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The Sentiment Of Nature In The Prose Works Of Pedro Prado

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The Sentiment Of Nature In The Prose Works Of Pedro Prado

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Content This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 6 7 - 1 7 , 6 7 9 KELLY, John Rivard, 1939- THE SENTIMENT OF NATURE IN THE PROSE WORKS OF PEDRO PRADO. U n iversity of Southern C alifornia, Ph.D ., 1967 Language and L iteratu re, m odern University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan Copyright by JOHN RIVARD 196R KELLY THE SENTIMENT OF NATURE IN THE PROSE WORKS OF PEDRO PRADO by John Rivard Kelly A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Latin American Studies) September 1967 UNIVERSITY O F S O U T H E R N CALIFORNIA T H E G R A D U A T E S C H O O L U N IV E R S IT Y PA R K L O S A N G E L E S . C A L IF O R N IA 9 0 0 0 7 This dissertation, w ritten by mittee, and a p p r o v e d by all its m em bers, has been presen ted to and accepted by the G raduate School, in partial fulfillm ent of requirements fo r the degree of D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y under the\direction of liJS D issertation• C om Dean Date.. S e p t e m b e r .. 19.67 DISSERTATION COMMITTEE ^ i tl. * l < , trC.C.j/.- ■ - . \s: { r A * Z'l Chapter INTRODUCTION TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1 I. THE CHILEAN SOCIAL AND CULTURAL MILIEU DURING PRADO’S PROSE CAREER ............. 18 The Political and Economic Situation The Cultural Scene Los Diez II. PRADO’S LIFE AND PROSE VIS-A-VIS NATURE ... 40 The Family Situation Education and Early Interests Occupations Prado * s Temperament Direct Contacts with Nature Travels The Literary Man and His Work III. THE GENERAL PLACE AND ROLE OF NATURE IN PRADO’S PROSE......................... 59 Early Prose La casa abandonada La reina de Rapa-Nui Los diez Los paiaros errantes Ensavos Alsino Las copas Un iuez rural "Androvar" The Northern Desert Stories Final Prose Works Conclusion ii Chapter IV. NATURE, ITS ASPECTS AND ELEMENTS, AS SEEN IN PRADO’S WORKS ................... Page 112 Geographical Areas Types of landscape Vegetal Nature Animal Nature Mineral Nature Celestial Elements Time Atmospheric Elements Conclusion V. PRADO’S PERCEPTION OF NATURE ................ 192 Sight Sound Smell Taste and Touch The Combination of the Senses Conclusion VI. SENTIMENTS TRANSLATED BY PRADO’S DESCRIPTIONS OF NATURE........................ 221 Man-Nature Concept Nature and Limits God and Nature Man’s Sentiments Concerning Nature Cone lus ion VII. PRADO'S NATURE COMPARED WITH THAT OF AUGUSTO D’HALMAR AND MARIANO LATORRE .... 248 D’Halmar and His Nature Latorre and His Nature Conclusion CONCLUSIONS 285 BIBLIOGRAPHY 298 iii INTRODUCTION The title of this study makes it necessary to ex plain two aspects of Chilean literature: Pedro Prado and the sentiment of nature. I propose to explain the use of the latter in the prose of the former. Prado's work was first revealed to me in his modernistic novel La reina de Rapa-Nui. Then later I came to know his best known work, Alsino. With the memory of these works still fresh, I came upon Fernando Alegria* s suggestions and recommendations at a literary symposium. At that time Alegrla offered gradu ate students and professors engaged in research the follow ing advice: I would ask him to refrain from adding material to the overwhelming number of studies already in existence on modern!smo. I would make an exception if he were willing to engage in stylistic studies of such masters as Pedro Prado— I am referring only to prose.^ The Languages and Literatures of Spanish America and Brazil, proceedings from the symposium on,” Latin American Studies. XV (Austin: University of Texas, 1957), p. 36. 1 2 This suggestion, with its specific limitations, combined with my interest in Prado, channeled me into further in vestigations. A comprehensive study of Prado's entire literary production by two Chilean literary historians and critics was quite useful. In 1952 they wrote: Results extrano, en efecto que mientras casi todos los grandes poetas chilenos que aun viven— y no pocos de los fallecidos--han sido objeto de prolijas selecciones e interpretaciones exhaustivas, de Prado no hay sino una analogfa de los sonetos de sus ultimos anos y ningun libro consagrado especialmente a su glorifica- cion y exegesis.^ These comments seemed to substantiate the fact that there existed need for studies of Prado. The limiting of the study only to prose seemed justified by still another literary critic and personal friend of Prado, Ernesto Montenegro. He believed that Prado's novels, Alsino and Un iuez rural vould eventually prevail over the sum of his poetry and poems in prose. He believed that only these two novels would be necessary to maintain Prado's literary prestige and value. After reading Prado's works, both 2 Julio Arriagada and Hugo Goldsack, "Pedro Prado, un clasico de America," Atenea (Concepcion, Chile), CVI (June, 1952), 505-506. 