theend o The #atani &erses& especially ater his reconciliation with hisdying ather& to ha+e made a successul transition to a new lie ,, anew start symboli#ed more than anything else by the new lo+e o his

lie& the irrepressible& dar*,s*inned& lie,airming Teeny romBombay$ )aladin 4hamcha& ater all& is more than 4hamchaQ)poonoQ-%oady-Q)amsa$ Ae is also named ater the great Islamic hero)aladin who ought the 4rusaders ,, one e.pects something heroic o him in the end& i only a +ictory o+er his own 2that is& )poonoQ4hamcha's3 toadying to the :nglish$

)aladin 4hamcha's lie is thus lin*ed with a more hopeul presentation

o the theme o metamorphosis$ )omewhat parado.ically& his magicalrealist metamorphosis into a pop mythology de+il pro+es in the longrun to be therapeutic in a way that 6arishta's angelic halo andmessianic pronouncements do not$ ?ne might detect the hidden hando illiam Bla*e in this trans+aluation o good and e+il$ ?r is it because& as (ancy Gray ;ia# has speculated& that -metamorphosesli*e that o Gregor )amsa seem to enhance the character's sel,awareness-< %he psychological parado. remains the angel Gibreelsuccumbs to his delusions& the de+il )aladin becomes in the end saner

than e+er$ s we ha+e seen& on the societal le+el 4hamcha'smetamorphosis has a positi+e +alence the Badness o the immigrant?ther re+indicated as the power to resist racist +iolence andoppression by the Good& that is& by the proper :nglish$ But hismetamorphosis changes sign on the personal le+el& or )aladin'sconduct toward Gibreel& whom he dri+es mad with his +oice actor'stalent by ma*ing phone calls impersonating llie's alleged lo+ers& istruly de+ilish> it is a maniestation o pure e+il& ine.cusable and

unredeemable$ ?r is it< In an inter+iew gi+en the day beore the

1DH



publication o The #atani &erses& ushdie spo*e as ollows -I hadthought that the de+il,angel relationship would be straightorward$hat I ound was that my +iew o them changed radically$ nd it was

when I came to see how the emotional li+es o these two charactersconnected that I began to *now how to write the boo*$ But it too* ages$ %he reader may also need time to come to terms with theenigma$

6rom a Jungian perspecti+e& )aladin 4hamcha's diabolicalmetamorphosis can be ta*en as a symbol o his coming to awarenesso his shado+& that is& o the repressed side o his otherwiserespectable personality the r$ de+ilish Ayde o his ;r$ proper Je*yll$

%he theme o the return o the shadow at midlie is a commonplace o Jungian discussions o the midlie crisis& where what has long beenrepressed inds an opportunity to emerge in the midst o the eelingso stagnation and disorientation that characteri#e the crisis$ In)aladin's case& the repressed side o his prim and toadyish personalitybeomes him 2as r$ Ayde too* o+er ;r$ Je*yll3> the grotes"ue de+il)aladin 4hamcha is the embodiment o his repressed +itality& socialrebellion& hatred& and rage& along with some oedipally sadistic

impulses which lin* him more speciically to -the enigma o Iago-2C3$ hile )aladin is trapped in his de+il shape& he lies into -the+ilest rage- 2CD3> later he will sum up his de+il e.perience as ha+ing-learned the power o hatred- 2013$

In act& the rage that uels his persecution o Gibreel and llie& whileapparently ine.plicable and une.plained in the no+el's internalcommentary 2unli*e modernist hermetic te.ts& The #atani &erses

usually winds up pro+iding the *ey to parado.es and obscure

allusions3& is perhaps best e.plained as an acting out o oedipal rageagainst the ather$ )aladin's earlier problematic relationship with his bullying ather 4hange# has turned into what seems to be a permanentestrangement$ But by the end o the no+el )aladin has tormentedGibreel 2played Iago to his ?thello& as the te.t ma*es e.plicit& throughhis impersonation o the +oices o llie's supposed lo+ers3& narrowlyescaped being murdered by Gibreel& and has had a deathbedreconciliation with his ather$ ?ne must presume some symbolic cause

and eect in all this brutal psychological mess& and one plausible

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e.planation is that by acting out oedipal rage against Gibreel& )aladinhas +ented enough o his oedipal hatred o his ather to enable him ,,at the last minute and with the help o Teeny ,, to lo+e his ather

beore 4hange# dies$ But this type o -acting out- ,, howe+er therapeutic and liberating it may ha+e pro+ed to be or )aladin ,, isclearly& rom an ethical perspecti+e& "uite de+ilish$

6or Jung& the encounter with one's own personal de+il& the shadow& iso the greatest psychological importance or the indi+idual$ 4oming toterms with the shadow is a necessary step on the indi+idual's path tosel*nowledge and indi+iduation$ -One annot avoid the shado+

O Jung's emphasisP unless one remains neurotic& and as long as one is

neurotic one has omitted the shadow$-1Jung preerred personiicationo+er abstraction in his description o unconscious structures ,, another point where magical realism and the Jungian mythopoetic imaginationcoincide$ In descriptions o the shadow 2-the imperect being in youthat ollows ater you and does e+erything you are loath to do& all thethings you are too cowardly or too decent to do&-3 Jung personiies itmuch as the shadow appears personiied in dreams$ %hrough thecommon trope o personiication& the lin* between dream te.t&

narrati+e te.t& and psychoanalytic te.t is clearer in Jungian depth psychology than in other schools o psychoanalysis$ %he igures o obert @ouis )te+enson's r$ Ayde& oten cited by Jungians as a stoc* e.ample o literary representation o the shadow& and o )almanushdie's )aladin 4hamcha as pop mythology de+il& are the results o a similar strategy the magical realist personiication o anunconscious dimension o the psyche$

%o ta*e )aladin's de+il metamorphosis as a symbolic representation o

his shadow is not& howe+er& to depri+e it o potential or positi+emeaning$ Jung adopted toward the shadow a +italist as well as anethical attitude$ In terms that could readily characteri#e )aladin asde+il& Jung stated that -the shadow is merely somewhat inerior& primiti+e& unadapted and aw*ward> not wholly bad$ It e+en containschildish or primiti+e "ualities which would in a way +itali#e andembellish human e.istence& but con+ention orbidsM- )aladin4hamcha's personal e+il is no doubt shoc*ing& since his -little satanic

+erses- ,, the jealousy,and,madness,inducing phone calls he ma*es to

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Gibreel ,, are partly responsible or Gibreel's ?thello,li*e murder o llie and sel,destruction$ But the symbolic teleology o his de+ilishaction& in which the acting out o unconscious oedipal hatred

e+entually releases him rom its grip& puts it perhaps in Jung'scategory o the -not wholly bad$- %his partial redemption o theshadow& howe+er& is not ully reali#ed as a theme in The #atani

&erses& and this signiicant silence may indicate a certain oedipal blindness in the te.t itsel$

lthough ushdie uses the word -shadow- at two signiicant juncturesearly in the no+el 2-atch out& 4hamcha& loo* out or your shadow$%hat blac* ellow creeping up behind- and -his old sel$$$a dead sel& a

shadow-3& there is no clear indication that he intended it to be ta*en inthe Jungian sense o the term& just as there is no sign that ushdiewrites rom a consciously Jungian perspecti+e anywhere in The

#atani &erses6 In both cases& the word -shadow- reers to 4hamcha'srejected Indian identity ,, the identity he has spurned in order to become a proper :nglishman& but which haunts him and trails ater him li*e a shadow$

Aowe+er& as is re"uently the case in The #atani &erses& a magicalrealist strategy o personiication branches out rom the sociopoliticalto the psychological$ Behind the theme o )aladin 4hamcha's socialand cultural alienation may be discerned the theme o the 2uer 'sshadow& as described by +on 6ran# the -cold& brutal man somewherein the bac*ground& which compensates the too idealistic attitude o consciousness and which the 2uer aeternus cannot +oluntarilyassimilate- 283$ %he most pu##ling aspect o the no+el ,, the -enigmao Iago&- -the little satanic +erses- ,, & )aladin's cold,blooded plot to

dri+e Gibreel mad with jealousy& howe+er e.plicated as ordinaryoedipal acting out& is sinister and diabolical$ Identiying with his brutal 2uer shadow& both in terms o magical realist metamorphosis 2as de+il)aladin has beome his shadow3 and realist acting out o shadowimpulses against Gibreel& pro+es to be lie,enhancing or )aladin$ushdie seems to ignore the ethical dimension o -the enigma o Iago-in a+or o a +italist& psychological +alidation o it that coincides partially with Jung's +italist approach toward the shadow> Jung&

howe+er& did not circum+ent ethical considerations as ushdie seems

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to be doing$ In all e+ents& by the end o The #atani &erses& )aladin4hamcha appears& not as a as*olni*o+ in need o conession& penitence& punishment& and orgi+eness& but rather as an ethically

enigmatic igure who seems to ha+e beneited rom the e+il he hasdone to Gibreel$ Ais return to India& his happiness with Teeny& and hisreconciliation with his ather ,, all these are the indirect results o acting li*e a de+il$ :thically suspect& his actions call or a dierentconte.t& which one might constitute along the lines o Jung's assertionthat -noone stands beyond good and e+il& otherwise he would be outo this world$ @ie is a continual balancing o opposites& li*e any other energic process$ %he abolition o opposites would be e"ui+alent todeath$-

)till& it is hard to dismiss the ethical dimension completely$ ?n thene.t to the last page o the no+el& in a tense scene where it is stillunclear whether Gibreel is going to shoot )aladin or himsel& )aladinwas thin*ing -about how he was going to die or his +erses O'the littlesatanic +erses- o his jealousy inducing phone callsP& but could notind it in himsel to call the death,sentence unjust- 2H3$ lthough heconsiders himsel deser+ing o death& )aladin li+es on> Gibreel dies

instead$ %he angel is dead& long li+e the de+ilM nd with thereconciliation scene with his ather and +isions o a uture lie withTeeny& the no+el ends on such a cheerully amoral note that& gi+en thenear total ethical conusion o the ending& one is orced to consider asymbolic interpretation$ In such an ethical aporia the theme o theintegration o particularly brutal 2uer shadow contents ma*eswelcome symbolic psychological sense$

)o )aladin as magically real de+il may be seen as ha+ing e+ol+ed&

once he has learned -the power o hatred- and regained his humanshape& into the hero o a symbolic oedipal +ictory o+er a ather igure,, o+er Gibreel as the boastul lo+er o llie$ %his +ictory enables himto bond with his actual ather$ In symbolic terms& )aladin's ;r$ Je*ylland r$ Ayde ha+e merged into one igure& a new )aladin who iscapable o both good and e+il$ In persecuting Gibreel& )aladin has punished his ather to the point where he can orgi+e him$ )een romthis perspecti+e& the ethically untenable situation at the end o the

no+el can be more appropriately termed a representation o the

10



integration o brutal shadow contents and the resolution o oedipalrage$

s we ha+e been seeing& The #atani &erses pro+ides e.amples o how magical realist and Jungian strategies coincide in the choice o *ey metaphors and images$ agical realist author and Jungian psychoanalyst intuiti+ely use similar symbolic images in order toe.press similar psychological insights$ e will e.amine briely two o them the 2uer as ator and as someone separated by some odd

barrier rom lie$

@i*e Gibreel 6arishta& )aladin 4hamcha represents the 2uer at midlie$

Ae is a -ortyish ellow&- and again li*e Gibreel& he is an ator6 In uer Aeternus +on 6ran# employs the metaphor o acting in order tosymboli#e the 2uer 's distance rom lie> 2uers -act to themsel+es tocon+ince themsel+es that they are li+ing-> they -do not eel ali+e&- butrather -describe it as being as though they were acting& acting tothemsel+es- 2113$

It is the 2uer 's mother comple. that separates him rom lie$ s +on6ran# describes it& the mother comple. *eeps him -away rom lie

under a 2lasti over - Omy emphasisP 21C93$ ushdie uses a similar metaphor& literali#ed o course in magical realist ashion& o glass

skin6 %he potential or symbolic meaning is stressed in the te.t by theact that it occurs in one o )aladin's dreams$ ?n his return light toBombay ater years o playing the proper :nglishman in @ondon&)aladin dreams o -a bi#arre stranger& a man with a glass s*in& whorapped his *nuc*les mournully against the thin& brittle membraneco+ering his entire body and begged )aladin to help him& to release

him rom the prison o his s*in- 2DD,D3$ ter wa*ing rom thisdream& )aladin -ound his speech unaccountably metamorphosed intothe Bombay lilt he had so diligently 2and so long agoM3 unmade- 2D3$

%he most ob+ious interpretation o this dream is cultural and politicalimprisoned as though by a glass s*in in his postcolonial anglophilia&)aladin needs to regain contact with nati+e culture& to ree his Indiansel rom the proper :nglish persona in which he has enclosedhimsel& :nglish accent and all$ %his at least is the interpretation o his

11



sassy Bombay lo+er Teeny& who sees )aladin as a silly -salad- or mi.ture o cultural traits

-'O@Pisten&' Teeny put her arm through his$ '@isten to my )alad$)uddenly he wants to be Indian ater spending his lie trying to turnwhite$ ll is not lost& you see$ )omething in there still ali+e'- 23$

But there is also in the image o the man with a glass s*in the psychological representation o +on 6ran#'s 2uer who grows up byalling into lie$ %he literary te.t implicitly conirms this particular perspecti+e through a +ariation on the glass s*in image the ie skin6ter )aladin has been -reborn- ater his all rom the jumbo jet onto a

4hannel beach 2-)aladin 4hamcha coughed& spluttered& opened hiseyes& and& as beitted a newborn babe& burst into oolish tears- O10P3&the man with the glass s*in is him> although there is no indication thatthe connection with the glass s*in dream and this ice s*in antasy isapparent to him& the te.t ma*es the connection

)aladin was not dead& but weeping$ %he tears o shoc* ree#ing on hisace$ nd all his body cased in a ine s*in o ice& smooth as glass& likea bad dream ome true Omy emphasisP$ In the miasmic

semiconsciousness induced by his low body temperature he was possessed by the nightmare,ear o crac*ing& o seeing his blood bubbling up rom the ice,brea*s& o his lesh coming away with theshards$ 21D13

on 6ran#'s -plastic en+elope- and ushdie's -ice s*in- and -glasss*in- can be ta*en as symbolic images o the 2uer 's separation romlie> or )aladin the image o the brea*ing o the ice can be ta*en as a

symbolic oreshadowing o psychic renewal$But being reborn into a -new lie- 2113 is going to mean coming toterms with his shadow ,, with himsel as de+il$ It is this de+ilmetamorphosis to which we now turn in order to clariy once more theainity o magical realism with Jungian psychology$

)aladin's shadow contains& irst o all& what +on 6ran# designates as amajor component o the 2uer 's shadow -shut,o masculinity- 21C83$

Ais incarnation as pop mythology de+il ma*es this clear )aladin is

1C



-ta*en abac* by the sight o his phallus& greatly enlarged andembarrassingly erect& an organ that he had the greatest diiculty inac*nowledging as his own- 213$ 4oming to terms with his se.ual

shadow pro+es to be no easy matter> the se.ual repressions o his-:nglished soul- 2D93 do not pass o "uic*ly$ hen& or instance&-thoughts o Teeny a*il welled up& guiltily& ner+ously& he orcedthem down again- 2C3$

4onscious as he is now o what he has missed& he is de+oured withen+y or Gibreel 6arishta's easy& complacent& and conident ;onJuanism$ Ae -longs to stand in 6arishta's shoes- 2CH3> 6arishta& -theembodiment o all the good ortune that the 6ury,haunted 4hamcha so

signally lac*ed&- "uic*ly becomes -his hated ?ther- 2C93$ s themagically real lo+er o osa ;iamond& the elderly womanQmother igureQarchetypal image o the eminine 2c$ rose3 who too* them bothin ater their all& Gibreel has already played the role o oedipal ri+al&reinorced when he does nothing to stop the police rom arresting)aladin as an illegal alien in osa's own home$ Gibreel's later la+ishlydetailed accounts o his and llie's lo+ema*ing only reinorce)aladin's own se.ual repressions -he O)aladinP could almost eel her

Ollie'sP coolness& her responses& almost hear her cries$ ,, Aecontrolled himsel$ Ais desire disgusted him- 2D83$ In houndingGibreel into insane jealousy by a series o phone calls that purport to be rom llie's numerous lo+ers& )aladin is persecuting his hated?ther& dri+en by shadow projection& which leads him to hate and persecute the one on whom he has projected the most troublesomeaspect o his own psychology$

ushdie's spectacular de+elopment o magical realism's potential or

symbolic meaning in The #atani &erses creates a +ersion o the psychological mar+elous that seems eminently e.plicable in Jungianterms$ %he masterstro*e o this strategy is ound in a mysterious scenethat purports to e.plain how it was that )aladin decided to play Iago toGibreel's ?thello& to commit himsel to a course o action he will later characteri#e as -inernal& hildlike Omy emphasisP e+il- 23$ ?+er theyears )aladin had had a recurring dream about -a small boy o abouti+e&- -his imagined son- 2003& whom he was teaching to ride a

bicycle in a city par*> -balance came li*e a git o light&- and both the

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boy and )aladin are delighted with how "uic*ly the boy learned toride$ @ater& wal*ing with Gibreel in a @ondon par*& )aladin is startledto recogni#e the scene o his recurring dream$ s in the dream& a

young boy 2this time age si. or se+en3 is riding a bicycle$ )aladingi+es great signiicance to this synchronous coincidence o a realscene and a dream scene& although a boy riding on a bicycle in an:nglish par* can hardly be an uncommon occurrence$ But in Jungianterms& )aladin is right& not only because o the synchronicity ,, that is&the ju.taposition o e+ents related meaningully but not causally ,, butalso because o the archetypal dimension o the e.perience the -boy&-as we shall see& may be ta*en as an archetypal image o the uer

Aeternus6

6or )aladin& this scene in the par* becomes the ateul -moment beore e+il- 2D83$ Let there is no ob+ious reason why seeing a boyriding a bicycle in a par*& e+en i it reminds him o the boy in hisrecurring dream who is -his imagined son&- should trigger the e+il o -the little& satanic +erses- ,should lead to his de+ilish persecution o Gibreel 6arishta$ %he parado. that ushdie's te.t presents& withoutinternal commentary& can perhaps be translated into +on 6ran#'s terms

o the bipolarity o 2uer innocence 2c$ -childli*e-3 and 2uer shadow brutality 2c$ -inernal-3& that presides o+er an -inernal& childli*ee+il$- %he -boy- in )aladin's dream would then correspond to anarchetypal image o the 2uer aeternus ,, a dream image& that is& o thehidden power& the patron deity& that presides o+er )aladin's spirit o youthulness prolonged into midlie$ iding a bicycle& a -git o light&- would represent symbolically that high,lying distance romlie that characteri#es )aladin's psychologically and culturallyungrounded e.istence$ s in G7nter Grass' The Tin (rum& where this

igure is oregrounded to a greater e.tent& an archetypal childli*e 2uer aeternus is gi+en a parado.ical ainity with e+il$

%hat magical proo that )aladin's dream has a more than personal 2i$e$&archetypal and collecti+e3 reerence is the act that his riend JumpyJoshi& who is sleeping with )aladin's wie 5amela ater )aladin'sdisappearance& has had e.actly the same dream 2113$ )uch asynchronistically shared dream may be said to be archetypal& that is& to

deri+e its signiicance rom the collecti+e unconscious& not the

1



personal unconscious$ (o doubt )aladin interprets his dream as asimple wish ulillment or a son he ne+er had in his childlessmarriage with 5amela$ But why then does the dream open the door to

his persecution o Gibreel< %he parado. o e+il ailiated withinnocence is better e.plicated by +on 6ran#'s innoent72uer7+ith7

brutalshado+ paradigm$ 6urthermore& as Jung pointed out in his essay-%he 5sychology o the 4hild rchetype&- the child moti appearsre"uently during the midlie maturation process& during which time-in dreams it oten appears as the dreamer's son$- )aladin's dream andlater e.perience o dream,becoming,reality represent a spontaneouscoming to consciousness o an archetypal image& whose ainity withe+il is lin*ed with )aladin's need to come to terms with his shadow&

and whose imaginary resemblance to the son he ne+er had is a to*eno his readiness to be a ather and not just his own ather's son$

s we ha+e seen& the polari#ation o 2uer personality and 2uer shadow is e.treme -innocent- boy counterpoised with -satanic-gangster shadow$ )aladin's de+il metamorphosis representssymbolically a stage at which his shadow side can no longer beignored> in Jungian terms& he is in a state o inflation& that is& o

identiication with unconscious contents o the shadow he hasbeome a de+il$ But this is only a stage )aladin is soon brought bac* to his old human shape$ ushdie represents this demetamorphosis inan intriguing way it is the result o decreased emotional repression&especially o anger& hatred& and rage$ 6or instance& -during 4hamcha's brie but +iolent outburst against Gibreel& the horns on hishead$$$deinitely& unmista*eably& ,, by about three,"uarters o an inch&,diminished 2CD3$ %his scene o magical de,metamorphosis representssymbolically a moment during which )aladin is able to integrate some

o his aggressi+e shadow's emotional charge ,, i only briely& or soonaterward he becomes more de+ilish than e+er$ 6or under the renewed pressure o repressed rage he grows -to a height o o+er eight eet& androm his nostrils there emerged smo*e o two dierent colours$$$histail was swishing angrily& his eyes were a pale but luminous red-2C913$ But as time goes on )aladin returns to his human orm&-humaniJed &- as ushdie emphasi#es& -by the earsome concentrationo his hate- 2C93$ %he magic o the scene stresses the humani#ing

eect o integrating shadow contents into his conscious personality

1



)aladin has -learned the power o hatred and regained human shape-2013$

Jungian psychology has reached ar beyond the narrow circle o Jungian analysts and analysands in recent years and is rapidly becoming part o the mainstream intellectual culture o our times$ %heeminent merican poet obert Bly& a great admirer o -arie,@ouise-O +on 6ran# P& recently published a "uasi,Jungian analysis o a Grimmairy tale> his boo* *ron Eohn 219903 was on the Ne+ "ork Times best,seller list or o+er a year$ In an earlier Jung,inspired essay A %ittle

$ook on the !uman #hado+ 219883 Bly described a Ten Buddhistmethod o integrating shadow anger that may shed light on 4hamcha's

de+il metamorphosis and on how he was -humaniJed $$$by theearsome concentration o his hate$- Bly describes how in meditationone might allow the anger to come in& so that the whole body burnswith anger$ %he anger is not repressed> your whole body is anger$ ?nemay want to eel that anger or three or our hours$ ;uring this timeone is neither e.pressing it nor repressing it$ %hen& when themeditation ends& one has the choice to e.press the anger or not$ %heego or personality can ma*e the choice later& to e.press it or not$

%he -whole body as anger- might be the psychological state that inJungian terms would be e"ui+alent to a controlled identiication withthe shadow& and in the magical realist strategy o The #atani &erses

)aladin 4hamcha as pop mythology de+il$ ?nce again& magicalrealism's pop mythological e.tra+agance is a strategy that reintegratesthe psychological mar+elous into the postmodern narrati+e$ )aladin4hamcha has become his hatred ,, literally& bodily$ ter that& he isree to ma*e choices$

/nortunately& the choice he will ma*e is an e+il one to +ent hishatred onto Gibreel 6arishta and dri+e him mad with his -little& satanic+erses$- ter his de,metamorphosis rom his pop mythology de+ilshape& he becomes e+en more o a de+il in human orm$ e are bac* to -the enigma o Iago$-

)aladin 4hamcha's encounter with his de+il shadow& with what +on6ran# has called the 2uer 's -dar* gangster shadow- 2113& sets up an

1H



ethical "uandary which& as we ha+e seen& is only partially resol+ed inthe te.t$ %o the e.tent that )aladin's angry shadow is associated withthe anger that immigrants eel when subjected to racist +iolence 2c$

his own change o shape as he was being carried away by abusi+e police as an illegal alien3& it seems justiied$ But it is diicult to indanything righteous in his persecution o Gibreel 6arishta& e+en i weconsider it to be a somewhat ine+itable symbolic acting out o oedipalrage$

But through this acting out& howe+er e+il it may be& )aladin has reedhimsel to some degree rom the compulsi+e hold oedipal rage has hado+er his lie$ 5artial integration o shadow oedipal rage may be said to

ha+e liberated )aladin's capacity to lo+e his bullying ather 4hange#2named appropriately in the no+el ater the old tyrant Genghi# =han3$Ae had deined his earlier se.ually repressed& anglophilic sel inopposition to this sensual Bombay merchant whom he had judged anddismissed as -domineering& tyrannical and cruel$- But now that hesees his dying ather as ha+ing been also -mischie+ous& lo+ing and brilliant- 2C3& he is able to reconcile himsel with him -to all inlo+e with one's ather ater the long angry decades was a serene and

beautiul eeling a renewing& lie,gi+ing thing- 2CD3$ econciliationwith his ather leads to reconciliation with his once despised andrejected Indian sel> )aladin 4hamcha now calls himsel by hisoriginal unanglici#ed name& )alahuddin 4hamchawala& and begins -toind the sound o his ull& un,:nglished name pleasing or the irsttime in twenty years- 2C3$

narrati+e o midlie crisis that began with the 2uer 's all concludeswith )aladin's entering a new stage o lie$ Ais return to his Bombay

lo+er Teeny mar*s a return to his cultural roots and a willingness toreestablish contact with Indian sensuality$ Teeny's remar* -now youcan stop acting at last- triggers )aladin's perception that a new lie had begun or him -yes& this loo*ed li*e the start o a new phase& in whichthe world would be solid and real- 2D3$ agical metamorphoses cannow cease& ater ha+ing accomplished their psychic goals o growthand integration$ %he last scene o %he )atanic erses shows himloo*ing out rom his childhood home onto the rabian )ea andsuggests that his inantile illusions and puer innocence are o+er and

1



that 2in obert Bly's playul terminology3 he is now a -reco+ering 2uer -

%he moon was almost ull> moonlight& stretching rom the roc*s o

)candal 5oint out to the ar hori#on& created the illusion o a sil+er pathway& li*e a parting in the water's shining hair& li*e a road tomiraculous lands$ Ae shoo* his head> could no longer belie+e in airy,tales$ 4hildhood was o+er& and the +iew rom this window was nomore than an old and sentimental echo$ 2H,3

18



Dere, .alcott and *le/o Carpentier: 0ature! )istor! and the

Cari++ean .riter

%he le.icographer's li#ard eyes are curled in sleep$

%he ma#onian Indian enters them$

Between the upununi and Borges&

between the allen pen tip and the spearhead

thunders& thic*ens& and shimmers the one age o the world$,, ;ere* alcott& .-u0ana.

%he classics can console$ But not enough$

,, ;ere* alcott& .#ea -ra2es. 1

%he choice to center a study o magical realism in 4aribbean literaturearound the wor*s o ;ere* alcott may at irst glance seemsurprising$C alcott& the 4aribbean's greatest nglophone poet& and itssecond (obel laureate in literature 2ater 6rancophone poet )t$ John5erse3& does ma*e use o magical realist techni"ues& notably in the190 play (ream on Monke0 Mountain> but he tends to shy awayrom the more lamboyant ju.tapositions o antasy and realitye.ploited by lejo 4arpentier& García !r"ue#& ilson Aarris& 4arlos6uentes& and others$ %hough not a ullblown magical realist& alcotthas re"uently noted the importance to his wor* o writers li*e

4arpentier and García !r"ue#$ mong others& these two magicalrealists& alcott has claimed& e.empliy a pre+ailing regional aestheticrooted in the cultural and historical reality o the 4aribbean$D

alcott's claim or magical realism as the authoritati+e aestheticresponse to the 4aribbean cultural conte.t that deines his own wor*&as well as that o the Aispanophone writers& combined with his ownoccasional use o magical realist techni"ue& ma*es him a pi+otaligure or an attempt to deine magical realism in a regional setting$

19



ather than claiming alcott as a magical realist& I plan todemonstrate a amily resemblance between alcott and magicalrealist writers& notably 4arpentier& and by doing so& to illuminate the

picture o (ew orld culture that is common to alcott and hismagical realist cousins$ )peciically& I will argue that in alcottmagical realism orms one aspect o a much larger strategy o culturalmi.ing ,, a creoli#ing or transculturation ,, that is central to much o what era =ut#ins*i has called -(ew orld writing$-

agic and reality may sound li*e a contradictory pairing$ In literaryhistory& howe+er& the two terms seem to e.ist in o.ymoronic or parado.ical cohesion& rather than antithesis$ agical realism inds

itsel especially at home in the no+el& a orm that claims realistauthority through its grounding in ordinary lie$ agical realists assertthat the realist impulse& in order to ulill itsel& may re"uire whatseems at irst glance to be a +iolation o e+eryday appearances by therich and strange world o dreams$ But this transgression presents itsel as a neighboring o or intimacy between antasy and empiricalsobriety$ agical realism turns out to be part o a twentieth,century preoccupation with how our ways o being in the world resist capture

by the traditional logic o the wa*ing mind's reason ,an interest thatAeidegger& 6reud& and ittgenstein share with literary and artisticmodernism$

%he magical realists' project to re+eal the intimate interdependence between reality and antasy is shared by the modernists& but magicalrealism and modernism proceed by +ery dierent means$ odernismtampered with the representational unction o language& "uestioningthe rightness o mimesis as such& because representation had obscured

the reality o the writer's object$ s ool& or e.ample& argues in a polemic li*e -r$ Bennett and rs$ Brown&- nineteenth,centuryrealism obstructs the world that a truer& more accurately percepti+emodernist writing must dedicate itsel to re+ealing$ agical realism&unli*e ool's modernism but li*e the uncanny& wills a transormationo the object o representation& rather than the means o representation$

agical realism& li*e the uncanny& a mode with which it has strongainities& projects a mesmeri#ing uncertainty suggesting that ordinary

10



lie may also be the scene o the e.traordinary$ )uch dreamli*esuspension on the border between the antastic and the mundane oersa utopian& i e+anescent& promise o transigured perception& the

hypnotic renewing o e+eryday e.istence$ Both the uncanny andmagical realism narrate antastic e+ents not merely alongside realones& but as i they were real$ hat seems most strange turns out to besecretly amiliar$ hat is the dierence& then& between the uncannyand magical realism itsel< I will argue that magical realism is a modeor subset o the uncanny in which the uncanny e.poses itsel as ahistorical and cultural phenomenon$ agical realism reali#es theconjunction o ordinary and antastic by ocusing on a particular historical moment alicted or graced by this doubleness$ )ince

magical realism surrounds with its abulous aura a particular&historically resonant time and place& the theory o magical realismmust supply an approach to history& not merely literary genre$ %helucid antasia that the magical realist mode oers is not an aesthete'sinto.icant magical realism appeals to 4aribbean writers because itaddresses the weight o historical memory that sur+i+es in the day today lie o the est Indies$

%his idea o magical realism as a sel,consciously historical orm issuggested by lejo 4arpentier's inluential discussion o lo real

maravilloso& or mar+elous reality$ 4arpentier gi+es birth to magicalrealism as a concept special to or necessarily implied by (ew orldhistory$ ccording to 4arpentier's seminal ormulation in his prologueto The Kingdom of this World 2 4l reino de este mundo, ?@L@), theutopian imaginati+e reedom only dreamt o by the ?ld orldsurrealist becomes lesh in the (ew orld& and especially in its4aribbean margin$ Both nglophone and Aispanophone 4aribbean

writers ha+e ollowed 4arpentier by asserting that the (ew orld possesses an original aesthetic +irtually embedded in its social andnatural landscapes& a magical reality una+ailable to the :uropean artistor writer$ (ot the writer's style& but the historical scene that his or her writing re+eals& pro+ides the magic$

6redric Jameson more e.plicitly ormulates the historical basis o themagical realist aesthetic implicit in 4arpentier's deinition$ 6or

Jameson& magical realism relies on disjunctions among diering

11





In the literary sphere& e.amples o creoli#ation or cultural mi.inganalogous to the tea meeting appear in the wor*s o the Barbadian poet :dward =amau Brathwaite and the %rinidadian no+elist )amuel

)el+on$ Both ma*e e.pert use o dialect and ol* culture within genresthat obey the standards o a literary tradition deri+ed rom :urope$alcott's own brilliant use o dialect in -high- literary orms e"uals)el+on's and surpasses Brathwaite's$ )uch mi.ing o cultures& I willsuggest& also suraces in the magical realist moments in alcott's& andothers'& wor*$

%he symbiosis o ol* and high culture& along with the mi.ing o rican& :uropean sian& and (ati+e merican strains orms a central

part o the magical realist aesthetic& as 4arpentier suggests in hisessays$ %he magical realist no+el o e.ploration& 4arpentier The %ost

#te2s 2 %os 2asos 2erdidos, ?@B) or !arris' alae of the eaok

> ?@), relies on suh a geogra2hial and historial fat of

oe/istene= #outh Ameria sets alongside one another the 2refeudal

5ungle, the modern a2italist it0, and the feudal ountr0side6 *n One

!undred "ears of #olitude, too, the magial realist compression o antasy and mimetic narrati+e in which& or e.ample& ghosts are a low,

*ey realist eature o the Buendía household& inds its basis& particularly in the no+el's early chapters& in the coincidence o twodrastically dierent cultures that most readers would e.pect to belongto dierent eras a ol*loric magic with& as García !r"ue# hasac*nowledged& rican roots& and rationalist scientiic in+estigation$)imilarly& the in+oluted& oten incestuously repetiti+e character o theBuendía generations in #olitude inds its basis in a simultaneity o historical and social epochs$8 Gypsies& necromancers& and the relics o 6rancis ;ra*e ta*e their place alongside /nited 6ruit> and e+en

acondo's priest resorts to the pagan magic o le+itation$

ju.taposition o antasy and reality a*in to the instances I ha+e citedrom García !r"ue# pro+ides the oundation or the central magicalrealist episode in alcott autobiographical epic Another %ife 219D3$In this scene uguste anoir& a merchant and -pillar o the 4hurch-21H83 in alcott's nati+e island& )t$ @ucia& is transormed into his dog&a snarling beast -more wol than dog$- /p to this point& the poem has

been realistic in its narrati+e> the anoir episode represents a sudden

1D



outbrea* o the supernatural in a +erisimilar conte.t$ Jameson's thesiso a cultural disjunction 2in this case& that o :urope and rica3 as theoundation o magical realism seems to be borne out here& since

alcott's shit toward a magical realist mode occurs as a reaction tothe :uropean aspirations represented by characters li*e anoir$

@et us ta*e a closer loo* at the anoir episode$ alcott has just beendescribing the ethodist church in )t$ @ucia$ %he ethodists'-Jacobean :nglish- oers the poem's narrator a dialect associated withthe igures o -rnold& staid melancholy o those )abbath dus*s- and-those rigorous teachers o our youth& Q ictorian gra+ures o the Aoly@and- 21HH3$ %he narrator then ju.taposes to this high,toned :uropean

belie a depiction o the rican tribal religion that is the source o thewerewol myth& -an ata+ism stronger than their ass$- s :dwardBaugh notes& alcott's werewol myth is related to the 5P7ga58 2 gens

engag8s3 o )t$ @ucian ol*lore described by ;aniel 4rowley ,,humans who sell their ser+ices to the de+il$ -?ne step beyond the citywas the bush- and its -obeah,man-> -?ne step beyond the church door stood the de+il- 21H3$ anoir's werewol metamorphosis representsthe re+enge o rica on anoir$ anoir& in guarding his status as a

pillar o the 4hristian church& has repressed the presence o rica,deri+ed magic in the est Indies$ anoir's attempt to disguise therican roots o est Indian society is rustrated by the magical realistassertion o rica's place beside :urope's in the (ew orld$

Another %ife at irst glance seems to indulge in what I will call aclassici#ing strategy& an attachment to :urope similar to the one itattributes to anoir$ But the poem actually transorms classici#inginto something wholly new and dierent rom anoir's mode& as

alcott sets his own use o classical and :uropean tradition againstthe oicial or imperial e.ploitation o tradition that he associates withcharacters li*e anoir$ s it draws on classical motis& Another %ife'sstyle itsel becomes an arena or the debate o+er the renewal o culturein the (ew orld$

Let alcott's approach to classici#ing style is still more complicatedor mi.ed than I ha+e indicated& since he can detect no clear or reliabledistinction between an oppressi+e and a promising cultural

1



inheritance$ n e.ample will illustrate$ In lines li*e -%he moonmaintained her station& Q her ingers stro*ed a chiton,luted sea- 213&alcott mo+es rom a +iew o the empire as mundane or routini#ed

2-maintained her station-3 to a classical ennobling o the colonialsetting signaled by the adjecti+e -chiton,luted$- s in the anoir episode& such classici#ing description ,here o 4astries& )t$ @ucia's port town& and alcott's home ,, presents irst o all an attempt toco+er or disguise the reality o the (ew orld with a :uropean+eneer

%he moon maintained her station& her ingers stro*ed a chiton,lutedsea& her disc whitewashed the shells o gutted oices barnacling the

whar+es o the burnt town& her lamp baring the o+als o toothlessacades& along the oman arches$$$ her alternating i+ories lay untuned&her age was dead& her sheet shrouded the anti"ue urniture& the mantelwith its plaster,o,5aris enus& which his yearning had made marble&hal,crac*ed unsil+ering mirror o blac* ser+ants& li*e the painter's*erchieed& ear,ringed portrait lbertina$ 213

%he poet's elegantly poised description o the moon -stro*OingP- a-chiton,luted sea- hints at a disharmony with its setting$ %hecomparison o the sea to the ancient Gree* chiton or tunic& amiliar rom classical painting and sculpture& oers a -whitewashOingP- o thede+astated landscape that it rames& as the rather jarring succession o images that ollows indicates the -gutted oices- and -toothlessacades- present a discordant and grotes"ue& an -untuned&-accompaniment or Aellenic grace$ s the passage continues& it becomes clear that the classical images ,, the oman arches& thecrac*ed plaster,o,5aris enus ,, are actually crumbling to ruins$ %he

:urope,i.ated aspiring o the young protagonist's imagination hasdenied this reality& transorming it to a marble worthy o his poeticheritage$ But perhaps& as in the youthul ilton's tribute to)ha*espeare& the authority o his precursors has immobili#ed thenascent poet and trapped him& or all his prodigious yearnings& in a place o po+erty and loss$ 6i.ed in a paralysis li*e that o his decrepitsurroundings& the poet has been 2in ilton's words3 -made marblewith too much concei+ing$- %he chiton with which we began has

waned& dwindling to a brilliant acade that conceals ,, but or only a

1



moment ,, the disjunction between :uropean tradition and 4aribbeanreality& as well as the gap between past and present$

