meme-IO in THE WORKS yossoumozAce-VEDO . — D'iAz AND JANVIER or VIANA ' Thesis M the Decree. of. M A. Mia-"GM 5m: COLLEGE 10mph J. Brewer ' 1.951 ",1. 'Wr'w‘.’ WWW __ V 4 0-169 -- ': 'L‘ '5" ‘_4r' ‘__' " ._ . ‘. - —A_ J.“ _..4 ....4.... -._-. _-__ _. a‘ _ V_ _ _. This is to certify that the thesis entitled presented by has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for mdegree mw T#.b)cw Major professor Date ”61% a?! ’25-! I "Y~7: ‘ —-— ~— —‘ o - A_\l 4' ~—-‘.- _...-___ n _ TILE G-AUCHO IN T113 3701113 0F 1’: y~ '. :‘j' a ‘f‘ '1" ..' 3“ "" ’1‘” '.- n‘ 71 3‘. ‘f—V‘: 73‘" "P " ‘ QDLILADO filugUuDU Ulnb AIM) Jr; V141“ “if. VJJtJU-‘l BT57" 3 Q "~—.,"’ TIFF"??? JUoLi 11 J. 1.1:-..111...-_‘.;t Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of jichigan State College of Agriculture and Apulied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of EASTER OF ARTS Department of Foreign Languages 1951 lHESlS m‘fitfl ’1‘ 1 TT'.‘ 1' T"- T :Tl ‘TTT' T." 1.' I (.5 ,"‘. 1 L—gJJ \th L-LJI—Q J-J.‘ .L-J.JJ I" JRQIbD \J'l‘ SDDAADU ACAVL DJ DlAZ AAD JAVlAm DA VILLA '1'? t’ n -_¢—-, n«"x'..‘, [’1‘ 1'1. .Llih UI‘ UU.‘.LJLJH D PURSE-:‘kJRDOOOOOO0.00.00 cocoon-coo..--o.eeooeoeooe Chapter I - HISTORICAL BACZ‘ZGROUND. . a . . . . . . . . . . . . Chatter II- T33 GAUCLO........................... 3118731363? lll- TITLE LFI L" ALD 0A-; 0F LITTL'TEETDO ACEVEDO DIAZ, (1851-1924), "Romanticist" Chapter IV - THE LIFE ALD WOHAE OF JAVALR IE1 VIAAA, (1‘5 68-192 0), "Realist" and narrator of Folk Tales.......... ....... Chapter V - ROLAL'EIC ALD RLJAI.J-I;;;TIG BIL-ET :JTS ’13 IA THE ‘7.»3'0 ' AS 0 TITF'IEL AUTEORS. . . . . . . . . . . Chapter. VI " COTXICLL‘SIOIIoooeooocoo...o-oeeeeeeeeeo ”'1‘. Tr n:*‘.i'r"‘tr BlJTJLILOULi—I'LKALJ.‘0000.00.00.0OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IO 0) 00 03 Q3 5.. u. 1 4 y): The gauche from the Wi e la Ilata region has been th subject of many works by South American authors, specially P- *‘3 I o (.1- H :5 9.: and Uru’guay. I have selected the works of two Uruguayan authors for this study, not beca use 2mr ent 1'1e gauche literature is less important, but ra t or because the Uru :uayan gauche r1.ade a Hre;ter contribution ever a longer period of 0‘: I time, to the development of his native country, than did his Argentine counterptrt. The werzs of both authors, generally speaking, treat of the same topic and are of national Signi- ficance in picturing the gauche type. The reetl1ods of treat- ment varied considerably, which was a still more important reason for the choice of these particular gauche authors. Eduardo Acevedo Diaz is generally called a romanticist by most critics, while Javier do Viana is always classified as a realist, or even a naturalist. Yet there are elements Ol both romantic am and realism in the works of each. Passages from their works have been chosen not only to show them in their v .4 C? We respective traditional cla if 'ions, but also to reveal their 01 C’) M dif rences and similarit es. Here imnortp nt howevey, is the fact that the authors make use of the same type of protagonist, the gauche from a romantic pe in nt of vie:. on the one hand, and from a realistic aoproach on the eth r. It will be the purpose of this study, then, to attempt to bring out these distinctly different treatments and to find the reasons for that difference. Perhaps a clearer picture could be shown of how the subject I } " P. I is handled by discussing the romantic elements found in the works of each and then tregressing in the same manner to the realistic elements. Unfortunately such a method would tend to destroy the continuity of the individual author's develep- mcnt during his period of creative writ’ng. For this reason I have considered each author separately. Attention has been paid to the chronologic order of publication of the works of both authors, in so far as that is possible. A brief glimuse at the history of Uruguay and a glance at the historical role played by the gauche will help clarify his as a representative of a national type in the country's development. '1 d ~ T - -. Chapter I - IIILTOIL oah E~.-Cr-.G;1L}U£?D 1 The hectic struggle for Uruguayan independence left a profound effect on the people themselves and, as might be expected, deeply influenced writers who drew upon national history as a source for their literary works. That influ- ence has not ceased; it is reflected in literature of both the nineteenth and trentieth centuries by three authors who give us a composite picture of the country and i ants. In the revolutionary movements which often swept over ’the nation, many of the participants were of the rural, or gauche class, and it is from this class that authors freeuent- 1y drew their characters, giving rise to what is commonly call- ed gauche literature. Eduardo Acevedo Diaz, one of the authors whose works are considered in this study, achieved recognition in literature primarily as an historian. His werkslkan heavily on the gaucha type to carry the thread of action through the era which he de- picted. The typical g uche of his historic novels also appears in some of h's purely fictional publicatie1s, but in either case anist is limited in conception to a definite era in The second Uruguayan author here considered, Javier de Viana, wrote chiefly of the gauche of a later period. 31th the progress of the country, the gaucho's role was changed to some -2- extent, and part of Viana's works gives us a picture of the gauche class as he saw it during the first quarter of this century. A few of Viana's gauchos, for example, discuss na— tional political situations in lieu of taking an active part in civil wars, for revolutions had ceased entirely in Uruguay during most of the author's productive years. . It is of utmost importance then, to look at the histori- cal and political difficulties Which Uruguay has faced, from the beginning of her history down through the era of Batlle y Ordonez, (or through the first quarter of this century). If some of the explanations and accounts seem.to have no direct relation to gauche themes, it will be understood that they are included merely for a greater appreciation of the backgrounds in the literary works listed in this study. Smallest of the republics en the South American continent, Uruguay today enjoys a relatively prominent position in the American nations. In fact, Uruguay is called a "bright light" in the Western hemisphere.l That Uruguay has arrived at economic peace and prosperity, free from violent political revolutions, is alone a remarkable achievement in the light of her history. But to have attained a marked degree of democratic political freedom and at the same time to have created extensive social legislation for the welfare 1- Caldwell, Mary, The Pan-American, Vol. X, Ne. 10, March 1950. p. 42. -5- of her people, makes Uruguay unique among nations. Against staggering odds, she has emerged from disheartening internal chaos that would have discouraged a less determined people. Perhaps the Uruguayans are approaching the Spanish char- acteristic of idealism in politics which Cecil Jane defined as an attempt to reach "the ideals of efficiency and liberty" in government.2 He traces this characteristic to the ancient Castilian products of intense localism and a "desire that government should also be ideal,"3 which results in "a per- petual tendency to alternate between a degree of liberty which amounts almost to a negation of all government and a degree of government which amounts almost to a negation of all lib- erty."4 The chaotic and anarchical manner of governments in Spanish America are the result of an attempt "to apply to the central government the principles and machinery of Spanish local government...;" thus, the South.American idea of repre- sentative government is rather derived from.the Spanish than the Anglo-Saxon.5 Mr. Jane concludes however, that "the race will continue to seek a solution of its political problems, but it will be sought less tempestuously, although not less 2- Jane, Cecil, Liberty and Despotism in Spanish America, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1929, p. 166. 