RICE UNIVERSITY
GUSTAVO SAINZ* AN ANALYSIS OF
OBSESIVOS DIAS CIRCULARES
by
Dorothy Farrington Caram
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
Thesis directors signaturet
Houston, Texas
April, 1974 ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to analyze Obsesivos días circulares, the second novel written by the young
Mexican novelist, Gustavo Sainz, while he was writer-in- residence at the State University of Iowa for the academic year, 1968-69.
Gustavo Sainz has stated frequently in interviews that he wrote Obsesivos días circulares as a novel inten¬ ded for an "elite” type of reader and not for the general masses. This ‘'elite” reader is one who does not read novels solely for entertainment, but chiefly as an intel¬ lectual challenge) one who views the novel as an aesthetic object complete unto itself.
In order to meet this intellectual challenge and to show how Sainz has structured his world, this investigation analyzes Obsesivos días circulares with particular attention to the structure of the narrator and the world content.
The structure of the narrator in this contemporary novel is very complex despite the fact that at first view it would seem to present a first person dramatized narrator-protagon¬ ist. Sainz, being highly conversant with the techniques of
Henry James, Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, and his own mentor, James Joyce, has written a novel in which all the dialogues and descriptions are presented in streams of con¬ sciousness, in interior monologues, or in letters, with ample instances of flashback, automatic writing, montage, and oneiric descriptions. He has assembled quotes from many literary sources, gathered clippings from newspapers» reproduced posters» and employed cinematographic references.
The world content of the novel is derived from the cosmos of its language; the purpose of the author is to create a novel in which language at first is quite coherent» but gradually and systematically is decomposed until only one graphic sign remains. The characters» their perception and experiences of the world, the levels of reality, settings, motifs, and motivations are so structured that the reader is always conscious of the importance of languages a language of psychic phenomena not of physical reality.
Nevertheless, when the world content is presented in its full physical reality (organized into rational, lineal spacial-temporal components), the sensation of living in the
Mexico City of the late 1960 *s emerges vividly with its multitude of everyday situations and problemss street traffic subway construction, water, educational and moral-ethical debates, entertainment and cultural happenings, and especially political and criminal elements—all of it scrutinized in the light of a brilliant irony. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank not only my thesis director, Dr. Joan
Rea Green, for her patience, support, and guidance, but also
Dr. Maria Teresa Leal de Martinez and Professor Antonio Gila for the^considerable time that they have all devoted to the direction of this thesis.
My thanks to the other faculty and staff members of the
Spanish Department for their encouragement} to Dr. George G.
Williams of the English Department for his suggestions; and also to the staff of the Rice University Library, especially
Mr. Steve Strange and Mr. John Garcia, for their help in obtaining material pertinent to the analysis.
I would like ..to thank Miss Lynn Niswander, Mrs. Howard
Christian, and Mrs. Bob Cayard for typing this thesis.
Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Barney Winkier for their care¬ ful proofreading.
With great admiration I add my appreciation to Gustavo
Sainz and his wife, Rosita, for the assistance they so freely have given me and also for the friendship they have extended me.
I dedicate this thesis to my husband,' Pedro Caram, M.D.;
our four sons, Pedro, Juan, Hector and José; my mother,’ Elena
Farrington; my understanding relatives and friends; and to the memory of my father, Curtis L. Farrington. CONTENTS
Introduction • •••••••••• 1
Chapter It The structure of the narrator • •••••• 15
Chapter II i The world content «42
A. Fable...... 42
Q. Sujet ••••••••••••••46
C. Levels of reality. •••••• • • 73
Conclusion. . •••••••••••• 96
Bibliography* • ••••••••••••••• 98
Appendices, ••••••••• 104
of Gustavo Sainz •••••••••• i
of Gustavo Sainz. •••••••• vi
of letters, ••••••••••• viii III,ReproductionIV,GlossaryII.BibliographyI,Biographyof References • • • • xiv INTRODUCTION
Susan Sontag,^ attempting to describe the young con¬ temporary novelist’s sensibility in relation to the cul¬ tural phenomena of the twentieth century, agrees with
Marshall McLuhan2 that man is now living in a period of profound and bewildering historical change. Humanity is witnessing the creation of a new sensibility, which, through a succession of technological and scientific achievements, has extended human capacity and experience. Life itself has been accelerated as seen not only in the vast popula¬ tion explosion and in the social and physical mobility of man, but also in the speed of images, both visual and acous¬ tic, that man receives through such media as the telegraph, telephone, television, radio and cinema. Art, so often mimetic in nature, also has changed in its function and
’’today is a new kind of instrument, an instrument for modi¬ fying consciousness and organizing new modes of sensibility..
These modes of sensibility are made universal through the mass reproduction of the arts. No longer can the arts be ¿L “privileged means of perception for the few," rather, the arts have become the means of reflecting the total environ¬ ment that is universal to all mankind.
As a form of art, the contemporary novel continues to 2
turn its mirror towards human nature. However, the mirror is now shattered, reflecting the multifaceted existence of contemporary life. The kosmos, as the world of the novel¬ ist, ^ has been expanded by modern technology to include as valid settings the outer limits of space and the depths of the ocean, as well as the darkest reaches of the labyrinth of man's subconsciousness.
Such master writers as Henry James, H.G. Wells,
William Faulkner, André Gide, and Alain Robe-Grillet have not hesitated to incorporate into the novelistic art the innovative techniques found in other art forms such as the cinema (with its montage, zoom lens, flashbacks, etc.), op art (with its mixture of alien textures, superimposed perspectives, and light-color effects), and most of all music, including the music of many periods and cultures,
(with its rhythms, tones, themes and leitmotifs).^ Decid¬ edly there is a movement in fiction towards an acoustical perception of the world. Language is not only an essential ingredient of the novel, it has become its basic theme and function. Words are once more regarded as possessing
"magical powers" which directly evoke an object. The sym¬ bolist poets in the late nineteenth century discovered the acoustic space of auditory imagination and influenced the formation of the twentieth century literature.
James Joyce was very much a part of the cultural 3
phenomena that occurred when the huge shift in the geogra¬ phy of perception and feeling caused a breakthrough from g the visual world into the acoustic world. Joyce wrote prose like a poet and was fascinated by the possibility of language giving multiple dimensions to his work. His experi¬ ences with rhythm and sound transmuted his prose into melo¬ dic variations,- and also pointed the direction that the future novelists would take. Carlos Fuentes, in his book of essays, Casa con dos -puertas.- synthesizes the revolution, evolution and involution of the contemporary novel created by Joycei
...en el corazón de su obra,1 en Ulises... se despliega el arco del lenguaje por encima de las nomenclaturas sociales, sociológicas e ideológicas agotadas! el discurso poético sustituye a la descripción realista, el tiempo a la cronología, el espacio silmutaneo al espacio frontal, la taxonomia y el calambur al léxico, la escritura referencial a la escritura ideal, la contaminación a la pureza,* la ambiva¬ lencia yQla polivalencia a la univocidad ra¬ cional. °
For many years the cultural formation of literary specialists in Latin America has been accomplished by either a residency in Europe or the United States. Euro¬ pean ideas and techniques were adopted and effectively combined with nationalistic themes to reflect the social- political-economic crises experienced in all the Latin
American countries throughout this country.
Latin American poets were the first to gain inter¬ national recognition * beginning with Rubén Dario's modernism. 4
Vicente Huidobro's creationism and gaining momentum with
such men as Borges, Neruda and Octavio Paz. Octavio Paz
is joined by other contemporary poets such as José
Gorostiza, Xavier Villarrutia and Salvador Novo, in extend¬
ing the meaning of the alienation of modem man by defining
it as a "nostalgia del espacio".^ Universal history is now considered a common taskf El laberinto de la soledad
is about all of humanity and isi "un punto de partida hacia la comunicación, la comunión y la comunidad."1^-
Communication and the acknowledgement "that language
offers the writer an opportunity to apprehend the totality
of human existence, to integrate the individual with life,
to close the separation between intellect and feeling,"^ has been emphasized in the Latin American novels especially
since the appearance of Agustin Yañez's Al filo del agua
in 19^7* The novel, as it has moved away from naturalism, has experimented more and more with linguistic structure, under the influence of Joyce, and made revolutionary uses
of the latest narrative techniques such as Faulkner's super¬
imposed temporal-spacial slabs and cinematographic artistry.
Recently a group of young novelists from the so-called
"vanguardia" followed Cortazar's lead in writing novels which subordinate plot to language in an attempt to elimi¬ nate a conventional "objective reality" or "use it only as a pretext for games and verbal distortions! writing novels 5
that want to make fun of the very concept of the novel.
Among these writers are the Argentineans, Manuel Puig
(La traición de Rita Hayworth. 1968, Boquitas pintadas.
1968) and Néstor Sánchez (Siberia Blues. 1967); the Cubans,
Severo Sarduy (De donde son los cantantes. 1967) and
Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Tres tristes tigres. 1967); and the Mexicans 1 Vincente Leñero (El garabato. 1967)* Salvador
Elizondo (Farabeuf. 1965* El hipogeo secreto. 1968), and
Gustavo Sainz (Gazapo. 1965» Obsesivos días circulares. 1969).
In a recent study, dedomil Goicf,1^ the noted Chilean critic and scholar, analyzes these "novissimi narrators*'^ and finds that they have the following aspects in common 1
1. A desire to present the world of youth and young adulthood 2. The indetermination of “reality” 3. The use of trivial and familiar data that acquire surprising qualities 4. The world as a never completed cosmos 5. Vague characterizations 6. Temporal indeterminism expressed through juxtaposition, "bricolages", oscillations and anacolutha 7. Musical but dissonant narrative disposition with recurrent motifs 8. Carefully formulated linguistic structures 9. Colloquial language with ample use of dialogue^
The production of these young novelists as stated by Gofci
...se configura dentro de la conciencia de la irrealidad del mundo narrado, de la esencial imaginariedad de la creación novelística.... Son también modos de expresión de la fragmentación del mundo, del rechazo del individuo sobre sí mismo en un reducto de aislamiento y crítica 6
soledad, de su aspiración por conquistar la madurez o la seguridad, a fin de cuentas, de integrarse a lo humano. 17
Among the numerous, talented and individualistic writers in Mexico today, Gustavo Sainz is considered the leader of the young intellectuals,^-® "who write a type of narrative that rejects and denounces the established way
of life. "^-9 jn first novel, Gazapo, (which was par¬ tially written with a scholarship from the Centro Mexicano de Escritores (1962-63) with the title Los perros jóvenes^).
Gustavo Sainz focuses on the world of the adolescents in
Mexico city*
...es la novelización de las inquietudes de un grupo de adolescentes de la clase media mexicana, de la Ciudad de México, a mitad de los sesenta. Una suerte de picaresca urbana, de costumbrismo c ontemporáne o.¿1
Conscious of the absence in the Mexican literary scene of
this type of novel,** Sainz saw the opportunity of filling
this void with an experimental work, one that breaks in its
structure and style, with all the previous narrations of
such renowned Mexican novelists as Agustín Yáñez, Juan Rulfo and Carlos Fuentes.2-^ By utilizing many of the stylistic
tricks of the vanguardist European prose, such as the inclu¬
sion of diaries, telephone conversations, letters, and the tape recorder, multiple perspectives are given of a single action; and by the use of the aggressive, but authentic lan¬ guage of a certain segment of the population of Mexico, 7
Gazapo became one of the most widely read novels ever written in Mexico. It is now in its sixth edition, has been translated into nine languages, and will soon be filmed 24 under the author's direction. Carlos Fuentes, highly regarded and respected by the new wave of Mexican novelists for his universality, claims that Gazapo "es una negación de la 'realidad' 'revolucion¬ aria e institucional' de México".2^ Fuentes includes Sainz among the international novelists who*
...no se han evadido de su compromiso real con la imaginación y la palabra* porque, en suma, han escrito novelas y al hacerlo han debido crear un lenguaje que, por nutrirse del todo, corroe y subvierte los lenguajes de la Nada sobre los que se yergue el poder político en nuestros días.26
However, Fuentes also recognizes that one of the important features of the language of Gazapo is the sentimental irony of its humor.2^ Sainz is able to communicate this humor because he has written about a period of life not far removed from his own? he wrote Gazapo before he reached his twenty- fourth birthday.2^
Four years elapsed before Sainz published his second novel, Obsesivos días circulares. During this time he not only worked on this new novel, but he continued to write short stories, literary and cinema reviews, design book covers and teach classes in creative writing. He also wrote two autobiographies, Autobiografía* Gustavo Sainz* nuevos 8
escritores mexicanos del siglo xx presentados por sí mismo and Autorretratos con amigos.^0
Never failing to recognize that a novelist must be dedicated to his art, he voraciously reads literary works in their original English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and
German (with the assistance of his wife, Rosita, a librarian 31 and scholar), and attends the cinema at least ten times a week. V/hen asked in a recent interview v/hich sources he considered most stimulating to his intellectual growth, he replied*
Bueno, pues de todo ¿no? Como intelectual quiero ser un testigo desairado de mi época. Soy un cinéfilo infatigable, un profesor jactancioso, un lector fanático. Leo a despecho de la sociabili¬ dad. Es decir, no acostumbro hacer reuniones, nunca voy a fiestas, tengo muy pocos amigos, no recibo visitas, no fumo, no bebo, nunca voy a coc- téles, en fin, gozo una vida administrada para cumplirla o fatigarla en favor de la lectura, en favor del conocimiento....Mi educación sentimen¬ tal y estética se nutre de la fotografía, las his¬ torietas, el cine, los diseños industriales, la danza, la música popular, la arquitectura, la escultura moderna, las artes de la palabra, en fin...32
After applying numerous times to the Centro Mexicano de Escritores for a second scholarship and each time being 33 denied any aid, ^ the Ford Foundation awarded Sainz a grant that enabled him to attend the International Writing Program for 1968-69 at the University of Iowa. This grant gave
Sainz the necessary uninterrupted time to complete Obsesivos días circulares, his second novel and the one in which he 9
develops universal themesi "...common sensations...
solitude, oppression or anything that harasses modem man."^ However, the main significance of this novel lies not in the theme, nor in its structure, nor in its myths, but in its language, for it is primarily a novel of lan¬ guage. As Emir Rodríguez Monegal notesi
La novela usa la palabra no para decir algo en particular sobre el mundo extra literario, sino para transformar la realidad lingüística misma de la narración. Esa transformación es lo que la novela "dice", y no lo que suele discutirse in extenso cuando se habla de una novelai trama personajes, anécdota, mensaje, denuncia, pro¬ testa, como si la novela fuera "la” realidad y no una creación verbal paralela...el tema del lenguaje como lugar (espacio y tiempo) en que realmente ocurre la novela. El lenguaje como la "realidad" única y final de la novela.35
For many critics, including Walter M. Langford,
Obsesivos días circulares is "a strange, involved and un¬
satisfying work" because by the intricacies of its lan¬ guage, it restricts its communication to a small "elite"
of readers.^ Sainz, himself, has always said that he never
intended that his novels be understood by the great masses.
His novels are directed to an international elite of readers, who have read more or less the same literature as he, and who have the same cultural interests.^ In Sainz's own wordsi
En Obsesivos la meta está diluida. Es una novela de lenguaje. Es una novela en la cual no hay anécdota a la cual aferrarse. El lector se siente continuamente rechazado; así ésta no puede ser popular. Es pues, exclusiva para un lector especializado en novelas. No está pen¬ sada para entretener. Es para el lector que 10
goza de libros como Tiempo de silencio o Paradiso o Tres tristes tigres. Yo creo que 3a literatura latinoamericana contemporánea es muy afín, es la literatura más difícil del mundo ahora...porque los escritores han tomado conciencia clara—muy distinta que la que tenían escritores de 20 años para atrás—, de que la literatura no es para el gran público, de que la literatura, como la política, es para la inteli¬ gencia; o sea, para el grupo en el poder—que de alguna manera son los estudiantes también—.™
Sainz joins other contemporary Latin American novelists in saying that language offers the writer the opportunity to apprehend the totality of human existence, to integrate the individual with life, and to close the separation between intellect and feeling. ^ He represents a cultural break with the historic and literary past of Mexico; but at the same time, he embodies vividly and actively the role of the young contemporary novelist in relation to the cultural phenomena of the twentieth century. He recognizes with ¿LQ McLuhan that the medium is the message", and he continues to write novels, not because he was bom to be a novelist,' but because as another Mexican novelist once wrotei
No se sigue la vocación de escribir—de la que
todavía puede decirse lo que dijo Larra, que, . en países como los nuestros es sinónimo de llorar— con la esperanza de alcanzar prestigio, riqueza, popularidad. Los móviles han de ser de otro or¬ den. La urgencia de aprehender la realidad y expresarla en formas estáticas puede ser uno, y muy fuerte. El imperative moral de denuncia, otro. Y, acaso, el afán de sobrevivir en una página, rodeados de todo lo que hemos amado, de todo lo que nos ha sido intolerable y doloroso. De lo que nos sublevó y de lo que nos apaciguó. Asidos a ese relámpago momentáneo a cuya luz 11
sorprendimos la belleza, el orden, la ley, y el sentido del mundo y de nuestra propia vida...4l
The purpose of this study is to analyze Obsesivos días circulares with particular attention toi
1. the structure of the narrator
2. the world content, specifically* levels of reality,
time narrative sequence, leitmotifs, motivations,
settings and the character's perception and expe- 42 riences of the world in which he moves.
This detailed analysis shows how Sainz "capta el mundo dinámico, anárquico, y sentimental de la juventud actual, fundiendo preocupciones lingüísticas, literarias, políticas y sociales"*^ in a "spacial novel".^ 12
NOTES
i Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation and Other Essays. (New Yorks Laurel Edition, Dell Publishing Co., Inc.,190lV
p Marshall McLuhan, Counterblast. (New Yorks Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc.,1969).
•^Sontag, op. cit., p. 297. 4 McLuhan,op.cit. ,p.32.
^René Wellek and Austin Warren, Theory of Literature. (New Yorks Harcourt, Brace and World,1956),p.214.
McLuhan, op.cit.,p.10} José Luis Merino's unpublished interview of Gustavo Sainz (1972), statess "Pero en la música contemporánea el escritor aprende muchas otras cosas. Desde la noción de obra abierta en Berio o Boulez, hasta un nuevo lenguaje, 'el único lenguaje revolucionario que nos queda hoy' según Marcuse en las canciones de Bob Dylan".p.11.
7Ibid. ,p.H0. 8Ibid..p.lll.
^Carlos Fuentes, Casa con dos puertas. (Mexicoi Joaquín Mortiz,1970),p.60.
■*'0Ramon Xirau, "Crisis del realismo", America Latina en su literatura, ed. César Fernández Moreno. (Mexicoi UNESCO, siglo XXI Editores S.A.,1972),p.195. 11Ibid.,p.195. 1? Raymond D. Souza, "Language Structure in the contemporary Spanish American Novel,"Hispania, LII, No.4. (December 1969)» p.839.
^José Miguel Oviedo. "Una discusión permanente", América Latina en su literatura,' ed. César Fernández Moreno. (UNESCO, Siglo XXI Editores S.A., 1972),p.436.
^¿edomil Goié, Historia de la novela hispanoamericana. (Valparaiso, ChilelEdiciones Universitarias del Valparaiso, 1972), pp.275-278. 13
15Ibid.,p.275.
•^Ibid. ,pp.275-279» the paraphrasing is my own. 1?Ibid.,pp.277-278.
. ^Valter M. Langord, The Mexican Novel Comes of Age. (Notre Dame* University of Notre Dame Press,1972),p.203.
^Luis Leal, "Contemporary Mexican Novel and Short Story", Contemnorary' Latin American Literature, ed. Harvey L. Johnson and Philip B. Taylor, Jr.(Houston* Latin American Studies Committee, Office of International Affairs, University of Houston,1973)»P«^3• 20 Hugo Covantes, "Entrevista con Gustavo Sainzi Gazapo, los problemas del escritor y la literatura mexicana." Mexico en la cultura. No. 874, (December 19» 19^5)»p.5* Sainz saysi "Al terminar el año entregué un libro que se llama Los perros .jóvenes y que no tiene nada que ver con Gazapo, pero es algo así como el pasado de sus personajes* Menelao, Gisela, Vulvo y Mauricio". 21 Carlos Cortínez, "Los obsesivos días de Gustavo Sainz1 entrevista especial para PEC, desde Iowa City, Iowa, E.E.U.U." PEC, No. 323 (March 7. 19^57»pp.25-27. 22 Prohibido Prohibir, "Entrevista con Gustavo Sainz, La novela en serio, dificil, va a desaparecer", (México* n.d.),p.10.
^Emmanuel Carballo, "Gustavo Sainz; Una obra que rompe la manera mexicana de novelar," "La cultura en Me'xico", Siempre No. 203, (February 23» 1966)»p.3*
24 • Alejandro Anceaga, "Gustavo Sainz habla de Gazapo. Obsesivos días circulares y de otras cosas que ustedes leerán." El sol de Toluca, (June 29» 1970)»p.4.
^Carlos Fuentes, Casa con dos puertas, op.cit,,p.83. ^loc.cit.
271 Carlos Fuentes, La nueva novela hispanoamericana, (México* Cuadernos de Joaquín Mortiz, 1969)»P*30. 2 3 For a biographic outline of Gustavo Sainz, see Appendix I. 14
2%ustavo Sainz, Autobiografía» Gustavo Sainz,in the series Nuevos escritores mexicanos del siglo xx presentados por sí mismo, introd. Emmanuel Carballo, (México* Empresas Editoriales, S.A., 1966).
-^Gustavo Sainz, "Autorretratos con amigos", Los Narra¬ dores ante el público. (Mexico* Joaquín Mortiz Ed.,1967). English version» "Self Portrait with Friends," trans. John C. Murchison. Triquarterly Review, No. 13-14. (1968-1969)t pp.117-134.
•^Graciela Mendoza, "Entrevista con Gustavo Sainz" El Nacional. "Revista Mexicana de la cultura". (n.d.),p.3« -^Jose Luis Merino, op.cit.,pp.3-4,
^Elena Poniatowska, "En México es terriblemente difícil ser culto» G. Sainz» Los escritores luchan por buenas nove¬ las y por el poder literario." DES (January 24, 1970), n.pag.
*^Luis Leal, op.cit. ,p.44.
-^Emir Rodríguez Monegal, "Traición y renovación" America Latina en su literatura ed. César Fernández Moreno. (México* Siglo XXI Editores S.A.,1972) UNESCO,pp.163,166.
-^Walter M. Langford, op.cit.,p.204.
^Graciela Mendoza, op.cit.,p. 3.
-^Prohibido Prohibir, op.cit.«p.ll
■^Raymond D. Sousa, op.cit..p.839 4o Marshall McLuhan, op.cit.,p.23.
^Rosario Castellanos, "La novela mexicana contemporánea y su valor testimonial" Hispania. Vol. XLVII, No.2(May, 1964), p.230.
42Wolfgang Kayser, "Interpretación y análisis de la obra literaria, 4a edición (Madrid» Editorial Gredos, 1961),p. 261 ff aMW6(Tmff. 43 -'Beatriz Espejo, "La novela" Balance Literario» La vida Literaria. (Mexico* Nov.-Dec. 1970),p.27. 44 Wolfgang Kayser, op.cit.,p.471. 15
CHAPTER I
The Structure of the Narrator
Every novelist faces a difficult task when he deliber¬ ates vhat point of view will most effectively present the total structure or kosmos of a projected novel* As Wayne
Booth points out* M***the sensitive author who reads the great novels finds in them a storehouse of precise examples» of how 'this9 effect» as distinct from all other possible effects» was heightened by the proper narrative chóice.”1
Gustavo Sainz is such a sensitive author» who after many years of critical and patient examination of vhat he calls
Mla experiencia de la literatura»”2 departed from the ex¬ perimental style of his first novel» Gazapo * to vrite
Obsesivos días circulares* a novel which "hace del lenguaje objetivo nuclear de su narración*”2
The structure of the narrator in this contemporary novel is very complex despite the fact that it would seem to merely present a first person» dramatized narrator-agent*^
However» there is evidence of a disguised narrator using a
"camera eye technique” which permits the greater flexibility of the inner and outer views of the character's mind» and which offers a high degree of vivid and minute scenic detail¬ ing*5 This technique» which is borrowed from the cinema» is especially effective in the vignette, pages 9-11,5 as 16
the lens zooms In on the thoughts of Yin and Sarro to reflect their complex mental experiences 9 and then as it pulls back to objectively describe the bedroom and the actions of the characters in painstaking details
Y allí estaba Sarro» en el centro preciso de la habitación en penumbra» de pie al comienzo» aca¬ riciándose las mejillas y murmurando quÓ diablos querrá decir Yinyin con eso» vieja payasa estú¬ pida rancia i avanzando con pies y manos como un oso gigantesco» blando» gordo» ciego y sin pelof tentaleando la bata derramada sobre la alfombra» las manos torpes dando saltitos animales y pro¬ curando hallar» aferrar el gran pedazo de tela azul con dibujos falsamente egipcios» atrapándo¬ lo» engarruñándolo* (pp* 9-10)
The immediacy of the cinematographic experience is also achieved by the use of many contemporary novelistic techniques such ass
1) the free association of ideas in streams of conscious¬ ness! as when Sarro• s robe made of a synthetic flammable material evokest
La flama* Gracias por el fuego* Todos los fue¬ gos el fuego* Fuego de pobres* Mejor la des¬ trucción» el fuego* Tres» dice Yin ¿qué importa? Las hijas del fuego» piensa Godofofo y no escucha* (p* 10)
2) the use of conventional syntax and morphology and the use of dialogue interspersed vithin the narrative descrip¬ tion without any punctuations
•••Sarro enciende una lámpara arriba del lavabo e insiste en dos preguntas antes de ¿Uh can¬ grejo en una maceta? Cerrar* (p* 10) 17
Después la ambigüedad de un acto cotidiano» con- tigencia o manera de ser» como Yinyin que nueve de cada diez veces» cuando termina y puede permi¬ tirse un descanso» dice:cosas como vi una selva y estuve en un campo de trigo ¿y tú? (p. 9)
3) the oneiric descriptions that confuse "reality"and “fan¬ tasy" t
Vi a un hombre» por ejemplo—inhalando—i y exhalando luego» que se arrojaba desesperadof y aspirando» contra las paredes de tm hospi¬ tal) y suspirando» lleno de luz* Por espas¬ mos. (p. 9)
Puede verse una franja de luz rabiosamente amarilla» una especie de halo» como si la puerta apareciese de pronto flotando en la oscuridad, (pp. 10-11)
*7 8 The privilege' that this "center of consciousness"
enjoys is illustrated by comments such as» "como Yinyin que nueve de cada diez veces.••(p.9)" and "...es lo único que
ocupa la mente de Yinyin» que no puede explicarse por qué
Sarro....(p. 11)" The narrator does guide the reader occa¬
sionally vithi "dice", "piensa", "murmurando", etc., but
generally the reader is left alone to unravel or reconstruct
the narrative world presented before him.