Let we can also ind& in this same passage rom Another %ife& a hint o alcott's inclination toward the est Indies' mi.ing o traditions&despite his yearning or a classicism that remains estranged& haughtilyresisting a 4aribbean translation$ In this +ein& alcott suggests ali*eness between the enus and the portrait by his painting tutor&Aarry )immons& o the ser+ant lbertina& which echoes a ;elacroi. portrait$ Let the comparison to the Gree* goddess loo*s -hal,crac*ed$- lbertina& unli*e enus& here appears in traditional costume&*erchieed and ear,ringed ,, that is& rica,deri+ed$ But she also& o

course& stems rom ;elacroi.> and her +ery double,sidedness images arough and e"uitable coherence o :urope and rica& in contrast to theusual attempt to deny or restrict the rican element$ )immons' portrait o lbertina thereore igures a more honest or answerable& amore indigenous& way o negotiating between :urope and the (eworld than the repressi+e sophistication o anoir or the oicialclassicism institutionali#ed in est Indian schools$ %he discord o traditions she represents is not so out o tune as the strained& and

ultimately alse& attempt to ignore such discord represented by the plaster,o,5aris enus& which holds up an -unsil+ering- ,, that is& alseor oilless ,, mirror o its 4aribbean setting$ alcott notes in his earlymanuscript that lbertina's -heroic&- :uropeani#ed eatures werecombined in )immons' portrait with her -honest- 2i$e$& realisticallyest Indian3 costume& and that the young alcott thus -saw that blac* woman could be beautiul as art$-

But the eort at an indigenous cultural syncretism igured in

)immons' lbertina& a reconciliation between old and new worlds thatwould a+oid o+erreliance on the old& is not so easily achie+ed$ alcottin his noteboo* or Another %ife re+eals that the :uropeani#edaesthetic represented by anoir& and by his own early identiicationwith the British empire& remained a temptation or him in his writingo the poem -I ha+e not eradicated my hatred and longing or :urope$- t one point alcott writes that in the est Indies -our +alues remain ictorian& protecti+e- ,, the +alues o a +anished

colonial world$ -e seem to remember an imitati+e 'classic'

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landscape$ @egacies o a marble museum& o ergilian @atin andthenian dialectic$- :+en the -ar.ist,colonial- 4$ @$ $ James& ne.tto 6rant# 6anon the most amous est Indian intellectual rebel& was&

alcott muses& -indoctrinated with the Graeco,Aellenic +alues o rnold$- -?ur colonial adolescence e+en in the wrong climate andhistory was nourished li*e any young :uropean's on bare ruinedchoirs& bro*en moonlit castles& on the inaccessible princess and theearly death$ ?ur spirits& i not our comple.ions& loitered palely aroundsunsets& dar*ening beaches and dramatic promontories loo*ingseaward$-

:+en as he indulges the memory o an adolescence steeped in lush&

ictorian melancholy& alcott in this noteboo* passage asserts the-wrong-ness o ictorian imagination and its cherished -GraecoAellenic- aura$ )uch ond :uropean decadence seems incongruouswith any potentially indigenous (ew orld aesthetic$ Let alcott'sambi+alence about classical and late,omantic tradition& his continuedin+estment in the wispy ictorian plangency whose inappropriatenesshe derides& remains apparent in his noteboo* as he attempts& and thensuddenly calls o& a classical in+ocation iltered through the :nglish

nineteenth century -smo*e the leisure and railty o recollection$ Iha+e an astigmatic memory$ ssist me& mother o the uses$)easpray& noon,ha#e& the smo*e o a green brush ire$ 4hristM (o oneneeds that ;enton elch melody& that 5alinuran,%ibullan languor& allelastic he.ameters& the prose o con+alesence O si P& the pallid&e+ered hand$-

alcott cannot& does not want to& entirely disdain the pale brow andhand o ictorian classicism& as Another %ife will show$ Ae will&

instead& search or a way o using the classics that is sharply dierentrom the colonial nostalgia he resists$ alcott's classici#ing habit& inits aspiration to become nati+e est Indian e.pression& ollows)immons' method in adapting ;elacroi.& rather than anoir's loyaltyto an essentially oreign rnoldian piety$

Beore discussing urther alcott's re+isionary (ew orld use o theclassics in Another %ife& I will mention one more colonial or oicialuse o them$ %he in+ocation o the classical as a desperate attempt at

1



the cosmopolitan status pro+ided by :urope occurs in )t$ @ucia'sirgilian motto& -statio haud maleida carinis$- In a memorable scene&alcott depicts the line being drummed into the heads o )t$ @ucia

schoolboys who& -solemn ro,Gree*s eager or grades&- recite their rote responses in an accent inluenced by the island patois$Interestingly& the motto& which means -a sae harbor or sheepsOshipsP- 2as the students answer& sheepli*e3& oers a negation ,,actually an unintentionally ironic re+ersal ,, o the Aeneid 'sdescription o the harbor at %enedos& where the Gree* na+y hideswhile their horse is oered to the %rojans$ %he original line as itappears in irgil& - statio male fida arinis- 2untrustworthy harbor or ships3& signiies not saety but tric*ery$ In this imperial conte.t& which

relies on classical culture or ideological indoctrination& alcottma*es sure to ampliy the phrase's original connotation o male fida& bad aith$ %he British empire& li*e the %rojans with their horse&conni+es at destruction& concealing its threat by distorting a irgilianwarning into a praise o saety and nondeception$ Britain's addition o a haud 2-not at all-3 in in+enting the motto or its colony cannot mas* the deceit necessary to :uropeani#e or classici#e a culture li*e that o )t$ @ucia& which remains predominantly rican in character$

alcott responds to such manipulati+e uses o classical tradition in theoicial schoolroom conte.t by imaginati+ely recasting the classics inthe est Indies$ In an early chapter o the poem& the young narrator& preparing or bed at dus*& remembers a classroom order rom earlier in the day -BoyM ho was ja.<- 2183$ lready hal asleep& heresponds with a dreamli*e catalog o )t$ @ucia characters& recallingAelen's catalog o warriors in the *liad's boo* D$ %his antasy about theAomeric identities o contemporary 4aribbean li+es comprises the

irst crossing o dream and reality in the poem& a blurring o realmsthat will in a ew pages generate the outright magical realism o theanoir episode$ mong alcott's characters here is one :manueluguste

:manuel uguste& out in the harbour& lone ?dysseus& tattooed e.,merchant sailor& rows alone through the rosebloom o dawn tochuc*ling oars measured& dip& pentametrical$ 21H03

18



In his noteboo* +ersion o Another %ife Walott dwells at muchgreater length on the character o :manuel uguste& whom heremembers as a merchant seaman who -would "uote his )ha*espeare

at length$- uguste remains both critical o his surrounding cultureand aithul to his seldeinition as a est Indian$ -(o one had a more painul lo+e or his people&- alcott writes& -but he was e.periencedenough to let them *now who they were$ Ae ne+er lattered or abusedthem&- in spite o their abuse o him 2he is jeered and interrupted on aeast day during his recital o obert )er+ice's -%he @ieboat-3$

alcott& in his noteboo*& presents uguste as a *ind o model or thecitation o :uropean tradition$ ugust e transorms this tradition&

rein+enting it as nati+e perormance$ s a result o uguste's recitals&alcott writes& -I was drawn to grandeur& to a )ha*espearean glory& todeclamatory +erse$ I belie+ed that these actors had inherited& in actowned the literature which they recited$ I ne+er saw them as blac* or brown men trying to be :nglish$- %his noteboo* meditation onuguste's character is important or our understanding o whatalcott is trying to accomplish when he depicts uguste and others inthe inal published +ersion o Another %ife as analogous to characters

in a :uropean 2Aomeric3 tradition$ %hrough cross,cultural analogy& the poet tries to ma*e Aomer est Indian& just as uguste made)ha*espeare est Indian or the young alcott by appropriating andtransorming the est Indies' :uropean inheritance& rather thanassuming it as debt or burden$

nachronistic identiication or analogy thus becomes one o alcott'scrucial ways o transiguring a potential burden into an appropriated+ision$ %he poet& in this choice o method& has a polemical a.e to

grind$ alcott's identiication o )t$ @ucia's inhabitants with Aomericcharacters 2a horse as ja.& the -town's one clear,comple.ionedwhore- as Aelen& the -e.,merchant sailor- as a -lone ?dysseus-3represents an unoicial or pri+ate lin*ing o the 4aribbean with theancient past& a way o bypassing the imprisoning choice betweeneager acceptance and contemptuous rejection o :urope ,, theopposites e.empliied& respecti+ely& by conser+ati+e and radicalislanders$ alcott in Another %ife spea*s against those 4aribbean

rightists who ailiate themsel+es with :uroclassicism and -gild

19



cruelty- by seeing -the colors o Aispanic gloryQgreater than Greece& Qstaying ro#en in its spell$ 6i.ated on colonial injustice& the letists-remain ascinated& Q in attitudes o prayer& Q by the estering roses

made rom their athers' manacles- 2C8H3$alcott sees a dire inade"uacy in the choice he is oered between therebellious& bitter 4aliban and the suering& loyal riel as alternati+erole models or the (ew orld$ s alcott describes it& the (eworld e.ists in a ractured or mediated relation to the :uropeantradition's 5rosperos& rather than the direct relation that both riel and4aliban claim$ s alcott notes in an inter+iew& :liot's idea o the-unbro*en arc- o tradition loo*s strangely inapplicable to -the

education o the blac* in the estern world&- in which -asensibility$$$has been bro*en and recreated- %he discontinuity o :uropean empire with the rican and merindian cultures that it hascon"uered re+eals a historical +iolence that the :liotic notion o tradition cannot smooth o+er$ %he :uropean tradition in the (eworld shows signs o& not a continuous inheritance& but a turbulent persistence within re+olutionary change$ s the Guyanese no+elistilson Aarris writes& considering -the di+ide pre,4olumbianQpost,

4olumbian&- -%he "uestion is ,, how can one begin to reconcile the bro*en parts o such an enormous heritage& especially when those bro*en parts appear +ery oten li*e a grotes"ue series o ad+entures&+olcanic in its precipitate eects as well as human in its +ulnerablesettlement<- Let the +ery +ulnerability inlicted by historicaloppression& Aarris continues& also leads to a -chargOingP- o the (eworld landscape -with the openness o imagination&- and thus a potential reedom rom the past$

In his eort to a+oid the sterile& conining alternati+e betweenailiating himsel to and reacting against :uropean tradition& alcottin an important essay& .The Muse of !istor0,. identiies hitman& (eruda& Borges& and )t$ John 5erse as (ew orld writers whoo+ercome this restricti+e dualism$ %hese igures pro+e their dierence& not by a 4aliban,li*e cursing o the :uropean past& but bya renewal o certain classical :uropean themes as -instant archaism--)o Oin Borges' ')treetcorner an'P the death o a gaucho does not

merely repeat& but is& the death o 4aesar$ 6act e+aporates into myth$-

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2)imilarly& in Another %ife& the merchant seaman :manuel ugusteis

?dysseus$3 :.ploiting anachronism to generate an -damic- +ision o the (ew orld& alcott goes on& causes a primiti+e -wonder- 2similar

to 4arpentier's lo real maravilloso3& -an elation which sees e+erythingas renewed&- liberated rom the oppression o the past& and yet whichalso sees the past that remains +isible within the present& -the ruins o great ci+ili#ations-

(ew orld ruins oer an ancient magic in the orm o a wild& newreedom$ %he genuine dierence o the (ew orld situation ,, asalcott e.presses it in terms that ally him to 4arpentier& Aarris& andGarcía !r"ue# ,, argues against the use o :uropean or classical

tradition as a means o either loyal ailiation or ormati+e antagonism&since both loyalty and rebellion would imply the conser+ati+e&unbro*en authority o :uropean tradition$ Instead& alcott's tale o his-blac* Gree*OsP- 2C93 in Another %ife& as in his major epic Omeros2 19903& ac*nowledges the ragmented aterlie o :uropean traditionin the (ew orld by in+enting reely re+isionary parallels betweenAomeric instances and the modern 4aribbean$

%he release rom a burdensome colonial inheritance by means o antastic analogies between the present and the past& li*e alcott'sconnection between the Aomeric world and the contemporary estIndies& is only one way or (ew orld writing to respond to the ris*so history$ nother way is that o 4arpentier& who ma*es the magicalrealist mode a *ey strategy in his (ew orld project o transculturation 2that is& creoli#ing& or cultural mi.ing3$ %o clariy thesimilarity between magical realism and other ways o transculturationin est Indian discourse& I will describe some speciic ainities

between alcott and 4arpentier$

s I ha+e suggested& magical realism may transigure a historicalaccount via phantasmagorical narrati+e e.cess$ %he eect is to liberatehistory's destructi+e aspect into an imaginati+e sense o uture$ In suchmagical realist reinterpretation& the e+idence o imperialist oppressionremains +isible in the orms o ruins whose decrepit appearancesignals the pastness& as well as the persistence o imperialist power$%he writer domesticates the memory o :uropean rule& transorming it

1H1



into a antastically ertile subject or creati+e imagination$ 6or e.ample& the )panish galleon in García !"ue# One !undred "ears

of #olitude& its hallucinatory repose oering occasion or both the

writer's and acondo's antasies& produces an imaginati+e reedomrom the real cruelty o colonial history$

Let& in the writers I ha+e mentioned& and most notably in alcott& the (ew orld's colonial past is not always a magical ruin tamed byauthorial antasy$ Aistory may pro+e to be +ery much ali+e in itstenacious hold o+er both colonial masters and +ictims$ 4arpentier'snarrati+e o the Aaitian re+olution& The Kingdom of this World 21993& pro+ides an important case in point$ In 4arpentier's no+el& antastic

ro,4aribbean myth and natural landscape join orces in a battleagainst a cyclical& ine+itably recurring historical +iolence that binds its+ictims to the colonial past e+en ater the re+olutionary achie+emento independence$ %he male+olent power o history loo*s e+en morethreatening as a result o the analogy between history and nature inThe Kingdom of this World $

In The Kingdom of this World & 4arpentier resists the demonic alliancethat he has constructed between historical and natural orces$ alcottin Another %ife& bearing the inluence o his 4aribbean precursor 4arpentier& echoes 4arpentier's doubleness by both grimly proclaiming a catastrophic bondage to the past and hopeully oeringa natural wilderness as recourse against that past$ (ature& or alcott&igures a magically :denic uture that can stand against history$ Letsuch magic& in alcott as in 4arpentier& inally pro+es transient and powerless& orcing us to return to culture as the necessary site o poetic ma*ing$

In his noteboo* drats o Another %ife& alcott de+elops his :denic+ision by drawing on 4arpentier's idea o an aesthetic indigenous tothe 4aribbean setting& as well as the notion& reminiscent o García!r"ue#'s acondo in its early days& that in the (ew orld -nothingOwasP so old it could not be repeated- 2In the inal +ersion o Another

%ife this is transormed into the e+en more acondoes"ue image o aworld -with nothing so old Q that it could not be in+ented- OC9P$3 Inthis antasy o the (ew orld as paradise& social lie matches a

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+oluptuous& :denic nature in its reshness and possibility ,, a dreamthat the later history o acondo re+eals as a delusion$

alcott's separation o history rom natural landscape shows him to bean inheritor o 4arpentier's an.ious imaginati+e stance$ 6or both4arpentier and alcott& the turn rom history and toward a wild& sel,renewing nature seems a possible way to ree the imagination rom theoppressi+e nearness o the past$ Aowe+er& the nature that the protagonist "uests ater pro+es to be& in both Another %ife and The

%ost #te2s& a solipsistic and oddly sterile solution to the "uestion o (ew orld writing$ s both 4arpentier and alcott reali#e& an :denicimage o nature& though at irst a deeply attracti+e prospect pro+es

utile e.actly because it means denying the cultural comple.ities thatma*e up the (ew orld$ In the ne.t section o this essay& I e.ploreurther the attraction and the ris*& or both alcott and 4arpentier& o the light into nature concei+ed as an alien and incorruptible source$

6irst& there was the hea+ing ?il&

hea+y as chaos>

then& li*e a light at the end o a tunnel&

the lantern o a cara+el&

and that was Genesis$

%hen there were the pac*ed cries&

the shit& the moaning

:.odus$

Bone soldered by coral to bone&

mosaics

mantled by the benediction o the shar*'s shadow&

that was the r* o the 4o+enant$

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,, ;ere* alcott& .The #ea is !istor0.

4arpentier's no+els& li*e alcott's poetry& demonstrate a creati+eunease with the conluence o history and nature in the (ew orld$)uch discomort can culminate& in both writers& in a desire to escapehistory and to e.alt instead the ierce power o a natural landscape thato+ershadows and shows up all human projects$ %his celebration o asublime& apocalyptic nature occurs in 4arpentier as a reaction againsta history that claims omnipotence or itsel$ %hunder accompanies the propitiatory rituals announcing the Aaitian sla+e re+olt that pro+ides4arpentier's historical subject matter& and nature itsel seems complicitin the uphea+al that& in 4arpentier's words& -would bring the thunder

and lightning and unleash the cyclone that would round out the wor* o men's hands- %he no+el's conclusion& in which the e.,sla+e %i,(o[lis reduced once again to ser+itude under the new blac* masters o Aaiti& dri+es home 4arpentier's grim& implacable +ision o history$ 6or 4arpentier& history oers a cycle o punishment as repetiti+e andirresistible as nature itsel$ But at the same time the no+el's end teasesus with the possibility o an apocalyptic release rom repetition& theliberation that %i,(o[l might manage by mastering nature -%he old

man hurled his declaration o war against the new masters$$$$ t thatmoment a great green wind& blowing rom the ocean& swept the 5lainedu (ord& spreading through the ;ondon +alley with a loud roar$- %i, (o[l& in the no+el's inal pages& displays his conjuring power not only by raising a storm& but also by metamorphosing into a creature o nature& the man,bird o rican,merican ol*lore$

%he ending o 4arpentier Kingdomy& then& suggests the possibility thatan rican magic associated with nature might escape colonial history$

In act& though& %i,(o[l's magic& li*e that o the arch,rebel ac*andalearlier in the no+el& oers liberation only on the icti+e le+el$ %he blac* man's real& historical status as +ictim will continue$ 4arpentier *eeps in deliberate irresolution the distance between imagination andthe historical acts that resist imagination's transormati+e magic$ %hemagical realist techni"ue o treating the antastic as i it were realsuggests a tempting& but too hopeul& promise o imaginati+eliberation %i,(o[l as airborne sa+iour& a soaring hal,god& hal,beast

bringing blac* reedom$

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Aistory and nature& joined through most o Kingdom& are uncertainlyand hopeully disjoined at its conclusion$ The Kingdom of this World

inds the source o its mar+elous& hallucinatory "uality as narrati+e not

only in the cycles o history& the terrible return o imperial oppressionin the shape o Aenri,4hristophe and his successors& but also in thetantali#ing and unreali#able project o a light into nature as escaperom history$ %he hope or escape is& I suggest& an important aspect o magical realist narrati+e& e.isting in tension with the historical basis o the mode itsel as Jameson describes it$

%he ragile wish or a separation o nature and history initiated in The

Kingdom of this World continues in 4arpentier's ne.t no+el& The %ost

#te2s 219D3$ :arly on in the no+el& the narrator stumbles into astereotypical scene o re+olution in the )outh merican country he is+isiting in his search or the origin o musical instruments$4arpentier's hero responds to the re+olution by turning rom history inorder to pursue a reassuringly prehistorical prospect the primalrelation between humanity and music$ Ae ignores the political uproar&the -magic situation- o +iolent disorder& and ollows his scientiic"uest to the heart o the jungle$ s at the end o The Kingdom of this

World & 4arpentier protagonist wishes or an imaginati+eempowerment& a magic& associated with the secrets o a nature that predates historical oppression$ %ellingly& he wants to ind the origin o music in human imitation o a natural phenomenon& the cries o animals$

The %ost #te2s bears particular signiicance or a reading o alcott because it ocuses& li*e Another %ife& on the predicament o a narrator whose writing stems rom a personal history intimately bound up with

his artistic capacity$ 2%his emphasis on the autobiographical nature o creati+ity is shared by The %ost #te2s and ordsworth's relude& themost ob+ious poetic model or Another %ife$3 %he narrator's journey inThe %ost #te2s is not just a scientiic project> increasingly& it becomesa personal one& an eort to ind a properly amilial origin$ In )outhmerica& he returns to the Aispanophone conte.t o his inancy aswell as to the maternal security pro+ided by his girlriend osario$%he narrator& who eels that his lie has turned stale and repetitious&

belie+es that he can ind the ideal therapy or his anomie in a

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landscape that transcends history& the supposed permanence or eternality o the (ew orld wilderness$ %he wilderness will enablehim to regain his creati+e powers as a composer as well it presents a

+irtual blan* slate or the artist as e.plorer$ oti+ated& then& by bothartistic ambition and personal neurosis& 4arpentier's hero proposes tohimsel the -dam's tas*- o naming the (ew orld in words andmusic$

Let the wilderness that the narrator disco+ers in The %ost #te2s ails tooer the hoped,or empty can+as or blan* page ready or damictelling$ %his nature recalls a history most signiicantly& the chronicleo :uropean e.plorers who& tra+eling long beore 4arpentier's

narrator& conirm his most ama#ing perceptions

I turned toward the ri+er$ )o +ast was its stream that the torrents& thewhirlpools& the alls that perturbed its relentless descent were used inthe unity o a pulse that had throbbed& rom dry season through rainyseason& with the same rests and beats since beore man was in+ented$e were embar*ing that morning& at dawn& and I had spent long hoursloo*ing at the ban*s& without ta*ing my eyes or too long rom thenarration o 6ray )er+ando de 4astillejos& who had brought hissandals here three centuries ago$ Ais "uaint prose was still +alid$here the author mentioned a roc* with the proile o an alligator high on the right ban*& there it was& high on the right ban*$

%hroughout the narrator's journey into the jungle& he inds his point o +iew already inscribed in the landscape by tra+elers li*e 6ray)er+ando& his precursor$ )uch historical precedent presents both acomort and a rustration a comort because it seems to pro+e the

permanence o the e.plorer's +ision& its duration o+er the course o centuries> a rustration because it una+oidably places the narrator inthe position o the belated outsider& despite his longing to discard hisestern cosmopolitan perspecti+e& to become one with the wildernessand its inhabitants$ In The %ost #te2s& only an alienated character li*ethe narrator can rightly percei+e the indigenous or nati+e "uality o thewondrous merican real$ )o it is or 4arpentier's readers we sense theauratic thrill o magical realism as& wary o its spell& we approach itrom outside ,, rom the cold realm o realist e.pectation$

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(or does the wilderness& inally& pro+ide the unmarred& unchangingstability that 4arpentier's protagonist desires at the end o the no+el&he ma*es a second trip into the )outh merican jungle& and inds

himsel unable to locate and return to the sights he encountered on his pre+ious journey$ s 4arpentier remar*s in his essay .Conienia e

identidad en Am8ria. >.Consiene and *dentit0 in Ameria.)&describing the journey up the ?rinoco that pro+ided theautobiographical basis or his no+el& the ri+er stays -immutable- andyet parado.ically e+er,changing& in Aeraclitean ashion$ %he act thatthe ?rinoco does change& despite its appearance o eternality& indicatesthe elusi+eness and& inally& the utility o the narrator's hope or asecure and permanent origin$ s oberto Gon#!le# :che+arría writes&

-%he attempt to return to thOeP source shows in The %ost #te2s that nosuch unity e.ists& that writing un+eils not the truth& nor the trueorigins& but a series o repeated gestures and e+er,renewed beginnings$-

The %ost #te2s& then& by eliciting the reader's intimate identiicationwith 4arpentier's irst,person protagonist& ma*es the reader participatein a search or origins that 4arpentier then ironi#es by submitting it to

the presence o colonial history$ (ot only does the protagonist repeatthe postures o the :uropean e.plorers& he also stumbles on theabsence o the meaningul identity or grounded truth that outsidersalways& and always +ainly& hope to ind in the wilderness$ 4arpentier'sirony is shared by alcott& who& at the end o Another %ife& irst see*snature as such a ground& as a possible way to o+ercome colonialhistory& and then shows what moti+ates this search a desperate needto deny social and historical act$

alcott's most important theoretical statement& the -o+erture- to his190 +olume (ream on Monke0 Mountain and Other la0s& centerson a similar parado.& one clearly indebted to the sha*y Aeraclitean"uality o 4arpentier's mar+elous real$ In this o+erture& which bearsthe (iet#scheanQ:liotic title .What the T+ilight #aid,. alcott& li*e4arpentier in The %ost #te2s& as*s i it is possible to see the (eworld through new& rather than old 2whether :uropean or rican3eyes$ Gi+en his title& alcott is perhaps relecting here on the

alternati+e between (iet#sche's airmation& his desire or a dawn that

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would ollow the twilight o :uropean ressentiment & and the early:liot's nocturnal despair o+er cultural decline$ In act& a Janus,acedreaction to the project o transiguring culture& suggesting both

(iet#sche's hope and :liot's pessimism& becomes +isible in the courseo alcott's essay$ 5oised between home and e.ile& alcott relects in.What the T+ilight #aid. on his ambiguous position as a blac* estIndian drawn toward :urope& a character allied to& yet distant rom4aribbean culture$

In .What the T+ilight #aid,. alcott largely occupies himsel with hise.perience as director o the @ittle 4aribQ%rinidad %heatre or*shoprom 199,H& a time during which he conronted both the acts o

est Indian society and the temptation to aesthetici#e these acts byturning the social into a *ind o ol*loric :den$ )igniicantly or mytheme& alcott e.presses this temptation as an inclination towardmagical realism$ alcott begins the essay by relecting on his ownaesthetici#ed perception o the est Indies' endemic po+erty as amagic reality& ripe or cinematic or theatrical rendering in the incenteinnelli colors o the gorgeous tropics -?ne wal*s past the gildedhallucinations o po+erty with a corrupt resignation touched by details&

as i the destitute$$$were all natural scene,designers and po+erty werenot a condition but an art$$$$ In the tropics nothing is lo+elier than theallotments o the poor& no theatre is as +i+id& +oluble and cheap$-

;espite the essay's epigraph& a "uotation rom Bec*ett Waiting for

-odot in which 5o##o spea*s to the oreigners ladimir and :stragono -what our twilights can do- 2emphasis mine3& alcott begins .What

the T+ilight #aid. rom the point o +iew o a tra+eler or distantobser+er alienated rom the est Indian scene$ %he tra+eler occupies a

ortunate position& since the est Indian setting& li*e 4arpentier'smar+elous real& re+eals its magic only to the stranger$ s the essaycontinues& alcott considers and rejects a possible 2and highly popular3 alternati+e to the role o distant& abstracted stranger encountering a oreign magic$ Instead o choosing e.ile& one might proudly accept 4aribbean culture& including its depri+ations& as one'sown$ In 4aribbean drama& writes alcott& this embrace o the popular means -the cult o na*edness in underground theatre& o tribal roc*& o

po+erty& o rite- ?ne problem with such a primiti+ist solution&

1H8



according to alcott& is that it remains tied to the past$ %he claim or an impo+erished nati+e culture as properly est Indian remains -anenactment o remorse or the genocides o ci+ili#ation$- esentul

letism portrays ro,4aribbean culture as the +ictim and a+enger& andthereore the antagonistic mirror& :uropean ci+ili#ation$ t itsgrimmest& alcott's essay meditates on what he sees as the ine+itableact that any -authentic- e.pression o 4aribbean ol* culture cannot be sel,directed& but must instead react to a :uropean perspecti+e$Beore anything else& the islands' authenticity is a consumer item or the neo,imperialist powers that economically dominate the region$

alcott presents a second& related argument in .What the T+ilight

#aid. against the primiti+e,ol*lorist approach to 4aribbean culture&the simplistic proclaiming o rican origins touted by the-witchdoctors o the new let with imported totems- 2D3$ %he (eworld has permanently transormed rica& as it has :urope and sia>the syncretism o these new conditions displays itsel in alcott's own-generation&- which -had loo*ed at lie with blac* s*ins and blueeyes- -e are all strangers here- 29,103& in the rich and strange4aribbean& and this setting's newness demands& not an impossible

return to the rican roots that ha+e been irre+ocably changed& nor acontinuing protest against the sla+emaster that can only perpetuate theold roles& but a uture,directed artistry& -a new theatre$$$with a delightthat comes in roundly naming its object- 2CH3$ %he imagery thatalcott uses to describe his goal o an inno+ati+e& uturedirectedtheater in the 4aribbean suggests& once again& an :denic picture o nature$ In order or this theater to -oundly name its object- ,, li*edam in the garden ,, -or imagination and body to mo+e withoriginal instinct& we must begin again rom the bush- 2C,CH3$

Ironically& o course& the image o the bush suggests rica& the originthat in alcott's argument hampers originality$ alcott's irony hintsthat the idea o a newly :denic beginning must pro+e decepti+e since&despite the author's wishes& it allows the past to ha+e its +oice$

)ince -we haO+eP no language or the bush- 2D3& no means torecapture the positi+e +alue o -the rican e.perience- 2D3& alcottin his career as a theatrical director and playwright struggles against

the poisonous contagion o mythical rican origins -%he myth o the

1H9



organic& ineradicable tsetse& the numbing ly in the mythicallydierent blood& the myth o the uncreati+e& parasitic& malarial nigger&the marsh,numbed imagination that is happiest in mud$$$$ ter a time

in+isible lianas strangle our will$- ;uring the wor* o preparing astage production& -e+ery night some area in the rapidly breeding busho the mind would be cleared& an area where one could plan e+ery incho ad+ance by irelight- 2DD,D3$ %he irony is pungent the director&ater militantly clearing the bush or his theatrical project& renders thelandscape barren$ Ais artistic purism in 4rusoe,li*e isolation&-wrec*ed on a roc* while hoping that his whirlpool was the na+el o the world- 2DH3$ s we shall see& alcott writes into the conclusion o Another %ife a similarly strong implication o the alienated solipsism

hidden within the desire or :denic artistry$

.What the T+ilight #aid. inally reco+ers rom the implications o such authorial isolation& which were themsel+es earlier deined as atemptation toward an :denic,solipsistic (ew orld +ision& through itsdisplay o socially concerned ironies$ alcott depicts a scene in whichthe playwrightQdirector and his actors climb upward to see themsel+esin the landscape o alcott's youth& the amous promontory o )t$

@ucia called the orne band o tra+ellers& in their dim outlines li*e e.plorers who arri+ed atthe crest o a dry& grassy ridge$$$with the +iew hidden& then le+ellingo to the tin,rooed& toy town o his childhood$ %he sense o hallucination increased with the actuality o e+ery detail& rom thechill& mildly shi+ering blades o hill,grass& rom their +oices abrupted by the wind& the duality o time& past and present piercingly i.ed as i the +oluble puppets o his childhood were now righteningly ali+e$$$$

O)Pome turned towards the lush& dar*,poc*eted +alleys o banana withtheir ochre trac*s and canted wooden huts rom whose *itchens& atirelight& the poetry which they spo*e had come& and urther on& thewild& white,lined tlantic coast with an rica that was no longer home& and the dar*& oracular mountain dying into mythology$$$It wasas i they had arri+ed at a +iew o their own bodies wal*ing up thecrest& their bodies tilted slightly orward& a ew sur+i+ors$ 2D83

10



%his passage noticeably allies itsel to a central aspect o magicalrealist and uncanny aesthetics& the sense o a world that loo*s all themore antastic because o its e.treme or hyperreal -actuality$- %he

unheimlih landscape at once both in+ites and alienates -%he sense o hallucination increased with the actuality o e+ery detail- %his double+ision o the sel& a 5isgah sight o both past 2 alcott's personalhistory3 and uture 2his artistic goals3& goes beyond sel,concern tosuggest a tableau o the (ew orld as +isionary rontier$

But the communal character o this +ision does not alle+iate the artistobser+er's estrangement rom his nati+e landscape and its population-=nowing the place could not tell me what it meant&- alcott writes&

-I watched them but was not among them$- 6inally& he adds that -wewould ha+e to descend again- rom this inspired -achie+ement- 2D83to more mundane diiculties$ nd it is important to note that theretrospecti+e author describes the +ision itsel as a -dying intomythology&- not a li+ing uture$ %he theater company's ascent o theorne& then& may be no closer to a dawn o li+ing creation than theearlier solipsistic picture o a search or the indi+idual -bodyO'sP--original instinct- and or an :denic landscape& +acant o the social& to

surround it$ In both cases& the artist's isolation seems built into thestructure o his perception& and his ambition to -roundly name OhisPobject- by demonstrating his nati+e relation to it thereore appearsenmeshed in a +icious circularity$

%he descent or -dying&- the sense o a culture o tragic -sur+i+ors&-that occurs at the end o alcott -hat the %wilight )aid- stands inironic counterpoint to the conclusion o the play that this -o+erture-introduces& (ream on Monke0 Mountain 2 1903$ %he hero o (ream&

a*a*& climbs bac* to his mythical home at the play's end ater beheading the white goddess who has imprisoned him in his role as a blac* messiah$ (ow& ater +iolently reeing himsel rom anoppressi+e past& a*a* returns& (oahli*e& to -wal* with God- bac* tothe mountain o his origins -(ow this old hermit is going bac* home&- he proclaims& -bac* to the beginning& to the green beginningo this world- 2DCH3$

11



%he e.alted conclusion o (ream on Monke0 Mountain& replete with4hristological signiicance& pro+ides an ob+ious contrast to the saddecline o alcott's own dar*ening +ision at the end o -What the

T+ilight #aid $- (ream's notion o a -green beginning&- an origin thatliberates the hero by reeing him rom the cultural symbolism o master and sla+e& oppressor and oppressed& pro+es impossible in theautobiographical world depicted in -What the T+ilight #aid &- whichli*e The %ost #te2s implies that e+ery -new- beginning conceals anobsessi+ely sel,conscious return to the past$ %he liberating potentialo magical +ision& then& seems to decrease or alcott as it becomessubject to the artist,obser+er's consciousness o the central role that hisown alienated perspecti+e plays in this magic$ )uch sel,

consciousness remains largely absent rom (ream on Monke0 Mountain& but it is prominent in -hat the %wilight )aid- and Another %ife$

alcott's search or :denic origin as escape ta*es an e+en morecompromised or ambi+alent orm in Another %ife than it does in-What theT+ilight #aid %wilight )aid$- t the end o (ream& a*a*'s beginning is -green- because it remains at one with the natural

landscape o his island& the mountain> it is a beginning because he hasdi+ested himsel o the weight o the imperialist past$ )imilarly& in Another %ife alcott the poet,narrator begs to

begin again&

rom what we ha+e always *nown& nothing&

rom that carnal slime o the garden$$$

by this augury o ibises

lying at e+ening rom the melting trees&

while the sil+er,hammered charger o the marsh light

brings toward us& again and again& in beaten scrolls&

nothing& then nothing&

1C



and then nothing$ 2C8H,83

%he beginning that alcott +aguely& i resonantly& suggests at the endo (ream on Monke0 Mountain becomes e.plicit in Another %ife$ Butthis light into nature& repeatedly promised in Another %ife& is just asrepeatedly withdrawn$ In the passage cited abo+e& 4aribbean nature& by gi+ing the poet a lie and a writing all its own 2the -beatenscrolls-3& oers an alternati+e to those -who remain ascinated$$$Qbythe estering roses made rom their athers' manacles&Q$$$Qwho see agolden& cruel& haw*bright gloryQ in the con"uistador's malarial eye-2C8H3 ,, that is& those who etishi#e historical oppression as the product o either heroic mastery or wretched +ulnerability$ (ature

instead oers a blan*ness or innocence& a -nothing&- ready or thedamic mission o the writer naming$

%ellingly& alcott gi+es as one o his epigraphs to Another %ife the passage rom The %ost #te2s in which the narrator endows himsel with -dams' tas*- o name,gi+ing 21883$ Let& also tellingly or alcott's purposes& the 4arpentier passage re+eals what we ha+ealready seen the diiculty& really the utility& o this :denic tas*& as4arpentier's narrator li*ens himsel in this same passage to the:urope,obsessed )outh merican artists who will not e+en attempt todescribe their nati+e en+ironment$ Indeed& there is something empty inthe -nothing- that remains ater the (ew orld landscape has beendenuded o its cruel and comple. history$ It presents an ironic +acuity&as hopeless as the -+acant eyes- o the artists who& in the 4arpentier passage& turn away rom merica and toward :urope$ 4arpentier'smagical merica is not just the outcome o a mi.ing o cultures$ In a passage li*e this one& the (ew orld's auratic charm also con+eys the

writer's eort to e+ade the act o such mi.ing and come out into a pure landscape& cleared o history$

alcott shares with 4arpentier the impulse to purge his writing o historical onienia by identiying it with an :denic (ew orldlandscape$ :arly in Another %ife& howe+er& alcott ta*es a dierentdaring turn$ Ae asserts the implication o the 4aribbean landscape inthe historical e+ents that too* place in it& rather than separating out thenatural scene as he will later on$ ter e+o*ing the history o :uropean

1D



empire taught him by his -choleric& ginger,haired headmaster- in )t$@ucia 2-a lonely :nglishman who lo+ed parades&Qsailing& and 4onrad's prose-3& alcott suddenly describes the most amous incident

associated with )t$ @ucia's major landmar*& the orne%he leaping 4aribs whiten& in one lash& the instant the race leapt at)auteurs& a cataractM ?ne scream o bounding lace 2C1D3

In 1H1 the 4arib Indians o Grenada& surrounded and outnumbered by the British& leapt o a steep hill that later became *nown as the- Morne des #auteurs- 2@eapers' Aill3$ alcott ollows his descriptiono the 4aribs' leap with breathless& relentlessly enjambed lines

depicting a *ind o poetic sel,annihilation to match the 4aribs'suicidal charge he presses 5egasus' hoo bac* into the earth whence itsprouted$

I am pounding the aces o gods bac* into the red clay they leapt romthe mattoc* o heel ater heel$$$and I ha+e wept less or them dead thanI did when they leapt rom my thumbs into birth& than my heels whichha+e ne+er hurt horses that now pound them bac* into what theyshould ne+er ha+e sprung rom& staying un,named where I ound them