5" Ibid., p. 260 4" Ibid., p. 260 5- Ibid., (see especially pp. 26, 129, 170) (This "local government" refers to the cabildos abiertos which ante— dated the New England town meetings, but were similar to them). -4- sincerely."6 It is this last expression that the Uruguayans seem to have embodied thus far in the twentieth century, ar- riving at a degree of constitutional, democratic government in the face of almost insurmountable odds. During the colonial period several early attempts were made to settle dwellers on the lands east of the Uruguay Riv- er-—£§ Banda Oriental del Urugugy. Four settlements were founded by the Spanish in 1527, 1552, and in the decade follow- ing 1570--all of which had to be abandoned because of the vicious attacks of the Carrua Indians:7 It remained for the Francis- can missionaries to establish the first permanent settlements, or missions, in Uruguay, in 1618.8 The more active Jesuits ar- rived in 1624, however and did much of the groundwork of settling the area. Of the 57 such missions in what was once the Egggg Oriental territory, 50 of their sites are in present day Brazil.9 Noting that the territory was apparently unsuitable for immediate settlement, the governor of the La Plata area devised a scheme of occupation that was later to draw overwhelmingly large numbers of Europeans to the Banda Oriental. In 1605, he imported large herds of horses and cattle into the area, to multiply on the rolling grasslands. The wisdom and foresight of Hernandarias--or Hernando Arias de Saaevedra--formed the basis 6- Ibid., p. 1750 7- Kerel, W. H., Uruguay, T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd., London, 1919 p. 589. 8- Ibid., p. 40. 9" Tbido, p. 40 -5- For the territory's wealth and prosperity later.10 When the transplanted stock had multiplied sufficiently, the ease of obtaining hides for trade purposes--illegal as it generally was in view of the strict Spanish commercial regulations--at- tracted many comers. .Among them.were Portutuese, Dutch, and English smugglers and privateers. The Carruan Indians also took advantage of the easy livelihood provided,ll as did the citizens of Buenos Aires. There was a great deal of competi- tion, however, from the lawless hunters of hides. The accept- able procedure was to obtain a hide-hunting license from the Buenos Aires authorities, enabling the hunter to slaughter le- gally the numberless herds.12 Those who did not secure such a license were called changedores. When the Crown tried to surpress them, they fled to Brazil, growing in numbers until they could offer resistance to the Spaniards. Partly to con- trol those lawlessfmen, but also to constitute a military and police force against Indian uprisings and smuggling in general, a corps of lancers, Blandengues, was formed in 1797; its pick- ed ranks included a man destined to become the country's na- tional hero, Jose Gervasio Artigas.ls Up to the eve of the wars for independence, the Spaniards 10- Sherbinin, Betty de, The River Plate Republics, Coward- McCann, Inc., New York, 1947, p. 222. 11- Koebel, op. cit., p. 42. 12- Sherbinin, Betty de, op. cit., p. 41. 15- Sherbinin, Betty de, op. cit., p. 54. -5- fought to drive the Portuguese from,£g Bands Oriental. Under Rondeau in 1801 the Blandengues troops succeeded in expelling l4 the Portuguese. During the British invasion of La Plata in 1806-7, Monte- video, Maldonado, and Colonia were the points of occupation in Uruguay. After the British withdrawal in 1807, "not only had the provinces learned their own power, but--more especially ii the case of Montevideo--the seeds of commercial liberty had been Sewn amongst the local merchants and traders by the English men of business who had descended upon the place beneath the protection of the Army."ls The Banda Oriental province had discovered its potentialities, and was thus prepared to launch its struggle against political dominance--a struggle destined to last for twenty years, as against similar periods of ten years for most of the other South American republics. The £2333 of Buenos Aires was set up in 1810 to declare itself free from Spain, and also for the purpose of uniting all the provinces of the former viceroyalty under on govern- ment, the United Provinces of La Plata. La Banda Oriental did not join the movement for independence at first, and Monte- video consequently found itself the seat of the viceroyalty early in 1811. Montevideo was "held for the king" until 1814.16 14- Ibid., Pp. 54-5. 15" Tb: 0, pp. 54 16- Kirkpatrick, F. A., Latin America, Machillan Co., New York 1959, p. 151. -7- José Gervasio Artigas appeared on the scene in 1810, to become the "George fiashington of his land."17 This leader of the Banda Oriental peoples was born in Montevideo, 1764, of one of the leading families. He joined the Blandengues in 1797 and became head of the organization in 1802.18 He served with the corps in 1807 against the British. At the time of Viceroy Elio's declaration of war against Buenos Aires in 1811, Artigas was stationed at Colonia with the Blandengues troops. He fled to Buenos Aires and offered his services to the Buenos Aires 13333, which commissioned him as Commander of Militia.19 He gathered an army and the move for independence swept rapidly over the country. But Elie had re- quested the Portuguese to come to the aid of the house of Bour- bon, to save La Banda Oriental province from Argentina and hold it for Ferdinand VII. After Portuguese troops swarmed across the border, Buenos Aires, at this point involved in a war against Bolivia, or Upper Peru, made an armistice with the Viceroy at Hontevidee. This was known as the "October Treaty,"20 and left L§_Banda Oriental to Elie. Artigas withdrew, not only with his troops, but with their families and even the inhabitants of the Uruguay River, into Entre Rios province. Soon after, the armi- stice with Elie was broken and the patriots again started a ' ---------------~-----—----------------------—---—---”--‘----- 17- Gunther, John, Inside Latin America, Harper a Bros., New York and London,*l94l, p. 555. ‘ 18- Lansing, Marion, Liberators and Heroes of South America, L. C. Page and 00., Boston, 1940, p. 124. 19- Kirkpatrick, F. A., op. cit., p. 152. 20- Uilgus, op. cit., p. 40. -8- siege of Montevideo, (the first one was interrupted by the October Treaty), under Artigas and an Argentine force. A general constituent assembly for the United Provinces had been called at Buenos Aires. The Artigas delegates however did not succeed in securing a loose federation of the pro- 0 vinces as per his instructions,"1 22 and were banned from the assembly. Indignant, Artigas again withdrew from the siege early in 1814; then for a time, the Orientales, Portuguese, and Buenos Aires were fighting one another.25 The Royalists were driven from Montevideo by the soldiers from Buenos Aires who in turn occupied the city. Artigas now made war on the Portefios, as the Buenos Aires people were called, with the aid of another famous leader, Rivera; Oriental troops finally moved into Montevideo in February, 1815.24 The Portuguese overran La Banda Oriental in 1816, and forced Artigas to leave Montevideo to them early in 1817. At this date, the Portuguese, and later the Brazilians claimed the Banda Oriental as their territory for the next twelve years. ' But Artigas did not give up with the Portuguese arrival at Montevideo. For three years he fought both the Buenos Aires troops and the Portuguese. He twice invaded Brazil, but was badly outnumbered, and again crossed the Uruguay River into 21- Lansing, M., op. cit., p. 126. 22- Wilgus, op. c1t., p. 45. 25‘ Ibid., p. 440 24- Kirkpatrick, F. A., op. cit., p. 155. -9- Entre Rios, in January, 1820, leaving Rivera as the only active leader of Oriental troops to fight the Portuguese. Rivera was obliged to yield and took service with the conouerors.25 H gas, the Protector of the free peoples," eventually fled to Paraguay,25 thus ending the activities of a gaucho chief so endowed with personalismo that at least one foreign land, the United States, had recognized him as head of the La Plata pro- vinces rather than giving recognition to the Argentine govern- ment.27 Beginning in 1820, the Banda Oriental was known as the Cisplatine province of the Portuguese empire. It passed from Portuguese domination to Brazilian, with the advent of the Brazilian Empire as a free nation. But it was not to remain for long under imperial control. A group of Oriental (Cisplatine) exiles in Buenos Aires were dissatisfied under Brazilian domination. They determined to try to throw off that dominance for even incorporation with the United Provinces was preferable to foreign control. Known as the "Immortal Thirty-Three," they crossed the Uruguay River by night in April, 1825, with Lavalleja as their leader. Rivera in charge of rural districts for the empire, threw in his lot with them. They held an Oriental congress at Florida, and de- 25‘ Ibid., p. lSéo 26- Ibid., p. 1550 27- Gunther, John, op. cit., p. 536. -10... 