The temporal distance of this disguised narrator is very slight as he reports happenings, whether exterior or
interior, as they occur. His emotional distance from the
characters is quite reduced as he frequently comments in
such a way as to influence their visual characterization i
"...Porque el gordo Sarro a veces se aparta sin dificultad, 18
se biparte como amiba de una sombra desnuda y rebosante de sudorosas maravillas que desde su horizontalidad repite vi algo» creo que el fondo del mar ¿y tú? (p. 9)
By the frequent use of grotesque or ironic metaphors» a tone of mystery and suspense is imparted in the narration of the vignette • The last sentences summerize the spacial distance between the characters and the narrator and also underscore the air of intrigues
Lo esencial es que no se sabe observado* El que profesionalmente tortura» miente» exagera» golpea» confunde» hiere» lastima» desor¬ dena» estrangula/ En fin» que asesina» cuidán¬ dose de no ser observado* (p. 11)
In the main body of the novel» the principal voice that is heard is that of Terencio» the main protagonist» and a first person narrator-agent* From the very beginning» with the reading of the first sentence of Joyce • s Ulysses and its continued intercalation into the narrative» the basic "shift ing technique** of Sainz9s "novelística" is evident» and the resultant fractured-time sequence is structured by the use of interior and exterior monologues» chronological-looping» flashback* montage» nesting and stream of consciousness*
However» it is the language» in and of itself» that becomes the main structural element of the narrative* In an inter* view» Sainz saidt
Terencio*•.no es una conciencia» ni siquiera una recapitulaciún* En cambio» es un lenguaje» un extenderse en el territorio de las nominaciones 19
cotidianas y automáticas 9 una historia que no se cuenta porque ocurre y está ahli los mitos ' mínimos# los pensamientos burdos# los impulsos obscenos y malsonantes i la vida tal y como la vivimos en la calle# con los cuates i esas obse¬ siones que son en redondeces corporales# trazos lentos y lascivos a lo largo del cuerpo feme¬ nino # toda esa majadería inevitable.9
Terencio is a writer and as such# possesses a high degree of self-consciousness as a narrator. Not only does he write letters to a friend# Tobias# who is living in
Brazil# but he also writes to his ex-wife# Leticia. Often times# the reader senses that the letters are "borradores**# rough drafts# either written or merely being thought out# but which actually are never sent to anyone* These letters# however# provide the framework in which to enclose tales# whicht
1) exemplify or illustrate main issues such as the letter on page 20# addressed to "Estimado Jobitos** which not only paints further the caricature of Sarro# describes in the past tense the setting (the school and the apartment)# and the chaotic lives of the characters# but also is the first indication of an assignment to assassinate someone# an anec¬ dote that will be picked up again on page 29# and will be completed in another letter that is addressed to Leticia (p#33)j
2) provide relief from the stress of the fictive present of the novel by a deviation into the past as when Terencio attempts to write a letter to Tobias in order to escape the precariousness of being on a plane with twelve gangsters (p.241) 20
3) or create suspense by interrupting at some crucial moment the continuity of the mainstream of the narrative1^
as the five letters» which are begun» one after the other
on pages 66-68» interrupt the temporal sequence from the
moment that Sarro enters the bathroom to the moment when
Terencio and the women find him grotesquely sprawled» uncon¬
scious after suffering a stroke.
Often Terencio appears to relinquish the narration to
one or another of the characters» but the reader always per¬
ceives the story as it is filtered through the conscious¬
ness of the dramatized narrator-agent» Terencio. Two excel¬
lent examples of this arei
1) when Terencio is a "captive audience" in the taxi» and
his former school-chum» the Zapotecan» tells how he has
suffered at the hands of Sarro and Papá la Oca (pp. 219-226)i
2) when Terencio» again a "captive audience" now in an air¬
plane» is forced to listen to one of the gangsters tell how
the library of Horacio Quiroga was robbed (pp. 249-250).
The narrator*s emotional distance from his narration is
practically nil. He is caught up in the emotional turmoil
of events» and since his temporal distance from the narration
is almost non-existent» he is writing the events as he lives
and perceives them. He reports in an ironic tone the vagaries
of human consciousness» and "capta el mundo dinámico» anár¬
quico y sentimental de la juventud actual» fundiendo preocu¬
paciones lingüisticas» literarias» políticas y sociales.*."11 21
”..,es la historia o el intento de historizar la sensación vivir en México...”12
The reader is forced to receive the narrator9s experi¬ ence, whether real or imaginary, in the form of a mosaic whose pieces sometimes overlap, sometimes are in juxtaposi¬ tion, and sometimes are scattered randomly through the narrative. One example of this témpora1-spacial fragmenta¬ tion is in the montage on pages 69-771 the events of the three days following Sarro9 s stroke are juxtaposed and in¬ verted by presenting! the fantasy of Sarro9s gang holding up 2000 fans in a movie theater, (pp. 72-74)j flashbacks, triggered by photographs to events in the life of the prin¬ cipal narrator, (pp. 74-75)| the telephone call from Papá la Oca instructing the transfer of Sarro to a hospital (p. 76) that comes after the description of the thirteen stretcher- bearers carrying Sarro to an ambulance, (p. 72) j the use of tarot cards to foretell the future, (p. 75)) all trans¬ pire with the background of the music "Doralice”, (p. 74), and all superimposed on Terencio • s thoughts as he composes a letter to ”Querido Jorobas, o Jobias Epicto, o Pinche
Jobeyt.” (p. 69)
Another instance when montage is used to express the idea of temporal simultaneity is in the third chapter, pa£es
179-182, when six concurrent and primarily audio-sensory actions are presented! Terencio and Dona are bathing, 22
Terencio is reading Donavs translation about spiders and commenting that his letters to Tobias have been returned» several telephone calls are answered by Dona» the drills of an English class» a recording concerning a sinful woman» and the sounds of the outside traffic all register on
Terencio9s consciousness.
Direct interior monologues» streams of consciousness and monologues of conscious introspection are techniques that are combined with chronological-loopings» flashbacks» and Oneiric narrations to further illustrate the teraporal- spacial fragmentation that is logical on the psychic level.
An example of how a thought» a smell» a word or an uncon¬ scious action serves as the link to another time and/or space is found when Sarro9 s doodling on a napkin serves as a spring to a brief scene when he stops a taxi for the group
(p. 34). A reference to "tunaland" (p. 40) triggers a short stream of consciousness into the youth of the protagonists
Y de pronto recuerdo el lenguaje de mi infancia» la violencia de la gente en la vieja colonia Algarln» la tintorería japonesa en Peralvillo» donde se perdieron mis documentos» el Paseo de la Reforma al terminar un desfile militar» pero vuelvo al tema....
A stream of consciousness is superimposed on dialogue and action on pages 42-43* Terencio9s thoughts about Lalka» and Sarro9s commentary about life in Mexico City and his desire not only to kill people but to teach Terencio to shoot» are difficult and at times almost impossible to follow. 23
The reader must be very attentive to the unconscious flow of thought as the character vs mind leaps backward and fore¬
word in time and space •
Oneiric narrations foretell events and add mystery to the narrative. The first example the reader encounters is when the wife of the assassination victim says to Sarro»
"fijese que soñé» comenzó la mujer mientras servia el se¬ gundo vaso» que un tipo robusto» fuerte» asi como usted/**
(p. 35). A discussion about dreams allows the analysis of a dream that Terencio has had in which all the **s** (L sj ) sounds in the words are substituted by **z** ( CzJ ) and in which Terencio*s sexual desires for Lalka are expressed.
A parallel to the dream follows as the exact situation is reenacted in "objective reality", (p. 52)
An example of interior duplication which serves to indicate the co-existence of multiple levels of "reality" is when Terencio fantasizes t
Y risas de compromiso» como en el cine nacional» donde sustituyen innumerables réplicas con car¬ cajadas de escenario.•.La película Obsesivos días circulares (Años fantasmas)» editada en México» contenida con títulos explicativos en» con» pro¬ ducida y dirigida por» distribuida y exportada por» con domicilio en» supervisada por/ La acción se desarrolla en un avión que vuela sobre la Repú¬ blica Mexicana. ¿Quién puede sintetizar algo tan sin pies ni cabeza? Todos los pasajeros partici¬ pan en un secreto común» excepto el narrador» quien lo intuye. Son bandoleros» pistoleros o policías y desarrollan conversaciones circunstan¬ ciales. El protagonista pretende intervenir» convencido de que jamás podrá embeberse en un libro que carga sobre las rodillas» o en una 24
carta a medio escribir que ya se ha guardado en el bolsillo, (p. 244) 13 With a direct address to his ficticious reader,
"Querido Jorobas”, Terencio describes a dream in which he
introduces Jorge Luis Borges, ”un Papá la Oca doméstico" to
a child» Gabriela Mistral (pp. 245-246). Terencio in an
introspection concludest
Testificaba pues, un encuentro memorable entre dos personalidades cuya identidad no podía desen¬ mascarar, ya que para ella Borges no era nadie especial, apenas y otro tío grande, y para Borges, Gabriela habla muerto años antes, pues nadie en la habitación era consciente, como te digo, de la trampa que el tiempo habla tendido, (p. 246)
Flashbacks are presented in the form oft
1) recollection, such as when Terencio and Dona meet Sarro
and Yin (pp. 30-32)|
2) character’s narrations, such as the grotesque tales that
Yin tells about the tortures endured by the communist guer¬
rillas (p. 112) or the burning of the oriental opium den
(p. 125) or the fantastic tale of the savage bees that are taking over parts of South America (p. 139) j
3) dream sequences, such as the flashbacks concerning
Terencio9s marriage to Leticia and the birth of her son
(pp. 144, 146)|
4) reveries, such as the one that is triggered in Terencio9s
subconscious as he sits in the principal9 s chair and remem¬ bers how some school girls tricked him and stole the final
examination questions, (p. 174) 25
An outstanding example of nesting» or the use of en¬ closed tales»14 is the anecdote of the rebels in Havana vho are thrown to their deaths from the top of a six story build¬ ing (pp. 150-152). The story begins with the classic»
"Habla una vez» en la bienaventurada isla habanera»• • ."
An example of nesting used with chronological looping» in which the narrative line is picked up and dropped repeatedly» is the tale of Sarro9s assignment to assassinate someone) the first indication is given as Sarro cleans his gun (p. 23)) the thread of the narrative line is again picked up on page
29» as Sarro relates his preparations for the assignment) and then is completed as Terencio writes a letter to Leticia.
(pp. 33-36)
Throughout the novel» most dialogue is interspersed without punctuation within the narrative description and can only be identified within the context. However» at times the narrator does use guidelines such as "dijo"» "agregó"» etc.» or uncommon punctuation such ast
Quiero una hamburguesas Lalka. Ni lo apruebo ni lo desapruebo. ¿Por qué iba a desaprobarlo? (arquitecto dos. ¿por quién me tomas? s yo» melo¬ dramático. (p. 109)
An objective report of straight dialogue/ without guidelines or commentary» occurs when Terencio questions Yin about the contents of Sarro9s appointment book» and she» in turn» asks
Terencio about his work for Papá la Oca. (pp. 153-154)
One of the many examples of direct interior monologue 26
in which the thoughts are given as though the reader were
overhearing an an articulation of them, as they appear on
the character's mind, can be seen as Terencio is resting prior
to the trip back to Mexico City.
Me enfrento conmigo mismo ante el espejo. Un golpe tremendo sobre la ceja, el labio superior hinchado, una cortada en la mejilla. Y barros. No tenia tantos desde los años fantasmas, sí. Tony Curtis actuando en Sirenas y tiburones. Pat Boone en Viaje al centro de la tierra y María Felix en La estrella vacia. Ir al trabajo en las mañanas a calificar El kimono escarlata, Escla¬ vo del deber o El tesoro de Chucho el Roto, y encontrar a Leticia en la escuela de danza. Y se ponía las mallas en el camión, para asombro de nacos y respetables pasajeros. Y luego su estó¬ mago gigante, encreible casi, y yo pegaba el odio para sentir los movimientos del niñito y hablaba/ (p. 144)
Stream of consciousness, a device used for dramatizing 16 the mind, to make us aware of what a character is like, is
sometimes combined with the technique of automatic writing.
This exteriorization of the psychic flow is shown verbally
(and also graphically) by Sainz, by the use of incoherent
syntax, and morphology, and the repetition of phrases and
sounds. In one example, when the vowel sounds in words are
substituted by only the sound "oH ( C o j ), the words are
extended diagonally down the length of the page and to the
top fo the next page. (pp. 185-186) In another example,
Terencio employs the same work in different languages in a
repetitive syntaxt
Darling Jobys esta mañanica morning matin morgen mattina amanecimos con euforia y corrimos por toda 27
la école scuola school escola y bailoteamos durante horas y años, periodos cuaternarios y todo. Latter me invadid la manía de abrir puertas & puertas & puertas & puertas & puertas y el asunto es que detrás de una de esas puertas estaba Donaji y yo quería deshojarla pero no me atrevía a romper nada especialmente la túnica con su corbata de len¬ tejuelas y ella podía escapar» corría y cerraba puertas and I tropezaba con bancas o pupitres pero la atrapaba y desvestíalos ganchos de su vestido los zippers de su dress los botones de su rochie los pliegues de su jurk el largo de su robe y estiraba mis brazos de plastic-man y abría las puertas y las ventanas para que nos viera la gente y Donita conseguía escapar y corría por los otros pisos como lagartija» metiéndose de nuevo en su ropa y abriendo y cerrando puertas & puertas y yo las abría y ella las cerraba y cómo diablos» cómo demonios» cómo agonizamos de risa/ (P. 67)
Terencio comes close to representing **the author's ideal of taste» judgement and moral sense**1^» however» their distance widens as Sainz notest
Pensé al principio en un personaje que pensara mis pensamientos» que hablara con textos litera¬ rios que sé de memoria o que padeciera un mismo pasadoi pero con las páginas aquello fue sufriendo transformaciones y mediante el alquimia del albur» o la palabra altisonante» ese ente» ese Terencio» pronto alcanzó vigencia propia y sus propios aires anti-intelectuales» su propia impaciencia. Eso suele suceder en todas las novelas. Eso les pasa a todos los novelistas. Bueno» o por lo menos eso queremos que nos pase. 18
The narrative world presented and the life of the narrator-agent and the other characters are» in the words of Federico Campbellt
...pura literatura. Tal vez para ellos la reali¬ dad no sea más que palabras» letras» citas» lite¬ rarias» pensamientos e ideas que no son suyos propios» porque nadie es el creador puro de una 28
idea ni el autor absolutamente original de una sucesión determinada de letras-palabras-frases ni del registro de una idea producida como resul¬ tado de vivir esa "realidad" particularmente "lite¬ raria" e incorregiblemente mexicana.19
The frequent intercalations of quotations from poems, novels, historical works etc., and the innumerable cultural references^0 are some of the most criticized aspects of
Obsesivos días circulares, Federico Campbell joins other critics in comparing Sainz to Godard,the French film director, who uses cinematographic techniques that fragment, dissociate, alienate and break up the narrative sequence, and who also uses texts such as passages from magazines, excerpts from literature and other films, police reports, and philo¬ sophical and cultural discussions in his controversial movies*
Susan Sontag says that, "Godard is the first director fully to grasp the fact that, in order to deal seriously with ideas, one must create a new film language for expressing them—if 22 the ideas are to have any suppleness and complexity."
Sainz agrees with Sontag that it is practically impos¬ sible to write a word or present an image, that does not 23 bring to mind something already written by someone else.
He also acknowledges that it is permissible to quote verbatim from other literary works, even to the point of making a collage as Terencio does more and more in the last pages of
Obsesivos dias circulares (pp. 251-253). Sainz notes.
Todo arte es un código....Para los libros que son un producto 29
de élite, un producto de consumo para una clase media culta, hay que tener un descodificador apto...**24 This decoder "is possessed by those readers who have read more or less the same things as Sainz, and who read not for pleasure or for relaxation, but who find reading contemporary novels an
, 25 intellectual challenge# For Sainz, "El lector es el cen¬ tro de una red de relaciones inagotables entre las cuales
él instaura su propia forma, sin estar presionado por Cate¬
óos gorias universales."
In a recent lecture on "Contemporary Mexican Novel and
Short Story", Luis Leal noted,
Sainz writes with an interior fire. In order to create a new rhythm he takes advantage of lexical, syntactic and topographical innovations, such as the omission of quotes when a person is speaking. His speech thus becomes one with the narrative element.27
Instead of the usual punctuation, the graphic slash (/) is used to indicate an abrupt change in thought pattern, a lapse of time or an intercalation of dialogue. Parenthesis are used syntactically except in two instances t for the re-reading of a letter from Tobias (p. 51), and in a stream of consciousness that is introduced with direct report of dialogue (pp. 122-123).28
At least three types of print are used in the main body of the novel. Newspaper headlines, homemade posters, street signs (such as movie marquee signs), certain words in one of 30
Tobias* letters (pp. 167-168)» initials used in place of words» and a message left by Yin (p. 122) are all in capital letters. One word "Prólogo" (p. 165) is in boldface type.
Cursive print is usually employed as a means of emphasis or exaggeration. On one occasion cursive print repeats phone¬ tically the words spoken by López Santos» "habar sa van a la nacha al dapartamanta" (p. 122). On still another occasion» cursive print describes the grotesqueness of an action by Papá la Oca» "al que cariciaba las nalgas de las nifías de sus ojos." (p. 63). There is one instance when a morphological substitution is made in a sentence and the words to be omitted are printed in cursive print (p. 96).
As has been previously noted» Sainz uses the logogram
"g" on the last page of the novel. This symbol is also visi¬ ble in the spacing of the typography of page 174. Novel uses of graphic writing can be found first» when the last syllable of agua-ua- is repeated» reproducing graphically an elongated soundi and second» when Terencio stoops to gather the fallen cigarettes and the final word of the sentence is diagonally extended down the length of the page and to the top of the next page (pp. 185-186). A mirror effect on the repetition of words such as "No» como dijo Proust» tsuorP ojid omoc» pero tardé tres pisos en comprender el truco t un espejo in¬ clinado» odanilcni/" (p. 110)» is one of many "games" -that are played with language throughout the novel. 31
Games play an important role in the kosmos of the novel, Obsesivos dias circulares» just as they are a necessary ingredient of life itself.29 Rituals, pastimes, games, intimacy and activity are the options for structuring time, according to Dr. Eric Berne, a noted psychiatrist and 30 author of the book, Games People Play. Sainz also recog¬ nizes games as the roots of languages
...en la vida de cada quién el lenguaje se origina en la vida infantil de juego, de placer y del amor que se centran alrededor de la familia. Yo busco la devolución de ese lenguaje, recuperar el juego con las palabras, sumergir el pensamiento en cierta zona inconsciente...asi que acepto jugar a una textura de dicción, de ortografía, de grafía, a una reconstrucción en la que interviene y deter¬ minantemente la imaginación, justo eso que nodemos llamar imaginación creadora o re-creadora.31
Throughout the novel the characters are engaged in one or more of the following classes of behavior that involve games s
1) dreams and fantasies, such as the game that Terencio and
Yin play when they purchase a jar of powdered coffee, pretend that it is Sarro•s ashes, and scatter it in apartments, streets, restaurants, taxis, etc., in hopes that he will return to haunt these places (pp. 83-88)) or the zarzuela and Leticia's performance of "Clavelitos" combined with the effects of too much whiskey that cause Terencio to ponders
y el problema apremiante ahora, de recuperar un pasado, varios años fantasmas que parecen borrar¬ se por innumerables sortilegios, igual que cen¬ tenares de argumentos fllmicos y la esencia de los libros, por no mencionar sus avatares. Totals 32
en juicio la existencia de la memoria) el problema de recordar no existe y plantearlo revela una sos¬ pechosa ingenuidad una curiosa confianza en uno mis¬ mo» un serio optimismo que más vale ahogar in Grand Old Parr...(p. 213)
2) rituals t such as the bath that Terencio and Dona take each morning i
Una vez que las alumnas entran a clases—cuando hay clases» claro—» regreso a casa y me baño. Es una rutina y Dona me espera con la tina llena de agua caliente porque es más calmante» dice» que la regadera. Me desnudo e ingreso titubeando en el liquido azul pálido mientras ella comienza a desvestirse, (p. 27)
3) Pastimes s such as the analysis of dreams (p. 52-53)» the use of tarot cards (p. 74) to tell the future of the discussions about the past due to the viewing of old photo¬ graphs (pp. 74-78) i or the posters that are made to ask ques¬ tions about the future (pp. 176-179)) or the reading and dis¬ cussion of the bizarre newspaper clippings which are pinned on the walls of Dona*s and Terencio • s apartment to form a collage.(pp. 27-28)
4) operations and maneuvers t such as the masochistic games that Leticia plays as she entices Terencio into closets
(pp. 124-125» 132-133)» or to her apartment (pp. 20Í-217) only to arouse his sexual instincts and cruelly punish him as a form of retribution for having seduced her as a teenager) or the card game in which the loser forfeits an article of clothing or has to carry out a sexual **punishmentM for losing
(p. 214)) or the "Aztec-prisoner-defend-yourself" game that 33
is played vhen Terencio is beaten in the dark at the party*
(P. 137).
5) .tricks i such as those Sarro plays on Terencio (pp. 23-
25) in order to satisfy Sarro*s "sentido curiosamente heroico de la vida" (p. 33)} or ingenious psychological trick that
Dona plays on Julieta» a runaway*, in order to bring her back to school (p. 200)} or the cruel trick that one of the gang¬ sters plays on another as he puts his cigar out on the top of his head (p. 251)} and the tricks that the school girls play on Terencio and which always have some sexual connota¬ tion, (pp. 174, 241, 246-247)
Peter Farb recently pointed out in his new book, Word
Play* that "language is a game which is played with a fixed number of pieces—phonemes—each one easily recognized by 32 the native speakers*" The narrator-agent of Obsesivos días circulares* being a self-conscious writer, also uses language as the principal object of games. Many riddles, puns and rhymes are used not only for their musical effect, but as a form of destruction of language itself. One out¬ standing example of a highly contrived riddle is on page 93, when Terencio tells Lalka about the metamorphosis of a frog.
Another example is the "zarzuela" in which the words "Una linda jovencita que se viene a confesar, que se viene, que se viene, que se viene a confesar..are repeated over and over again in order to achieve a sing-song effeet,(p, 208) 34
One popular Mexican phrase employed» "de tin marin de do pingué" (p. 137) is similar to the English, "EenyMeeny Minny
Moe" and is part of the " jabbervocky" or musical nonsensical 33 phrases found in all languages.
Many nicknames are used in place of the characters* names to achieve an euphonious effect as veil as to carica- turize. Lalka is frequently Yalka, helada Yalkai Yin is
Yinyin, LIin Him and Tobias is Jobias, Jobito, Jorobas.
Sarro is the character that has the most nicknames, all of which emphasize his grotesquenesss gordofofo, gordopótamo,
Paquidérmico, Barrilento, Boludo, Granpanza, etc.
Just as "oral speech" is never the "flow of language that it is supposed to be,"34 "written speech" can also have pauses, such as the letter to Tobias that contains a "fill in the blanks" game (pp. 101-103). On one occasion Sarro quotes, "Es hermosa la sangre que salta de ciertos cuellos blancos.. .báñate en esa sangre que el crimen hace dioses" and then challenges Terencio to find the source (pp. 17, 21).
Numbers are used in various games i such as the number of books in Terencio*s library (pp, 96-97) of the number of stairs from the room to the street at the hotel, Mansión del
Mar, in Acapulco (pp. 145-147). Terencio and the girls play two games in order to keep alert on the long drive back to
Mexico City. One game is the enumeration of cinema theaters in Mexico City (p. 158), another is the different kind of 35
kisses that can be given (p. 158). The number thirteen is used ironically to indicate that thirteen men (p. 72) are necessary to carry Sarro» and to point out that Terencio represents the thirteenth man on the plane j the other twelve being the gangsters (p. 241). There aire also thirteen turtles| the large stuffed turtle that belongs to Lalka dis¬ embowels to render 12 progressively smaller turtles in four groups of three each (p. 54).