,,in the god,breeding& god,de+ouring earthM 2C1D3

s alcott sees it here& the return to mute nature igured in the 4aribs'leap surpasses the artist's eort to represent this mass suicide$ %heIndian warriors transcend the aesthetic by jumping bac* into theunrepresentable$ %heir action o+erwhelms the poetic artistry thatwould depict it as history because it digs deeper than history& literallyembedding culture in the natural act o landscape$ In the ace o this

desperate indigenous intensity& poetry yields$alcott's surrendering o poetic artiice to nature see*s to establish a presence still mar*ed in the landscape the miraculous yet historicallygenuine e+ent o the 4aribs' sel,sacriice$ )trong and enraptured& thewriter submerges his word in the rushing +ocables o the sel,naming&suicidal sauteurs

yet who am I& under

1



such thunder& dear gods& under the heels o the thousand

racing towards the e.clamation o their single name&

)auteursM

$$$I am one

with the thousand runners who will brea* on loud sand

at %hermopylae& one wa+e that now cresting must bear

down the torch o this race& I am all& I am one

who eels as he alls with the thousand now his tendons harden

and the wind god& Aourucan& combing his hair$ 2C13

%he mass o warriors are a brea*ing wa+e$ %his moment o oneness&the immersion o the poetic sel in the currents o a history seen with

and as nature& points toward a hitmanian general embrace$ ith hiscrossreerencing o the (ew and the ?ld orld in the passage I ha+e just cited& alcott erases the di+isions among merican& rican& and:uropean ancestry that ha+e been a constant theme in his wor*$ %head+ancing 4aribs loo* li*e the runners at %hermopylae& and the entire passage ends with a mi.ing o :uropean and merican ,, the mentiono the merindian god Aourucan in the conte.t o ancient Greece$ swith Borges' identiication o the gaucho as 4aesar& or alcott's o :manuel ugust e as ?dysseus& a abulous historical analogy hereobscures the actual history o colonial con"uest& beginning aluminous& re+isionary rewor*ing o the cultural energy that passesrom the classical to the contemporary$ long with the transiguring o history into natural landscape ,, also a tric* o magical realism in itslush& paradisal moments ,, comes the disappearance o the poet'salienated point o +iew& his prison o colonial inheritance$ ith the sauteurs' light& the oppression o the past lits and rees us intoimagination$

1



alcott's claim in this passage that -I am all& I am one- with a mass o historical indi+iduals loo*s bac* to hitman& as I ha+e suggested& butalso to one o hitman's descendents& 5ablo (eruda$ In his e.alted

and tremendous poem The !eights of Mahu ihu 2 %as alturas de Mahu ihu3& (eruda prophetically in+o*es the monumental relicso the Inca site achu 5icchu& identiying himsel with the oppressedmasses who sur+i+e within or below its ruined scene$ %he poet's sel,identiication with a past people ,, alcott with the 4aribs& (erudawith the Incasdemands the inding o a historically resonant andindestructible place 2the orne& achu 5icchu3$ In both cases& cultureli+es on as nature$ s Gon#!le#,:che+arría notes& (eruda Canto

general, the longer poem that enolds The !eights of Mahu ihu,

begins by conlating human history and natural landscape$ alcott's passage& with its Genesis,inlected mention o the 4aribs as -red clay- being -pounded- bac* into earth by the poet,potter as he searches ater the power o origins& echoes this opening moment o 4anto general$ (eruda& li*e alcott and li*e 4arpentier's narrator in %he @ost )teps&see*s the birth o humanness out o natural act -an was earth& a+essel& the eyelidQ ? the "ui+ering clay& a shape o potter's earth&Q4arib spout& 4hibcha stone$-

Let i alcott& li*e (eruda& plays a prophetic role by assuming the bardic +oice o creation& he also bac*s away& later on in nother @ie&rom (eruda's o+erwhelming descent toward e.cruciating empathywith an ancestral people 2-%ell me e+erything& chain by chain&Q @in* by lin*& and step by step&Q 6ile the *ni+es you *ept by you&Q ;ri+ethem into my chest and my hand-3$ @i*e 4arpentier& alcott turnsrom (eruda's impulse toward incarnate solidarity with the primiti+eor ancient$ %he inal two sections o alcott's poem attempt to ocus

the diident& ner+ous consciousness o a narrator not sure how toidentiy& much less identiy with& the history that surrounds him& yetwho responds to it with an attenti+e care$ In the penultimate section o nother @ie& alcott in+o*es the ordsworthian -child- who

puts the shell's howl to his ear&

1H



hears nothing& hears e+erything

that the historian cannot hear& the howls

o all the races that crossed the water&

the howls o grandathers drowned

in that intricately swi+elled Babel&

hears the ellaheen& the adrasi& the andingo& the shanti&

yes& and hears also the echoing green issures o 4anton&

and thousands without longing or this other shore

by the mud tablets o the Indian pro+inces$$$

see& in the e+ening light by the saron& sacred Benares&

how they are liting li*e herons&robed ghostly white and brown&

and the crossing o water has erased their memories$

nd the sea& which is always the same&

accepts them$ 2C83

alcott's beautiul recollection o the rican and siatic +oicesdri+en to the new shores o the 4aribbean does not& this time& gi+e us arough courage that runs with the masses toward historical sueringand glory& but instead a subtle persistence allied to the nature imagedin the seashell and -the sea& which is always the same- (atureeortlessly assimilates& and erases& its crowds o human inhabitants&soothing them into obli+ion$ Aere& then& a luid& all,orgi+ing cosmos

1



distances the poet rom 4aribbean history& rather than stamping it into place as a monumental memory& as in the sauteurs passage$ ?necentral subte.t or alcott is ordsworth's celebration& in the relude&

o the inant memories borne by a maternal nature that persists beneath the strata o re+olutionary +iolence and biographical trauma$

@i*e hitman more than ordsworth& alcott uses nature towelcome the human masses into a healing depth o unborn process-%he crossing o water has erased their memories$Q nd the sea& whichis always the same&Q accepts them$- alcott& in an inter+iew with:dward Airsch& spea*s o -the erasure o the idea o history- in4aribbean nature& -in the sur which continually wipes the sand clean&

in the act that those huge clouds change so "uic*ly$' %his therapeuticorgetting& nature's promise o healing human history throughobliteration and mutability& ma*es alcott want -to teach OhimPsel the poetry o natural science$-

In the noteboo*s or Another %ife& alcott presents his wish or a poetics o nature de+oid o the human by championing a ellowsolitary& -the igure o 4rusoe- 2a a+orite alcott character in other poems as well3$ alcott in+o*es a 4rusoe who has become -tired o the git&- the "uintessentially human capacity o being -articulate$--Ae has learnt the indierence o his dog& but their separateemptinesses are terrible$ :mpty his mind as monotonously as he wantshe cannot become a dog since he has more than a dog's desires$-

alcott presents 4rusoe's impulse toward a dogli*e state o inarticulate emptiness as an alluring ascetic project& a )te+ensian pursuit o po+erty that aims to empty out the sel's intellecti+e wiles$

hen 6riday arri+es& 4rusoe loses his mission& returning to humanlanguage and to the -commonplace sanity- and -sel,righteous- ,nessthat accompanies it$ 6or alcott& the 4rusoe we see with 6riday has been inected by -a puritanism that has learnt something rome.perience& when& unli*e most men& he once really understoodnothing$- ith 6riday's appearance& then& 4rusoe loses the crude&reducti+e stability o his earlier de+otion to -nothing$-

18



6or alcott's 4rusoe& nature promises a potential solace or reugerom humanity$ But the inal pages o Another %ife "uestion the+iability o this reuge more radically than elsewhere in alcott& by

way o the solitary igure o the poet$ In Another %ife the poet wishesor himsel the inhuman -nothing- that he grants the lone 4rusoe inhis noteboo*$ (ear the end o the poem& alcott wants only theinarticulate& pure -nothing- o a nature de+oid o human culture& -therealQroc* I ma*e real$- Aere the isolated sel alone within stony&unyielding landscape represents an escape rom the master,sla+econ+ersation o 4rusoe and 6riday& whose relation seems an inernalmodel or the whole o colonial history

Inured$ Inward$ s roc*

I wish& as the real

roc* I ma*e real&

to ha+e burnt out desire&

lust& e.cept or the sun

with her corona o ire

nna& I wanted to grow white,haired

as the wa+e& with a wrin*led

brown roc*'s ace& salted

seamed& an old poet&

acing the wind

and nothing& which is&

the loud world in his mind$ 2C903

19



@i*e ?edipus or @ear& the poet is supported by his daughters-balanced$$$by the weight o two dear daughters$- alcott calls on theaged& sel,imposed isolation o these two tragic heroes& both hoping

or the peace that might come about through a "uieting o thedestruction that their own stubborn wills ha+e brought about$ Inaddition to )ha*espeare and )ophocles& in this densely allusi+e sectiono the poem we can hear the +oices o at least our other te.ts thatcon+ey& in +arying tones& the desire or peace& or a respite rom thecruelty o will Ginsberg !o+l & :liot Ash Wednesda0& and )te+ens'The #no+ Man. and .The ok $

reduction o :denic possibility to the aridity o bare roc*& alcott's

nature remains a strenuously deliberate projection$ %he poet hopes that-inured- will rhyme with inward& that his -tireless hoarse anger- will be ossiied& as roc*& into impermeable )toic stasis$ But as alcott well*nows& such a wish to mimic the assurance o the roc*'s solidity mar*sa necessary alling short& a hopeless eort to e+ade the contingencyand conusion o human culture$ 2%he immediately preceding sectionon imperialist history has raised the sta*es beyond the personal byreminding us that& or alcott& the will has a malignant historical

orm$3alcott's e+acuation o cultural and historical subject matter& hisstrategy or securing the sel by shoring it up alone with nature& willnot last$ In the inal section o Another %ife& he returns to hisautobiographical story and with it to the people o )t$ @ucia$ (ow& inan abrupt re+ersal& the social seems -stronger- than nature$ )uddenly&the wa+e is no longer a phenomenon that can transcend& sa+e& or pro+ide escape rom the human& as it has been throughout the poem$

Instead& it represents the writer's -desertion- o his -ol*-'s culture

6orgi+e me& you ol*&

who e.ercise a patience

subtler& stronger than the muscles

in the wa+e's wrist$$$

180



orgi+e our desertions$ 2C9D3

%he embrace o the popular culture o )t$ @ucia aims at a -patience-that& the poet hopes& will succeed where a rigid& )toic sel,torment hasailed$ %he acceptance o the ol* mar*s out a third way& beyond boththe isolation o the solitary 4rusoe and the torment that occurs between 4rusoe and 6riday$ But alcott shits his ground yet againwhen he ollows his celebration o the people's strength with a +isiono the artist's autonomous mastery as godli*e creator& he ashions hisown world& independent o any popular basis$ %he in+ocation o alcott's painter riend Gregorias 2;unstan )t$ ?mer3 here remo+esthe presence o the island's culture entirely in the interest o "uasi,

:denic artistic reedom

e were blest with a +irginal& unpainted world

with dam's tas* o gi+ing things their names

with the smooth white walls o clouds and +illages

where you de+ised your ine.haustible&

impossible enaissance$ 2C93

%he dissonance between this dream o the artist -de+ising- in anunpopulated& paradisal wilderness and the embrace o the -ol*- thatdirectly precedes it orces us to ju.tapose the conclusion o Another

%ife to more pessimistic +ersions o the same theme& li*e the guiltyaesthetici#ing o island po+erty in -hat the %wilight )aid- or the passage rom the noteboo* or Another %ife in which alcott writesthat he sought out the poor -not only to depict and record& but to beli*e them- -Let the more he learnt& the wider the crac* between themgrew$- %he palinodic acceptance o the -ol*- near the end o Another

%ife& in its sentimental need or -orgi+eOnessP&- is less assured as poetry than the earlier and later images o artistic isolation thatsurround it$ %here seems to be an insurmountable di+ision between the

artist& who li+es within the :uropean tradition& and the ol* culture

181



that supplies the object o his depiction and that he also& in his peculiar way& inhabits$ %he permanent act o such di+isions& as I ha+e argued& pro+ides the oundation o alcott's art and unites him with

4arpentier and other (ew orld magical realists$ @i*e Borges' hero in-The #outh&- he stands aloo& rightened and entranced by his image o the ol*loric powers that surround him$ alcott's wor*& li*e4arpentier's and García !r"ue#'s& conjures with an elusi+e grammar that at once joins and disjoins realism and antasy& :urope and rica&high and low culture& tra+eling artist and indigenous ol*$

18C





%he incompatibility o magic realism with the more -established-genre systems becomes itsel interesting& itsel a ocus or criticalattention& when one considers the act that magic realism& at least in a

literary conte.t& seems most +isibly operati+e in cultures situated atthe ringes o mainstream literary traditions$ s obert =roetsch and@inda =enyon obser+e& magic realism as a literary practice seems to be closely lin*ed with a perception o -li+ing on the margins$- %hisdoesn't mean that magic realism somehow worms its way into all& or e+en most& literary te.ts written rom marginal cultures& or that it issomehow absent rom the literary archi+es o the imperial center& or that the emergence o what seem to be magic realist literary te.ts at agi+en moment in a gi+en literary culture can be e.plained by any

single& causal relation that ranges across literary cultures& independento historically speciic accounts o agency or o literary circulation$ Itdoes mean& howe+er& that a structure o perception ,i only in literarycritical registers ,, dogs the practice o magical realist writing& that is&the perception that magic realism& as a socially symbolic contract&carries a residuum o resistance toward the imperial center and to itstotali#ing systems o generic classiication$ %his structure o perception& o course& is a contro+ersial one or studies in magic

realism ,especially under this present moment o -globali#ed postcolonialism&- as mainstream writers ind a ready mar*et or therecirculation o what the imperial center ta*es to comprise the-characteristic- literary and cultural orms o ormerly coloni#edcultures$ But it does help to underscore the act that the establishedsystems o generic classiication are complicit with a centrali#ingimpulse in imperial culture$ %heir incompatibility with the practice o magic realism ,, that which ma*es magic realism a problem case or the understanding o genre ,, rests on their history o construction thereading o literary te.ts o almost e.clusi+ely :uropean or /nited)tates pro+enance$ %he critical use o the concept o magic realismcan thereore signiy resistance to monumental theories o literary practice ,, a way o suggesting there is something going on in certainorms o literary writing& and in the modalities o cultural e.periencethat underlie those orms& that conounds the capacities o the major genre systems to come to terms with them$ t the same time& o course& the concept o magic realism itsel threatens to become a

monumentali#ing category or literary practice and to oer to

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centrali#ing genre systems a single locus upon which the massi+e problem o differene in literary e.pression can be managed intorecogni#able meaning in one swit pass$

hat I want to do in this essay is employ a little o the liberty pro+ided by magic realism's lac* o theoretical speciicity and& rather than attempt to deine the concept in terms o genre& attempt instead to place the concept within the conte.t o :nglish,4anadian literaryculture in its speciic engagement with postcoloniality$ %o this end& I plan to ocus on two magic realist te.ts rom :nglish 4anada andattempt to show the ways in which these te.ts recapitulate a postcolonial account o the social and historical relations o the culture

in which they are set$ I ha+e chosen to wor* with Jac* Aodgins' The *nvention of the World and obert =roetsch What the Cro+ #aid & but Ishould add that other te.ts set in :nglish 4anada could also carry theargument& )usan =ersla*e Middle+ath& or e.ample& or =eithaillard T+o7#trand iver $ y ocus will be on elements in thesete.ts that help us wor* toward a clearer concept o magic realism in a postcolonial conte.t& and so I will be concentrating on aspects o thesetwo no+els that at some le+el correspond to pre+alent concerns in

other postcolonial literary practices$ Behind this project is the belie that the concept o magic realism can pro+ide us with a way o eecting important om2arative analyses between separate postcolonial literatures& and the belie that magic realism can enableus to recogni#e continuities within literary cultures that the establishedgenre systems might blind us to continuities& that is& between present,day magic realist te.ts and apparently +ery dierent te.ts written atearlier stages o a culture's literary history$

%he term -magic realism- is an o.ymoron& one that suggests a binaryopposition between the representational code o realism and that&roughly& o antasy$ In the language o narration in a magic realist te.t&a battle between two oppositional systems ta*es place& each wor*ingtoward the creation o a dierent *ind o ictional world rom theother$ )ince the ground rules o these two worlds are incompatible&neither one can ully come into being& and each remains suspended&loc*ed in a continuous dialectic with the -other&- a situation which

18



creates disjunction within each o the separate discursi+e systems&rending them with gaps& absences& and silences$11

In The *nvention of the World & Aodgins achie+es this eect through a process o undercutting$ Ais ormal beginning to the no+el 2ollowinga brie prologue3 declares the wor* to be clearly within thecon+entions o realism -?n the day o the @oggers' )ports& on thatday in July& a mighty uproar bro*e out in the beer parlour o the 4oal,%yee Aotel& which is an old but respectable i+e,story building directlyabo+e the harbour and only a bloc* or two rom the main shoppingarea o town$- But soon a antastic element enters the te.t& appearingirst in the second,degree or intradiegetic le+el o narration told by

)trabo Bec*er& the historianQtaleteller igure& and soon beginning toappear in the e.tradiegetic narration,,Aorseman's miraculous escaperom ade's ort& or e.ample$ s the no+el progresses toward thestatus o a twice,told tale& the moti with which it ends& the reader is pulled away rom a tendency to neutrali#e the antastic elements o thestory within the general code o narrati+e realism and begins to readthe wor* as being more closely aligned with the antastic$ Let acomplete transerence rom one mode to the other ne+er ta*es place&

and the no+el remains suspended between the two$%he process o narration in What the Cro+ #aid is the opposite o thatin Aodgins' boo*$ =roetsch's no+el opens in pure antasy or myth adescription o the impregnation o era @ang on a spring aternoon bya swarm o bees$ But at the close o the no+el& the past,tense narrationthat has pre+ailed throughout the wor* is replaced by a present,tenserealism describing %iddy @ang and @iebhaber rising rom their bedinto a new morning> and here& or the irst time in the no+el& the crow

will caw& not spea*$ %he antastic element in the no+el ne+er "uitemanages to dominate an undercurrent o realism> as =roetsch sayselsewhere& we are -always in the world&- despite the lighthouse madeo ice& the war with the s*y& and the ghostly image o dead artin@ang perpetually present& ploughing the snow$

lthough most wor*s o iction are generically mi.ed in mode& thecharacteristic maneu+er o magic realist iction is that its two separatenarrati+e modes ne+er manage to arrange themsel+es into any *ind o

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hierarchy$ In i*hail Ba*htin's ormulation& the no+el is the site o a-di+ersity o social speech types- in which a battle ta*es place -indiscourse and among discourses to become 'the language o truth&' a

battle or what 6oucault has called power *nowledge$- In magicrealism this battle is represented in the language o narration by theoregrounding o two opposing discursi+e systems& with neither managing to subordinate or contain the other$ %his sustainedopposition orestalls the possibility o interpreti+e closure through anyact o naturali#ing the te.t to an established system o representation$

In the conte.t o a comparati+e& postcolonial literary criticism& this useo language has important conse"uences$ Aere& the argument is oten

made that coloni#ation& whate+er its precise orm& initiates a *ind o double +ision or -metaphysical clash- into colonial culture& a binaryopposition within language that has its roots in the process o either transporting a language to a new land or imposing a oreign languageon an indigenous population$ -?ur way o seeing&- as 4oral nnAowells puts it& -is structured by the orms in which our languageenables us to 'see'&- and so or some& the dream o historical process isthat o+er time a process o transmutation will occur which will enable

this language& and the cogniti+e system it carries& to articulate thelocal within a -realist- representational contract$ In a postcolonialconte.t& then& the magic realist narrati+e recapitulates a dialecticalstruggle within language& a dialectic between -codes o recognition-inherent within the inherited language and those imagined& utopian&and uture,oriented codes that aspire toward a language o e.pressi+e&local realism& and a set o -original relations- with the world$ In thisconte.t& the magic realist te.t can be read as relecting in its languageo narration real conditions o speech and cognition within the social

relations o a postcolonial culture& a relection García !r"ue#themati#es in One !undred "ears of #olitude as a -spea*ing mirror$-

%he -spea*ing mirror- o the language o narration in magic realistte.ts& howe+er& does not only relect in an outward direction toward postcolonial social relations$ It also sustains an inward relection intothe wor*'s thematic content& initiating a ascinating interplay betweenlanguage and thematic networ* similar to that which ichael

Aol"uist& in another conte.t& describes as a -templating o what is

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enunciated with the act o enunciation- %he representation o socialrelations& in other words& can be seen to be templated into the te.t'slanguage o narration and into the te.t's thematic structure& and in

magic realism these social relations tend to be themati#ed in threeseparate but related ways$ %he irst in+ol+es the representation o a*ind o transormational regionalism so that the site o the te.t& thoughdescribed in amiliar and local terms& is metonymic o the postcolonialculture as a whole$ %he second is the oreshortening o history so thatthe time scheme o the no+el metaphorically contains the long processo coloni#ation and its atermath$ nd the third in+ol+es the thematicoregrounding o those gaps& absences& and silences produced by thecolonial encounter and relected in the te.t's disjuncti+e language o

narration$ ?n this third le+el& the magic realist te.ts tend to display a preoccupation with images o both borders and centers and to wor* toward destabili#ing their i.ity$

In The *nvention of the World & Aodgins' portrayal o the ancou+er Island community& and especially the e+elations 4olony o %ruth&now renamed the e+elations %railer 5ar*& always remains groundedin the real world o *nown and amiliar space$ %he realism o the site

is destabili#ed& howe+er& by the condensed historical reenactment thattranspires within it& a metaphorical representation o the process o coloni#ation which ser+es to transorm the no+el's regional setting intoa metonymic ocal point or :nglish,4anadian culture as a whole$ %hishistorical reenactment reaches bac* rom the present,tense setting tothe near,mythic& and now +anished& Irish +illage o 4arrigdhoun& the point o origin or the e+elation colonists' light rom history to the (ew orld$ :+en beore ;onal =eneally arri+es in 4arrigdhoun and brings to the isolated +illagers their irst e.perience o ear& the +illage

is already the emblem o coloni#ed space$ n :nglish baili owns all property& and his dogs are the agents o his administration o law$=eneally deli+ers the +illagers rom the irst phase o colonialism onlyto initiate a second phase in which he employs the authority o 4elticlegend and 5rospero magic to establish a system o absolute patriarchal domination o+er them$ )till -sla+es o history- 2993& the+illagers are brought to the (ew orld and another *ind o isolationin the e+elations 4olony o %ruth where& in what 4ecilia 4oulas 6in*

calls a -replay o history&- =eneally becomes the igure who releases

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attention< %he Indians went along with it$ hy shouldn't they< nd allthose 4hinamen they brought o+er to wor* in the mines went with it&some o them turned into the best :nglishmen o all$ nd there were

other Irishmen who came o+er and weren't araid to it in with thescheme o things& doing the things that Irishmen are meant to do$ Butnot old ho##it& =eneallyM Ae comes o+er here with his pac* o sheep,people and sets up his own world li*e the rest o us don't e.ist&see& li*e the world stopped and started at the edge o his property$ Aewas a =ing in there& li*e something out o the ;ar* ges& and the actthat the rest o us out here were busy building a modern iviliJed

society with decent +alues ne+er occurred to him$ nd you may notagree with me on this& but I'm entitled to my opinion as they say& I

thin* that's when e+erything started to go wrong$ 6irst thing we *newyou ha+e people pouring in rom all o+er the world& your Belgiumsand your Italians and your /*rainians& pouring in rom all the place&which is just ine with me& but when they get here do they itthemsel+es in< (o sir$ %hey loo* around and they see this one bunchthat isn't paying any attention to the rest o us and so they thin* it's allright or them to do what they want& too$ )o I blame him or that &mister& and it's no small matter$ I blame that =eneally or throwing it

all o the trac*$ Just loo* around at what's happened to this town and blame him or that$ ;rugs and se. and socialism$ (one o it would'+ehappened$ Lou can't tell me they ha+e things li*e that in :ngland$21,3

hat we ha+e at the thematic le+el o Aodgins' magic realist te.t&then& is a airly direct portrayal o the process o coloni#ation& one thatrecapitulates a problem in historical consciousness in postcolonial:nglish 4anadian culture$ %his ocus on the problem o history is

shared by that body o criticism in postcolonial cultural studies whichargues that people in postcolonial cultures engage in a special-dialogue with history$- In this account& -double +ision- or -metaphysical clash- emerges in the space o incommensurability between inherited notions o imperial history as -the ew pri+ilegedmonuments- o achie+ement and a cluster o opposing +iews that tendto see history more as a *ind o alchemical process& somewhatanalogous to a way o seeing& in which the silenced& marginali#ed& or

dispossessed +oices within the colonial encounter themsel+es orm the

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record o -true- history$ %he -re,+isioning- o history& then& ta*es placewhen the +oices or +isions ,, what J$ ichael ;ash calls -thecounterculture o the imagination- ,, come into dialectical play with

the inherited& dominant modes o discourse and cognition incolonialism's -phenomenal legacy- and wor* toward transmuting perception into new -codes o recognition-

%his ramewor* pro+ides a way o reading the means by which What

the Cro+ #aid unctions at the thematic le+el as a -spea*ing mirror- o postcolonial& :nglish,4anadian culture$ =roetsch's no+el is set in aregion lying -ambiguously on the border between the pro+inces o lberta and )as*atchewan&- and in it people enjoy absolute control

o+er the hori#ontal dimension$ %he -+ertical world- is -all a mystery-2183 to them& howe+er& and in a series o motis such as the strandingo the dying artin @ang -between s*y and earth- 2CH3& JG's atal allrom the tree& Jerry @apanne's& or Joe @ightning's& all rom the s*y& or the townsol*'s war against the s*y& =roetsch establishes that humancontrol in this second dimension represents an impossible goal$ %hisconstriction within distorted binary oppositions such as that betweenhori#ontal control and +ertical incompetence is a constraining one& as

is shown by Isadore Aec*'s transerence& in pure eitherQor ashion&rom the relati+e security o belie+ing in nothing that can't be seen& tothe opposite position o belie+ing that e+erything that can be imaginede.ists$ %his second position e+entually *ills him& or it lies behind hisdecision to shoot himsel out o a cannon into the air in a utileattempt to end the war with the s*y$

%he te.t also presents a range o similar binary constrictions in parallel to this spatial one ,, two conlicting time schemes& or

e.ample& so that the passage o only a ew seasons contains se+eralyears o calendar time& and all o colonial history rom the horse,and, buggy period to the appearance o oil derric*s on the 4anadian prairies$ Binary constriction& in act& represents a *ey principle in the boo*& and it pro+ides the +ehicle or reading the site o the no+el as ametonym or postcolonial space$ In What the Cro+ #aid & the binaryopposition between control in one dimension and incompetence or bewilderment in the other relects the dialectic operati+e in

postcolonial cultures between inherited& sure& and constraining codes

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o imperial order and the imagined& precarious& and liberating codes o postcolonial -original relations$- t the close o his no+el& =roetschemploys the image o %iddy and @iebhaber coming together in the

-na*ed circle o e+erything- 2C13 to posit a point beyond binaryconstriction$ In postcolonial terms& this represents an imaginati+e projection into the uture& where the ractures o colonialism heal inthe -re,+isioning- process that produces a -positi+e imaginati+ereconstruction o reality$-

%his imaginati+e reconstruction has echoes in those orms o postcolonial thought which see* to recuperate the lost +oices anddiscarded ragments that imperialist cogniti+e structures push to the

margins o critical consciousness& and both Aodgins and =roetschshare an interest in thematically decentering images o i.ity while atthe same time oregrounding the gaps and absences those i.ed andmonumental structures produce$ In The *nvention of the World &Aodgins raises images o i.ity and center in -a certain piece o thisworld- 2+iii3 ,, -certain- here carrying a dual meaning ,, only to wor* toward undermining them$ %he central house o =eneally'se+elations 4olony conceals a subterranean tunnel whose entrance is

ne+er ound& an absence in the monolith o his legend e+ocati+e o hismother's loss o all memory at the time o his conception and o the4arrigdhoun +illagers' absence o ear$ In =eneally's death& absences become ghostly presences& as )trabo Bec*er begins to sit through the-shreds and ragments- 2H93 o e+ent and to comb the beaches or -thedebris o history- 2+iii3 that will orm the base elements or his story$%hrough Bec*er's tape recorder& a plurality o +oices joins in thenarration> and through the ruminations o the characters& history'sdispossessed -+oices- are drawn into the no+el$ Julius 4hampney's

relections on landscape& or e.ample& conjure the presence o two-Indians- rom the early colonial period who were tried andsubse"uently hanged or a murder they did not commit

\%he trial is in :nglish$ %hough an attempt is made to pro+ide anade"uate translation& the long e.change o oreign mouth,soundscould be the yattering o s"uirrels to the ears o )iam,a,sit$$$$

19C



?n the platorm& beneath the nooses& the lat chocolate eyes shit tothe hangman& whose hands could be made o old rope$ %hroats& drywith ear& can only whisper$ 4annot reuse to whisper$

Lou could tell us& irst& what we done$%here was no record& anywhere that he had seen& which e+er hintedthat the two condemned men& or one o them& said those words beorethe ropes snapped their nec*s$ (or was there anything in oicialrecords or in the newspaper reports to indicate that they said anythingat all& or i they did& anything that could be understood by the whitemen who were witnesses$$$$nd the +oices e.isted out o time& anyway$- 2C0,13

%hese oicial records& li*e all monuments to i.ity& omit what theycannot hear$ Aodgins li*ens them to maps& projections o line andorder that do not correspond to the -real island&- which deiesgeometry 2CC93 and whose landscape is -ungo+ernable- 2CCD3$=eneally's lie& symbol o high colonialism& is planned at birth li*e a-map o roads- 2903> but or aggie& his symbolic heir& maps only bloc* the guiding capacities o her instinct and memory& and they can'thelp her ind her way home$ But or her to reali#e this& to inallydiscard them& she has to encounter directly the i.ed spaces o alien

order& and this process is an important one in The *nvention of theWorld6 )een rom within new -codes o recognition&- i.ed systems betray the presence o their own -otherness- hidden within them& as issymboli#ed by ;onal =eneally's brie ragmentation into identicaltwins& one o them the opposite o the tyrannical sel that will inallyown him$ %he absence o this missing sel in the (ew orld is hislegacy to ade& who sees himsel mirrored in Aorseman only to betold that he has buried his own hidden twin within him 2D03$ %hrough

images such as these& Aodgins' te.t con+eys that the silencing o otherness is inscribed into the colonial encounter$ But it also suggeststhat awareness o this can pro+o*e the imagination into reco+ering lostaspects o sel& habitual absences in the postcolonial consciousness$

It is obsession with i.ity that betrays& then& and Aodgins' mostsustained approach to undermining it is his destabili#ation o the i.ityo origins$ 4ritics o the no+el ha+e noted the astonishing number o mythic and historical origins upon which the imagery o the te.t

19D



seems to be based$ %hese range through classical origins 2%aurus,:uropa& @ycaon& 4haron3& 4eltic origins 2the TQin b CRailnge& thewar between the 6omorians and the %uatha de ;annan3& 4hristian

origins 2Genesis& :.odus3& and historical origins 2the "uarian6oundation o Brother NII3$ %his wide plurali#ing o originsannihilates the pri+ileging or monumentali#ing o any one o them andsuggests that the -shreds and ragments- that come down rom them indistorted orm& in time& themsel+es comprise the -real- historicallegacy o postcolonial space$ admother %homas& a direct +ictim o colonialism's +iolence through her childhood trauma under =eneally's patriarchal order& must learn this$ 6or most o the no+el& she wandersin the margins o the te.t& searching obsessi+ely or her birthplace& but

inally& she relin"uishes her need or i.ed and *nown origins andreturns to the uncertain center o the e+elations %railer 5ar*& thus becoming at last a sustaining presence in the community$ %heoperati+e process o cognition here is one o imaginative& not actual&reco+ery& and at the no+el's close Aodgins releases it into ull play onthe metaictional le+el in the parodic carni+ali#ation o the weddingceremony& where he summons into presence all those igures madeabsent rom the te.t by the ormal system o writing itsel

%he mayors o se+eral towns on the island& with their wi+es& and morethan one elected @ and se+eral judges& lawyers& doctors& and businessmen had come$$$$ ainlanders had come across& and satsilently along the wall benches& wondering what to e.pect$ ictoria people had dri+en up& and sat together near the punch bowl& with their bac*s to e+eryone else$ %he premier o the pro+ince& who was unableto attend& sent a representati+e& a little rec*le,aced man who shoo* hands& beore the e+ening was through& with e+ery person in the hall&

including the lieutenant,go+ernor o an eastern pro+ince who hadlown in at the last minute and had to lea+e or his plane as soon as theca*e was cut$ %he 5rime inister o 4anada was rumoured to be inthe crowd somewhere& but the Fueen o :ngland had disappointede+eryone by accepting an in+itation elsewhere$ 2DH3

=roetsch's techni"ue or oregrounding the gaps and silences o thedispossessed in What the Cro+ #aid diers rom Aodgins' in that

=roetsch wor*s less with the material o history in this thematic le+el

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and more with the portrayal o constricting binaries& a thematice"ui+alent to the dialectic operati+e in the language o narration$ 6roma postcolonial critical perspecti+e& these binaries can be read as

legacies o the colonial encounter a condition o being bothtyranni#ed by history yet parado.ically cut o rom it& caught betweenabsolute systems o blind cognition and projected realms o imaginati+e re+ision in which people ha+e no control$ In =roetsch'shandling& these binary constrictions undergo a process o dialecticalinterplay between opposing terms which undermines the i.ity o borders between them$ :ach term in+ades the other& eroding itsabsolute nature and addressing the gaps or absences& the distancedelements o -otherness&- that i.ed systems ine+itably create$

@iebhaber& or e.ample& editor and printer o the local newspaper inthe town o Big Indian& has orgotten the past but three times in thecourse o the no+el remembers the uture$ t the root o this loss o memory is an obsession with print Gutenberg& he eels& has -made allmemory o the past irrele+ant- and -only the uture- is ree rom his-+ast design- 211H3$ 5rint& in obliterating the need or memory&ine+itably contains and i.es the past as dead record o the monuments

o achie+ement& but it also creates marginal spaces in which thesilenced +oices o totali#ing system can spea*$ %he prisoner Jerry@apanne& an emblem o incarcerated desire& is one o =roetsch'simages o such a +oice$ Ae repeatedly tries to escape into the site o the te.t toward ita @ang& sender o erotic lo+e notes to prisoners allo+er the country$ It is print& then& that moti+ates him& and hismo+ement is always toward it& his action one o struggle to inhabit thelocus o te.tuality$ But the police are always there on the borders o municipality to stop him> and his one brea*through results in his

death$ %hrough this image& =roetsch oregrounds the absence on theother side o writing& a human e"ui+alent to suppressed memory thatGutenberg's print seemingly ma*es obsolete$ corresponding imageis that o the cattle buyer who ma*es a brie appearance in the te.t tocourt %iddy @ang and then +anishes -li*e a character gently remo+edrom the +ast no+el that all the printers in the world were gallantlywriting or Gutenberg's ghost- 2D3$ In themati#ing print in thismanner& =roetsch portrays the process by which a totali#ing system

can initiate its own dialectic with its -other- 5rint e.cludes& but it also

19



energi#es$ It is li*e the -phenomenal legacy- o postcolonial history itsilences& but within it lies the possibility o +oice& a dialectic that can produce a -positi+e imaginati+e reconstruction o reality$-

Binary constriction is also themati#ed in the no+el's representation o race and gender$ Both are seriously imbalanced& dominated by one pole o the binary in such a way as to produce a paraly#ing separation between terms$ 6or e.ample& the name o the town o Big Indianresonates against the almost complete absence o nati+e peoples romits site$ %he only e.ception is Joe @ightning& and he li+es in a car& nota house$ %he -Indian list- 2113& a racist term or the list o those proscribed rom being ser+ed alcohol& contains the complete register

o -e+ery white male o+er the age o twenty in the unicipality o Big*nie- 2113& but no Indian names appear on it$ %hese patterns o e.clusion seem to be intricately tied to the process o language& where-Gutenberg's curse- 21HD3 lin*s the presence o print to the conditiono becoming -anonymous& almost not in+ented in 2one's3 own story-2D3$ Being caught between presence and absence& howe+er& is also away o mediating between binary terms& o crossing the borders between them and thus beginning the process o brea*ing them down$

:.cept or @iebhaber& Joe is the only adult male in the district who isnot at war with the s*y& and thus his ambiguous status in one binaryconstriction enables him to mediate in another that o the di+ision o male and emale modes o acti+ity$

n interesting themati#ation o the way in which binary termsthemsel+es energi#e a crossing o+er between poles& and the creation o gaps within each o them& lies in =roetsch's presentation o the blac* crow and the character JG$ %he crow& whose gender is ambiguous 293

and who thus mediates in another conte.t the polari#ation in male andemale power relations& spea*s on JG's behal in the human world$ JG&on the other hand& is or most o the no+el silent& -ore+er innocent-2HC3& and able to wal* only in a igure,eight& the symbol o ininity$John %hieme writes o the way animals in some 4anadian te.ts standor -a world which may e.ist beore estern rationalist thoughtimposes dualistic modes o description$ %hey represent lie beorediscourse& beore history& and beore gender stereotyping$- )omething

o the same process o signiication is operati+e in this te.t& but it

19H



re"uires both terms o the JG,blac* crow binary to produce it$ %hecrow's ambiguous gender combines with JG's silence& innocence& andassociation with ininity to suggest all that is opposed to @iebhaber's

word,centered rationality$ But at the same time& the JG,blac* crow binary wor*s toward deconstruction o this prerational signiicationwhen JG begins to spea* pig,@atin& and we recogni#e that what thecrow usually says are judgmental& arbitrary pronouncements onhuman beha+ior that seem to issue rom the parodic mas* o anomniscient& patriarchal God$

%he no+el closes on an image o resolution in binary separation& asymbolic drawing together o the oppositions o male and emale& past

and present& absence and presence& and silence and +oice in asuspended moment that re"uires both terms o the te.t's narrationalmode ,, realism and antasy ,, to sustain it$ %hroughout the no+el&@iebhaber and %iddy @ang& opposite poles in a binary system& ha+e been held apart& the dead artin @ang& who represents absence to@iebhaber but presence to %iddy& throwing up an uncrossable barrier between them$ But at the no+el's close& @iebhaber& whose obsessionwith words has been at the root o his loss o memory& and %iddy& who

had -meant to ma*e a ew notes& but hadn't&- and who now-remember2s3 e+erything- 2C13& are brought together& he -the irst andinal male- and she the world,dreamer& -dreaming the world- andunable to -tell her memory rom the moment- 2C1& C1H3$ s each o them embraces otherness& the crows& outside& -are cawing- 2C183 inthe ininitely suspended moment that uses the real with the numinousin the actuating imagination$

Both The *nvention of the World and What the Cro+ #aid & then&

themati#e a kind o postcolonial discourse one in+ol+ing therecuperation o silenced +oices as a.ial to a -positi+e imaginedreconstruction o reality$- Both te.ts oreground plurality and gaps ,,those produced by the colonial encounter and those produced by thesystem o writing itsel> and in both te.ts& marginali#ed presences press in toward the center$ %he site o each te.t is a locali#ed regionthat is metonymic o :nglish,4anadian postcolonial culture as awhole$ nd in each te.t& history is oreshortened so that the orces

operating in the culture's social relations are brought metaphorically

19



into play$ %he metaphysical clash or double +ision inherent in colonialhistory and language is recapitulated in transmuted orm in the te.t'soppositional language o narration and mirrored in its thematic le+el$