00 ‘JU cided to join the United Provinces. The Buenos Aires con- gress voted to give aid to the Orientales, which caused Brazil to declare war on Argentina. After three years of war, a peace conference was held at Buenos Aires. The British, as mediators, wanted to see a buff- er state set up between the two countries, and insisted that the Oriental land be made an independent republic, overriding Argentine protests.29 A provisional government was set up, and a centralist constitution drawn up which was approved by both Brazil and Argentina. The Uruguayan authorities adopted the constitution in 1850. At long last, independence of the Oriental people was born. The name of the new country was La Republics Oriental del Uruguay. Miss Williams states that the new republic did not get off to a smooth start, however, due to the military psychology whid1 had developed in the previous twenty years of fighting.50 Rivera and Lavalleja were the candidates for the presid- ency in the first election under the new constitution. Rivera won the election but the disgruntled Lavalleja revolted, and much of the first four-year term.was spent in fighting. Manuel Oribe was the choice agreed upon by both factions in 1855. He had been one of the "Thirty-Three." Promptly he alienated 2 - Kirkpatrick, F. A., on. cit., p. 155. 29- Williams, Kary W., The People and Politics of Latin America, Ginn & Co., New York, 1945, p. 688. 50- Ibid., p; 6900 -11- Rivera by granting amnesty to the Lavalleiistas. Rivera launch- ed a revolt against Oribe, and this action started the bitter political struggle which has lasted until the present, as far as party affiliations are concerned.51 Kirkpatrick describes the parties as follows: . ...the Blancos, (Whites), Oribe's men, allied with Urquiza,...an Argentine caudillo...who were supposed to stand for order and tradition; and the Colorados (Reds), Rivera's followers, favoured by hitre...of Argentina...opposed to Urquiza...and by the Portefios and claiming to represent Liberalism and progress. But in fact, principles distinguishing them are her. to find... .52 The Argentine dictator Rosas, in power at Buenos Aires from 1852 to 1852 also meddled. He supported Oribe and the Blancos. The disturbances which followed also involved the Brazilian empire, for that country supported Rivera and the Colorados. Rosas' forces were decisively driven out of Uruguay early in 1852, and his Argentine regime ended at that time. Brazil grabbed a sizeable portion of northern Uruguayan territory in return for participation in the war against Rosas.33 From 1855 to 1865 the Blancos were usually in power, but there was a great deal of political turmoil. In 1861 a gaucho 51- Ibido , p. 6900 52- Kirkpatrick, F. A., op. cit., pp. 155- 35.- V‘filliams ’ P2581737 YT. , 02. C it o ’ 1:). 690-6.}. ~12; uprising tried to unseat the Blanco president,54 who asked aid of Lopez, the Paraguayan dictator, against Brazil. At that time, Brazil was threatening war with Paraguay over frontier troubles. With Brazil's help, the Colorados gained control of the government by defeating Lopez and the Blancos. Brazil, as was her habit, exerted pressure on the Uruguayan government she had helped in the struggle, and Uruguay was forced to make a third in the Triple Alliance against the Paraguayan dictator until the Paraguayan War ended in 1870--(with Lopez' death). The Colorados have dominated the political scene almost con- tiri’oUtly ever 3 ince . Colonel Latorre seized control of the government in 1875 and ruled for six years as a dictator. Although he resigned in 1880 and called the Uruguayan people "ungovernable," his rather despotic rule did impose six years of peace on the rest— less nation.:55 The last decade of the century under two con- stitutional presidents saw ”overborrowing, waste, corruption, shameless personal interest, excessive taxation, and methods hardly less autocratic than those of the military dictators."56 A Blanco uprising under the gaucho Saravia in 1897 served to gain congressional power for the Blancos, and was regarded "not as a partisan rising, but as a popular revolt against scandalous misrule."5'7 54- Kirkpatrick, F. A., op. cit., pp. 155—6. 55- Ibid., p. 158. 56- Ibid., p. 1590 57— Ibid., p. 159. -15- It is no wonder then that in writing of the parties, Andres Iamas summed up the situation as follows: zQué representan esas divisas blancas y esas divisas coloradas? Hepresentan las desgiacias del pais, las ruinas que nos cercan, la miseria y el luto de las familias, 1a verguenza de haber andado pordioseando en dos hemisferios, la necesidad de las intervenciones extranjeras, el des- crédito del pais, 1a bancarrota con todas sus amargas humillaciones, odios, pasiones, miserias personales.5 In the light of Uruguay's chaotic history, how could such a change came about to the effect that there "has been no re- volutionary bloodshed in Uruguay since 1904-"?59 The reason is largely due to the effonxsof one man: José Batlle y Ordofiez. He was a Colorado president from 1905 to 1907, and again from 1911-15 and 1915-19. In fact, he influ- enced politics in the country through 1929.40 His first term.was largely taken up'with civil war, which saw the end of armed opposition by Saravia, a gaucho leader, and the end of successful revolts by political opposition in Uruguay, to date. The years 1907-11 Batlle y Ordofiez spent 11 Europe, studying and writing, and "evolving the most compre- hensive and radical program for the solution of the problems of a Latin American country Which had yet been seen."41 His reforms were unheard of in South.America. _"His dominant idea was that fair and free social development would eliminate the 58- Williams, Mary 3., op. cit., p. 687. 59- Gunther, John, on. cit., p. 556. 40- Ibid., p. 556. 41- Davis, Harold 3., The Pan-American Vol. IX, No. 10, p. 51, (March, 19497:. -14- class struggle and diminish poverty; his life objective was to make a paternalistic state whereby everyone would be ex- ployed in his productive years and supported by the state thereafter."42 Although the constitution which he sponsored did not go into effect until 1917, his extensive social legislation had previously given the voting privilege to women'and had pro- vided for free compulsory education. The social legislation for the common man which he initiated has since become a habit with the Uruguayans. Today the country "has a form of State socialism unique in the Western Hemisphere."45 Uruguay has progressed a long vay from the days of extreme political unrest and turbulence. The change from a revolution- torn, frequently autocratically ruled land to one of progres- sive,liberal, constitutional democracy, has no parallel in this hemisphere, or scarcely anywhere. After so long a period of misfortunes, it is doubly surprising. The success of this achievement may be due in part to the country's small size. Perhaps a truly nationalistic spirit can be developed more easily in a small country than in a more geographically diversified area. A larger country, possibly could not maintain individual politi— cal freedom co-existent with what amounts to state socialism. 42- Gunther, John, op. cit., p. 556. 4:5" -Ibido’ p. 337. ct O C b p. 0 % l The gaucho, as a distinct Uruguayan type, had go a ”transfcrmation” frem.“a most undesirable member of society into a figure of ramance {Lnd the symbol of nationalism,”1 which the term stands for today. 1e exact origins of the gauche and the time of his appear- ance are largely still undetermined. Althowg;h Torres-rioseco speaks of the "change from the bpan;Is h v'"u'rc into th mcstizc 0 ‘ 1 raucho.”I on the 39 mp as, he refers here to a group, or class, at P-.l not necessarily in a1 descendants of the Spanish cowboy, Under the strict trade regulations of the Spanish, however, tne smugx- ling of cattle hides gran to enormous proportions, and it was r t -is ill Sal occ nation that swelled the number of veeplc on the pampas. The result was a cc.ntinua d1 fl.xing of races as the American—born ooan-a;uc, or Creoles, as well as the mesti es, *— ‘ (some combination of Luropean-Indian blood), encountered and V .. interr; *.arri.ed with the Ula1ns 1nd 14- ans of the Uruguay n (and Ar- gentine) pampas, in the search for hides. It is generally con- cedrd that the gruchos were mestiggs, although Hiss NTChCls wrote that ”any illegal hunter of hides” was a gauche,5 not necessarily of mixed blood. J ' .. a ..- . o :21 ” ("II V .1 ‘._ I“ ., ‘,‘ ,. "' lx-lflcnOIS Lacmhuune sallas, irM3(rquhO. Lflhnmuw h. C : . ::- 5 . . s., m 41,, — T 1: A. — 1' #~« ,;.- _n_ ogres—_LJ_osccg, .111" 511110, lhe 11,19 1: a.,,1n 1.110710 ..11 _..u 511791175. 1.1:.1’ ., ~_-. -.—‘.-~—~._.