3 E. Montenegro, "La sonrisa de Pedro Prado," Revista Iberoamericana (Mexico), XVIII (febrero-diciembre, 1952), 93-104. prose and poetry, and the critics' opinions, it appeared evident to me that the most valuable study would be one which concerned itself with Prado's prose creations. For this purpose it seemed that greater scope would be gained if his early prose poems and short stories were included. It became necessary to insert a book of essays with this group of writings because of the great attention to nature and nature oriented aesthetics found in the book. These essays complement in a direct way the sentiment of nature encountered in his other works. Consequently fifteen prose works will provide the basis for this stylistic study. One of the principal unifying features of these works is their use of nature. Nature as an aesthetic, as a didactic, and as an artistic device pervades Prado's works. Armando Donoso said that for Prado, "la naturaleza es todo, pero la naturaleza sentida con la mas alta reli- 4 giosidad." Torres-Rioseco, in a study of Alsino, ex plained how the American writer by heritage and by milieu must be a landscape artist: No por herencia espanola sin embargo, y de aqu£ se explica que en un continente de prodigiosa exuberancia ^Armando Donoso, "Pedro Prado," Nosotros (Buenos Aires), XXII (abril, 1916), 31. 4 de naturaleza viva, haya escrltores clegos ante el palsaje. Por siglos enteros el paisaje ha estado ausente de la literatura espanola, y en los autores o perlodos en cjue ha abundado habrfa que^ver que parte es observacion dlrecta y cual adaptacion de modas lite- rarlas de Espana y de America estrlba en el paisaje- Siendo abundantIslmo en la literatura amerlcana, ha engendrado una especie de pante£smo m£stlco, esa sen- sacion de misterio que se desprende del hombre en con- templacion de una naturaleza demasiado imponente. Referring directly back to Prado, Torres-Rioseco states: Este paisaje ha deslumbrado la visiSn de nuestro nove lists y forma parte integrante de su estetica. Con su paisaje y su llrismo ha hecho sus versos, sus parabo las, sus novelas. Su pante£smo m£stico y su intuicion son las bases mas solidas de su arte maravilloso. Hay momentos en que Prado observa anal£tica y fr£amente su paisaje y entonces sus descripciones son de una exactitud y de una verdad edificantes. All these references to the sentiment of nature and its role and quality in Prado’s work, make it necessary to seek the definitions of the expression "sentiment of nature." The representation of landscape in literature as well as painting, throughout civilization, has been man's method of expressing the relation of the human spirit and psyche to nature and the exterior world. Because such a representation must be preceded by a spiritual or ■*A. Torres-Rioseco, "Pedro Prado," Grandes novelis tas de America latina. II (Berkeley: University of Cali fornia Press, 1943), pp. 187-189. 5 intellectual experience, it has been something more than a mere medium for the exhibition of man's ability in £ artistic creation and composition. A Spanish philosopher, in close relation to Fard- well's thought, believed that la naturaleza es a la vez fuente de inspiracion y fuente de expresion. De inspiracion, porque ella, por si sola, es venero y manantial de belleza. De expre sion, porque el paralelismo del mundo sensible y el suprasensible, ya real, ya subjetivo nuestro, permite alumbrar conceptos que de otra manera serian inexpre- sables. El que conozca una muchedumbre de fenomenos sensibles tiene un vestuario para sacar a luz muchos procesos del alma que, o no los habria descubierto consclentemente, o no los habr£a aclarado, o no los habr£a sabido expresar.7 One of the finest exponents of the sentiment of nature, strangely enough when one considers Torres-Rioseco's comments, is Miguel de Unamuno. This great Spanish poet, novelist, and philosopher contributed his own ideas con cerning man's feeling for nature. He believed that man enjoys nature as a relief to his daily duties and burdens. £ F. V. Fardwell, Landscape in the Novels of Marcel Proust (Washington: Catholic University Press, 1948), p. 1. 7J. M. Sanchez de Muniain, Estetica del paisaie natural (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cien- tlficasT, 1945), p. 65. 6 He confesses, "en cuanto dispongo de unos d£as de vaca- ciones ... me echo al campo, a restregar mi vista en g frescor de verdura y en aire libre mi pecho.” Unamuno definitely believed that one must learn to understand and love nature. "No esta al alcance de cualquiera su mas £ntimo y recogido lenguaje, ni se llega a penetrar en sus , 9 misterios de amor sin algun trabajo." He maintains that the feeling for nature is one of the most refined products of civilization and culture and, like Albert Dauzat, he points out that although the peasant loves the country he loves it by instinct, almost animally, and he loves it above all for its utilitarian value.^ Unamuno elaborated on the function of the sea and the mountain and in specific reference to the latter, wrote, "la montana es amada y bien querida por todos los que queremos vivir grande, generosa y humanamente. Nunca he cre£do ni creere jamas que a los Q Miguel de Unamuno, "El sentimiento de la natura leza, " Por tierras de Espana v Portugal. 1911. Obras completas. I (Barcelona: A. Aguado, S.A., 1958), p. 589. ^Loc. cit. ^ Loc. cit. See Albert Dauzat*s work, Le sentiment de la nature et son expression artistioue (Paris: Alcan, 1914), p. 3. 7 IX ignorantes y egofstas les guste la altura." Unamuno thought that certain people could not appreciate nature unless it was heightened by art or literature. A true love of nature does not attract superficial spirits. This is why, he believed, that so many Latin Americans have sung and visited the glories of Europe without mentioning their own. "Esa naturaleza no ha tenido aun, corao la vieja naturaleza europea, cantores que la prestigien; no es aun suficiente escenario de historia; no esta todavfa bastante 12 impregnada de humanidad. " Unamuno, however, was mistaken regarding these Latin Americans and their feeling for nature. Nature has been one of the dominant themes in Latin American letters since Columbus* very first letters to the Catholic kings down through the twentieth century to the new existential novel. This is evident even to the casual reader of Latin American belles lettres. Literary critics here in America have also realized this and have consequently devoted studies to its role and influence in American letters. These same critics have been helpful in establishing what ^Unamuno, on. cit.. p. 594. 