%his mode o narration re"uires the reader to read the no+el in adialectical manner& orestalling the collapse o either one o the twonarrational modes into the other& but recogni#ing the erosion inmassi+e and totali#ing system that the dialectic eects in each$ %hete.ts thus demand a *ind o reading process in which the imagination becomes stimulated into summoning into being new and liberating-codes o recognition$- %hese elements& I belie+e& are characteristic o many postcolonial magic realist te.ts$

I certain orms o magic realist e.pression are read in this way ascomprising a *ind o postcolonial discourse& a ramewor* or readingte.ts across postcolonial cultures might possibly be established notreducti+ely& on the basis o shared conditions o marginality in relationto metropolitan cultures& but producti+ely& on the basis o their sustained dialogic engagement with the cogniti+e legacies o colonialist language and history$ %his may correspond to what :$ ;$Blodgett has in mind when he speculates on the possibility that gi+en

the right *ind o reading strategy& )panish,merican literature might pro+ide a matri. or -dialogue between dea 4anadians&- :nglish and6rench ,, García !r"ue# mediating& as it were& between "uin andiron& on the one hand& and Aodgins& =roetsch& =ersla*e& and?ndaatje on the other$ )uch a ramewor* could pro+ide a basis or comparing wor*s diering widely in genre and pro+enance& andwithin it a comparati+e reading o )alman ushdie's wor* with that o the ustralian writer odney Aall& or e.ample& might pro+e ruitul&though at irst sight odd$ adical modes o reading postcolonial te.ts

are constantly coming into being& challenging the i.ed certainty o traditional generic systems& so that when ilson Aarris& in hisgroundbrea*ing critical wor* The Womb of #2ae& notes that withinthe -so,called realism- o 5atric* hite &oss there e.ists a -curiouslysub+ersi+e antasy&- he proposes not just a new strategy o interpretation or the te.t itsel& but also a way o reading the te.t bac* into the cross,cultural imagination that many orms o postcolonialcritical studies acti+ely see* to promote$ %he te.t o &oss& he argues&

can allow us -to percei+e realism and antasy as a threshold into

198



e+olution and alchemy$ %hat threshold is a component o the -mental bridge- within and across cultures$-

ithin the separate postcolonial cultures themsel+es& this approach tomagic realism could operate in such a way that this seemingly newmode o iction is recogni#ed as continuous with apparently dissimilar wor*s o iction in which an oppositional and dialogic style or narration also echoes against the postcolonial legacy& but in dierentways :thel ilson #+am2 Angel is one e.ample in the :nglish,4anadian conte.t> )heila atson's The (ouble !ook is another$ s $A$ (ew notes in Artiulating West & an opposition between a need toormali#e e.perience and a reali#ation that the 4anadian wilderness is

-ormless- creates -a tension at the heart o the 4anadian e.perience&-and a structurally similar *ind o tension occupies the language o narration in many present,day magic realist te.ts$ %his suggests thatthe critical position that would see the :nglish 4anadian& or or thatmatter any postcolonial culture's& literary tradition as -discontinuous&-one in which writers ind no -usable past- in the apparently coloni#edliterary productions o earlier times& may itsel be blind to modes o continuity that can pre+ail beneath the surace o established generic

classiications$ead as a orm o postcolonial discourse& the magic realist te.ts I ha+eengaged with here comprise a positi+e and liberating engagement withthe codes o imperial history and its legacy o ragmentation anddiscontinuity$ By embedding the binary oppositions o past and present social relations into the -spea*ing mirror- o their literarylanguage& these te.ts implicitly suggest that enabling strategies or theuture re"uire re+isioning the seemingly tyrannical units o the past in

a comple. and imaginati+e double,thin* o -remembering the uture$-%his process& they tell us& can transmute the -shreds and ragments- o colonial +iolence and otherness into new -codes o recognition- inwhich the dispossessed& the silenced& and the marginali#ed o our owndominating systems can again ind +oice and enter into the dialogiccontinuity o community and place$ %his capacity or transmution&they imply& is itsel part o the -phenomenal legacy- that comprises atleast a part o the -real- or postcolonial places and postcolonial times$

199



Roads of 1&x#uisite Msterious Muc,1: The Magical 2ourne

through the Cit in .illiam 3enned-s Iron4eed! 2ohn Cheever-s

1The &normous Radio!1 and Donald 5arthelme-s 1Cit %ife1

In order to deine magical realism& it seems necessary to identiy thenature o the relationship between the magical and the rational& andindeed& se+eral descriptions o this relationship ha+e been oered$)ome o these descriptions e+o*e an -antagonistic struggle- themagical -collides- with the rational& as ;a+id Loung and =eithAollaman state& or -another world OintrudesP into this one&- accordingto Brian cAale 2borrowing a phrase rom %homas 5ynchon The

Cr0ing of %ot L@3$ ?ther descriptions suggest a more harmoniouscombination the -two realms- o the magical and the rational -merge-or -intersect$- third group proposes that the magical is part o therational or& as obert Gibb states& -in magical realism& the real isn'tabandoned> it is e.tended$- )imilarly& George curray belie+es thatmagical realism presents -an e.panded sense o reality&- and endyB$ 6aris spea*s o magic that -grows almost imperceptibly out o thereal$- %he +alidity o all these descriptions indicates& I belie+e& that the

potency o magical realism lies in its capacity to e.plore the proteanrelationship between what we consider rational 2what is *nowable& predictable& and controllable3 and irrational 2what is beyond our complete understanding and control3$

%his interaction o the rational and irrational lies at the heart o one o the most powerul conceptions o the city the city as -a parado.+erging on o.ymoron$-ircea :liade has theori#ed that primiti+esocieties established their communities by imitating& in the orm o rituals& their gods' creation o the uni+erse$ Because the city was seenas an image o the uni+erse& it was thought to e.ist at the center o theuni+erse 2the location o the irst creation3 and to be the -meeting point o hea+en& earth& and hell$- %he city& percei+ed in this way&e+idenced the human capacity to direct the powerul orces o natureand to achie+e mastery o+er our physical and mental energies$ %hus& itreminded its citi#ens that human beings are uni"ue among li+ingthings in their capacity to emulate the gods$ Let the city remained a

human realm& encompassing human railties and +ices along with

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human achie+ements$ :ncroaching upon the city was the underworld&which consisted o +ariously concei+ed chaotic realms inhabited bydemons who commanded terriying orces o destruction and death$

%his parado.ical conception o the city as the site o controllable anduncontrollable energies has retained its rele+ance throughout thesucceeding centuries the city as ci+ili#ation& the city as wasteland$

In our own cities& we see this parado. o order and disorder& creationand destruction& power and +ulnerability maniested in an immense+ariety o orms$ %he city is arguably the greatest achie+ement o therational mind& with its comple. systems o communication&transportation& and commerce$ Aowe+er& because the city also harbors

ignorance& disease& po+erty& and +iolence& it may stand as the epitomeo human allibility and male+olence$ 4ompounding this parado. isthe potential o our urban systems to generate conditions that elude or destroy the order we see* to establish$ )ystems deteriorate& brea* down& become outdated> or& they may be designed to beneit onegroup o indi+iduals at the e.pense o another& or others$ %hus& ailedor lawed or biased systems may create unemployment& homelessness&crime$

:+en though we usually percei+e what we cannot order or control as athreat to our e.istence and well,being& we may also ind that someirrational aspects o the city delight and intrigue us$ In his Cit0=

edisovering the Center & illiam hyte meticulously documentsacti+ities that are oten regarded as disconcerting urban e+ents urti+e pedestrians maneu+ering on crowded sidewal*s> streets jammed withmerchants and street +endors competing or shoppers> unusual&eccentric& and sometimes antagonistic -undesirables- 2street people&

street musicians& small,time con artists3 practicing their sel,appointedoccupations$ But hyte's interpretation o these acti+ities implies thatthere is a type o order in this disorder ,not an order created byconscious intention& but an order resembling that o an intricate dance&e+ol+ing naturally out o the brie yet constant interactions o citydwellers$ hyte's impressions stem rom the same awareness thatcompelled Baudelaire to attribute his ascination with the city to the-beauty o the horrible&- and %heodore ;reiser to obser+e that -the

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drama o the city lies in its e.tremes$- %he city arises as a collecti+ewor* rom the rational and irrational energies o its creators$

%he literature I ha+e selected or this study, illiam =ennedyEs *ron+eed & John 4hee+erEs The 4normous adio, and ;onaldBarthelmeEs Cit0 %ife ,, are united by a cluster o interrelated issuesthat can be e.pressed in this way human beings create the city& yetthey cannot completely control their creation$ %his parado. is alsoinherent in magical realism$ =ennedy& 4hee+er& and Barthelme usemagical beings& e+ents& and orces to e.plore what we might call the-urban irrational&- and how the indi+idual and the community mayaccept the irrational without denying or surrendering responsibility or

their actions$ %hese authors' magical realism can be considered interms o their conceptions o the city$

;rawing upon the wor* o many urban historians& illiam )harpe and@eonard alloc* ha+e proposed that since the beginning o thenineteenth century& cities ha+e e+ol+ed in three o+erlapping phases&the -concentrated settlement&- the -center city with suburban ring&-and the -decentered urban ield$- %he irst phase reers to cities in thenineteenth century& generated primarily by industrial capitalism thatdrew people rom rural areas and thus caused a rapid populationgrowth along with greatly increased urban congestion$ %he second phase& the -center city with suburban ring- ,, or& as I preer to call it&the -separated city- ,, o+erlaps with the irst phase and continues intothe irst se+eral decades o the twentieth century$ any members o the middle and wor*ing classes could aord to mo+e to the suburbs&while poor& uns*illed indi+iduals remained in the city$ )e+eral actorscontributed to this separation a desire or space and greenery> middle,

class prejudice and suspicion directed toward indi+iduals o dierentrace& ethnic origin& class& income> the a+ailability o the automobile>and the migration o businesses to the suburbs 2or reasons botheconomic and social3$ %he third phase& the -decentered urban ield&- begins in the 190s$ It is characteri#ed by -'deensible&'low density&residential spaces- connected by -superhighways and reeways- andinterspersed with -metrocenters- consisting primarily o businessesand ser+ices clustered together and e.cluding residential occupation$

Because these phases deine the city in terms o the ormation and

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grasp a hammer& brush& or pen and thus to maniest the +isions o thecreati+e& ordering mind,then 6rancis' "uestion can be interpreted asollows hy is his capacity or order inseparable rom his capacity

or disorder< Aow can a talented and lo+ing man also be capable o such hatred and +iolence< ter Gerald's death& 6rancis inds thesecontradictions impossible to reconcile& and because e+ery aspect o himsel& destructi+e as well as creati+e& is associated with hismemories o lbany& the -city once his- becomes -a city lost- 2H3$Ais internal ragmentation o+erwhelms the psychological integrationthat the city once ga+e to him$

e recogni#e three characteristic aspects o the -concentrated

settlement- phase o the city's de+elopment in =ennedy's depiction o lbany the time period o the no+el 2rom the year o 6rancis' birth in189 to the three days in 19D8 when he returns to lbany3& the physical closeness o the city's structures 2almost all o the locationsare within wal*ing distance rom one another3& and the rich physicality o =ennedy's description o the city& its history& and people$ hat urther identiies lbany as a concentrated settlementare 6rancis' -concentrated- memories$ %he stadium built on the

pasture where 6rancis played ball& the bus that ollows the same routeas the old trolley car line& the cemetery where his ather& mother& andGerald are buried ,, or 6rancis& these places in lbany areigurati+ely 2and& as we will see& literally3 inhabited by ghosts$ Just asthe ancient city was the mythic site o the gods' interactions withhumans& or good and e+il& so lbany contains 6rancis' personal hell&ine.tricably intertwined with his sources o happiness$

6rancis has returned to lbany many times& but has ne+er elt worthy

to contact his wie nnie or his adult children$ hen the no+el opens&6rancis has returned to lbany once again& and inally learns rom hisson that& until the pre+ious wee*& nnie had ne+er re+ealed to him or his sister that 6rancis had dropped the baby 2193$ %his *nowledge o nnie's apparent lac* o animosity seems to gi+e 6rancis the courageto +isit Gerald's gra+e& which he had ne+er done$ ith -memory$$$as+i+id as eyesight&- 6rancis -reconstructed the moment when the childwas slipping through his ingers into death- 2183$ 6or the irst time&

6rancis allows himsel to remember e+erything that happened on the

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day his son died$ s he does so& Gerald spea*s to him rom his gra+ethrough an act o silent will& OGerald P imposed on his ather the pressing obligation to perorm his inal acts o e.piation or

abandoning the amily$ Lou will not *now& the child silently said& whatthese acts are until you ha+e perormed them all$ nd ater you ha+e perormed them you will not understand that they were e.piatory anymore than you ha+e understood all the other e.piation that has *eptyou in such prolonged humiliation$ %hen& when the inal acts arecomplete& you will stop trying to die because o me$ 2193

s =ennedy's description o )t$ gnes cemetery re+eals& and as thesucceeding e+ents indicate& Gerald belongs to an e.tensi+e magical

community o the dead who inhabit the cemetery& as well as to a larger community o the dead that encompasses all o lbany$ In addition&=ennedy's description o Gerald suggests that he holds a uni"ue position within these related communities -;enied speech in lie&ha+ing died with only monosyllabic goos and gaahs in his +ocabulary&Gerald possessed the git o tongues in death$ Ais ability tocommunicate and to understand was at the genius le+el among thedead- 213$ Gerald& -an ineably abulous presence whose li*e was

not to be ound anywhere in the cemetery- 2183& is the only member o the dead who is capable o granting 6rancis' e.piation& as %eiresias isthe only shade who can oresee ?dysseus' return to Itha*a$ By blending together a rich array o allusions to ;ante urgatorio& Aomer Od0sse0& and oman 4atholic doctrine& =ennedy presents lbany as amagical cosmos through which 6rancis& as a heroQwanderer& must journey$C1

6rancis' 4atholic upbringing and =ennedy's use o the language o

4atholic doctrine allow us to interpret the process that Gerald initiatesin terms o the 4atholic sacrament o penance$ Because Gerald isendowed with special powers& he appropriately ulills the unction o the priest in this magical e.piation by recogni#ing 6rancis' eelings o contrition& listening to his conession& and deciding what acts o atonement are appropriate or the type and degree o sin$ 6rancisre+eals that he is contrite when he -prayed or a repeal o time so thathe might hang himsel in the coal bin beore pic*ing up the child to

change his diaper- 2183$ Ais ability to -see& hear& and eel e+ery detail-

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2183 o the day Gerald died ser+es as his conession$ 6or the irst timesince he dropped Gerald twenty,two years ago& 6rancis accepts thedepth o his grie and regret& an indication to Gerald that his ather is

now ready to complete the process that will inally ree him rom hisguilt$

lbany is the only place where 6rancis can achie+e his e.piation& or he must journey through the concentration o memories that lbanyholds or him$ agical beings& their power released by Gerald'sagency& aid 6rancis by emerging as embodied e.tensions o hismemories& compelling him to underta*e the e.cruciating process o piecing together the dispersed ragments o his sel$ s 6rancis tra+els

through lbany& he encounters the ghosts o si. men each has died+iolently& and 6rancis has been in+ol+ed in each man's death$

6rancis lea+es Gerald and )t$ gnes cemetery and ta*es a busdowntown$ s he rides the -red,and,cream window bo. on wheels-2C13& he remembers nostalgically the lbany trolleys that the busesha+e replaced$ Ae associates the trolleys with two positi+e aspects o himsel his lo+e or his ather and desire to emulate him and hissatisying s*ill in repairing the machines$ s the bus ollows the oldtrolley route and 6rancis passes the carbarns that used to house thetrolleys& he remembers the trolley car stri*e o 1901& when he -let lythat smooth round stone the weight o a baseball& and brained the scabwor*ing as the trolley conductor- 2C3$ passenger boards the bus heis the dead trolley conductor& Aarold llen& and he demands to *nowwhy 6rancis *illed him$ 6rancis replies& -Lou bastards ta*in' our jobs&what *ind o man is that& *eeps a man rom eedin' his amily$- %heghost counters that 6rancis' response is -OoPdd logic coming rom a

man who abandoned his own amily- 2CH3$ %his meeting with Aaroldllen's ghost lea+es 6rancis torn between ac*nowledging the justnesso his moti+ations and their atal conse"uence$ llen's response alsore+i+es 6rancis' bewilderment o+er the parado.ical eects o his baseball talent$

6rancis must once again conront his participation in the stri*e o 1901 while he is wor*ing in oss*am's jun*yard& where he encountersthe ghost o 6iddler Fuain$ 6rancis' -irebrand style$$$had seduced-

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2113 6iddler into joining the stri*e& and he had helped 6rancis lightthe sheets that trapped the trolley dri+en by llen$ In the +iolentconusion& 6iddler's head was struc* by a soldier's blow> he li+ed out

the rest o his lie as a -heroic +egetable- 2113$ 6rancis wanted to be a pallbearer at 6iddler's uneral& but his sister denied 6rancis' re"uest&replying -Lour hands ha+e done enough damage$$$$ Lou'll not touchmy brother's coin- 21C3$ Initially& 6iddler's ghost seems to comort6rancis by telling him& -I don't blame you or anything&- but 6iddler'sinal remar* mystiies 6rancis -It's those traitorous hands o yoursyou'll ha+e to orgi+e- 21C3$ )earching or the meaning o 6iddler'smessage& 6rancis-sensed or the irst time in his lie the wor*ings o something other than conscious will within himsel an insight into a

pattern& an o+er+iew o all the +iolence in his history& o how manyhad died or been maimed by his hand& or had died& li*e that nameless pair o astonished shades& as an indirect result o his +iolent ways-213$ 6rancis' intuition turns to despair as he reali#es that he harborsorces he will ne+er be able to understand or control$

6rancis' sense o hope is restored& howe+er& when he returns to thehouse where he once li+ed with nnie and his children and disco+ers

what he belie+es to be a counterbalance to these orces$ Ae enters andinds himsel going through the contents o an old trun* in the attic$%here& he disco+ers a photograph o himsel standing in 4hadwic* 5ar*& surrounded by the citi#ens o lbany who had gathered tocelebrate the +ictory o their baseball team$ )tudying the picture&6rancis sees his nineteen,year,old sel tossing a baseball rom bareright hand to glo+ed let hand$ %he light o the ball had always madethis photo mysterious to 6rancis& or the camera had caught the ballclutched in one hand and also in light& arcing in a blur toward the

glo+e$ hat the camera had caught was two instances in one timeseparated and time uniied& the ball in two places at once& ane+entuation as ine.plicable as the %rinity itsel$ 6rancis now too* the picture to be a %rinitarian talisman 2a hand& a glo+e& a ball3 or achie+ing the impossible or he had always belie+ed it wasimpossible or him& ra+aged man& ailed human& to reenter historyunder this roo$ Let here he was in this aerie o reconstitutable time&touching untouchable artiacts o a sel that did not yet *now it was

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ruined& just as the ball& in its inanimate ignorance& did not *now yetthat it was going nowhere& was caught$ 21H93

;uring his journey through lbany& 6rancis has percei+ed indi+idualmoments o his history as separate and disconnected& but his guilt pre+ents him rom integrating constructi+e memories with those thatha+e shattered his identity$ %hese conlicting aspects o himsel& allrelected in his memories o the city& ha+e seemed impossible toreconcile$ Aowe+er& 6rancis' interpretation o the -blur- o the ball'slight suggests that they may somehow be brought together$ %his-%rinitarian talisman- allows 6rancis to reali#e that his positi+ememories o himsel ,, as a lo+ing ather and husband& as lbany's

star baseball player ,, remain an essential part o himsel& that their rele+ance is not negated by his negati+e actions$ ather than being anobsolete& isolated artiact o 6rancis' past& the nineteenyear,old baseball player still e.ists within the ity,eight,year,old -ra+agedman$- Ga#ing at the photograph& 6rancis muses that - man can getnew teeth& store teeth$ nnie got 'em$- 6or the irst time in twenty,twoyears& he eels he can -reenter history under O nnie'sP roo- 21H93$

:ncouraged by his interpretation o the photograph& 6rancis e.changeshis rags or the 191H suit that nnie has sa+ed or him since Gerald'sdeath$ s he bathes& he notices a sunburst outside the bathroomwindow& -as i some angel o beatiic lucidity were ho+ering outside-21C3& but when he rises rom the tub to loo* out into the yard& he seesthe ghosts o -ldo 4ampione& 6iddler Fuain& Aarold llen& andowdy ;ic*$$$erecting$$$bleachers- 21C3$ @ater& when 6rancis goesoutside& he reali#es that the bleachers are occupied by the -orty,threemen& our boys& and two mutts- o the talismanic photograph&

comprising an audience that uniies the photograph's time& when6rancis was accepted and honored by a community& with the manyinstances when 6rancis' actions damaged that community$ %hisgathering o ghosts ,, composed o the celebrants o 6rancis' talentand the +ictims o his +iolence ,, represents the parado. o 6rancis'sel$ ttempting to banish the legacy o his own hands and rid himsel o his eelings o guilt& 6rancis rails against these wraiths who stand between him and a permanent reunion with nnie and his amily

-Lou ain't nothing more than a photograph& you goddamn spoo*s$ Lou

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ain't real and I ain't gonna be at your bec* and call no more- 213$ Itis not until 6rancis sees that each ghost is holding a lighted candle andhears their -antisyllabic lyric- that he reali#es -this perormance$$$was

happening in an area o his e.istence o+er which he had less controlthan he irst imagined- 2180813$ Ae becomes rightened when herecogni#es the ghosts' words as the -;ies Irae&- the se"uence o there"uiem mass reerring to the last day on earth when 4hrist judges allsouls& sending the sinul to hell and the penitent to hea+en$ :+enthough his amily welcomes 6rancis' return& 6rancis returns thate+ening to the company o bums and begins drin*ing again he has been judged by this jury o ghosts& and his penance has been oundinade"uate$

It is one inal encounter with his past that compels 6rancis to completehis e.piation$ hile tal*ing with a group o bums in the jungle& ama*eshit camp or transients located at the edge o lbany& 6rancishears that a man has been as*ing or ood or his baby$ Aeimmediately see*s the man out and hands him the sandwiches and plum pudding that nnie ga+e him beore he let home$ ter seeingthe baby& 6rancis returns to the bums and or the irst time admits his

role in Gerald's death to strangers$ hen the bums dismiss 6rancis'story as just another tale o hard luc*& 6rancis eels his conession is-wasted$$$because nobody too* it seriously- 2C13$ ;isappointed o+er -yet another wrong decision&- 6rancis recogni#es -that he could ne+er arri+e at any conclusions about himsel that had their origin in reason$But neither did he belie+e himsel incapable o thought$ Ae belie+edhe was a creature o un*nown and un*nowable "ualities& a man inwhom there would ne+er be an e"uanimity o both impulsi+e and premeditated action- 2C1H3$ 6rancis inally comes to terms with the

truth he could not ace with the gathering o ghosts rom the photograph$ Ae ac*nowledges the e.istence o -un*nowable "ualities-within himsel that ha+e shaped the course o his lie$

%he relation between lbany's communities o magical beings and6rancis' progression toward integration can be summari#ed byrecalling the unction o e.piation within the conte.t o 4atholicdoctrine$ %he penitent cannot earn God's orgi+eness through

perorming acts o e.piation& since di+ine orgi+eness& according to )t$

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5aul& is -a git o God- not -the outcome o wor*s- 2 :ph$ C$8,103$ather& the penitent is gi+en an opportunity to achie+e a better understanding o himsel and others as he perorms these acts$ %he

magical elements o *ron+eed correspond to this conception o e.piation$ Gerald& the )t$ gnes community o the dead& and theghosts that 6rancis encounters are representati+es o a suprapersonal power beyond rational comprehension$ Gerald compels 6rancis to perorm acts o e.piation 2acts that& as Gerald predicted& 6ranciswould not understand as e.piatory3$ %hese acts enable 6rancis toresume his lie in lbany and to accept the central parado. that thisurban center holds or him his simultaneous capacity or rational andirrational actions& both positi+e and negati+e$

6rancis' integration does not& howe+er& signal the end o his journeythrough his mythic lbany$ In the concluding passage o the no+el& hethin*s about the parado.ical -artiacts o OhisP lie- and *nows thatthey will continue to place him in the -intersecting realms- o lbany&the urban site o the center o his sel& in which he will disco+er -allthe possibilities that were his- 2CC3$ 6rancis deliberately alienateshimsel rom positi+e systems o urban order in the -concentrated

city&- but is ultimately called by the community 2past and present3 torejoin that order$

%he protagonists o John 4hee+er The 4normous adio react to theurban irrational in "uite another way they construct a ortress o order that protects them rom e.ternal disorder and maniests what they belie+e to be their harmonious inner state$ I propose that their reactioncorresponds to the second phase o urban de+elopment& the periodassociated with the dispersion o urban centers and the growth o

surrounding suburbs$ lthough lie in suburbia is a uture projectrather than an actuality or the protagonists o .The 4normous adio,.

they share a crucial similarity with 4hee+er's numerous ictionalsuburbanites just as his suburbanites ha+e separated themsel+es romthe chaos o the city through physical distance& the en+ironment Jimand Irene ha+e created within their high,rise apartment is a orm o separation$ %hey appear to ha+e achie+ed what would be or many anen+iable state o happiness& unmarred by suering and conlict

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Jim and Irene estcott were the *ind o people who seem to stri*ethat satisactory a+erage o income& endea+or& and respectability thatis reached by the statistical reports in college alumni bulletins$ %hey

were the parents o two young children& they had been married nineyears& they li+ed on the twelth loor o an apartment house near )utton 5lace& they went to the theatre on an a+erage o 10$D times ayear& and they hoped someday to li+e in estchester$

Irene's li+ing room& -its urnishings and colors- chosen -as careullyas she chose her clothes- 2D13& e.empliies the control that they e.erto+er their li+es nothing e.ists in their sanctuary that they ha+e notchosen to admit$ @i*e suburbanites& Jim and Irene's capacity to control

their en+ironment has been enhanced by technology$ In contrast to theurban dwellers o the nineteenth century who oten had to +enture intothe -+olatile mi.ture- o the city to obtain goods and ser+ices& thetechnology o telephones and radios& +acuums and electric blendersha+e decreased Jim and Irene's need or interaction with the city'sturmoil$ achines promote their selsuiciency and their isolation$

%he only way in which the estcotts -diered rom their riends& their classmates and their neighbors- is -an interest they shared in seriousmusic- 2D1D3& and while their possession o a radio easily allows themto indulge in their hobby without lea+ing the security and comort o their apartment& their desire or music compels them to attend -a greatmany concerts ,, although they seldom mentioned this to anyone-2D1D3$ %hey may be reluctant to discuss their concert attendance because it does not readily it into their preconception o what itmeans to -stri*e a satisactory a+erage$- s much as they depend upontechnology& their inability to understand -the mechanics o radio ,, or

o any o the other appliances that surrounded them- 2D1D3 is another source o uneasiness$ %heir uneasiness is justiied& it seems& when anew radio ,, an -aggressi+e intruder- with its -male+olent green light-and its mystiying -dials and switches- 2D13 ,becomes the channelthrough which the turbulent energies o the outside world in+ade their protected en+ironment ,, a crac* in the ortress through which theirrational enters$

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%he radio begins to broadcast con+ersations that occur in thesurrounding apartments& ma*ing the estcotts an audience or maritalarguments& amily "uarrels& the pathos o age& the +ulnerability o

illness ,, -demonstrations o indigestion& carnal lo+e& abysmal +anity&aith& and despair- 2D13$ ?n the night that the magical reception begins& the estcotts ind the radio's broadcasts amusing$ hile Jime+entually comes to +iew the continuing radio dramas as an annoyinganomaly& Irene becomes more and more distressed by what she hears-Irene's lie was nearly as simple and sheltered as it appeared to be&and the orthright and sometimes brutal language that came rom theloudspea*er$$$astonished and troubled her- 2D13$ Aer reaction to theradio reaches a clima. on the third night when& among other things&

she learns that one woman in their building is ha+ing an aair with-the hideous handyman&- another woman is -a common whore&- theele+ator operator has tuberculosis& rs$ Autchinson's mother is dyingo cancer 2while r$ Autchinson claims they don't ha+e enoughmoney to treat her3& and she hears the -screams& obscenities& andthuds- o r$ ?sborne beating his wie 2D193$ Irene becomeshysterical and tearully entreats Jim to conirm the reality o their ownhappiness

@ie is too terrible& too sordid and awul$ But we'+e ne+er been li*ethat& ha+e we& darling< Aa+e we< I mean& we'+e always been good anddecent and lo+ing to one another& ha+en't we< nd we ha+e twochildren& two beautiul children$ ?ur li+es aren't sordid& are they&darling< re they<$$$e're happy& aren't we& darling< 2DC03

Inherent in the ancient conception o the city& as I ha+e said& is thehuman capacity to create order> this capacity to imitate the gods

presumably allows human beings to o+ercome e.ternal and internalorces endangering their sur+i+al$ %he estcotts ha+e ta*en thecapacity to order to its e.treme by consciously constructing a reugerom chaos$ %he radio threatens their order& but the last passage o thestory re+eals their indelible *inship to the -aggressi+e intruder$-%hroughout the story& Jim has seemed relati+ely nonchalant about theradio& but the pressures o bills coming due& his greying hair& hisdeclining income& Irene's e+asi+eness about her debts& and his

children's uture& causes him to abandon the immense eort to

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maintain his acade o calm$ )ha*en by his own sense o loss anddisillusionment& he conronts Irene with her past she stands-disgraced and sic*ened- 2DC13 o+er the radio$ %he -aggressi+e

intruder- has& it seems& shared Jim and Irene's sanctuary all along$ %he broadcasts o the magical radio are an e.tension o their own human2and here& clearly& their urban3 condition$ %he urge to order that impelsthem to construct their separated city also impels its destruction& or it precludes the means to integrate the irrational in a producti+e way$

%his irony is also an essential component o the third phase o urbande+elopment& the -decentered urban ield$- I the city represented thecenter o the uni+erse or some ancient societies& so on a secular le+el

it has continued to be the nucleus o social& commercial& and artisticendea+ors$ (onetheless& it has now become necessary to create theo.ymoron -decentered urban ield- or -decentered city- or& as JohnAerbers obser+es& the -once,mighty cities ha+e come apart& and ineect& pieces o them are marching out across the countryside withouta center or direction$- %hese -sprawling urban areas with no clearlydeined center- raise se+eral interrelated "uestions$ I a city can nolonger be deined as a -center&- what& then& do we consider a city to

be< hat new circumstances need to be understood in order to enter the postmodern city< %hese "uestions and their ontological analoguesare e.plored by ;onald Barthelme in .Cit0 %ife6. s we shall see&Barthelme's story "uestions the nature o reality inQo the postmoderncity& -this e."uisite mysterious muc*$$$which is itsel the creation o the muc* o muc*s& human consciousness$-

%he structure and style o -4ity @ie- con+ey Barthelme's theme the+irtuosity and the allibility o human consciousness& and the -touch o

sublimity- 21C3 that this parado. coners on city lie$ Ais minimalist portrayals o his characters' actions and moti+ations& and his disjointed presentation o the story's e+ents compel his reader to lin* thesuggesti+e ragments$ %a*e& or e.ample& amona's capture o 4harles& :lsa's presumed boyriend the +ery act o *idnapping4harles and the methods that amona uses ,, hiring three men tosubdue him and sedate him with a hypodermic needle and then ha+inghim chained to a bed ,, should prompt 4harles and :lsa to conclude

that amona is dangerously psychotic$ Aowe+er& instead o as*ing

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:lsa or help when she enters the apartment& 4harles is moreconcerned with chastising her or declaring amona's actions againstthe law& while :lsa inds amona's absence rom her law classes as

troubling as the -e.tra,legality- o 4harles' -se"uestration- 2183$ Inaddition& the *idnapping seems to ha+e no eect on :lsa's riendshipwith amona since& in the ne.t scene& they are shown placidlywatching tele+ision together$

ore baling are the circumstances surrounding :lsa's pregnancy at aceremony o the sun& which Jac"ues 2 :lsa's uture husband3& 4harles&:lsa& and amona attend

%he sun dancers were beating the ground with shea+es o wheat$

,, Is that supposed to ma*e the sun shine& or what< amona as*ed$

,, ?h& I thin* it's just sort o to$$$honor the sun$ I don't thin* it'ssupposed to ma*e it do anything$

:lsa stood up$

,, %hat's against the lawM,, )it down :lsa$

:lsa became pregnant$

:lsa's pregnancy is presumably 2and hilariously3 e.plained here& or her condition is simply dropped at this point$ In the ollowingragment& we see the outlines o her wedding -%raic lights Q 5ieces

o blue ca*e Q 4hampagne- 21H03$%he central riddle in Barthelme's decentered city is not :lsa's pregnancy& but amona's$ %he magical conception o amona's babyis e.plored& as :lsa's is not& in a way that "uestions how we create&collecti+ely and indi+idually& and how we understand our creation2s3$%he most basic orm o creation is the creation o lie& and perhaps thisis why Barthelme ma*es the origins o amona's pregnancy the story'sunsol+ed mystery$ By analy#ing 4harles' description o a painter's

creati+e powers and processes& we will see why Barthelme in+ests the

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conception o amona's baby with such mystery$ ? course& paintingsand babies are o dierent orders o diiculty& not to mention dierentontological orders& but in the ragmented structures o city lieQ-4ity

@ie&- the creation o one may relect the conception o the other$ccording to 4harles& -e+ery morning Othe painterP gets up& brusheshis teeth& and stands beore the empty can+as$ terrible eeling o being de tro2 comes o+er him- 2103$ Ae may read the newspaper tostimulate his creati+e powers -But soon the %imes is e.hausted$ %heempty can+as remains- 2103$ Ae must do more than just assemble pieces rom other realities in order to create his own& and so indesperation he -ma*es a mar*&- *nowing beorehand that the mar*

will not be -what he means$- Because this mar* does not maniest his+ision& he is -prooundly depressed$- Ae erases the mar*& a gesturethat -aords him a measure o satisaction- 2113$ Ae now has todecide -whether or not to +enture another mar*$- %he ne.t mar* is as-misconcei+edas the irst& and he erases it too$ lthough his -an.ietyaccumulates&- the can+as -is now& in and o itsel& because o thewrong mo+es and the painting out& becoming rather interestingloo*ing$- Ais depression and an.iety begin to lit as he

reali#es that -a something has been wrested rom the nothing$- Aisriends appro+e they -drop in and congratulate him on ha+ing a not,empty can+as$ Ae begins eeling better- 2113$ Let -the "uality o thesomething is still at issue-> the painter -is by no means home ree$-%he painter also ac*nowledges that -all o the painting ,, the whole art,, has mo+ed on somewhere else& it's not where his head is& and he*nows that- 2113$ %he painter is not the sole arbitrator o reality>other realities 2-all o painting-3 e.ist beyond his own$

%hrough this parable o the painter& Barthelme gi+es us the means toenter the mystery o the baby's conception$ amona arranges thenames o possible athers ,, ercingetori.& oonbelly& and 4harles ,,in patterns o three& concluding that -/pon me& their glance has allen$%he engendering orce was& perhaps& the used glance o all o them-21D3$ %he title o oonbelly's song& .Cities are Centers of

Co2ulation,. 2103 emphasi#es the urban conte.t o this engenderingmagic$ e may interpret amona's act o arranging the three names&

and oonbelly's locating gesture& as corresponding to the painter's

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e see how urban energies sometimes merge to orm a rich collecti+ereality& and how they sometimes clash& causing the whole to be soragmented that the city's meaning remains conused& elusi+e$ /nli*e

Jim and Irene in -%he :normous adio&- 6rancis in *ron+eed andamona in -4ity @ie- accept the -in+itation o unmista*able import-to tra+el down e."uisitely muc*y city roads on which the rational andirrational intersect& collide& coe.ist$

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Magic Realism: Post'&xpressionism

6(T ?A

riting in German in 19C to champion a new direction in painting&6ran# oh originates the term agic ealism to characteri#e this new painting's return to ealism ater :.pressionism's more abstract style$ith the term& oh praises 5ost,:.pressionism's realistic& iguralrepresentation& a critical mo+e that contrasts with our contemporaryuse o the term to signal the contrary tendency& that is& a te.t'sde2arture rom realism rather than its reengagement o it$ ccordingto oh& the -con+ulsi+e lie- and -iery e.altation- o :.pressionismha+e yielded to the representation o +igorous lie in a -ci+il& metallic&restrained- manner$ Ae describes the ways in which the 5ost,:.pressionist painting o the 19C0 s returns to a renewed delight inreal objects e+en as it integrates the ormal inno+ations and spiritualthrust o :.pressionism& which had shown -an e.aggerated preerenceor antastic& e.traterrestrial& remote objects$- In his statement in the preace to his boo*& -with the word 'magic&' as opposed to 'mystic&' Iwished to indicate that the mystery does not descend to therepresented world& but rather hides and palpitates behind it&- he

anticipates the practice o contemporary magical realists$

oh's 19C essay was translated into )panish and published by JosK?rtega y Gasset's inluential evista de Oidente in adrid in 19C>it was also published in )panish in e.panded orm as a boo* in thesame year$ e pro+ide a translation o the widely circulated e+istade ?ccidente article here$

I attribute no special +alue to the title -magical realism$- )ince the

wor* had to ha+e a name that meant something& and the word -5ost,:.pressionism- only in dicates ancestry and chronologicalrelationship& I added the irst title "uite a long time ater ha+ingwritten this wor*$ It seems to me& at least& more appropriate than-Ideal ealism- or -erism&- or -(eoclassicism&- which onlydesignate an aspect o the mo+ement$ -)uperrealism- means& at thistime& something else$ ith the word -magic&- as opposed to -mystic&-I wish to indicate that the mystery does not descend to the represented

world& but rather hides and palpitates behind it$

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The 0e4 (+/ects

%he phases o all art can be distinguished "uite simply by means o the particular ob5ets that artists percei+e& among all the objects in the

world& than*s to an act o selection that is already an act o creation$?ne might attempt a history o art that would list the a+orite themes

o each era without omitting those whose absence would be e"uallymeaningul$ ? course& this would only gi+e us the oundations or asystem o characteristics> ne+ertheless& it would constitute theelementary& indeed the only ruitul& groundwor* or wider research$%here is& howe+er& a second path open to research on objects$ %hatother way& which transcends the thematic statistics I ha+e just

mentioned& would stri+e to determine& or e.ample& whether an eranotoriously ond o painting the heads o old people chose to paint old people as withered or lymphatic$ (one o this research concerns orm$?nly later begins the ormal operation that rewor*s preceding layers$In the same way& in re+erse ashion& particular objects can ha+e anobscure and ine.plicable inluence o+er particular methods o painting$ But that would catapult us into an un*nown realm o historico,artistic research$

e will indicate here& in a cursory way& the point at which the new painting separates itsel rom :.pressionism b0 means of its ob5ets6