~ hour-ax- - -— 5- HicLOIS, or. eit., p. 4. -15- During the wars of the nineteenth century, the ever grow— ing baucho class played an important part. Nany of the leaders A rare themselves gauchos, including José Artigas and Fructuoso Rivera, and gauchos comprised most of the ranks of the EEEQE Oriental troons. That they were good fighters there is little doubt. It was not enough for him.to possess the special skills whidh.his type of life made necessary. He must weigh them against those of others, with the idea of imposing his superiority and with the hope of maintain- ing it against all comers. It was this quality which made the gauche so peculiarly apt in war....... . This longing for superiority which obsessed him led the gauche into the most unheard of acts of cour- age....gave him a sense of the ridiculous and harden- ed him to pain.* The gauche enjoyed war. To him it was a plea- santly exhilarating experience, one with a promise of booty to be easily won......Indifferent to death, a fatalist, brave to absurdity, combative,----no career could be better adapted to his nature. In his new social role as a soldier, he eagerly experienced those emotions he loved. He rode, fought, killed, plundered, Moreover, in war he had a cause to invoke as he destroyed. This was especially true in the wars of independence, where the gaucho's enemy was the hated stranger, ever despicable through ignorance of such fine arts as throwing a lasso, of breaking a horse, of throw- ing a bull, or of skillful knife play."5 The nineteenth century wars came in time to save the gauche from possible oblivion. Free trade with EurOpe became possible by vicercga decree in 1809.6 As a result the demand for the services of the gauche as a dealer in coutraband hides declined. 4" Ibido,'po l6. 5- IBTHO’ pp. 55-540 6- Ibid., p. 550 -15- Any law-abiding citizen could hunt the cattle and do his own trading at the ports. He did not have to hire gauchos to smlggle them out for him. Since there was no need to fear leg- al authorities, men xperienced in living on the pampas were no longer necessary for the raids on the wild herds. The gauche however, continued to live on and from the pampas to the fullest degree. The abundance of cows and horses had made this possible. He made his clothes chiefly from hides; shelters, beds, lassos, were made of hides. Torres-Rioseco gives us a good over-all picture of the gaucho's need for hides: thenever the gauche needed 'luxuries,‘ such as adornments for his horse, perfumes for his girl, or liquor, he obtained them by exchanging rawhides or ostrich feathers with the pulpero, or storekeeper. more than a cattleman, the gauche was a hunter and horsebreaker in a primitive happy world that did not know property laws, merchants, industry, formal edu- cation, or organized religion. Because of their intimate knowledge of the land, two class- ifications of gauchos sprang up which were essential to an estanciero's prosperity, and which played an important part in developing Uruguayan national life. The activities of these two types carried over from colonial times well into the exist- ence of the country as an independent unity. Sarmiento classe ified the groups, considering as the most important, "e1 rastreadorz" 7- Torres-Rioseco, on. cit., p. 157. -17- ...Todos los gauchos del interior son rastreadores. En llanura tan dilsta adas, en donde las sendas y caminos se cruzan en todas direcciones, y los campos en cue pacen o transitan las bestias son aeiertos, es precise saber seguir las huellas de un animal, y distinguirlas de entre mil, conocer si va des pacio or ligero, suelto o tirade, carga 8 e de vacio: ésta es una cienca casera y p0pular......o He goes on to describe the gauche personality of a rastreador, and even his skill in "tracking" outlaws. But if the rastreador was important, how much more so must have been the baoueano, especially his function in time of war. ...El baoueano es un gauche grave y reservado, que conoce a palmas, veinte mil lequas cuadradas de Ilanuraa bosques y montanas. Es el topografo mas complete, es es unico mapa que lleva un general para dirig ir los movimientos de su campana; la suerte del ejército, el éxito de una batalla, la conquista de una provincia, todo depende de él. ”El baqueano es casi siempre fiel a su deber; pero no siempre e1 general tiene él, Sic. plena confia nza. Imaginaos la posicion de un jefe condena do a llevar un traidor a su lado y a pedirle los conocimientos indis- pensables para triunfar. ‘! This last paragra oh leads us to assume that perchance the general mentioned above had hired a baeueano of unce ertain loyal- ties. Important as the gauche was in helping to win the wars for independence, in the many civil wars which followed, a lead- er could probably never be absolutely sure which way the gauchaie sentiment would swing. Many of the gauchos who lived beyond the reach of the law were wanted for crimes worse than cattle, stealing. They formed a third class which Sarmiento called.§; gauche male: 8- Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino, Féhndo, Buenos Aires, 1940,p. 70 9‘ Ibid., pp. 74-75 -18.. La justicia lo persigue desde muches afios, su hombre estemido, pronunciado en voz baja, pore sin odio y casi con respeto.....a veces, se presents a la puerta de un baile campestre, con una muchacha que ha robado; entra en baile con su pareja, con— fundese en las mundanzas del cielito, y desaparece sin que nadie se apercibe de elle. Otra dia se presenta en la casa de la familia ofendida, hace desdefiando las maldiciones de los padres Que la siguen, se encamina trancuilo a su morada sin limites."lO The gauche male appeared to possess few moral principles 4-he would kill a cow from an estancia whenever he became hun- gry for a taste of beef, taking just eneu;h to satisfy his im- mediate hunger. To rob and steal was a profession for him, a way of life, whether it was horses, beef, or a young girl as the prize. Sometimes this gauche male was a matrero, if a ‘ desnracia had occurred. That happened When the gauche, so skill- ful at 'knife-play', found himself in a duel with a rival gauche. The object of the skirmish was to ”mark" the opponent with his long-bladed knife, the cuchilla, handed down from the Spaniards. One slip of the knife and often the fee was killed; the winner was then said to have had a misfortune, ("tuvo la desgracia de mater”),11 and became a fugitive from.justice. In such a case, sympathy was with the desgraciado, who would have to es ape punishment, rather than with the deceased! There was usually a swift horse provided if such a misfortune befell an unlucky gauche, and he headed for the 'limitless dwelling', the pampas, which he know so well. 10- Ibid., pp. 88-81. 11" Ibid., p. 950 -19- This admiration for the gauche, with perhaps a touch of respect stemmed from the universal human characteristic of self-projection; if a person cannot be a hero himself, he tends to search for an ideal of heroism. The resulting de- votion to that here accounts for the aura of admiration sur- rounding many outstanding figures in the fields of sports, war, or romance. We see this countless literary and folk legends of heroic warriors, lovers, and combatants in the arena. The outlaw gauche won his position of respect not entirely because of his rebellion against authority,-—-although that was a probably contributing factor,---but because of his fearless bravery, his audacity, and his inevitable skill in evading authorities. The cold, casual attitude towards death, whether as punishment for crime or through individual or group combat, and the flaunting of his presence in the face of authorities and then depending on a swift mount to make his escape, elevated him in the eyes of the more settled stay-at-homes, the estancieros and ranch hands. One gathers a general impression from Sarmiento's accounts that the owners of stock looked.ligfifly'on.an occasioal butchered beef, and that the "offended families" of a maid whom a gauche had seduced, were the only truly outraged, anti~gaucho elements in the interior of the rioplapense area.ld This attitude reflects, in part, the changing concept men- fl tioned earlier, from a position of little respect to one of high 12- Sarmiento, Ibid., pp. 70-93. -20- esteem. By the time the gaucho's career or occupation had ended, as such, an opportunity came for him to display his skill and contribute to the development of national concious- ness, throughout the 332 de lg Plata region. Gaucho tactics in war differed ostensibly from.those of royalist troops. Greatly outnumbered, the gauchos often sustituted lightning raids and sniping activites for open fighting whenever that was necessary. At least one fighting unit was officially 15 named pragones Infernales, and that name was often applied to other gauche troops.