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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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South Central Modern Language Association and Johns Hopkins University Press are collaborating with JSTOR todigitize, preserve and extend access to South Central Review.
http://www.jstor.org
South Central Modern Language ssociation
Reading Postmodernism: The Fiction of Cristina Fernández Cubas, Paloma Díaz-Mas, and MarinaMayoralAuthor(s): Kathleen M. GlennSource: South Central Review, Vol. 18, No. 1/2, Spain Modern and Postmodern at the Millenium(Spring - Summer, 2001), pp. 78-93Published by: on behalf ofJohns Hopkins University Press South Central Modern LanguageAssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3190303
Accessed: 21-11-2015 16:09 UTC
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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Reading
ostmodernism:he
ictionf
Cristina
Fernandez
ubas,
aloma
iaz-Mas,
nd
Marina
Mayoral
Kathleen
M. Glenn
To
read
bout
ostmodernism
s to
realize
ow
problematic
phenomenon
t
is. Is
it
a
reaction
gainst
modernism
r an
extension
f
t,
rupture
r a reconsideration?
oes the
prefix
post-
mply
mere
emporalosteriority
r
ogical onsequence,
followingfterr followingrom? oesthe ermpostmodern
signal
opprobrium
r
approval?
Is
there
single
version
f
postmodernism
r does
ttake
arying
orms
n,
for
nstance,
he
fields
of
architecture,rt,
dance,
film,
iterature,
usic,
photography,
nd
heater?
I
incline
oward
he econd
f
achof
the
preceding
lternatives.)
nd what
onstitutes
ts essence?
Jean-Franqois
yotard
emphasizes
the
subversion
of
metanarratives,
rian
McHale
rgues
or
change
fdominant
thesis,
nd
Charles
encks
nd hab
Hassan,
espectively,
tress
doubleodingnd ndetermanenceindeterminacyimmanence).'
Fredric
ameson
laims
hat
ostmodernism
s characterized
y
suppression
f
depth,
waning
f
affect,
he
omnipresence
f
pastiche,
nd essential
riviality.
inda
Hutcheon,
ar
more
sympathetic,
ighlights
ts ronic
ialogue
ith he
ast.
Edmund
Smythroposes
series
f
features:
fragmentation,
iscontinuity,
indeterminacy,
lurality,
metafictionality,
eterogeneity,
intertextuality,
ecentring,
islocation,
udism.
And
Umberto
Eco, tongue
n
cheek,
eclares:
I
have
the
mpression
hat
['postmodem']
s applied odayoanythingheuser fthe erm
happens
o
like. '
The
present
ssay
ocuses
n
ndeterminacy
nd
on
parody
and
intertextuality,
ore
aspects
of
literary
postmodernism,
nd examines
ow
they
re
manifested
n
the
fiction
f hree
ontemporary
panish
riters:
ristina
ernAndez
Cubas
Arenys
e
Mar,
945-),
aloma
iaz-Mas
Madrid,
954-),
and
Marina
Mayoral
Mondofiedo,
942-).'
The
decision
o
study
women
riters
s
motivated
n
part
y
he
uery
Where
ave
All
The
Women
one?,
he
ubtitle
fthe
nitial
hapter
f
Patricia
Waugh's
eminine
ictions.4
ost f he ritics hohave tudied
literary
ostmodernism
ave
been
men,
nd
the
works
hey
ave
analyzed
ave
been
by
male
uthors,
hereby
endering
omen,
once
more,
nvisible.
teven
onnor,
or
xample,
ists
amuel
Beckett,
ohn
arth,
onald
Barthelme,
homas
ynchon,
on
C
South
entral
eview
8.1-2
Spring-Summer
001):
78-93.
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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Kathleen
M.
Glenn
79
DeLillo,
William
urroughs,
eter
Handke,
talo
Calvino,
orge
uis
Borges,
Julio
CortUzar,
nd
CarlosFuentes
s
exemplars
f
the
postmodern
pirit.5
Conspicuously
bsent
re
henames
f
female
riters
nd
f
Spaniards
f
ither
sex.
The ndeterminacyhat sthehallmarkfpostmodernictions the esultf
basic
ncredulity
oncerning
aster arratives
nd
universallaims
or
ruth.
Postmodern
ntellectuals,
ully
ognizant
f
he ontradictionsnd ensions
f
he
present
ra,
re without
onfidence
n
Enlightenment
ationalism
nd
ogic
or
belief
n
a
coherent,
nified
elf nd a
single,
table
epresentation
f
reality.
Language
s no
onger
iewed
s
transparent;
igns
renot
nivalent;
tterances
do nothave
definitive
eaning.
hisdistrustf
metanarratives
nd
kepticism
about he
powers
f
reason
nd
language
re
fundamentalo the fiction
f
FernAndezubas.
The
protagonists
f
her
narratives
re unable
o
decipher
words,ctions,revents;ime ndagain atiocinationrovesnadequate. he
subtitle
f
recent
rticle
y
Janet
drez,
Narrative
nreliability
nd
he
Flight
from
Clarity,
r,
The
Quest
for
Knowledge
n
the
Fog,
underscores
he
uncertainty
hat
uffuses
ernAndez
ubas's
world.6
he second
uthor,
iaz-
Mas,
repeatedly
uestions
he
alidity
f
iterary
nd
historical
nowledge.
er
novel
l
suelio
e
Venecia
The
Dream f
Venice)
s
a
prime
xample
f
what
Hutcheon
erms
historiographic
etafiction,
hich
eflects
pon
ts
status
s
fiction
nd
exposes
he
fictionality
f
history.
Historiographic
etafiction
demonstrateshat
history,
ike
fiction,
onstructsts
object
nd is
inevitablypartial-bothncompletendbiased-in hatt snot n
objectiveecording
ut
constructionnd
nterpretation
f
past
events hat
eflects
he
ttitudef
the
historian
owardhis or
her
material.
Provisionality
nd
undecidability,
partisanship
nd even
overt
politics--these
re what
replace
he
pose
of
objectivity
nd
disinterestedness
hat
denies
he
interpretive
and.
mplicitly
evaluative ature
f
historical
epresentation. '7
ovels
ike
Salman
Rushdie's
Shame,
obert
oover's
he
Public
urning,
ndE. L.
Doctorow's
he
Book
f
Daniel
draw
ttentiono the
nstability
nd
provisionality
f historical
eaning
and heirwn
oubleness;
heyonjoin
he
resent
nd
he
ast,
he ictive
nd he
factual. oubleness,neffect,s basic oHutcheon'sefinitionf
postmodernism
as
complicitous
ritique,
simultaneous
nscription
nd
ubversionf
onventions
and
deologies,
fundamentally
arodic
rt.
Parody,
he
writes,
anges
rom
serious
riticism
o
playful
ockery,
rom
espectful
dmirationo
biting
idicule;
irony
s
its
major
hetorical
trategy,
nd t
s
doubly
oded
n
political
erms:
t
both
egitimizes
nd
ubverts
hat
whicht
parodies. 8
utcheon's
iscussion
f
parody
s
of
special
elevance
o
the
writing
f
Diaz-Mas nd
Mayoral,
hose
ironic
itation
f
certain
eneric
onventions,
eriod
tyles,
r
specific
orks
s
constant.
To
read
their
ictions
to
be
reminded,
t
every urn,f Eco's
observation
hat
books
lwayspeak
f
other
ooks, nd
verytory
ells
story
that
as
already
een
told. 9
Before
proceeding
further,
t
should be
noted
that
feminist s
a
very
questionable
erm
n
Spain,
nd
FernAndez
ubas,
Diaz-Mas,
and
Mayoral
resist
being
abeled
as
feminist
riters.
They
want
their
work
o be
taken
eriously,
valued
for ts
artistic
merit-not
or
hesex
of ts
author--and
ead
by
men nd
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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80
Southentral
eview
women
like.