Immediately we ind that in its reaction to Impressionism&:.pressionism shows an e.aggerated preerence or antastic&e.traterrestrial& remote objects$ (aturally& it also resorts to thee+eryday and the commonplace or the purpose o distancing it&in+esting it with a shoc*ing e.oticism$ any religious themessuddenly appeared in our country& which had been so secular until

then> the ultimate religious symbols 2which the church rarelymodiies3 were employed with sudden daring$ I a picture portrayed acity& or e.ample& it resembled the destruction produced by +olcanicla+a and not just a play o orms or the booty o an agitated cubism$ I the theme was erotic& it oten degenerated into sa+age sensuality$ I de+ilish men were depicted& they had the aces o cannibals$ I animalsappeared& they were horses o a hea+enly blue or red cows that& e+enin their objecti+e reality& had to carry us beyond what we coulde.perience on earth$ I a painter wanted to sing the e.uberance o

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southern pro+inces in a landscape& he came up with the tropics o ane.traterrestrial world where men o our race burned li*e piles o paper under dry lames o color$ But abo+e all 2as in 4hagall's wor*3 animals

wal*ed in the s*y> behind the transparent brain o the +iewer& also present in the picture& appeared towns and +illages> o+erly +ehementand heated heads popped li*e cor*s rom o+erlowing bottles>grandiose chromatic storms lared through all these beings> and thearthest reaches o the pictures appeared mysteriously close to theoregrounds$

%he :.pressionist serials and re+iews were called The %ast Eudgment,

Fire, #torm, (a+n$ %hese titles are enough to re+eal the world o

objects a+ored at that time$

But let us glance at the pictures reproduced at the end o this boo*$ D Itseems to us that this antastic dreamscape has completely +anishedand that our real world re,emerges beore our eyes& bathed in theclarity o a new day$ e recogni#e this world& although now ,, notonly because we ha+e emerged rom a dream ,, we loo* on it withnew eyes$ %he religious and transcendental themes ha+e largelydisappeared in recent painting$ In contrast& we are oered a new stylethat is thoroughly o this world& that celebrates the mundane$ Insteado the mother o God& the purity o a shepherdess in the ields2)chrimp3$ Instead o the remote horrors o hell& the ine.tinguishablehorrors o our own time 2Gros# and ;i.3$ It eels as i that roughshodand renetic transcendentalism& that de+ilish detour& that light romthe world ha+e died and now an insatiable lo+e or terrestrial thingsand a delight in their ragmented and limited nature has reawa*ened$?ne could say that once again a proound calm and thoughtulness

pre+ails& a calm that is perhaps a prelude to a new light& launchedwith a more mature *nowledge and earthly substance$ Aumanityseems destined to oscillate ore+er between de+otion to the world o dreams and adherence to the world o reality$ nd really& i this breathing rhythm o history were to cease& it might signal the death o the spirit$

eactionaries belie+e une"ui+ocally that with the new art such amoment has arri+ed$ But considered careully& this new world o

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http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24669041





objects is still alien to the current idea o ealism$ Aow it stupeies therearguard and seems to them almost as inappropriate as :.pressionismitselM Aow it employs +arious techni"ues inherited rom the pre+ious

period& techni"ues that endow all things with a deeper meaning andre+eal mysteries that always threaten the secure tran"uility o simpleand ingenuous things e.cessi+ely large bodies& lying with the weighto bloc*s on a s*impy lawn> objects that don't imitate the leastmo+ement but that end surprisingly real& strange mysterious designsthat are ne+ertheless +isible down to their smallest detailsM

ll heads& hands& bodies& objects that e.press -con+ulsi+e lie&- -ierye.altation-> in short& anything ner+ous has become suspect in this new

art& or which ner+ousness represents +asted orces$ %ruly +igorouslie is imagined to be ci+il& metallic& restrained$ e don't need todescribe in detail the *inds o men& women& children& animals& trees&and roc*s that we produced in the past$

6inally& the new art does not belong to the series o initial artistic phases that includes :.pressionism$ It is a mo+ement o decantationand clariication that was ortunate enough to ind right at the start analmost e.hausted artistic re+olution that had begun to disco+er newa+enues$ In addition& these circumstances habitually e.pressthemsel+es in a more measured group o themes$ Is this the way toreconcile art and the people 2largely through the reestablishment o objecti+ity3< %he uture will tell$ Aistory& o course& always shows thatthe bottom layer o the population& which e.periences the monotonyo hard labor& is more easily touched by discrete and prudent wor*sthan by loty and inspired ones$ $iedermeier painting& whose serenegrandeur& barely e.hausted e+en now& was always threatened by

+ulgar bourgeoisiication> it has orced us to see the danger that prudent art courts when it caters to contemporary taste$

(+/ectivit

?bjecti+ity is not e"ually important in all the arts$ usic does notreproduce objects> it creates out o nothing& gi+en the act that its phenomena do not really attempt to reer to nature$ rchitecture doesnot attempt that reerence either$ But during the de+elopment o :.pressionism& painting& which has somehow almost always held on

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to nature& went as ar as it could toward rejecting its representati+e&imitati+e meaning> speciic objecti+ity was suspected o lac*ingspirituality> in 6uturism& the objecti+e world appeared in an abrupt and

dislocated orm$ ?n the other hand& 5ost,:.pressionism sought toreintegrate reality into the heart o +isibility$ %he elemental happinesso seeing again& o recogni#ing things& reenters$ 5ainting becomesonce again the mirror o palpable e.teriority$ %hat is the reason tospea* o a (ew ealism without in any way alluding to the instincti+eattitude that characteri#ed pre+ious ealisms in :uropean art$ %he+iewers who continue to preer that attitude do not eel satisied withthis new -rigid& unanimated- ealism$

n e.ample will e.plain what we mean by objecti+ity$ hen I seese+eral apples on a table& I recei+e an e.tremely comple. sensation2e+en without lea+ing the plane o aesthetic intuition3$ I am attractednot just by the breath o e."uisite colors with which Impressionismentertained itsel> not just by the +aried designs o spherical& colored&and deormed shapes that capti+ated :.pressionism$ I am o+ercome by a much wider amalgam o colors& spatial orms& tactilerepresentations& memories o smells and tastes> in short& a truly

unending comple. that we understand by the name o thing $4ompared with 5ost,:.pressionism's integrati+e attitude&Impressionism and :.pressionism seem outmoded simpliications&limiting themsel+es now to ulgurations o chromatic surace& now toabstractions o stereometry and color> they steal the seducti+e integrityo objecti+e phenomena rom the +iewer$ But when painting returns toa ull objecti+ity& all those relations and eelings that we do not ind in pure harmonies o color and orm reappear$ It is clear that only ater art had become abstract could eeling or the object& which had been

dragged all o+er li*e a +ague& +acuous and unsubstantial rag& lower again$ ?nly then could the object again constitute a undamentalemotion and re"uire a corresponding representation$ ter art has beenspirituali#ed& objecti+ity once again becomes the most intense pleasure o painting$

e must admit that the world created li*e this in its most tangiblereality oers us the undamental artistic eeling o e/istene or the

irst time$ But let us not orget 2as we oten ha+e recently3 that we can

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only become aware o the objecti+e world i to these tactileimpressions we add impressions o color and orm& ordered accordingto a principle that is also +alid or li+ing$ ? course the new art does

not restore objecti+ity by using all sensory potential in the same +a0=what it principally e+o*es is a most proliic and detailed tatile

feeling6

e may use the most +aried circumstances to illustrate this idea$ 6or Impressionism& that the world consisted o objects was an -ob+ious-act not worth much attention> or the Impressionists& then& paintingdelighted in gi+ing ma.imal +alue and meaning to chromatic te.ture&which loated in the air$ :.pressionism also considered the e.istence

o objects to be patently -ob+ious- and loo*ed or meaning in powerul and +iolent formal rh0thms> +essels into which man's spirit2that o either an artist or a man o action3 could pour e+erything$ Butthe most recent painting attempts to disco+er a more general anddeeper basis& without which the two pre+ious enthusiasms could notha+e succeeded$ Beore& people were not at all de+oted to the objectthey too* the e.terior world which art molds and shapes or granted$In ma*ing what was ormerly accepted as ob+ious into a -problem-

or the irst time& we enter a much deeper realm& e+en though some o the results may seem inade"uate to us$ %his calm admiration o themagic o being& o the disco+ery that things already ha+e their ownaces& means that the ground in which the most di+erse ideas in theworld can ta*e root has been recon"uered ,, albeit in new ways$

%he new art has been maligned or its rough drawing and-penetrating- e.ecution$ %his criticism does not ta*e account o the possibility o eeling e.istence& o ma*ing it stand out rom the +oid>

that a solidly modeled igure crystali#es itsel& as i by a miracle&emerging rom the most obscure source$ Aere& perhaps& the bac*ground is the last rontier& absolute nothingness& absolute death&rom which something emerges and +ibrates with energetic intensity$

%his seems to be a more important +iewpoint than the -objecti+ity-e+eryone *eeps e+o*ing$ %he latter doesn't ac*nowledge that radiationo magic& that spirituality& that lugubrious "uality throbbing in the best

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wor*s o the new mode& along with their coldness and apparentsobriety$

%he great abstract system o :.pressionism had tended more or lesstoward mural painting& in which a ree rhythm illed broad suracesthat would aect the spectator rom aar$ But with 5ost,:.pressionism& easel painting& pictures with rames& easilytransportable wor*s that delighted many tastes besides those o postmedie+al :urope are enjoying a renaissance$ (ow& when a pieceo imitated -reality- hangs on the wall it only ma*es sense i it startsrom and then 2consciously or unconsciously3 transcends therepresentation o a window& that is& i it constitutes a magical ga#e

opening onto a piece o mildly transigured -reality- 2producedartiicially3$

%his idea o a picture on a wall is prospering and increasing in popularity again$ %he clash o true reality and apparent reality 2o theactual room with the +isionary realm o the painting3 has always hadan elemental attraction$ %his enchantment is enjoyed now in a newway$ )uch a ju.taposition o reality and appearance was not possibleuntil the recuperation o the objecti+e world& which was largelylac*ing in :.pressionism$ :.pressionism appeared to ha+e alreadyrejected the image o real nature in a+or o an e.clusi+ely spiritualworld$

ith this new mo+ement painting distances itsel rom the:.pressionists' ri+alry with music$ lready with =andins*y& paintinghad elt obliged to ta*e second place to music because music unoldedin time and conse"uently had great e.panses at its command& whereas

easel painting continued to be an art o simultaneity$ 5ainting couldonly contain a ew measures& as it were& that could be embraced by aglance in a short space o time ,, a space o time in which aconsummate condensation could be achie+ed nonetheless$ )uch acondensation e+o*es in the +iewer the desire and e+en the need toremain or a long time in ront o this instantaneous +ision enclosed ina ew measures& whereas an art o successi+e time 2li*e music& theno+el& drama& ilm3 ne+er ceases to insert new igures$ %his was adisad+antage or painting> unli*e music& in the majority o countries

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admires and highlights$ 6or :.pressionism& the deepest meaning& thereason it erects this world o permanent bodies as a symbol& lies in building something that by means o its +ery persistence resists eternal

luidity$ 5ost,:.pressionism aithully raises a pane o glass in ront o a light and is surprised that it doesn't -melt&- that it doesn't ine+itablytransorm itsel& that it is accorded a brie stay in eternity$ It is thesame eeling that moti+ates the in+ocation o norms& o ethical ande+en political positions& rom either the right or the let$ nd this is nota result o intimate inertia> it is the glimmer rom which the 8lan vital

2the pre+ious generation's philosophy o lie3 cannot sa+e us$ )o then& (ew ?bjecti+ity is something more than the simple respect or theobjecti+e world in which we are submerged$ In addition& we see

ju.taposed in harsh tension and contrast the orms o the spirit and the+ery solidity o objects& which the will must come up against i itwishes to ma*e them enter its system o coordinates$ %he spirit cannotshow itsel in the open with such acility and speed as :.pressionismthought it could> in the end& :.pressionism aimed at disrupting theworld as it e.isted in the structure o the )el& which in turn resistedsuch disruption$ t least this is how (ew ealism& Ideal ealism&understands the :.pressionist generation$ It is true& says the (ew

ealism& that :.pressionism has bro*en with indi+idualism indirecting meditation toward the basic undamentals o all humansensation> but it hasn't abandoned subjecti+ity 2a collecti+esubjecti+ity3 at all& because the +ery consistency o the world hasdegenerated almost entirely into the special rhythms o the collecti+esubject$

?ne could say o 4ubism& as a basic comparison& that it painted whatwe might call pre,orms& primordial orms& categories o human

perception& at the same time that it depicted percei+ed matter$@i*ewise& it can be said that without losing sight o its own modelingorce 2we are still dealing with the +ery deinite means o compositionthat it employs3 today's art proposes to catch reality as such& instead o e+ading it with a sudden and inspired stro*e$ %his new art is situatedresolutely between e.tremes& between +ague sensuality and highlystructured schematics& as true philosophy may be located betweeningenuous realism and e.alted idealism$

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In order to clariy the situation o this art in relation to the world o objects& we can compare it not only to the *ind o man whocontemplates and *nows but also to a new *ind o man o ation6 %he

end o the nineteenth century& including Impressionism& ga+e manymen a new capacity or enjoyment& a new sense o smell and e+en anew *nowledge o e/isting reality$ %he :.pressionist generationrightly contrasted such men with another *ind o man who imposesethical norms& who constructs the uture according to preconcei+ed plans& a utopian who scorns mere *nowledge o past lie& a nobler andmore audacious *ind o man who truly mo+es the world and who ,,e+en indirectly ,, has always pushed it decisi+ely in the direction o itse+olution$ %he most recent art corresponds& howe+er& to a third class

o man who& without losing anything o his constructi+ist ideals&nonetheless *nows how to reconcile that desire with a greater respector reality& with a closer *nowledge o what e.ists& o the objects hetransorms and e.alts$ %his *ind o man is neither the -empirical-achia+ellian politician nor the apolitical man who listens only to the+oice o an ethical ideal& but a man at once political and ethical& inwhom both characteristics are e"ually prominent$ %he new position& i it sur+i+es& will e.ist on a middle ground not through wea*ness but&

on the contrary& through energy and an awareness o its strength$ Itwill be a sharp edge& a narrow ledge between two chasms on the rightand the let$

The Proximit of the (+/ect as Spiritual Creation

5ainting now seems to eel the reality o the object and o space& notli*e copies o nature but li*e another creation$ e ha+e already seenthat :.pressionism in its last stages was +ery enamored o the-spiritual$- %his recent painting could not& then& all bac* into

amorphous sensuality& although here and there it does court thatdanger$ It maniests its interior point o departure more purely thandoes nineteenth,century ealism& re+ealing its compositional structurewith a dierent *ind o clarity$ It continues to approach the ultimateenigmas and harmonies o e.istence through a hidden stereometry$ Italso belie+es that Being consists o undamentally simple orms andthat in the best modern wor*s these orms are metallic and "uiescent$%he new idea o -realistic depiction- as it is rigorously concei+ed

wishes to ma*e such orms concretely e+ident in nature rather than in

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the abstract$ %o depict realistically is not to portray or copy but rather to build rigorously& to construct objects that e.ist in the world in their particular primordial shape$ %he old ristotelian idea o imitation had

already gained a spiritual "uality$ 6or the new art& it is a "uestion o representing beore our eyes& in an intuiti+e way& the fat, the interior

figure, of the e/terior +orld6 %his mattered +ery little to:.pressionism$

%he point is not to disco+er the spirit beginning with objects but& onthe contrary& to disco+er objects beginning with the spirit> or thatreason& one accords consummate +alue to the process in whichspiritual orm remains large& pure& and clear$ %his second objecti+e

world thereby rigorously resembles the irst& the e.isting world& but itis a puriied world& a reerential world$ e ha+e already seen that wecannot leap out o the e.isting world and jump into the ree spaces o pure spirit& as :.pressionism oten tried to do$ 5ost,:.pressionism& inholding to e.isting e.teriority& wants to say clearly that we ha+e toshape the world we ind in ront o us$

%his is how we must understand what today's historical situationshows us so e.traordinarily well that the in+ention and re,establishment o the object can re+eal to us the idea o creation$ It iswell *nown that the nineteenth century rarely attempted anythingother than e.trinsic imitation& and hence it had to remain seated inront o nature or wor*s o art or plaster casts& limiting itsel in the endto copying the object beore its eyes$ hen& in +iolent reaction to this&:.pressionism had crystalli#ed the object's e.clusi+ely internal

aspect& the unusual opportunity o loo*ing at the ob5et lose u2 romthe other side had arri+ed> in other words& the opportunity o

reconstructing the object& starting e.clusi+ely rom our interiority$%hus& returning to the pre+ious e.ample o the apples& today we couldsay that the antastic apples o :.pressionism may belong to a better world because it is simpler and more circumscribed& but that they lac* true e.istence$ )pea*ing in moral terms& we could almost say that the:.pressionist ideal has not been reali#ed because o the tragic act thatcreating the best always means a compromise with what alreadye.ists$

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%he way in which the restorati+e process o this new painting operateshere is "uite clear$ painter li*e )chrimp& who attempts to create thee.terior world with the utmost precision& considers it +ery important

not to paint outdoors& not to use a model& to ha+e e+erything lowrom the interior image to the can+as$ %hat is why he paints hislandscapes in his studio& almost always without a model or e+en as*etch$ (e+ertheless& he repeatedly insists that the landscape bedeiniti+ely& rigorously& a real landscape that could be conused withan e.isting one$ Ae wants it to be -real&- to impress us as somethingordinary and amiliar and& ne+ertheless& to be magic by +irtue o thatisolation in the room e+en the last little blade o grass can refer to thespirit$ %hat is the painter's aim ,, o course& he doesn't always achie+e

it$ ?nly when the creati+e process achie+es its goal rom the inside outcan it generate new +iews o reality& which is at most built in pieces&ne+er imitated as a whole$

%he opposite side o this double,sided art that struggles betweenopposites appears in the painting o =anoldt& or e.ample& who buildshis landscapes out o Italian cities because he eels certain o their spiritual content& wor*ing whene+er possible in nature& outside$ %hus

he accentuates and intensiies the power o the object$s long as 5ost,:.pressionism wor*s with this dialectic& it will beopen to a thousand spiritual possibilities$ But i it degenerates into asimple e.ternal imitation 2as can easily happen in this diicult attemptat objectiication3& it will become less signiicant and painting willind itsel trampled to death by those mar+elous machines2photography and ilm3 that imitate reality so incomparably well$

The 0e4 Space

s we ha+e pre+iously suggested& the partisans o nineteenth,centurysensuous ealism reject the new painting's ealism as schematic&intellectual& constructed& inert& rigid$ In act& what happens is that the feeling of s2ae has changed$ %o understand that change& we willcompare the latest styles o landscape painting$ %he Impressionistsrepresented space rom the perspecti+e o air& o +aporous atmospherethat is& they gasiied and shattered color on the inter+eningatmosphere$ But in attempting to create a shimmering colored +apor to

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ill the whole picture& and in concei+ing o the whole world as achromatic +eil& what Impressionism actually achie+ed was a latteningo space$ atter +isuali#ed in orm and color was caught as in a

gaseous substance on the picture plane$ It was impossible to saywhether this matter was projected by an object situated behind theinter+ening surace or by an object in front of this projection screen$%hus& in the age o Impressionism people tal*ed a great deal about the+alue o the visual 2lane& so much did its theory owe to acontemporaneous current o classicism 26iedler& Aildebrand3$ But ater :.pressionism the demands o the surace decreased$ %he desire or spatiality re,emerged& bringing with it a certain ambiguity$ 5ainterselt depth to be primary and placed e+erything obli"uely to emphasi#e

the orce o oreshortening$ %he can+as& which was made to re+eale.tended surace "ualities in both Impressionism and Impressionistclassicism 2Aildebrand did not understand sculpture e.cept as acontinuation o bas relie& a conception in which he was basicallywrong3& was deepened& hollowed out& and illed with depressions andele+ations$ But it was always a matter o adjacent spaces that in+adedand assaulted the oreground$ 6urthermore& all the oreshortenedigures appeared to mo+e orward rather than bac*ward 2something

that could ha+e happened in the middle, and bac*grounds as well3$Aowe+er& e+ery oreshortened igure could be gi+en a dierenttrajectory$ 6rom that principle the rough and oten erociousaggressi+ity o purely :.pressionist paintings emerged$

In adopting a classical position again& the most recent paintingconciliates and synthesi#es the decisi+e elements o these three possibilities that ha+e appeared in the history o art$ %he best newlandscapes re+eal a constant surace& to which is added a certain

orward thrust 2in this case as i the painter were -displaying- theshape or us3& but they also ma*e use o distance$ %hus in the sameway that 2as we will see shortly3 the delight in the ju.taposition o small and large is elt again& so another polarity and ju.taposition isalso reestablished I reer to the ju.taposition o the ar and the near&which in the new painting are reconciled and ace each other$ %hismeeting is now asserted more purely and not& as in Impressionism&through intermediate +eils and +apori#ing& dissol+ing& conciliating

atmospheres$ It could be said that the new landscapes& li*e the

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landscapes o the iteenth and si.teenth centuries& mo+e +igorouslyorward& at the same time that they recede into the ar distance$ In5ost,:.pressionism the bird's,eye +iew& which :.pressionism

reapplied but which Impressionism prohibited because it sacriiced thelatness o the picture plane& embodies that double meaning$ %heymust ha+e sensed at some point ,so the :.pressionists proudlydeclared o their landscapes ,, how to penetrate deeply into thedistance& how to -really- enter into the picture$ %hese words maniestthe e.alted eeling o reality that ma*es the picture a suggesti+espatial unity& whose loor in+ites ootsteps$ %hese landscapes on thewall no longer try 2as those by arees did3 to spring rom suraceorce& rom the continuous eeling o the wall& as we ha+e said

elsewhere$

rt tries o+er and o+er again to picture the whole +olume o space&ma*ing it elt through its di+ision into three dimensions$ hile theGothic 2including painting3 e.presses e.tension primarily as anupward thrust& the enaissance deliberately e.tends +olumehori#ontally in order to sa+or it ully$ In contrast& as is well *nown& theBaro"ue attempts to throw it all into the +orte. o depth$ ith a charm

that goes unrecogni#ed today& the best iteenth,century paintingestablishes a calm ju.taposition between breadth o surace and deptho ield$ %his ju.taposition produces a magniicent intensity thatcontrasts& on the one hand& with the era o aphael and %itian& and& onthe other& with the nineteenth century 2at least during its second hal3&where we ind only the rigors o surace with no compensating actors$%oday we see a renewed sensiti+ity to the dynamics o depth anddirection& a sensiti+ity that is a distinguishing eature o 5ost:.pressionism$

ecall& inally& that in both its hori#ontal e.tensions and its ele+ations&:.pressionism searches or a secret geometry$ %hat is why we can saythat 2to the ad+antage o the new painting3 :.pressionism has still notdisappeared$

Smaller than 0atural 6Miniature7

%he rigorous dedication to the object unctions in +ery dierent waysin the most recent art& but it almost always maniests itsel in

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miniature orm$ It see*s to endow the +iewer& who is re"uently toocursory and careless in his *nowledge o the world and in hisidealism& with a penetrating and meticulous lucidity$

By miniature we mean a ine and e.act painting& e.ecuted on a +erysmall surace> a painting whose decisi+e character typically comesrom its minimal e.terior dimensions$ %hough it is true that thenarrowness o the surace compels all representation to search or smallness rom within& this is no more than the e.trinsic andsupericial concept o miniature$ %he intrinsi miniature 2which canencompass also +ery large paintings& a typical e.ample o which isltdorer $attle of Ale/ander 3 is art produced by attempting to locate

infinit0 in small things$ %his is the idea o the miniature that ta*es itsinspiration rom a s2eial +a0 of intuiting the +orld and& as such& canapply to all the arts& e+en music$ Its opposite pole is another eelingor lie& which animates monumental art& an idea that applies e"uallyto all the arts$ %his idea o monumentality is not limited to e.ternaldimensions either$ %hus& or e.ample& The %aemaker by ermeer is alittle painting the si#e o a plate that ne+ertheless produces theimpression o a poster the si#e o a house$ %he miniature and the

monument are two poles situated beyond the de+elopment o styles& ata distance rom *nown spiritual models$ 6or this reason they must bein+estigated on their own terms$ ermeer has painted a small object&the bust o a woman& and ltdorer& in contrast& a gigantic battleieldwith a panoramic +iew o the mountains$ In order to understand theaesthetic means used here& it is not enough to say that the-monumental- painter see*s the oreground while the other representsdistances with his small shapes$ It is more important to notice that the-monumental- man piles up shapes in large groups while the

-microscopic- one establishes the largest possible number o subdi+isions$ hen the latter does not ha+e a multipartite object inront o him& li*e thic*ets o lea+es or ibers o grass or human massesspread out o+er the hori#on& then he car+es& separates& and di+ides theoreground$ 2%he painting by ermeer I mentioned abo+e can bes*etched perectly well by accenting the small parts& without objects branching o into space in the way we see them& or e.ample& in thewell,*nown reproduction by /nger& who altered ermeer's ormal

continuity& con+erting it into the proli.ity o the nineteenth century$3

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+ery system o categories has been reined& gaining in clarity& richness&and precision$

%wo types o miniatures ta*e on completely contradictory meanings inthe dierent styles o :.pressionism& a phenomenon that we need tonote here& although we will reser+e the study o these dierent stylesor later$ In Gros# and ;i. this miniaturism tries to present thehorrible side o the world in the crudest manner and in all its minutedetail& but still without any political o+ertones$ @ater comes the political meaning& and it attempts to gi+e us a microscopic image o social ills& to put them under the +ery noses o the bourgeoisie& whousually reuse to loo* at such disagreeable sights$ In contrast&

)chrimp and )piess celebrate the intimacy o e+eryday lie with precise idelity> they concei+e o the world as a handul o grass& ananthill& and wish once again to e+o*e the long,orgotten and e."uisite"uality o the diminuti+e in art$

In addition& an erroneous judgment has been hanging o+er all this&namely that in representing small things one necessarily alls intospiritual pettiness$ I ha+e already mentioned ltdorer $attle of

Ale/ander $ ;i+ided into a thousand little pieces& it is something inal

and deiniti+e& in e.actly the same way as The %ast Eudgment concei+ed on a large scale by ubens or ichelangelo$ In science thesame thing applies the planetary microcosm o the atom is a mysteryin the end& no less than the macrocosm o astronomy$ (ow then& both*inds o miniaturist painting 2the one that reconciles us to the world&and the one that tries to horriy us3 imply an orientation toward theininity o small things& o the microcosm$ ?ne must& thereore& be+ery careul not to apply the criteria o Impressionism and

:.pressionism automatically and& basing oursel+es on their luctuatingand monumental characters& deprecate this aithul de+otion to smallthings& this -nitpic*ing&- as ;7rer put it$ %his -nitpic*ing- is& in act&li*e the slow steps o a magniicent parade and re+eals a prooundnew meaning$%he most recent painting coincides with :.pressionismin painting pictures o +ast scope$ But while :.pressionism wasentirely consumed with this eort& 5oste.pressionist paintings openthe way to meticulous e.pression$ No+ is when we really draw near tothe painting o the late iddle ges& oten allegedly without a moti&

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rom which :.pressionism too* the geometric plan o large scalecomposition$ ?n entering the church& the ensemble o an altar paintingunolded its essential meaning at a hundred paces& and then& as the

distance diminished& re+ealed little by little the new world o the +erysmall in successi+e planes o details& details that were symbolic o alltrue s2iritual *nowledge o the world because they always remainedsubordinate to the total structure$ %hus the +iewer could satiatehimsel with minutiae& with the thic*ness and density o all cosmicrelationships$ 5erhaps many 5oste.pressionist pictures oer theappearance o something slow and laborious at irst sight> bute+entually& ater we ha+e absorbed them& they oer us secret delightsand intimate charms that the pure uniying idealism o abstract art

ne+er e+en imagined$ Impressionism and :.pressionism aspired to ane.citing& surprising& suggesti+e art that with their +ast grids aimed atstimulating man's antasy& his personal associations& and his creations$But the latest painting wants to oer us the image o something totallyinished and complete& minutely ormed& opposing it to our eternallyragmented and ragged li+es as an archetype o integral structuring&down to the smallest details$

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6rom that time on& art historians began dissecting the mo+ement in Mar/ist vs6 non7Mar/ist terms& by geographical location& artisticcharacteristics& political ailiation& and social content& sometimes

separating agic ealism rom (ew ?bjecti+ity& sometimes treatingthem as one$ nd sometimes& both terms were thrown out& asdi+ergent aspects o the mo+ement were subsumed under the rubric ealismus or ealism$ Aowe+er& as discussed in the subse"uent essaysin this +olume& agic ealism ound its way into literature indi+ersiied orms$ 5ictorial in origin& the term e+entually became awidely used literary concept$

In order to bridge the gap between oh's artistic ormulation and its

literary connotations& an historical conte.t and aesthetic e.planation o the term are needed$ Because o the luidity o boundaries& theambiguity o deinitions& and the sometimes untraceabletransormation o concepts& conjecture and act ha+e intertwined in thehistory o agic ealism and its e+entual dissemination$ In eect&oh's artistic child o the 19C0 s has become a present,day historian'snightmare$

%he concept o - magisher *dealismus. >magial idealism) inGerman philosophy is an old one$ (o+alis& at the end o the eighteenthcentury& wrote o a -magical idealist- and a -magical realistin therealm o philosophy$ It is& howe+er& with 6ran# oh 19C publication& Nah74/2ressionismus, Magisher ealismus= robleme der neuesten

4uro2Iishen Malerei >ost4/2ressionism, Magi ealism= roblems

of the Ne+est 4uro2ean ainting)& that the term Magisher ealismus

>Magi ealism) was employed in an artistic conte.t$ %wo yearsearlier& Gusta+ Aartlaub had announced his intention o organi#ing an

e.hibit based on the theme o Neue #ahlihkeit >Ne+ Ob5etivit0)& a project also brought to ruition in 19C& the same year that dol Aitler boo*& Mein Kam2f >M0 #truggle)& was published$ It is to oh'sagic ealism that we will irst turn our attention$

6rom the outset& oh did not place any special +alue on his termagic ealism$ %he new art style that he saw emerging all o+er :urope -needed a real name&- an aesthetic descripti+e alongside itstime reerent& Nah4/2ressionismus >ost74/2ressionism)$ agic

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(eue )achlich*eit& in recognition that his terms agischer ealismusand (ach,:.pressionismus had been eclipsed by Aartlaub (eue)achlich*eit$ %hey are as ollows

:N5:))I?(I) (: ?BJ:4%II%L1$ :cstatic subjects )ober subjectsC$ )uppression o the object %he object clariiedD$ hythmical epresentational$ :.tra+agant 5uristically se+ere$ ;ynamic )taticH$ @oud Fuiet$ )ummary %horough

8$ 4lose,up +iew 4lose and ar +iew9$ onumental iniature10$ arm 2hot3 4old11$ %hic* color te.ture %hin paint surace1C$ ough )mooth1D$:mphasis on the +isibilityo the painting process

:acement o the painting process

1$ 4entriugal 4entripetal1$ :.pressi+e deormation

:.ternal puriicationo the object

oh also pro+ided a list o artists whose wor*s were included in his boo* as well as a supplemental list o painters not included& but whosewor*s e.empliied certain tendencies o agic ealism 21DD,D3$)ubjects most oten painted include the city s"uare& the metropolis&still lies& portraits& and landscapes 21C,C3$ 4learly& it was not the

subject matter that made this art so dierent$ ather& it was theastidious depiction o amiliar objects& the new way o seeing andrendering the e+eryday& thereby -creating a new world +iew&- thatinspired the style$ s (ew ?bjecti+ity artist Grethe J7rgens noted& -Itis the disco+ery o a totally new world$ ?ne paints pots and rubbish piles& and then suddenly sees these things "uite dierently& as i onehad ne+er beore seen a pot$ ?ne paints a landscape& trees& houses&+ehicles& and one sees the world anew$ ?ne disco+ers li*e a child an

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ad+enture,illed land$ ?ne loo*s at technological objects with dierenteyes when one paints them or sees them in new paintings$-

%he goal o this post,orld ar I art was a new deinition o theobject& clinically dissected& coldly accentuated& microscopicallydelineated$ ?+er,e.posed& isolated& rendered rom an uncustomaryangle& the amiliar became unusual& endowed with an 3nheimlihkeit

2uncanniness3 which elicited ear and wonder$ %he ju.taposition o -magic- and -realism- relected ar more the monstrous andmar+elous 3nheimlihkeit within human beings and inherent in their modern technological surroundings& o which both 6reud and de4hirico wrote& than -the psychologicalphilosophical ideas o 4arl

Jung&- as )eymour enton has asserted$ oh later recalled& -6or awhile& one was so in awe o objects that they recei+ed new& secretmeanings as pictures$ ?bjecti+ism as spiritual creation$-

?riginally& both oh's agic ealism and Aartlaub's (ew ?bjecti+itydenoted the same thing a mode o art that had come into being withthe demise o :.pressionism and the atermath o orld ar I$ It wasan art that was irm in compositional structure and was& once again&representational$ In reaction to :.pressionism's apocalyptic +isions2igure 13& heated color palette& utopian message& and the shatteringdisillusionment which ollowed the war& this post,:.pressionist artconcerned itsel with the tangible real& the amiliar$ ter theemotional er+or o :.pressionism& as well as the horrors o the war and subse"uent German e+olution& artists searched or -soberness-and -reedom rom all sentimentality$-

lready in 191& howe+er& the artist @udwig eidner pleaded with his

ellow artists to return to painting the magniicent and the unusual& themonstrous and the dramatic inherent in tumultuous city streets& trainstations& actories& and nights in the big city$ Ae cautioned them not toresort to the techni"ues o the Impressionists rom the 180 s and1880 s& li*e 4amille 5issaro or 4laude onet& since these would beinade"uate tools with which to depict the contemporary world$ rtistswould do best to orget these pre+ious methods$ Instead& they shouldde+elop new techni"ues& learn to see more intensi+ely and morecorrectly than had their Impressionist precursors in order to penetrate

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reality in all o its depths$ hat& by 1918& eidner described as anemerging -antastic& ardent (aturalism- was& in act& the beginning o a decisi+e new ealism in the paintings o the 19C0s> a ealism that

was labeled Magi ealism by oh and Ne+ Ob5etivit0 by Aartlaub$In 1919 an announcement appeared in (as Kunstblatt that noted theappearance o a new Italian journal& alori 5lastici& under theeditorship o ario Broglio& which -ights with enthusiasm or thenewest art$- 5ainters whose wor*s were reproduced included Giorgiode 4hirico& Giorgio orandi& and oberto elli$ 4arlo 4arrX& whohad recently published his boo*& intura Metafisia >Meta2h0sial

aintings), recei+ed center stage$ %he announcement continued

-4haracteristic o this whole group o younger artists is a singular&e.treme erism which applies a correct& hard drawing suppressing anyindi+idual style$ In Germany& as one *nows& George Gros# andAeinrich ;a+ringhausen are on the same road$-

%he arte metaisica 2metaphysical art3 o de 4hirico and 4arrX greatlyinluenced German artists li*e a. :rnst& George Gros#& and ntonWderscheidt$ ;e 4hirico e.hibited in Italy or the irst time in 1919$lready by the end o that year& a. :rnst had seen reproductions o the Italian's wor*s at Galerie Golt# in unich& which had a copy o the journal alori 5lastici$ Ais reaction to de 4hirico's paintings wasone o sheer ama#ement$ Broglio's art gallery& also called alori5lastici& put together tra+eling e.hibits o the )cuola etaisica paintings$ )e+eral o these shows came to Germany in 19C1 and hadan enormous impact there$ In recent years& de 4hirico's wor*s o the pre,war period ha+e been considered -orerunners o agic ealism-as well as the principal precursors o )urrealism> his inluence has

been assessed as greater than any other painter on the artists o (ew?bjecti+ity$

;e 4hirico's blea* new world 2igure C3& with its appearances o objects isolated and mysterious& his pictorial +ision o modern man'salienation and disorientation& were recogni#ed by 6ran# oh ase/tremel0 im2ortant in the develo2ment of Magi ealism6 !e

inluded t+o 2aintings b0 de Chirio and Carr< in his Nah7

4/2ressionismus, Magisher ealismus book6 *t is es2eiall0 in de

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Chirio's evoation of 3nheimlihkeit >unanniness, eeriness), his

larit0 of olor, his 2reision and ordering, his use of shar2 ontrasts,

his abilit0 to make .the real a22ear unreal, the unreal real. that he

most oinides +ith those tendenies of Ne+ Ob5etivit0 art whichAartlaub enumerated in his e.hibition catalog and with those artistsoh labeled agic ealists$

In 19C1 oh saw the new artistic de+elopments in ull bloom at theearly summer e.hibitions o the unich galleries$ :specially at theGalerie Golt#& he noted that -the wor*s do not only ha+e a high"uality& but present the new :uropean trend in painting in which weare presently engaged the trend toward a new objecti+ism& the

rejection o all$$$OthoseP techni"ues which many contemporaries in theatermath o Impressionism are still using$ '%he pulsating lie' hasinally become an impossible metaphor& and any sort o Baro"uenessli*e Greco appears strange to us$ :+erything shall appear solidlyrounded and limited& but not in the direction o atisse and others o the last decade$ Instead o hea+y conglomerates& there is a sharpenedcleanliness& e+en minute articulation with internal drawing$-

hat was ta*ing shape& according to oh& was a phenomenon on a:uropean scale$ In retrospect& he termed it a -mo+ement which had asits goal a new deinition o the object$ )uddenly& once again& thedepth,attraction o object accentuation was disco+ered$$$$ In contrast tothe e.pressi+e urge o sensibility& one now coldly accentuated theinner law o the objects in our surroundings$$$objects$$$in no way banaland ob+ious&- but which -deser+e to be ga#ed at in wonder and to becreated anew$- rtists were reaching or the magic& the mystery behindthe real$