‘ Crude as they were, gauche troops had won respect and admiration thr ugh their war-time record at the beginning of national independence in both Argentina and Uruguay, and for many years afterwards, in civil wars in the two countries.14 This was probably more true in Uruguay, where civil war seemed to be the order of the day for a considerable period. With use end of the wars, however, his usefulness hav- ing ended also, the gauche faced extinction; persecuted by the authorities and general unfavorable opinion of urban society, the historic gauche did vanish, to reappear in literature as the ”symbol of the national spirit and of national achievement,"15 Waldo Frank gives us a rather lofty description of this charact- er of the pampas, with a bit about the transition just referred to: 13" IquhOlS, OT). Cite, I). 560 14‘ Ibid., p. 570 15" Ibid., p. 580 -21- The gauche became a man in whom the Spanish quali- ties were redirected. He lived the Indian life with a Castilian conscience, he adopted the primitive morale of the pampa--loyalty, hospitality, courage-~with all the ideal fervor of a race that had assumed the burden of Holy Rome.... He is cruel yet tender, he is a man beyond the law, yet a man of law, he is illiterate yet fertile in tradition. And these dichotomies resolve into a fluid, intricate, emotionally concordant person.. He will die for you when he has given his word, but his spirit is fertile in evasions and in ironies. For he is the fluid pampa and the rock of Castile.... The historic gauche is dead. Men who are called gauchos still corral the steer of the estancias, still drink and quarrel at the pulperias, still tell their ballads at the barbecues. They are ghosts of an age that is gone....Yet the gauche did not die, until he had been made immortal. Still living, he was ploughed into the lifeloam of his people, to....appear....in spiritual fruitage. 6 ' This change was initiated threugh legends and folk tales of the various deeds and abilities of individual gauchos. As the most romantic, or heroic period of the gaucho's deeds drew to a close, these stories grew in number and popularity. Le- gendary accounts of heroism gradually were supplanting active participation in violent and bloody battles. Authors began to record these legends in some form of literature, keeping the gauche's primitive and crude qualities but usually picturing him with less barbarity and viciousness. By the time the gauche theme had reached the proportions of a national literature, some of the realists were showing him to belong to a degenerate lower class of society, but that movement did not destroy the idealized conception which had grown up about him. 16- Frank, Waldo, America Hispana, (New York, 1951), pp. 96-98, 162. -22- For proof of the gaucho's rebirth through folk tales and legends as the first medium in point of time, we need only re- fer to Sarmiente's fourth classification, 3; Cantor, Which he places as early as 1840.17 Comparing "el trovador" with the bard of the Middle Ages, he gives us a description of this earliest gauche songster, here Quoted in part: El cantor no tiene residencia fija: su morada I Tfl‘T“-”“‘ esta donde la noche lo sorprende; su fortune, en sus verses y sus voz. Dondequiera oue el cielito enreda sus parejas sin tasa, dondeouiera oue se apura una cops de vino, el cantor tiene su lugar preferente, su parte escogida en el festin...... El cantor mezcla entre sus cantos heroicas, la relacion de sus propias hazanas. Here we notice the movement to remanticize the gauche in folklore ballads was initiated by himself--a shrewd method of perpetuating individual glory, which developed into a perpetua- tion of gauche activities as a group, or class. The deeds of which the gauche-troubador sang frequently involved a love af- fair, and perhaps even a desgracia, forcing him into the gauche mglg class, with the resulting continual flight from justice. His skill in guitar-playing and composing narrative songs al- ways found an audience. As an entertainer in the numerous pulperias, or stores, or taverns, or wherever he might find a handful of people to listen to his tales, he obtained Shelter and food readily enough. 17- Sarmiento, ee. cit., p. 85. 18’ Ibid., pp. 84-850 -23- A concise portrayal of literature furthering the gaucho's sair itua l existence is brought out by Liss Nichols in oescrie- o ' 1C in: him as the ”ideal of romance." J U She cites the chief gauche writers, as well as some lesser ones, as responsible for sub- t ituting an idealized gauche for the actual, historical type. This literature, which frequently pictured the protagonist with vibrant stirring cuality of persecuted heroism rather than go with the crude violence and simplicity with ahich the realists credited the ggucho, played an influential part on the fancy of l') the populace during the early twentieth century.“ Humorous r“ clubs 3 ran up to continue the gauche trac ition--a revised and 8 3m wrroved version of that trcdi tion--simi la r to fan clubs in this country which sueport a popular living actor, actress, or per- sonality that c;tches the public eye. These inlitaters oi the new highly respected gauche 'played the cuinar, sang gauche songs read gauche stories, wrote gauche nesta pers, acted in gauche wavs.....they went on picnics, built bonfires, roasted steaks, drank mate.21 It appears then, that the real gauche, who as instrumental in developing the interiors of Argentina and Uruguay and in achieving national independence, actually found a new place in men's minds. As a symbol of national glory, he commands a pat- riotic place in the Urug uayan's conception of him; his semi-bar baric cruelty and outlawry almost forgotten and certainly forgiven, 19- IE ichols op. cit., p. 58. 20" Ibid., T’o 6i. - 21" Ibid., 7). 620 the reality of generally romanticized, in an character and personality, far his crude beginning. (3 (A bove and beyond Chapter Ill ~ Thh LlFs LED (1951—1924), nd‘nare Aces: ,dc Tiaz April, 1851 Ho stud’ed a' and had startel studying l arM" in ib“‘, o Timoteo ! 1curnelis , novelist, hist ing as it was cc'ed, fill 01 an editor of ' , , I 'Urus uzga‘ 0 ant IL"? active duty in an unris in; I- C‘ d. , L.) (- u-Ja V“ _ -,\ o ,\ ' ‘ .7 ‘ me t.m0 1n urgentin as Once more in Uruguay, he tor Latorre, and was banne <- '. — .1‘". . w-p \ '\ ties. in 1995, hOLRVGP, h ' 'r~ . 4 .~ .1 . n - ’3. '. "' n '- this time ectabiishing 41 anti-gover mental attack, '1 . of 1» He a Senatcr 1395 until leec.l l rem l- Eduardo ACCVC do Dias, hontevideo, 70A p. .L-‘d‘: 4-- J, primarily H 133'. goveiwnm :nt. ~ 3w Irv; ~w-~ -- v'xt'w - --. -- 'r- - --L.‘ UJ.‘ )UJ.-tJ/\\) ".‘J F1"), WW-) ;J.LJLZJ’ H; r '- .' .- -1. 'iC}:it rlblClSUuo v-vr H 1' /' “an r :‘ . ,~". 'Q -‘ I: .1 -V . I . was e_in at k_ila e; la Union in C .\ ..‘T- ~. Av ‘V : Lv '1 - ‘ r\ H' L the tn1Vilidad de prosverar , ni de salir nunca de econ. Y és tes son les sue esta mejer. Gran parts no tiene ni aun es to, guos no hay traeajor para todos en las ostancias; vivon 1el rchxmma, del “ichuleae, de la se1vidumbre, de las 0111111111 as, de les fare jorcs, de las linesnas, de la 1aza, porous procluce la debilidad, la suciedad, la in- moralié d, la i neraneia, la delincuencia. ....................................................... Tor la veracidad ebjetiva de su observscien, y per el ViQOP realista con eue “:az sus cuadr s-—-- a11biontes, escenas, figuras--ha de acensiderarao Javier de Viana come el ninter excclencia do nuestra Vida criolla; asi come, per su prccodimiente analitico v la crudeza moral de su ointura, ha de tenerrelo cowe el rrimer re- sonta nte cel naturzlisme zoliane en el Uruguay. Sus uentes sen les unices e; on lares de nositiva valia, de ‘ csa moaalidad 7 ese Lenore, existentes on nuestra litera- on: “5 m -54- Viana, then, observed the gauche in a much different man- I‘ . '-" V - 1 -—¢ .. . nor 1rom teat of Lduaroo aceveae 0132. he asandons the real- istic approach somewhat in Gaucha, but not entirely even here. ~ H~1~Lfl nis use real 1m Once he had written st steri1s, however, a small but perceptible change in attitude to ards the 3at cho can be 7 noticed. The movexnent to revive gauche tradition gre. up dur— ing his active Writilg period, and he turned to it as a means of support. His contributions to weekly publications were very penular, and perhans the demand for his stories lrew too heavily '4 m 0 p on h’ -:-citv. Alberto Zum.Felde believes he lost his powers of creating work comparable to his first three books, because of this constant search for mater al from the same theme plus * o 1 0 his own degeneration, or alcoholism, un1ch mav have deadrned his inspiration.9 Ce erta ainly his stories are somewhat reretitieus, being rev erkings of the same 3eneral theme. Nevertheless, al- though he is ronerally a realist, there is serle rem nticism in his work. In this later period he achieved distinction as an ‘ uneaualleo story teller. Although the chronolO3'cal order of his stories was not adhered to when published in book form, the gauche of his second ‘EPiCO. {enera llv is cast in a more sympathe— tic, less brutal role. This 13 probably due to the fact hat his 1 riting technique was deliberately slanted to given market, go where a thorouehlv revolti1n3 3:1ucho story would not find penu- larity. In addition, his natural 1ondnsss for the criollo life ---—_———-—----—---—-——---‘r-“--- --—----_—-—--—--———..