Mexican Picaresque Narratives: Periquillo and Kin

Compton, Timothy G. Mexican Picaresque Narratives: Periquillo and Kin. Lewisburg: Bucknell UP, 1997. 152 pp. ISBN: 0-8387-5348-5

Several key works have been written on the picaresque genre, including Claudio Guill�n's "Toward a Definition of the Picaresque," Stuart Miller's The Picaresque Novel, and Ulrich Wicks' "The Nature of Picaresque Narrative: A Modal Approach." Drawing on all three, Dr. Compton initiates his study by generating a list of 15 points or characteristics that "seem to be basic to and easily observed in picaresque narratives" (10). In chapters 2-9 he then very methodically but often insightfully analyzes eight Mexican prose pieces to determine the extent to which they exemplify each of the 15 traits ascribable to the ideal picaresque model. Chapter 1, in order to establish a context for the subsequent eight chapters, reviews a series of partially picaresque Mexican narratives, ranging from Cort�s's "Carta segunda" to a number of works appearing since 1938,

The first work studied in detail is Cabeza de Vaca's Naufragios. The analysis is rich in its overview of the work, and there is an extended examination of picaresque elements therein, all of which illuminate "the existence of a strong relationship between the picaresque and travel literature" (35). Dr. Compton correctly establishes Naufragios's rightful place as an important ancestor of El Periquillo Sarniento and other "heirs of the picaresque tradition in Mexico" (36).

Chapter 3 looks at Infortunios de Alonso Ramirez. Finding it to contain 11 of the 15 traits, Compton advances the insightful opinion that it can easily be considered as a precursor of the popular modern-day co-written autobiographies, such as Hasta no verte Jes�us m�o by Poniatowska. Alluding to its unique place in Mexican narrative, the author notes that Infortunios is "either a modern 'autobiography,' a strikingly 'novelistic' precursor of the Periquillo, or a novel that precedes it" (38). His analysis is also helpful in its focus on the numerous "sympathy-eliciting tactics" that dot the text, and on its rather Baroque employment of contrast or counterpoint.

Logically, El Periquillo Sarniento merits an honored place in any study of the Mexican picaresque. After reviewing Jefferson Rea Spell's vast contributions to the study of the work, Compton then assays it for picaresque content, finding absent only a dizzying rhythm and uncommon origins of the protagonist. As with each of the works studied, Compton then examines certain additional salient characteristics of the novel. In this case his interest falls on secondary characters, especially Dr. Purgante. The comments are solid but add little to the many studies already devoted to Purgante and El Periquillo.

Chapter 5 centers on Fern�ndez de Lizardi's Don Catr�n de la Fachenda, a novel almost always overshadowed by the Periquillo. Compton's analysis here is especially useful. As with each work examined, he provides a straightforward and detailed analysis of its picaresque elements, finding this "delightful" novel to contain essentially all of the predetermined traits. His conclusion is that of all the Mexican works under consideration, it "most closely resembles the ideal picaresque model" and that the protagonist is "one of the most memorable characters in Mexican literature" (127)-a good reminder for those of us who tend to overlook the novel.

The next chapter provides valuable insight on Jos� Rub�n Romero's ever-popular La vida in�til de Pita P�rez. After a detailed look at the work's picaresque characteristics, Compton, availing himself of Roland Barthes' theory and usage of networks and codes, centers on the protagonist and five codes "whose presence and interaction reveal the depth of Pito P�rez" (75). These include the narrator's perception of Pito, Pito's social conscience, Pito's sense of irony, his alienated condition, and his attitude of defiance. Selected passages or "lexias" illuminate the functioning of these codes and underscore the universal traits of Romero's characters and the predominance of Pito's alienation. As occurs throughout the study, each quotation from the novel is immediately followed by a translation in English, thus making the entire book accessible to the non-Spanish speaker.

In Chapter 7 Compton's study of Artemio de Valle-Arizpe's El Canillitas: novela de burlas y donaires (1941) examines both the work's general picaresque elements and the devices utilized in the text to produce the humor commonly associated with the picaresque tradition. The latter analysis, although straightforward, continues Compton's tendency to detailed development. In this case he looks at humor stemming from the plot itself; linguistic and situational irony; comparisons, names and nicknames; and diminutives and augmentatives. Compton's review of critical commentary on El Canillitas is terse and cogent. He correctly points out that it differs from the other texts studied in that it is "the first Mexican picaresque text not set in the period contemporary with its writer" (127), it being a representative of the colonialista literature popular some years previous to its publication.

The author begins Chapter 8 noting that Elena Poniatowska' s Hasta no verte Jes�s m�o (1969) shares several of "the major characteristics of Mexican fiction between 1967 and 1982" (99), including life in Mexico City, identity, and history. Following the same outline as in previous chapters, Compton carefully brings out the numerous picaresque elements in the novel and then explores a salient feature of the work-in this case, narrative pace. He suggests that the number of picaresque characteristics pervading the novel could indicate additional nostalgia, but he also points out that in this novel no reference is made to the subgenre in question, thus distancing it from many of the other works in his study. Availing himself of Gerard Genette's terminology, Compton carefully examines narrative pace in one of the 29 chapters of the novel. Although expecting summary and scene to dominate, he finds that analytical pause tends to govern the flow of the narrative, thus inducing the "seemingly leisurely narrative pace" (104) of the work as a whole. Compton's study is also helpful in pointing out that Hasta no verte Jes�s m�o "excels in its presentation of a rounded protagonist," Jesusa Palancares being the most human of the p�caros considered in this study (127).

The final novel considered in this short book is Gonzalo Martr�'s El Chanfalla (1979). After reviewing how the novel fits in with other novels of its time, Compton notes that the many picaresque traits exhibited therein seem to have been a coincidental result of the author's effort "to write a novel about Mexico City in the thirties" (113). It differs from the other picaresque novels under analysis in that the author seems more "vitally concerned with depicting an era" (128); it also varies in its structure, the first half of the book consisting of both the story line and intercalations of episodes from the picaro's early life. This chapter also affords valuable insight on the issues of identity and reality / appearance. Compton writes that at times the discrepancy between the high linguistic register of the narrator and the grim subject matter and colloquial nature of the dialogue may tend to alienate readers. His conclusion reflects clear understanding of the text: "On the surface El Chanfalla seems a simple book that shows the adventures of a resilient boy in a harsh city; however, further study reveals a novel that challenges its readers to deal with the complex social, political, and philosophical issues associated with the relationship between appearance and reality" (122).

In his study on Mexican picaresque narratives Dr. Compton has provided us with a methodical and detailed analysis of several important Mexican prose works. The repetitive structure of each chapter tends to be a little tedious and the identical wording of the second paragraph of Chapters 8 and 9 highlights the need for just a little more integration of all of the individual studies. However, the care and perceptivity with which he clarifies the picaresque characteristics of each novel and analyzes other salient elements of each work more than offset those problems. The book brings together an important body of specific information on the picaresque genre as well as on a number of Mexican narratives and thus constitutes a valuable contribution to both of those areas.

[Author Affiliation]

Roy L. Tanner, Truman State University