In 19CC& 5aul estheim& art historian and editor o (as Kunstblatt,

published responses to a "uestionnaire he had sent out to authors&artists& art historians& museum directors& and critics$ estheim posed"uestions concerning the end o :.pressionism and the appearance o the -(ew (aturalism- that was being debated in studios and inliterature$ as this -(ew (aturalism- only a slogan or was it& indeed&something essential& +ital< ;id the new trend& -the child&- warrantattention& a real name< espondents included ilhelm 5inder& 4li+e

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Bell& lred ;Sblin& :rnst @udwig =irchner& dol Behne& assily=andins*y& le.ander rchipen*o& and Gusta+ Aartlaub$

?pinions and descriptions o the new artistic manner +aried widely$5inder wrote& -the end o ruitul styles does not mean death but rather transormation$$$$ :.pressionism is not totally alienated rom nature& (aturalism is not alienated rom e.pression$- eidner ad+ocated&within a religious ramewor*& a -more deliberate Orelecti+eP approachtoward nature$$$$ Greater respect or the object,I remind mysel e+erydayM- Behne percei+ed the -(eo (aturalism- as a -demand bymostly the nou+eau.,riches$$$the materialists$ %hey long or amaterialistic& naturalistic& objecti+e art$-

=andins*y responded to estheim's "uestionnaire& stating that the-period o the coming ealism will bring reedom romcon+entionalism& narrowness and hate& enrichment o sensiti+ity and+itality$$$$ ealism will ser+e abstraction$ e& the abstract artists& willsome day be seen as the champions o absolute art$- lred ;Sblinasserted that -propagandi#ing a new '(aturalism' would not help& justas it had not helped other de+elopments$$$$ rt comes not rom*nowing& but rom being$$$$ e are not in need o art products& butrather maniestations o lie$$$$ %he being o the artist is the oundationo art$$$OandP indicateOsP$$$that one is and +hat one is$- udol Grossmann thought it -more important to paint a good picture in allinnocence than to stir up again the contro+ersy about some ism> or should again the drum be rolled in order to interest a bored public andto orce them to ta*e a stand<-

In his response& Aartlaub re+iewed the splintering o :.pressionism&

how the second and third generation o :.pressionists& -mostlyirreligious&--disappointed and worn out by the war& re+olution& and post,war period& bro*e down$$$$- In the new art& he saw -a right& a letwing$ ?ne& conser+ati+e towards 4lassicism& ta*ing roots intimelessness& wanting to sanctiy again the healthy& physically plasticin pure drawing ater nature $$$ater so much eccentricity and chaos$$$$%he other& the let& glaringly contemporary& ar less artistically aithul&rather born o the negation o art& see*ing to e.pose the chaos& the trueace o our time& with an addiction to primiti+e act,inding and

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ner+ous baring o the sel$$$$ %here is nothing let but to airm it Othenew artP& especially since it seems strong enough to raise new artisticwillpower$-

@ess than a year ater responding to estheim's "uestions& Aartlaub'sairmation o the new art began in earnest$ ecently instated asdirector o the annheim =unsthalle& he announced his intention tocurate a show o this 5ost,:.pressionist art$ %he actual opening o thelarge Neue #ahlihkeit e.hibition too* place in 19C& at the sametime oh boo* on Magisher ealismus appeared$ %he child now hadtwo names$

6or the e.hibit& Aartlaub wanted to assemble artists who rejected-impressionistically +ague and e.pressionistically abstract- art andwhose wor* was -neither sensuously e.ternal nor constructi+elyinternal-> artists -who ha+e remained true or ha+e returned to a positi+e& palpable reality- in order to re+eal the truth o the times$Building on his response to estheim's "uestionnaire& Aartlaub alsowanted to display the two strains he had obser+ed de+eloping withinthis broad mo+ement toward ealism$ In the (eoclassicistconser+ati+e wing& artists would include the 6rench X la 5icasso's191H,C paintings& ndrK ;erain& and uguste Aerbin> the Italianscongregating around the Noveento o ilan& those grouped with&alori lastii in ome& the #uola Metafisia painters Giorgio de4hirico and 4arlo 4arrX> and the German painters& especially thoseresiding in unich& li*e Georg )chrimp& 4arlo ense& and le.ander =anoldt$ rtists in the politically committed erist wing would berepresented by ?tto ;i.& George Gros#& udol )chlichter& and others$

lthough there were stylistic +ariants among the artists& andconceptual dierences between the two art historians& both oh andAartlaub tried to highlight the common denominators in order to present this post :.pressionist art as a unit$ oh& in act& assistedAartlaub with his e.hibition by ma*ing a+ailable a list he hadcompiled o artists he thought best demonstrated the characteristics o 5ost,:.pressionism$ :+en so& he elt uncomortable with Aartlaub'sterm Neue #ahlihkeit and -a+oided- it -in order to imply- that hewas not reerring to -the more neutral ealism o 4ourbet and @eibl$-

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oh was not the only one who eared that the new trend towardrealism and (aturalism would draw too much rom the art o the latenineteenth century$ )e+eral o the respondents to estheim 19CC (as

Kunstblatt "uestionnaire regarding the (ew (aturalism +oiced thesame concern$ 5aul 6echter's assessment o the new art& howe+er& published only a ew months later in the same journal& was essentiallycorrect$ Neue #ahlihkeit was a -anatical (aturalism&- not areactionary mo+ement which duplicated the -sotness&--peaceulness&- and -tran"uility- o the earlier paintings$

:specially in the German conte.t& Neue #ahlihkeit was an art o itstime the +isible world o urban lie& night lie& crowded streets& dirty

cities& wor*ers& machines& and actories& as well as o the alienatedindi+idual placed in a modern world he could neither athom nor control$

It was an art that relected the turbulent ourteen,year lie o theeimar epublic 21919,DD3> an art o a demorali#ed Germany reelingrom its de+astating loss in orld ar I& its subse"uent re+olution&and the worst monetary inlation in history that pea*ed by early 19C&when one merican dollar was worth more than 0 trillion mar*s$ Itwas an art o the irst years o the struggling epublic 21919,CD3> anart o controlled bitterness that estered as the hopes and idealism o 1918 were dashed by the early 19C0s& and the dreams o a better society ga+e way to resignation and cynicism$

%his art also depicted the middle period o supericial calm 219C,C93&an era o growing conidence brought about& in part& by therestructuring o war reparation payments with the ;awes 5lan and the

end o the 6rench occupation o the uhr$ It was an art that portrayed bourgeois smugness& political and economic stabili#ation& and urther industriali#ation beore the disastrous depression years 219C9,DD3$

s the economic situation worsened and politics radicali#ed& theeimar epublic slowly and agoni#ingly collapsed$ hile the center parties& +oting increasingly conser+ati+ely& opted or law and order&the numerous right,wing and let,wing groups tore themsel+es andeach other apart$ 6ew loo*ed up rom the ray long enough to see the

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threat o the %hird eich& sense the magnitude o this peril& andsomehow pre+ent the young epublic's demise$ By pril 19DD&Aitler's -cultural cleansing- was in ull swing$ Boo*s were burned&

paintings destroyed> sides had to be chosen$ ?bjecti+ity in art wasnow out o the "uestion$ rtists had to ind new means by which toe.press the best and the worst that was Germany$

In the 19C0s& howe+er& the term and the style #ahlihkeit or objecti+ity appeared constantly$ #ahlih had been used earlier& in1900& by Aermann uthesius& the head o the German er*bund& tooppose the nonunctional& oten prodigal decoration o architecturalhistoricism and Eugendstil $ %he term began to be applied to the newer

architecture& which was unctional& honest& and simplistic in design$

By 19C& sahlih appeared per+asi+ely in relation to the new mode o actual& objecti+e journalism o :gon =isch> in the cleaner& less,complicated style o shop,window display> in the photographs byAans 6insler and ugust )ander> in science> and e+en& in modiiedorm& in some o the new philosophical and social theories$ %homasann suggested in 19C0 that schools should teach objecti+ity ,, -lo+eor objects& passion or objects& ulillment rom them is the source o all ormal brilliance- ,, as the best means by which -to educate theyouth o an unrhetorical people or beautiul e.pression$- In music a-clearer orm and an objecti+ity- emerged in reaction to the -soulul pollution o the pre+ious hypere.pressi+e epoch$-$ (ot surprisingly& 4s liegt in der %uft eine #ahlihkeit - 2%here's ?bjecti+ity in the ir3& by the amous lyricistQcomposer duo arcellus )chier and ischa)polians*y& made a "uic* rise up the popular song charts in 19C8$

In art& this new attitude and economy o e.pression& with +ariations intheme and terminology& became the -dominant style- by 19C$ %hemore conser+ati+e strain o Neue #ahlihkeit -triumphed- in ustria$5ainters li*e udol ac*er& )edlace*& Aerbert 5loberger& Aerbert +oneyl& and =lemens Brosch oriented themsel+es mostly with respect toGerman artists in unich li*e =anoldt& )chrimp& and ense& butcreated more disturbing images than the idyllic& somewhat sentimentalones pre+alent in the unich circle$ %he ustrian udol ac*er&

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rather than choosing between a certain realism or beauty& opted or asynthesis ,, beauty in realism$

In ussia& the new art was called 4onstructi+ism$ In 6rance& 6ernand@Kger termed his painting style ater 1918 - 8alisme Nouveau- 2(ewealism3& 5icasso began his classicist period in 191H& Georges Bra"uerenounced 4ubism& and Jean 4octeau appealed or a -ra22el < l'ordre-2an appeal to order3$ ndrK ;erain and other a+ant,gardists heeded thecall$ By 19D1 the 6rench painter 5ierre oy was declared a agicealist$

Italian painters in the &alori lastii and Noveento groups also

ad+ocated a return to rational& ordered painting$ hereas some artistsran into diiculties with the totalitarian go+ernments o the 19C0s and19D0s& the Italian had little trouble under the 6ascists$ In act& *l (ueussolini was one o the main spea*ers at the irst e.hibit o Noveento *taliano in ilan in 19CD$

or*s o the 19C0s and 19D0s by the 6lemish painters $ 4arelillin* and 5y*e =och& and the merican artists :dward Aopper&4harles ;emuth& 4harles )heeler& and later Grant ood also relected

some o the same sahlih& agic ealist tendencies$ In the catalogor the 19D (ew Lor* useum o odern rt e.hibition -mericanealists and agic ealists&- @incoln =irstein e.plicitly lin*ed themerican art wor*s on display to German Neue #ahlihkeit o the19C0s$ %he agic ealist 5ierre oy& who e.hibited re"uently andsuccessully in the /nited )tates& may +ery well ha+e helped spread6ran# oh's ormulations$ By 19C Neue #ahlihkeit & according to6rench art critic aldemar George& was deemed -mericanism$$$a cult

o purpose& the na*ed act& the preerence or unctional wor*& proessional conscientiousness and useulness$-

In Germany& this return to a tangible objecti+e reality dominated allother painting styles$ 6or the most part& Neue #ahlihkeit artistsdiscerned the +isible world with a cool& analytical approach& a newmattero,actness& and sobriety$ 4ertainly& there were some artists whotended slightly toward sentimentality& idyllic escapism& or an Aenriousseau nai+e style& li*e Georg )chrimp3 and 4arlo ense& but

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their starting point was always the microscopic analysis o objecti+ereality$ le.ander =anoldt& with his sharp ocus and preciserepresentations& e+o*ed imagined objects that seemed to appear rom

within his still lies and petriied +istas$ ?ther artists in this moreconser+ati+e +ein in+o*ed a clear& timeless 4lassicism$ Industrial or urban landscapes& sometimes barren o human lie& were painted by4arl Grossberg and 6ran# ad#iwill$

4hristian )chad& an e.emplar o what was meant by (ew ?bjecti+ity& produced the most photographic& most meticulously painted wor*s$6ar rom sentimentality& he painted portraits o ellow artists andwriters with a scrupulous objecti+ity& an icy detachment$ Ais subjects

seemed ro#en in time& alienated rom the world and totally alone intheir solitude$ Let& )chad's -no,comment- objecti+e paintings cry out&their subjects o+erwhelmed by the almost unbearable stillness andisolation o their silent sphere$

4ontrasting this more conser+ati+e and objecti+e aesthetic o (ew?bjecti+ity was the socially conscious aspect that Aartlaub termed-erism$- %he generally let,wing erists were best represented byGeorge Gros#& ?tto ;i.& Georg )chol#& udol )chlichter& and ?ttoGriebel$ In their concise& hardheaded art& they ga+e +oice to post,orld ar IGermany& the tormented political theater o the eimar epublic& the instability o German society& and the desperatedis"uietude o the time$

)ome o these artists became politically acti+e& as well$ Gros# and)chlichter helped to organi#e the ote -ru22e 2ed Group3& anorgani#ation o 4ommunist artists that joined the =5; in 19C$ ?thers

became in+ol+ed with the AssoJiation revolutionIrer bildender Knstler (eutshlands 2ssociation o e+olutionary German 6inertists3& ounded in Berlin in 19C8$ %he B=;'s aim was -to promote the class struggle& and Oits artP will correspond in style andcontent to the needs o the wor*ers$- ithin a year& there were si.teen branches o the B=; in Germany& with o+er 800 members$ llwanted to ma*e an impact with their art and& thereby& impro+e society$

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;i. went ater his subject with a barely chec*ed erocity in order toget to the unheimlihe Wahrheit 2the uncanny truth3 that lay behind it$In one o the ew theoretical pronouncements by Neue #ahlihkeit

artists& ;i. wrote& -6or me& anyway& what is new about this painting isthat the subject matter is broader$$$$ OIPn any case& the object remains primary and the orm will irst ta*e shape through the object$ %hat iswhy I ha+e always placed such signiicance on the "uestion o whether I can mo+e as close as possible to the thing that I see& because+hat is more important to me than ho+M %he ho+ has to de+elop outo the +hat6-

ith the belie that -der Mensh ist ein &ieh- 2man is a beast3 ueling

his ire and his art& Gros# ought against the per+asi+e complacency& pettiness& and social ine"uity that& to him& characteri#ed modernGerman society -y art was to be my arm& and my sword&- Gros#later recounted& -pens that drew without a purpose were li*e emptystraws$-

Ais weapon ser+ed him well$ ith poison in his pen& Gros# drewsome o the most powerully indicting political statements o the period$

It is in this TendenJkunst 2tendentious or politici#ed art3 o the eriststhat inner commitment sometimes won out o+er dispassion& despitethe determination to record the acts objecti+ely$ %he suggestion has been made that in the erist' polemics& -the e.pressionist ire still burned$- %he dierence was that these artists painted with a se+ereealism that chided& e+en accused& but did not resort to the sometimeso+ert emotionalism& moral rectitude& or messianic er+or o their

:.pressionist counterparts$

Aartlaub was accused bya contemporary o being -a pastor o artsitting on an ethical judge's throne- because he rejected erism's ocuson the repulsi+e$ nd while it is true that ew o the erists' searing political wor*s hung in Aartlaub's e.hibition& the ones that weredisplayed became objects o criticism by a conser+ati+e public thataccused the erists& especially ;i. and Gros#& o -degeneracy- and-art bolshe+ism$- By the time the e.hibition tra+eled to ;resden&

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Aartlaub had re+ised his catalog essay in order to deemphasi#e thelet,wing& right,wing comparisons he had made o Neue #ahlihkeit

painters$ %he murmurs o -degenerate- art in 19C& howe+er& ser+ed as

little orewarning or what lay ahead when the (a#is came to power$;espite the di+erse strands o Neue #ahlihkeit & there were certaincommon bonds$ ll the (ew ?bjecti+ity painters tended to employthemes rom the modern en+ironment and the patterns o daily lie$rt became& once again& -the mirror o palpable e.teriority$- oree.acting than the camera lens& the artist painted e+erything with e"ualsharpness& e+en the bac*ground 2igure 113$ irtually no brushstro*eswere +isible> the inish was smooth as enamel$ ?bjects were

scrutini#ed in their minutiae$ rtists -painted inwards rom theoutside- to get to the in+isible$ ith surgical probing& a deeper layer,the magic and the -unheimlih- 2uncanny3 behind the real ,, wasre+ealed$

ltogether& 1C wor*s by DC artists were displayed in Aartlaub'slongawaited e.hibit - Neue #ahlihkeit= (eutshe Malerei seit dem

4/2ressionismus- 2(ew ?bjecti+ity German 5ainting since:.pressionism3& with 9 additional paintings by a. Bec*manninserted later$ %he e.hibition& which began in annheim in June 19C&tra+eled with +ariations to ;resden& 4hemnit#& :rurt& ;essau& Aalle&and Jena$ In the ollowing years& Neue #ahlihkeit e.hibits alsoappeared in Berlin 2 19C3& Aanno+er 2 19C83& msterdam 2 19C93&and under the title - Neue deutshe omantik - 2(ew Germanomanticism3 in Aanno+er 2 19DD3$

e+iews ranged rom the complimentary ,, -remar*ably agreeable&-

-inally answers in ull the "uestions posed in estheim's 19CC (ew (aturalism circular- ,, to the disparaging ,, -an unappealingaair$$$this art o calculation without a soul$- egardless o thediering opinions& Aartlaub's e.hibition became amous and the term Neue #ahlihkeit well*nown$

Beginning in 19DD& the Aitler regime pronounced -degenerate- thoseartists and architects who did not in some way espouse the party line&who did not design buildings that e.uded the -true Germanic spirit- or

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paint wor*s that relected aspects o the sacrosanct (a#i ideology$ Justas the architects o the %hird eich were intent on halting -theunhealthy e.aggerations o an objecti+ity which has toppled o+er the

brin*- in modern building and& so& closed the Bauhaus in 19DD&modern art was also under siege$ lthough there actually were +eryew Jews in the +isual arts& in contrast to their ar greater presence intheater& ilm& and literature& the (a#is created the impression thatmodern painting was also hea+ily -Jew ish- and& thereore& in need o artistic and racial cleansing$ Aenceorth& all areas o cultural acti+itywere to be Eudenrein& ree o Jews$

lthough Neue #ahlihkeit had reached its pea* and was on the wane

by the early 19D0 s& the %hird eich allowed certain strains o the artto lourish while stamping out whate+er lie was let in the politici#ed+ein o the mo+ement$ mong the more idyllic& romantic artists o Neue #ahlihkeit & some ound it airly easy to mold their wor* inaccordance with the (a#i $lut und $oden 2blood and soil3 culturaldoctrine& with its preerence or an e.aggeratedly ideali#ed and heroicrealism$

Georg )chrimp o the unich circle continued to e.hibit and sell hiswor*s throughout the (a#i years& e+en selling two o his landscapes to (a#i oicial udol Aess& and was proessor at the )taatliche=unstschule Berlin,)chSneberg 2)tate rt )chool& Berlin )chSneberg3rom 19DD to 19D8$ 4arl Grossberg's paintings o industrial landscapeswere also acceptable to the (a#is$ 6ran# ad#iwill became a (ational)ocialist party member and was gi+en a proessorship at the;7sseldor cademy> only in 19D8 was he denounced by (a#ioicials and orbidden to e.hibit$ dol Tiegler& mentioned in oh's

19C supplemental list o agic ealist artists& was named presidento the NaJi eihskammer der bildenden Knste 2%hird eich's4hamber o the 6ine rts3 in ;ecember 19DH$ Tiegler& who painted ina hea+ily deri+ati+e& academic style& became Aitler's a+orite artist andwas best *nown or his pictures o nude women> thereore& hisnic*name -eich aster o German 5ubic Aair$- 4learly& certainaspects o this more conser+ati+e strain o agic ealism ,clarity&occasional sentimentality& nonpolitical subject matter ,, could be& and

were& appropriated by the cultural ideologues o the (a#i party$

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%he let,wing political artists and& o course& all Jewish artists were particular targets o the (a#i cultural cleansing$ (umerous painters&including a. Bec*mann& a. :rnst& ?tto ;i.& and George Gros#

were denounced as -bolshe+ists- or - KunstJ+erge- 2art dwars3 by theeichs*ultur*ammer 2%hird eich's 4hamber o 4ulture3& headed byJoseph Goebbels$ ?ten prohibited rom painting and ired romteaching positions& their wor*s were destroyed or displayed or ridicule in +icious .4ntartete Kunst. 2;egenerate rt3 shows or #handausstellungen 2bomination :.hibitions3$ Aartlaub was iredrom his job as museum director in annheim$ oh& accused o beinga -cultural bolshe+ist&- was ta*en to the ;achau concentration camp in19DD$ %hrough the intercession o the highly respected art historian

ilhelm 5inder& oh was e+entually released rom coninement$%hirty years later& still deeply disturbed by the purges o the 19D0 s&oh wrote a boo* on the (a#is' cultural barbarism entitled .4ntartete. Kunst >.(egenerate. Art) 2 19HC3$

lthough declared -degenerate- by (a#i standards& oh Nah4/2ressionismus, Magisher ealismus o 19C enjoyedconsiderable success not only at the time o its publication& but

especially as his painterly stylistic ormulations were appropriated andtransormed into literary concepts$ %he boo* was translated partiallyinto )panish in JosK ?rtega y Gasset's evista de Oidente in adridin 19C and published in its entirety later in the same year$ Aowe+er&the )panish edition curiously re+ersed oh's German title$ By placingrealismo mQgio irst& 2ost e/2resionismo second& agic ealism wasgranted a pri+ileged position rom the outset$

oh's concepts were inluential in @atin merica& especially in the

ield o literary criticism and the wor* o rturo /slar,5ietri and:nri"ue nderson Imbert$ ;irectly and indirectly& oh's ormulationsalso aected Johan ;aisne and Aubert @ampo in the (etherlands&:rnst J7nger in Germany& as well as authors and art critics in Italy$

Let& almost rom its irst appearance in 19C and certainly in theensuing years& oh's pictorial term Magisher ealismus wasobscured by Aartlaub's Neue #ahlihkeit6 (ot until recently hasagic ealism reappeared and been used airly consistently in

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connection with the art o the 19C0 s$ It has been suggested that theterm's +ery belated reappearance is due in part to the act that agicealism had -occasionally compromised itsel$$$with (a#i (eo,

4lassicism$-5ost,orld ar II politics also had much to do with the sur+i+al or disappearance o both terms as art historical categories$ hile the let,wing& socially committed erists were promoted to the ran*s o there+ered in post,war :ast German discourse& the more conser+ati+easpects o Neue #ahlihkeit were critici#ed or relecting bourgeoisdominance and capitalistic stabili#ation$ 4on+ersely& the painters o Neue #ahlihkeit were scarcely& i at all& considered in est Germany

ater 19& where abstraction and a rehabilitated and rewor*ed:.pressionism reigned during the cold war years$ (ot until a+igorously resurgent interest in ealism began in the early 19H0 s didthe est show much interest in the agic ealismQ(ew ?bjecti+ity o the 19C0s$

:+en though oh discussed at length the reasons why 5icasso's (eoclassicism& 6ernand @Kger's 8alisme Nouveau& and particularlyousseau's (ai+e )chool were important inluences on agicealism& the term was& and still is& rarely used in 6rench art criticism$)ome art historians ha+e argued that its under,utili#ation in 6rance islargely due to its o+ershadowing by the )urrealist mo+ement& which became increasingly successul in the late 19C0s$ %he ichygo+ernment's collaboration with the %hird eich during the Germanoccupation o 6rance rom 190 to 19 ,its agreement with many (a#i cultural policies& albeit in +arying orms> its resol+e to rid 6ranceo -cultural decadence-> and its nod& li*e that o the (a#is& to certain

artists earlier categori#ed as agic ealists 2ndrK ;erain& or instance& who was -acceptable- to and wor*ed with both the ichyand German go+ernments3 ,, may also e.plain the +irtual absence o agic ealismQ(ew ?bjecti+ity rom 6rench art historical discourse$

rguably& the recent interest in ealism in its many modern +ariants&as well as the popularity o the term as applied to a genre o contemporary literature& has aided agic ealism's reemergence in artcriticism$

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Aow was the German pictorial term agic ealism appropriated byliterary critics and writers< ew deiniti+e answers can be ound>gaps and conjecture& howe+er& abound$ In (ach,:.pressionismus&

agischer ealismus& oh only ga+e a summary analysis o agicealism in the written word$ Ais subject was& ater all& painting$ccording to him& two literary tendencies were apparent ,, one whichhe lin*ed to imbaud& the other he attached to Tola& using as urther e.amples 4arl )ternheim& Aeinrich ann& Georg =aiser& BertholdBrecht& and alter ehring$ %hat is all> oh dispensed with theliterary "uestion in a ew lines$ Let& since 19C& the literarycommunity has adopted oh's term& sometimes stressing mutualainities& but more oten appropriating the concept or its own

purposes$ %his appropriation o a pictorial term by literary critics has been acilitated by the pliant meanings o both -magic- and -realism-and the ambi+alence with which oh irst presented agic ealism$

%he ustrian lred =ubin spent a lietime wrestling with theuncanny& the unheimlich in the real$ n artist and writer whose power lay in his graphic depiction o a world suused with the monstrousand grotes"ue& =ubin was in certain ways an important precursor o

traits ound in agic ealism$ lthough his drawings in no wayresemble wor*s o the agic ealists& and his graphic style is not inany sense -realistic&- =ubin's concepts do pro+ide a direct lin* between literary narrati+e and graphic art$

In 1909 =ubin published ;ie andere )eite 2%he ?ther )ide3& a no+elillustrated with ity,two drawings$ In it& =ubin set out to e.plore the-other side- o the +isible world ,, the corruption& the e+il& the rot& aswell as the power and mystery$ %he border between reality and dream

remains consistently nebulous> /nheimlich*eit 2uncanniness3 per+ades the no+el& which ta*es place in the capital city o ;reamlandin sia$ =ubin also illuminated -the other side- in -this side o things-in his dis"uieting illustrations in order to render the duality o e.istence and& thereby& achie+e a uniied double +ision& a conjunctiono the in+isible essence o reality$

hile writing the boo*& =ubin stated that he -gained$$$the matureinsight that it is not only in the bi#arre& e.alted& and strange moments

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o e.istence that the highest +alues lie& but that which is painul&indierent& e+eryday& and irrele+ant contains the same mysteries$-%his was& in act& -the principal meaning o the boo*$- =ubin& who

became the oremost ustrian graphic artist o the twentieth century&recei+ed enthusiastic acclaim or ;ie andere )eite and e.ertedsigniicant inluence on subse"uent German and ustrian literature$10D

%he German writer :rnst J7nger was one o many who was deeplyaected by =ubin's wor*$

J7nger& an essayist& no+elist& and poet who had strong ties to the right7wing& anti,democratic orces in Germany& began corresponding with=ubin in 19C9 because o his admiration or =ubin's drawings and

literary ormulations in (ie andere #eite6 Ae was particularlyinterested in =ubin's binary concept ,, the in+isible and the +isible& theinterior and the e.terior in the e.istence o things& and the usion o the two$ J7nger cited =ubin oten in his personal journals and alsowrote an analysis o =ubin's art or the !amburger Nahrihten in19D1$

J7nger's interest in art was also inluenced by 6ran# oh$ oh's-magic&- the uncanny inherent in or behind the object detectable only by objecti+e accentuation& isolation& and microscopic depiction&J7nger translated into literary -stereoscopy&- the proound sense o theminiscule unco+ered through precise e.amination& and -magicrationalism$- %hese same terms were used by oh in his seminal wor* o 19C$

%he irst time J7nger employed the term Magi ealism was in a 19Carticle entitled - Nationalismus und modernes %eben- 2(ationalism and

odern @ie3$ Ae described -paintings o agic ealism$$$Oin whichPeach o the lines o the e.ternal world is conjured up with thee.actness o a mathematical ormula& the coldness o which isilluminated and reheated in an ine.plicable manner& as i bytransparency& by a magical bac*ground$-

In his combination dream,diary and daily journal& (as abenteuerlihe

!erJ 2The Adventurous !eart 3 219C93& J7nger wrote& -agic ealismin painting succeeded in e.pressing the inherent precision o the world

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o machines e+en better than the machine itsel$ (o wonder,,must notthe idea o precision itsel necessarily be more precise than precisionitsel<- lthough oh's terminology does not appear in J7nger second

+ersion o (as abenteuerlihe !erJ 219D83& the concept clearlyunderlies the wor*& thereby placing the theoretical ormulations o agic ealism into German literature$ It has been suggested that theeect o J7nger's own prose -lies in its unimpeded clarity as ane.pression o a mode o thin*ing that *nows no compromise and& atthe same time& in its power to ollow and unco+er the underlyingmagic$-

J7nger was riends o the painters a. :rnst and enK agritte& and

while in 6rance during the German occupation also becameac"uainted with 6rench artists who did not lee but remained& li*e5icasso and Bra"ue$ :rnst& who was on oh's list o agic ealists&had mo+ed to 5aris rom Germany in 19CC and became prominent inthe )urrealist mo+ement there> 5icasso also appeared on oh's 19Clist$ lthough no deiniti+e lin* can be established& perhaps J7nger'stra+els to 6rance and his riendships with 6rench cultural luminarieshelped propagate the locution and ormulation o agic ealism$

long with Magisher ealismus& the term Neue #ahlihkeit alsoappeared in German literary criticism o the 19C0s to describe certaincontemporary literary tendencies as well as precursors o the style$%he inluential writer $ :$ )7s*ind published an article in 19C onthe deceased ;anish writer and poet Aerman Bang 218,191C3&whose wor* had been redisco+ered when the )$ 6ischer erlag editeda si.,+olume collection o his writings in 19CH,C$ In describingBang's wor* and more recent German (eue )achlich*eit literature&

)7s*ind wrote& -(eue )achlich*eit means this e.actly a dierent wayo seeing& a changed scale o importance regarding the impressions$ (ew is this objecti+ity insoar as it is more ser+ing& more impersonalthan any earlier ealism$ It is a 'monstrous' objecti+ity& one which isuncanny O unheimlich P& while in reality the objects spea* or themsel+es and the artist only gi+es his hand& his brush& his pen& hisrelecting memory and conscience$-

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%he term was also used in reerence to the writing o lred ;Sblin$eerring to ;SblinEs $erlin Ale/ander2latJ= (ie -eshihte vom

FranJ $iberko2f 2Berlin le.anderplat# %he )tory o 6ran#

Biber*op3 219C93& a critic wrote& -%he (eue )achlich*eit as a school&or more correctly as 'schooling'& had already& in the years and days preceding& been proclaimed and demonstrated by ;Sblin> ;Sblinhimsel brought orth its most signiicant reali#ation$- ;Sblin's wor* made a great impact on G7nter Grass& who has been labeled a agicealist in recent years$ t a 19H8 literary collo"uium honoring ;Sblinten years ater his death& Grass reerred to him as his teacher 2@ehrer ;Sblin3 and than*ed him or his inluence$ Grass went on to say thathe could not imagine his own style o prose without ;Sblin's wor* as

model and ended by stating& -I come rom ;Sblin$$$$-

;uring the %hird eich& the dominant aesthetic in German literature asin all the arts was Blut und Boden 2blood and soil3$ Aowe+er& beginning in 198 and with increasing rapidity thereater& articlesappeared which employed agic ealism as a literary concept$anging rom -agischer ealismus<- in the journal Aufbau to -]ber den 'agischen ealismus' in der heutigen deutschen ;ichtung-

21993 and ;ie ir*lich*eit hat doppelten Boden$ Gedan*en #umagischen ealismus in der @iteratur 219C3& agic ealism becamean established term& with +arying deinitions& in German literarycriticism$

In more recent years& numerous German writers ha+e been categori#edas agic ealists& a relection o the appropriation o the pictorialterm by literary critics$ %he act that agic ealism has been appliedto such di+erse ustrianQGerman authors as 6ran# erel& lred

;Sblin& %homas ann& :rnst J7nger& 6ran# =a*a& obert usil&Aeimito +on ;oderer& Aermann =asac*& and G7nter Grass illuminateshow imprecise and rie with ambiguities the concept is$

%wo years ater oh's publication in 19C& realismo magio appearedin Italy$ assimo Bontempelli& organi#er o the journal @&introduced the term in an article dated 19C& in which he wrote about-this 'magical realism' O realismo magio P& which we could ta*e as arough deinition o our tendency$- :+en beore 19C& Bontempelli

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described certain characteristics o realismo magio in the irst our issues o @ and used the term in a literary as well as artistic conte.t$hether Bontempelli borrowed the term rom oh cannot be

deiniti+ely ascertained& but a ew lin*s can be ound$ Bontempellicollaborated on (er 1uershnitt, an im2ortant -erman artisti and

literar0 journal in which essays regarding modern art appeared and inwhich Aartlaub announced his 19C annheim e.hibit$ %his journalappeared in 6rance or the irst time beginning in 19C1& and in other :uropean countries with increasing regularity thereater$ 6urthermore&the writer Georg =aiser& who was listed in oh's boo* as a agicealist& helped edit a ew issues o 900$

Bontempelli's own ormulation o agical ealism at times coincidedwith oh's 2reconstructing or creating objects& relecting on the-pittura metaisica- Ometaphysical paintingsP o de 4hirico& ma*ingo+ertures toward a certain 4lassicism3$ ;ierences& howe+er& are asnumerous as similarities$ )till& the act that the term was the same ,,agischer ealismus and realismo magico ,, and& probably o greater importance& that 900 was published in 6rench and Italian& anddistributed in both countries& helps to establish how oh's pictorial

term came to be widely *nown throughout :urope& albeit with +ariantormulations$

%he term agic ealism also made its way to the (etherlands andBelgium& especially through the writer Johan ;aisne$ In his 19Cno+el ;e trap +an steen en wol*en& ;aisne employed words li*eantastischrealistisch 2antastic realistic3$ By 19D& ater ha+ing readan article about Bontempelli in the Belgian journal @e (ou+eauJournal& ;aisne had adopted the concept agisch,realisme 2agical

ealism3$ Ae used the term re"uently ater that time& arri+ing at theollowing ormulation

-;ream and reality constitute the two poles o the human condition&and it is through the magnetism OattractionP o these poles that magicis born& especially when a spar* shoots orth& the light o whichcatches a glimpse o transcendence& a truth behind the reality o lieand dream$-

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Introduction o oh's agic ealism to @atin merica occurredthrough the )panish translation and publication o his boo* by the evista de Oidente in 19C$ ithin a year& agic ealism was

being applied to the prose o :uropean authors in the literary circles o Buenos ires$ %he unprecedented cultural migration rom :urope tothe mericas in the 19D0s and 190s& as the muses led the horrors o the %hird eich& might also ha+e played a role in disseminating theterm$ ?+er one,ith o the 00&000 e.iles who led Germany&4#echoslo+a*ia& and ustria between 19DD and 191 settled in 4entraland )outh merica$ Included in this e.odus were do#ens o culturalluminaries$ 5aul estheim& the well*nown German art historian&editor o (as Kunstblatt & and one o the leading proselyti#ers or -the

(ew ealism&- along with numerous artists& writers& and critics& oundreuge in e.ico$ ?thers ound sae ha+ens in Bra#il& 4uba& andene#uela$ lthough some o these KmigrKs returned to :uropeimmediately ollowing the war& estheim stayed on in e.ico&writing se+eral art historical boo*s& including %a Calavera >The

#keleton) in 19D$ 4onjecture aside& it is in @atin merica that theconcept was primarily sei#ed by literary criticism and was& throughtranslation and literary appropriation& transormed$

rturo /slar,5ietri& who had *nown Bontempelli in 5aris and hadtra+eled to Italy during the debates o+er Noveentismo& in 198deined -agic ealism- as -a poetical di+ination or a poeticalnegation o reality$- lejo 4arpentier& a participant in the 6rench)urrealist mo+ement o the 19D0s& e.pounded upon lo real

maravilloso ameriano >the Amerian marvelous real) in 199$ nd in19 ngel 6lores christened -magical realism- that which Jorge @uisBorges had termed fantQstio in the 190s$ %o add to the conusion&

others began identiying agic ealism with 4arpentier's -mar+elousreal$-

6ran# oh's actual inluence on the contemporary literary genre&magical realism& is debatable& so transmuted ha+e his pictorialormulations become$ utual ainities can be ound in de 4hirico and4arrX metafisia >meta2h0sial)> German artists' Neue #ahlihkeit

>Ne+ Ob5etivit0)> oh Magisher ealismus >Magi ealism)&

3nheimlihkeit >unanniness)& and the -eheimnis >m0ster0, seret)

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behind the depicted world> the fantQstio >fantasti) o Borges> the Magish7realisme >Magi ealism) o ;aisne> the magical realism o 6lores> lo real maravilloso ameriano >the Amerian marvelous real)

o 4arpentier> Bontempelli -other dimension- in realismo magio>Magi ealism)> J7nger .magial bakground,. .magial

rationalism,. and .stereoso20. > and =ubin's -other side o thisreality$- ;espite the many similarities& di+ergences are numerous& asthe subse"uent essays illustrate$5erhaps these transormations are partly due to the problems inherent in linguistic and culturaltranslations$ oreo+er& the ambi+alence with which oh irstintroduced Magisher ealismus& the term's +irtual eclipse byAartlaub (eue )achlich*eit& and the +arious& sometimes conlicting&

styles attributed to the rubric agischer ealismusQ(eue )achlich*eite.acerbated the conusion$ dditionally& the binomial agic ealismand the e.pansi+e& ambiguous meanings allocated to each o the twowords certainly acilitated the lourishing o succeeding +ariants$rguably& de+iations are also due to the doubtul possibility o establishing clear parallels between the +isual arts and the literary arts$In his comprehensi+e study o (eue )achlich*eit in literature& Aelmut@ethen declined to use oh's term agischer ealismus as well as

oh's -important art historical boo*$$$in order to a+oid the temptationto use or the analysis o literature suggesti+e analogies rom the+isual arts$-

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(n the Marvelous Real in *merica

@:J? 45:(%I:

lejo 4arpentier reers to the German art critic 6ran# oh& andcontemporary literary critics reer to both 4arpentier and oh as theyde+ise their own theories o magical realism$ 5erhaps the northern:uropean origins o oh's ormulation and its dissemination in @atinmerica by the )panish e+ista de ?ccidente ser+ed to spur 4arpentier to his aggressi+ely merican discussion o the mode$ In thetwo essays included here& 4arpentier de+ises his own term& lo real

maravilloso ameriano& to describe what he argues is a uni"uelymerican orm o magical realism$ s opposed to :uropean)urrealism& a mo+ement in which 4arpentier had participated in the19D0s in 6rance& 4arpentier's -mar+elous merican reality- does notimply a conscious assault on con+entionally depicted reality but&rather& an ampliication o percei+ed reality re"uired by and inherentin @atin merican nature and culture$ It was 4arpentier's con+iction&strongly elt by the late thirties& ormally codiied in 199 in the irstessay included here& and elaborated interartistically in 19 in the

second& that lo real maravilloso ameriano diered decidedly in spiritand practice rom :uropean )urrealism$ In @atin merica& 4arpentier argues& the antastic is not to be disco+ered by sub+erting or transcending reality with abstract orms and manuacturedcombinations o images$ ather& the antastic inheres in the naturaland human realities o time and place& where improbable ju.tapositions and mar+elous mi.tures e.ist by +irtue o @atinmerica's +aried history& geography& demography& and politics ,, not

by maniesto$5art o the irst essay that we include here ser+ed to preace4arpentier's irst no+el& 4l reino de este mundo 2The Kingdom of this