12Ibid.. p. 592. 8 is the feeling for nature and how it is manifested in Latin America. Luis Alberto Sanchez made some very cogent remarks on the landscape in literature. His ideas complement Torres-Rioseco's already cited opinions. Sanchez main tained that it is impossible to study American literature without going into its landscape, without examining the action of the telluric on its interpreter, without establish ing certain coordinates (predominance of the sea, plains, jungle, valley, . . .) which serve to differen tiate --without destroying or extirpating the accent on a common family relationship--the typical characters of each literature, as for example in French literature there is a Proversale tone, a Breton tone, and a Parisian tone. In sum, next to the historical and social evalu ation it becomes indispensable ... to consider the landscape or nature, in its triple aesthetic function: (a) as a backdrop in which certain facts occur; (b) as an actor who determines certain happenings, and 13 (c) as a happening in itself. Angeles Caballero tried to establish some defini tions and ramifications on the sentiment of nature. He first believed it necessary to explain the duality of 1 O L. A. Sanchez, "El paisaje en la literatura americana, elemento desconocido aunque dominante," Revista Iberoamericana. II (noviembre, 1940), 399. 9 nature and landscape. He maintained that nature was an expression of tangible reality and that landscape was the pictorial manifestation of nature. Landscape became a 14 source of inspiration or pictorial captivation. He believes man's preoccupation with nature is old: ... afloro con el hombre; se agostara con su ultima expresion vital. En todas las fronteras geograficas y entranas literarias perennizase [sic] diversificado el sentimiento por ella: simple estado anlmico (paisaje sicologico), contemplaclon sensorial (paisaje natu ral). ^ According to this same critic, there are, as a result, two main ways to use nature. One is the descrip tion of nature's elements. The other is the landscape as 16 an expression of the soul. He adds his definition of sentiment of nature, "... es la emocion patetica despertada por ... el conocimiento del paisaje."^ In the same vein he continues, "angustia, soledad, son terminos de un mismo transito; se consustancian en la tematica sicologla del paisaje, reflejanse en todos los elementos que lo inte- ^C. Angeles Caballero, El paisaie en Mariategui. Vallejo v Cieza de Leon (lea: Instituto de Literatura, 1962), p. 6. ~^Ibid.. p. 9. ^ Ibid.. p. 10. ^ Ibid.. p. 26. ^ Ibid. , p. 27. 10 Another Peruvian, Nunez, elaborated on the study of the sentiment of nature by declaring that any literary expression is more or less linked to the landscape in nature that its creator lives or lived. The amount of em phasis on nature depends upon the epoch in which the work is produced. There are times when the artist is withdrawn and tries to omit the surrounding nature; there exist ages in which the artist is nourished and affirms himself in the surrounding landscape* In the last instance, nature is an end, while in the first it is only a means, a pretext or a springboard. In what measure the artist draws near to his surrounding natural world or withdraws from it, is a problem which is suitable for criticism to investigate. Such a study had not yet been made within Peruvian litera- 19 ture at the time that Nunez was writing. These ideas are interesting in application to Chilean literature. One Chilean critic, rather than placing nature on a cyclical scale as Nunez has done, believes the literature of his country to be the ancient battle of ocean and mountain. He writes that 1 9 . E. Nunez, "El sentimiento de la naturaleza en la modema poesfa del Peru," Revista Iberoamericana, VIII (November, 1943), 153. 11 the creole theme In short story, novel, poem and the theatre, represents this invariable persistence of the mountain. The imagists, principally invoking their dreams in the solitude and cold of Chile, represent the old ocean force, which loves distance, escape and the dream. The mountain and the ocean force, the Apolli- narian and the Dionysian, Paramenides and Heraclitus, what is permanent and what is fugitive, the earth dimension and the infinite, enters into one of the richest and HQSt original literatures of Latin America in our time.20 This bi-polar arrangement of Chilean literature should be kept in mind for it is one of the few Latin American countries where the sea exerts such an important influence on its men and such a clear contrast between sea and mountain exists. The ocean's influence on literature 21 has been the subject of several studies in Chile. The literary critics, however, have often viewed the whole of nature through their writers. Graciela Illaner Adaro wrote two monographic studies on the role of nature in Chilean literature. In one, she traces the sentiment of nature from the first writers of the sixteenth century to the 20 Alberto Baeza Flores, "Chilean Contemporary Literature," Chilean Gazette. XVIII (September, 1946), 11. 21 Neftall Agrella, "La influencia del mar en la poesla de Salvador Reyes," Atenea. LXXIII-LXXIV (March- April, 1931), 448-455; Manuel Montecinos, El mar en la literatura chilena (Santiago: Editorial del Pacffico, 1958). Prado figures significantly in both of these studies. 