Description
FIN-DE-SIÈCLE POSES
Book Summary
In "Fin-de-siècle Poses," Sylvia Molloy offers a lucid and provocative analysis of the intersection between gender and nation in Latin American literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through emblematic encounters and key figures such as José Martí, Oscar Wilde, Rubén Darío, and Delmira Agustini, the author unravels how economies of desire shaped the cultural politics of modernism. An essential essay for understanding the strategies used to name the unspeakable, where ideology, medicine, literature, and politics intersect.
What is it about?
The work examines the new ways of "being in society" and "being in the nation" that emerged in Latin America at the turn of the century. Molloy begins with concrete situations, such as José Martí's meeting with Oscar Wilde in New York in 1882 or Teresa de la Parra's admiration for Colette, to explore how sexual and national identities were articulated in modernist literature. The book reveals the mechanisms used to classify what had hitherto been unspeakable, showing how ideology, medicine, and politics often intersected in bizarre ways in the cultural production of the era.
Main themes
- Intersection of gender and nation in Latin American modernist literature
- Cultural politics of modernism and economies of desire
- Strategies for classifying and naming the unspeakable at the turn of the century
- Canonical and marginal figures of Hispanic American modernism
- Intersection of ideology, medicine, literature, and politics in identity construction
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at scholars of Latin American literature, literary critics, graduate students in the humanities, and readers interested in gender studies and queer theory applied to literature. It is also of great value to those wishing to understand the complexities of Hispanic American modernism beyond traditional analyses.
What this book contributes
- A fresh look at Latin American modernism from the perspective of gender and queer theory
- Detailed analyses of encounters and relationships between key literary figures of the period
- Understanding of how desire and sexuality influenced the construction of national identities
- Unveiling of the discursive strategies employed to address the "unspeakable" at the time
- An interdisciplinary reading that connects literature, politics, medicine, and ideology
Technical specifications
- Author: Sylvia Molloy
- Publisher: Eterna Cadencia SL
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Literary essays, Literature: history and criticism
- Collection: Ex Libris
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: November 2012
- Number of pages: 352
- Weight: 336 g
Editorial review
This is a reference work in the field of Latin American literary studies, combining academic rigor with accessible and evocative prose. Molloy succeeds in building bridges between literary criticism, gender studies, and cultural history, offering an original and necessary reading for those seeking to understand the tensions and contradictions of modernism in Latin America. Her focus on both canonical and peripheral figures enriches the critical landscape and opens up new avenues of interpretation.