World & 1993> we ha+e translated an e.panded +ersion o that prologue& which was pub lished in 19H in a collection o 4arpentier'sessays& Tientos 0 diferenias 2pproaches and ;istinctions3$ %hesecond essay was originally gi+en as a lecture in 19& and collectedin 1981 in %a novela his2anoameriana en vGs2eras de un nuevo siglo

2%he Aispanic merican (o+el on the :+e o a (ew 4entury3$

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I

%Q7bas tout n'est 9ue lu/e, alme et volu2t8$ In+itation to a +oyage$)omething remote$ )omething distant or dierent$ %a langoureuse

Asie et la brulante Afri9ue o Baudelaire$$$$ I'm bac* rom the 5eople'sepublic o 4hina$ I became aware o 5e*ing's +ery real beauty& its blac* houses and intensely orange ceramic tiled roos where abulousdomestic auna romp small guardian dragons& curled griins& graceul#oological house, hold gods whose names I ha+en't learned$ I lingered&astonished& in one o the patios o the )ummer 5alace& in ront o stones mounted and displayed on pedestals& to be contemplated as artobjects$ %hey airm absolutely a notion o nonfigurative art that is

ignored in declarations o principles by nonigurati+e estern artistsa magniication o arcel ;uchamp's ready, made& a hymn o te.turesand ortuitous proportions& a deense o the right o the artist ,,detector o realities ,, to hoose certain subjects or materials that ha+ene+er been touched by human hands& that transcend their own limitswith an original beauty that is the beauty o the uni+erse$ I ha+eadmired (anjing's architectural subtlety& reser+ed and yet airy& and (an, dang's strong medie+al 4hinese walls& bordered in white abo+ethe austere dar*ness o the brea*er walls$ I ha+e lost mysel in

)hanghai's teeming crowds& those gymnastic& comical crowds wholi+e in a city where the corners are round& in a city unaware o theest's angular corners$ I ha+e watched rom the city's sea walls or hours as sampans with s"uared sails passed by> and later& lying abo+ethe country at a +ery low altitude& I was able to understand theenormous role that clouds and ha#e& motionless og and mist play inthe prodigious imagery o 4hinese landscape painting$ 4ontemplatingthe rice ields and seeing the wor* o laborers dressed in braided

rushes& I also understood the role o the tender greens& pin*s& andyellows in 4hinese art& and the painter's shading chal*s$ nd yet& inspite o ha+ing spent hours at the corner stands where glasses o hotwater are ser+ed& and at the ish counters watching the ish whosecolors blur in the en+eloping motion o their lightly anning ins> ater ha+ing listened to the stories o storytellers whom I do not understand>ater ha+ing stood in awe beore the beauty and proportions o the5e*ing museum's masterpiece& a wondrous armillary sphere that ismounted upon our dragons and portentously combines the

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harmonious geometry o hea+enly bodies with the heraldic curling o telluric monsters> ater ha+ing +isited the old obser+atories& bristlingwith ama#ing apparatus or sidereal measurements& the implications o

which elude our =eplerian notions> ater ha+ing bundled mysel upagainst the somber cold o the great seaports and the almost eminine5agoda %ower in )hanghai& that enormous and delicate corncob o windows and sharp ea+es> ater ha+ing mar+eled at the cloc*li*eeiciency o the puppet theaters& I return to the est eelingsomewhat melancholy$ In spite o my deep interest in what I ha+eseen& I am not sure that I ha+e understood$ In order to reallyunderstand ,, and not with the passi+ity o either a simpleton or atourist& which in act& I was ,, it would ha+e been necessary to learn

the language& to ha+e clear ideas regarding one o the most ancientcultures in the world to understand the clear speech o the dragon andthe mas*$ I was greatly entertained& o course& by the in, credibleacrobatics o the creators o a theater that is classiied or esternconsumption as o2era& when it is really nothing less than thechimerical ulillment o what total theater has tried to achie+e ,, anobsession or the most part unsatisied by our playwrights& directors&and set designers$ But the acrobatics o the interpreters o those

operas& wor*s that ne+er thought o themsel+es as o2eras& weremerely the complement to a language that will remain inaccessible tome or the rest o my days$ %hey say that Judith Gautier mastered theability to read 4hinese by the age o twenty$ 2I don't belie+e she-spo*e 4hinese&- because Chinese as such is ne+er spo*en> the 5e*ingdialect& or e.ample& is not understood one hundred *ilometers outsideo 5e*ing& nor does it ha+e anything to do with the pictures"ue4antonese language or the semi,meridional dialect o )hanghai&although the written orm or all o these languages is the same& sothat communication is possible$3 But as or me& I *now that myremaining years o e.istence are too ew to gi+e me a true and e.actunderstanding o 4hinese culture and ci+ili#ation$ 6or that& I wouldneed an understanding of te/ts& those te.ts inscribed on the steles thatrest upon the stone shells o enormous tortoises ,, symbols o longe+ity& I was told ,, mo+ing without mo+ement& so ancient that noone *nows their date o birth& ruling o+er a"ueducts and ields&inhabitants o the outs*irts o the great city o 5e*ing$

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II

I'm bac* rom the world o Islam$ I elt pleasantly stirred bylandscapes so "uiet& so well,deined by the hands o pruners and

sowers& so oreign to any superluous bit o +egetation ,, there areonly rose bushes and pomegranate trees& watered by someunderground source ,, that in them& I sensed the grace o some o theinest 5ersian miniatures> yet& truth be *nown& I now ind mysel ar away rom Iran and cannot *now with absolute certainty whether theminiatures I recalled had anything to do with all this$ I wal*ed throughsilent streets& losing mysel in the labyrinths o windowless houses&escorted by the abulous smell o mutton at so characteristic o

central sia$ I was ama#ed by the di+erse maniestations o an art that*nows how to transorm itsel and how to play with materials andte.tures& triumphing o+er the ormidable stumbling bloc* o a prohibition ,, still +ery much obser+ed ,, against depicting humanigures$ In terms o a lo+e or te.tures& serene geometrical symmetriesand subtle re+ersals& it seemed to me that uslim artists showed signso imagining an in+enti+e abstraction e"ualed only by the small&mar+elous patio inside the temple at itla& which one maycontemplate in e.ico$ 2In these cases& true art is rigorouslynonfigurative& maintaining a loty distance rom the place where polemics are based on tired and worn,out realisms3$$$$ I was acutelyaware o the slender minarets& the polychromed mosaics& and the potent sonority o the gaJlS the thousand,year,old pre,=oran taste or unlea+ened bread that alls o its own weight just as it's ta*en rom the ba*er's o+en$ I lew o+er the ral )ea& so strange& so oreign in itsorms& colors& and contours& yet so similar to Bai*al @a*e& whichama#es me with its surrounding mountains& its #oological rarities& with

all that those re, mote places share e.tension& limitlessness&repetition& the endless taiga e.actly li*e that in our own jungles& theendless Lenisei i+er& i+e leagues wide 2I "uote se+olod I+ano+3ater rains li*e those that swell the ?rinoco until it also o+erlows its ban*s i+e or si. leagues$$$$ /pon my return& I was in+aded by thegreat melancholy o one who wanted to understand but understoodonly partially$ %o understand the Islamic culture that I had barelyglimpsed& I would ha+e had to *now one o the languages spo*enthere& or to ha+e heard o some literary antecedent 2something more

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substantial& to be sure& than The ubai0at read in )panish or thewanderings o laddin or )inbad or the music rom Thamar byBala*ire+ or #hehereJade or Antar by ims*i,=orsa*o+3 or be

amiliar with their philosophy& i indeed any philosophy unctions assuch in the great gnomic literature o that +ast world where certainata+istic principles continue to weigh hea+ily on minds& e+en thoughcertain political contingencies ha+e been discarded$ But he whoyearned or understanding understood only partially because he ne+er learned the language or languages spo*en there$ Ae conrontedhermetic tomes in the boo*stores& with titles drawn in arcane signs$ Iwould ha+e li*ed to learn those signs$ I elt humiliated by the sameignorance that I eel in )ans*rit or classical Aebrew ,, languages that&

by the way& were not taught in the @atin merican uni+ersities o myadolescence& where e+en Gree* and @atin were subjects regardedsuspiciously by a reshly minted pragmatism that placed themalongside other idle& intellectual pastimes$ I was aware& howe+er& thatto understand the omance languages& the @atin merican had only toli+e with them or a ew wee*s$ 2I would +eriy that act upon myarri+al in Bucharest$3 %hus& seeing beore me the unintelligible signsthat were painted e+ery morning across the headlines o the local

newspapers& I elt something similar to perpetual discouragement&reali#ing that lie wouldn't gi+e me enough time 2do twenty years o study mean one really kno+s the subject<3 to arri+e at an integrated&well,ounded& uni+ersal +ision o what Islamic culture is in itsdierent parts& orms& geographical dispersions& dialecticaldierences& etc$ I elt diminished by the true greatness o all that I hadseen& but this greatness did not gi+e me a report o its e.actmeasurements or its real moti+es$ It did not gi+e me& upon returningrom such e.tensi+e wanderings& the means to e.press to my own people what was uni+ersal in its roots& presence& and currenttransormations$ 6or that& I would ha+e had to possess certainindispensable *nowledge& certain *eys that& in my case and in the caseo many others& would ha+e re"uired speciali#ed study& the disciplineo +irtually an entire lietime$

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III

?n the way bac* rom my long +oyage& I ound mysel in the )o+iet/nion where& despite my inability to spea* the language& my sense o

incomprehension was entirely alle+iated$ %he magniicent architectureo @enin, grad& at once baro"ue& Italian& ussian& was pleasing to me beore I e+er saw it$ I *new those columns$ I *new those astragals$ I*new those monumental arches opening up buildings& reminiscent o itru+ius and i^ola& and perhaps also o 5iranesi> astrelli& theItalian architect& had been there ater much strolling through ome$%he rostral columns that rose along the (e+a were my personal property$ %he inter 5alace& deeply blue and oaming white& with its

(eptunian& a"uatic baro"ue Obarro9uismoP& spo*e a language well*nown to me$ ?+er there& o+er the water& 5eter and 5aul's 6ortressshowed me its proile& a domesticated silhouette$ nd that's not all;iderot's riend and patroness was 4atherine the Great$ iranda& theene#uelan precursor o the merican ars o Independence& was5otemp*in's riend$ 4imarosa li+ed and composed in ussia$ Inaddition& oscow /ni+ersity carries the name o @omonoso+& author o .Ode to the Northern %ights,. one o the best e.amples o a certain*ind o eighteenth, century poetry& scientiic and encyclopedic&

"ualities that lin* it ,, more through its spirit than its style& o course ,,with 6ontenelle and oltaire$ 5ush*in made me thin* o $oris

-odunov> I re+ised an unmusical 6rench translation about thirty yearsago at the re"uest o a singer who had to play the role at the 4olumbus%heater in Buenos ires$ %urgene+ was 6laubert's riend 2-the mostoolish man I e+er met&- he used to say in admiration3$ I disco+ered;ostoe+s*y in an essay by ndrK Gide$ I read %olstoy's stories or theirst time around 19C0& in an anthology compiled by the e.ican

;epartment o :ducation$ hether well translated or not& @enin hiloso2hial Notebooks spea* to me o Aeraclitus& 5ythagoras&@eucippus& and e+en o -the idealist with whom one gets along better than with the stupid materialist- perormance at the Bolshoi 2with ane"ues, trian statue o 5eter the Great in the scenery3 reminds me o a+isit to the ar rooms with the high ceilings at the Aeritage useum$%here& I ind mysel in the company o Ida ubinstein in the strange portrait that )ero+ painted o her& at once aectionate and cruel> andalso in the company o )ergei ;iaghile+ and nna 5a+lo+a& who ,,

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the last great condottiere had the entire deaening symphony o the%hirty Lear's ar sculpted on the smooth ceiling o his reception hall&with prouse conigurations o bugles& drums and sac*buts jumbled

together with the harnesses& plumes& and standards o bellicoseallegories$ %here I can understand better the spirit that led )chiller& inthe irst part o his amous trilogy& to the strange eat o writing adrama without protagonists in which the characters are reerred to as-some 4roatians&- -some uhlans&- -a bugle player&- -a recruit&- -a4apuchin&- -a noncommissioned oicer$- But that's not all$ %houghthe eormation and 4ounter eormation are present in the stones o 5rague& its buildings and spaces also spea* to us o a past or, e+er suspended between the e.treme poles o real and unreal& antastical

and +eriiable& contemplation and action$ e *now that 6aust& thealchemist& ma*es his irst 2imaginary<3 appearance in 5rague& whereuture generations would handle %ycho Brache's astronomicalinstruments& which were e.act or nearly so& beore +isiting the houseo that starga#er named Johannes =epler& not to mention those whosearched or the philosopher's stone& those who prepared hermeticmercury ,, their street is still preser+ed& complete with retorts and*ilns& in the city o 4harles the Great$ )o many things here e+o*e the

legend o the Golem& that automaton orced to wor* or the beneit o a wise rabbi on the periphery o the Jewish cemetery and the superbsynagogues$ nd the most e.traordinary thing is that the old Jewishcemetery& with its dramatic steles dating bac* to the si.teenth andse+enteenth centuries& standing side by side& or one be, hind the other&hapha#ardly& as though they were up or auction ,, in a late arch thatilluminated the Aebraic inscriptions with brushstro*es rom the (orthwind ,, coe.ists on e"ual terms with the narrow )ta+o+s*e the, ater where one day in 18& o#art ;on Gio+anni had its opening night& a6austian wor*& a eucharist play O auto saramental P composed&strangely enough& by that genius in an ge o eason that irmlyreused to belie+e in guests turned to stone& e+en though "uite close by& bron#e bishops and doctors danced in the sumptuous theologicalscenery o the 4lementine 4hurch$ %here are no mute stones in 5ragueor those who *now how to listen$ %o this listener& rom e+ery corner&rom e+ery intersection& li*e 4hamisso's character& present in e+eryortuitous encounter& in e+ery debate that mo+es rom literature to

politics& there emerges the still& +el+ety& shadowless silhouette o

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6ran# =a*a& who -attempted to describe a battle- and withoutmeaning to& ga+e us ,, metaphorically& indirectly ,, the moststupendous sense o 5rague's atmosphere& e.perienced in all its

mystery and possibility$ In 1911 =a*a says in his (iar0 that he ismo+ed by a +ision o stairs to the right o the 4#ech bridge he percei+es -through a small triangular window- 2only in thatasymmetric city& where e+ery maniestation o antastic architecture isto be ound& could there be a triangular +indo+3 all o the grace andthe baro"ue +itality o that light o stairs ascending toward theillustrious window o the deenestration$$$$ 6rom =a*a& leaping intothe past in an imaginary& timeless diligence& we arri+e in @eip#ig$waiting us there is the organ behind which nna agdalena& greatly

mo+ed& disco+ered that terrible presence& the inspired dragon Johann)ebastian& and we remember that there the 5assions were irst sungwith +ery ew +oices and minimal orchestras$ %hese wor*s concern usmost directly because or two hundred years they ha+e not stoppedgrowing& swelling with e+er greater numbers o musicians& crossingthe tlantic to the shores o merica in scores& perormances andrecordings& their allegros suggesting to AKctor illa,@obos the nameo bahianas or his compositions inspired by the allegro 2continuous

mo+ement& 2er2etum mobile3 o the Bra#ilian or Bahian rhythms$$$$6rom @eip#ig the imaginary diligence carries us ,, with its coachmansounding the trumpet that o#art and e+en Sri*e *new so well ,, toGoethe's eimar to the house where monstrous replicas o Gree* sculptures await us& sculptures e.ecuted in heroic dimensions worthyo being placed in a temple i the author o Faust had not stood themin his scanty eimer estate in rooms so tiny that house guests wereobliged to turn sideways to get past a chess, board$ %hese enormousGree* di+inities& helter,s*elter and up to their ears in the small roomsin the house in eimar& remind me o the sort o eponymous rhetoriccommonly used in the +estibules o go+ernment buildings in @atinmerica& where presiding statues swell& widen& ele+ate and e.altheroes to two or three times their actual si#e& e+en to the absurde.treme o a )tatue o the epublic in the Aa+ana 4apital Buildingwith breasts o bron#e that weigh a ton& its dimensions so stupidlycyclopean that by its side& the poor giant =a*a would go completelyunnoticed$

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$

%he @atin merican returns to his own world and begins to understand

many things$ Ae disco+ers that although ;on Fui.ote by rights belongs to him& he has learned words in the .#2eeh to the #he2herds.

that go bac* through the ages to Works and (a0s$ Ae opens up Bernal;ía# del 4astillo's great chronicle and inds himsel beore the onlyhonest,to,goodness boo* o chi+alry that has e+er been written ,, a boo* o chi+alry where the e+il doers are lords O teules P one could seeand touch& where un*nown animals are real& un*nown cities aredisco+ered& dragons are seen in ri+ers and strange mountains in snow

and smo*e$ ithout reali#ing it& Bernal ;ia# bested the bra+e deeds o madís o Gaul& Belianis o Greece& and 6lorismarte o Aircania$ Aehad disco+ered a world o monarchs crowned with the plumes o green birds& +egetation dating bac* to the origins o the earth& oodne+er beore tasted& drin* e.tracted rom cacti and palm trees& but hedid not reali#e that in such a world& e+ents tend to de+elop their ownstyle& their own uni"ue trajectories$ @atin mericans drag a legacy o thirty centuries behind them& but in spite o a record o absurd deedsand many sins& we must recogni#e that our st0le is reairmed

throughout our histor0& e+en though at times this style can beget+eritable mon, sters$ But there are compensations$ elgarejo& thetyrant rom Boli+ia& can ma*e his horse Aoloernes drin* buc*ets o beer$ ;uring that same epoch in the 4aribbean editerranean& JosKartí appears and is capable o writing one o the best essays aboutthe 6rench impressionists that has e+er appeared in any language$4entral merica& with its illiterate populations& produces a poet ,,uben ;arío ,, who transorms all poetry written in )panish$ %here is

a man there who& a century and a hal ago& e.plained the philosophical postulates o alienation to sla+es emancipated only three wee*s earlier$%here is a man there 2we cannot orget )imUn odrígue#3 who createdsystems o education inspired by 4mile& where it was thought that allstudents had to do was learn to read in order to ascend socially by+irtue o their understanding o boo*s,which is to say& their understanding o codes$ %here is a man whose aim was to de+elop (apoleonic strategies o war using lancers riding bro*en down mountswithout saddles or stirrups$ %here is the 5romethean loneliness o

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Bolí+ar at )anta arta& the nine,hour battles waged with bladedweapons in the lunar landscape o the ndes& the towers o %i*al& therescoes rescued rom the Bonampa* jungle& the lasting enigma o

%ihuanaco& the majesty o the acropolis at onte lb!n& the abstract ,,absolutely abstract ,, beauty o the temple at itla& with its +ariationson +isual themes so totally alien to the igurati+e impulse$ %he listcould go on ore+er$

I will say that my irst in*ling o the mar+elous real O lo real

maravilloso P came to me when& near the end o 19D& I was luc*yenough to +isit Aenri 4hristophe's *ingdom ,, such poetic ruins& )ans,)ouci and the bul* o the 4itadel o @a 6erriKre& imposingly intact in

spite o lightning and earth"ua*es> and I saw the still,(orman 4ape%own& the 4ap 6ran_ais o the ormer colony& where a house withgreat long balconies leads to the palace o hewn stone inhabited yearsago by 5auline Bonaparte$ y encounter with 5auline Bonapartethere& so ar rom 4orsica& was a re+elation to me$ I saw the possibilityo establishing certain synchronisms& merican& recurrent& timeless&relating this to that& yesterday to today$ I saw the possibility o bringing to our own latitudes certain :uropean truths& re+ersing those

who tra+el against the sun and would ta*e our truths to a place where& just thirty years ago& there was no capacity to understand or measurethose truths in their real dimensions$ 2 5auline Bonaparte ,, li*e theenus o 4ano+a ,, was& or me& a laJarillo and a guide as I elt myway& groping at irst toward essays e.ploring characters li*e Billaud,arenne& 4ollot d'Aerbois& and íctor Augues who& seen in anmerican light& would later animate my #iglo de las lues Otranslatedas 4/2losion in a Cathedral P$3 ter ha+ing elt the undeniable spell 1

o the lands o Aaiti& ater ha+ing ound magical warnings along the

red roads o the 4entral eseta& ater ha+ing heard the drums o the5etro and the ada& I was mo+ed to set this recently e.periencedmar+elous reality beside the tiresome pretension o creating themar+elous that has characteri#ed certain :uropean literatures o+er the past thirty years$ %he mar+elous& sought in the old clichKs o theBrocelianda jungle& the Knights of the ound Table& erlin thesorcerer and the rthurian legend$ %he mar+elous& in ade"uatelye+o*ed by the roles and deormities o esti+al characters won't young

6rench poets e+er get tired o the fHte foraine with its wonders and

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clowns& which imbaud dismissed long ago in his Alhimie du verbe<%he mar+elous& manuactured by tric*s o prestidigitation& by ju.taposing objects unli*ely e+er to be ound together that old

deceitul story o the ortuitous encounter o the umbrella and thesewing machine on the dissecting table that led to ermine spoons& thesnail in a rainy ta.i& the lion's head on the pel+is o a widow& the)urrealist e.hibitions$ ?r e+en now& the literary mar+elous the *ing in)ade Eulieta& Jarry's supermacho& @ewis' mon*& the horriyingmachinery o the :nglish Gothic no+el ghosts& immured priests&lycanthropes& hands nailed to a castle door$

%he result o willing the mar+elous or any other trance is that the

dream technicians become bureaucrats$ By in+o*ing traditionalormulas& certain paintings are made into a monotonous jun*yard o sugar,coated watches& seamstresses' manne"uins& or +ague phallicmonuments the mar+elous is stuc* in umbrellas or lobsters or sewingmachines or whate+er on a dissecting table& in a sad room& on a roc*ydesert$ 5o+erty o the imagination& /namuno said& is learning codes by heart$ %oday there are codes or the antastic based on the principleo the don*ey de+oured by the ig& proposed as the supreme in+ersion

o reality in %es Chants de Maldoror, codes to which we owe -childrenthreatened by nightingales&- or ndrK asson's -horses de+ouring birds$- But obser+e that when ndrK asson tried to draw the jungleo artini"ue& with its incredible intertwining o plants and itsobscene promiscuity o certain ruit& the mar+elous truth o the matter de+oured the painter& lea+ing him just short o impotent when acedwith blan* paper$ It had to be an merican painter ,, the 4uban&ilredo @am ,, who taught us the magic o tropical +egetation& theunbridled creati+ity o our natural orms with all their metamorphoses

and symbioses on monumental can+ases in an e.pressi+e mode that isuni"ue in contemporary art$ 6aced with the unsettling imaginati+e po+erty o a %anguy& or e.ample& who has spent twenty,i+e years painting the same stony lar+ae beneath the same gray s*y& I eelmo+ed to repeat a phrase that made the irst batch o )urrealists proudous "ui ne +oye# pas& pense# X ceu. "ui +oient OLou who can't see&thin* o those who canP$ %here are still too many -adolescents whoind pleasure in raping the resh cada+ers o beautiul& dead women-

2 @autrKamont3& who do not ta*e into account that it would be more

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mar+elous to rape them ali+e$ %he problem here is that many o themdisguise themsel+es cheaply as magicians& orgetting that themar+elous begins to be unmista*ably mar+elous when it arises rom

an une.pected alteration o reality 2the miracle3& rom a pri+ilegedre+elation o reality& an unaccustomed insight that is singularlya+ored by the une.pected richness o reality or an ampliication o the scale and categories o reality& percei+ed with particular intensity by +irtue o an e.altation o the spirit that leads it to a *ind o e.tremestate O estado lGmite P$ %o begin with& the phenomenon o themar+elous presupposes aith$ %hose who do not belie+e in saintscannot cure themsel+es with the miracles o saints& nor can those whoare not ;on Fui.otes enter& body& soul& and possessions& into the

world o madís o Gaul or %irant le Blanc$ 4ertain phrases o utilioabout men transormed into wol+es rom The %abors of ersiles and

#egismunda turn out to be prodigiously trustworthy because in4er+antes' time& it was belie+ed that people could suer rom lupinemania$ nother e.ample is the trip a character ma*es rom %uscany to (orway on a witch's blan*et$ arco 5olo allowed that certain birdslew while carrying elephants in their claws$ :+en @uther saw ademon ace to ace and threw an in*well at its head$ ictor Augo&

e.ploited by sellers o mar+elous boo*s& belie+ed in apparitions because he was sure that he had spo*en with @eopoldina's ghost inGuernsey$ 6or an Gogh& his aith in the sunlower was enough to i.his re+elation upon the can+as$ %hereore& it seems that the mar+elousin+o*ed in disbelie ,, the case o the )urrealists or so many years ,,was ne+er anything more than a literary ruse& just as boring in the endas the literature that is oneiric -by arrangement- or those praises o olly that are now bac* in style$ 2%his does not mean that I agree withthose who support a return to realism ,, a term that now implies asla+ishly political agenda$3 ll they do is to substitute the tric*s o themagician or the worn,out phrases o academics or the eschatologicalglee o certain e.istentialists$ But clearly there is no e.cuse or poetsand artists who preach sadism without practicing it& who admire thesupermacho because o their own impotence& in+o*e ghosts without belie+ing that they answer to incantations& who establish secretsocieties& literary sects& +aguely philosophical groups with saints andsigns and arcane ends that are ne+er reached& with, out being able to

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concei+e o a +alid mysticism or to abandon the most banal habits inorder to bet their souls on the terriying card o aith$

%his seemed particularly ob+ious to me during my stay in Aaiti& whereI ound mysel in daily contact with something that could be deinedas the mar+elous real$ I was in a land where thousands o men&an.ious or reedom& belie+ed in ac*andal's lycanthropic powers tothe e.tent that their collecti+e aith produced a miracle on the day o his e.ecution$ I had already heard the prodigious story o Bouc*man&the Jamaican initiate$ I had been in the 4itadel o @a 6erri`re& a wor* without architectural precedent& its only orerunner 5iranesi.*maginar0 risons. I breathed in the atmosphere created by Aenri

4hristophe& a monarch o incredible #eal& much more surprising thanall o the cruel *ings in+ented by the )urrealists& who were +ery muchaected by imaginary tyrannies without e+er ha+ing suered a one$ Iound the mar+elous real at e+ery turn$ 6urthermore& I thought& the presence and +itality o this mar+elous real was not the uni"ue pri+ilege o Aaiti but the heritage o all o merica& where we ha+enot yet begun to establish an in+entory o our cosmogonies$ %hemar+elous real is ound at e+ery stage in the li+es o men who

inscribed dates in the history o the continent and who let the namesthat we still carry rom those who searched or the ountain o eternalyouth and the golden city o anoa to certain early rebels or modernheros o mythological ame rom our wars o independence& such as4olonel Juana de #urduy$ It has always seemed signiicant to me thate+en in 180& sane )paniards rom ngostura would throw themsel+esinto the search or :l ;orado and that& in the days o the 6renche+olution ,, long li+e eason and the )upreme BeingM ,, the4ompostellan 6rancisco enKnde# would wal* through the land o

5atagonia searching or the enchanted city o the 4aesars$ 6ocusing onanother aspect o this theme& we can see that whereas in estern:urope ol* dancing& or e.ample& has lost all o its magical e+ocati+e power& it is hard to ind a collecti+e dance in merica that does notembody a deep ritual sense and thus create around it a whole processo initiation such are the dances o 4uban santerGa or the prodigiousrican +ersion o the 4orpus esti+al& which can still be seen in atown called )an 6rancisco de Lare in ene#uela$

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In the si.th song o aldoror& there is a moment when the hero& pursued by all the police in the world& escapes an -army o agents andspies- by adopting the shapes o di+erse animals and ma*ing use o

his ability to transport himsel instantaneously to 5e*ing& adrid& or )aint 5etersburg$ %his is -mar+elous literature- in ull orce$ Let inmerica& where nothing li*e this has been written& ac*andal li+edand was endowed with the same powers by the aith o hiscontemporaries& who with his magic omented one o the strangest andmost dramatic uprisings in history$ aldoror ,, ;ucasse himsel admits it ,, is nothing more than a -poetic ocambole- aldoror let behind only an ephemeral literary school$ %he merican ac*andal&on the contrary& lea+es an entire mythology& preser+ed by an entire

people and accompanied by magic hymns still sung today during+oodoo ceremonies$C 2It is also a strange coincidence that Isidore;ucasse& a man who had an e.ceptional instinct or the poeticantastical& happened to be born in merica and that he should boastso emphatically at the end o one o his poems o being le

montevid8en63 Because o the +irginity o the land& our upbringing& our ontology& the 6austian presence o the Indian and the blac* man& there+elation constituted by its recent disco+ery& its ecund racial mi.ing

O mestiJa5e P& merica is ar rom using up its wealth o mythologies$ter all& what is the entire history o merica i not a chronicle o themar+elous real<

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The 5aro#ue and the Marvelous Real

@:J? 45:(%I:

Lou all *now the title o the tal* I'+e proposed to gi+e today on twoelements that& in my opinion& enter decisi+ely into the nature andmeaning o @atin merican art& o this @atin merica& mericamesti#a& as JosK artí called it& which adame ice 5resident o thisathenaeum has just e+o*ed with her words o introduction .The

$aro9ue and the Marvelous eal6. It is a theme rich in +icissitudesand one about which I don't want to try your patience& so I will beginwithout preamble& in a somewhat dry and perunctory manner& with aew dictionary deinitions$

Beore I begin to tal* about the baro"ue& I would li*e to settle alinguistic dispute what is the baro"ue< :+erybody tal*s about the baro"ue& e+erybody *nows more or less what the baro"ue is or caneel the baro"ue$ %he same thing happens with )urrealism$ %oday&e+erybody *nows what )urrealism is& e+erybody says ater witnessingan unusual occurrence -Aow surreal$- But i we go bac* to the basicte.t on )urrealism& to ndrK Breton's First Manifesto& written in 19C&

we must ace the act that the deinition gi+en by the ounder o thismo+ement hardly corresponds to what happened later$ Breton himsel was incapable o deining what he was doing& although he *new +erywell what he was going to do$ @et's turn to the dictionaries$ @et's startwith the etit %arousse$ e are told -Baro"ue neologism$ )ynonymo 4hurrigueres"ue$ Gallic in its e.tra+agance$- But we loo* or barro9uismo and are told -(eologism& e.tra+agance& bad taste$- Inother words& the baro"ue betrays Gallic characteristics and isidentiied e.clusi+ely with the architecture o a man named4hurriguera& who was not the best representati+e o the baro"ue period but rather o a *ind o mannerism> this does not e.plainanything at all& because the baro"ue is something multiple& di+erse&and enormous that surpasses the wor* o a single architect or a single baro"ue artist$

@et's turn to the (itionar0 of the o0al Aadem0$ /nder baro9ue weare told -)tyle o ornamentation characteri#ed by the prousion o

+olutes& scrolls& and other adornments in which the cur+ed line

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predominates$ lso applicable to painted and sculpted wor*s in which both the mo+ement o igures and the di+ision o segments aree.cessi+e- 6ran*ly& the academic gentlemen o the )panish oyal

cademy couldn't ha+e come up with a poorer deinition$ %urning to asimilar dictionary& we ind that we are gi+en these synonyms or the baro"ue -?+erladen& mannerist& Gongorist 2as though it wereshameul to be GongoristM3& euphemistic& conceptualist&- and again-4hurrigueres"ue&- and 2but this simply isn't possibleM3 -deadent $-

:+ery time they spea* to me o -decadent- art& I all into a state o blind rage& or this business about decadence& when a certain art iscalled decadent& has been systematically applied to a multitude o

artistic maniestations that& ar rom representing decadence& representcultural summits$ 6or many years& the 6rench impressionists& 4K#anne&anet and others were classiied as decadent$ In Beetho+en's time& themasters o composition orbade their students to listen to or study thewor*s o Beetho+en because they were decadent$ %he atonalcomposers were called decadent$ hen we pic* up a music historiansuch as iemann rom the beginning o the twentieth century& he tellsus that all music written ater agner is decadent$ 2hen ;ebussy

went to ussia at the turn o the century to conduct his wor*s& thegreat master ims*y,=orsa*o+ ,, who was no ool ,, upon seeing thathis students were enthusiastic about the wor*s o the brilliant 6renchinno+ator& told them -ell& go and listen i you want to& but let mewarn you that you run the ris* o getting used to it$- In other words& hespo*e o ;ebussy's music just as one might say to a riend -)mo*eopium i you li*e& but be careul> it's addicti+e$- In this case& the baro"ue would ha+e been -decadent- as well$3

%here ha+e been attempts to deine the baro"ue as a style$ %here ha+e been those who ha+e tried to enclose it within the boundaries o a particular style$ :ugenio d'?rs& who doesn't always completelycon+ince me o his artistic theories but who is certainly e.traordinarilyinsightul in some o his essays& tells us in a amous essay that whatthe baro"ue displays is& in act& a *ind o creati+e impulse that recurscyclically throughout history in artistic orms& be they literary or +isual& architectural or musical> and he gi+es us a +ery itting image

by saying that there is a baro"ue spirit& just as there is an imperial

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spirit$ %hat spirit& arising through the centuries& can be e"uallyattributed to le.ander& 4harlemagne& or (apoleon$ %here is aneternal return to the imperial spirit& historically spea*ing& just as there

is an eternal return o the baro"ue in art through the ages& and this baro"ue& ar rom signiying decadence& has at times represented theculmination& the ma.imum e.pression and the richest moment o agi+en ci+ili#ation$ s an e.ample& I would li*e to use someone whomI will mention later on& namely 6ran_ois abelais& the brilliant 6renchenaissance humanist who& in the i+e +olumes o his prodigiousno+el& -argantua et antagruel, ga+e us what is perhaps the mostcomplete& e.traordinary& and juicy e.pression that the ullness o the6rench language can pro+ide$ abelais& who was the prince o 6rench

baro"ue artists& represents the pinnacle o 6rench literature because&although certain comparisons are dangerous& it is e+ident that his great boo* o Gargantua is uni"ue in all o 6rench literature& situated on thesame pinnacle o e.ceptions and prodigious eats as ;on Fui.ote& %he;i+ine 4omedy& and all o )ha*espeare's plays$ abelais is theculmination o 6rench culture and enaissance humanism& and he wasa prooundly baro"ue writer$ n in+entor o words& an enricher o thelanguage who& when he lac*ed +erbs& ga+e himsel the lu.ury o

in+enting them& and when he did not ha+e ad+erbs& in+ented those aswell$

ccording to :ugenio d'?rs,and it seems to me that his theory isirreutable in this respect ,, the baro"ue must be seen as a humanconstant$ %hus& a undamental error to be erased rom our minds thegenerally accepted theory that the baro"ue is an in+ention o these+enteenth century$

6or most people& the words -baro"ue art- reer to a certain *ind o +ery ornamental architecture rom the se+enteenth century& li*e that o Borromini in Italy& or a *ind o sculpture with e.traordinarymo+ement and e.pansi+e orms li*e that o Bernini& whose mostrepresentati+e wor*& a deiniti+e and complete baro"ue wor*& is theamous -:cstasy o )aint %eresa&- one o the culminating pieces o uni+ersal sculpture$ %hose who see the baro"ue as pejorati+e& as a sorto strange phenomenon or mannerism ,, because it is true that there

were certain minor strains o baro"ue mannerism in the se+enteenth

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century ,, contrast it to another concept$ hat concept is this< )o,called classicism$

(ow i the word -baro"ue- is ta*en in its generally understood sense&or the word -)urrealism- is understood according to Breton'sdeinition& and these deinitions still cannot e.plain )urrealism or the baro"ue& then I must say that -classicism- is the hollowest word o all&the most meaningless term that could possibly occur to anyone$ @et'sturn once again to the dictionary$ %he @arousse says -)omethingoutstanding and worthy o imitation$ pplicable to a writer or wor* that is considered to be the model or any type o literature&- and citese.amples li*e 4alderUn or @Upe de ega$ e're in trouble already&

because i any writer represents the baro"ue in the )panish language besides Fue+edo and GUngora& that it is 4alderUn$ nd those whoha+e read one o 4alderUn's most amous wor*s& :l mKdico de suhonra& will recall the passage in which ;o^a encía tells the story o a young *night who is accidentally thrown rom his steed& one o themost re"uently anthologi#ed ragments in all baro"ue poetry$

In the ;ictionary o the oyal cademy& we are told -4lassicism@iterary or artistic system& based on the imitation o the Gree* andoman models$ /sed in contrast to omanticism$- here does thislea+e us< 4lassicism is that which copies oman and Gree* models$But in another dictionary& we are told that classicism can be copiedrom 4alderUn& who was baro"ue$ s you see& the word classicism hasno meaning or impact what, so e+er$ nd I would say that as allimitation is academic& so all academies are go+erned by rules& norms&and laws$ 4lassicism is academic& and all that is academic isconser+ati+e& +igilant& obedient& and thereore the declared enemy o

inno+ation& o anything that brea*s rules and norms$

In short& to attempt to understand what people are trying to tell uswhen they tal* about classicism& there is no better way than to choosee.amples e+eryone *nows& characteristic e.amples o things that weall ha+e engra+ed on the retina o our memories$ @et's consider threemonuments representati+e o what is considered to be classical& threemonuments that ha+e constituted an academic style and as such& ha+ecreated the norms to be imitated$ %hese three archetypal monuments

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would be the 5arthenon& Aerrera's :scorial& and the palace atersailles$

(ow then& these wor*s are characteri#ed by a central a.is with proportionally smaller lateral a.es$ %hose o us who read ignola inour architecture courses *now that when copying the a_ades o thoseGree* temples& the 5arthenon and the :rechtheum& the irst step wetoo* was to draw the central a.is rom which the rontispiece slopedaway to either side& di+iding the entablature in two$ :ach column hadits lateral a.is& and each a.is was proportionally remo+ed rom thecentral a.is in a *ind o 5ythagorean cross,section that di+ided the building into two e"ual and symmetrical parts$