~-—-—--¢-—-——O—Q 9‘ Ibid., p. 5020 and the wide acquaintance he had made from that classilica- tion probably were instrumental factors in causing him to write of the gaucho in a more mild, sympathetic vein, in nis later period. 1 r: m7: "r1 T"! e “3'" '1‘ j“. - " "-'=_-r*1'~‘r1 1 ~ '-' _;"";r;'1. ‘ 'v _" {17131; - (\j-s-r‘rg. Ch 3.}? Der V " Abunnl. l. .LU .‘xh‘ L) infill- ..La) J. iv I;:J'-JJ.‘uL..'.Ji‘s .1. u LL. .1. 1 ...J xv.Lll.L3 I I" "1" l-‘I.‘ ‘ ;"v -1 "' "WV" 7T4; " ,‘-n U.“ il;,-.4u.~..1 1:; ‘_. L'l.\)-.sfio p a- hduarce Acevedo Diaz The first fictional work of Eduardo Acevedo Diaz ,hrenda, aefi ared in 1884. \ltheugh it placed him in the ranks of the remanticists, it is not included in this study wilce it belong outside the range of gauche literature. Pi uh Ismael which was published in 1538, he began an his- torical trilogy, swinging from strictly historical matters in one chapter to the actions and s entim nts of his gauche char- 1 rrs in another. a ratner leftv descrintien is eiven of J k 0 Cf ac Artigas, the caudille who embodied many gauche characteristics: Hetres Hnt ba cuarenta afies. De estatuIa regul-r y complexion fuerte, nada existia en su _oc.rsliendose en él y en ss' tocos los de su etoca de una manera fatal la is" oe la herencia,--tenia cie11to ca rino al trabajo rue cue pone a prueba el mus culo y n t11e al or5gnismo con ju5o sal- vaje. Sentia pas ion por la Vida libre, indisciplinada, ---—---_--———_~_-——--—-——-—--—_-——-—-n--—_——_-..-—_—-—_---_---_—-“- 2" Ibid., pp. 55-8, 60. -59- licenc103e; gcro le era tsmbien agr5~3lle por orgullo de reza cue se iiesen de el, cu,sndo ha is la prone3: de su‘or en is labor honesta. Lsta conciencis 1e su reonns9fio 11o1( moral, innre3 en 3u scmol.9.nte abriale sin sosreeens depresivos el ccm1ino ool trebafo Los cue lo oian, creian desde el “ri.nc Uio do buene fe, .ue el seria caflaz de cumolir czn su debor. Pobre, solo, inculto, desam‘arado, realizébe se en el joven gauche el Groverb io oriental: el hombre fuerte v el sgua que corre, laoren su ;ro*io sendero.5 Ismael falls in love with a tygicel c.r rio lla girl, Felise, whose virtues are on a tar uitn his 0 n. For the most part, . She meets U) sne was trtic l of the colonial women of the time the requirements of romantic literature in being squicientl;¢ v1 rtuous to De loved by the hero 01 the story, as the 10110 - ing ouota fltion indicates ........ese ejomplo de fidelidad a la monarouie nor parts do uno de sus abuelos, no privabs a .0... Felise de se‘nir sus impulses de criolla y de se ella misma,......un Uruducto indigene o engendro del clima. 111mbien stabs en el rango de los tunsn1aros. Tenia un geni un poco oullicioso, con sus oerruntos Ce insvbo1c1n°ra W 0de altaner a. Se habia hoono mujer en el canto, v no conocia otrn sooieded que la de los geni- doros y gente eerril. Verdadera fruta del 13a 3, era un tifio correcto de la criolla en los tiempos d l gusto colonial. .......£us propensiones egrestos la hacisn feliz. A 103 elle1ueu1s estrechas v loeosss del rec cinto dent1o del cuel haoie macido y Based s s nrinsros efios, preferie les as erezes natureles do la C5 mpe1'; montsr a cebello 1 are endorse a media rienda, cha puceer en el rio y as lefunas, bailar cielitos y oir las oantigas de los gnrchos al son de la guitarra. Todo esto era native, y se encuedrabe en su natural- eza . ‘1’. ‘ 3.1 ‘ 1 .9 .1 . 1. . '3 ’ - 1‘ 4.. no mania eAUer1hen3aao por lo memes, todaV1a, otro I 1 0 1'1- ’ ‘. - , renero oe sensualismos. Consenteosse con aouellos mustos Q J. \1- -10- A. vulgares sin aUatecer otros mejor:s , pues que su crit3311io,-r 1UV semejante 31 de la msVoria de las mujeres sin 0°U1r1tu, no 1bs mas alla del circulo de sus z“eccio nes. ' p 1*cr a contrsst of tVues cf female characte°s, Acevedo Dias describes certain other women of the countrV. i‘heV are suited to the needs of the geuch malo, and harle compare *Hitd Feli..%1 The author was certainly aware of the gaucho melo class, and Uictures him, as well as his feminine companion, in the follow- ing realistic nassaee: Innuesto de todo yor e1 pulse: o,.....si el Iie sgo ebia desapareci do dete rminébase en onces a dar un golre haste el rancho del ”china”, Sic V afin a robsr a esta se era su consentids, para lo que no era precise cencis sin 0 jggrse en los Uufics V resolvenics, segun ls logica del matrero. Y entrsbs a rob5rls.-- Bie n montado, se acercaba de noche a1 ggncho, aoesbase a pcca distancis ssegur ndo el ”Dingo” en el Jalenque 0 al pie de un ”ombu”; ledino V sagas aguardaba que la :nu chacha se en me e a la cocina, V dos -Ues arremetia alli haciendo SODLWP las eschlss, la mano en el mxngo del fa con V e1 cesto irecuneo. Les canUesinhs viejas so UUedd‘a“ acurrucedas entre las gua seas V cucro. oeludos, atonitus ante el gaucho mslo V por miedo a una tUnca a 1eoonque; Uero la “chins”, como era frccuente en es tos cases, no h ecia mucha re- sis tencia V se dejsoa levsnt1r del suelo, con ch1nclet"s 0 sin ellas, al size las piornas Ucrcudidas, las grenas sueltas sin desmaVos ni ccsa s1nc1un.cs; V 01 la c: nducia hastu su cabsllo, ls ensncsba bien, si es Que por la m'e- ‘ W g V II tura a veces no la nac1a mentcrs ”10 hogore , V 1artia a la carre: a mUV contento con su press.U OccasionallV, 1ce edo Diaz aoendoned Hie strictly rC1Qn ic O o l touch which is evident in the Quotation above. UglV nature l_s m rarelV encountered in his writings, but the realistic scenes .--—-——--—~-‘—-———----_--_—----—-~-n---~-———-———--~--——~H-——-—— 4- Epido’ pp. 75- -41- ‘3 01 a duel described below end wit oh 3 tone that borders on naturalism. The duel itself, the 1a't1cwomnus, and the sentiments of the observers are similar to the im wre sions of 1m :2. rmiento hac writtenz6 Ll grrno ya mry noncroso y eomwaeto, se aremo- lino con el rumor de le IHGPCQ. Todas las bocss res- D1 raron ruidos --ente. Ll veneedor el ar -sneerse la dag a de 131 deride y al er: jarlal fos, enrojeoida con su sengre, dijo con su seento ero:--—Vean se esté buen mue1to. Les jinetes en tumulto, LoroLLLL se més el ouerpo del veneieo Que vaeia Cae oostado entre un Ur n ch1reo sen --cnoo, y rse uuedaron miréndole en QLlenc1o.--—4111011 huoiese side reoenooczr on souellos 1ostros si el 11rt1111noo cue en ese in- stance predominaba, era el del interés oue inspil— la desgreeia del gusto, 0 el de 13 com ssion que deseierta la muerte de un hombre. Ll hecho era cue, a la voz de Fernando, todo se haeis movido eemo ‘ - 0 por un resorts. ----- Lil gauche oravo tenia en los egos una fuerza avasallaeora ninguno se aeo;daba en aquel memento de la justicia del rey.......... La soena....habi1 ren1OV1do 113 “a no 3 del grupo por un momento.-----Después habia sebrevenido algo oomo una calms indiferente. Uno de les oempeones estaba en el suelo, extinta p9 ra siemDre su fiereza... Tree de los grendes nw1stines, eehr1dos junto el euerpo inmovil, alsrg eoan sus hocicos oliendo la sengre Que embapaba las hieroas. Ismael had a rival for the love of Felisa, and thoughshe had killed the other suitor after a duel similar to the one des— .. , _ . 1. 3 - crioed aeove. he flOd: as a fittrerg, but ncevedo Liaz, unW1ll- ing to allow an i; noble inure ms irn of his hero to be retained by the reader, -xDlains as follows: i w i cue un gran numero oe matreros a elase honest: y laboriosa, a la ques del trite de libertsd.... 1 - 4 prlioese a perteneciesen a espera en los bos S ., 1. 6- Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino, 02. cit., p. 93. 