When asked to comment on the "adventure of language" in Obsesivos dias circulares» Sainz saidt
Mi protagonista» semi-intelectual» portero de escuela» parece escribir muy bien» por lo menos con lucidez y hasta gramática» pero según avan¬ zamos con la lectura» su escritura se va descom¬ poniendo. Aparecen demasiados picardías» america¬ nismos» frases hechas. Y luego» cuando se acerca el fin» ya ni siquiera le quedan frases» ni siqui¬ era imágenes» sino palabras prestadas» ajenas» 35 jerigonzas» sílabas sin sentido» letras» nada... for the last game played is the euphonious repetition for thirteen pages of a phrase said in a movie by the famous
Mexican actor» Cantinflast "De generación en generación» las generaciones se degeneren con mayor degeneración»" a phrase that progressively gets larger» as in a slow cinematographic close-up» to end in one gigantic» but incomplete "g".
The use of various planes of language was noted by the 36 novelist himself» when Sainz said in a recent interviews
Bueno» obviamente la novela está contada en varios planos de lenguaje» en diversas ten¬ siones» y aún más» en algo que yo.llamo 36
textura**• Esto es, un dibujo que sobre la página hace la velocidad de la prosa o el uso de mayúsculas o paréntesis o portugués o latín, y sobre la mente, también, un dibujo que el tono narrativo hace en nosotros* La suma de estos integra la estructura de la novela en un sentido muy epidérmico, pero bastante legible ya tam¬ bién* Digamos que lo primero que dice Obsesi¬ vos días circulares* lo dice desde (o con) su
estructura *
Marshall McLuhan notes the importance of textures as neces¬ sary for the survival of literatures
Instead of using a single external space to evoke and control mental states, it vas included
in a single poem or picture* • «that all language and experience vas, and had alvays been, this simultaneous and many-layered thing*• *3/ Words are an orchestral harmony of touch, taste, sight, sound* Writing is the abstraction of the visual from this complex* With vriting comes povers command over space*38
Other "textures" that are used by Sainz ares the use of French, German, and Englishi the frequent use of puns, apothegms, and proverbs| the creation of nev vords, many com¬ pound vordsj the use of nicknames for comic effect j the references to music, both classical and populan the almost innumerable references to philosophers, historians, painters, scientists, historical personages, movie stars, movies, and most importantly, the references to novelists and poets, and direct quotations from their vorks.
All of these "textures" can be traced to the influence that James Joyce has upon all contemporary literature, espe¬ cially on the contemporary Latin American novelists*^ Sainz acknowledges that Joyces 37
No solo es un hombre que llev6 la literatura a su máxima tensión» que jugó con las palabras antici¬ pándose cien años a su época» que estableció contacto con los intelectuales más brillantes de su generación» sino es uno de los intelectuales más completos*41
His tribute to Joyce» his mentor» in Obsesivos días circulares» is the choice of Ulysses* as the novel that the narrator-agent begins to read and refers to frequently throughout the main body of the novel» and which is com¬ pleted as Terencio is on the plane to Acapulco t
.. *y yo primero lo rodeó con mis brazos si y lo atraje hacia mí para que pudiera sentir mis senos todo perfume si y su corazón golpeaba como loco y si yo dije si quiero si....El final de Ulysses ahora que iniciamos la maniobra de aterrizaje* (P. 251)
Quizás la lectura de la última frase del Ulysses» o bien porque el avión deja ver parte de su fuse¬ laje plateado» o temores que me asedian por todas partes y que dejo flotando» aquí» mientras el avión desciende rápidamente» me hacen pensar en el final de un libro» como si mis días fueran una acumulación de citas» conversaciones» palabras ajenas» párrafos sueltos» preocupaciones sin sen¬ tido* (p* 252) and finally his admiration for the novel Ulysses itself i
Contemplo nuevamente el libro» más inmortal que Jota Jota» ni duda cabe» si J* J* era un cuerpos las páginas cremosas» el sangrado en los comien¬ zos de párrafo» el caprichoso formato de capi¬ tulo» las lineas de palabras» largas» consistentes» duras como el lingote de metal que las imprimió* (p. 253) NOTES
^Wayne Booth, The Rhetoric of Fiction (Chicago* University of Chicago Press, 190l),p.l65. p Carlos Cortínez, "Los obsesivos días de Gustavo Sainz* entrevista especial para PEC desde Iowa City, Iowa, E.E.U.U.," PEC (México* February, 19^97,P*26.
-^Federico Campbell, "Gustavo Sainz, Obsesivos días Circulares." Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos, No. 246 (Madrid* June, 1970),p.719. 4 These classifications are the ones employed by Wayne Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction, on.cit.,no.151-165.
tí -^Wayne Booth, op.cit. ,n. 153.
^Gustavo Sainz, Obsesivos días circulares (Mexico* Editorial Joaquín Mortiz, S.A., 1969)» all references in this study are to this edition.
^Booth, op.cit.,p.160, defines complete privilege as omniscience. 8Ibid.,p.153. ^Argelio Gasea, "Gustavo Sainz, silencio sobre Obsesivos* (n.p., n.d.),p.12.
"^A. A. Mendilow, Time and the Novel (London* Nevill, Ltd., 1952),p.225. For a discussion of time and narrative sequence see, Joan Rea Green, La estructura del narrador en la novela hispanoamericana contemporánea (Valparaiso, Chile* Ediciones Universitarias del Valparaiso, 197*0 *pp. 137 ff.
^Beatriz Espejo, "La novela," Balance literario* La vida literaria (Mexico* Nov.-Dec., 1970),p.27* 12 Alejandro Arceaga, "Gustavo Sainz habla de Gazapo, Obsesivos días circulares y de otras cosas que ustedes leerán," El Sol de Toluca (June 29, 1970),p^4.
■^The real reader is not to be confused with the "fic¬ ticious" reader. The former exists outside the book, where¬ as the ficticious reader is integrated into the work? he being the one to whom the narrator addresses his narration. In this instance, the ficticious reader is Tobías, but many times the letters are addressed to Leticia. 39
iL A. A# Mendilow, op.cit.,p.225. 15Ibid.,p.l04.
^•“Renl Wellek and Austin Warren, Theory of Literature. 3rd. ed. (New York* Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc.,' 1956), p.92. Also, Wolfgang Kayser, Interpretación y análises de la obra literaria, trans. María D. Mouton and V. García Yerba, 4th ed. rev., (Madridi Editorial Gredos, S.A.,1970), p.46l. Kayser says* "Aquí el narrador casi ha desapare¬ cido, y deja la palabra a los otros personajes. En el fondo, ocurre lo mismo en la novela epistolar o en la escrita como diario, solo que la forma moderna se desarrolla en un plano anterior al lenguaje e intenta expresar lo semipensado o serai - conciente. Se trata de representar la llamada "stream of consciousness" (según expressión de filósofo norteamericano, William James) es decir, el constante surgir de afectos, sen¬ saciones, pensamientos, desde el fondo del alma humana, y la reacción de esta frente a las innumerables impresiones que en todo momento recibe."
"^Wayne Booth, op.cit.,pp.155-156. 18 Graciela Mendoza, "entrevista con Gustavo Sainz," El nacional, "revista mexicana de la cultura," (n.d.),p.3» 19 ^Federico Campbell, op.cit.,p.720. 20 See Appendix III for a list of cultural references. 21 Federico Campbell, op.cit.,p.719* 22 Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation and other essays (New York1 Laurel Edition Dell Publishing Co., Inc.,1961), p.210.
2^Federico Campbell, op.cit.,p.720.
oh , Alejandro Arceaga, op.cit.,p.4.
^Prohibido Prohibir» "Entrevista con Gustavo Sainz, la novela en serio, dificil, va a desaparecer." (México* n.d.), p.ll. 26 José Luis Merino, unpublished interview of Gustavo Sainz. (1972)tP*7» 40
^Luis Leal, "Contemporary Mexican Novel and Short Story” Contemporary Latin American Literature, ed. Harvey L. Johnson and Philip B. Taylor,' Jr. (Houston! Latin American Studies Committee,Office of International Affairs, University of Houston, 1973)*P*^«
^86edomil Goic, La novela chilena» los mitos degradados 3a edición (Chile* Editorial Universitaria, 1971)»P*132, notes* The use of parenthesis in Manuel Rojas' Hijo de ladrón*"Hay,- también, formas señaladas mediante recursos gráficos.. .Estos signos son los paréntesis [”( )J que parecen presentar un rememorar interior, el curso interior del pen¬ samiento, una suerte de solilóquio.”
%ric Berne, M. D., Games People Play* The Psychology of Human Relationships (New York* Grace Press, Inc.,1967), pp.171-172. Games are necessary because of their cultural significance (child "raising”), their social significance (as a compromise between pastimes and intimacy), for their personal significance (as a means of identification with a particular social group), and for their historical signifi¬ cance (as a chain linking generations not only to the past, but to the future. 3°Ibid.,pp.I8-I9.
3^Luis Merino, op.cit.,p.4,p.6.
3^Peter Farb, Word Play* What Happens When People Talk (New York* A. A. Knoff, 197^)7 p.25¿.
33Ibid..P.275 ff. 34Ibid.,p.279.
3%raciela Mendoza, op.cit. ,p. 3. 36Ibid..p.3.
^Marshall McLuhan, Counterblast (New York* Hare ourt, Brace and World,1969) ,p. 83. 38Ibid.,p.117. 39 See Appendix III for a list of the references. 41
4o Graciela Mendoza/ op. cit. ,p. 3. Sainz Saysi "Digamos que esta "literatura para escritores" que se produce actualmente en Latinoamérica es fruto de nuestro aislamiento intelectual, un aislamiento que de alguna manera padeció Joyce en su Irlanda natal a principios de siglo, y que lo llevó a esa hermenéutica que es el Ulises..." Prohibido Prohibir. op.cit.,p.l4. 42
CHAPTER II
The World Content of the Novel
¿edomil Goicí» in his essay on the "novissimi narra- tores", i.e. the generation of 1972» declares that Gustavo
Sainz is one of the most distinguished of the groupi1 one who undertakes the act of narration with the widest possible latitude and without regard for either novelistic traditions or laws.^ Although Gustavo Sainz belongs to the "onda" or those Mexican writers ”who write a type of narrative that rejects and denounces the established way of life»"^ he has frequently stated that language is the main theme of his narration» therefore agreeing with other contemporary novelists» such as Manuel Puig (La traición de Rita Hayworth)»
Néstor Sánchez (Siberia Blues). and Salvador Elizondo
(Farabeuf)» that the novel uses the word not just to say something in particular about the extraliterary or the
"real" world» but to transform the very essence of the lin¬ guistic reality into the main focus of the artistic crea¬ tion.^
In order to appreciate the extent to which Gustavo
Sainz has succeeded in writing Obsesivos días circulares as an innovative novel» it is necessary to view carefully the world content he presents. Fable5
On a purely linear basis» the narrative is as followsi 43
The principal protagonist of Obsesivos días circulares
is Terencio, a writer» vho with his wife» Dona» lives and works as a caretaker in a private» Catholic» girl's school
in Mexico City» The school is owned by Papá la Oca a
"padrino" figure with strong political influences.
Sarro» an impressive gangster both in physical size
and in criminal intelligence» and Yin his mysterious
sexually-motivated wife» arrive to live in the apartment below the one occupied by Terencio and Dona. This apart¬ ment was previously occupied by Tobias Dorleado» a friend to Papá la Oca» who now resides in Brazil.
Soon Lalka» Yin's younger sister» arrives to live with them. All three pay board to Dona and are often in
Terencio*s apartment.
Terencio» an over-sexed voyeur» presides over the clandestine meetings of the "spectators"» who» through a one way mirror in the Crypt, or darkened room view the young
school girls in the process of bathing. Not satisfied with this lascivious display, Terencio has an intricate system of peep-holes that permit him a very complete view of all that happens in the apartment below.
Unexpectedly, Sarro suffers an embolism which leaves him completely paralyzed and necessitates hospitalization. .
Prior to his stroke, Sarro had made plans for all to spend a holiday in Acapulco. Even though Sarro is critically ill, 44
Yin convinces the others that they should still take the vacation.
While in Acapulco, Terencio and the three women spend their days as regular touristst sunning, bathing and drinking on the beach, They meet an old friend of Yin’s, an architect, López Santos, and his new bride, who are
spending a double honeymoon with another architect and his bride, in an expensive penthouse of the Hotel Presidente,
The nights are spent in revelry during which time Terencio
suffers physical, mental and emotional experiences at the hands of his ex-wife, Leticia, a masochist, who is a friend of the architects.
Soon, Yin begins to worry about Sarro, and a long labo¬ rious trip to Mexico City in the yellow school bus is des¬ cribed.
Many things occur to Terencio on his return to the
schools one of his letters to Tobias is returned to him, causing him to worry about the whereabouts of Sarro9s appointment book, which he had sent to Tobias % Yin is sere¬ naded to at midnight and wind of it has reached Papá la
Oca, and he demands that Yin leave immediately, Yin dis¬ appears! Leticia, with her fascinating hold on Terencio, causes him to forget his obligations to the school and to the "spectators'* and takes him on a rapid and perilous trip through Mexico City which ends in her apartment! Terencio 45
drinks too much and confuses reality and fantasy ; he finally calls Dona who tells him Lalka has broken the mirror in the Crypt; he forgets his correspondence in
Leticia• s apartment; and he has a slow taxi drive back to the school during which he endures an onerous recount* ing by an old acquaintance of an anecdote about Sarro and
Papá la Oca.
Finally» calmed by the warm bath he has taken with
Dona» Terencio calls Papá la Oca on the telephone in order to explain what has happened and in order to resign from his caretaker's job. Instead» his Boss sends him on a secret mission to Acapulco. He is also told that Yin has taken up with the architect» López Santos» and that Sarro is recovering and will soon take care of them.
Terencio has foreboding thoughts about this trip.
On the airplane he tries to escape the precariousness of his situation by writing a letter to his friend» Tobias» or by continuing the reading of Joyce's Ulysses» which he had unsuccessfully tried to read during the two months
(approximately) that the narrative covers. His efforts to escape the situation of being on the trip with twelve gunmen so alienate him from reality» that he finally repeats over and over» in his subconscious» a phrase he once heard in a movie by the famous actor» Cantinflas.
This phrase gradually expands in size of type until only 46
the graphic sign of an incomplete Mg" remains—leaving the story open-ended.
Su jet6
An examination of the architectural plan of Obsesivos días circulares reveals first, a Vignette (pp. 9-11), and then four chapters or divisions, each numbered by an arable numeral and each titled with a sign that is usually found somewhere on a passenger planet It FASTEN SEAT BELTS;
2t NO SMOKING; 3i CHALECO SALVAVIDAS BAJO EL ASIENTO;
4s EXIT. Each of these is placed on a separate page, indi¬ cating an abrupt temporal-spacial rupture in the linear progress of the narration. Within the four chapters, there are sections indicated by either a double space or by the 7 change of scene within the narration proper. There are seven sections each in the first two chapters and six sec¬ tions in the third with only two in the last chapter.
There are two instances of linking—the third and fourth sections of chapter one are linked by the word "arácnidos"
(p. 41), and sections three and four of Chapter 3 are linked by the long bath scene. The last thirteen pages of the novel are filled with repetition of a phrase with spe¬ cific attention to ascending typographical size and oscil¬ lation in the intensity of the print from light to extremely dark (every other page is an identical but lighter repro- 47
duction of the previous page) until the last page (p. 266) 0 is a faded* extremely large* incomplete "g".
In relation to the spacial-teraporal sequence of the novel* the first three pages* a vignette that presents a camera-eye view of Sarroas and Yin's apartment* could have been placed anywhere within the first 64 pages of the first chapter of the novel. However, by placing it prior to the beginning of Chapter I, Sainz has achieved the func¬ tion of setting the tone and style of the subsequent narra¬ tion.
In this vignette* Sainz makes ample use of the many contemporary novelistic techniques he employs in the main body of the work. There is for example* an inner plunge into the subconscious when the flammability of the syn¬ thetic fiber of Sarro's robe causes Sarro or the narrator to list various literary titlest "la flama. Gracias por el fuego. Todos los fuegos el fuego. Fuego de pobres* Mejor la destrucción* el fuego(p. 10) At times the dialogue is interspersed within the narrative description without any punctuation* although occasionally the narrator does guide the reader with* "dice Yinyin", "Sarro...una vez dijo", murmurando”* etc.
Sainz's unconventional syntax and morphology is apparent from the very beginning* "Después* ambigüedad de un acto cotidiano* contingencia o manera de ser..." are examples 48 of ellipsis» inversion and parallelism» Another example of interrupted syntactical construction ist "Sarro enciende una lámpara arriba del lavabo e insiste en dos preguntas suites de» ¿un cangrejo en una maceta? CerrarThis gives a sense of presentness to the narrative and achieves a vivid impact upon the reader. This precisely is the main function of the camera-eye technique or "center of conscious¬ ness»" as Henry James called iti i.e. to translate the imrae- q diacy of the cinematographic experience into literary terms.
The camera eye technique permits a minute description of every action as Sarro*s and Yin*s thoughts are recorded through the consciousness of this disguised and privileged narrators "y se arrepintió inmediatamente porque confesar nunca veo nada» o pensaba en las meninas de secundaria o en las corvas de Donají es tanto como herir a Yinyin..."
(p. 9)i"¿cuántas hojas tienen los tréboles? inquiere—o piensa—mientras.•." (p. 10)} and» "es lo único que ocupa la mente de Yinyin..." (p. 11)
The tonal quality is one of mystery and intrigue» underlined with irony and grotesqueness. Yin*s preoccupa¬ tion with sexi Sarro*s physical. characterization as a beasts
"oso"» "saltitos animales", "se hiparte como amiba" and
"convertido en un Nesmás» monstruo de la Tentación con un solo ojo» una mejilla,are examples of the grotesque.
Many of the leitmotifs that are subsequently found in the main body of the novel are introduced} mention Of the 49
sensory elements of the bath* one of Sarro*s two expressions» and dreams or visions» the crab» symbolizing the trip to
Acapulco and Yin foretelling Sarro*s future when she says»
”Vi a un hombre luego» que se arrojaba desesperado contra
las paredes de un hospital» lleno de luz,” (p, 9) The mystery and intrigue are underlined by the narrator's voice telling how carefully Sarro» the gangster» is trying to keep anyone from observing him» and yet both the narrator» and the ficticious reader are aware that in reality Sarro is being observed—by the narrator.
The first words one encounters in Chapter 1 are a translation of the first sentence of Joyce's Ulysses, A slash indicates an interruption of the reading. The next two sentences» ”Voyme tomorrow» viejito» chabocho trabajo cayóme, Y es el gordo Sarro que interrumpe» tan imponente y rollizo como» y me hace levantar la vista del libro y murmurar qué” (p. 15)» are examples of Sainz's use of lan¬ guage, He mixes English» Spanish» and colloquial Mexican slang to form a sentence that is elliptical and inverted in its syntax» and he constantly intercalates dialogue with¬ out punctuation in the narrative.
It is interesting to note that the adjectives» ”stately and ”plump”, from the quote of Ulysses are used for the pictorial image of Sarro as well as to describe Joyce's hero» Buck Mulligan» in the novel which the narrator intends 50
to devour. As the narrator again resumes his reading, Sarro interrupts to first deliver a message from the principal» then to describe his lasciviousness with the young girls» and finally to mention Papá la Oca and to comment on the busi¬ ness he has pending that involves the school. With great subtlety» the scene at the school is presented. Four news¬ paper headlines are mentioned and then discussed by Sarro and a character called Donajl» whom the "reader” gathers is a young woman who lives with the narrator.
As the narrator leaves the room» he hears Sarro say»
"Es hermosa la sangre...que salta de ciertos cuellos blan¬ cos. • .báñate en esa sangre que el crimen hace dioses"»(p. 17)
The narrator ponders on the source of the quotation he has heard. Could it come from Beaudelaire» Rubén Darío» Michaux or Pablo Neruda? This discloses that the characters are well versed in world literature. A direct report of the noises in the school patio establishes that the narrator*s name is Terencio. Through the use of a direct question» there is a shift in time» and the scene that was previously reported in the present tense is now presented by Terencio in the preterite as he recounts his experience in the prin¬ cipalis office where a young girl has accused him of mis¬
treatment •
A letter addressed to Jobito (a friend whose real name» Tobias Dorleado» is later established in section two» 51
page 30) is the means by which more information is given about the school and about the protagonists. In the letter
(p. 20), the narrator presents a monologue in which he paints further the caricature of Sarro as they, including Yin, listen to a recording of Poulenc, The first indication that there is an assignment to assassinate someone is given by Sarro as he examines his gun,(p. 23) The thread of this narrative line is picked up again on page 29 and then completed in a letter addressed to Leticia (pp. 33-36) in section two.
As Terencio vainly tries to read Ulysses, Sarro begins two anecdotes concerning unwelcomed visitors, first a group of young teen-agers (some of whom have the same names of the characters in Sainz's first novel, Gazapo) and then some thieves. Both tales are taken over and told by the narrator from his point of view. Each time Sarro has "the last laugh", as he successfully plays a trick on someone.
A short letter addressed to Leticia describes how Sarro has just killed a rat with his gun from the apartment window.
This is a time shift to the future, with the events des¬ cribed as occurring in the past.
A new salutation, "Estimado Joby" (p. 26), again picks up the linear narrative only to shift to an oneiric narration of a scene in the Conservatory of Paris where Prétre is conducting the recording of a piano concerto by Poulenc. 52
An Interior monologue (pp. 27-28) serves as a means of shoving how Terencio's conscious is barely reporting the reading and comments about the newspaper clippings. The interior monologue, still part of the letter, tells of the importance that Terencio places on the routine,ritualistic bath that he takes daily with Dona. It also underlines that Dona9s main preoccupation is how to please Sarro, vho is quite a gourmet, and who eats with them daily.
Swiftly the linear temporal sequence shifts to the reading of the newspaper clippings, the description of a rat running across the patio in the rain, and to the re¬ threading of the anecdote of the assassination. The section ends as Sarro paraphrases a popular Portuguese song and as the rain begins to fall in torrents.
Section two of Chapter I begins with a flashback in which the narrator reconstructs the first encounter that
Terencio and his wife, Dona, had with Sarro, and how the immenseness of Sarro9 s size hid Yin from their view. After installing them in the downstairs apartment (which was for¬ merly occupied by Tobias Dorleado), Dona and Terencio observe, first through the opened windows and later from the dis¬ guised peep-holes, the new neighbors as they unpack and then make love. The two expressions on Sarro9s face are described as well as the two ways that Sarro has of speaking*(pp. 32-
33) 53
The description of Sarro with his "sentido curiosa¬ mente heroico de la vida..." (p. 33)» serves as point of departure to describe his employment by the generous» power¬ ful and mysterious Papá la Oca» a mafia leader. Sarro•s doodling on a napkin serves as a spring to a brief scene when he stops a taxi for the groupA direct address to
Leticia serves to rethread the sarcastic anecdote of the assassination. Sarro is greatly exhilarated by the special work he is doing for Papá la Oca.
The. reading of Ulysses is constantly interrupted by telephone calls» thoughts about Yin and the arrival of the mailman.. The telephone is located in the downstairs apart¬ ment. Fictional time is established as just before Christ- mass "lo que pasa es que las felicitaciones navideñas..."
(p. 37) A telegram arrives for Yin from her younger sis¬ ter» Lalka. Terencio and Dona begin their routine bath and not only discuss quotes from Ulysses, but also ponder the love life of spiders described in a book she is translating.
Yin shows Terencio some pictures of her sister and an in¬ terior monologue describes his comparision of Yin and the girl in the photos» the attraction he feels for Lalka» and the quotation he cannot quite remember from Noé Jitric. A reference to "tunaland" (p. 40) triggers a short stream of consciousness into the youth of the protagonist. The section ends with a discussion by Sarro» Yin and Dona on whether 54
sex or food is the most important to each.
Although the section begins with a reference to
••arácnidos" (p. 41) which would link it with the end of the previous section* there is an indication of a short time change* for it is now meal time. One of the topics discussed during the meal has been Fray Servando Teresa de Mier* and the next time shift is to a night in the school bus as it goes down a street in Mexico City named for the famous hero of independence. This gives an opportunity for a criticism of the streets* houses* buildings* and people of the city as well as comments by Sarro on why any¬ one would live as they do in the school. The street adver¬ tisements trigger a fantasy about the charms of Lalka whom they are going to meet at the airport. A montage permits the streams of consciousness of Terencio to be presented simultaneously* as the dialogue and the action* as the bus is parked and the occupants disembark.11
Leticia* Terencio*s ex-wife* is humorously pictured as she trips and falls over the dog leash. A brief staccato dialogue points out Leticia's negative feelings towards her ex-husband and his irritating letters. An anecdote or a situation involving Tobias is intercalated by Leticia.
Fictional time is established as the immediate past* "Ya dije que hace un raes por lo menos te hablo de él (Sarro) en cartas" (p. 46). Sarro is enthralled by the coquettish 55
personality of Leticia and begins planning a trip to
Acapulco in order to see her again. Terencio also is still caught under the spell of his ex-wife and yearns to possess her again. The section ends with the meeting of Lalka» hold¬ ing her stuffed toy turtle.