All
hree
esist
eing elegated
o
what
hey
allthe
ghetto
f
literature
y
nd or
omen.
n
1995
nterview,
iaz-Maseclared:
In
general,
women ho
write
n
Spain
ike obe
considered
riters,
hat
s to
say,
writers
who rewomen.
..
It
annoys
e
o
be
considered
girl
who
writesnd
s,
thereforeeterminedbyher ex]. Logically,hefact fbeing woman
determines,
s does
eing panish,
professor
f
iterature,
iving
n
Vitoria..
but
don'tike ohave
t
onsidered
he ominant
actor,
or o like ohave
my
work
egarded
s that f
woman howritesnd
ohave
t,
s a
result,
udged
differently
han he
work
f
man. '
lleging
hat
eminist
ritics
ry
o
force
writing
y
womennto
specific
ramework,
ernindez
ubas
as
sed
he
mage
of
corset:
Theres a
corset,
nd
heyry
o
force
ur exts
nto
t.
It s ike
one-sizeorset
hat
as
o
fit ll
of
s,
nomatterow
at rhow
hin.
Mayoral
has
expressed
imilar
entiments,
s have
most
ontemporarypanish
omen
authors. he nsuingages eed iaz-Mas'srotestnd xploreheworkf
three
escritores
ue
on
mujeres
writers
ho
re
women).
At a conference
eld
n
Spain
n
1998,
ernAndezubas
poke
f
her
fascination
ith
ords
nd ecalledhats
a childhe oved
omake
p
rossword
puzzles.
Forms
fcommunication
igure
rominently
n
her
narratives,
ith
their
etters,
igns,
oded
messages,
mbroidery,
nd
arvings.
anguage
s
a
major
heme
n
the irst
tory
he
wrote,
La ventanael
ardin
The
Garden
Window).
A
tale
of calculated
ndeterminacies,
mbiguities,
nd
gaps,
t
problematizes
he
elationship
etween
igns
nd heir
eferents.
henarrator's
attemptso make ense fhisexperiencereroutinelyrustrated,ndwe, he
readers,
re
eft
with
text hats
decidedlypaque.
The
peningaragraphs
plunge
s nto
worldf
ncomprehensible
anguage
nd
nexplicable
ehavior.
The
nameless
arrator
ecalls
is irst
eeting
ith
omds,
hen
he
oy lipped
him note
whose
ords
ere
written
n
concentricircles
ather
han
arallel
lines:
Cazuela
irada,
Tines
visones.
ruces
agartos.
a
noche
ra cre
unque
as ucarachas
llorasen.
s
Olla.'4
[Angry
asserole,
Soot
r
minks.
rossesr izards.
he
night
as crid
ven
hough
heockroaches
wept.
ore
Pot.]
Since
messages
resumably
re
ntended
o
communicate,
e
attempt
o
make
senseof this
ne and
may
e
inclinedo assume
hat Cazuela irada s
the
heading
nd Olla the
ignature
f
a
peculiar
missive.We are told hat
ince
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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Kathleen
M.
Glenn
81
Tomms
as
suffering
romn
ear
ilment,
henarratoras unable o
speak
with
him,
nd heir
interview
ook
lace
n
silence,
hroughhalf-open
indow.
A
silent nterviews
something
f
a
paradox,
ndthe
uxtaposition
f the
words
entrevista
interview;
een
unclearly)
nd
ventana
ntreabierta
34;
window
thatsajar) alls ttentionothresholdsnd othingshatreneitherhis or hat
(half-open
nd,
iterally,alf-seen).
epetition
f he erb
parecer
to
eem,
o
look,
o
appear)
nduse of
phrases
uch
s
I
had
he
mpression,
it
urprised
me,
I
sensed,
I
interpreted,
I
thought
understood,
nd
I
couldn't
understand
mphasize
hat he arrator
s
giving
s his
mpressions
nd
elling
s
how
hings
eemed o him.
As
if
onstructionsnd
qualifyinghrases
at least)
furthernderscore
he
ubjectivity
nd
possible
aselessness
f
his
assumptions.
Throughout
he
story
e tries o
decipher
hat ccurs
round
im,
nd his
conjectures,
urmises,
ypotheses,
nd
suspicions
onsistentlyrovewrong.
At
one unctureedecides hatTomis'sparentsreeitheruitemadortryingo
conceal
omething
rom
im,
uch
s
the fact
hat
hey
ave
disposed
f
their
son
n
some
hideous
ashion,
nly
o
have o
acknowledge
hat
e
s
mistaken:
Butonce
again
was
wrong
40).
His
persistent
isreading
f events
nd
behavior
nderscoreshe
difficulty,
f
not
mpossibility,
f
successful
ecoding.
The
explanations
e
is
givenby
his hosts re
never
atisfactory,
nd
any
knowledge
e
attainss
provisional
r
ncomplete:
The
xplanation
idn't
atisfy
me,
I
couldn'tknow with
certitude,
nd
the
two
of
us
began
to
understand
39,
42,
44).
Interrogatives
roliferate
n
La
ventana
el
ardin,
nd
near he tory'snd he uestionWhatwashappening?s followedive imes
by Why
..
?,
with
hewords
ritten
n
capitals
n theirast
ccurrence
49-
50).
None
f he
ueries
eceives
n
answer.
The
sketchbook
n
which
Tombs
writes
nd
draws s a
collection f
incongruities :
Sentences
otally
evoid f
meaning
ere
huffled
ogether
n
an
extraordinary
ashion,
reaking
very
ype
fknown
ule.
On occasion he
yntax
seemed to me
to be
correct,
ut the
result
was
always
the same:
incomprehensible
42).
Tomrs ses
strange
anguage
hat
ighlights
emantic
instability.
is
indecency,
good,
nd
illness,
or
nstance,
orrespond
o
he
narrator'swindow, sneeze, nd pencil ox, ndTombsndhisparentso
by
he
names f
Pot, poon,
ndBroom.
Linguistic
igns,
e
are
reminded,
re
arbitrary,
s
are
he
onventions
f
writing.
t he
nd f La
ventanael
ardin,
a
cab
driver's
asual
referenceo
Tomais
s
PoorLittle ot
51)
indicates
familiarity
ith
nd
acceptance
f the
supposedly
rivate
anguage
f
the
household
he
narrators
fleeing.
he
denouement
fferseither
esolutionor
clarification
ut
nstead
n
intensificationf
the
onfusion
elt
y
narrator
nd
readers.
nasmuch
s
the
formers our
only
ource f
information
nd
he
alternates
etween
eing
affled
nd
being
wrong,
here
s
no
way
o
distinguish
between hats fact nd whats theproductfanoverlyctivemagination.
Even f
we
could
etermine
hat
he
acts
re,
we
sense
hat
heir
eaning
ould
elude s.
The
narratorf
La
ventana
el
ardin
escribes
ombs's
anguage
s
MINE
subject
o
rules
hat
were
oreign
o
me
44,
emphasis
dded).
That
which
s
other,
ifferent,
r
alien
plays
n
important
ole n
La
Florde
Espafia
The
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82
South
entral
eview
Flower
f
Spain),
narrativehat
oregroundsroblems
f
communication
nd
decoding,ontradictory
vidence nd
confusingigns,
nd
the
nsufficiency
f
reason.
The
opening
entence,
ith ts
slanginess,
xaggeration,
nd
inguistic
play,
stablisheshe
one
orwhat ollows:It was
freezing
old;
was
walking
upanddown hemain treetndwondering,s usual,what hehell wasdoing
there,
n
city
whose
anguage
s
ncomprehensible
nd
where
t
gets
ark t
3:00
PM
and
you
don't ee a
soulon
the
treetsfter
:00. '
As she
walks
p
and
down,
he arrator
appens
pon
store
ituated
n
n
alley.