12 22 first three decades of this century; in another, she studies nature through several of Chile's outstanding authors and the regions in which they focused their atten- 23 tions. Pedro Prado forms an important part of her literary consideration in these monographs. Mariano Latorre has also written of nature's role in Chilean literature. He traces the sentiment histori cally with great attention to the nineteenth century. He contrasts the realist-naturalist tendencies with the roman tic views of nature and its influence on man. Latorre's preference is for the realist view of nature in litera- 24 ture. The foregoing literary critics and their studies of nature have been instrumental in varying degrees in helping me to understand Prado's sentiment of nature. They have defined terms which are at times ambiguous or contradictory; 22 * * Evolucion del sentlmiento estetico del paisaie en la literatura chilena (Santiago: Universidad de Chile, 1940). 23 la naturaleza de Chile en su asoecto tfpico v regional a traves de sus escritores (Santiago: Imprenta — Univers itaria, 1941). 24 / "El sentido de la naturaleza en la poesia chilena," Atenea. LXIX (November, 1930), 599-624; LXX (December, 1930), 328-349. 13 they have Indicated a method; they have praised the value of this type of stylistic study; and they have all either lamented the lack of this type of analysis or the need for more of them. In addition to the above critics, I am also indebted to the authors of numerous stylistic studies 25 devoted in part or wholly to the sentiment of nature. The analysis of Prado’s prose and sentiment of nature will be presented in seven chapters. The first chapter situates Prado within his social, cultural and literary milieu. The classic dictum that "no man is an 2 5 The most informative studies on the different aspects and role of nature in Latin American literature have been: Antonio Alta, C. Ibargurren, and P. Vignale, El paisaie v el alma argentine (Buenos Aires: Edit. Comision Argentina de Cooperacion Intelectual, 1938); Fernando Alegr£a, "El paisaje y sus problemas," Atenea. XXXV (July, 1936), 64-76; Raul Castagnino, El analisis literario (Buenos Aires: Editorial Nova, 1953); Julio IXiran Cerda, "Paisaje y poes£a del sur," Atenea. LXXXI (July, 1945), 27-41; Clarence Finlayson, "Paisaje en Pablo Neruda," Atenea. LIV (October, 1938), 47-60; Mariano Latorre, "El sentido de la naturaleza en la poes£a chilena," Atenea, LXIX-LXX (November-December, 1930), 599-624, 328-349; Manuel Maples Arce, El paisaie en la literatura mexicana (Mexico: Porrua, 1944); Alfonso Reyes, "El paisaje en la poes£a mexicana del siglo XX," Obras completes, I (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura, n.d.), pp. 193-245; I. A. Schulman, s£m- bolo y color en la obra de Jose Marti (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1960); and Jules Supervielle, "Le sentiment de la nature dans la poesie hispanoamericaine," Bulletin de la Bibliotheque Americaine, October 15, 1910; May 15, 1911; January, n.d., 1912. 14 Island" Indicates the repercussions that specifically non- literary events have on the sensitive and creative segments of a society. Some of these people react by withdrawing Into themselves, becoming Introspective and philosophical; others react In an overt, outward display of either open defiance or close cooperation with the political or eco nomic situation. This latter group gives rise to a litera ture or art of critical observation with usually strong social values attached. Consequently the events surround ing Prado will be discussed and his reaction or lack of one shall be seen wherever possible or wherever related to his works. It is hoped thereby that the reader is oriented to Prado's relationship to the non-artistic world. Chapter II has a two-fold purpose: one is to pro vide the reader with specifically biographical information; the other indicates Prado's first direct contacts with nature. Prado's personal family life, his education, his moral and artistic influences are presented. His travels and observations of nature in the formative years are also given due attention. A generally chronological order is followed here. Establishing the extent and general role of nature to Prado's themes or artistic purposes is the subject of 15 Chapter III. The fifteen prose works will be presented in chronological order according to publication dates, rather than written dates. The structure and themes are discussed and related to nature. An analysis of the minor or exten sive role nature has is undertaken. This role will also be examined from the standpoint of its being decorative, an acting force, or as a literary device in poetic imagery and symbol. In Chapter IV the specific components of Prado's described nature will be presented. This chapter is a cataloguing and sampling of the vast range of Prado's literary interest in his surroundings, whether directly observed or imagined. There are the main categories of landscapes, flora, fauna, minerals, time and weather. Almost each of these headings is subdivided into specific headings such as mountain and seascapes, flowers and plants, etc. This chapter documents Prado's personal preferences in nature as seen through his entire prose out put. These preferences are a distinguishing factor in his work for every author studied would have his own personal predilections. Prado's favorite times to observe nature and under what weather conditions are also examined here. 16 It Is common knowledge that the modernists loved nature in Its most evanescent and colorful aspects. Consequently the viewing