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Copyright by Elizabeth Anne García-Guajardo 2012 The Dissertation Committee for Elizabeth Anne García-Guajardo Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Secularization of the Divine in fin de siglo Mexico: Religion and Modernity in Prose Works by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, Federico Gamboa, and Amado Nervo Committee: Hector Domínguez-Ruvalcaba, Supervisor Naomi Lindstrom Jill Robbins César Salgado Alexandra Wettlaufer The Secularization of the Divine in fin de siglo Mexico: Religion and Modernity in Prose Works by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, Federico Gamboa, and Amado Nervo by Elizabeth Anne García-Guajardo, B.F.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May, 2012 Dedication In loving memory of Lucinda García-Vassell, la Lucinda del mundo . Acknowledgements Le debo mi más profundo agradecimiento al supervisor de mi tesis Héctor Domínguez Ruvalcaba por su apoyo inquebrantable a lo largo de este proyecto. Sus seminarios sobre la teoría queer y el modernismo me sirvieron de una base fundamental para mi investigación y mis lecturas de los textos. A Naomi Lindstrom le agradezco su buena disposición de leer versiones preliminares de algunos capítulos. Sus comentarios me eran imprescindibles. A Jill Robbins y a César Salgado les doy gracias por su participación en mi comité y por sus comentarios sabios y acertados sobre mi trabajo. En plus, je voudrais remercie Alexandra Wettlaufer pour avoir partagé son expertise sur la littérature française . Además, los intercambios con mis colegas en el departamento han contribuido bastante a mi desarrollo intelectual. Les agradezco especialmente a Alanna Breen ( my fairy god-daughter ), Rebeca Castellanos, María Cavazos, Cuitlahuac Chávez, Meredith Clark, Medardo de la Cruz, Rocío del Águila, Karla González, Memoria James, Belinda Mora García, Adriana Pacheco, Verónica Ríos, Rachel Showstack, Scott Spinks, y Omar Vargas. Finally, I send out my appreciation to family and friends near and far who have lent moral support at various times during this endeavor, especially my parents, Chet and Elda García, Robert Carnaghi, Ken Rose, Judy McCarver, Marla Koosed, Kandi Ash, Richard Ribb, Ramsey Wiggins, Jane Barnholdt, Charla Patton, Candace Smith, Nazrul Islam, and my dear friend and spiritual advisor Anne Osburn. v The Secularization of the Divine in fin de siglo Mexico: Religion and Modernity in Prose Works by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, Federico Gamboa, and Amado Nervo Publication No._____________ Elizabeth Anne García-Guajardo, PhD The University of Texas at Austin, 2012 Supervisor: Hector Domínguez-Ruvalcaba Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine literary representations of religiosity and the spiritual realm in late nineteenth-century Mexico, in prose works by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera (1859-1895), Federico Gamboa (1864-1939), and Amado Nervo (1870- 1919). Through an analysis of selected texts by these authors, I will explore how they articulated the Roman Catholicism that permeated their cultural context, amid the processes of modernization. I will also show how they expressed subjective spiritual experiences, independent of the doctrinal precepts of the Church. All three of these writers devoted attention to the pervasive religiosity of their milieu, and wrestled with the question regarding the relevance of the Church in modernity. However, each one presents vi a distinct vision for the role that institutional religion should play. Each of these authors also portrays his own individual experiences of the metaphysical realm. Part One is based on an analysis of selected articles, chronicles, and short stories by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera. This author utilizes the modernista aesthetic of the era to transform the religious impulse into subjective expressions of the Divine. In this regard, he presents a secular form of spirituality, although his texts often contain undertones of a lingering Catholicism. Part Two addresses the tension between religious orthodoxy and modernity in three novels by Federico Gamboa, narratives that reflect the author’s close adherence to Church dictates. In these stories the protagonists often come into conflict with the prevailing religious discourse that attempts to thwart their autonomy. Yet the narratives ultimately reaffirm and uphold Catholic values. In Part Three of this study I turn my attention to a selection of articles, chronicles, short stories, and novellas by Amado Nervo, the most spiritually inclined of the three authors. His early novellas present similar themes as Gamboa’s novels regarding the interference of the Church in the lives of the characters. However, Nervo’s later texts reveal that he did not feel compelled to remain within the limits of Church doctrine. Instead, he follows Nájera’s lead in exploring alternative perspectives of the Divine, such as spiritualist practices and the other religious traditions. vii Contents List of Illustrations ...................................................................................................... x Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Historical Context of Church and State in Mexico .............................................. 4 Political and Cultural Modernity in Mexico ........................................................ 9 Modernity of the Porfirian Literati ..................................................................... 15 PART I. MANUEL GUTIERREZ NAJERA : SECULARIZATION OF THE DIVINE ............. 27 Chapter 1. El arte por el arte versus el arte comprometido ..................................... 32 Artistic Creation and the Divine ........................................................................ 34 Realism and Humanitarian Concerns ................................................................. 50 Changing Role of Religion in Modernity .......................................................... 61 Chapter 2. Transcending the Materialism of Porfirian Society ........................... 72 Communication with the Spirits......................................................................... 75 Mystic Religious Experiences ............................................................................ 85 Transcendence of Music .................................................................................... 90 PART II. FEDERICO GAMBOA : MODERNITY AND RELIGIOUS ORTHODOXY .......... 102 Chapter 3. The Sacred and the Profane in Metamorfosis .................................... 107 The Church in the Urban Center ...................................................................... 108 Gendered Identities of Virtue and Sin .............................................................. 112 The Virgin/Whore Dichotomy of Feminine Identity ....................................... 119 Chapter 4. The Christian Mystic Path in Santa ................................................... 131 Virtue and Sexuality of Santa .......................................................................... 132 The Masculine Divine ...................................................................................... 141 The Mystic Redemption of Santa ..................................................................... 148 viii Chapter 5. Art, Religion, and Nationalist Concerns in Reconquista .................. 156 Secularization and the Modernista Aesthetic ................................................... 158 The Role of Women in Salvador’s Reconversion ............................................ 168 Religiosity and Creativity ................................................................................ 172 PART III. AMADO NERVO : CATHOLICISM , MYSTICISM , AND BEYOND .................. 182 Chapter 6. The Church in the Provinces ............................................................... 187 Religion and Transgression in “Pascual Aguilera” .......................................... 188 Eroticism and the Divine .................................................................................. 201 Mysticism and Eroticism in “El Bachiller” ...................................................... 207 Chapter 7. The Mystic Nervo in the Urban Center ............................................. 226 The Church in Porfirian Society ...................................................................... 229 Alternative Perspectives on the Metaphysical Realm ...................................... 242 Spiritualism and the Urban Intellectual in “El donador de almas” .................. 253 Cosmopolitan Esoteric Trends ................................................................ 254 Catholic Millenarianism and Mexican Spiritualism ............................... 258 Fluid Categories of Gender and Sexuality .............................................. 263 Metaphysical Philosophy ........................................................................ 267 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 273 Works Cited ............................................................................................................. 277 Vita .......................................................................................................................... 291 ix List of Illustrations Figure 1.1: La Pia de’ [sic] Tolomei , Dante