The ilde
f he
ign
that
angs
ver he ntrance
o La Flor
de
Espafia
s
not he
ustomaryraceful
diacritical
ark
ut
an
exaggerated,
xcessive
ine,
clumsily
dded
to an
innocentnd
defenceless
(121),
nd shortircuit
akes tblink
n andoff
beforet
disappears
ompletely.
he
narrator
hen tares
nto he
isplay
indow
until er
reathteams
p
the
lass
o such
n extent
hat
othing
s
visible.
The
verbs olook, osee,todistinguish,ndtoperceive boundnFernAndezubas's
writing,
ut
seeing--even
when it
is
unhampered-does
ot
lead to
understanding.
Verbal
nd
non-verbal
ignifiersroliferate
n
La
Florde
Espafia,
nd the
narrator
nthusiastically
hrows erself
nto
mis)interpretation
f them.
The
rolling
f
n
eye,
facial
xpression,gesture,
hair
tyle,
n articlef
lothing:
all are
grist
or ermill.
Narrativerasure
s
frequent
s
she
umps
oconclusions
and then
as to backtrack
nd
rectify
arlier
tatements,
ut hedoes
not earn
from er
rrors.
Moments
fter
ondering
f
hehas
made nother
istake,
he
congratulateserselfnher resumedharpness:[I] realized'd hit henailon
the head.
I
congratulated
yself
n
my
cleverness
127).
The
narrator's
character-impetuous,
xuberant,
ndobsessive-and
er ituationre
essential
to the
story.
A
teacher
f
Spanish
n
an
unspecified
candinavian
ity,
er
profession
nd thefact
hat he s
exercising
t
n a
foreign
ountry
ake
her
especially
ensitiveo
nuances f
anguage.
When
he
s
informedhat
osita,
proprietor
f
La Flor
de
Espafla,
s
very
ndisposed
nd
will e absent
romhe
shop
or everal
months,
he
puzzles
ver
henews
nd
worries
tas
if twere
linguistic
one.
The dea
that
osita
s
desperately
rying
o
get
id f
her
never
occurs othenarrator,or oes herealize hat he nformationhathe tores
going
o
expand
ts
delivery
ervices
meanto
discourage
er
nnoying
isits.
The
narrator
nitially
ssumes
hatRosita
must
ave
once had
a
memorable
vacation
n
Spain
nd,
ntoxicated
y
iberal
mounts
f un
nd
angria,
ecided
to
surround
erself
ith
hings panish
n
returning
o herhomeland.
Wrong.
Rosita s
a
fellow
paniard,
stranger
n
strange
and,
ike he arrator.
he
wo
women re
mirror
mages
f one
another.
Rosita
s laconic
nd the
narrator
loquacious;
ne,
we are
told,
s
physically
nattractive
nd
the
other-judging
fromer iaisons ith
men-more
ppealing
o
the
ye;
one s
portrayed
s
dull
and
acking
n
personality,
he thers
lively
nd
full
f
pirit.
he
narrator
inds
herself
rresistibly
rawn
o
the
hop
nd
ts
owner,
nd
her ventual
ecision
not
to return
o
Spain,
s she
had
planned,
ut
to remain
n Scandinavia
s
motivated
by
the desire
notto
separate
rom
erother
elf
Doubles
call attention
o
inner
conflict
nd
to the
fluidity
f
the
elf,
nd
doubling
ccurswith
lmost
bsessive
frequency
n
FernAindez
ubas's
fiction.
C. F.
Keppler
otes hat
he
relationship
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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KathleenM
Glenn
83
betweenhe elves
s
basically
neasy
nd
fraught
ith
ension;
ne
ofthe
wo
selvess
nvariablytronger,
ontrols
vents,
nd
pursues
he ther,
sthe
arrator
does
Rosita.'6
The
dynamic
f elf
ndothers
played
ut n additional
ays
n La Flor
de
Espaila. A them ersusus mentalityrevailsmonghemembersfthe
tightly-knit
panish
olony,
ho ffirmheirwn
dentityy ooking
own
n
the
locals.
The
narrator's
ountrymen
o
not
esitateo voice
heir
ontempt
or
he
snowy
orth,
ven
hough
hey
rethere
y
choice nd
show
no
inclination
o
return
o their omeland.
lthough
he
narrators
annoyedy
her
ompatriots'
attitude,
he is notabove
referring,
alf n
est
and half
n
earnest,
o
the
pronounced
igantism
f the
aboriginals,
s
if
the
natives
elonged
o
a
primitive
ribe.
Thomas
ocherty
as observedhat
hediscoursef
postmodemisms,
in
a
sense,he iscoursef he
eriphery.
t accords
reater
pace
othe
marginal,
o
that
which s
other,
nd
t decentershe
enter.'
he
problem
f
otherness,
which
as assumed
uch
prominence
uring
he
postmodern
eriod,
ften
oes
hand n
handwith
eflections
pon
he
olitics
f
mperialism.
ssues f
dentity,
otherness,
nd
mperialism
re
nterwoven
n
Fernandez
ubas's
much-studied
1985
novel,
which s
an
example
f
postmodern
ndeterminacy,
arody,
nd
intertextuality.19
he
front
over
f
El
aho
de
Gracia
(The
Year of
Grace)
reproduces
fragment
f
Howard
yle's
painting
arooned,
hich
ortrays
lone
figurelumpedna beach.Thefragmentsreplicatednminiaturentheback
over,
nd
the
doubled isual
mage
nticipates
he
verbal
mages
he
ext
will
ffer.20
l afo
de
Gracia
resents
ultiple
nstancesf
doubling.
rock
s
a
double
f
Daniel,
nd
both
re
versions
f
other
iterary
reations.
t
first
ight,
Daniel
nd
Grock
ppear
obe
diametrically
pposed.
heformers
an
attractive
young
x-seminarian,
ersed
n
Latin,
Greek,
nd
theology
ut nnocentf
the
ways
of
the
world,
ho s
shipwrecked
n
an
island
hat s
contaminated
ith
anthrax.
rock
s an
elderly,
lliterate,
nd
urly
hepherd
ho
has
been
horribly
disfigured
y
the
disease.
The
description
fhis
almost
nhuman
oice,
ilated
pupils,ndshufflingaitbringsomindVictor rankenstein'sreation. he
monsters
a
grotesque
eflection
f
Frankenstein,
s
Grocks of
Daniel,
who
n
turn
s an
nversionf
Daniel
Defoe's
Robinson
rusoe.
Hutcheon
escribes
arody
s
a
repetition
ith
ritical
istance,
hich
marks
differenceather
han
imilarity.
Parodic
rtboth
deviates rom
n
aesthetic
norm
nd
ncludes
hat
orm
ithin
tself
s
backgrounded
aterial. V
obinson
Crusoe
s
the
rimary
ackgrounded
extwith
which
l
ano
de
Gracia
lays
nd
whose
lements
t
ronically
nverts.
efoe
hose
s the
etting
or
is
narrative
an sland
ear he
mouthf
he
Orinoco
iver.
Although
ot
tropical
aradise,
t
offeredrusoebundantame ndfruit,ndhewasable oplantropsnd ame
wild
goats,
who
provided
im
with
milk.
The
Spanish
riter,
ernAndez
ubas,
looks
to
the
Northern
emisphere
nd an
island
off
he
coast
of
Scotland or
her
setting.
t
is
a
desolate
pot,
having
een
used
as a
testing round
or
iological
warfare,
ore
locus
horribilus
han locus
amoenus.22
Whereas
rusoe
was
an
eminently
apable
and
practical
ndividualwho
busily
set
about
sowing
and
harvesting,
uilding
hut,
nd
making
lothes
nd
furniture,
aniel
does
not
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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84
Southentraleview
exhibithe ame
nterprise,
elf-reliance,
r
ngenuity,
nd
when is ffortstraft-
making
ail,
e
curses he ncrediblekill f
fictional
astaways
nd
wishes heir
authors
onfined
o
hell.
