This dissertation offers a new approach to the 20th century Latin American prose writers Macedonio Fernández (Argentina, 1874-1952), Felisberto Hernández (Uruguay, 1902-1964), and Clarice Lispector (Brazil, 1920-1977). My approach is based on the study of affect, understood as an examination of the textual representation of mental and emotional states. An affect-oriented perspective reveals that these authors represent a unique reaction to the avant-garde cultural movements of early 20th century Latin America, one that is manifested in the image of the artist that they present in their work. The Latin American avant-gardes portrayed artists as privileged individuals privy to vivid, extreme sensations and perceptions, whereas, in the work of Fernández, Hernández, and Lispector, the artists feelings are unfocused and his or her perceptive powers are dulled. This creates an image of a decentered artist who is mired in ambivalencea vague, uneasy affective state that is expressed most notably in the inattentiveness with which the artist approaches the creative process. This phenomenona combination of both affective and attentional decenteringmarks a critical moment in the development of the figure of the artist in Latin American literature, moving away from the heroic artist portrayed by the avant-garde (inherited from romanticism and Spanish American modernismo) and anticipating the "death of the author" so prevalent in the Latin American "Boom."
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-02192014-103910 |
| Date | 28 February 2014 |
| Creators | Sutton, Camille Jordan |
| Contributors | Jennifer Fay, Earl Fitz, Cathy Jrade, Benigno Trigo |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-02192014-103910/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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