The last three sections of chapter one are longer than the previous four sections and the chaotic life that the two couples and Lalka are living is reported as it surges in the inner and outer consciousness of the principal prota¬ gonist » Terencio. From the ritual of the bath* to the dis¬ cussion of a mysterious stuffing for Lalka*s turtle» through a description of Yin and Lalka oiling Sarro*s shaven head» to a direct appellation to Leticia in which Terencio acknow¬ ledges his strange preoccupation for Lalka» and finally to a direct report of the contents of a letter from Tobias» the tempo of the narration is quickened. A discussion about dreams leads to an analysis of one in which all the **sM
( £s3 ) sounds in the word are substituted by "z" ( Í zl ) and in which Terencio*s sexual desires for Lalka are expres¬ sed* (p. 52) The introduction of the dream is repeated in the "objective reality" as Lalka really does return to her room and is followed by Terencio. As she sleeps» he lies on the bed and there ensues a long intricate description of the disembowelment of the stuffed turtle which only offers up progressively smaller and smaller turtles instead of the 56
expected marijuana. This is followed by a stream of con¬ sciousness beginning with the sleeping innocent figure of
Lalka and ending with reminiscences of the recent encounter with Leticia, Finally» Terencio returns to his apartment» and Terencio*s background and his seduction of Donaji is pre¬ sented through dialogue superimposed on an interior monologue.
The words that Terencio employs to express his frustrations
in dealing with Donaji are both erotic and sadistic#(p, 60)
A montage, with each member speaking about the photo¬ graphs, with Terencio again addressing a letter to Leticia concerning his sexual attraction towards Yin, with the music of "Doralice" as a background, ends in a letter to
Tobias in which a flashback presents a recent meeting of
Sarro and Terencio with Papá la Oca, This is the first letter that Terencio closes and signs#(p, 63) A temporal¬ looping back again to the discussion of the photographs completes the section.
The sixth section shows a quickened rhythm in the temporal sequence that could be compared to a ping-pong game, with the ball representing the narration, and the table divided into smaller segments, representing time slabs in the inner and outer consciousness of the principal narrator.
The first bounce of the ball shows Sarro, in the present or
"real" ••objective'* time-slab complaining about the lack of water, an occurrence that plagues Mexico City quite often* 57
(p. 64) The sight of Yin wrapped only in a sheet, triggers an interior plunge into Terencio*s mind which depicts erotic fantasies interspersed with dialogue, through a montage with¬ in the stream of consciousness.
On five different occasions, in a stream of conscious¬ ness, Terencio mentally begins a letter to Tobias. In one of these letters there is an example of automatic writing*
(p. 67) The translation that Dona is doing about spiders is again mentioned in the fifth letter which is interrupted as the ball bounces to the present time-slab to present a camera eye-zoom-léns description of Sarro as he lies sprawled in the bathroom having just suffered a. stroke. However, the ball has bounced again to the interrupted letter, and time
r has been halted, turned back upon itself, and then forward again to reweave, in the past tense, the scene of the discov¬ ery of Sarro t “Entonces Yin nudilleó en la puerta y Dona y yo dejamos nuestros libros abiertos y bajamos a encontrar a 12 Sarro en el suelo..." (p. 69) ,
Two other salutations are again the means employed to frame the continual bouncing of the ball as different narra¬ tive techniques form a montage, a view of the events of the three days following Sarro's strokes the fantasy of Sarro*s gang holding up 2000 fans in a movie theater (pp. 72-74)} flashbacks triggered by photographs to events in the life of the principal narrator (p. 74) s the use of the tarot 58
cards to foretell the future (p. 75)j and frequent inver¬
sions of events with the resultant action described before the causitive action (i.e., the telephone call from Papá
la Oca instructing the transfer of Sarro to a hospital (p.
76) comes after the description of thirteen stretcher- bearers carrying Sarro to an ambulance) (p. 72)i all trans¬ pire with the background of the music "Doralice".
It is interesting to note that the second of the
letters (p. 77), not only synthesizes or replays the lin¬
ear events of the three days, but also enables Terencio to write a short biography of Sarro*s past ending the section with an atmosphere of uncertaintyt
Era el amo dijo Dona, ahora durmiente, y yo me estremecí. Es el amo repetía epilogando todas sus actitudes..«Sientes pasar la vida, la muerte, el galope de un jinete perdido del apo¬ calipsis? (p. 80)
The final section of Chapter One is linear in its tera- poral-spacial presentation. The gradual realization that
Sarro's stroke means an abrupt change in life style for each of the protagonists is presented by the narrator as he objectively reports the scene at the hospital, the buy¬
ing of a jar of instant coffee, the scene in the restaurant when Yin decides to make the coffee the symbol of Sarro *s ashes, the streets, and apartments where Yin scatters the ashes, and finally the events which occur when both of them arrive, drunk, at the school. The ficticious time 59
is established as after Christmass "La navidad ya pasó"*
(p. 91) The chapter ends with the reading of two news¬ paper clippings both of which concern bizarre occurrences.
This links up to plans for their own bizarre occurrences, a trip to Acapulco to escape from the precariousness of the
"reality" in which they are living. The last word in the chapter is "Jeremiadas" (p. 98) meaning mournful complaints, lamentations.
Chapter two begins with the usual device of a direct address to Tobias by one of his many nicknames, and the linguistic game played in this letter is "fill in the 13 blanks". The narrator reports directly the events that, occur during their stay in Acapulco, and indicates each abrupt témpora1-spacial change by a slash, (/). Three of the létters to Tobias are presented in their entirety even in¬ cluding the closing phrase and signature with their sexual connotation which underline the erotic situation in which
Terencio finds himselfs he has three women at his immedi¬ ate disposal plus a fourth, his ex-wife, whom he subconscious¬ ly desires, also in close proximity.
The chance meeting of the architect, López Santos, and his entourage, takes the protagonists to a penthouse in the
Hotel Presidente. The spacial boundaries in this chapter fluctuate back and forth from this apartment, to the beach, to the hotel Mansión del Mar, and end finally with 60
the trip to Mexico City,
The ficticious time covered extends from a few days
after Christmas until sometime after the 8th of January as
indicated byt "¿y la del día siete? ¿Cómo sabes que no 14 llovió mientras que estuvimos fuera?".(p. 160)
The camera-eye narration projects the images of the
people as on a giant motion picture screen. The action and
dialogue» as well as the impressions on the subconscious of
Terencio form a montage which the reader apprehends almost
simultaneously. There are instances of flashbacks» usually
preceded by guide words such as "te acuerdas de Liz» Jorobas”.,
(p, 108) The mention of Ulysses and a derogatory remark concerning James Joyce» cause a feeling of alienation in
Terencio towards everyone and everything in the apartment»
and makes him express his subconscious Oedipal longing for
Leticias "añoraba a Leticia.,.,Y no lograba coordinar
ideas,#(p. 109) This feeling of being alone and not understood» "Pero nadie me hacía caso» nadie"» causes Terencio to drink until he is "mareado pero contento.(p, 111)
Various anecdotes are intercalated into the regular narrative line by the means of flashbacks. One story of
Sarro*s crash at Isla de Mujeres is triggered by the sight
of the flying water-skiers. Another flashback about
Terencio•s experiences as a draftee» is triggered by his
identification card, Yin tells some stories of tortures 61
endured by communists (p. 112)# of Sarro burning an oriental opium den (p. 125), and finally a tale of some killer bees that are taking over parts of South America, reminiscent of the ants in Cien años de soledad» (p. 139) On the road back to Mexico City various anecdotes, most of which concern
Sarro, are interwoven in a direct dialogue and in interior monologues. "Era el amo" (p. 149) triggers an anecdote of the rebels in Havana who are thrown to their deaths from the top of a six story high building, (pp. 150-152) The tale is presented through a nesting technique and starts, as do all such stories, "Había una vez..." (p. 150) The sentence that Yin evokes at the end of the story, "Y su sentido curiosamente heroico de la vida,"(p. 152) is an exact repe¬ tition of the words in Chapter One. (p. 33) Yin tells of
Sarro*s efficient use of a machine gun in killing some peasants on the road near Taxco. This brings to mind the near assassination of Vicente Leñero and the assassination of Sandino and Jaramillo. (pp. 155-157)
As in the first chapter where the reading of Ulysses and the translation about spiders provided a literary thread to the narrative line, here, in Chapter Two, the reading of
Ulysses continues, but a new book is read and quoted exten¬ sively! Lecturas históricas mexicanas. One story, that of
Tlahuicole)is interwoven randomly throughout the second chapter of the novel beginning on page 115 and continuing 62
on page 117, 136-7, 154-55, and finally at the end of the chapter, a long description of ancient Tenochitlan (Mexico
City) is quoted and then compared to the present city.
(p. 160)
Leticia, plays an important part in the action that occurs in Acapulco. During the party in the penthouse, twice she entices Terencio into closets and both times she arouses his sexual instincts only to cruelly punish him as a form of retribution for having seduced her ten years ago.
The second time she threatens to castrate him, and then takes a photograph of his genitals which she displays for all at the party to ridicule. Her masochistic actions seem only to spur the sexual fascination that Terencio feels.
School has started and Terencio has returned to his chores. The third chapter begins with the arrival of three letters from Tobias. Juxtaposed with the action and the girls* conversations are the curious facts about Brazil that
Terencio reads in the letters. Abruptly there is an objec¬ tive report of the arrival of the ’’spectators** into the Crypt,
(pp. 165-167) The lascivious men are identified by numbers
(FI2, D2, etc.), and Terencio reports how he photographs them as they watch the spectacle. These photographs, which will be used by Papá la Oca to blackmail them, present them ast "demasiados estúpidos, demasiado enfermos, demasiado morbosos, demasiado imprevisores, demasiado cobardes, dema¬ siado capaces de contentarse con un espectáculo que no los 63
colma, demasiado como nosotros mismos.(p. 167)
A signed letter from Tobías dated» "Miércoles 26 o
algo así" (p. 167)» endoses an anecdote about his brief encounter with a beautiful"mulata" in a movie theater which
serves to show how much Terencio and Tobias have in common»
especially the futility of their mode of living.
In an interior monologue, Terencio registers not only
the facts his conscious mind knows about the school and the
school girls, but also such things as French ballet terms,
flamingos, and the attraction he feels for Lalka*(p. 170)
From the vertical interior time, there is a linking with the
horizontal linear time as Terencio joins Lalka, and together they read one of the letters from Tobias which gives another
instance of the nesting technique. This time the anecdote
of Tobías* adventure on the beach with a beautiful seven¬
teen year old girl parallels the adventure that Terencio is having with Lalka. Both are frustrated in their sexual
attempts expecially with young girls.
Terencio then returns to his janitorial chores, and while sitting in the principal*s chair, he daydreams, and
in a flashback remembers how some school girls tricked him 15 and stole the final examination questions.
The second section is devoted to a discussion of a
serenade that took place directly in front of the house containing the crypt. Papá la Oca telephones that he wants 64
Yin to leave by 5 p.m. Terencio reminisces about serenades in which he was a participant» and all play a game of print¬ ing signs that pose questions concerning their future, (p. 176-
179) As Terencio goes about his early morning cleaning» he stops to cover with his coat» a little girl who is sleep¬ ing on the patio.(p. 179)
A montage of six simultaneous actions are presented in this section of Chapter Threes Terencio and Dona are taking a bath» Terencio is reading Dona9s translation about spiders» or discussing the letters which have been returned to him» the telephone keeps ringing (and Dona keeps getting out of the bath to answer it)» the sounds of an English class» the sounds of outside traffic» and the sounds of a recording concerning a sinful woman. All are heard and are presented in juxtaposition in a staccato rhythm. As Terencio re-reads the newspaper clipping in Portuguese» his subconscious trig¬ gers a flashback to the previous morning as he and Yin were on their way to the hospital. There is a brief dialogue» critical of the lack of government supervision of archaeo¬ logical discoveries. At the hospital» Terencio tries to persuade Yin that Sarro is not recovering as the doctors would lead her to believe. When Yin drops the package of cigarettes» Terencio stoops to gather them and in a stream of consciousness there is a flow of words that have the vowel "o" sound substituted for all the other vowels.(p. 185) 65
in another example of automatic writing.
The continuation of the reading of the nevsclipping
in Portuguese again shifts the spacial-temporal narrative to the moments in which Terencio and Dona are bathing. One paragraph is* devoted to the reading of the news clipping» another to the dialogue and descriptive action with Dona as they bathe.(pp, 187-190), Three letters are addressed to Tobias i one is very short and describes the bath water as it spirals down the drainf another explains why the last letter he wrote Tobias has been returnedi and the third con¬ tains various amusing little scenes of the school girls* activities.
A stream of consciousness describing the sounds which
filter into the bathroom» the physical discomforts and needs of Terencio, plus the visual impact of the book, Ulysses, and the signs on the wall evoke a flashback. Terencio, while in Lalka*s room watching her asleep in innocent naked¬ ness, pretends to use the toilet and accidentally flushes down one of the stuffed turtles, Lalka, wrapped only in a plastic raincoat, rushes in to rescue her pet, My yo podia ver, vislumbrar más bien, intuir de cerca la intimidad observada desde el piso de arriba, a través de ojos mágicos y espejos de tosca transparencia,•,M (p, 193)
Dona returns with telephone messages from Papá la Oca admonishing Terencio to take great care with the spectators 66
and make good blackmail reports* By this time» Sarro has regained his physical strength and is able to sit up*
Terencio becomes quite angry and rebukes Dona for leaving behind the towel she had used to cover herself as she ran to answer the phone in the apartment below* The section ends with a discussion of the meaning of the initials Sarro has placed in his agenda and with a comparison of Dona's and
Terencio's sex life to that of the spider's, (p. 196)
The last two sections of chapter three are each 21 pages long and represent contrasts in narrative rhythm* The first is very rapid» using short phrases and many verbs in the present tense» giving a sense of immediacy to the action ¡ the second is quite slow and employs many descriptive phrases with the imperfect tense employed in all the verbs. The terrifying car ride» in a car without brakes driven by a wreckless driver, Leticia, through the streets of Mexico City on the way to Leticia's apartment (pp. 201-207), is contras¬ ted with the crawling and annoying pace of the taxi drive back to the school* (pp* 217-226) Both sections employ a nesting technique to present short anecdotes in the fast section, and a long anecdote, the tale of the Zapotecan, in the slow-paced section*
Terencio gives a direct report of the treatment of the girls in the school as he goes towards the principal's office.
He is not granted an interview and leaves when he hears the postman ringing at the door* Some of the students ask per- 67
mission to go to a car belonging to Sister Malena to fetch something from the trunk, Leticia drives by Terencio and entices him into her car. As she speeds off, his fre¬ quent pleas that he must return to the school are ans¬ wered by Leticia with disdain.
The next scene in Leticia’s apartment is a fantasy projection by Terencio beginning with the "zarzuela" sung by Leticia and the visiting architect, complicated by fre¬ quent flashbacks to the years during which Terencio and
Leticia were married, and culminating with Leticia sing¬ ing and dancing to the song "Clavelitos",(pp, 208-215)
As the architect’s girl friend pours whiskey for them to drink, they discuss Terencio*s novels, both of which are very experimental. In one, the words are all arranged alphabetically and the reader must reconstruct the novel in a little notebook which is conveniently sold with the book. In the second, there is one sentence printed per each of the 1900 copies. This sentence occupies its exact place and page in the otherwise blank book. In order to read the novel, the reader must locate all 1900 copies and thereby become one of the members of an elite reading club.1^
Terencio feebly tries to restore order to the chaos of his mind by trying to read one of Tobias* letters; how¬ ever, this adds more to the confusion because it is a dic¬ tionary of puns. The whiskey further clouds his conscious- 68
ness and he sayst
...y el problema» apréndate ahora» de recupe¬ rar un pasado» varios años fantasmas que parecen borrarse por innumerables sortilegios» igual que centenares de argumentos filmicos y la esencia de los libros» para no mencionar sus avatares. Totals enjuicio la existencia de la memorial el problema de recordar no existe y plantearlo revela una sospechosa ingenuidad» una curiosa confianza en uno mismo» un serió optimismo que más vale ahogar en Grand Old Parr distilled and bottled in Scotland under British Government supervision, (pp. 212-13),:
Terencio tries to become drunk» and there is flash¬ back to the time when he lived with Leticia and his friend»
Tobías» and his date played a game of cards. As the cards instruct them to gradually undress and submit to other "pun¬ ishment" or penalties» they realize that the neighbors are vieving the action through a slash in’ the curtains. The game is continued in a darkened room and becomes more erotic» and is linked to the actual sexual act going on between the architect and his girl who are presently on the sofa making love.(p. 214) Suddenly» Terencio remembers he must call the school. Leticia finally lets him use the phone which is hidden beneath a large statue of Buddha.(p. 215)
Donají is quite disturbed and she implores Terencio to come to the school immediately as a catastrophe has just occurred i the mirror of the Crypt has been accidentally broken by Lalka and in the presence of a room full of impor¬ tant spectators.(p. 217), 69
Unfortunately, Terencio is forced to take a taxi back to the school and the traffic situation in Mexico City is exasperating. Not only is there no visible motion for¬ ward, but a man asks to share the taxi. Suddenly, Terencio*s interior monologue about the conditions of the traffic and his problem at the school is interrupted by the mutual recog¬ nition of the two passengers. The man who is from the state of Zapoteca is an old school acquaintance (p. 219) The
Zapotecan then insists on telling Terencio about his unfor- tunate experiences involving Sarro and Papá la Oca.(pp. 219-
226) A temporal-spacial shift within the narration occurs, as indicated on page 222 byi "Pero tenia que llegar aquí, le cuento a Donají...", and the anecdote is completed by
Terencio as he describes the events to Donaji while in the apartment. Fear grips the protagonist as he contemplates telephoning Papá la Oca to inform him of the accident in the
Crypt. Terencio avoids answering the telephone, and even resorts to disconnecting the line when he is asked to ans¬ wer a call from the hospital. He ponders over the untimely death of James Joyce (p. 230) Dona answers another phone call and reports that it was the hospital informing them that Sarro had caused quite a scene and had to be sedated
(p. 231) . Finally, Terencio gathers up his courage enough to call Papá la Oca, and he is surprised when he is offered an assignment to go to Acapulco. Up to this point, Terencio 70
has been unable to tell his boss about the mirror and his plans to resign. He endures all the inane jokes Papá la
Oca likes to tell» and then meekly consents to the trip to
Acapulco*(pp. 232-237)
Dona tries to convince Terencio not to go on the trip, or at least to take her with him. Her grim thoughts on the disappearance of Yin add uncertainty to the situation, and the sudden reminder that Terencio has left the correspondence in Leticia*s apartment, causes the narrator to end the sec¬ tion with a questions "¿Habremos vivido esto en alguna otra parte?” (p. 238), a feeling of deja vu that permeates other sections of the narrative.
The fourth and last chapter begins with a long mono¬ logue to Tobias in which Terencio feels both happy and appre¬ hensive. He tells Tobias about the girls whom he left out¬ side the school the morning he was kidnapped by Leticia f how they hid in the trunk of Sister Malena's cari and discovered that Sister Malena lead a double life as a chorus girl at night, and that she had a lover too«(p. 241)
The letter is interrupted to describe the scenery outside and inside the plane. There is a direct report of the names and physical description of the twelve gangsters who are on the plane. Terencio is the thirteenth passen¬ ger. As he looks at his watch, he feels the end is nears
"Es curioso, pero siento que es la última vez que veo la 71
hora» las nubes en esa posición» la claridad» bueno» como
si fuera la última vez", (p. 242) He tries to distract
his thoughts by examining the tapestry on the walls of the
plane» and then muses on the possibilities that might have
prevented his .being on the plane. The conversations of the
gangsters are juxtaposed with the interior monologue.
Terencio fantasizes a motion picture with the title "Obse¬
sivos días circulares (Años fantasmas)" which parallels
in plot the story he is living in "reality" (p. 244), a
classical example of interior duplication which serves to
point up the coexistence of multiple levels of reality. The
touch of the letter, which is in his pocket, evokes thoughts
of a planned letter to Tobias in which he describes a dream
involving Borges, whom he compares to "un Papá la Oca domés¬
tico" (p. 246), and Gabriela Mistral as a child. Leticia
is also in the dream, which is consciously described as an
example of a trick of time, "de la trampa que el tiempo
había tendido." (p. 246) The word "tricks" plunges the narrator into a flashback when he again is the object of a
trick played by Ponciana, one of the school girls*(pp. 246-
247)
While he contemplates the view from the plane window,
he is again seized by the sense of impending deathi "Iremos
hacia la muerte?" (p, 247) Again he enumerates the possibil¬
ities that might have prevented him from taking the plane 72
flight. He recalls a quotation from Cartaphilus by Borges»
in which he states that "as the end approaches memory images
17 j . no longer remain; only words," (p. 247) He tries vainly to recall meaningful memories. Abruptly» one of the gang¬
sters inquires if he knows Sarro, As Terencio attempts to
avoid the.conversations of the gangsters» his subconscious
presents an oneiric narration. He dreams he is with Lalka
on the way to a hospital» a destination only identified by«
"Dos enfermeras o dos mujeres con caras de enfermeras•.•"
(p. 249) The person that they see in bed could be con¬ ceivably Terencio's mentally retarded son or possibly a
projection of himselft
Ter icio está al fondo» sobre una cama des¬ tendida» con la mirada fija en las puntas de sus pies» como drogado» su piel cobriza y sin alegría» sin inquietudes. Para él la vida fue una trampa» dije o comencé decir. Una perversa trampa...Y él estaba allí» ignorándonos» cabe¬ zón y con ojos enormes.,,(p, 249)
The narrator jumps abruptly in time and space to the conversation and description of the gangsters telling an anecdote of how Sarro and two other mobsters robbed the personal library of the widow of Horacio Quiroga,(pp. 248-
250)
The last five minutes of the plane ride are presented
in a long interior monologue in which Terencio describes the trick that one gangster» La Matraca» plays by putting out his cigar on the other's head,(p, 251) Terencio 73
reports the plane's descent over the water to the airport*
His thoughts begin to flow from the last sentence of
Ulysses* to the ending of various novels such asi La región más transparente» Grande SertSoi veredas. Las furias, and
Pedro Páramo*. He also quotes from a novel by José Antonio
Arcocha and from Saint-John Perse* These quotations under¬ line the feelings of solitude and uncertainty of what lies ahead s
Pero siento que el mundo absorbe, consume, disuelve mis miedos, los priva de todo verdad, ¿Qué queda en el fondo? No ya mis miedos sino el alma profética del vasto mundo que sueña las cosas futuras***(p* 253)
Finally his subconscious looses itself in a phrase from
Cantinflas* moviei "De generación en generación, las genera¬ ciones se degeneran con mayor degeneración* • for thirteen pages and with ever increasing type size until an incomplete
"g" is all that remains® (pp* 253-266)
Levels of Reality
As has been stated previously, language has become the basic theme and function of the contemporary novel. In
Obsesivos días circulares, the fictional "world” or kosmos of the novel (plot, characters and setting) is subordinate to the language; for it is in the creation of languages (a language characterized by its morphological, syntactical, and lexical intricacies) that Sainz strives to capture, not only 74
the sensation of living in the Mexico City of the late
1960's* but also to present the alienation* the solitude* the oppression and the other psychic torments that are manifest in modern man. Sainz uses mainly the "presence of a controlled 'point of view'" * Terencio, as the con¬ sciousness through which all is seen* heard or felt* and whose ambiguous attitude towards life is reflected in the kosmos he elects to present. It is ambiguity, the sign of the perversion* the deformity and the duplicity of political life in Mexico* that is the essential characteristic of the external world of Obsesivos días circulares. It is this chaotic setting that is the "massive determinant— environment viewed as physical or social causation" over which Terencio* a purely existencial character* has no con¬ trol.
Mexico City and Acapulco* the famed resort city where
"la clase media prueba ser lo mejor de todos t la que mejor 23 baila* la que mejor se divierte* la que mejor liga*" are the principal geographical settings that alternate from chapter to chapter. The physical settings in Mexico City aret the school* owned by the mysterious* political figure*
Papá la Oca and operated by nuns (at least one of whom leads a clandestine* amoral double life)j the two apartments with¬
in the school complex* each one occupied by one of the two couples* and each one provided with sufficient peep-holes 75
to allow each couple an ample view of the Intimate life of the other; the darkly curtained theater» "the crypt"» whose stage is a two-way mirror that allows the "spectators" to lasciviously view the school girls as they dress and undress; the hospital» whith its torments (treatments» medi¬ cines» etc*) and its executioners (doctors); the streets of Mexico City with people» houses» buildings» monuments» businesses» construction» etc*» covered every day "con un poco del polvo del ceniciento lago de Texcoco" (p* 41); and
Leticia*s apartment where the "physical reality" merges with fantasy as Terencio tries vainly» with the help of whiskey to drown the nauseating problems of his existence*
Specific names of streets» restaurants» theaters» churches» hotels» monuments» etc*» of both Mexico City and
Acapulco are a realistic documentation "offered in the inter¬ est of illusion."^4 This illusion gives reliability to the geographical setting of the narration» but it also tends to narrow the temporal-spacial scope and its relevancy to the reader unfamiliar with Mexico* However» it does permit the narrator to comment on the social» political and economic conditions of the country* Some examples of this aret
1) on the way to the airports
"paso con frecuencia por aquí» dice el gordo» y no creo que haya nada igual en toda la ciudad» no ni que debajo de esos conventillos de alma tétrica existan pirámides; y escupe» en cuanto se aburre de ver el mismo paisaje 76
de perro sarnosos y casas viejas y resquebra¬ jadas! ni pirámides» ni tesoros indígenos..." (P. 42) and a bit further in the same settings **y puxa en este pals ni siquiera el frío es en serio.N (p. 43);
Yin» on the way from the hospitals **sorteábamos árboles2)with que nos aislaban del Monumento de la Madre» sin repa¬ rar en la gente ociosa pero si en nuestros zapatos llenos de tierra» en las veredas fuera de itinerario.M (p. 82) and alsos
hablando de la ciudad con sus capas de smog y polvo espléndida desde los ventanales de esa estancia corr¬ ompible si dispusiéramos de varios miles de dólares al mes» y deprimente abajo» pisoteada por oleadas de pobres» anuncios» tránsitos y vendedores,...(p. 87);
3) as Terencio approaches Mexico City after the long drive in the yellow school bus from Acapulco» he quotes a long pas¬ sage from Lecturas histéricas mexicanas that describes the city of Tenochtitlan and its marketplace to contrast it with the modern city of Mexico» D.F. s
Insatisfecho por estar de nuevo en la ciudad vieja» sinuosa» inopinada» voraz» conminatoria/llena de mugre y polvo y luces y fantasmas y ruido y soledad y pánico y sociedades secretas, (p. 160)
4) A flashback to the hospital with Yin» gives Terencio an opportunity to comment on the lack of supervision and control of archaeological discoveries!