There
s
also
a
pronounced
ifference
etween
riday
andGrock.Theformer
s
a
comely
andsome
ellow,
erfectly
ell
made,
f
some wenty-sixears, ocile, ardworking,nd oyal. 23rock,ntheother
hand,
s
[a]
fickle
riday
nd
tyrant
ho
urns aniel nto is
ervant,
aking
him
arry
oads
f
firewood
n
his
back.24
rock's
most
rized ossession
s
an
ancient
ible,
nd he
obliges
aniel o read
loud,
night
fter
ight,
rom
he
eighthhapter
f he ook
f
Daniel. TheBible s not source
f onsolation
or
Daniel,
s itwasfor
rusoe,
or
oes
t erve s a vehicle or
onversion;
ather,
t
becomes n
nstrument
f
oppression.
t s
by
hreatening
ot
o
read hat
aniel
is able oextract-concessions
rom
he
hepherd
nd
hange
is wn
ole
romhat
of lave o
companion,
rom
astaway
oScheherazade.
Crusoe,whobuilds miniaturempirenhis sland nd civilizes noble
savage,
s the
quintessential
mperialist
nd
colonizer,
ast
n
theheroic
mold.
Daniel,
owever,
ever
ttains
o
heroism,
nd
his sland
s a
wretched
lot
n
the
ocean,
nhabited
y
being
who
s lessthan oble.
Although
rock
nsistshat
the
sland
elongs
o
him
nd hat
aniel
s
an
ntruder,
aniel
egards
imself
s
educated,
nlightened,
ivilized,
nd
in
everyway superior
o
the
primitive,
backward,
irty
ative
ho,
s
other,
s a
compendium
f
negative
ualities.
Here
gain
we
see
a
them
ersus
us,
or
more
reciselyyou
ersus
me,
mentality,
ut
ernAndez
ubas
estabilizes
he
pposition.
t
one
point
aniel,
in fit frage,tones,icks,ndbeats odeath neof hemangyheephatoam
the sland.Beneath
he eneer
f
ivilization
here
eats
savage
eart,
nd fter
months
n
he
sland
aniel,
ike
Grock,
s
dirty,
nkempt,
nd
disfigured.
y
the
novel's
nd,
he
wo
ook o
much like
hat ne
s mistaken
or
he
ther,
nd
Grock
s shot
n
place
of
Daniel.
The distinction
etween
ivilized
nd
uncivilized
an,
olonizer
nd
olonized,
asternd
lave,
uperior
nd
nferior
is
blurred.
atherineellver
asobserved
hat l aho de Gracia
sa
subversion
of traditional
ites
f
passage
nd
their
attern
f
separation,
nitiation
nd
reintegration.25
aniel s
not
nriched
ut
lighted
y
his sland
xperience,
nd
even
hough
ereturnso
ociety,
eappearsnhappyithhat ecision.nfact,
on
sleepless
ights
e ikes
o
magine
hat e
s
back
nwhat enow hinks
f
s
a
peaceful
nd
tranquil
sle,
reunited
ith nd curled
p
besidehis
faithful
friend. 26
The
concern
with
linguistic
nd
epistemological
roblems
hat
is
so
characteristic
f
Fernandez
ubas's
fictionlso
appears
n El afo de
Gracia.
Communication
etween
aniel
nd Grocks
difficult,
or
he atter
peaks
rudimentary
nglish
prinkled
ith
xpressions
n
Gaelic,
ndvision-in
oth
he
literalndfigurativeense-is obstructedy
the
fog
hat lankets
he
sland.27
Like
many
f
Fernndez
Cubas's
other
arrator-protagonists,
anielfindshat
recourse
o
reasondoes
not
guarantee
omprehension.
is
years
n the
seminary
have
not
prepared
im
for
he xternal
orld,
nd he describes
is
youthful
elf
s
inexperienced,
ingenuous,
infantile,
nd
innocent. 28
Moreover,
he
interprets
ife
n
terms
f what
he has
read,
sing
books s his
guide.
His
dreams
of adventure
have been nourished
y stories
about the
seventeenth-century
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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Kathleen
M.
Glenn
85
buccaneer
enry organ,
obertouisStevenson's
im
awkins,
ules
erne's
Captain
Nemo,
nd
Edgar
Allen
Poe's Arthur
ordon
ym.
The mixture
f
historicalndfictional
igures
s
indicativef
Daniel's
endency
o confuse
ife
and
iterature.
The three extsustexaminedre an expressionf thepostmodernpirit.
Absolutes ave
yielded
o a crisis fconfidence
nthe
ossibility
f
certainties,
and
the
notion
hat he world an
be
rationallyomprehended
as
been
invalidated.
haracters
xist
n
a
state f
perennial
onfusion.
heir,
s
well
s
our,
desire
for
knowledge
nd
understanding
s
frustrated.
Words
are
indecipherable,
ehavior
nexplicable,
nd
questions
nanswerable.he self
s
fragmentary,
ultiple,
luid.
Through
he
use
of
parody,
iterary
raditions
re
incorporated
ut
lso
challenged.
Ironic
ereading
f
iterature
nd ts
onventions
s
also
central
o
the
iction
f
Paloma
Diaz-Mas.2
In shorttories s wellas
novels,
he
plays
with
he
discoursesnd
registers
f
earlier
iterary
orms,
ouncing
ackground
nd
foreground
exts ff
ne another.
Her
writingives
he ie to
the
harge
hat
postmodernism
s
merely nostalgic
eturno
the
past;
t
s,
nstead,
n ironic
dialogue
ith
t,
critical
evisiting.
nd
n
typicallyostmodern
ashion,
iaz-
Mas
show
ow
roblematic
nowledge
f he
ast
s.
A
professor
f
Golden
ge
iteraturet
the
Universidad
elPais
Vasco,
he
has
commented
n
her
creative
riting
n
several
nterviews,
nd
her
remarks
substantiatenesmade yEcoandHutcheon.na 1987 onversation,iaz-Mas
voiced er
onviction
hat
increasingly
e
writebout iterature...
One
of
he
constants
f
present-day
iteratures
rony,
he
umorous
ision f
eality. '30
en
years
ater
henoted
owhard
t s to nvent
nything
ew
n
iterature:
At
present
t
s
very
ard
o
find
new
heme,
new
motif.
What
we
are
doing
s
revisiting
nd
referring
o
motifs
nd
hemes
rom
earlier
iterature...
I
want
o
tell
story
..
and
nevitably
here
is
interference
rom
iterary
orks nd
uthors
ho
n
one
way
r
anotherave old imilartories,ave reatedimilarhemes. et's
say
hat am
writing
eneath
he
weight
f
ll
those
nfluences,
nd
what
often
o
s treat
hose
nfluences
ronically,
hat
s,
utilize
certain
rony
n
hose
itations
r
references.3
Diaz-Mas
went
n
to
observe
hat s a
literary
istorian
he
s beset
y
doubts
regarding
he
eracity
fher
econstructions
f
the
past.
Her
comment
hat
ur
way
f
hinking,
ttitudes,
nd
relationship
ith
whatever
e
study reatly
ffect
whatwe earn
xposes
he
ubjectivity
f
objectivity,
n
llusory
oncept.
his
is illustrated
n
El
sueflo e
Venecia,
hich
resents
series
f
representations
f
thepast ndshowshow, neach nstance,he historiannterpretsventsn
accord
with
is
own
iew
nd
presents
ifferent
facts.
Hutcheon
tates hat
e
know
he
past
through
he
textual
races
t
has
left
s
(documents,
rchives,
photographs,ilms,
rchitecture,
aintings,
nd
iterature),
nd these
racesre
always
pen
o
nterpretation.32
paintinglays
key
ole
n
Diaz-Mas'snovel
about
mis)representation
nd
mis)interpretation.