7- Eduardo Acevedo Diaz, 0%. cit., pp. 105, 107-8. -4 I}? Cunndo no hubia probabilided algune do ataouo o sorprosa on oampo raso, los getl eLos pasaban lsrgss horas en los ancLos, on builCS o velorios do ” dn3elitos” ro osando en la lesltad do 103 vocin- derios, duo les advortian la hor conveniento del re li uo, asi Que vislumblaoan algo do sospechos en el horizonte. Si llo3aoan a ser sorprendidos hacien cause comun, y so batian con bra dra,on la iirmo conviccién do un fin desastroso, en 0330 do caer prisicnoros... A un instinto Lod: roso do oxis tone is libro, so unis on ellos un COLajo incomito. "v:T<.adoros Xijos del Cline, como Arti3as, pcsei en la tendonoi: 1r- reductible hecia las pasiones orimitivas, y la crquse del vig or locs1.Eelceban sin center el numuio, y caien con rosignacion heroics. No dojs do ofrocor tamoion or131ndlicod ciorta faz psicologics oor decirlo asi del me'x ero, y quo lo “resents con un tinbo s1cr't1co o interos ante on modio do 103 azsres y ox ravios do su existencia semi—oazoara; y es la do mry scontua dos ontimiontos do gratitud y nooleza on determintdas ocssiones, 103 due revolaoan o sus actos como una prenda segura do looltsd native. In detailed accounts of wattle s tile author c011d scarcely avoid realism. The throat-slitting scene is erual to the very best of the reslists' efforts. True to pattern, no XH‘V T, Acevedo Diaz conveniently avoids vicious brutality on the 1m rt of Ismael fl 0 'F' H O I 0 -1 " .9 _ ‘H _. bv nav1n3 the 1noian Cuaro dispose of tne roysl1st fir1soner. The scene orens w2th the prisoner on his xnees, be33in3 for kis life. --No me dogfiyo nor su modre....... Ioro el 3aucho siomrre c:1llazo e imnlecaolo dio dos o tres brincos forcejoo ro lo dorribo do ospsldas y pus ole ls bots do iotro con su onormo rodsja on ol pecho como 1u01e~ sente r la zsrpa un en1msl for z; y co 3iendole do la 0? rod ochole pp re atrfs 3 la caboza, int rodu]olo la punta dol ace re a un la: 0 del nescuozo 3 so lo corto do oroja a oreja n'1ste hacor so tdr la tréd duos hecia a1 uer scmo un resorto eléstico. 7- Eduardo Aetvodo Dia z, 03. cit., on. 10;, lQV—S. 8- Ibid., p. 141 and 147. method we mit s the protagon De la carétiia wartida salt6 un charro de sangre caliente entre ronquidos de fuel le, el cuory o so 39 .cudié y retorci6 lovantandosc sobre los pom: 3 on e .1ato303 convulsiones, al cunto de Cue la cabeza so :an olote6 Drendida nor solo la nuca al tronco oomo la esgriga cue cuelga per una aLista en su tallo, empafiaronso los ojos enormomente abiertos torci63e la boca con uLa ultism cont .cci6n muscular lma ta ii- jar en la 06:113ura una mseca de mascara, enCOgiéronse en arco los orazos entre teneolores con los deooa cris- pados y también las r-iernas a la altura de la rodillas. Ln el cuello solo qued6 un gran cuajarén de 3 ngre vonosa........ El gauolio l:ln i6 el 1a06n en la r03a del nucrto; y todos seis cuedo ron miréndole en siloncio, un breve “ate. CO to thor again paints admirable Characteristically, the au eualities into the over-all ;Wic uro C1 the historicLl gauche. st to remain in character and 1—1- eave the reader with a favor1ole inlyre s sicn. The following —c . ., quotation reveals the 5a ucho as Acevedo Uiaz annarently 1H1 nod 3“ o Y itlAgl to be remembered. En la eiad del bubCflO,“‘thN)Co cue se va van u \ alejando ae nosocros,--la sencillez ruda, semi-bar- oara ee la Vida 3e res n.1ia en la danza, en la rusica-- amoos ori11itivas,--y en la proeza del dus culo. La 1uerza D1utal, desde lue o, la dostreza, la astucia, la habilida para tine 7r, para caila1, oantar, domar, oelea1 y Veneer, era n cu111(1e de las easiones y exacer eaoa las eontrariedades o sufrimientos..........Y mas de ana vcz, al re5resar el amo, encontro a la esoes a y a la suerpia borraches come cubas, ostentando en cl res tro con ire- cueneia la sefial de las unes de la reciente 5r- sea. For ese entonces dio en visitar la case an tal Salustian oSandes, un indie puestere del in5lés den Jaime Smith en Vera. Casiano lo miraba con males ojos, -59- pero no di‘e nada. Sin G”b"“’0, cuando naei una criatUrita flaca y raqritica se le Uuse tal so aseme1eo al indie oa1u1u1an0° y aunqze Uieao silencio, es ante al visitante y ecllo del rancho a la \ritea, rue se fué al pu_eblo, de ‘Ui ona”, a estar a su “i010; y en eiicie mas lucrative, auneue Llen(:s di5no, a ereer las veces que corrian y lo cue Gas iano oUinaba. la casa euedé meor,--Uoreue A.suneion era el Uro- toti e de la haraoanz ia,..........5~ Such vividly realistic portrayals of the people Viana had observed in his native lo nd es taolis he him as a realist author of Urug ma an country life. He had found his Us; tieular mode of .‘ expression and ri5idly adhered to it except in a few instances, for the remainder of his Uroductive literary period. Although in later years he softened the tone of his realism in his short ic. F1 Ho E 2 Cf stories, they continued to be essentially rea Tith the publication Cf Ge m1 is in 189?}, hO”€V€": lia briefly left the practice of revealing the 5aUche class as a 1 _CS [‘10 1111017 ‘30 L1. deeenerate, uncultured, reprehensible tyU wh tell and which was the theme of nearly all his other works ent a Ls*cnOLo-1cal Study (.0 .. This novel was also intended to re:re of his Urotagenist, Juana, in her reactions to the society of the times and to the circumstances which controlled her life. Alberto Mum Felde states that he was unsuccessful in tree ntin a good psychological problem as well as in creating a convinc- i 5 character about which to build it.55 Certainly Juana, with her Unmolested vir5inity and he intention of maintainin5 52- Ides, firs. 99-100, 1014 55- Ejum Felde, Aloerto, 0U. cit., p. 512. . - ' o .‘ 1.1.0:: - 1'. .n 1.. 1'- .\ “'12 .n , “. mtus, 13 1a: e111e°ent 1roh host oi v1ana's 1ema1e Argentina, merely as a convenient startin ances try, and that of Lucio Dias, her timid gauche lover. At that point in the story Acevedo Diaz' influence is noticeable, for there is a definite reference to tlzose fem'zle soldiers who -‘ fought beside the men ana who abundaban enmguella tierra de les IT‘S-.01 I U) Cuaros.54 :3 re. After she is orphaned, Juana goes to live with her uncle, don Zoiio, at his ranch, which is three days' travczl from Lucio' He comes to see her and there is a oe"*nn1ue of a aassionate love r.) 69 Tn {111 CT scene, but then the gUther veers away from his usual IL. >.. the lovers control their bat “Si ens. Lucio promises to return 1n a few months, but knows he wen't, fer he thinks: No, decididamente, no; él no era semejante a les demés hombres, y Juana no era i.ual a las otras Hasbro". Un la 20 m1 sterioso los unia a los dos; una mane >ro- vid enoia al habia vaciaeo sus almas en un m:smo moldoy 3 Habia reto el molde despuée.55 In time Juana also comes to believe this, for from her nearly hysterical pining for him, she finally concludes: .. . 4 -. I 1, .....que Luc1o seguia aaerandola, y, por su part0, eila 1 - - o ’ . : " no habia dejado ee euererle; pere lque ridicula un1on la de ellosl Uno, pure cuerpo, sense to, equilibrado, razonable, y "a otra, pure es siritu, sin nocion de lo real, sin eeuili io, sin colecaoien posiole en el medio donde actuaba!....i.ué ridicula unionl....56 -—-——~——-—_—u-—_--——————---—-—-——------——-——-u---..—--——————————“- 34- Jian na, Javier de, Gaic-a., Hontevideo, 19é71 U. éi. 55" ;'Pid., p. :00 5'5- ibi do 3 p. ill. ~64~ The usher pie tures the brutality of the local police efiiee ers and their iron-lire rule over the peonle, in their vigorous hunting down of matreros. The sentiments of the people are against the officers, for t2 e7 believe the m9tlt res ro not rob and 1111 f the ace of roebing and killing, but become criminals merel7 in self-defensU. Although Juana cen- tinuall7 tortures her mind over her lost Lucio, she eventuall7 becomes accustomed to the wa7s of the carUg, and une_erste nds the attitude which Urevail 3 there of Uretectins natreres from the authorities. xhen t11:1t attitude is mewe sufficientlv clear 1or the reader, the author introduces t1 e outlaw, Lorenzo Almade istie in spite of Juana's apparent Cisinterest and incapabilit7 of “lot on--qus lities which Zum Felde Unewsnt con r ibuted to the failure oft sucha as a. literar7 v.0rk). .....Su boea Uurisima, cue revelaba la v1r“"‘niu1e 7 la inecencie, pazeeia no senti el calor 7 el centaeto ae asuellos lanos groseros 7 la 2:;civos; 7 su cuerpo, de exquisita sens1b1l1cae, Uermane cia insensible a la presion de aouel otro cuerpo abrasade nor la lujura. Lorenzo senaro el rostro 7 observe. Su respiraeién era violenta 7 penosa; SUs labies temblaban;........los dientes, east91fiet.ando, trozaren el treneo del clevel rojo cue 0176 al sU_elo como una virgen deeanitada.......cada uno de aqUellos contaetos, el bandido se estreU mecia, sacudide, carf;'1do, eemo una betella dc Le7den a1 maximU1 de la tension nerviosa. De pronto, aquella mane llegé al ole nco eU.ello de la victims, se contrajo como una {'ara, die un tiron brusco, rasgo la tela, 7 les senos, bla nee?) Uulidos, 9.dorables Ue virginidad 7 de pureza, quedaron al eeseU Die erte...Con una vez que era un rugido GS 7331']. UO 0' o —-Ihi china.....