Una grúa habla topado con restos prehispánicos» una pirámide o algo peor. Los obreros se arremolinaban en tomo de un montículo con alfarería. Miras una 77
armadura rellena con esqueleto español. Yin se santiguó. Y el problema ahora es cuántas de estas cosas llegarán al museo» y cuántas serán clasi¬ ficadas» membretadas y exhibidas. Un hombre em¬ papado en sudor» renegrico por el sol» pero son¬ riente» limpiaba de polvo y barro la percudida armadura. Junto de nosotros pasó un fotógrafo. ¿Dónde está el inspector de antropología? gritaba alguien, (pp. 182-183)
The audió-visual description of the traffic of Mexico
City is especially vivid as Terencio notest
A través de la barda de hiedra y las puertas de lámina se escucha el ronronear de los motores de autos que pasan» el chirrido de los frenos cuando los sorprenden los topes» el cambio a primera o segunda velocidad» el quejido de un acelerón» a veces» cuando salen de la última hilera de topes y reanudan su mecánico des¬ lizamiento. Precaución. Escuela, (p. 160)
The two trips that Terencio takes across Mexico City» one a very fast and wreckless ride with Leticia» the other a f very slow taxi ride back to the school» also portray in contrasting rhythms the sights of the city» its people and its traffic. Despite Terencio*s complaint about the terrible sun» ("un terrible sol de walpurgis••.No parece realmente sol» es como si» bueno» una pecera radioactiva colgada en el cielo»** p. 202) he describes!
La avenida Insurgentes resulta gris en su mayor parte» más los verdes oscuros de los árboles y a pesar de la luminosidad de parabrisas y ventanas, (p. 206)
The heat is again mentioned by Terencio as he sits in the taxi i
Pero la lentísima circulación de autos—de ciudad enferma o El día que paralizaron la Tierra—obli¬ gaba a uno a sonreír con los automovilistas» y era difícil no verlos secándose el sudor o mentando madres a claxonazos y ademanes, (p. 217)
Many of the famous monuments and buildings of Mexico
City are curiously described by Terencio as he studies the tapestry on the airplane* the color tone» grey is emphasized- a tone that is mysterious or nebulous in its "feel”—to char¬ acterize how Terencio feels about the metropolis. This grey tone is also extended to the •leitmotif* of rain that occurs many times during the narrative sequence. It is raining when Sarro shots the rat on the school patio (p. 25» 28); the rain becomes torrential (p. 30) as if announcing a sin¬
ister happening; the question, "will it rain?", asked repea¬ tedly (pp. 89-91), as the wind whips the dust and "...Marañas de nubes se disolvían por el rumbo del Pedregal* jorobados volando sobre la Ciudad Universitaria...” (p, 91); the rain that is forecast by the manager of the Hotel, since an earth¬ quake is always followed by a deluge (p. 144); and finally, the rain that accompanies the group from Cuernavaca (p. 157) until they reach the Ciudad Universitaria, where Yin says*
Primera lluvia del año,...y estamos en enero, pavo¬ neándose por su veracidad, orgullosa>todavla es inverierno, sonriente. ¿Y la del día dos? dice Dona sólo por joder, ¿y la del día cinco por la noche? ¿y la del día siete? ¿y como sabes que no llovió mientras estuvimos fuera? Reímos sin ganas y durante el resto del camino por la avenida Insur¬ gentes guardamos silencio, (pp. 159-160)
In Acapulco the popular beaches, nightclubs, and some of the principal hotels are described, with the main action 79
occurring in the hotel rooms at Mansión del Mar» where
Terencio is staying with Dona» Yin and Lalka» and the Hotel
Presidente where the architect» López Santos has a pent¬
house apartment and where some psychedelic parties are given*
A synthesis of the middle class feeling for Acapulco*could bet
Para mi Acapulco» juzga Yin» es como una compe¬ tencia* Se trata de saber quién tiene mejor cuerpo» quién nada mejor» quién esquía mejor» quién liga mejor» quién luce mejor un bikini» quién pesca mejor» quién va al mejor hotel» quién se broncea mejor» en fin» sin competencias Acapulco no serla nada***(p* 145)
Terencio*s reading of Ulysses* Dona#s translation about
spiders» the reading of the tale of Tlahuicole in Lecturas
históricas mexicanas and the Brazilian newpaper clippings
about a police woman» Heloisa» who poses as a student during
the student occupation of the university» all are intercala¬
ted in the form of chronological loopings» and represent not
only leitmotifs» but also a reflection on timet "objective
(external) time and literary time." These cultural ref¬
erences» of either a "literary reality", a "scientific
reality" coexist within the "real world" or kosmos in which
the characters move, and meder it more reliable, even though 27 ultimately it is all merely an artistic literary creation*
Chronological time, which is given by "clues" within the narrative, such ast "Creo que era el último día de clases" (p* 30), "hace un mes por lo menos te hablo de él en cartas" (p* 46), ort "lo que pasa es que las felicitaciones navideñas**•" (p* 37) establish the beginning of December as 80
the approximate date when Sarro and Yin first arrive at the
school; the dialogue between Lalka and Terencio, after
Terencio and Yin return, drunk, from their trip to see
Sarro at the hospital, establishes that Christmas has passed, and Lalka had missed having a Christmas tree; the discussion of rain, as the group returns from Acapulco, establishes the time after the first week of January (p. 160),
(especially since Lalka saysi "Mañana comienzan las clases y no me han comprado anteojos** p. 159 ); the words, **no hace ni un mes que se conocen** (p. 171) referring to the school girls, locates the time of catastrophe (the breaking of the mirror in the crypt) as occurring towards the end of
January or beginning of February. It is through this deduc- * tive method that a two month span of chronological time is calculated.
28 , The narrative time, being pluridimensional, is also given in "clues**, such as the time that Terencio meets
Leticia at the airport and thinkst "...hace diez años fue mi locura", or Sarro*s biography that Terencio writes in which he gives 1904 as the specific date of Sarro98 birth and completes his chronology by indicating the "trick" that
Sarro is playings
En 1963 lo metieron en la cárcel por el asesinato sanguinario de dos indígenas que le conseguían ixcamolli, un platillo muy complicado a base de huevos de hormiga blancos y gordos que se cotiza a muy alto precio; pero lo dejaban salir de la prisión para que cometiera atropellos oficiales 81
o casi oficiales y excepto nosotros, para todo mundo y en especial archivos y burocracias, el inmenso, tremendo gordo Sarro, sigue in la cárcel* The word "araña" is a leitmotif that refers not only to the translation about spiders that Dona is doing, but 29 also is the symbol of the female who punishes her sexual partner i "Hay arañas que devoran a sus machos, incluso antes de terminar el acto sexual*" (p* 41)* It is used frequently as a metaphor to describe the women t "Por , alguna raz6n pienso en Leticias la maldita araña debe estar revolcándose de risa en alguna parte." (p* 188)i or refer¬ ring to Donas "que se los iba a regalar a tu araña." (p* 206)j and instead of saying, Yin, Papá la Oca sayss "Ah, la araña esa." (p. 233) Two phrases "era el amo" and "Y su sentido curiosamente heroico de la vida" are motifs associated with Sarro and his sinister assignments. Dona first says, "es el amo" (p. 37) as she forces Terencio to stop reading UlYsses and go to the apartment below where Sarro is very angry because the tele¬ phone call for Terencio has disturbed him. The second time the phrase is used is when Terencio is writing Sarro *s biographyt "Era el amo dijo Dona, ahora durmiente, y yo me estremecí. Es el amo repetía epilogando todas sus actitudes." (p. 80) On another occasion Yin is telling about the hor¬ rible tortures inflicted on the communist guerillas! Dona 82 susurró era el amo.** (p. 113) This same phrase acts as a spring to launch the "nested" story of the rebels who are thrown to their deaths from a high building, (pp. 149-152) It is here, again, that Yin reiterates* "Y su sentido curi¬ osamente heroico de la vida" that she first said after Sarro told the story of the assassination .(p. 37) Other leitmotifs that are found in Obsesivos días circulares and which tend to unify the narration and usually to emphasize some particular trait of each of the characters are* 1) the turtles, Jack the Ripper and Ramonita Rocamorra, which Lalka always has in her possession and which serves to identify her as an adolescent, a girl just entering the t teenage yearsi in fact, Yin and Dona constantly refer to her as a child* "Esta nifía.•.come nada más chocolates." (p. 49), and Terencio, himself, although obsessed with the idea of adding her to his list of sexual conquests, points out her youth and innocence when he begins a description of the groups first visit to the architects penthouse apart¬ ment in Acapulco* "Y ahora la historia de una infancia entre los humanos." (p. 106) 2) Sarro• s black notebook, first mentioned when he meets Leticia at the airport (p. 46), and in which he carefully annotates all names, dates, as well as coded information pertinent to the affairs of Papá la Oca. The return of the 83 envelope ("con sellos regañones y sospechosas roturas arriba y abajo, el timbre destruido" (p, 190) in which Terencio had unwisely mailed the "agenda" to his friend, Tobias, causes Terencio great apprehension. This appre¬ hension is magnified into anguished fear when Papá la Oca, prior to sending him on an assignment to Acapulco, saysi •••por cierto que cuando nos veamos le voy a dar una carta de nuestro amigo Dorleado que me llegó por equivocación ¿no tiene usted algo nuestro?, quiero decir algo relacionado con la Secretaría/ (p. 235) 3) the picture of Sarro shaking hands with Papá la Oca in a government office (p. 53), which Terencio sees each time he has to use the telephone in the downstairs apartment, and which on one occasion causes him to thinks "Siento como si r la casa, vacia hasta ahora, se hubiera llenado," (p, 232) 4) the mirrors, which not only serve as the means for spying on the couples and the school girls, but are also the symbols of the fragility of life as it is lived by the characters, Terencio looks at life as though looking at a rear-view mirrori when faced with his own reflection in a mirror, he tries to escape the reality of the present situation by sub¬ stituting "the flavor of the most recent past," (p, 144) Again, even Lalka, who dreams of breaking the glass of the display windows in stores (p, 54) and who is responsible for the shattering of the display window—the mirror— of the crypt (p. 217), is intimately tied to the brittleness of the 84 environment. This vitreosity is seen as Terencio brings to mind the interior monologue» a poem by Helo Neto in which famous heros and their quests are enumerated» beginning with the mythical killing of the seven-headed hydra and end¬ ing with the feat of the Russian astronaut» Titov» in his spaceship» Vostok and concludingt como irei—eu—olho de vidrio—fsic] caqar o monstro, que e também—;de vidrio [sicj na floresta—também—de vidrio?' [sic} (P* 237) 5) the family photographs and other forms of memorabilia» such as **stills de cine y recortes de periódico** (p. 61)» which Yin has stored in a big box and which serve as a descrip¬ tive tool and also as a springboard into the past, not .only of the principal protagonist, but of all the characters, including Papá la Oca t ¿QuieA es? Papá la Oca, Ah, no parece, dice con naturalidad, ahora está calvo ¿verdad?, modesta al contrastar con la imagen de un grosero desnudo, (p. 61) The photographs of the school girls also provide Terencio the opportunity to evoke remembrances not only of their physical attributes, but also of the tricks that he played on them (p. 76) or the mischievous pranks that they did at the school. The importance of the photographs for intercalating tales into the narrative is noted by the selfconscious writer, Terencio, when he sayst •••¿Dije ya que veíamos fotografías? ¿Qué amena¬ zábamos a Yin con los presagios de cartas tarot 85 desplegadas frente a ella? ¿Qué develábamos anécdotas* sucedidos* un pasado .que llegaba hasta nosotros petrificado en daguerrotipos brillantes* amarilloxidados* o sucios? (p. 74) Language is again the motivating force in the charac- 32 terization of the protagonists* for it is through the use of unusual morphology and syntax that a new descriptive lexi¬ con is created **that reflects the tone and attitude of the speaker or writer.'*33 This synthesis of language, so rich \ in metaphors and epithets, which combines Mexican colloquial¬ isms* Americanisms* vulgarity and literary language* and which is at times euphonius* at times humorous* presents a cast of symbolic figures which range from the caricature that is Sarro to the mythological complexities of Terencio#s personality or the god-like powers of Papá la Oca. Without doubt Sainz agrees with Wellek and Warren when 34 they say* "The simplest form of characterization is naming** * for all the personages are called by various metaphors or epithets in an effort to add emphasis to sparse visual imagery that the reader is given of each. These names are usually onomatopoetic and often times symbolic. Donajl, Terencio#s second wife is blond (Papá la Oca refers to her as Terencio,s "guereja" p. 235), she is well read and does translations (**yo puedo conseguir tra¬ ducciones y...** p. 232 ), loves to cook and talk about food* and not only is sexually attractive to her husband* but 86 shares with Leticia the "mother image" in Terenciofs Oedipal obsession, Terencio uses the term "escaleropl- peda" as a metaphor describing Dona, because she has the habit of going up and down stairs as a form of exercise and to keep her figure, (pp. 10, 111, 172, 231) However, 35 a "rounded" * image of the character of Dona does evolve as Terencio, in an interior monologue sayst Es mi amada mujer, trato de pensar, agitada, cocinera, amable, traductora,•••Blanca, apiño¬ nada, más bien ¿o rubia?, absolutamente joven, piernilarga, tranquila y como ajena a mis pre¬ ocupaciones la mayor parte del tiempo, segura de si misma, las manos maltratadas, rotas las uñas de sus pies...(p. 231) Leticia, a masochist and Terencio*s first wife, is characterized not only by her impulsive actions, but by her 36 conversation, especially her constant use of vulgarisms, Terencio does provide the reader with a few physical facts that describe Leticias her dyed red hair, "es Leticia con los cabellos color zanahoria" (p, 124)} her beautiful mouth, "gracias a cuatro mil pesos invertidos en odontología, pero oliendo a chicle" (p, 45)i her aging in the last ten years, "Habla más arrugas, esa boca pintarrajeada parecía remedo de otra boca,,," (p, 56); her pretty face, "la misma cara de muñeca, vital, aunque de vulgaridad más acusada" (p, 210)} and her figure, ",,,las pequeñas cicatrices alrededor de la cintura, culpa de fajas, ligueros, y todo lo demás," (p, 189) Terencio*s obsessional urge to recapture the sexual enjoyment 87 of his past life with Leticia* a part of his Oedipus complex* is abolished as he watches Leticia dance and sings "...como la fuerza y la vitalidad de la mujer que payasea sin descanso frente a mi para hacer añicos el retorcido recuerdo que guardo de ella." (p. 212) The two black-haired sisters* Lalka (p. 132) and Yin* come from somewhere in South Americas La chilenita esa* o brasileña* o caraqueña* o peruana* o de donde carajos sea* pero bien al sur* con la hermanita lameculos. (p. 207) Ah* de Yin* la gaucha araucana* o uruguaya* o montevideána* quiero decir* la que no es de aquí ¿verdad? (p. 216) Lalka* as has been previously noted is an adolescent and Yin just as attractive physically* is also youngs "Veintidós* dijo* soy casi una viuda de veintidós." (p. 112) Yin is interested in two things* sex and money. In fact* her de¬ pendence on an active sexual life identifies her as a nympho maniac. This psychological trait is especially apparent after she realizes that Sarro is paralyzeds Los ojos enrojecidos de Yin y su interrumpida felicidad. Veinte o más orgasmos al mes y ahora cero* un enorme cero* The Wonderful 0 y la amargura de su sonrisa, (p. 85) The most vivid and terrifying figure in Obsesivos dias circulares is Sarro* the intelligent* cultured assassin. Terencio uses countless epithets to paint a caricature of the enormous sixty-year old gangster* who possesses only two 88 methods of vocalizations Luego vino el progresivo conocimiento de Sarro. Sus dos únicas expresiones. La primeras RIP, los ojos muertos» contemplando extasiados algo indefinible! la segunda una risa instantánea» cen¬ telleante a veces» pero casi siempre un visaje mecánico acomodándose a su cara con facilidad por la costumbre. Unas palabras deformadas al pasar por los labios secos y seraiabiertosj o doss plabras atropellándose para vencer el bloqueo de la estática sonrisa y salir a trompicones. Una» dost siempre dos. (pp. 32-33) Sarro» "el amo" and Papá la Oca are the god-like powers that control the rest of the kosmos and that threaten the conti¬ nued existence of the others; and as Agrelio Gasea notes» they represents "La política vista desde su lado mítico» 37 jamesbondiano y eficaz." Terencio who endures the worn- out jokes and the libidinous assignments of Papá la Oca» does so with increasing fear. He describes the "Inefable Padre" (p. 63) ass ...con esa cara de guapo tan suya» Lord Byron de bosillo» viejo por el alcohol» las drogas» las tenebreas políticas» las mujerucas galantes y los buscones...Ibamos a reconstruirlo asi» malhablado» audaz» simpático» displicente» juvenil pese a la chorrera de años. (p. 63) The "spectators"» the lascivious raen who come to the crypt, are later blackmailed by Papá la Oca with the photo¬ graphs that Terencio has taken and in whichs se ven demasiado estúpidos, demasiado enfermos, demasiado morbosos, demasiado imprevisores» dema¬ siado cobardes, demasiado capaces de contentarse con un espectáculo que no los colma, demasiado como nosotros mismos,../ (p. 167) 89 In an effort to remain anonymous» they use code names such as F12 or D2, etc.» however» Terencio notes their occupations! lawyers» teachers» newspaper men» etc.; all influential» dis¬ crete and sickly» (p. 165) and all "under the thumb" of Papá la Oca. One of the characters, who (although divorced in spacial distance from the direct action of the narrative because he lives in Brazil) plays a significant role in the novel, is Tobias Dorleado. His correspondence with Terencio is the motivation that causes Terencio to write his account of life as he perceives and lives it. Tobias, former secretary to Papá la Oca, is responsible for creating the situation in. which Terencio is hopelessly embroiled; for it was he who first brought Terencio and Dona to live at the school, and it was in a package to him that Terencio mailed Sarro9 s notebook. During the plane ride to Acapulco, Terencio tries to rationalize the cause of his predicaments Como demonios entré allí, cuándo y quién me llevó. Pinche Jobias, a lo mejor tú pusiste en marcha ese endiablado engranaje que me trajo hasta aquí. (p. 243) The main protagonist of Obsesivos días circulares. 38 Terencio, has often been likened to the ironic hero of 39 the picaresque tradition, in that he lives in a world where injustices are an inescapable part of existence. 40 Terencio is as José Emilio Pacheco points outi ...la victima ejemplar que vive radicalmente 90 la condición humana entre Eros y Thánatos* entre su deseo plural y el miedo de morir., victima de un castigo innominado»,.. Terencio is characterized only through his actions and his thoughtsi the reader is not given any visual physical por¬ trait* only the internal structure of his psyche is pre¬ sented • We see him lost* lonely and alienated* and although he strives always to find a cause to justify his existence* he is doomed because he evades responsibility and allows events that debase him to occur with little or no resis¬ tance,41 As Federico Campbell notes« "El narrador* pen¬ sativo* escéptico* posiblemente cobarde* escondido en la 42 lectura de los libros* no vive la vida» la lee,M Obsesivos dias circulares is a story about a trip* "de un penoso aprendizaje**4^ a mythical trip toward salvation* on a plane to Acapulco* during which Terencio synthesizes his life amid the fears that beset him» • • ,me hacen pensar en el final de un libro* como si mis días fueran una acumulación de citas* con¬ versaciones* palabras ajenas* párrafos sueltos* preocupaciones sin sentido, (p, 252) As the plane begins to land* Terencio quotes the ending of various novels. He feels that the world» absorbe* consume* disuelve mis miedos* los priva* de toda verdad, ¿Qué queda en el fondo? No ya mis miedos sino el alma profética del vasto mundo que sueña las cosas futuras,•• (p, 253) He never loses faith in the luck that has always saved him* and yet* he tries to escape into the rhythmical* nonsensical phrase that he repeats over and over again (for thirteen 91 pages) until only an incomplete, extremely large graphic "g" remains that could symbolize many thingst gente, guerra, general, generación, Gustavo, and even God, by 44 extension into English. 92 Notes ^fiedomil Goió, Historia de la novela hispanoamericana (Valparaiso,ChilelUnversidad Católica de Valparaiso,1972),p.278. P Emir Rodríguez Monegal,"Tradición y Renovación," America Latina en su literatura ed.César Fernández Moreno (Mexic01SigloXXE Editores, S.A.,1972),pp.I62-I63. ^Luis Leal,"Contemporary Mexican Novel and Short Story," Contemporary Latin American Literature ed. Harvey L. Johnson and Philip B. Taylor, Jr.(Houston! Latin American Studies Committee, Office of International Affairs,University of Houston,1973)»P«42. ^Emir Rodriguez Monegal, op.cit.,p.163. ^Fable or story linei Russian formalists established the distinction between the story line, which they named fable and the narrative subject which they named sujet. Fable is the sum-total of events which are related in a work of fiction, its order follows a realistic temporal- causal sequence.See 1 Victor Erlich,Russian Formalism (The Hague 11955),p.211. ^Su.iet or plot as mediated through "point of view", "focus of narration".See 1 René Wellek and Austin Warren, Theory of Literature(New York* Harcourt,1956),p.218. n 'The following outline shows the temporal-spacial order of the narrative 1 Pages 9-11 Vignette 14 li FASTEN SEAT BELTS 15-30 Mexico City 30-36 Mafia assassination anecdote 37-41 Fictional time just before Christmas 41-47 Section linked to previous section by "arácnidos" 47-64 First signed letter by Terencio 64-80 Sarro*s stroke 81-98 Hospital; fictional time established as after Christmas QQ 21 NO SMOKING 101-103 Acapulco 103-m Meeting the architect López Santos 111-114 Horseback, Revolcadero Beach 93 115-120 Two near drownings for Terencio 120-141 Preparing to leave Acapulco 140-160 Trip home| fictional time after January 8th 161 3i CHALECO SALVAVIDAS BAJO EL ASIENTO 163-174 Mexico Citvi fictional time middle of February? crypt 174-179 Serenade 179-186 Bath 187-196 Linked to 179-186 by bath scene? phone calls 196-217 Terencio and Leticia 217-238 Zapoteca's anecdote 234 41 PLANE TO ACAPULCO 241-253 On plane to Acapulcot fictional time-30 minutes 253-266 Repetition of phrase o In a personal interview(México,' September, 1973) * Gustavo Sainz stated that this inconsistency of color was accidently done at the printers,. However this added further to the uncertainty of fate that is re¬ presented by the rhythm and tone of the last 13 pages. %ayne Booth, The Rhetoric of Fiction (Chicago1 The University of Chicago Press,1961) ,p.153• •^Suora.. Chapter I,,, p. , This'is one of the prime examples of "chronological loopings. 11 For an analysis of the use of montage in chrono¬ logical looping, see Chapter I., p.7 ff. 12 For an analysis of the nesting and chronological looping, see Chapter I., p.10. ^For .a discussion of linguistic games,1 see Chapter I., p.16-21. 14 Before the 1970's the school year ran from the middle of January until the end of November. Lalka ways, "Mañana comienzan las clases y no han comprado los anteojos.(p.159)• graphic of an unfinished "g" is visible in the type setting on page 174. ^Sainz could be spoofing the "do-it-yourself" novels of Marc Saporta, Composition No. I, trans.', from the French by Richard Howard (New York* Simon and Shuster, 1963) or Julio Cortázar, Ravuela. séptima edición (Buenos Aires1 Editorial Sudamericana, 1968). 