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
10/17
86
Southentraleview
El sueho
de
Venecia
s
prefaced
y
an
allegorical
assage urportedly
rom
Esteban
illegas's epuiblica
el
Desengarfo
1651;
Republic
f
Disillusionment).
It
relates
owa
beautifulutblind
maiden, ruth,
uided
y
her
nseparable
companion,
rror,
ifts
he
olden
and
n
the
anks
f he
iver f
History.
he
sieveused,Memory,s madeofa coarsemesh hat etainsarge,worthless
pebbles
nd
llows
mall
uggets
f
gold
o
slip
hrough.
he
llegorympresses
upon
s that
memory
s
selective
nd
unreliable
nd hat he ruthf
history
ludes
us. The
anguage
nd esson
re
o
baroque
hat,
ronically,
t east ne ritic
as
taken
n
and
believedhat his
pocryphalassage
was authentic.
uestions
f
authenticity,egitimacy,
nd
orthodoxy
re
omnipresent
n
the
nsuinghapters,
which
lay
with he
anguage,
hemes, otifs,
haracters,ituations,
nd
tructure
associated
ith
articular
ypes
f
writing.
lthough
t
s
possible
o
identify
specific
ntertexts
Lazarillo
e
Tormes
The
Lifeof Lazarillo
e
Tormes];
a
vidadelBusc6nTheLife ndAdventuresfDon Pablo heSharper];artas
marruecas
[Moroccan
Letters];
Misericordia,
nd
Fortunata
y
Jacinta,
for
example),
he
target
f
Diaz-Mas's
parody
s
less
individual
orks
han
he
discourse
nd
onventions
f he
enres
owhich
hey
elong.34
ears efore co
and
his
recognition
hat
he
already
aid
contextualizes
hat
we
say
and
do,
Mikhail
akhtin
bserved
hat
speaker
s
never
he irsto alk bout
he
opic
f
hisor her
discourse.
Gary
Morson nd
Caryl
merson,
n
their
xegesis
f
the
Russian
hinker's
ork,
oint
ut
hat
hen
we
speak,
we
respond
o
something
spoken
eforend
we
take
standn
relation
o
earlier tterancesbout
he
opic.
The way we sense thoseearlierutterances-as ostileor sympathetic,
authoritative
r
feeble,
ocially
nd
temporally
lose
or
distant-shapes
he
content
nd
style
f whatwe
say. 35
n
their
iscussions
f
types
f
discourse,
Morson nd
Emerson
uote
Bakhtin
o
the ffect
hat uthorsan
use
someone
else'sdiscourse
or heirwn
urposes
by nserting
new
emantic
ntentionnto
a discourse
hich
lready
as,
and
which
etains,
n
intention
f
its
own. 36
When
hey
onstruct
n
utterance
o that
he
oice f
he ther
s
heard
o sound
within
heir
wn,
he
result
s
double
oicing,
haracteristic
f
El
sueho
de
Venecia.
Chapterutilizes numberf he ormulaef he icaresqueenre,ncluding
first-person
utobiographical
arration
y picaro
ho
ooks
ack n
his ife
nd
recounts
is
ervice ith
variety
fmasters
nd
his
wakening
o he
ealities
f
the
world.
Diaz-Mas's
icaro
s known
s
Pablo
de
Corredera,
aking
is
name
from
he
treet
here
e
grows
p.37
At
age
tenPablo
ntershe ervice f
a
beautiful
nd
wealthy
ourtesan,
ofia
Gracia
e
Mendoza,
ithwhom
e
falls
n
love.
When
e s fifteen
nd
he
s
thirty,
ablo
marries
is
mistress
nd
he wo
pose
for
portrait
hat
eappears
n
ubsequent
hapters
nd
undergoes
series
f
transformations
long
the
way,
being
mutilated,
etouched,
nd
reinterpreted
according
othe
point
fview fthosewhobeholdt. Asoriginallyainted,t
depicts
ablo,
dressed
ike
gentleman,
tanding
ehind
he eatedGracia
nd
resting
nehand
n
her houlder.
El sueflo
de
Venecia
s
populated
y
characters
ho
because of their
ender,
sexual
orientation,
ace,
religion,
lass,
economic
tatus,
rofession,
r
age
are
marginalized:
icaros,
eggars,
omosexuals,
lacks,
ndianos
Spanish
migrants
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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Kathleen Glenn
87
who
eturno
Spain
fter
aking
fortune
n
the
New
World),
nd
hildren
ho
are
ofunknown
rigin
r
the
roduct
f ncest.
Gracia-female,courtesan,
nd
ofJewish
ncestry-is
riply
ex-centric.
hapter
features
foreigner
ho
s
convincedhathe is
immenselyuperior
o
the
objects
f
his
gaze,
be
they
membersf hendigenousopulationrhisEnglishmanservant.ltimately,e
is
bested
y
he
atter
nd,
ail
etweenis
egs,
eturns
o
England.
Set ome 50
years
fterhe
irst,
his econd
hapter
lays
with
he
onventions
of
pistolary
iction
nd
utilizes
he
iewpoint
f
foreigner
ho omments
n
the
peculiarities
f
he
ountry
e s
visiting.
ord
Alfred
ston-Howard
inds
pain
a
strange
nd
barbarous
and
where he roads
re
barely
assable,
he
nns
wretched,
nd
he ouses
ithout
nglish
omfort
r
French
legance.
Apropos
f
the
monastery
f
Santo
omingo
e
Silos,
he
remarks,
never
ad
seen uch
n
accumulation
f
berrations,
o
many
monstrosities
ll
lumped
ogether. 3
een
throughisdisdainfulyes,he ativesre rremediablythernd ittleetterhan
savages,
hereas
e s
a
highly
ivilized,
roper,nglish
entleman--who
roves
tobe
supercilious,
ypocritical,
nd
thief.
Unwittingelf-exposure
s
a
trait
f
much
pistolary
iction,
pistles
eing
evealing
ortraits
f
he
oul.
Lord
Aston-
Howard's
igurative
lindness
s
showcased
n
his
etter
f
2
April
808,
wherein
he
affirmshat
othing
ver
happens
n
Spain
nd
the
people
re
ncapable
f
heroic
ction,
his
xactly
ne
month
eforehe
May
2
uprising
hat
nitiatedhe
War
f
ndependence.
t
s
not
urprising
hat e
misreadshe
ortrait
f
he
irst
chapter.
t
hangs
n he
ouse
f
his
Madrid
osts,
ho
re
descended
rom
racia
and
nordinately
roud
f he ncestor
hey
roclaim
obeof llustriousnd
pure
blood.
The
English
ord,
n
nveterate
hilanderer,
s
taken ith
racia's
eauty
and
believes hat
heman
who
tands ehind
er
s her
on.40
etters
ommonly
transform
xperience
atherhan
eflecting
t
with
idelity,
nd
his
s
borne
ut
y
Aston-Howard's
orrespondence.
hat
nd
how
he writes
s
shaped y
his
addressees,
nd
he
carefully
ailors is
remarks
o
fit ach
f
hem.4'
s a
result,
the
alue f
his
etters
s
historical
ocumentss
almost
onexistent.
hey
how
not
mpartiality
nd
omprehension,
ut
rejudice,
ack
f
understanding,
nd ven
deliberate
istortion.
The
third
hapter
eals
with
ventshat
ranspire
uring
he
eign
f
sabel
I
and
re
recounteds
if
by
nineteenth-century
ealist
riter,
uch s
Benito
P6rez
Gald6s.
The cast f
characters,
ictional
nd
historical,
s
large,
nd
part
f
the
action
s
set
n
house n
Pez
Street,
ormerly
he
esidence
fGracia
e
Mendoza
and
he
mansion
here
ord
Aston-Howardas
guest
uring
is
tay
n
Madrid.