of black swans gliding on a pine encircled pond in the waning light of a chill fall sunset would be patently modernist. It is important, therefore, through detailed classification of Prado's personal choices, in nature, times, and usual weather, to understand to what extent he rejects or accepts modernism. Chapter V is, in effect, an extension of the methods employed in Chapter IV. Prado's sensorial percep tion of nature, the extent of the individual senses and any of their various combinations will be undertaken since they are as much a link or break with modernism, as the other nature preferences. A synthesis of the principal sentiments translated by Prado's use of nature is found in the sixth chapter. First, nature and man's relation to it is portrayed, as Prado views it, then the religious and philosophical senti ments associated with nature are discussed. Prado's phi losophical essays and one of his prose works are analyzed as examples of the scope and quality of his meditations. The last chapter in some respects foreshadows the 17 conclusions. It displays Augusto d'Halmar's and Mariano Latorre*s use of nature so that Prado's can be better appreciated for Its qualities. It demonstrates how per sonal the use and extent of nature In prose Is In different writers. It also serves to link and compare Prado to his contemporaries In Chile In a systematic way. The methods of analysis used In Chapter III, nature related to theme and plot, are made use of In this section. In Chapters III to VII Prado's works will be used as the basis of any facts found or conclusions drawn. On occasion, where it is suitable, the ideas of distinguished critics of either Prado or Chilean literature will be in corporated for necessary information, but the basis for the analysis of these chapters still rests principally with the works themselves. CHAPTER I THE CHILEAN SOCIAL AND CULTURAL MILIEU DURING PRADO'S PROSE CAREER The artist's view of nature is not completely spon taneous or independent. It is necessarily influenced by the cultural heritage. The social and artistic milieu from 1886 to 1930 in which Pedro Prado (1886-1952) grew to maturity and wrote his prose work covers four complex and intriguing decades of a world contorted by changes of scientific, cultural, and historic significance. The long, thin land that is Chile experienced its share of turmoil and confusion which was bringing all nations into the atomic age. Everywhere the sensitive creative element was reacting in some way to the changes that were demolishing old and cherished traditions and concepts. Some of the major events of both the world and of Chile should be shown in order to relate Prado to his milieu and to see to what extent the non-artistic occurrences affected him. First, 18 19 the political sphere, particularly in Chile, and then the economic conditions of the times, which are so integrally related to politics and the level of culture, must be con sidered. The principal trendsetters in art and literature will be mentioned with attention to Chilean manifestations of either foreign or local origin. By necessity an inclu sion of a brief discussion of the important artistic association known as "the Ten" must be presented as a part of the Chilean scene of these years. Prado*s literary career will be integrated with the socio-political events surrounding him so that he will not appear as an isolated manifestation. The Political and Economic Situation The internal governmental maneuvers of Chile were no more orderly or stable than those of its western Euro pean counterparts. The external as well as the internal relations of Europe and South America were very similar and indicative of worse things to come. Chile in the years from 1891 to 1920 had six very weak presidents subject to an unwieldy disparate congress. The very weakness of these presidents is exemplified in the case of Pedro Montt, 20 a vigourous man, hampered by parliamentary groups. This president (1906-1910) was unable to enact any of his pro gram and was even forced to bow to Congress' demands for a soft money policy in complete opposition to his veto, 1 desires, and personal prestige. During this time almost one hundred major cabinet reshufflings were effected. In addition, the party system grew more confused and more tangled in a quagmire of coalitions and power shifts. France, Spain, Germany and Italy experienced this same 3 factional disintegration and political agitation. The year 1884 brought an end to one of South America's most complicated and bitter international con flicts, the War of the Pacific. The war was waged by Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. It began in 1879 when Bolivia, contrary to a prior agreement, imposed an export tariff on nitrates being mined in its Atacama territory by Chile. *Lu£s Galdames, A History of Chile (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1941), p. 367. t y Francisco Fr£as Valenzuela, Manual de historia de Chile (Santiago: Nascimento, 1950), pp. 445-448; Hubert Herring, A History of Latin America (New York: Knopf, 1957), p. 556. "*W. P. Hall and W. S. Davis, Europe Since Waterloo (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1557), passim. 21 Hostilities broke out and soon Peru took up Bolivia's cause. Chile won the war and the greater part of the Atacama desert. Bolivia lost its coastline and resented its dependent position. Peru surrendered its Tarapaca province and suffered the humiliation of a two year Chilean occupation of Lima. The victory caused jubilation, chau vinism, and "progress" in Chile. Now it had become a victorious South American power much like its jealously watched neighbor across the Andes, Argentina. The final boundary solutions, however, were to linger on into the 'twenties and 'thirties, plaguing all three nations.