--.;J. chnEl Dre/“110“"; 1.. .179 ...LVTJI‘c‘q. ,_,' $.04. Kc: tilt-I1 3.4. \. COP." Sidered here, I have chosen what i believe est represents L13 stvle and spiroach to the subject matter. In cemesring and contrasting the two authors, it is evieent that there are many similarities to be found in their works. The most obvious is, of course, that they each use the gauche as a protagonist. A few of Viane's stories mention the histori- cal gaueh -—and he is caveble of treating him just as romanti- cally as did Acevedo Diaz--but meet of his gauchos were of a -. ‘ ' O 1 3 ‘n - ‘ ‘ "“1 _0 j _o ‘_ m“c; later period than those of ACEVCQO uiez. lheir oescri — tive scenes are cruelly es stirrinr A 1 OJ 0 St 9 Character drawing, for the most part, is wene well b, ' I' 1" ' “ 1 ‘-'¢"‘ " ~ : s ‘V . -!l - : ’. :‘V .“ f‘! "‘\ 1(PS o i'Lt tili‘it tJOint, 11C)” UV".I', tfle 3.;1.Ll-L-r1.‘:).t.t.4 1..» COLLAU 0 Differences are found in their styles of writins. Acevedo ' J- 5 ~ vuor‘ V' r-- ‘ ‘A 3‘ _ "‘ "I F" J“ r‘ .1 ‘ '. ‘ ‘9 f‘ ’ ' "‘ Dlsz, aiwm s a JoLrlailst and irequently an histcrian, swung fPtF strgight fact reporting to the fictional up reach in his I: ‘ 1 -r 4. . ~.~~ - P ..' v-v-fi '. ‘n -- J. : a - ‘. ‘ f (\ tn the eu ention of bole a; ehlchfientlrely fiction end ‘ l. ‘i': O I, s 17'- "n L-J not semi—historical as the others. Lissmvle is suite formal and usually devcid of colloquialisms an. uialectical s eech. Yealism ger Viene mzant a thonetie seeilina of soeech sounds, and his was a less formal and net at all docum‘ntsfiy style. Vians - a casually mentions histrrieal dates an: events, but for the m“ ‘ nnrt ”rite“ of the res'u’ts r corseO‘ no e “hi ‘ ea c ~= ea ;-'\-L—L -I Jul») b .L .L D 1J— .J .a. -15 \/ Ldei eh) ;.l.L—Cn LI‘LCLJG eJ~4nUD 1.9 had on the ponulace. Concern over the psychological well—be- : .. .. ° 1 4- - . 4. ' ”.- ._.-. n 1- 3 ing of his Characters 13 aoearent in «lane's horns, and he is preoccuoied ti n the misarv, debauchery, brutalitr, “woral t,, crudcness and CODCTml de5eneration of the neonle about whom he his vases whereas they k_l wrote. Realism and net turalism dominate occupy little snace in Acevedo Diaz' novels. Elements of romanti— cism, on the other hand, ar, abundantly found in noeveco Diaz' works, while Viana rarelv se 3 an3 thin5 attractive enou5h in his observations to record in a rcna tic xritin5; gis towics are eve 7! day, cem’L'2'zon-ffac materia s "5:15.011 must u.3u:—:l'.tv oe futrsoni- fied to give them air kind 0; meaning. giugha was of c0“'se, the one exception in Viana's works, but even then he failed at n: a pee etic prose of the romantic genre and his e- ‘ ..t I>JO 06L 0 version to realism at the cl izm1sc of the no vol indicates his inability to *roduce a len5th7 ark of art outside of his pro- {3 I- J nor field of res li m. 11e was at his best when relating e- gene r7 tale of the cameo, or in buildins a climax to a s;7.ert story. The field chosen for the CKfiW‘SSV'n of tioir talents was a verv real cause of their difference in the treatment of the 5auc 1 H ‘7 ‘-. -‘ 1’ Q _I I.‘ 1 .F ' O - t ‘| .: .O —. 4" l . .f' \fi ' ‘.‘_ V aha was shiilei handlin5 tne brief, cenClse lrumeaork Cl the ’1 ' . - n - r - - ‘~ * r; P. - ,‘ 1 n \1 ‘1 F -. ‘ .w r~ snort stcrv, on the C‘Ler hand, nCGVeQO bias greierred the novel, 1 31 CO 0 where he had suILicient sugce anc time to work out over» no 3 i anwle which would be derived irem a theme. ln addition, Acevedo Diaz had not had the contact with the country peonle, theggaucho -7"??- 7. class, hich ‘iana hal exncrienced in his early youth, and F. J {D c'r C] ’ S ‘0 pr unablv, as a centrabfndista and h ctncato. Both of the authors had seen "tfficient action with revolutionary *roovs to allow them to write realisticallv of such topics. -. _;y, ,- '1 1"‘- ., , a _. '1 " ”'1 1 . ' ' hduarue aeeveao oiaz ”as oractically elilea frwm his ccuntry for many years after the rise of hatlie v Ord’fez to the Uruguayan residency. his olitical function thus tech 1im away from the land at the ti3e the conce tion of the 5aucho c. it is sinnificant that V L \_l u was under5ein5 a eLnsiderablc Chan J llC rid not firoduce any literary works durin" that time. Javier J. de Viana, however, cent in ued to record his observ:;ticns durin5 the as e oeried, and decended on the stories he Troduced for a livelihood during much of that time. The most important differ nee was one of ob actives. Viana was content to picture the gauche as he had evolvré’while Acevedo Dias Ti wh d to record the country's 1istorv, bv the way of a 5ic backward glance at the gaucho's period of 5reatness. The oaeosite treatment of their uror'~on .sts is not to be non- dered at then, when the authors' varied bacmgrounds, exner ie nee: and objectives are considered. Chapter VI - COECLUoIQN The lives of the two authors cons: dered here coin cided to such an extent that they Can be classified in the same time period. Eduardo Acevedo Diaz' literary productivity ceased almost entirely during the twentieth century, however, while Javier de Viana continued writing until his death in 192C 0 O "" The authors belonged to s miiar social classes, yet, for the most QCLPt, led quite different lives. From Viana's boyhood exieriences on an estancia and from his adult career as an d- hacendado, he was later 0 draw many eoisedes in his literaly accounts, t'r ich were based on his contact with the gauche class and were enhanced by his keen powers of observation. Al— though each author had taken eart in certain gaucne urrisings against the government, Acevedo Diaz contact .ith he gauche orete-tyce of his day was more limited than was Viana's. For ~ 1 ‘ ' ~ .. ‘ u 1 : ..m " many years, aceveee Dias adult career tooa him away from Uru— O -. guay, either as a political exile or in a eiplouatic cana ity. The authors really belen5ed to separate schools of literary thou5ht, as can be seen from the romantic and realistic passa5 es lis ed and discussed in this study. It is apnarent then, that in spite of using the same tyne of oretagoniSt, the objectives 1. a. H. at which the auth ers aimed were widely separated. Such diff- erent aims were due in part to their in ividual experiences and personal contact, but probably to a greater degree, they -79- were the results of the changing concept of the 5aucho. Undoubtedly Acevedo Dias was aware of th.e degenerate 5auoho type and perhaps he wished to exalt the historical 5auche's role in order to off—set the miser his condition surrounding the descendants of that earlier type. Certainly he was successful in portraying his preta5onist in a romantic vein. It remained for the realists to picture the miserable and de5enerate qualities of their contemporary gauche class, as did Ja ier de 'iana. Diet content with being a realist, Viana also tried his hand at romantic depictions of the 5auche but apparently discoverin5 his talents to be at their best in realistic--and occasionally in repulsi ive naturalistic descrip- of gauche 1H8 eis mof a former day. The barbarity, primitive nature, and cruelty of the 5auche that Viana pictured repre- sented the low status to which the type had arrived. Viana's L'fi_ alert observation had noted t1 1e che n5in5 conception of one ,auone in the n.inds of the people. hear the close of his ’2} literary career the 5aueho was a5ain upheld in a more farorable light, and the author chan5ed his style and tone sufficiently to remain a popular narrator of gauche stories. The difference in the authors' views of the gauche, then, was obviously due to Eduardo Acevedo Diaz' romantic, backward 5lance at the heroic period of his protagonist, while Viana 4‘ pictured the modern 5aucho, deprived of the inspiration an O 1 ‘ ‘ circumr3tances whicn had spurred his ancestral prototype to ‘2’; 1);:3 146M C. l"ruiel 111' v __ 5 " --' ilflt- I." VfOlO uLI Grito Ce loria ] r: r1 ’rr rvrr: 1 ¢_(.g-L¢Ja .‘ u.)\.-l)—Le Q Iorks by Javier EQLO gaucha novella La biblia,55§5ggg -.- a _0 12.31 C aegilne S g. cm. w Yuve s “v“.— Leia seca _ 'l torojos ‘5‘- }\ 71 Sonic el recado Del campo —-——.——‘m1- SLleM 1571 - --C.-i}.1.f3-.<'_‘=.§ (.2 lot_osL teros, r apegiases ‘ “HE‘S ‘-~- m 3;“608 dCl 10 on ~—~—-._- by Eduardo Acevedo Diaz Lontevideo Lontevideo Lento, video Lontevideo Lent cvideo 1 Ion L 7V1 dc Viana Lontevideo Lentevideo Lentevideo :‘t’n‘HA‘ J..\—d-u ; -Ol’l Lev Montevideo H a: (C F] m u ,.. I (0 FL U; J. .' I..J 1945 1947 6th edition 1 {O 5’0 Kn -81— . :1 - W'- L: P SeCOQCQPy uOHPCSS - 2‘ u ”0- "- J. \-—- o 117-: ' vv ‘3 “L -. r '. '1 “ “ 7‘ V 3 — h. Coaster, Llireo, alv”Pv.L.4:3§Q§ai£4_:;2313? .Ja_5545, “dcm¢i¢3n (Io. lie"! Yr:*{, W‘ . I a “'1 4 r‘ ‘ t .7)?" 4* n__ Algnel.__._ _gi .g. 1] .212: ‘12... .‘J‘ 4.: __U__._ Hon- Bo;