A
portion
f
he
amiliar
painting,
ow
arkened
ith
ge,
has
been
ut
way;
he
remaining
ection
hows
woman
nd
mysterious,
isembodied
and
hat
ests
on
her
houlder.
he
reductionn
ize s
more
ronounced
n
chapter
,
where
e
discoverhat fragmentf he aintingasbeen luedo he ndersidef small
table.
The
hild
who
s
the
main
haracterf
his
hapter
iscerns
blond
woman
dressed
n
blue,
with
white
ove
erched
n
her
houlder,
nd
elieves
he
mage
to
be
that f
the
Virgin
ary.'42
he
Jewish
racia as
been
ransformednto
Christian
con.
The
final
hapter,
ntitled
Memoria
Memory),
s a
report
y
n
art
istorian
on
a
canvas
ound
n
the
undersidefa
table.
He
describes
he
tate f
the
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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88
South
entral
eview
canvas,
ts
estoration,
nd
his
painstaking
esearch
ntots
rigins
nd
history.
s
a
result
f
his
nvestigations,
e deduces
hat he ove
wasnot
art
f
he
riginal
work ut
late
addition
esigned
o
disguise
feminine
and
esting
n
the
shoulder
f
the
woman
n
the
portrait.
he
subjects,
ccording
o the
historian,
wereRufinaeAlfarachendher ister na,whosemage asnot een reserved
in
the
painting.
e informss
that
Ana
became
hemistress
f the
Conde
de
Villamayor,
ho
et
her
p
n
a
house
n Pez Street.
he
mug,
edantic
xpert
rejects
s
preposterous
he
hesis
dvanced
y
nother
rt
istorian,
ho
dentifies
Ana
with
he
famous
ourtesan
racia
e
Mendoza.
He concludes
ith
he
following
tatement:
Whoknows
f
some
day
fortunate
iscovery
ill
permit
us
to
knowwhatwas
the
ate
fthe
young
Ana],
n
the ame
manner
hat
he
fortuitous
inding
f he
icture
hat
s
the
bject
four
tudy
as
permitted
s-
with
he
cientific
eans
tour
isposal-to
econstruct
ompletely
nd
ruthfully
thepreviousistoryfthegirl ndher amily. 43isresearchasbroughtim
near
o
and
yet
o
far
rom
he
ruth,
nd
t s
particularly
ronic hat
e
dentifies
the
igure
issing
romhe
ortrait
s
a womannddismisses
s absurd
he
dea
that
na
nd
Gracia
reone
nd
he
ame
erson.
xhaustive
esearch,
xtensive
data,
nd
careful
easoning
ave
ed
to
mistaken
onclusions.
he
expert-as
untrustworthy
s was
LordAston-Howard--offers
ot
n
objective
ecording
f
the
ast
ut n
nterpretation
n
which
e s
guided
y
Error. n
her
onversation
with felia
errnn,
iaz-Mas
lluded
oher
considerable
kepticism
ith
egard
to our
possibility
f
reconstructing
istory
ruthfully. 4
hat
thoroughly
postmodernkepticismnformsl suellode Venecia.The novel xposes he
fictionality
f
authoritative
ersions
f he
ast
nd
problematizes
henotion
f
historical
nowledge.
t demonstrates
hat
he
ast
s
nevitably
re)constructed
n
terms
f
he
resent
nd
onsciously
r
unconsciously
istorted.
Like
Diaz-Mas,
Marina
Mayoral
s
fond
f
parodying
iterary
onventions,
nd
intertexuality
s
a
major ngredient
f
herfiction.
Notably
clectic,
t weaves
together
isparate
oices,
styles,
nd
registers;
tilizes
narrative
trategies
borrowed
rom he
detective
ovel,
euilleton,
othic,
nd
romance;
nd
mixes
high
ulture
ith
pop.45
reatures
f
differing
ntological
tatus
oexist,
s
purely
fictional
eings
ub houlders ith eal-worldistoricaligures,ayoral lays
walk-on
oles,
ndcharacters
ppear
n
more
han
nebook.
Such
violations
f
the
boundaries
etween
eal nd
fictional
orlds,
etween
ne
textnd
nother,
are
typically
ostmodern.
ayoral's
a
inica
ibertad
The
Only
Freedom)
exemplifies
ostmodern
extual
ractices.
he
novel ereads
he
ast
with
rony
and
spoofs
iterary
liches
ven
s
it relies
pon
hem,
hereby
llustrating
he
complicitous
ritique
hat utcheon
onsiders
asic
o
postmodernism.
The
headings
hat
ntroduce
nd comment
pon
each
chapter
f La
inica
libertadre
reminiscent
f
those
ound
n Don
Quijote.
On
the ne
hand,
hey
give
eaders
n deaofwhatstofollownd timulatenterest;nthe ther,hey
make
fun f
this
uspense-generating
unction.
he tone
of Cervantes's
eadings
is
often
gently
mocking,
s in Of
the
good
success
whichthe valorous
Don
Quixote
had
in the
most
terrifying
nd
never-to-be-imagin'd
dventure
f
the
wind-mills
nd
That
gives
an
account
f
things
which
you'll
know
when
you
read
t '6
Mayoral,
oo,
employs
n
ironic,
t
times
elittling,
one nd
slightly
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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Kathleen .
Glenn
89
anachronistic
anguage
n
her
1982
novel,
ointing
ut he
ngenuousness
f
her
narrator
nd
making
isparaging
emarks
bout
he atter's
ork.
Chapter
4
s
billed s:
Adisagreeablencident
(a
threatr n
ttempted
urder?)
ends
pdisturbing
he
eace
f
Cotomelos,
urning
he
narrator
ntohe
enter
f
sordid
ntrigue.espite
uch
privileged
ituation
nd he
nvaluablessistancef
her
reat-
aunts,
he
arrator
till oesn't
nderstand
he
meaning
Ofwhat
s
happening
eforeer
eyes.47
The
heading
or
hapter
undercuts
oth he
eracity
nd
he
meritf
he
tory
t
introduces,escribinghattorys:
A
Marginal
Hi)Story,
Which
oes
ot
ertain
o a
Brafla,
pun
out
f
ossip
nd
he
ales f ervants
nd ommonolk
(Hi)Story
ithout
oundation
r
mpartial
witnesses:
on-essential
nd
(probably)
discardable.48
Mayoral's
eliberately
xcessive
hapter
eadings,
ike
those
f John
arth's
LETTERS,
mphasize
he
ictiveness
fher
ext.49
Postmodern
arratives
requently
hematizeheir
ictionality,
eflectingpon
r
laying
aretheir
wn
creationnd
incorporating
elf-commentary.
a
uinica
libertad
oregrounds
cts
of
writing
nd
reading.
Etelvina,
he
narrator-
protagonist,
as
been sked o
write
familyistory.
naive
nd
nexperienced
author,
he s
at a
loss
s
tohow
o assess
he
eliability
f
her
ources
nd
finds
herself
verwhelmed
y
n excess
f
nformation,
uch
f t
passed
own
rom
generationogeneration.ven yewitnessestimonyroves nreliable,ecause
each
person
as
differentiew f
what
ook
lace.
Pluralism
nd
polyphony
re
characteristicf
Mayoral's
arrative
orld,
n
which
ontradictory
ersions
f
events re
uxtaposed
ithoutne
being
ingled
ut s the
true
ersion,
nd
number
f
voices
make
hemselves
eard.
t
s a
world hat
verflowsith
tories,
storytellers,
nd
formsf
telling,
here he
boundaries
etween
ife
nd
art
re
fluid,
nd
ntertextual
eferences
bound. n La
mnica
ibertad.
hese
ange
rom
ancient
allads o
modem
allet,
rom
opular
music o
classical,
rom
panish
literatureo
French
o
English.