^” The border between Argentina and Chile was also a long smouldering issue. Much to the praise of responsible, intelligent diplomats on both sides of the Andes, an agree ment was reached in 1902. In 1904 Chile reached an accord with Bolivia, allowing the latter to use its port, Arica, and agreeing to build a railroad from there to the alta- planicie.^ The 'twenties saw a rash of reformers and strong men come to political power: Hitler in Germany, Mussolini 4 Herring, op. cit.. pp. 553-554. 5Ibid.. p. 558. 22 In Italy, Vargas In Brazil, and in Chile Arturo Alessandri Palma. Chile, after the years of weak parliamentarianism and generally ineffective, corrupt government, was ready £ for a return to a strong leader. Following much dispute in Congress, yet really only due to an electoral fluke, did Alessandri become president in 1920.^ This leader was not the messiah of the Chilean masses as was originally hoped, and reactionary forces unseated him in mid-1924, whereupon he took prompt refuge in Mussolini*s Italy. Another political coup had Carlos Ibanez and, the unlikely named Marmaduque Grove, two militarists, bring back Ales sandri as the only alternative to continued military inter vention. The Chilean oligarchs preferred Alessandri as the lesser of two evils. The transatlantic traveler returned in March of 1925 only to depart for fascist Italy six months later when General Ibanez resumed dictatorial powers and ruled from October 1925 to 1931.® The economic conditions in Chile during these ®The degree of venality present in Chilean govern ment is described by both Galdames, op. cit.. p. 368, and Frfas, op. cit.. p. 445. ^Fr£as, op. cit.. pp. 474-475. o Herring, op. cit.. p. 561. 23 years, like most things in Latin America, were either very good or very bad with scarcely an intermediate state. From before the turn of the century to a little after World War I, the Chilean economy prospered from American and European needs for her principal exports of nitrates and copper. Royalties from nitrates alone provided more than 9 half the national budget. As new mineral deposits were discovered in the northern deserts, new fortunes were made and political influence shifted accordingly. These shifts aroused bitter antagonisms between the nouveau riche ele ment and the old land-holding class of Chile’s central valley. The other side of this rich looking coin, however, presented a radically different aspect. "Behind the fa9ade of national prosperity, the common man of Chile lived in misery, with little share in the bounty which was enriching the aristocracy and creating new fortunes from mines and farms. Inquilinos and rotos. the Chilean lower classes, were preyed upon, exploited, and given to serious 9Ibid.. p. 558. Loc. cit. 24 alcoholism. Furthermore, the luxuries of the golden age were reserved for two or three out of every hundred people; the reasonable comforts of modem society were shared by a few more; but more than nine-tenths of the people were packed into huts or tenements, wore rags, ate scant and poor food, and had no security against disaster. More than half the people could neither read nor write.^ The above situation was unfortunately typical in 1914, when World War I brought even greater demand for Chile's nitrates and copper. The rich became richer and the poor sank into misery. President Juan Sanfuentes "believed with his comrades that social change was not 13 only bad for business, but an insult to Almighty God." The rich's holiday, however, was not to continue: the opening of the Panama Canal soon destroyed both the lucra tive bunkering business and coal mining; the discovery of synthetic nitrates devastated Chile's natural nitrate monopoly; and a drop in copper prices due to the end of the war in Europe caused 1919 exports to plummet to less Descriptions of the rotos and inquilinos appear in Prado's very early work, "La reina maga" (1906) and in Alsino (1920), Un iuez rural (1924), and in the northern desert stories (1925). 12Herring, op. cit.. p. 558. 13Ibid.. p. 559. 25 than 40 per cent of what they were in 1918.^ Prado politically and socially belongs to the Chilean aristocracy. This class has been defined as una aristocracia mixta, burguesa por su formacion, debida al triunfo del dinero, por su esplritu de mercantilismo y empresa, sensata, parsimoniosa, de habitos regulares y ordenados, pero por cuyas venas corr£a tambien la sangre de algunas de las viejas families feudales. It should not be surprising from the above definition that Prado was largely indifferent to politics.^ There is no indication in Prado*s biography or works of ever having been affiliated with a political group or activity in any of these politically turbulent years. It is safe to assume that, largely due to the hectic conditions, Prado sought to avoid political and economic realities by refuge in his literary and family life. J. Fred Rippy, Latin America (Ann Arbor: Univer sity of Michigan Press, 1958), p. 458. See Fr£as, op. cit.. pp. 467-468, for further statistics. ^Alberto Edwards Vives, La fronda aristocratica (Santiago: Ercilla, 1936), p. 12. Prado*s father was a practicing physician. His mother was related to the illus trious and aristocratic Mackenna family according to R. Silva Castro, Pedro Prado: vida v obra (New York: His panic Institute, 1959), p. 6. There are only two written exceptions to this. One is discussed on the last page of this chapter and the other in Chapter III, p. 74. 