94 17 'The translation is my own. *^See Introduction pp.2 ff. ■^Wellek and Warren, on.cit.,n.213. 20Ibid..p.223. pT Luis Leal, on.cit. p.46 *"...the new novels, those of Fernando del Paso,' José Agustín, Gustavo Sainz, Salvador Elizondo,' Juan Tovar, José Emilio Pacheco, make ambiguity the axis around which the entire work revolves." ^2Wellek and Warren, on.cit., 221. ^Gabriel Careaga."Obsesivos días circulares inovela de Gustavo Sainz,"(Mexico* n.p.),p.69. olí Wellek and Warren, op.cit.,p.221. ^Leitmotif as defined by Wolfgang Kayser.on.cit..p.90* "motivo dominantejlos motivos centrales que se repiten en una obra." Joan Rea Green.La estructura del narrador en la novela hispanoamericana contemporánea (Valparaiso,Chile«Ediciones Universitarias del Valparaiso,197^),p.20. 27Ibid.,p.9. 28Ibid.,p.131. 29por an analysis of symbols, seei Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism* Four Essays.(Princeton, New Jersey* Princeton University Press,1957)tPP•77-128. Wellek and Warren, on.cit.. p.189 say the following concerning the use of symbol*"In literary theory, it seems desirable that the word should be used in this sense* as an object which refers to another object but which demands attention also in its own right as a presentation," 3®Marshall McLuhan, The Medium is' the Massage* An Inventory of Effects (New York * Bantam Books,1967),n,pag. -^Wellek and Warren, on.cit.,nn.217-218*"What we call the 'composition* of the novel is, by the Germans and Russians, called its 'motivation'...why men behave as they do—some theory of causation, ultimately." 95 -^2Blaze 0. Bonazza and Emil Roy, Studies in Fiction (New York* Harper and Row,1965)•,p.5* Characterization "refers to the 'means' the author employs to create the sum of traits and actions which constitute 'character'." 33Ibid.,p.23. ^Wellek and Warren, op.cit. ,p.219« • ^Ibid. ,p*219. -^George G. Williams, Creative Writing.rev. (New Yorki Harper Brothers,1935)371» The importance of dialogue to illustrate character is equal to its importance as a method to advance action.(p.373 ff.) ^Argelio Gasea, "Gustavo Sainzi silencio sobre 'Obsesivos'" (Mexico,n.p.),p. 12. Also,'José Emilio Pacheco, "Cosas del flúor" La vida literaria. "De Mexico"(October,1970), p.9» "...es la novela de un terror sagrado ante poderes que están más alia de nuestro control, y que encama Papá la Oca, jefe de un ministerio del miedo..." ^^Northrop Frye, op.cit..p.34. The ironic hero is defined as "...inferior in power or intelligence to ourselves, so that we have the sense of looking down on a scene of bondage, frustration or absurdity,..." ■^Argelio Gasea, op.cit..p.12. ilQ José Emilio Pacheco, op. cit. .13.9. ^^Gabriel Careaga, op.cit.,p.68. ^Federico Campbell,"Gustavo Sainzi Obsesivos días circulares". Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos No.246(Madridi June 1970),p.722. ^3, Gabriel Careaga, op.cit. .p. 69. 44 ibid.,p.69. 96 CONCLUSION The purpose of this study has been to analyze the con¬ temporary Mexican novel» Obsesivos dias circulares» with particular attention to the structure of the narrator and the world content» specificallyt levels of reality» time % and narrative sequence» leitmotifs» motivations» settings and the characters perception and experiences of the world in which he moves* At all times an effort was made to objec¬ tively view the novel as an aesthetic whole* Since language is the basic theme of this novel» and its main function» all the elements studied in the analysis were structured in such a way that the reader is always conscious of its impor¬ tance* However» in the reorganization of the world content into rational, lineal spacial-temporal components, the sen¬ sation of living in the Mexico City of the late 1960*s emerges, with all its everyday situations and problems, (especially those involving the middle-class Mexicans such as educational, political and criminal activities) are scrutinized with irony. The intention of Gustavo Sainz to write a novel for an "elite" type of reader, one who reads the novel as an intel¬ lectual challenge, is easily verified. Only the careful reader, who possesses a cultural and literary reservior the same as Sainz*s, is able to decipher the code of quota¬ tions, cultural references and unusual syntax, morphology, 97 and lexicon to obtain the goal of literary satisfaction* Although a list of cultural references is included in the appendices* it has been beyond the scope of this analysis to identify the literary quotations used in the novel* Another interesting topic that also lies beyond the scope of this analysis is the comparison of the characters in Obsesivos días circulares with those in the Greek epic* The Odyssey* and James Joyce#s, Ulysses. Obsesivos días circulares is* in the final analysis, a novel that mirrors the cultural phenomenon of the twentieth century in that it reflects a total environment that is universal to all mankind* documents the specific reality of contemporary Mexico* and at the same, time* represents a cultural break with its historic and literary past! as Sainz* like Joyce* seeks to forge within the depths of his own psyche* the "smithy of his soul”, the "uncreated conscience" of his race* 98 A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, Enrique Imbert. "Formas en la novela contemporánea." La critica interna. Madrid, Taurus, I960, pp. 261-279. Anonymous. "Entrevista con Gustavo Sainz. La novela en sjerio, dificil, va a desaparecer.” Prohibido Prohibir. México» n.d. pp. 10-15. Ariceaga, Alejandro. "Gustavo Sainz habla de Gazapo. Obsesivos días circulares y de otras cosas que ustedes leerán.” ~ El Sol de Toluca. 29 June 1970, p.4. Berne, M.D., Eric. Games People Play» the Psychology of Human Relationships. New York» Grace Press, Inc., 1967» Blackburn, Sam. "Review of Gazapo." The Nation. V.207, 5 Aug. 1968, p. 91. Bonati, Felix Martínez. La estructura de la obra literaria» una investigación de filosofía del lenguaje y estética. B.A.» Ia ed., Seix Barral, 1973* Bonazza, Blaze 0. and Roy, Emil. Studies in Fiction. New York» Harper & Row, 1965• i Booth, Wayne. The Rhetoric of Fiction. Chicago* University of Chicago Press, 1961. Brown, E. K. Rhythm in the Novel. Toronto* University of Toronto Press, 1950* Brushwood,' John S. México in its Novel» A Nation's Search for Identity. Austin* University of Texas Press, 1966. Campbell, Federico. "Gustavo Sainz, Obsesivos días circulares." Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos. No. 246, Madrid* June 1970, p. 710-722. Carballo, Emmanuel. "Gustavo Sainz* Una obra que rompe la manera mexicana de novelar." Siempre. "La cultura in Mexico, No. 203, 23 February 1966/ p. 3, Careaga, Gabriel. "Obsesivos días circulares» novela de Gustavo Sainz.” México* n.p., p. ”6’S-6'97 Castellanos, Rosario. Juicios sumarios» ensayos. . Veracruz, México» Cuadernos de la facultad de filosofía, letras,* y ciencias, 1966. 99 Castellanos," Rosario. "La novela mexicana contemporánea y su valor testimonial." Hispania. Vol. XLVII, No. 2, May, 1964, p. 223-230. Codina, Iverna. América en la novela. Buenos Aires» Ediciones Cruz del Sur, 1964. Cortazar, Julio. Rayuela. 7a ed. Buenos Aires» Editorial Sudamericana,1966. Cortínez, Carlos. "Los obsesivos días de Gustavo Sainz» entrevista especial para PEC. desde Iowa City, Iowa, E.E.U.U." PEC,’ No. 323, March, 1969» pp. 25-27. Covantes, Hugo. "Entrevista con Gustavo Sainz» Gazapo, los problemas del escritor y la literatura mexicana." México en la cultura. No. 874, 19 December 1965* Erlich, Victor. Russian Formalism. The Hague» 1955* Espejo, Beatriz. "La novela." Balance Literario» La vida Literaria. México» Nov.-Dec., 1970, pp. 2¿-29. Farb, Peter. Word Plav» What Happens when People Talk. New York» A.A. Knoff, 1974. r Ferguson, Sharyl Sydney. "Uncontrollable Reality in the Work of Gustavo Sainz." unpublished thesis, University of Texas at El Paso, 1972. Freund, Phillip. The Art of Reading The Novel, original title* How t~Become a Literary dritic, 1947. rev. edn. New York! Collier Book, 1965» Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism» Four Essays. Princeton, New Jersey* Princeton University Press, 1957. Fuentes,' Carlos. Casa con dos puertas. México* Joaquín Mortiz,* 1970. Fuentes, Carlos. La nueva novela hispanoamericana. México* Cuadernos de Joaquín Mortiz, 1969. Gasea,1 Argelio. "Gustavo Sainz* silencio sobre 'Obsesivos'." Mexico* n.p.,p,ll. Genette, Cérard. Figures III. Paris* Editions du Seuil, 1972. 100 Goió, ííedomil. "Estructura de la novela hispanoamericana contemporanea." La Naturaleza y el hombre en la novela hispanoamericano. Primer seminario internacional de literatura hispanoamericana! Antofagasta, Universidad del Norte, 1969» pp. 43-53* Goió, Sedomil. Historia de la novela hispanoamericana. Valparaisoi Ediciones Universitarias del Valparaiso, 1972. Goi<5, Cedomil. La novela chilena. Chiles Editorial Universitaria, S.A., 19ÓS. Gómez Montero, Sergio. "De nuevo Gazapo." El día» "Cultura de hoy," August 3, 1968, n.pag. Green, Joan R. La estructura del narrador en la novela hispanoamericana contemporaneaT Valparaiso, Chiles Ediciones Universitarias de Valparaiso, 1974. Grossvogel, David I. Limits of the Novels Evolutions of a form from Chaucer to Robbe-Grillet. Ithaca, New Yorks Cornell University Press, 1968. Harss, Luis and Dohmann, Barbara. Into the Mainstreams Conversations with Latin American Writers. New Yorks Harper Colophon Books, Harper & Row Publishers,' 1969» Joyce, James. Ulysses. New Yorks Vintage Books, Random House, 1961. Kayser, Wolfgang. Interpretación y análisis de la literaria. 4a edición, Madrids. Editorial Gredos, 196l» Langford,1 Walter M. The Mexican Novel Comes of Ages Notre Dames University of Notre Dame Press, 1972. Leal, Luis. "Contemporary Mexican Novel and Short Story." Contemporary Latin American Literature, ed. Harvey J. Johnson and Philip B. Taylor, Jr., Houstons Latin American Studies Committee, Officé of International Affairs, University of Houston, 1973» PP« 40-47. Lemon, Lee T. and Reis, Marion J., trans. and interp. Russian Formalist Criticisms Four Essays. Lincolns University of Nebraska Press, 1965. McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium is the Massages An Inventory of Effects. New Yorks Bantam Books, Í967. 101 McLuhan Marshall. Counterblast. New York* Hare ourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1969» Mendilow, A.A. Time and the Novel. London* Nevil, Ltd., 1952. Mendoza, Graciela. "Entrevista con Gustavo Sainz." El Nacional. "Revista Mejicana de la cultura," n.d., n.pag. Merino, José Luis. Unpublished interview of Gustavo Sainz. Mexico, 1970, pp. 1-28. Milani, Domingo. La realidad mexicana en su novela de hoy. Caracas 1 Monte Avila Editores, 19¿8. Monegal, Emir Rodríguez. "Traición y renovación." América Latina en su literatura, ed. César Fernández Moreno, México* UNESCO, Siglo XXI, Editores, S.A., 1972, pp. 139-166. Murchinson, John C., trans. "Self Portrait with Friends." Triauarterly Review, No. 13-14, 1968-1969» pp. 117-134. Ocampo de Gómez, Aurora and Prado, Ernest Velázquez. Diccionario de escritores mexicanos. México* UNAM/ Centro de Estudios Literarios, 1967* Oviedo, José Miguel. "Una discusión permanente." América Latina en su literatura, ed. César Fernandez Moreno. UNESCO, Siglo XXI, Editores, S.A., 1972, pp. 424-440. Pacheco, José Emilio. "Cosas del flúor." La vida literaria. "De México," October, 1970, p. 9» Passafari de Gutierrez, Clara. Los cambios en la concepción y estructura de la narrative mejicana desde 1947.Santa Fe, Argentina* Facultad de filosofía, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, 1968. Poniatowska, Elena. "En México es terriblemente dificil ser culto* Gustavo Sainz* Los escritores luchan por buenas novelas y por el poder literario." DES, 24 January 1970, n.pag. Rosenblat, Angel. Lengua literaria y lengua popular en América. Caracas* Cuadernos del Instituto de filología, "Andre's Bello," 1969. 102 Sainz, Gustavo. Autobiografíat Gustavo Sainz. in the series Nuevos escritores mexicanos del siglo xx presentados por si mismos, introd. Emmanuel Carballo, México* Empresas Editoriales, S.A., 1966. Sainz, Gustavo. "Autorretratos con amigos." Los arradores ante el -publico, Mexico* Joaquín Mortiz, Ed., 1967. Sainz, Gustavo. Gazapo. México* Joaquín Mortiz, Ed., 1965. Sainz, Gustavo. Obsesivos días circulares. México* Joaquín Mortiz, Ed., 1969» Saporta, Marc. Composition No. 1, trans. from the French by Richard Howard. New York* Simon & Shuster, 1963. Sommers, Joseph. After the Storm* Landmarks of the Modem Mexican Novell New Mexico* University of New Mexico Press, 1968. Sontag, Susan. Against Interpretation and Other Essays. New York* Laurel Edition, Dell Publishing Co. Inc., 1961. Souza, Raymond D. "Language Structure in the Contemporary Spanish American Novel." Hispania. LII, No. 4, December 1969, pp. 833-839. Sypher, Wylie. Literature and Technology* the Alien Vision. New York* Vintage Books, Random House, 1971. Tuck, Dorothy. Apollo Handbook of Faulkner. New York* Thomas Y. Croswell Co., 1964. Wagenkecht, Edward. Cavalcade of the English Novel. New York* Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1943, 1954. Warren, Beck. Man in Motion* Faulkner*s Trilogy. Madison* University of Wisconsin Press, 1963* Wellek, René. Concepts of Criticism, ed. and intr. Stephen G. Nichols, Jr. New Haven* Yale University Press, 1963. Wellek, René and Warren, Austin. Theory of Literature. 3rd Ed., New York* Harcourt, Brace, and World, Inc., 1956» Williams, George G. Creative Writing, rev. edn. New York* Harper Brothers,* 1935* 103 Xirau,' Ramon. "Crisis del realismo." America Latina en su literatura, ed. César Fernández Moreno. Mexicoi UNESCO, Siglo XXI,1 Editores, S.A., 1972, pp. 185-203. APPENDICES Appendix I Biography of Gustavo Sainz This biographical outline was compiled from the follow¬ ing sourcesi 1) Aurora M. Ocampo de Gómez and Ernesto Prado Velázquez, Diccionario de escritores mexicanos (México» UNAM/ Centro de Estudios Literarios, 1967), p. 349. 2) Sharyl Sydney Ferguson, "Uncontrollable Reality in the Work of Gustavo Sainz,” unpublished thesis University of Texas at El Paso (1972). University of Iowa Data Sheet included in the thesis as a supplement. 3) Gustavo Sainz1 autobiografía, in the series "Nuevos escritores mexicanos del siglo xx presentados por sí mismos," prologue by Emmanuel Carballo (México» Empresas Editoriales, S.A., 1966). 4) Personal letters from the author and an interview in Mexico, September, 1973» July 13, 1940 Gustavo Adolfo Sainz Reyes bom in México D.F. 1945-1946 Attended Helena Henlihy Hall» kindergarten and first grade. 1947 Attended The English School of Foys» second and third grades. 1949 Attended Justo Sierra Elementary» fourth grade ii 1950 Under his father's direction first writes in a literary paper, Panamericana. . 1950-1951 Attended Simón Bolívar Elementary1 fifth and sixth grades. 1952 Enters Secundaria 3 on Chapultepec Ave. 1953 Meets his mother (parents were divorced when he was a baby). Edited a newspaper, Héroes (only two issues). Edited and wrote* Las aventuras del Flaco Anemia (3 issues) and El globo de gas (9 issues). 1955 Entered San Ildefonso Preparatory School. 1956 Edited Ariel and El Wamazo. 1 1958 Entered the Faculty of Law of the Nacional Autonomous University of México. Met Simón Otaola, Spanish refugee and writer, whom Sainz regards as his mentor. 1959 Carlos Mosiváis convinces Sainz to enroll in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. Collaborates with Monsiváis on magazine. Estaciones. Works for Editorial Hit. Collaborates with friends for an issue of magazine, Mano. Meets Rosita Lozano. Is jailed for 24 hours for a debt owed to a book store. iii 1960 Teaches a course on universal literature at the Feminine University. 1961 Reached the level of "Master" in Spanish letters. Sent 70 pages of his novel, Los perros .jóvenes, to Cuadernos del viento, no. 40, which publishes them under the title "Siete actos sexuales realizados." Meets Palo Duarte, owner of a famous bookstore where all the young writers gather. Four-hundred volume private library confiscated to pay mother's debt. Works for Visión, Inc. as a press production technician. Meets Licenciado Noriega, director of the supplement to the newspaper, Novedades. "Mexico en la cultura." Sainz edits the weekly bibliographical criticism until 1964. 1962-1963 Receives a fellowship from the Centro Mexicano de Escritores. Writes 170 pages of a novel, C one fj o extraordinar! o. a continuation of Los perros .jovenes; both works being the forerunners of Gazapo. iv May, 1964 Marriage to Rosita Lozano. 1964 Begins work on Obsesivos días circulares. Dec. 15» 1965 Publication of Gazapo. 1965 Editor of the magazine. Claudia. Works for Mex-Abril$ writes a bi-weekly bibliographical item for newspaper. El día. 1966 In charge of editorial productions for the Imprenta Universitaria. 1967 Invited by the Interamerican Foundation for the Arts to attend a Congress in Venezuela. 1968 Invited by the Center for Interamerican Relations to New York on the occasion of the t publication by Farrar, Straus and Giraux, of the English version of Gazapo. 1968-1969 Writer-in-residence, International Writing Program, State University of Iowa, under a grant by the Ford Foundation. Sept. 17, 1969 Takes the manuscript for Obsesivos días circulares to the editor, Joaquín Mortizj begins writing third novel, La hermosa hi.ia del ahorcado. 1970-1972 Editor of magazine, Caballero. V Editorial Judge of the Dirección General de Educación Audiovisual. Teaches at the Universidad Nacional, Faculty of Political Sciences. Executive Director for Siete, bi-monthly publication published by the Secretaria de Educación Pública. 1971 Opened Offices of Equipo Creativo, S.A. Edited* Calendario Ramón López Velarde (12 issues), Eclipse (3 issues), and Audacia (3 issues). 1972-1973 Director of magazine, Claudia. Feb. 24, 1974 Joaquín Mortiz receives final draft of third novel with title change* La princesa del Palacio de Hierro. March, 1974 Moves to a new office, number 12, of the Faculty of Political Sciences at the Universidad Nacional. Begins writing fourth novel! Compadre Lobo. Teaches two classes* Literature and Society and The Sociology of the Cinema. vi Appendix II Bibliography of Gustavo Sainz Aut obiography Sainz, Gustavo» in the series Nuevos escritores mexicanos del siglo xx presentados por si mismos, introd. Emmanuel.Carbailo, México: Empresas Editoriales, S.A., 1966.. Sainz, Gustavo. "Autorretratos con amigos." Los narradores ante el público, México i Joaquín Mortiz, Ed.,' 1967. Sainz, Gustavo. "Self-portrait with Friends." trans. John C. Murchinson. The TriQuarterly Anthology of Contemporary Latin American Literature, ed. José Donoso and William Henkin. No. 13-14,'" 1968-69, pp. 117-134. Sainz, Gustavo. "Autorretrato con amigos." Revista de bellas artes, Sept.-Oct., 1966. Anthology Sainz, Gustavo and Donoso Pareja, Miguel. Antología de la poesía erótica. México1 Editorial Orientación, 1972. Novels Sainz, Gustavo. Gazapo. Serie del volador, Méxicoi Joaquín Mortiz, 1965. rpt. 1966, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1974 (seven editions). Gazapo. Colección Narradores. Buenos Aires 1 Jorge Alvarez, I9Ó9. . Gazapo, trans. Hardie St. Martin. New Yorki Farrar, Straus & Giraux,Inc., 1968. . Gazapo, traduit par Léonard Vergnes. Pavilions, Paris: Robert Laffont, 1968. . Gazapo, trans. Hardie St. Martin. An Ace Book, New York: Ace Publishing Corp., 1969» * vii Sainz, Gustavo. Gazapo e autobiografía, traduzione de Enrico Cicogna. Milano* II Saggiatore di Alberto Mondadori Editore, 1969. . Obsesivos días circulares. México1 Joaquín Mortiz, 1969" rpt. 2nd ed. 1974. La princesa del Palacio de Hierro. México* Joaquín Mortiz, 1974. Short Stories Sainz, Gustavo. "Paisaje de fogón." El cuento mexicano del siglo xxi antología, ed. Emmanuel Carbailo, México* Empresas Editoriales, S.A., 1964, pp. 251-258. . "La deshabitada." Anuario del cuento mexicano 1959. México* Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Depart¬ amento de Literatura, i960, pp. 223-225* . "Toda la magia del mundo." Anuario del cuento Mexicano 1961. Méxicoi Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Departamento de Literatura, 1962, pp. 204-20?. . "La muchacha que tenía, la culpa de todo." Anuario~el cuento mexicano 1962. México* Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Departamento de Literatura, 1963» pp. 269-275. . "El sol en los brazos." Estaciones, IV, no. 13, 1959, PP- 78-90. . "El brillante color de la violencia." Estaciones. V, no. 1?, i960, pp. 46-53» . "La deshabitada." Estaciones, V, no. 19» pp. 17-20. . "La forma de un Volkswagen." Imagen. November 1968, pp. 8-1?. viii Appendix III The following three letters were written by Gustavo Sainz to Dorothy Caram during the time the thesis was being written. Gustavo :_>ainz Río Na zas 77-b Mexico 5, o. F México Dorothy Car am Septiembre 1.3, 197.3 13106 Aberdeen Way Houston, rexas 77025 Estimada Dorothy Me dio mucho gusto conocer sus planes y su interes por mi incipiente obra. Desde luego, quedo a sus ordenes, en mi domicilio particular y en mi oficina. vi'o en Río Nazas 77-6 Colonia Cuauhtemoc México 5, 0. F. Teléfonos 511 34 75 y 514 13 93 Trabajo de 3 de la mañana a 3 de la noche en Hucareli 42-203 México 1, í>. F. Teléfobo 521 00 94 Pongo a tu disposición una completa colección de críticas que han aparecido sobre Gazapo y Obsesivos en diferentes partes del mundo, así como mis cuentos, desperdigados en varias revistas y fragmentos de mi novela en preparación: Paseo en trapecio. Gazapo va en su sexta edición, y ademas de las que mencionaste, €»xiste una edición argentina. Me cfa mucho gusto, repito, saber de t.u interés. Desde luego cuenta con todo mi tiempo libre y hasta el de oficina para confabular la entrevista. one Verdona te escriba en español . ¡e deseo buen viajo y que muy pronto os ¡es ont.ro nosotros A ton turnon to Gustavo y Rosita Sainz Río Nazas 77-6, México 5, D. F# Dorothy preciosa ¿o prefieres que te digamos respetable señora Caram? t A Rosita y a mí nos alborota recibir tus cartas# Advierte que eres un pun¬ to de referencia de mi validez como escritor, además de amiga simpatiquí¬ sima. Sí, la firma es de Otaola, un novelista español autor de El córtelo y La librería de Arana entre otros libros. La cita de Onetti no es de La vida breve, sino de su primera novela, El pozo. Recibimos la tesina de la señora Ferguson* enormísima alegría. En fin, quisiera colaborar contigo lo más estrechamente posible. Si quieres te doy información sobre todas las citas de Obsesivos, o aclaración sobre todo lo que se te ocurra. Te mando por separado otra copia de la entrevista con Cortínez, y el original de una entrevista que nunca se ha publicado y que me hicieron para un periódico español hace un par de años. No he intentado copiar esta entre¬ vista y dudo que aparezca legible, en fin, para no perder tiempo haciendo experimentos, te la mando. Me gustó bastante la nota del profesor Leal, sobre todo eso de que escribo con fuego. Y también la caricatura que sub¬ raya eso. Nos haces muy felices. El domingo 24 de febrero, a las 11*50 de la noche terminé La princesa del Palacio de Hierro, mi nueva novela. Tiene 325 páginas y hace un par de horas fui a entregársela a mi editor, Joaqqín Mortiz, quien la publicará el próximo agosto. Las 100 páginas que les regalé, a ti y a la Dra. Green, pertenecen ahora a una versión antidiluviana. Es decir, fueron alteradas y alteradas y alteradas hasta crecer y crecer y crecer. El libro, además de una recopilación de inflexiones habladas en el idioma coloquial mexi¬ cano de la alta clase media, pretende ser una comediá de costumbres contera poránea, una suerte de picaresca urbana. Creo que he conseguido una fres¬ cura sin igual, y también una suerte de originalidad. Después de todo he pretendido dibujar una frontera en la literatura mexicana, y he persegui¬ do, por eso mismo, la entonación de lo cotidiano, de ésas situaciones lí¬ mites en las que nos enfrascamos todos los días, algo así como una "alar¬ ma verbal"• Partí de El aullóte, de una "escritura desatada" que menciona al final de la primera parte. Salté a Las mil y una noches* mi princesa es Sherezada. Cuenta cosas para diferir no la muerte, sino la verdad de su identidad, un soy pero no-soy, un hay que vivir vertiginosamente para no ser aprehendidos por la inutilidad de la vida, un hay que ir de hombre en hombre en hombre para ver si en el próxima encontramos eso que debe llamarse amor. Tenemos pensado, si logramos adelantar números de SIETE y el trabajo de Rosita, ir a Estados Unidos por 22 días, a partir del 29 de marzo. Pasa¬ ríamos a visitarte, pero queremos ir también a Nueva York, a Washington a ver a Carlos Fuentes, a San Francisco, a Los Angeles, a San Diego. Ten¬ go ofertas para dar conferencias en San Diego y en Yale. En fin, también hay la alternativa de no ir a USA dada la inflación que sufren ustedes, y de no ir optaríamos por bajar a Cozumel, Chiapas, Iehuantepec, Oaxaca. Ya te avisaríamos. Y errónos que el principal interés de ir a USA es ver- te y auxiliarte en todo lo posible. Muchos saludps a la Dra. Green. Recordamos mucho su risa y la agudeza de su mirada. Uno se siente bien nada más de saber que hay personas como us¬ tedes en este planeta. Reciban cariñosísimos saludos, extensivos a sus familiares. Te recuerdan agradecidos Gustavo y Rosita Querida Dorothy* Transcribo mi bibliografía* Gazapo, Serie del volador, Ed. Joaquín Mortiz, México, 1965, 188 pp, segunda edición, 1966* tercera, 1966* cuarta, 1967| quinta, 1970* sexta, 1972* séptima, 1974 Gazapo. Colección Narradores, Ed. Jorge Alvarez, Buenos Aires, 1969. 