Insupportfhis rgumenthat
ostmodernism
ecognizes
hathe
ast
annot
be
destroyed,
or
ts
destruction
ould
ead
to
silence,
utmust
nstead
e
revisited
ith
rony,
co
compares
he
ostmodern
ttitude
o that
f
man
who
loves cultured
oman
nd
ealizes
hat e
cannot
ay
o
her,
I
love
you
madly,
because
e
knows
hat he
knows-and
hat he
knows
hat
e
knows-that
uch
phrase
as
already
een
used
by
Barbara
artland.
What
e
can
do is
say,
As
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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90
South
entral
eview
Barbara artland
ould
ut
t,
love
you
madly.
He
thus ucceeds
n
declaring
his ove
and n
avoiding
alse nnocence.
oth
heman
nd
the
woman,
co
concludes,
re
onsciously
nd
pleasurably
laying
he
ame
f
rony.5o
ayoral
adopts
similar
trategy.
professor
f literaturet Madrid'sUniversidad
Complutense,he s wellversedn iteraryistorynd raditionndrealizes hat
elements
f hat raditionan
be
incorporated
ffectively
nto
ontemporary
exts
if
the
proper
ote-ironic, istanced,
layful-is
truck.Tone
is
crucial
n
Mayoral's arodic
eworking
f
many
f the
taples
f
the
fueilleton,
uch
s
melodramatic
lot,
liffhanging
pisodes,
yperbolic
anguage,
nd
arge
oses
f
sentiment. ll
are
simultaneouslyncorporated
nd
challenged
n
what s for
Hutcheon
typicallyostmodern
esture
hat
ignals
ifferencet theheart
f
similarity. 2
propos
f
an
especially
xaggeratedpisode
n Dar la
vida
y
el
alma,
To
Give
One's
Life nd
oul)
he arrator
emarks:
I
have
weaknessor
melodramaticituationshatwould ivegoosebumpsomostmodemwriters,
because he
danger
f
falling
eadlong
nto hefueilletons
obvious.Eduardo
Mendoza
ikes
hem
oo nd
he
resolveshem
s
did
Gald6s,
ntroducing
n ronic
counterpoint
hat estrains
he
emotion
nd
keeps
t from
ipping
ver
nto
sentimental
xcess.
..
Without
ronic
ounterpoint,
t's
easy
to
lapse
nto
ridiculous
ffectation.
he
quotation
nderscores
henarrator's
ondnessor
and
defense
f melodrama
nd
the
fueilleton
s well
as
her
warenessf
the
dangers
hey
ntail.
It
also
calls attention
o
the
elf-consciousness
hat s a
constant
f
Mayoral's
iction.
A distrustftotalizingxplanationsndmetanarratives,challengingf the
notion hat
he world
an
be
rationally
omprehended,
kepticism
egarding
univocal
meanings
nd
fixed
dentities:ll
characterize
he
postmodern
ra.
Historical
nowledge
nd the
possibility
f
objective
ruthre
problematized.
Different
ngles
fvision
nd
voices
lash,
nstead f
harmonizing.
raditional
forms
nd
ulturalonventions
re
ncorporated
ut lso
challenged.
he
past
s
revisited
ith
rony,
s we
have
een
n
he
iction
f
Fernandez
ubas,
iaz-Mas,
and
Mayoral.
On
the hreshold
f
new
entury
nd new
millennium,
t
s
appropriate
o
lookforwardt what
may
eas well s back twhat asbeen.Hassan ffirms
that
modernism
nd
postmodernism
re
not
eparated
y
an Iron
Curtain
r
a
Chinese
Wall
..
[and eriods]
ust e
perceived
ntermsoth f
ontinuity
nd
discontinuity. 45
utcheon,
n
comparable
ashion,
rgues
hat
ostmodernism
s
dependent
pon
nd
independent
rom
the
modernism
hat oth
historically
preceded
t nd
iterally
ade
t
possible.
One
evolved
nto
he
ther.
his,
suspect,
s
what
will
happen
ith
whatever
ies
beyond
ostmodemism.
onzalo
Navajas
detects
igns
of a
new
era,
whichhe calls
neomodern.
t
is
distinguished,e alleges, y a reconstitutionf the selfand valorization
f
personal
xperience,
reater
ttention
o
eroticism,
specially
emale
roticism,
the
entrality
f
procedures
rawn
rom he
inemanddetective
iction,
nd
a
renewal
f
nterest
n
classical
lements
f
narration,
uch
s
plot
nd
description.
The
writing
f
many
f he
neomoderns,
ccording
o
Navajas,
s less
negative
n
outlook
han
s
that f
heir
redecessors,
nd t s
no
onger
onditioned
y
recent
events
f
Spanish
istory
e.g.,
he
ivil
war).56
rtistic
lhanges,
f
ourse,
o
not
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8/19/2019 About Postmodernism Adn Diaz Mas
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Kathleen
M.
Glenn
91
neatly
oincide
with
emporal
ivides,
nd
only
imewill
tell whether
he
features
avajas
numeratesonstitute
new sthetic.
n
any
ase,
heyuggest
a
shift
f
mphasis
ather
han dramatic
upture.
NOTES
1.
Jean-Frangoisyotard,
he
Postmodern ondition:
Report
n
Knowledge,
rans.
Geoff
Bennington
ndBrianMassumi
Minneapolis: niversity
f
Minnesota
ress,
984);
Brian
McHale,
Postmodernist
iction
(London:
Methuen,
987);
Charles
Jencks,
ost-Modernism:
he
New
Classicism n
Art
nd
Architecture
New
York:
Rizzoli,
1987);
Ihab
Hassan,
ThePostmodern
urn:
Essays
n Postmodern
heory
nd Culture
Columbus:
hioState
University
ress,
987).
2. Fredric
ameson,
ostmodernism,r,
The
Cultural
ogic ofLate
Capitalism
Durham:
Duke
University
ress,
1991);
Linda
Hutcheon,
Poetics
of
Postmodernism:
istory,
heory,
iction
(NewYork:Routledge, 988); Edmund .Smyth,d.and ntro.,ostmodernismndContemporary
Fiction
London:
Batsford,
991),
9;
Umberto
co,
Postscript
o The Name
of
the
Rose,
trans.
WilliamWeaver
San
Diego:
Harcourt,
984),
65.
3. The
discussion f
some of
the
texts
hosen
for
tudy
here
represents
rethinking
f
my
earlierworkon
them. See
my
Gothic
ndecipherability
nd
Doubling
n
the Fiction
f Cristina
Fernandez
ubas,
Monographic
Review/Revista
onogrdfica (1992):
125-41;
Reading
nd
Rewriting
l suerlo e
Venecia,
omance
anguages
Annual
(1996):
483-90;
Marina
Mayoral's
La
uinica
ibertad:A
Postmodern
arrative,
n
Estudios n
homenaje
Enrique
Ruiz-Fornells,
d.
Juan
ernindez
im6nezt al.
Erie:
ALDEEU,
1990),
267-73.
4. Patricia
Waugh,
eminine
ictions:
Revisiting
he
ostmodern
London:
Routledge, 989).
5.
Steven
onnor,
ostmodernist
ulture:
n ntroductiono
Theories
f
the
Contemporary,
d
ed. Oxford: lackwell, 997),129. Connor's istmightwellhave ncludeduchSpanishwriterss
Eduardo
Mendoza,
Javier
Marias,
Antonio
Mufioz
Molina,
nd
Carmen
Martin
aite,
n
addition
o
FernAndez
ubas,
Diaz-Mas,
nd
Mayoral.
6. Janet
rez,
Cristina
ernfndez
ubas:
Narrative
nreliability
nd
the
Flight
rom
larity,
or,
The
Quest
for
Knowledge
nthe
Fog,
Hispan6fila
22
1998):
29-39.
7.