26 The increasing class struggle and Prado's incipient interest in it are manifested in his earlier prose works "La reina maga" (1906) and "Luz lunar" (1907), but it does not reappear until his last three major works, Alsino (1920), Un iuez rural (1924), and "El pueblo rauerto" (1925). It is especially in Un iuez rural that the evi dence of poverty is directly discussed. In a conversation between two of the characters, Prado's own feelings regard ing the Chilean poor are made unmistakeably clear. Sola- guren, who largely symbolizes Prado, asks: £Por que la vista de la miseria me subleva como un insulto que se me hace? es como si me gritaran: iladron! £tiene esto sentido? Tu £que experimentas? --yo soy pobre. --pobre ^dices? --Bien lo sabes. --Pero tu pobreza es relativa; para esas mujeres eres un Creso. ;Hablo de la miseria ... . ' The economic and social conditions of the masses are only occasionally exposed in Un iuez rural. Alsino. and the northern desert stories. The conditions remain in the background and never come to the fore, as they might in literature of social protest. Prado, though apolitical, 17 Un iuez rural (Santiago: Nascimento, 1924), pp. 86-87. See Chapter IV for further references to the men who form part of the Chilean landscape. 27 could not help but be disturbed by the plight of the lowest classes. The result of this sympathy was reflected in only a few of his prose works. Normally he sought to find con solation, security, and escape in art, nature, and phi losophy, succinctly expressed, in culture. The Cultural Scene The literary scene of Prado's time can be somewhat likened to a triangle. At each angle are found clusters of authors representing to varying degrees various trends in literature. Without giving precedence to any one movement we can mention as the angles, modernism, criollismo. and pos t-modernism. One angle, modernism, has its origin with Dar£o's 18 influential residence in Chile. The first two decades of this century correspond to the apex of prestige and the subsequent decline of what Latin American literary his torians call modernism. The landmarks of this movement in Spanish language literature usually are identified with 18 The reader is referred to John Fein's Modernising in Chilean Literature: the Second Period (Duke: University Press, 1965). It covers the portion of modernism most closely related to Prado's career. 28 the publication in 1888 of Dario's Azul. and the death of 19 this poet in 1916. This movement was hardly monolithic and even Dario's attentions and emphasis were shifting by 1905, when he published Cantos de vida v esperanza. Here there is a definite turn from the concept of "l'art pour 1'art" toward a penetration into the realities of the American world, with no loss of the cerebral and formal 20 nuance so characteristic of the movement. Within this angle of Chilean modernism d'Halmar stands out as the most cosmopolitan and representative figure of the last successes of the movement with respect to prose. In regard to nature, d'Halmar se universalizo, a tal punto que rauchas de sus obras ocurren en diferentes partes de la Tierra. ... Los escritores que odiaban lo que se dio en llamar criollismo, lo tomaron como maestro, fundando una escuela o tendencia que llamaron imaginismo. ... 1 Pedro Prado seemed to be attached to this angle in the middle of his literary career rather than at the begin ning. His first book, Flores de cardo actually brought 19 , Luis Monguio, Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda (New York: Grove Press, 1961), p. 10. 20Ibid.. p. 11. 21 Manuel Rojas, Manual de literatura chilena (Mexico: Manuales Universitarios, 1964), p. 74. about the aesthetic conclusion of the modernist movement in Chile when it was first published there in 1908. The book showed "a deliberate avoidance of elegance and refine ment in favor of the most severe simplicity. Coraing when it did, the book marked both a renovation and the real end of Dario's influence in Chile."^ Criollismo. representing the second angle, is the South American manifestation of the realism and naturalism so popular in Prance and Spain in the last decades of the nineteenth century. From around the turn of the century the European masters Zola, Flaubert, loti, Dostoievski, Tolstoy, and Baroja exerted a strong influence on the younger generations in Chile. A deep interest in cosmo politan and exotic themes, in the countryside and in the suburb of the large city, was awakened in the young writers 2 3 of the time. T w o of the most prominent writers of this trend in Chile are Mariano Latorre and Luis Durand, both contempo raries of Prado. They sought their inspiration and forms 22 Fein, op. cit.. p. 35. 23 Arturo Torres-Rioseco, Breve historia de la lite- ratura chilena (Mexico: Manuales Studium, 1956), p. 78. 30 in the Chilean soil. At times their work approached the style of the sociological case study in wealth of detail and local color. Latorre is a particularly controversial figure in Chilean letters. His work shows his deep love for Chile based on its natural beauty. Believing, as he did, that the landscape was absent from its literature, Latorre set out to remedy the situation.^ Writers like Prado and Manuel Rojas have elements of criollismo without actually being classified within this trend. Regarding Prado, one critic put it rather suc cinctly that au moment ou le modemisme triomphait, il y avait deja des auteurs que s'efforsaient pour traduire l,&ne et la nature nationales avec un art sincere et nuance. ... Pedro Prado a ete, parmi eux, le premier a affirmer une veritable personalite.