In the architecture o ersailles& the :scorial or the 5arthenon& there issomething +ery important& which is that empty spaces& na*ed spaces&spaces without ornamentation are in and o themsel+es as important asadorned spaces or the shats o groo+ed columns$ I we begin to loo* at those great na*ed planes in the 5arthenon or ersailles& their boundaries mar*ed by columns& we see that their +alue is in their proportions they create a sort o geometrical harmony in which illedand +acant spaces are e"ually important$ In the 5arthenon& the space between the columns is as important as the columns themsel+es$ Iwould go so ar as to say that the column ser+es to mar* the boundaries o empty spaces& the spaces o air$ )omehow& in thestructure o the Gree* temple or Aerrera's :scorial& the construction iscomplemented by +acant space& by space without ornamentationwhose beauty resides precisely in its circumscription& in its e.pressiono an emotion& an impression o se+ere& majestic beauty stripped o e+ery superluous element ,, all corresponding to a *ind o linear

geometry$ e ha+e& on the other hand& the baro"ue& a constant o thehuman spirit that is characteri#ed by a horror o the +acuum& the na*edsurace& the harmony o linear geometry& a style where the central a.is&which is not always maniest or apparent 2in Bernini's )aint %eresa itis +ery diicult to determine a central a.is3& is surrounded by what onemight call -prolierating nuclei&- that is& decorati+e elements thatcompletely ill the space o the construction& the walls& allarchitecturally a+ailable space motis that contain their own

e.pansi+e energy& that launch or project orms centriugally$ It is art in

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motion& a pulsating art& an art that mo+es outward and away rom thecenter& that somehow brea*s through its own borders$ typicale.ample o the baro"ue can be ound in Bernini's cathedral& )aint

5eter's in ome$ :+ery time I see that e.plosion o orms& thate.plosion o +aults& that seemingly static luminescence surge rom theground through the rame that encloses it& I thin* o those paintings byde 4hirico in which suns are stuc* in cages& caged suns$ %o me&Bernini's )aint 5eter's 4athedral is just that a caged sun& a sun thate.pands and e.plores the columns that circumscribe it& that pretend todemarcate its boundaries and literally disappear beore itssumptuousness$ In the 4athedral o %oledo& behind the main altar inthe ambulatory& there is a gigantic& prolierating sculpture& a sculpted

composition that rises to the upper, most s*ylights& where the baro"uesculptor has not just hung the igures that descend toward us 2angelsalling& men alling& saints alling in prodigiously choreographedmotion& lie,si#ed igures3 he has persuaded orm to collaborate withlight$ %he light entering through the s*ylights combines with thesculpture in such a way that& depending on the time o day& all o theigures seem to mo+e$ In my opinion& herein resides one o the most beautiul baro"ue archetypes I could e+er contemplate$

Going bac* to what we were saying about seeing the baro"ue as ahuman constant that absolutely cannot be limited to an architectural&aesthetic& and pictorial mo+ement originating in the se+enteenthcentury& we disco+er that the baro"ue has lourished in all ages&sporadically at times& and at times as the main characteristic o aculture$ %o cite clearly typical e.amples that e+eryone *nows& I'll saythat the baro"ue ,, and this is ob+ious ,, lourishes in all aspects o Indian culture in the distant temples and grottoes o India there are

meters and meters& i not *ilometers& o more or less erotic bas,reliesthat are ormally baro"ue and erotically baro"ue because o theimbrication o igures& the constant arabes"ues& the presence o whatwe called a moment ago a series o prolierating oci ,, in groups andindi+idually& dancing and always united& interloc*ed li*e plants ,, ocithat e.tend to ininity$ %here comes a moment when the bas,relie ends& but it could easily continue to co+er incredible distances with itsaccumulated energy& i only there were more surace to sculpt$

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e'+e spo*en o Aindu sculpture$ hat about the 4athedral o )t$Basil the Beatiied in oscow< Is it not a perect e.ample o baro"uearchitecture& with its domed cupolas o dierent colors< here is the

central a.is o )t$ Basil's& which e+eryone has seen in photos< here&in that play o cupolas< Is there any symmetry o colors or orms< %he4athedral o )t$ Basil in oscow is& I would say& one o the moste.traordinary e.amples o the ussian baro"ue$ In 5rague& an entirely baro"ue city& the sculptures on the 4harles Bridge orm a legion& as dothe igures o bishops and saints and doctors o the church& who arealmost dancing in spite o the hea+y bron#e& who ly in spite o theweight o the material> in the 4hurch o )aint 4lementine& at theentrance o the 4harles Bridge& there is a +eritable theological ballet

that unolds beore our eyes in an absolutely baro"ue style$ @ater& itwill be the iennese baro"ue in the time o aria %eresa and the:mperor Joseph II> ta*e o#art Magi Flute& i you will& where the baro"ue li+es in the scenery& in the meaning o the wor* and the musicitsel ,, one o the masterpieces o the uni+ersal baro"ue rom e+ery point o +iew$

(ow then& I ha+e spo*en o the baro"ue as an art that ears a +acuum&

that lees rom geometrical arrangements& rom the space o& say&ondrian 2white suraces& dar* suraces& abo+e all clear suraces& or suraces (on 1ui/ote is ob+iously not baro"ue in terms o style&although 4er+antes& at times in the 4/em2lar0 Tales Novelas

em2le5aresU and abo+e all in the *nterludes 4ntremesesU& showshimsel to be baro"ue& just as @ope also occasionally tends toward the baro"ue$

In Italy& the emperor o the baro"ue is riosto in his Orlando Furioso$

In :ngland& )ha*espeare clearly approaches a baro"ue spirit in histumultuous& prouse& apparently disordered theater without emptysuraces or dead moments& where each scene in itsel is a prolieratingcell& subordinate to the action o the ne.t$ )ha*espeare is ull o short&e.traordinary scenes that are small units in themsel+es& inserted withinthe greater whole o the tragedy$ I he isn't baro"ue in Eulius Caesar or Timon of Athens& he is supremely baro"ue in ct o Midsummer

Night's (ream$

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I mentioned abelais a moment ago$ In his wor*& which carried the6rench language to its highest& ullest& most e.traordinary e.pression&there are already ragments that ,, let's say ,, oresee the baro"ue$

%here is a +ery interesting episode in the third boo* o -argantua and antagruel & as the +icar o eudon titled his masterpiece$ nd thereis& in this third boo*& a completely imaginary episode in whichabelais in+ents a story 2abelais in+ented e+erything3$ %he storygoes that one day 5hilip o acedon decided to attac* the city o 4orinth$ ;iogenes li+ed in 4orinth& ;iogenes the s*eptic& ;iogenesthe misanthrope& ;iogenes in his barrel$ (aturally& gi+en his philosophic attitude toward lie& he is not a man who cares whether 5hilip o acedon ta*es the city or not$ But suddenly ,, abelais

in+ents this ,, ;iogenes ac"uires the +ice o patriotism$ hen he seestroops coming closer to the city& he gets into his barrel and starts itrolling& causing such de+astation& *noc*ing down e+ery means o deense& that he ends up bringing about the retreat o 5hilip o acedon's soldiers with his barrel$

abelais& who tells us this story in two pages in order to adumbrate or us the arms carried by 5hilip o acedon& uses se+enty nouns& se+enty

words 2a catalog o the arms carried by the enemy3& so that thede+astation caused by ;iogenes' barrel re"uires sevent0,t+o

consecuti+e +erbs in order to say that it -destroys&- -brea*s&--shatters&- -pierces&- -terminates&- -burns&- -upsets&- etc$> se+enty,two+erbs in two pages to tell us o the de+astation caused by ;iogenes' barrel$

s we go on& we ind that omanticism& which in the (itionar0 of

the o0al Aadem0 is contrasted to classicism and academism& is

completely baro"ue$ It had to be baro"ue& since omanticism& whichis generally illustrated by the absurd moonlit engra+ing and thecharacter who composes +erse& isolated rom the world in which heli+es& that is& the character who -li+es in the clouds&- who was reallynothing o the sort the omantic man was action and +igor andmo+ement and will and declaration and +iolence$ Ae brea*s awayrom the ristotelian unities in the theater& inishes o classical6rench tragedy 2in 6rance& anyway3& demands the rights o man to

proclaim his interior being and e.teriori#e his passions& in+ents )turm

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und ;rang& that is& an atmosphere o -storm and desire$- nd let's notorget that those omantics who were seen by the bourgeoisie o theera as lost souls& loonies O gente en la luna P& people incapable o

logical thought 2because& o course& their morals& ethics& and politicswere incompatible with the bourgeois conormity o the era3 were& inact& men o action and men who e.pressed action$ lmost all o themwere in+ol+ed in the irst utopian mo+ements$ e must not orget that;elacroi.& the most important omantic painter& was the one who letus the true painting o the arisian $arriades& a re+olutionary painting that can be placed ne.t to 5icasso -uernia$ nd don't orgetthat the young agner was dri+en out o unich or being ananarchist& or that @ord Byron died in issolonghi in an ardent attempt

to liberate Greece$

e ind& in the omantic period& that (o+alis& or e.ample& oers us acompletely baro"ue no+el& namely Aeinrich +on ?terdinger$ %hesecond 6aust by Goethe is one o the most baro"ue wor*s in allliterature> imbaud Illuminations 2see the irst poem in Illuminations&-ter the 6lood-3 is a masterpiece o baro"ue poetry$ @es 4hants dealdoror by @autrKamont ,, and @autrKamont called himsel -the

onte+idean- because he was born in onte+ideo and was +ery proud o ha+ing been born in merica ,, is a monument to baro"ue poetics$ arcel 5roust 2especially arcel 5roust& and here again werecall :ugenio d'?rs& who was right on o many points in his essay3arcel 5roust gi+es us one o the great moments o uni+ersal baro"ue prose& prose in which are inserted ,, as d'?rs notes ,, parentheticalasides& urther series o prolierating cells& sentences within sentencesthat ha+e a lie o their own and sometimes connect to other asidesthat are also prolierating elements$ I belie+e that there is no page

more beautiully baro"ue in all o 5roust's gigantic no+el than thatepisode in %he 4apti+e where the protagonist& the narrator& who is5roust himsel& is lying in lbertine's bed in the morning and listeningto the cries o the +endors passing in the street below& and with thatmar+elous power o intertwining thoughts and concepts by means o his prodigious *nowledge& 5roust writes that these cries can be related by their melodious inlections and the ways they modulate their +oicesto medie+al liturgical chants$ nd not only they& but the dog groomer&

the birdseed seller& the scissor sharpener& all those who come to sell

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Imagine the archeologists' surprise to ind the walls co+ered withhighly reined paintings representing the daily lie o the time their pools& gardens& sports& ban"uets& children's games& pastimes& women's

li+es& daily lie& all o this represented in a series o paintings that canonly be described as baro"ue$ %hey project the most authentic baro"uespirit$

%he 5opol uh& I repeat 2and those who ha+e read it are aware o this3is a monument to the baro"ue> so is (ahuatl poetry& which wasun*nown until thirty years ago and was brought to light by the wor* o Garibay& who has so ar gi+en us ele+en irst,rate pre,4on"uest poets in an e.tremely copious anthology that ills two hea+y +olumes$

It is the most baro"ue& the most brilliantly baro"ue poetry one canimagine& with its polychromatic images& its interwea+ing and mergingelements& the richness o its language$ %he -Goddess o ;eath- at theuseum o e.ico is a monument to the baro"ue& a emale igureco+ered with entwined sna*es$ nd there is 2I always cite this as ane.ample3 what I consider to be the ampliied baro"ue in merica thetemple at itla$ itla& near ?a.aca& gi+es us& in a a_ade o mar+elously balanced +olumes& a series o bo.es o the same si#e in

which each de+elops an abstract composition dierent rom the one beore> that is& the wor* is no longer symmetrical> each one o those bo.es ,, there are eighteen o them ,, is a prolierating cell o a baro"ue composition inserted into a baro"ue ensemble$ I cannot& whenI contemplate the a_ade at itla& help recalling the thirty,three+ariations o ;iabelli's theme by Beetho+en& in which Beetho+enoers us thirty,three monumental +ariations stemming rom aninitially innocuous theme that a ashionable critic recently declared to be thirty,three sonorous objects rather than musical +ariations$ %he

bo.es at itla are eighteen plastic objects$ In the same +ein& when Isee these compositions at itla& I also thin* o )choenberg ariationsor orchestra$

I *now that this resemblance& established across the centuries& between the temple at itla and )choenberg ariations& may seemarbitrary$ But in act& there e.ists a spiritual resemblance between thetwo things that again +alidates d'?rs' theory$

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(either the omanes"ue nor the Gothic periods reached merica> inother words& two historical styles that perormed a central role in thede+elopment o the artistic culture o the old continent are entirely

un*nown to us$ %he Gothic has not reached us simply because in somecity& in 19C0& it occurs to an architect with bad taste to ma*e a alseGothic cathedral$ (either the romanes"ue nor the Gothic arri+ed inmerica$ hat did arri+e was the plateres"ue& a type o baro"ue&though perhaps with more atmosphere,with more elegance& let's say,than the 4hurrigueres"ue baro"ue$ hM But when the )panish plateres"ue arri+es in the ships o the con"uerors& what does thecratsman who *nows the secrets o the )panish plateres"ue ind< nIndian wor* orce that& ha+ing already built and sculpted and painted

with baro"ue spirit& adds to the )panish plateres"ue its (ew orld baro"ue materials& baro"ue imagination& baro"ue #oological motis& baro"ue botanical motis and loral motis& and so we reached theheights o glory o baro"ue architecture& the merican baro"ue whosemost prodigious e.amples are the church in %epot#otl!n in e.ico2where a central& pyramidal& and +ery high cupola shows us the mostenormous accumulation o prolierating cells imaginable& where the play o light is similar to that o the 4athedral in %oledo3& the a_ade o

)an 6rancisco de :catepec in 4holula& where baro"ue materials areadded to baro"ue orms through colors& tiles& and mosaics> the amouschapel in 5uebla& baro"ue in white and gold& where a celestial concertappears and angels ma*e their appearance playing the lute& harps& thecla+ichord& all o the great instruments o the enaissance> the !rbolde la +ida Otree o lieP in )anto ;omingo in ?a.aca& a monumental baro"ue composition co+ering the +aulted ceiling& a great& e.pandingtree whose branches are entwined with igures o angels& saints&human igures& igures o women& all blending into the +egetation$%hen there is the baro"ue that we ind in :cuador& 5eru and in a muchmore modest ashion on the a_ade o the 4athedral in Aa+ana& one o the most beautiul baro"ue a_ades to be ound in the (ew orld$

nd why is @atin merica the chosen territory o the baro"ue<Because all symbiosis& all mestiJa5e& engenders the baro"ue$ %hemerican baro"ue de+elops along with riollo culture& with themeaning o riollo& with the sel,awareness o the merican man& be

he the son o a white :uropean& the son o a blac* rican or an Indian

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born on the continent ,, something admirably noted by )imUnodrigue# the awareness o being ?ther& o being new& o beingsymbiotic& o being a riollo> and the riollo spirit is itsel a baro"ue

spirit$ %o this eect& I would li*e to recall the grace with which )imUnodrigue#& who brilliantly saw these realities& reminds us in a passagerom his writings o the men who spea* )panish and yet are not)panish& the men who legislate and litigate in )panish and yet are not)panish& because they are riollo s$ )imUn odrigue# adds -e ha+ehuasos OpeasantsP& 4hinamen and b!rbaros ObarbariansP& gauchos&cholos and guahinangos Opeople o mi.ed Indian and )panish bloodP& blac*s& browns and whites& mountain , and sea,dwellers& Indians& gentes de olor0 de ruana Opeople o color and people wearing ruanas

P& tanned& mulatto and JambosOblac* IndiansP& blanos 2orfiados 0 2atas amarillas Ostubborn whites and yellow shan*sP and a world o crossbreeds tererones& "uadroons& octaroons and saltatrQsOthrowbac*sP$- ith such +ariety& each contributing its +ersion o the baro"ue& we intersect with what I ha+e called -the mar+elous real$-

nd here a new linguistic "uarrel arises$ %he word -mar+elous- has&with time and use& lost its true meaning& and lost it to the e.tent that

the words -mar+elous- or -the mar+elous- produce a conceptual *indo conusion as serious as that caused by the words -baro"ue- and-classical$- ;ictionaries tell us that the mar+elous is something thatcauses admiration because it is e.traordinary& e.cellent& ormidable$nd that is joined to the notion that e+erything mar+elous must be beautiul& lo+ely& pleasant& when really the only thing that should begleaned rom the dictionaries' deinitions is a reerence to thee/traordinar06 %he e.traordinary is not necessarily lo+ely or beautiul$It is neither beautiul nor ugly> rather& it is ama#ing because it is

strange$ :+erything strange& e+erything ama#ing& e+erything thateludes established norms is mar+elous$ %he Gorgon with her sna*yloc*s is as mar+elous as enus arising rom the wa+es$ ;eormedulcan is as mar+elous as pollo> 5rometheus tortured by the +ulture&Icarus crashing to earth& and the goddesses o death are all asmar+elous as triumphant chilles& Aercules& con"ueror o the Aydra&or goddesses o lo+e 2which in all religions and mythologies appear paired o with goddesses o death3$ 6urthermore& the creators o the

mar+elous ta*e charge o telling us what they thought about the

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mar+elous$ nd what man has e+er done more or the mar+elous thanthe one who has o+erpopulated our minds since childhood with igures belonging to the world o the mar+elous< 4harles 5errault& author o

the Mother -oose stories& in+entor o .Tom Thumb,. .#lee2ing $eaut0,. .$lue $eard,. .uss in $oots,. .%ittle ed iding !ood,.

etc$& stories that ha+e accompanied us since childhood$ In the preaceto his stories& 5errault says something that deines the mar+elous$ Aespea*s o airies and tells us that airies would just as soon spewdiamonds rom their mouths when they are in a good mood as reptiles&sna*es& serpents& and toads when they are angered> and we mustn'torget that the most amous airy rom all the medie+al tales& who ledup to 5er, rault and whom 5errault reco+ers& is the airy elusina

2what a beautiul nameM3 who was an abominable monster with thehead o a woman and the body o a serpent& and yet she belongs to themar+elous$ 5errault tells us a horrendous& terrible tale in the story.Tom Thumb,. the one where the ogre& instead o beheading the se+ensmall brothers who arri+ed as*, ing or shelter in his home& cheerullyand mista*enly beheads his se+en daughters and then goes to bed$%his horrendous& terrible scene belongs to the mar+elous ,, as does theincest that also appears in 5errault$

)o we should establish a deinition o the mar+elous that does notdepend on the notion that the mar+elous is admirable because it is beautiul$ /gliness& deormity& all that is terrible can also bemar+elous$ ll that is strange is mar+elous$

(ow then& I spea* o the mar+elous real when I reer to certain thingsthat ha+e occurred in merica& certain characteristics o its landscape&certain elements that ha+e nourished my wor*$ In the prologue to the

irst edition o my boo* The Kingdom of this World & I deine what Ithin* the mar+elous real to be$ But at times people say to me& -eha+e some, thing that has been called magial realism> what is thedierence between magical realism and the mar+elous real<- I westop to ta*e a loo*& what dierence can there possibly be between)urrealism and the mar+elous real< %his is +ery easily e.plained$ %heterm magical realism was coined around 19C or 19C by a Germanart critic named 6ran# oh in a boo* entitled ealismo mQgio,

published by the e+ista de ?ccidente$ In act& what 6ran# oh calls

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magical realism is simply :.pressionist painting& and he is careul tochoose e.amples o :.pressionist painting that ha+e nothing to dowith concrete political agendas$ ;on't orget that in Germany at the

end o orld ar I& a time o misery and diiculty and drama& a timeo general ban*ruptcy and disorder& an artistic tendency named:.pressionism appears$ ?ne o the most authentic representations o :.pressionism is Bertolt Brecht's irst play& Baal$ Aowe+er& there iscombat there& sarcasm& a social agenda& just as there was a socialagenda in the play by =arel 4ape* that created the character o therobot& just as there was a social agenda in the play by Georg =aiser that had characters named irst man& second man& irst lady in blac*&green lady& red lady& or in the piece by 4ape* with robot one& robot

two& robot three> that is to say& depersonali#ed characters who createda certain atmosphere o criticism and polemics& e.pounding more or less re+olutionary ideas& etc$

(ot 6ran# oh what he called magical realism was simply paintingwhere real orms are combined in a way that does not conorm todaily reality$ nd on the co+er o the boo* appears the ;ouanier&ousseau's amous painting in which we see an rab sleeping

peaceully in the desert& a mandolin to one side& with a lion standingthere and a moon in the bac*ground> that is magical realism because itis an unrealistic image& impossible but i.ed there nonetheless$nother painter whom 6ran# oh li*ed +ery much and identiied asmagical realist was the painter Balthus& who painted perectly realisticstreets& stripped o all poetry and all interest houses without character&little roos& white walls and in the middle o those streets withoutatmosphere or air or anything to remind us o the lessons o theImpressionists& some enigmatic igures pass by each other without

spea*ing& engrossed in their di+erse& unrelated tas*s$ picture o astreet ull o people& and yet deserted or want o communicationamong them$ 6ran# oh also considered that 4hagall was a magicalrealist& with his painted cows lying through the s*y& don*eys onrootops& upside,down people& musicians among the clouds ,,elements o reality but transerred to a dreamli*e atmosphere& anoneiric atmosphere$

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s ar as )urrealism is concerned& we shouldn't orget that )urrealism pursued the mar+elous through boo*s and through preabricatedobjects$ Breton said in his maniesto -ll that is mar+elous is

beautiul& only the mar+elous is beautiul- Aowe+er& we must alsoremember that when Breton spo*e o the mar+elous& li*e 5errault& hedid not consider that the mar+elous was admirable because it was beautiul but because it was strange$ hen he cites the classics in his First Manifesto& or those that end up as )urrealist classics& he beginswith the totally macabre boo*& Loung Nights& ollowed by )wit& oneo the cruelest and most terrible writers produced by eighteenth,century :ngland& with the amous episode o the butcher shop thatsold the lesh o children$ %hen he spea*s o :dgar llan 5oe& who is

not always pleasant> on the contrary& he is oten necrophagous andmacabre$ Breton also spea*s o Baudelaire& who sang e"ually o carrion and women& who sang o the poor masses just as he sang o the in+itation to the +oyage or the immense sea> Jarry& cruelly polemic> oussel& and many others$

(ow then& i )urrealism pursued the mar+elous& one would ha+e tosay that it +ery rarely loo*ed or it in reality$ It is true that or the irst

time the )urrealists *new how to see the poetic orce o a windowdisplay or a mar*et& but more oten their abrication o the mar+elouswas premeditated$ %he painter who stood beore a can+as would say&-I'm going to ma*e a painting with strange elements that create amar+elous +ision- Lou ha+e all seen )urrealist painting and *now thatit is undoubtedly +ery successul painting& but on its can+asese+erything is premeditated and calculated to produce a sensation o strangeness> I would cite as a typical e.ample the sot cloc*s by)al+ador ;alí& those cloc*s made o tay dripping o+er the edge o a

terrace$ ?r else& that other can+as by a )urrealist painter that shows a perectly banal staircase with doors opening onto a hallway$ ?n thosestairs there is only one strange element$ %here is a visitor6 It is a sna*emeandering up the steps$ here is it going< hat is its purpose< (oone *nows$ mystery$ manufatured mystery$

?n the other hand& the mar+elous real that I deend and that is our ownmar+elous real is encountered in its raw state& latent and omnipresent&

in all that is @atin merican$ Aere the strange is commonplace& and

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always was commonplace$ %he stories o *nighthood were written in:urope but they were acted out in merica because e+en though thead+entures o madís o Gaul were written in :urope& it is Bernal

;ía# del 4astillo& who in The True !istor0 of the Con9uest of Ne+#2ain gi+es us the irst authentic chi+alric romance$ nd constantly ,,we must not orget this ,, the con"uerors saw +ery clearly aspects o the mar+elous real in merica> here I want to recall Bernal ;ía#'s phrase as he contemplates %enoch, titl!nQ e.ico 4ity or the irsttime and e.claims& in the middle o a page written in an absolutely baro"ue prose -e were all ama#ed and we said that these lands&temples and la*es were li*e the enchantments in the boo* o madís-Aere we ha+e the :uropean man in contact with the merican

mar+elous real$

Aow could merica be anything other than mar+elously real& i werecogni#e certain +ery interesting actors that must be ta*en intoaccount< %he con"uest o e.ico occurs in 1C1& when 6ran_ois Iruled 6rance$ ;o you *now how big the urban area o 5aris was under 6ran_ois I< %hirteen s"uare *ilometers$ In Garnier 3niversal Atlas& published less than one hundred years ago& we are told that the

metropolitan area o adrid was twenty *ilometers in 1889 and thatthe area o 5aris& capital o capitals& was eighty *ilometers$ henBernal ;ía# del 4astillo laid eyes or the irst time on the panorama o the city o %enochtitl!n& the capital o e.ico& the empire o onte#uma& it had an urban area o one hundred s"uare *ilometers ,,at a time when 5aris had only thirteen$ nd mar+eling at the sight& thecon"uerors encountered a dilemma that we& the writers o merica&would conront centuries later the search or the +ocabulary we needin order to translate it all$ I ind that there is something beautiully

dramatic& almost tragic& in a sentence written by Aern!n 4ortKs in hisCartas de elain O@etters rom e.ico P addressed to 4harles $ter attempting to tell the *ing what he has seen in e.ico& heac*nowledges that the )panish language is too narrow to identiy somany new things and says to 4harles -s I do not *now what tocall these things& I cannot e.press them- nd o the nati+e culture& hesays& -%here is no human tongue that can e.plain its grandeurs and peculiarities$- In order to understand and interpret this new world& a

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new +ocabulary was needed& not to mention ,, because you can't ha+eone without the other ,, a new optic$

?ur world is baro"ue because o its architecture ,, this goes withoutsaying ,, the unruly comple.ities o its nature and its +egetation& themany colors that surround us& the telluric pulse o the phenomena thatwe still eel$ %here is a amous letter written to a riend by Goethe inhis old age in which he describes the place near eimar where he plans to build a house& saying -)uch joy to li+e where nature hasalready been tamed ore+er- Ae couldn't ha+e written that in merica&where our nature is untamed& as is our history& a history o both themar+elous real and the strange in merica that maniests itsel in

occurrences li*e these that I'll recall "uic*ly$ =ing Aenri 4hristophe&rom Aaiti& a coo* who becomes the emperor o an island and who& belie+ing one ine day that (apoleon is going to recon"uer the island&constructs a abulous ortress where he and all o his dignitaries&ministers& soldiers& troops could resist a siege o ten years' duration$Inside& he stored enough merchandise and pro+isions to last ten yearsas an independent country 2I reer to the 4itadel o @a 6erri`re3$ Inorder that this ortress ha+e walls capable o resisting attac*s by the

:uropeans& he orders that the cement be mi.ed with the blood o hundreds o bulls$ %hat is mar+elous$ ac*andal's re+olt& whichma*es thousands and thousands o sla+es in Aaiti belie+e that he haslycanthropic powers& that he can change into a bird or a horse& a butterly& an insect& whate+er his heart desires$ )o he oments one o the irst authentic re+olutions o the (ew orld$ Benito Ju!re#'s little blac* carriage& in which he transports the whole nation o e.ico onour wheels o+er the country's roads& without an oice or a place towrite or a palace to rest& and rom that little carriage he manages to

deeat the three most powerul empires o the era$ Juana de #urduy&the prodigious Boli+ian guerrilla& precursor o our wars o independence& ta*es a city in order to rescue the head o the man shelo+ed& which was displayed on a pi*e in the ain 5la#a& and to whomshe had borne two sons in a ca+e in the ndes$ uguste 4omte& theounder o positi+ism& is worshiped e+en today in Bra#ilian churches$hile ousseau's 4mile ne+er led to the establishment o a :uropeanschool& )imUn odrigue# ounded a school in 4hu"uisaca based on

the principles o that amous boo*& thus accomplishing in merica

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what ousseau's admirers in :urope could not$ ?ne night inBarlo+ento I stumbled upon a popular poet named @adislao onterolawho didn't *now how to read or write but& when I as*ed him to recite

one o his compositions& ga+e me his own decasyllabic +ersion o theChanson de oland & the history o 4harlemagne and the peers o 6rance$ In our nineteenth,century history& there are many moreinteresting igures& secondary igures who lea+e minor )cottish *ingsli*e acbeth ar behind$ %here is a @atin merican dictator in themid, nineteenth century who& ater ha+ing had a brilliant start& alls prey to a phobia o betrayal and persecution and who systematicallygets rid o his most aithul ministers& his best generals& his relati+es&his brothers& his sisters and e+en his own mother& until only he

remains& absolutely alone& on the top o a mountain& surrounded by anarmy made up o the crippled& the aged& and children$ %his is a story&in my opinion& more e.traordinary than that o acbeth$ %here arealso the li+es o conspirators on this continent whose no+els ha+e notyet been written and who are much more interesting than conspiratorssuch as 5io Baroja's +iraneta$

I our duty is to depict this world& we must unco+er and interpret it

oursel+es$ ?ur reality will appear new to our own eyes$ ;escription isin, escapable& and the description o a baro"ue world is necessarily baro"ue& that is& in this case the +hat and the ho+ coincide in a baro"ue reality$ I cannot construct a so,called classical or academicdescription o an Qrbol de la vida rom ?a.aca$ I ha+e to create withmy words a baro"ue style that parallels the baro"ue o the temperate&tropical landscape$ nd we ind that this leads logically to a baro"uethat arises spontaneously in our literature$ odernist poetry is the irstgreat literary school that we oered to the world& and our odernismo

transormed )panish poetry in )pain& prooundly mar*ing the wor* o&say& alle Incl!n$ hat& then& is modernism& especially in its irststage& i not e.tremely baro"ue poetry< )uch is ;ario's entire early period$ nd there is also a baro"ue that reaches the absurd& becomingan e.cessi+e scrawl& as in the poetry o a Aerrera y eissig$ JosKartí& so direct& so elo"uent& so e.plicit in his political discourse&when he lets his pen go and writes or pure pleasure& as he did in theanthropological study he dedicated to 4harles ;arwin's memory& we

ha+e a mar+elous e.ample o baro"ue style$ Ais undamental essay&

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-?ur merica&- where all o the problems o merica are deined inew pages& is also a mar+elous e.ample o baro"ue style$ %he wor*sthat taught my generation ,, The &orte/ %a vorQgine U with which

you are all amiliar ,, are perennially baro"ue$ nd how could The&orte/ be otherwise when the jungle is nothing i not baro"ue< Ihardly need to mention that Umulo Gallegos ' Canaima is a baro"ueno+el$ %here are& or e.ample& descriptions o lowing water inCanaima& water leaping rom waterall to waterall& mo+ing rom one pool to another& water that jumps& lows bac*ward& inter, mingles$%here is a masterul page where he spea*s o unna+igable ri+ers inmotion& o water that is perpetually becoming& constantly urious& burst, ing& rising& destructi+e ,, one o the most admirable baro"ue

pages e+er to low rom the pen o that great ene#uelan no+elist$4ompare the water o Gallegos to the water that 5aul alKry paints or us in %e CimetiVre marin #easide Cemeter0U calm& harmonious& peaceul& tame water$ Gi+en what he sees& Gallegos is baro"ue& andthe most baro"ue o his no+els is& in my opinion& Canaima& becauseit's a matter o e.pressing a baro"ue world$

sturias& writing rom the thirties to the ities more or less& orms a

lin* between Gallegos' generation and mine$ In sturias& the inluenceo the o2ol &uh& the boo*s o Chilam $alam, and the Boo* o the4achi*eles is a constant$ ll great mythologies& the great cosmogonieso the new continent& inspire the images in his prose$

%he baro"ue that you are amiliar with in the contemporary @atinmerican no+el& which is oten called the -new no+el&- or the -boom-,, and the -boom&- as I ha+e said beore& is not a concrete thing nor does it deine anything ,, is the result o a generation o no+elists still

ali+e today who are producing wor*s that translate the scope o merica rom its cities to its jungles and ields in a wholly baro"ueashion$

s ar as the mar+elous real is concerned& we ha+e only to reach outour hands to grasp it$ ?ur contemporary history presents us withstrange occurrences e+ery day$ %he mere act that the irst socialistre+olution on the continent should occur in the country least li*ely tosustain a re+olution ,, I say -least li*elyin the geographical sense ,,

is a strange e+ent in contemporary history& a strange e+ent added to

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many strange e+ents that& to our credit& ha+e occurred in mericanhistory rom the 4on"uest to the present& and with magniicent results$But aced with strange e+ents that await us in that world o the

mar+elous real& we must not gi+e up and say& as Aern!n 4ortKs said tohis monarch -s I do not *now what to call these things& I cannote.press them- %oday& we *now the names o these things& the orms o these things& the te.ture o these things> we *now where our internaland e.ternal enemies are$ e ha+e orged a language appropriate tothe e.pression o our realities& and the e+ents that await us will indthat we& the no+elists o @atin merica& are the witnesses& historians&and interpreters o our great @atin merican reality$ e ha+e preparedoursel+es or this& we ha+e studied our classics& our authors& and our

history$ In order to e.press our moment in merica& we ha+e soughtand ound our maturity$ e will be the classics o an enormous baro"ue world that still holds the most e.traordinary surprises or usand or the world$

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Magical Realism8Comprehension 9uestions

1$ (ame the main eatures o magical realism$

13 %he te.t contains an -irreducible element- o magic& somethingwe cannot e.plain according to the laws o the uni+erse as we*now them$ Irreducible magic oten means disruption o theordinary logic o cause and eect$ In the light o re+ersals o logicand irreducible elements o magic& the real as we *now it may bemade to seem ama#ing or e+en ridiculous$ %his is oten becausethe reactions o ordinary people to these magical e+ents re+eal beha+iors that we recogni#e and that disturb us$

C3 ;escriptions detail a strong presence o the phenomenal world

,this is the realism in magical realism& distinguishing it rom muchantasy and allegory& and it appears in se+eral ways$ ealisticdescriptions create a ictional world that resembles the one we li+ein& in many instances by e.tensi+e use o detail$ ?n the one hand&the attention to the sensory detail in this transormation representsa continuation& a renewal o the realistic tradition$ But on the other hand& since in magical realist iction& in addition to magical e+entsor phenomena& the best magical realist iction entices us with

entrancing ,, magic ,, details& the magical nature o those detailsis a clear departure rom realism$ %he detail is reed& in a sense&rom a traditionally mimetic role to a greater e.tent than it has been beore$ the material world is present in all its detailed andconcrete +ariety as it is in realism ,, but with se+eral dierences&one o them being that objects may ta*e on li+es o their own and become magical in that way$

D3 %he reader may hesitate 2at one point or another3 between twocontradictory understandings o e+ents ,, and hence e.periencessome unsettling doubts$ uch o magical realism is thusencompassed by %#+etan %odoro+'s well,*nown ormulation o the antastic as e.isting during a story when a reader hesitates between the uncanny& where an e+ent is e.plainable according tothe laws o the natural uni+erse as we *now it& and the mar+elous&which re"uires some alteration in those laws$ But this is a diicultmatter because many +ariations e.ist> this hesitation disturbs theirreducible element& which is not always so easily percei+ed as

such$ nd some readers in some cultures will hesitate less than

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others$ %he reader's primary doubt in most cases is betweenunderstanding an e+ent as a character's hallucination or as amiracle

3 e e.perience the closeness or near,merging o two realms& twoworlds$ e might say& as A$ 5$ ;uerr does in his (reamtime& thatin many o these te.ts -perhaps you are aware that seeing ta*es place only i you smuggle yoursel in between worlds& the worldo ordinary people and that o the witches$- %he magical realist+ision e.ists at the intersection o two worlds& at an imaginary point inside a double,sided mirror that relects in both directions$6luid boundaries between the worlds o the li+ing and the dead aretraced only to be crossed in many magical realist wor*s$

3 %hese ictions "uestion recei+ed ideas about time& space& andidentity$C$ ention the secondary eatures o magical realist te.ts$

213 etaictional dimensions are common in contemporary magicalrealism the te.ts pro+ide commentaries on themsel+es& otencomplete with occasional mises,en,abyme ,, those miniatureemblematic te.tual selportraits$ %hus the magical power o iction itsel& the capacities o mind that ma*e it possible& and the

elements out o which it is made ,, signs& images& metaphors&narrators& narratees ,, may be oregrounded$2C3 %he reader may e.perience a particular *ind o +erbal magic ,, a

closing o the gap between words and the world& or ademonstration o what we might call the linguistic nature o e.perience$ %his magic happens when a metaphor is made realwe oten say that blood is thic*er than water& or e.ample& andsure enough& in One !undred "ears of #olitude& when JosKrcadio Buendía shoots himsel& a tric*le o his blood -came outunder the door&$$$went out into the street&$$$went down steps andclimbed o+er curbs&$$$turned a corner to the right and another tothe let&- and once inside the Buendía house& hugged the walls -soas not to stain things&- and came out in his mother /rsula's*itchen$

2D3 %he narrati+e appears to the late, twentieth,century adult readersto which it is addressed as resh& childli*e& e+en primiti+e$onders are recounted largely without comment& in a matter,o,

act way& accepted as a child would accept them& without undue

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"uestioning or relection> they thus achie+e a *ind o deamiliari#ation that appears to be natural or artless$

23 epetition as a narrati+e principle& in conjunction with mirrors or

their analogues used symbolically or structurally& creates a magico shiting reerences$23 etamorphoses are a relati+ely common e+ent 2though not as

common as one might thin*3$2H3 any o these te.ts ta*e a position that is antibureaucratic& and so

they oten use their magic against the established social order$23 In magical realist narrati+e& ancient systems o belie and local

lore oten underlie the te.t$283 s )eymour enton has pointed out& a Jungian rather than a

6reudian perspecti+e is common in magical realist te.ts> that is&the magic may be attributed to a mysterious sense o collecti+erelatedness rather than to indi+idual memories or dreams or +isions$

293 carni+ales"ue spirit is common in this group o no+els$@anguage is used e.tra+agantly& e.pending its resources beyondits reerential needs$D$ ho coined the term \magical realism<

%he German art critic 6ran# oh& who in 19C coined the term to-describe the aspect o (eue )achlich*eit characteri#ed by sharp,ocusdetail> in later criticism the term has been used to co+er +arious typeso painting in which objects are depicted with photographic naturalism but which because o parado.ical elements or strange ju.tapositionscon+ey a eeling o unreality& inusing the ordinary with a sense o mystery$-

$ )pea* about lejo 4arpentier +iew o lo real maravilloso

Ameriano$4arpentier coined the term lo real maravilloso ameriano to describea -magic- reality not created by the imagination or projected rom thesubconscious but inherent in the myths and superstitions o non,:uropean populations and in the +ery topography o the mericas$%hus& magic realism rather ampliies the parameters o our presentreality

$ ention at least i+e magic realist authors and te.ts$Gabriel García !r"ue#& One !undred "ears of #olitude& lejo

4arpentier The Kingdom of this World, Jorge @uis Borges

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Realism magic 2007.doc

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