Linda
Hutcheon,
he
Politics
fPostmodernismLondon:
Routledge,
989),
74;
see also 62-
92.
Hutcheonnotes
that
neither he
realization
hat
historical
nowledge
s
provisional
nd
indeterminate
or he
questioning
f
the
pistemological
nd
ontological
tatus
f
historical
fact
s
limited
o
postmodernism,
ut
both are less
frequent
uring
he
modernist
eriod
Poetics
of
Postmodernism,
8).
8. Linda
Hutcheon,
Theory
fParody:
The
Teachings
f
Twentieth-Century
rt
orms
New
York:Methuen,985),15-16,25;Politics fPostmodernism,01.
9.
Eco,
20.
Hutcheon
rites,
n
a
similar
ein,
hat it
s
only
s
part
f
prior
iscourses
hat
ny
text
derives
meaning
nd
significance Poetics
of
Postmodernism,
26).
On
the
concept
of
intertextuality,
ee
Roland
Barthes,
mage,
Music,
Text,
rans.
tephen
Heath
New
York:
Hill &
Wang, 1977),
and
Michael
Riffaterre,
Intertextual
epresentation:
n
Mimesis
as
Interpretive
Discourse,
ritical
nquiry
1
1984):
141-62.
10.
Ofelia
Ferrin,
La
escritura la
historia.
Entrevista
on
Paloma
Diaz-Mas,
Anales de
la
Literatura
spairola
Contempordnea
2
1997):
339.
11.
Vicente
Carmona,
effrey
amb,
Sherry
elasco,
and
Barbara
ecchi,
Conversando
on
Mercedes
Abad,
Cristina
Fernindez
ubas
y
Soledad
Punrtolas:
Feminismo
literatura
o
tienen
nada
que
ver, '
Mester 0
(Fall
1991):
162.
12. MarinaMayoral,etteroauthor,3 June 996.
13.
Cristina
Fernindez
Cubas,
Congreso
nternacional
e
Narrativa
spafiola
n
Lengua
Castellana,
oledo,
6
May
1998.
14.
Cristina
ernindez
ubas,
La
ventana el
ardin,
n Mi
hermana
lba
y
Los
altillos
de
Brumal
Barcelona:
usquets,
988),
33.
Unless
otherwise
oted,
ll
translationsre
my
wn.
15.
Cristina
ernmndez
ubas,
La
Flor
de
Espafla,
n El
dngulo
del
horror
Barcelona:
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92
South
entraleview
Tusquets,
990),
119.
16. C.
F.
Keppler,
The
Literature
f
the Second
Self
Tucson:
University
f
Arizona
Press,
1972),
32.
17.
Fernindez
ubas,
La Flor
de
Espafia,
20.
Emphasis
dded.
18.
Thomas
Docherty,
d. and
intro.,
ostmodernism: Reader
(New
York: Columbia
University
ress,
993),
445.
19. See Catherine
.
Bellver,
El aho de Gracia andthe
Displacement
fthe
Word,
tudies n
Twentieth
entury
iterature 6
1992):
221-32;
Julie
leue,
The
Epistemological
nd
Ontological
Implications
n Cristina
Fernandez
Cubas's
El aho de
Gracia,
Monographic
Review/Revista
Monografica
(1992):
142-56;
John
.
Margenot
II,
Parody
nd
Self-Consciousness
n Cristina
Fernandez
ubas's El
afo
de
Gracia,
Siglo
XX/20th
entury
1
1993):
71-87;
Robert .
Spires,
Disempowerment
nd
Knowledge:
El
anio
de
Gracia,
in Post-Totalitarian
panish
Fiction
(Columbia:University
f Missouri
ress,
996),
156-72.
20. This front-back
epetition
s
typical
of the books
published
n
Tusquets's
Colecci6n
Andanzas,
ut
n
no
other ase
is
it
s
fitting
s it s here.
21. Hutcheon,heory fParody, ,44.
22. For
discussion
f
the
worhetorical
opoi,
ee
Margenot,
2-73.
23. Daniel
Defoe,
Robinson rusoe nd
Other
Writings,
d. James utherland
New
York:
New
York
University
ress,
977),
165.
24. Cristina ernindez
ubas,
El
aiio
de Gracia
Barcelona: usquets,
985),
119.
25. Catherine
.
Bellver,
El
aifo
de Gracia: el
viaje
como
rito
de
iniciaci6n,
aper
read at
Fourth onference
n Academic
rograms
broad nd
nternational
tudies,
isbon,
3
July
989.
26. Fernindez
ubas,
El aho de
Gracia,
184.
27.
Fog
is
a
recurrent
henomenon
n
Fernandez
ubas's fiction.
See,
in
particular,
Con
Agatha
en
Estambul,
n
Con
Agatha
en Estambul
Barcelona:
Tusquets,
1994),
171-233,
and
Perez's
Cristina
Fernandez
ubas:
Narrative
nreliability.
28. Fernindez ubas,El anio eGracia,15, 181,29, 31,52..
29. For
an overview
f
her
work,
ee
Margaret
.
W.
Jones,
La obra
de Paloma
Diaz-Mas,
Alaluz
27
(Primavera 995):
73-86. On
El
suenio
e
Venecia,
ee
Judith
rinkwater
nd
John
Macklin,
Keeping
t
n the
Family:
ecretHistories
n
Paloma
Diaz-Mas's
El
sueio
de
Venecia,
Bulletin
f
Hispanic
tudies
5
(1998):
317-29.
30.
Maria Luz
Di6guez,
Entrevista
on
Paloma
Diaz-Mas
(febrero
e
1987),
Revista
de
Estudios
Hispanicos
2
1988):
79-80.
31. Rosalia
Cornejo-Parriego,
Entrevista
on
Paloma
Diaz-Mas,
Letras
Peninsulares
10
(Winter 997-98):
482.
32.
Hutcheon,
olitics
fPostmodernism,
8,
81.
33. Ferrin,33.
34. For
a
study
f antecedent
exts,
ee Mercedes
Mazquiarin
de
Rodriguez,
Parody
nd the
Truth
f
History
n Paloma
Diaz-Mas's
El
sueiio
de
Venecia,
etrasPeninsulares
(Spring
995):
7-25.
35.
Gary
Saul
Morson
nd
Caryl
Emerson,
ikhail
akhtin:
reation
f
a Prosaics
Stanford:
Stanford
niversity
ress,
990),
137.
36.
Ibid.,
150.
37. Corredera
aja
de San
Pablo
is situated
n the MadridbarriowhereDiaz-Mas
lived
for
some
hirtyears
Ferrin,
32).
38. Hutcheon
efines
he
ex-centric
s
those
who
re
marginalized
y
a dominant
deology,
and she considers
arody
o be
their
mode
Poetics of
Postmodernism,
5).
See Drinkwater
nd
Macklin nDiaz-Mas's privilegingf heunorthodoxr llegitimate.
39. Paloma
Diaz-Mas,
El
suehlo
e
Venecia
Barcelona:
Anagrama,
992),
54,
59.
40.
Actually,
his
may
be
true,
or
Diaz-Mas
slyly
hints hat
Gracia s Pablo's
mother.At
any
rate,
Oracia's
marrying
youth
who s
half
her
ge
is
echoed n
Aston-Howard's
usting
fter
girl
young
nough
o be
his
daughter
nd
in
chapter
)
the
ndiano's
wedding girl
who s
his
daughter.
IThe
ast
two
situations
older
man
+
younggirl)
reverse
hat
f
chapter
(older
woman
+
young
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Kathleen .
Glenn
93
boy).
41.
See Janet urkin
ltman,
pistolarity:
pproaches
o a Form
Columbus:
hio
State
University
ress,
982),
0.
42.
On
the
utobiographical
asisof
chapter
,
see
Fernin,
32-33. This
hapter
as
the
startingointfwhat iaz-Masriginallyonceivedsano