194 pp. Gazapo, translated by Hardie St. Martin. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. New York, 1968, 180 pp. Gazapo. traduit par Léonard Vergnes. Rafear* Pavilions, Robert Laffont, Paris, 1968, 242 pp. Gazapo. e autobiografía, traduzione di Enrico Cicogna. II Saggiatore di Alberto Mondadori Editore, Milano, 1969. 206 pp. Gazapo, translated by Hardie St. Martin. An Ace Book, Ace Publishing Corporation, New York, 1969. 190 pp. Obsesivos días circulares, Novelistas contemporáneos, Ed. Joaquín Mortiz, gÉgAí?8& Mfüial6^* Gustavo Sainz. Nuevos escritores mexicanos del siglo XX presentados por sí mismos, Empresas Editoriales, S. A., México, 1966, 62 pp. Selfportrait with friends, translated by John C. Murchinson. En The TrlOuarterlv Anthology of Contemporary Latin American Literature. Edited BY Jose Donoso and William Henkin. Dutton 251, E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. New York, 1969, p. 82 ¿Quieres también cuentos, fragmentos aparecidos de la nueva novela, ensayos largos, etc.? Pienso que sobran, peri decide tu. Siempre a tus órdenes te quieren Gustavo y Rosita Marzo 11, 1974 Querida Dorothyi Nota la enorme recorrida del margen para escribirte más y más en una sola página. Esto est que comúnmente empiezo a escribir veinticinco espacios des¬ pués del limite izquierdo del papel, excepto cuando me dirigo a ti. En fin, saludos a todos. Por acá llueve, hace calor, se incrementa el smog. Tengo ya mi oficina en laUniversidad, es la número 12 de la Facultad de Ciencias Polí¬ ticas y Sociales. Estamos decididos a viajar, pero un nuevo trabajo de Rosita puede posponerlo todoi arreglar la filmoteca en Televisa. Ya les avisaremos. Desde luego puedes incluir nuestras cartas en tu tesina, si es que te parecen interesantes. Si necesitas fotos puedo enviarte. Por las conferencias en USA pagan 100 dólares más alojamiento y transporte. Tengo programadas apañas una en Yale y otra en San Diego, pero no he confirmado por ignorar, como ya te digo, si podremos salir o no. Paso a responderte tus dudas, esperando que la solución pueda resultarte útil. 105- Ramonitaa Roeamorra. No significa nada* Es un nombre usado en una canción infantil de Buenos Aires. 110- Las aventuras de Simon Wiesenthal. Es el más famoso cazador de verdugos nazis en la posguerra. Capturó a Eichmann, entre muchos otros. 119- Femando Vela. Prosista español, contemporáneo. 119- Hernández López. Poeta latinoamericano contemporáneo. 121- Cristóforo. Nombre propio. Se bautiza asi a un mosquito. Sí, significa Christopher. 136- Miguel León Portilla. Antropólogo, historiador y actual cronista de la ciudad de México. Autor de innumerables libros sobre el pasado de Mexico. 149- Checan, Kama Kala, Shunga. Títulos de libros de la editorial Nagel es¬ pecializados en el arte erótico de diferentes culturas. 154- Hugh y Geofrey Ffcrrain. Personajes centrales de la novela "Bajo el vol¬ can" de Malcolm Lowry. 166- Fidelino de Figueiredo. Lingüista portugués, autor de "La lucha por la expresión" (prolegómenos para una filosofía de la literatura). 174- Cyril Connolly. Aristócrata decadente y crítico de arte inglés. Es famo¬ so por su libro de memorias "La tumba sin sosiego". 178- La Personalidad Secreta del Prieto Bugs. Nombre propio. Se alude a una enfermedad que tuvo tin amigo de adolescencia, nombrado aquí Prieto Bugs. 186- Cinetismos es una modalidad del arte óptico contemporáneo. Víctor Vasa¬ rely es un artista húngaro francés que tiene enorme éxito en esta moda- lidad. 110- Treblinka. Un campo de concentración nazi. También un libro de Jean Fran¬ cois Steiner adonde se develan las atrocidades de este campo. Tranvías y plan Madagascar aluden a diferentes operaciones que procuraban la exterminación de los judíos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. • 199- El Alguacil Alguacliado y las Zahúrdas de Plutón. Nombres de obras 48BE- de • 205- Chamizal. Un lugar geográfico, desértico, casi en la frontera con los Estados Unidos. 209- Vasos de carretones. De vidrio moldeado con rudeza, de colores estrepito¬ sos. Clásica artesanía mexicana. 217- El día que paralizaron la tierra. Título de una película. 237- Cassiano Ricardo. Poeta brasileño. Patricias un fantasma cordial como dice líneas arriba, un personaje cir¬ cunstancial, en la vida real una amiga que me gustó durante mucho tiempo. Jim Hulls protagonista de varios poemas de Casáiano Ricardo en el libro "Jeremías sem Chorar". 252- Gladys García. Sí, un personaje de La reglón más transparente. La puta. t --sigue 250-ii Anastasio Cuevas. Nombre propio de un general inventado. 252 José Antonio Arcocha. Poeta cubano» durante mucho tiempo encargado de la sección castellana de la librería Rizzoli en Nueva York. 86- Sousandrádica. Suma de Sousa Andrade, poeta brasileño de principios de siglo» gran revolucionador del lenguaje. 157- Tira de moebius. Cortas una tira de papel» la tuerces una vez y la unes. Si recorres su superficie con un lápiz» trazando una raya»encontrarás que no tiene arriba y abajo. Asombroso fenómeno. 157- Foforito Burrón. Personaje de un comic me' ' -■no que se llama "La fami¬ lia Burrón", dreado por .Gabriel Vargas. 157- El pájaro madrugador p»1 de ser Woody Woodpecl *r (pájaro loco)» pero tam¬ bién el sexo masculino que con el frío de las madrugadas sufre una erección gratuita. Sexo igual a pájaro. 30- Onda Luthor. Luthor es el científico calvó que aparece en Superman. Es un villano malo malo malo. 31. Schneck, Stephen es un autor norteamericano editado por Grove. 55. Witold Gombrowicz es un autor polaco» recientemente fallecido» autor de "Cosmos", "Pornografía", "El matrimonio", "Ferdydurke", etc. 59. Oliver Nelson. Famoso saxofonista de jazz. 61. Bob Kane. El dibujante y creador de Batman y Robin. 62. George Gerosz. Grabador y pintor expresionista alemán de principios de siglo.^Grove ha republicado albums enteros con sus dibujos. 64. Guido Piovene. Novelista italiano, autor de "La Gaceta Negra", "Las Furias", etc. 68. Virginia Grondona. No existe. Es un mero nombre. 89. Hans Egon Holthusen. Novelista alemán, autor de "El buque". Ahora preguntémonos por qué tantas citas. El libro estpa sembrado de referen¬ cias i un código que pretende ser secreto y destilar su mensaje sólo para ini¬ ciados. Dime ¿valía la pena identificar a estos escritores, pintores, pelí¬ culas, episodios desconocidos? Creo que después de muchos años hablarán por sí mismos. Eran o significan la información que un lector empedernido de Ulises manejaba durante algunos años fantasmas. En "La princesa del Palacio de Hierro" te van a asombrar las referencias! nada cultural, nada que no sea conocido por todos. Ardo en deseos de comenzar a escribir "Compadre Lobo". Va a ser algo así como la descripción de un mural en donde se ve el desarrollo de un pintor, su vida primero en una colonia proletaria, el ascenso descabellado de la pirámide so¬ cial. Comienzo a fascinarme con la idea. Leo mucho. Preparo mis clases. Este semestre! "Literatura y sociedad",, y "So¬ ciología del cine". le mando otra copia de ODC por correo aéreo. Te agradezco todo esto con que animas mi soledad de escritor del tercer mundo. Te lo agra¬ decemos infinitamente Rosita y yo. Saludos a todos. xiv- Appendix IV Glossary The cultural references used in Obsesivos días circulares are listed in the following categoriesi I. Literature t A) Prose (Authors and Works) XV B) Philosophy and History xxi C) Poetry xxii II. Medial A) Cartoons, Movie Characters, Magazines, and Writers xxvi • B) Movie Stars, Producers, and Directors xxviii C) Movie Titles xxix III. Artsi Art A) XXX B) Music xxxii IV. Historical Persons, Events, and Geographical Locations xxxvii V. Scientists and Related Events xlv VI. Miscellaneous xlvii XV I. Literature« A) Prose (Authors and Works) Baroja, Pío (pp. 119/ 144) Spanish novelist of the Generación de I898 who wrote a cycle of historical novels. (1872-1956) Mariquita Bloom (p. 16) Unfaithful wife of Leopold Bloom in Ulysses. • (1922) Boccaccio, Giovanni (p. 130) Italian poet and novelist who wrote Decameron. (1313-1375) Borges, Jorge Luis (pp. 25» 68, 246-247), "Cartaphilus" (p. 24?) Famous Argentine novelist and poet. (1899- ) ■ La existencia becketiana (p. 184), Samuel Beckett (p. 230) Irish-born novelist who writes in French. He shows man as an absurd and pathetic creature in a meaningful or at least unknowable universe. His famous play is Waiting for Godot. (1906- ) Alberto Camus (p. 57) French novelist, journalist, essayist,J and play- write of the existentialist movement who won a Nobel Prize for literature in 1957» (1913-1960) Checan, Kama. Kala, Shunga (p. 149) Titles of books edited by Nagel specialized in the art of erotic art in different cultures. Ixca Cienfuegos (p. 252) One of the protagonists of La región más trans¬ parente written by Carlos Fuentes in 1958* Cyril Connolly (p. 174) Decadent aristocrat and an English art critic who is famous for his book of memoirs entitled La tumba sin sosiego. (1903- ) xvi Julio Gortázar (p. 218) Contemporary Artentine novelist who wrote Rayuela (1963) and El auto -pista del sur» (1914- J Guillermo Cabrera Infante (pp. 70, 131) Cuban novelist who wrote Tres tristes tigres (1967) (1929- ) Esteban Dedalus (pp. 18, 37) Protagonist of James Joyce's novel. A Portrait • of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Ulysses. Dostoievsky, Feodor (p. 178) Russian novelist who wrote Crime and Punishment (1866) and Brothers Karamozov (1¿79-1Ó80). (1821-1881) Echegaray y Elizaguerre, José (p. 198) Spanish dramatist who wrote El gran galeato. Nobel Prize winner in 1904. (1833-1916) Far from a Maddening Crowd (p. 113) Book by Henry Fielding made into a movie starring Julie Christie. (1707-1754) William Faulkner (pp. 211, 232) American novelist whose novels deal with universal problems of evil as represented by family disinte¬ gration and degeneration in an imaginary Mississippi county. Nobel Prize winner in 1950. (I897-I962) Fidelino de Figueiredo (p. 166) Portuguese linguist and author of "La lucha por la expresión" (preface to a philosophy of litera¬ ture). (1889- ) Hugh y Geofrey Firmin (p. 154) Main characters of the novel Ba.io el volcán by the late Malcolm Lowry, (died 1908) Fuego de pobres (p. 10) Work written by a Mexican writer,1 Rubén Bonifaz Ñuño. xvii Carlos Fuentes (p. 252) Mexican novelist who wrote La muerte de Artemio Cruz (1962) and La región más transparente (1958), TÍ928- ) Funes (p. 121) "Funes el memorioso" is a short story included in Ficciones (1956)» by Jorge Luis Borges. Gladys.García (p. 252) The prostitute from La región más transparente by Carlos Fuentes. Witold Gombrov/icz (p. 55) Polish author recently deceased who wrote Cosmos, Pornografía, £1 Matrimonio, Ferdydurke, etc. Gracias nor el fuego (p. 10) Novel by Marco Beneditti (1920), a Uruguayan novelist and newspaper man. Gran sertóni veredas (p. 252) Novel written by Joao Guimaráes Rosa (1963)» a Brazilian novelist. (I908-I967) Frank Harris (p. 71) Author of the pornographic book. My Life and Loves (3 vols., 1923-27). (I856-I931) Hans Egon Holthusen (p. 89) German novelist, author of El buque. Henry Fielding (p. 113) English novelist. (1707-175*0 Tom Jones (p. 72) Novel by Henry Fielding,' one of the world's great novels. An outstanding satire on life and society. James Joyce (pp. 109# 37» HO, 181, 191» 230, 237» 253) Irish novelist who revolutionized the treatment of plot and characterization in fiction. (1882-1941) Justine (p. 177) Novel by Lawrence Durrell (1957)» an English novelist and poet. (1912- ) xviii Kinch, el jesuita miedoso (p. 18) Character from James Joyce's Ulysses* La Despreciada,' La Devuelta. La Casi Envejesida pero siempre interesante (p. 190) Takeoffs on La Malquerida. La inquisición y la independencia en el sifflo XVII (P:"27) : Title of a book by Luis Gonzalez Obregón, a contemporary historian. (1865-1938) La Invención de Morel (p. 126) Novel by Buoy Casares, Argentinian writer. La Malquerida (p. 190) Play by Jacinto Benavente. (1866-195*0 Las hi.ias del fuego (p. 10) Title of work written by the Italian romanticist, Gabriel D'Annuzzio. (1863-1938) Las moradas o El castillo interior (p. 57) Prose work of Santa Teresa de Jesús, famous * Spanish mystic. (1515-1582) D.H. Lawrence (pp. 26, 189, 196, 230) English novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He wrote of primitive and natural passions,' trying to show instinctive forces in man that might bring happiness. He wrote Lady Chatterly's Lover (1928). (1885-1930) Vincente Leñero (p. 155) Contemporary Mexican novelist who wrote Los albañiles (1963). (1933- ) Lezama Lima, Jose (p. 56) Cuban novelist and poet who wrote Paradiso (I966). (1912- ) ; Lecturas Históricas Mexicanas (pp. 68, 113# 117» 136, 152, 154; : Written by Ernesto De la Torre Villar. Les 120 Journúe de Sodome (p. 149), Los 120 días de Sodoma (p. 253) Works written by the Marquis de Sade. (1740-1814) XViX Los hi .ios de Sánchez (p. 36) Novel by Oscar Lewis, autobiography of a Mexican family. Vintage Books1 New York, 1961. Gabriel Garcia Marquez (p. 237) Columbian novelist who wrote Cien años de soledad (1967). (1928- ) "Mejor la destrucción" (p. 10) • Lines from a poem by Luis Cernuda that was used as an epigraph to the novel, Ceñas de identidad, by Juan Gotisola. (1931- Buck Mulligan (pp. 15» 23) Protagonist in James Joyce's Ulysses. Onetti, Juan Carlos (p. 175) Uruguayan novelist who wrote El Pozo (Citadel) and La vida breve (1950). (1909- ) Cesar Pavese (p. 126) Italian writer who wrote La Belle State. (1908-1950) Guido Piovene (p. 65) Italian novelist, author of La Gaceta Negra and Las furias. "A perfect day for Bananafish" (p. 110) Short story by J.D. Salinger in Nine Stories. Pedro Paramo (p. 253) Novel by Juan Rulfo (1955). (1918- ) Proust, Marcel (p. 110, 211) French author who wrote A la Re cherchó du Temos •perdu. (I87I-I922) Quevedana (p. 199) Baroque style of Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Villegar, Spanish satirist, novelist, and poet of the Golden Age. (1580-1645) Horacio Quiroga (p. 249) Uruguayan short story writer who wrote macabre stories. (1879-1928) XX Rousseau,' Jean Jacques (p. 166) French philosopher who wrote Emile (1762) and La Nouvelle Heloise (1761). (1712-1778) Robin Hood (p. 45, 228) Legendary outlaw of medieval England, Sagon, Francoise (p. 85) Psuedonym of Francoise Quoirez,v French novelist. (1935- ) Salinger, J.D. (p. 110) American novelist and short story writer who wrote Catcher in the Rye (1951). (1912- ) Luis Martin Santos (p. 57) Novelist who wrote Time of Silence (1964) Marcel Schwob (p. 174) French novelist. (1867-1905) Schneck, Stephen (p. 31) North American novelist edited by Grove. Ramón Gómez de la Sema (p. 107) Spanish novelist and essayist whose work was inspired by the "rastro madrileño." (I888-I963) Bram Stocker (pp. 58, 231) British novelist whose real first name was Abraham. He wrote Dracula (1897). (1847-1912) The Storv of 0 (p. 149) One of the most famous pornographic books written by Pauline Reage (a pseudonym) and banned in France by Mrs, De Gaulle. The Wonderful 0 (p. 85) Novel by James Thurber (1894). "Todos los fuegos, el fuego" (p. 10) Short story by Julio Cortázar, Argentine novelist. Ulysses (pp. 9+i 15+, 1<$T 18, 23, 37+, 38+, 39+, 6?, 109, . 110, 117, 123, 145, 159, 181+, 191, 227, 230, 237, 251+ (Ulysses, p, ?68,}252. Novel by James Joyce. + Indicates direct quotes from text of Ulysses. xxi Femado Vela (p. 119) Contemporary Spanish prose writer. (1886- ) La sombra del caudillo (p. 222) Novel by Mexican novelist Martin Luis Guzmán (1928). (1887- ) B) Philosophy and History* Francisbaconianos (p. 72) Word coined to describe the empiricist philosophy of Francis Bacon, an English philosopher and statesman. (1561-1626) Cousinet (p. 166) Victor Cousin, French philosopher and minister of education under Louis Phillippe. His phil¬ osophy was eclectic. (1792-1867; Friedrich Engels (p. 62, 178) German sociologist, co-founder with Karl Marx of Marxist communism. (1820-1895) Freud, Sigmund (p. 109) Austrian physician who developed the psycho¬ analytic method. (1856-1936) Heidegger, Martin (p. 88) A German philosopher who has tremendous influence on philosophies of continental Europe, South America, and Japan on the attempt to understand the nature of "being.” (1889- ) Historia de la Conquista de la nueva España (p. 2370 Written by Bemarl Díaz del Castillo. (1492-1581) Bemarl Díaz del Castillo (p. 154) La verdera historia de los Sucesos de la conquista de la nueva España, book in which one of Cortes' captains describes the conquest of Mexico. Fray Servando Teresa de Mier (pp. 40-41) Autobiography includes Memorias, and historical works include Historia de la revoluci6n de nueva España. (1765-1827"5 xxii Karl Marx (p. 24, 35) German philosopher, social scientist, and professional revolutionary; founder of democratic socialism and revolutionary communism. He wrote Das Kaoital. (I8I8-I883) Marxista-lenista (p. 35) Refers to Karl Marx and to Valdimir Ilyich Lenin. Lenin founded the Soviet Union after overthrowing the Kevensky government in 1917» (1870-1924) Miguel León Portilla (p. 136) Historian and anthropologist. He is the author of innumerable books about Mexico's past, one of which is La filosofía náhuatl estudiada en sus fuentes (ls95ó). (1926- ) Mao Tsi-tung (p. 215) Leader of Communist China. (1893- ) C) Poetry* Aleixandre, Vicente (p. 119) Spanish poet, (1900- ) Homero Aridjis (p. 55) Mexican póet who wrote narrative poems. (1940- ) José Antonio Arcocha (p. 253) Cuban poet for many years in charge of the Spanish section of the bookstore Rizzoli in New York. Charles Baudelaire (p. 17) French poet who wrote Les Fleurs du Mai (1857) and a book of theory, L'Ars Romantique.. (1821-1867) Breton (p. 21) André Breton, French poet, novelist, critic, and surrealist. (1896- ) Dante (p. 222) Alighieri Dante, Italian poet famous for The Divine Comedy. (1265-1321) XX111 Darío, Rubén (p. 21) Leader of the modernist movement in Spanish poetry. He rejected sentimentality and moralizing literature proclaiming the doctrine of "art for art's sake.” (I867-I916) Carlos Drummond de Andrade (p. 246) Brazilian poet of the twentieth century. (1902- ) "El alguacil alguacilado” and "Las zahúrdas de Plutón"(p. 199) Two of the Sueños of Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas (1631). (1580-1645) Gabriela Mistral (p. 246) Poetess who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1945* Her poems show compassion for the humble and the needy. (1889-1957) Joao Cabral de Meló Neto (p. 237) Brazilian poet of the generation of 1945. His dramatic poem, "Morte e vida Severina," was inspired by the folklore of Northeastern Brazil. He is also a diplomat. (1920- ) Salvador Díaz Mirón (p> 204) Mexican poet. (I853-I928) Moreno, Fernández Baldomero (p. 165) Argentinean poet whose poetry is about love, the home and children. (1889-1950) Hora lorquiana (p. 57) Refers to verse, "a las cinco de la tarde," in the poem "Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejias,” written in 1938 by Federico Garcia Lorca. (1898-1936) Hernández López (p. 119) Contemporary Latin American poet. Homer (p. 55) Greek poet (700 B.C.) credited for writing Iliad and Odyssey. xxiv Noá Jitrik (p. 39) Argentinean poet and essayist who was exiled from Argentina. (1928- ) Lord Byron (George G. Noel) (p. 63) English romantic poet. (1788-1824) Alexis Saint Léger Persá (pp. 119» l4l, 143/ 253) French poet and statesman who won the Nobel Prize in i960. (I887- ) Amado Ñervo (p. 204) Mexican poet leader of modernism. (1870-1919) Adalgisa Nery (p. 146) Brazilian poet in the period of modernism in the 1920*s. He is also an essayist. (1915- ) Pablo Neruda (p. 17) Chilean poet who won the Nobel Prize in 1971» He is also a politician and columnist. (1904- ) Octavio Paz (p. 121, I89) Mexican poet and essayist* El laberinto de la soledad (1950). (191^- , 1 "poesía eres té" (p. 204) Verse in "Rima XXV" by Gustavo Adolfo Bácquer. This same verse was used by other poets. (I836-I870) Ezra Pound (p. 169) American poet who led the imagist movement and later turned to vorticism. (1885-1972) Cassiano Ricardo (p. 237) Brazilian poet of the "generación del *22" during the modernist period. (I895- ) Jim Hull (p. 237) Protagonist in various poems by Cassiano Ricardo in his book Jeremías sem Chorar. San Juan de la Cruz (p. 191) Spanish Golden Age poet who wrote Cánticos esoitituales. (1542-1591) XXV Shakespeare, William (p. 107) English dramatist and poet. (1564-1616) Bruja de Macbeth (p. 21) Character in Shakespeare's Macbeth, written during his third period. (1564-1616) "Ser o no ser" (p. 88) Lines from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Sousandradica (p. 86) Derived from the Brazilian poet, Sousa Andrade, a member of the modernist generation of the 1920's. (1890-1954) Spender, Stephen (p. 237) English poet and critic who wrote poems about social protest. (1909- ) Ulrich Von Lichtenstein (p. 186) German poet who caricatured chivalry. (1199-1276) xxvi II. Medias A) Cartoons, Movie Characters, Magazines, and Writers Amphetimine Annie (p. 91) Little Orphan Annie, cartoon*character created by Harold Gray. Ali babá y los 40 ladrones (p. 120) Fairy tale from Arabian Nights as told by Scheherazade, the Persian princess. Modesty Blaise (p. 106) Character from a movie of the '60's played by Monica Vitti. Cachirulo (p. 57) A clown who introduces on Mexican T.V. the children's stories; the equivalent to the U.S. "Captain Kangaroo." His real name is Enrique Alonso. Caperuza (p. 216) Caperucita roja or Little Red Riding Hood, a' character from Grimm's Fairy Tales. r Cantinflas (p, 253) Movie character played by Mario Moreno. El Excelsior (p. 44) Daily newspaper in Mexico City. El Pájaro Madrugador (p. 131) "Early bird" can be Woody Woodpecker (Pajaro loco), but refers to the masculine sex organ that suffers an erection in cold weather. El Zorro (p. 147) Character in the 1920 movie Mark of Zorro which was later made into a T.V. series. Enana del circo Atayde (p. 169) Midget or dwarf in the popular Mexican circus. Foforito Burr6n (p. 157) Comic strip character created by the Mexican cartoonist, Gabriel Vargas. xxvii Godzilla (p. 119) Monster in Japanese science fiction movies. Humpty Dumpty (p. 81) Children's nursery rhyme. Jamesbondiana (p. 23) Reference to James Bond, famous movie character known for his astute mental and physical powers. Bob Kane (p. 6l) Cartoon artist for Batman and Robin. La monja voladora (p. 130) The Flying Nun T.V. series played by Sally Fields. Lone Ranger (p. 114) Famous, radio, cartoon, movie, and T.V. character. Onda Luthor (p. 30) Bad, bad villanous scientist in cartoon strip, Superman. Paris Match (p. 85) French magazine. Pepito (p. 191) A bad-spoken child used as a character in popular jokes. Playboys (p. 116), Playboyesco (p. 242) Hugh Hefner's magazine for men. Polly Pistolas (p. 148) Character in the movie, Kiss me Stupid, played by Kim Novak. Principe Valiente (p. 6l) Historical character in the Sunday cartoon strip that was printed in color. Rie como Jerry in la caricatura de Chuck Jones (p. 53) Chuck Jones is the cartoonist of Tom and Jerry cartoons. 