Copyright by Fernanda Vitor Bueno 2007 The Dissertation Committee for Fernanda Vitor Bueno Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Myth of Camila O'Gorman in the Works of Juana Manuela Gorriti, María Luisa Bemberg and Enrique Molina Committee: Enrique Fierro, Supervisor Frederick Hensey Míriam Balboa Echeverría Naomi Lindstrom Nicolas Shumway The Myth of Camila O'Gorman in the Works of Juana Manuela Gorriti, María Luisa Bemberg, and Enrique Molina by Fernanda Vitor Bueno, B.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December, 2007 Dedication A Patricia, inestimable amiga. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Enrique Fierro, for his unconditional support. Dr. Míriam Balboa Echeverría mentored my graduate studies; her confidence in me has renewed my own. I thank Dr. Naomi Lindstrom for her encouragement and time invested in my work. Dr. Nicolas Shumway's seminars on Argentina inspired me. I express my gratitude to Dr. Frederick Hensey for his kind comments and insightful suggestions. I wrote this thesis with the enthusiastic support and friendship of Dr. Patricia Fernós, who guided me through the English language and my own thoughts. The love of my husband, family, and friends gives me the energy to pursue my goals. v The Myth of Camila O'Gorman in the Works of Juana Manuela Gorriti, María Luisa Bemberg, and Enrique Molina Publication No._____________ Fernanda Vitor Bueno, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2007 Supervisor: Enrique Fierro Camila O'Gorman, a transgressive aristocratic woman who proudly defied the values of Family, Church, and Society in nineteenth-century Argentina, was executed beside her lover, the priest Ladislau Gutiérrez. Since her execution by dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas, her life and death represent a myth of rebellion and repression in the Argentine imagination, inspiring many works of literature and film. This dissertation studies three major works inspired by her life: the short story "Camila O'Gorman" (1876) by Juana Manuela Gorriti, the film Camila (1984) by María Luisa Bemberg, and the novel Una sombra donde sueña Camila O'Gorman (1973) by Enrique Molina. It proposes that each author shaped the images of the female protagonist by imprinting on the character of Camila the authors' personal reaction to the political climate in which they lived. Roland Barthes's Mythologies marks the main theoretical frame and distinctive theories on nationalism, narrative, film and genre are also applied. vi Chapter One situates the political climate of Camila's contemporary life. It studies the mythologies created to support and undermine Rosas' power. Moreover, it gives an account of three women who actively participated in politics: Mariquita Sánchez, Encarnación Ezcurra, and Manuela de Rosas. Chapter Two studies Gorriti as a nation builder. Her story "Camila O'Gorman" reinforces the ideals of a liberal progressive nation. By portraying Camila as a negative symbol, Gorriti adheres to the conservative view on women. Chapter Three inserts the life and work of Bemberg into the development of politics in Argentina. The film Camila addresses the parallel violence of the military regime in the 1980's. The character of Camila is portrayed as a defiant daughter, complying with the feminist views of the eighties. Chapter Four addresses Molina's Surrealist ideals, which determined his poetic analysis of Argentine history, foreshadowing the Proceso dictatorship. In his novel, Camila is represented as a Surrealist muse, who seeks liberty, love and poetry. The historical analogies recovered by the authors lead one to conclude that mythologies of Camila O'Gorman reappear in Argentina in times of political change and debate the rank of women in society. vii Table of Contents INTRODUCTION: THE MYTH OF CAMILA O'GORMAN 01 1. Rosismo: Stigma of Power on Argentine History............................................09 1.1. In the Name of Power ...........................................................................12 1.2. Naming Power: Civilization vs. Barbarism...........................................21 1.3. Enshrinment of Power...........................................................................26 1.4. Empowered Women..............................................................................32 2. Juana Manuela Gorriti: Nation Builder............................................................53 2.1. Nebulous Style......................................................................................55 2.2. "La Encubierta".....................................................................................67 2.3. Women Transgressors............................... ...........................................77 3. María Luisa Bemberg: Visual Storyteller.......................................................83 3.1. Being a Bemberg in Argentina..............................................................86 3.2. Visual Storyteller...................................................................................94 3.3. "Ain't She Sweet".................................................................................107 3.4. Camila: a Love Story in Times of Repression.....................................117 3.4.1. Setting the Stage...............................................................................120 3.4.2. Symbolic Orchestration....................................................................124 3.5. Final Stances........................................................................................135 4. Enrique Molina: "Poeta de la Intemperie".......................................................137 4.1. Word / World in Sensual Movement...................................................141 4.2. "Change the World;" "Transform Life"...............................................145 4.3. The Shades of Discourse.....................................................................148 4.4. Woman: Desire in Movement.............................................................165 4.5. Camila and Mélusine...........................................................................169 viii Conclusion: The Mythologists.............................................................................174 Works Cited .........................................................................................................177 Vita.......................................................................................................................188 ix Introduction: The Myth of Camila O'Gorman Camila Ogorman hija de D Adolfo Ogorman y de Da. Joaquina Gimenez – Natural de Buenos Ayres – Edad 21 años – Estado soltera –Domicilio: Buenos Ayres – sabe leer y escribir en prueba de ello firma a continuación – Color blanco rosado – Pelo castaño – Es sana . Preguntada por la causa de su prisión dijo que por haberse evadido de casa de sus padres en compañía de D Uladislao Gutierres con objeto de contraer matrimonio con él, por cuanto estava en la presunción de que no hera presbítero, y que no pudiendo dar este una satisfacción a la sociedad de Buenos Ayres, lo indujo a salir del País para que se efectuara lo más pronto posible estando uno y otro satisfechos a los ojos de la Providencia – Que si este suceso se considera un crimen lo es ella en su mayor grado por haber hecho dobles exigencias para la fuga pero que ella no lo considera delito por estar su conciencia tranquila. Classification of Camila O'Gorman by the Justice of Peace Felipe Botet, in August, 1848 (reprinted in Una sombra 314) The great paradox of personal liberty and absolute political power that plagues all dictatorships has an extreme example in the Argentina of the nineteenth-century. Camila O'Gorman (1828-1848), the genteel daughter of Adolfo O'Gorman, along with Ladislao Gutiérrez, the head-priest of the parish of Socorro of Buenos Aires, had her fate sealed by a society submersed in civil wars. The Restaurador de las leyes, Juan Manuel de Rosas decreed Camila and Ladislao's death sentence for having eloped to live out their passion as man and wife "in the eyes of Providence." The love story of the young aristocratic woman and the priest immediately became a political target in the press, the motif of 1 gauchesque poetry, and since then it has been immortalized in literature and film as a myth of rebellion and repression. This dissertation seeks to contribute to a new perspective on the representation of the national martyr Camila O'Gorman, a transgressive woman who proudly defied the values of Family, Church and Society. It studies the three major works inspired by her tragic life: the short story by Juana Manuela Gorriti "Camila O'Gorman" (Panoramas de la vida 1876); the film Camila (1984) by María Luisa Bemberg and the novel Una sombra donde sueña Camila O'Gorman (1973) by Enrique Molina. It proposes that the authors shaped the images of the female protagonist by supporting their personal world- view and by imprinting on the character of Camila their personal reaction to the political climate in which they lived and produced their work. The intent of this dissertation is to analyze the relationship between the country's historical moment in which the works were published or released and the authors' point of view. These two aspects, history and authorship, determine the image created of Camila O'Gorman, who has become