77 Sunset Strip (p. 167) T.V. series of 1960's. Un ratón de Fred Quimby (p. 151) Fred Quimby is the producer of the movie cartoons Tom and Jerry. Vil.laurrutia (p. 119) Xavier, Mexican dramatist. (1903-1950) B) Movie Stars, Producers, and Directors Ursula Andress (p. 220) Antonioni (p. 73) Humphrey Bogart (p. 219) Pat Boone (p. I*i4) Charles Boyer (p. 64) Eric Campbell (p. 23) Cantinflas (p. 253) Elsa Cárdenas (p. 226) Charles Chaplin (p. 141) Arturo de Córdova (p. 70) Tony Curtis (p. 144; James Dean (p. 57) Catherine Deneuve (p. 229 Walt Disney (p. 41) Francoise Dorleace (pp. 61, 229) Jimmy Durante (p. 248; Maria Felix (p. 144) Glenn Ford (p. 173) John Ford (p. 90). Sonia Furió (p. 150) Jean Harlow (p. 57) Bryan Hastog (p. 58) Howard Hawks (p. 25) Rita Horme (p. 58) Danny Kaye (p. 173) Buster Keaton (p. 200) Ana Bertha Lepe (p. 150) Dean Martin (p. 120, 148) Marx Bros. (p. 64) Paco Michel (p. 173) Jorge Mistral (p. 150) Nana Mouskuri (p. 229) Kim Novak (p. 120) Sylvia Pinal (p. 150) Barbara Steele (p. 229) Robert Taylor (p. 173) Julisa and Nadja Tiller (p. 229) Rodolfo Valentino (p. 66) Lupe Vález (p. 193) xxix Lorena Velasquez (p. 173) Monica Vitti (p. 106) Jack Y/ayckins (p. 58) C) Movie Titles Alphaville (p. 57) Besos Mortales* the Unexpurgated Memories of Roger W. Chillindworth (p. 58) Cabo de Hornos (p. 150) Comenzó con un beso (p. 173) David and Lisa (p. 18) Dicen que soy hombre mala (p. 173) Doctor Zhivago (p. 72) Dormitorio para señoritas (p. 173) Easy Street (p. 23) El día que paralizaron la tierra (p. 217) El Kimono escarlata (p. 144) El Tesoro de Chucho el Roto (p. 144) El Tesoro del ahorcado (p. 173) Esclavo del deber (p. 144) Far From a Maddening Crowd (p. 113) I Promessi Sposi (p. 59) La estrella vacia-Mexican movie (p. 144) La piel suave (p. 61) La sombra del otro (p. 150) . Las cinco monedas (p. 144) Sirenas y Tiburones (p. 144) Spartacus (p. 73) Una noche de éstas (p. 154) West Side Story (p. 72) Zelda (p. 148) XXX III. ArtsI A) Art Sergio Aragonés (p. 64) Contemporary Mexican artist and cartoonist who draws for the U.S. magazine MAD. Francis Bacon (p. 72) •Irish-horn British painter who shows man as a tragic figure. (1910- ) Boticelli,4 Sandro (p. 180) Italian Renaissance painter of Florence who painted "El nacimiento de Venus" (1485). (1444-1510) hyeronimobosquianos (p. 72) Bosch, Hieronymos, Flemish painter. A favorite of Phillip II of Spain. (cl460-15l6) Cinetismos (p. 186) A mode of contemporary optic art. Victor Vasarely brought success to this form of art. José Luis Cuevas (p. 72) Mexican painter,- graphic artist,' and cartoonist. He wrote the book, Cuevario. (1934- ) Elie Faure (p. 62) French art historian who related the history of art to the progress of human culture. (1873-1937) Gaudí, Antonio (p. 122) Spanish architect and great genius of the baroque and expressionist style. He designed the Church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. (1852-1926) Giocondesco (p. 206) Reference to Leonardo Da Vinci’s "Mona Lisa" painting (1499) whose name was Lisa del Giacondo, a young Italian woman who was the subject of the painting. (1452-1519) Goyesco (p. 196) Reference to the imaginative, violent pictures of Francisco Goya, a Spanish painter. Sainz also uses Goya's paintings to describe the .girls at the school. (1746-1828) Grosz, George (p. 62) German expressionist painter of the 1920's whose style depicted biting satires of the military and wealthy classes. He is also known for his drawings criticizing the moral collapse of the post-war society. (1893-1959) Le Corbusier (p. 122) Also known as Charles-Edward Jeannenet, a French architect of the international style of architecture. (I887-I965) Magritte, René (p. 72) French artist. (I898-I967) Orozco, José Clemente (p. 191) Mexican Aztec mythology mixed with modem industrial themes were depicted in his art work. (1883-1949) Carlos Pellicer (p. 134) Mexican poet and architect. (I899- ) José Revueltos (p. 60) (Fermín) Mexican painter who did the fresco of El Nacional building. (1903-1935) "medusas dibujados por..." Julio Ruelas (p. 169) Draftsman and painter. (I87I-I907) George Russell (p. 59) Irish painter and writer of "The Interpreters," whose style was mystical and whose pen name was A.E. (1867-1935) Surrealist (p. 21) Movement founded in Paris (1924) which explored the unconscious mind. Painters included Cherico, Dali, Delvaux, Magretti, Ernst, Masson, and Miró. xxxii Van Gogh, Vincent (p. 178) Dutch master of modem impressionist art whose "intense color and slashing brushstroke reflect his disturbed mind." (I853-I890) Victor Vasarely (p. 186) Contemporary artist,' uses "cinetismos." (I9O8- ) Vasarélicas (p. 120) Refers to.Vasarely. José María Velasco (p. 157) Mexican painter famous for landscapes. (1840-1912) B) Music "Acércate más" (p. 205) Popular Mexican love song written by Osvaldo Farrés. Louis Armstrong (p. 245) American jazz trumpeter and orchestra leader. (1900-1971) "Ay Jalisco, no te rajes" (p. 207) Some of the words of the song "Jalisco?" music by Esperón and also a movie starring famous Mexican star, Jorge Negrete, in 1941. Bach, Johann Sebastian (p. 148) German composer. (1685-1750) Beatles (pp. 170, 19*0 Became the most famous and influential popular • music group of the I960'si Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Beethoven, Ludwig van (p. 148) German composer. (1770-1827) Berimbau (pp. 23» 29» 36) Brazilian musical instrument that resembles a bow with a gourd on the end and a string which is plucked with a pick. There is a song by that title written by Venicus de Moráis. xxxiii "Caminito" (p. 33) Popular Argentine tango of the type stressing the lonely life on the pampa. Conservatory of Paris (p. 32) Conservatoire de Musique founded in 1795* Cosmos Brown (p. 43) Could be the nickname for Herb Brown who wrote the music for Singing in the Rain (1929)» but also is one of the character in the movie. "chacha mi chacha linda" (p. 178) Popular Mexican song by the Hermanos Marttfex-Gil. "Clavelitos" (p. 211) Spanish song especially popular in Mexico in the 1940*s. Donival Caymmi (p. 232) Composer and singer of popular Brazilian music usually with Bahia as the theme. "Cinzas la Marcha de Quarta-Feira" (p. 32) Music written by Venicuis de Moráis. It is Brazilian carnival music for Ash Wednesday. Claude Debussy (p. 79) Achille Antoine Octave Claude Debussy founded the impressionistic style of music. His wives' names are mentioned in the novel* Rosalie Texier and Emma Bardac. (1862-1918) "Doralice" (pp. 60, 74) _ Bossa nova song by Jóao Gilberto. Osvaldo Farrés (p. 76) Popular Brazilian song composer. garrard (p. 73) Trademark for stereo equipment. Jorge Gaitán Durán, "Los hampones" ópera en 3 actos (p. 251) Composer who v/as killed in an airplane crash on October 27» 1961. Opera published by Editorial Mito, Bogota. xxxiv Glück (p. 16?) Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer who stressed balance between music and drama. In 1779 he composed "Iphigenia in Tauris." (171^-1787) Grand Prix du Disque (p. 40) An award given in France equivalent to the Golden Record Award in the U.S.A. Joao Gilberto (p. 74) Popular Brazilian singer. Hindemith, Paul (p, 88) German composer who brought neo-classical element to contemporary music. (I895-I963) Infante, Pedro (p. 176) Popular Mexican actor and singer who was killed in a plane crash. "La gloria eres tú" (p. 215) Popular Mexican song written by José Antonio Méndez in the 1950's. "La Rondalla" (p. 175) Mexican song used in serenades and written by Alfonso Esparza Oteo. Mariachi (pp. 175» 242) A group of singers who sing popular Mexican songs usually dressed in the typical "charro" costumes. By tradition this music is from the state of Jalisco. José Antonio Méndez (p. 215) Mexican song writer of the popular songs such as "La gloria eres tú." Negrete, Jorge (p, 176) Mexican movie star and singer famous for his "charro" ranchero songs. (1911-1953) Oliver Nelson (p. 59) Famous jazz saxophonist. XXXV Nielson, Carl August (p. 59) Danish composer of comic opera Maskarade (1906). (1865-1931) "Pavana por la amada presente" (p. 55) Music by Maurice Ravel, French composer, "Pavane pour une enfante ddfunte." (1875-1937) George Prétre (p. 26) Contemporary orchestra conductor. A favorite of Gustavo Sainz, Promises. Promises (p. 243) 1968 musical version of the motion picture, The Apartment. Ramonita Rocamorra (p. 105) It is a name used in a children’s song in Buenos Aires. Satie, Eric Leslie (p. 59) French composer who collaborated with Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso to produce a satirical ballet "Parade" in 1917. (1866-1925) Serenata de Gallo (p. 175) Serenade in honor of someone or of a special occasion sung in the open, usually about midnight or in the early morning hours. Siboney, Sibonquilla (p. 89) Popular bolero written by the Cuban composer, Ernesto Lecuona who died in 1964. Sigfrido (p. 195) Siegfried was an opera written by Richard Wagner in IÓ76, and the protagonist is a legendary German hero. (I8Í3-I883) Flor Silvestre (p. 176) Mexican vocal star who specializes in "ranchera" popular songs. "Singing in the Rain" (p. 43) American popular song written by Herb Brown with lyrics by Arthur Freed (1929). xxxvi "Up, Up, and Away" (p. 186) American song of the 1960's. Wagner, Richard (pp, 88, 89) Operatic composer from Germany, Lohregrinaba refers to Lohengrin (1848), the opera that has been classified as the climax i: , his musical style, (1813-1883) xxxvii Historical Persons, Events, and Geographical Locationst Alekhine (p. 130) Russian-French chess player who was world champion 1927-1935 and 1937-1946. (1892-1946) Algarin (p. 40) An old division or community of Mexico City. Benjamin (.p. 58) Biblical reference to the youngest and next to Joseph, favorite son of Jacob, "son of my right hand," who founded the Isrealite tribe of the Benjamites. José Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva (p. 24) Noted Brazilian statesman and scientist. (1763-1368) Buda (p. 215) Siddharta Guatania (Buddha), teacher and founder of the Buddhist religion. (563?-483? B.C.) Cabo de Homos (p. 150) The tip of South America. Calle de Dolores (p. 125) A famous street in Mexico City. el duque de Caixos (Caxeas) (p. 24) A famous Brazilian diplomat who was also a famous soldier in the war with Paraguay. A person who does his duty well is known as "un coxeas" in Brazil. (1803-1880) Mamá Carlota (p. 229) Daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium who became wife of the Archduke of Austria, Maximilian. (1840-1927) Campeche (p. Ill) Capital city of the state of Campeche on the Gulf side of Mexico. Venustiano Carranza (p. 180) President of Mexico in 1915» Under his direction the Constitution of 1917 was adopted. (1859-1920) Castillo de Chapultepec (pp. 71» 87) Castle rebuilt in 1866 for the Emperor Maximilian on Grasshopper Hill, which is now a National Museum of History. xxxviii Fidel Castro Ruiz (pp. 35, 24, 80) Became dictator of Cuba in 1959 when he overthrew the military dictatorship of Fugencio Batista. He changed Cuba into a communist state. (1927-) Julio César (p. 178) Gaius Juliu Caesar was a Roman General and states¬ man and became dictator of Rome in 49 B.C. (100-44 B.C.) Chamizal (p. 205) Border area under U. S, - Mexico dispute until settled in 1963. Chilpancingo (p. 152) A city on the road from Acapulco to Taxco. cleopatresca (p. 210) Cleopatra, last of the line of the Ptoblemies to rule Egypt. (69-30 B.C.) Club de Pesca (p. 121) Famous old hotel in Acapulco. Col6n (pp. 225» 63) Christopher Columbus was the' seaman and navigator who discovered America in 1492 for Spain. His statue is on the Paseo de la Reforma, close to the American Embassy in Mexico City. (14517-1506) Cuauhtémoc (p. 86) Last Aztec emperor honored by a monument on the Paseo de la Reforma and Avenida de Insurgentes in Mexico City. Also a street in Mexico City is named Cuauhtemoc. Cuernavaca (p. 157) Famous resort city approximately one hour by car from Mexico City.. Felix Cuevas (p. 206) A Mexican philanthropist after whom a street was named in the Colonia del Valle, a section of Mexico City. El Pedregal de San Angel (pp. 91» 226) Southern part of Mexico City where expensive homes are built on a lava-bed. xxxix El proceso Eichmann (p. 110) Adolf Eichmann was a lieutenant colonel in the Nazi S. S. His trial in Israel for crimes against the Jews lasted several months. (1906-1962) El Revolcadero (p. 112) A very popular and treacherous beach in Acapulco. Gestapo (p. 110) Nazi Secret State Police noted for its power and brutality in order to smash opposition. Created in 1933. Guerrero (p. 155) State of Mexico in which Acapulco is located. Gutemberg (p. 89) Johannes GUtenberg, German printer who invented type mold which made printing practical for the first time. (1395?-1^68) Houdini, Harry (p. 60) One of the greatest magicians of all times who performed dangerous and sensational feats. He was born Edrich Weiss. (1874-1926) t Isla de Mujeres (p. Ill) Island off the Gulf Coast of Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. Isla Negra (p. 43) The Chilean island where Pablo Neruda has his home. Jack the Ripper (pp. 47, 90, 105) Famous murderer in London who slit his victim's throat. Jaramillo (p. 157) One of Emiliano Zapata's soldiers recently killed in México. Jeremiádes (p. 98) Hebrew prophet. Old Testament Book of Lamentations is attributed to him. Also the Book of Jeremiah. (626-586 B.C.) xl Josué (p. 84) Joshua was a lieutenant of Moses who led. Israel in the conquest of Palestine after Moses' death. He beseiged Jericho in 1200's B.C. Juarez, Benito Pablo (p. 157* 233) Mexican political leader who was president of México in 1961, I867» and 1871. A principal street- in México City is named for him. (I806-I872) La Coatlicue (p. 144) The goddess or ruler of death in the Aztec mythology and also considered the goddess of flowers. La columna de la Independencia (p. 132) Also known as "El Angel”. It is a famous landmark in México City on Paseo de la Reforma. The statue of the Angel on top of the column is covered in gold-leaf. La Diana (p. 242) Famous statuary fountain of Diana the Huntress located at the end of the Paseo de la Reforma at the entrance to Chapultepec Park. La inquisition (p. 27) The effort by the Roman Catholic Church to seek out and punish "heretics” or persons opposed to Church teachings. In 1542 the Congregation of the Holy Office controlled the Inquisition. (Part of the title of a book by Luis Gonzalez Obregon) La Torre Latinoamericana (p. 88) Famous 44 story skyscraper in México City that has án observation deck and restaurant on its top floors. Lago de Texcoco (p. 4l) All the valley in which México City lies was once covered with water. The lakes were drained leaving the bed or dust or swamp depending on the rainfall. Las aventuras de Simon Wiesenthal (p. 110) He was a famous post-war sleuth who captured many of the Nazi war criminals, one of whom was Eichmann. xli Las S.S. (p. 110) Schultztaffel, the elite bodyguard for Hitler, Los tranvías de Magdeburgo (p. 110) Alluding to different operations that viere used to exterminate the Jews during W.W.II. Lazarus (p. 196) In John 1111-44, New Testament, Christ commanded Lazaras to rise from the dead. In Luke l6i19-31» Lazarus is the name of a beggar in the parable. Mahoma (p. 178) Mohammed, founder of Islamic religion and was called the Prophet of Islam. (A.D.5707-632) Mar del Plata (p. 43) A city south of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Manzanillo (p. 97) City on the pacific coast of México in the State of Colima. Maximiliano (pp. 29» 157» 158) Archduke of Austria and Emperor of México in 1867. (1832-1867) Moctezuma (pp. 114, 192) Montezuma II was the Aztec Emperor when Cortés conquered the Aztecs. (1480-1520) Monoalco Tlateloco (pp. 242, 252) Neighborhood district near the business section of México City famous for its Plaza de las tres culturas where the Indian* Colonial and modem architecture is visible. Also site of the student riot in 1968 prior to the holding in Mexico of the Olympics. Monumento de la Madre (p. 82, 126) Huge monument depicting motherhood and a favorite landmark in the city of México. Museo de Antropología (p. I85) Famous museum located in Chapultepec Park in México City. xlii Napoleón I (pp. 15, 29) Napoleón Bonaparte,' Emperor of France in 1804. (1769-1821) Napoleón III (p. 195) Emperor of France (1852-70) and last member of the Bonaparte Ramily to rule. (I8O8-I873) Severino Neiva (p. 24) Brazilian patriot whose face is reproduced on a postal stamp. Nicodema (p. 121) Nicodemus was a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Court of Jerusalem. He spoke in behalf of Jesus Christ at his trial and later helped care for and bury his body. Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez (p. 232) Was a heroine in the fight of Mexican Independence. Her picture appears on the five peso bills. Operación Reinhard (p. 110) Karl Friedrich Reinhard was chiefly responsible for the government of Hesse-I)armstadl, a government of repression. This also alludes to the extermina¬ tion of the Jews during W.W.II. (1802-1880) Palacio de Bellas Artes (pp. 52, 84, 186) Built during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz (I876-I9H)» on Avenida Juárez near the Alameda. It was to be an Opera House and is now used for all artistic events. Palacio de Hierro (pp. 66, 193) Famous department stores in México City. Peralvillo (p. 40) A community of México City. Pelé (p. 172) Edson Arantes do nascimiento, famous soccer star bom in Brazil. xliii Pió XII (p. 117) In 1939 was elected Pope and was responsible for saving at least 800,000 Jews but was nonethe¬ less critized for not saving more. (1876-1958) Popocatepetl and Iztaccihault (p. 157) Famous volcanos visible from Mexico City named after a warrior and a princess in a Mexican Legend. Puente de- Brooklyn (p. 71) Suspension bridge across East River in New York connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn; built in I883. Puerto Azul (p. 43) A port town in the state of Michoacán, México. Gil de Rais (p. 68) Gilíes de Laval de Retz was a French Military officer who fought alongside the Maid of Orleons and was also burned at the stake. (l4o4-l44o) Saltillo (p. 59) A city in the northern state,.Coahuila, México, famous for its waterfall. Sandino (p. 155) Nicaraguan general and rebel leader who was assassinated by the National Guard. (1893-1934) Santa Marfa Mixcalco (p, 133) A geographic location in México. Cuidad Satéllite (p. 198) A modem suburb of Mexico City. Tapachula (p. 79) A Mexican city located near the border of Guatemala on the Pacific side of México. Taxco (p. 155» 156) City in Mexico famous for its silver mines and stores. Tenochtitlán (p. 114) The Spaniards built Mexico City on the ruins of Tenochtitlán the capital of the Aztec Empire. Tezcatlipoca (p. 194) Tezcatlipochtli is the Mexican mythical god of vengeance who takes retribution for the crimes committed by man and also sends catastrophes. xliv Tlahuicole (p. 154) Indian warrior who fought against the Aztecs. He was from the area round present day Cuernavaca. Tlaxcala (p. 15*0 A city in the state of México. Tlátoc (pp. 185, 225, 243) God of Rain in Mexican mythology. Tres Marías (p. 158) City near Mexico City famous for its cold climate and delicious tacos. Treblinka (p. 110) A Nazi concentration camp during W.W.II and also the title of a book by Jean Francois Steiner in which the atrocities of the camp are revealed. Tula (p. 242) A site in the state of México where there are some pyramids. Ciudad Universitaria (p. 91) University of Mexico built on an area south of the city. Pancho Villa (p. 220) Mexican revolutionist killed in ambush. (I877-I923) Emiliano Zapata (p. 202) A leader in the Mexican Revolution. (18807-1919) Zuloaga (p. 75) Mexican conservatist president in I858 following Comonfort. He was opposed by the constitutionist government headed by Juárez. xlv V Scientists and related events. Agassiz, Jean Louis Rodolphe (p. 169) Swiss naturalist. (I807-I873) Borealis (p. 65) Aurora Borealis, also called Northern Lights. Cousteau (p. 70) Jacques, underwater explorer and co-inventor of the Agua-lung in 19^3* Wrote his adventures in various books one of which is The Silent World. (1953). (WO- ) desierto de Sonoita (p. Ill) Desert area in the southern part of Arizona and the northern part of the Mexican state of Sonora- Gran Desierto. Einstein (p. 89) Albert, German-American scientist whose theory of relativity revolutionized scientific thought with new conceptions of time, space, mass motion and gravitation. (1879-1955) Géminis 400 (pp. 102, 131) No such number for a space craft. All Géminis were launched between June 3, 1965-Nov. 11, 1966. Elias Howe (p. 174) American inventor of the sewing machine. (1819-1867) Michaux (p. 17) André, French Botanist whose work is on the flora of North America. (1746-1802) Molniya 12 (p. 131) No such number of space craft, although Russia's first communication satellite was Molniya I, April 23» 1965. séptimo grado, escala de Mercalli (p. 178) Measurement of intensity of earthquakes. Newton (p. 178) Sir Isaac, English physicist, mathematician and philosopher. (1642-1727) xlvi Orión (p. 65) The Hunter, is a winter constellation. Sputnik I (p. 131) First artificial earth satellite, launched by Russia on Oct. 4, 1957 and thereby starting the space age. Tiras de Moebius (p. 157) One cuts*a long piece of paper, twists it and connects it end to end. If one marks a line on its surface, one will find that it has no up or down. Titov (pp. 131, 237) G., Russian astronaut. On Aug. 6, 1961, in the spaceship, Vostok II,‘1 he made 16 revolutions in 25 hours and 18 minutes. Votok (p. 237) Y. Gagarin, Russian astronaut, launched into space on spacecraft,' Votok, Apr. 12,; 1961, and made one revolution in 1 hour and 48 minutes. xlvii VI Miscellaneous " Aleph (pp. 165,: 168) The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and a short story written by Jorge Luis Borges. Beleorofonte (p. 237) Corithian in Greek mythology who is the son of Neptune and who slays the chimera. Bitter Lemons (p. 190) A soft drink made by Scheppe's Company that is usually mixed with Gin and is the title of a book by Lawrence Durrell. (1921- ) Chilangos (p. 121) Slang name given to the people of Mexico City. Cristóforo (p. 121) A proper, boy's name. It signifies Christopher. Copreros (p. 243) The persons who cut and mill the copra. Cuevas Anastasio (p. 250) A non-existant person; the n'ame for a general devised by Sainz. Dueto Internacional (p. 66) Non-existant musical duet devised by Sainz. el bolsón de mapími (p. 199) A geographic location. el dainers (p. 106) Refers to the Diners Club/ Inc. El ombligo del mundo (p. 148) Mythological way of saying the center or eye of the world. epifania (p. 157) Christian calendar date of the 6th of January. Jcyce uses the word to indicate an enlightenment. General G asdabas. Gama y Bas (p. 177) Play on words and a ficticious name. Virginia Gordona (p. 68) Non-existant person; name devised by Sainz. xlviii La personalidad Secreta del Prieto Bugs (p. 178) Alluding to a sickness that a friend of Sainz had during adolescence. Lecumberri (p. 248) The name of the jail in the northern section of Mexico City. Le Mans (p. 213) A trademark for an automobile and also the famous car race held in France. Patricia (p. 237) A loving fantasy 1 a circumstancial character» a girl whom Sainz knew and liked. Antonio Pérez Mayorga (p. 109) A non-existant person» name devised by Sainz. Pugibet (p. 35) Ernesto Pugibet is the name of a street in Mexico City. pulque (p. I83) A Mexican drink made from the fermented juice of the maguey plant. Raleigh (p. 201) A popular brand of cigarettes in Mexico named . after Sir Walter Raleigh, the English statesman and man of letters. (1552-1618) Sanborns (p. 75) A famous restaurant and curio shop in the one-time Palace of Tiles in Mexico City. sol de Walpurgis (p. 202) Noche de V/alpurgis (p. 74) German mythology, April 30th, when the witches meet the devils. taquear en Indianilla (p. 66) Refers to famous section of Mexico City where tacos are sold. Tiseu (p. 237) Athenian who killed the Minosaur in Greek mythology. xlix vasos de Carretones (p. 209) Rudely molded glasses of glassja folk art of México. Jorge Yáñez (p. 118) A personal friend of Gustavo Sainz. Yolis (p. 144) A popular cold drink served in Acapulco.