^5 The third and most recent angle of this triangle is post-modernism. This is a composite of various trends 24 Rojas, op. cit.. p. 73. It is interesting to note here, however, that Latorrefs belief was somewhat equivocal, or at any rate short-sighted, since his first book, Cuentos del Maule. was published in 1912, the same year Prado published La casa abandonada which also makes use of the Chilean nature and landscape, as will be seen in detail in Chapter III. 25 , Francisco Contreras, Lfesprit de l'Ameriaue Espaenole (Paris: Nouvelle Revue Critique, 1931), p. 224. which includes the European influence, particularly of the vanguard variety, the mundonovistno of the later modem- 26 ists, and the flourishing of a group of poetesses. Post modernism, as a consequence of its many facets, is the most difficult to define* Also, although its origins are in the early post war years of World War I, it is still very much in evidence today. From the blatant sur realism of Vicente Huidobro to the tender lullabies of Gabriela Mistral, there is a wide range of artistic achievement. Prado can even be included in post-modernism because of his innovations of free verse in Chile, which were to be the departure point for many and substantial 27 transformations in national lyricism. These innovations were to make of Prado, "la verdadera puerta de entrada de la gran poes£a chilena actual. No alcanza, es cierto, la altura de Neruda, Huidobro, o la Mistral, pero es un 26 Octavio Corvalan, El postmodemismo (New York: Las Americas Co., 1962), passim. The reader is referred to this book for a thorough and interesting account of the many facets of this extensive literary and social movement. 27 Julio Arriagada and Hugo Goldsack, "Pedro Prado, un clasico de America," Atenea. CVI (March, 1952), 306. 32 « . 28 digno companero de nombres tan excelsos." In this same line of thought, Arriagada and Goldsack have noted: Es frecuente advertir estrechas concordanclas entre sus versos y prosas poematicas y los de Gabriela Mistral, Vicente Huidobro y el Neruda de los prlmeros estallidos romanticos. Por afinidad espiritual, la Mistral siguio subordinando, cada vez con mayor ahinco, la poesfa a un objetivo evangelizador. De all£ que ella y Prado hayan sido los mejores creadores de para bolas de nuestra literatura. Eft cambio, Vicente Huidobro y Pablo Neruda, luego de asimilar los nuevos elementos que cada libro de Prado incorporaba al exangtie haber de la poes£a chilena ... atendieron a otras y lejanas voces ... y se consagraron a la tarea de provocar el acto creador, con exclusion de toda pretension filosofica o morallzante. Esta resolucion les salvo de terminar convertidos en involuntarios discipulos de Prado. 9 Prado seems to be an authentic transition figure from the traditional to the vanguard. His entire work runs the gamut from his first reaction against rubendarianismo to the margins of surrealism. In Chile he has been called, "uno de los mas audaces pioneros de nuestra renovacion literaria y uno de los escritores de mayor significacion estetica y filosofica en las letras continentales. 28 Hugo Montes and Julio Orlandi, Historia de la literatura chilena (Santiago: Editorial del Pacifico, 1955), p. 163. 29 Julio Arriagada and Hugo Goldsack, "Pedro Prado Atenea. CVI (April, 1952), 97. 30 Arriagada and Goldsack, "Pedro Prado ..." (March, 1952), p. 506. 33 His considerable Influence and role In Chile In the years from 1916 to 1920 can be seen even more In the artistic group known as "Los dlez." Los Dlez Artistic societies were not Innovations In Prado*s time* The impressionable youth of Chile had been avidly reading Duhamel, Jules Romains, Charles Vildrac, and Gustave Kahn, who formed "la abad£a de Cretail" in France around 1908. Herrera y Reisslg had formed a similarly oriented group in Montevideo called "la torre de los panoramas" and even in Chile a Tolstoyan colony had been convoked as early as 1904 by d'Halmar, Santivan, and Ortiz 31 de Zarate. It remained for Prado in his own day to create literary history, or at any rate, controversy with his personal group, Los Diez. Their very first meeting took place in the National Library of Santiago on a Septem- 3 2 ber evening of 1916. The exact membership of the group is almost as O 1 Raul Silva Castro, Panorama literario de Chile (Santiago: Editorial Universitario, 1961), p. 550. 3 2 Mario Ferrero, Premios nacionales de literatura (Santiago: Zig-Zag, 1962), p. 171. 34 controversial as their gatherings. According to some literary historians, "'Los Diez* eran solamente nueve, al reves de los 'Tres Mosqueteros' que eran cuatro* Cada uno de ellos llego a jugar un rol de importancia en la evolu- * 33 cion artlstica y literaria de Chile. ..." Another respected critic, however, lists an original twelve and implies an even greater membership by its demise in 1920. The original twelve reads like a Who's Who of Chilean cul ture: d'Halmar; Eduardo Barrios; Ernesto A. Guzman, poet; Alfonso Leng, musician; Alberto Garcia Guerrero, musician; Acario Cotapos, musician and composer; Armando Donoso, literary critic and journalist; Alberto Ried, short story writer, poet, and sculptor; Julio Bertrand Vidal, architect and painter; Juan Francisco Gonzalez, painter; Manuel Magallanes Moure, poet, short story writer, and painter; and of course Pedro Prado. Sometime in 1916 Antonio Castro Leal had been sent to Chile by Mexico to work in its legation and Prado and some others of Los Diez discovered something "decimal" Arriagada and Goldsack, "Pedro Prado ..." (April, 1952), p. 85. 34 Silva Castro, Panorama literario .... p. 548. 35 in him. It was then: ... en un fantasmal ceremonia de iniciacion, que se efectuo por cierto de noche, en la profundidad de la bodega coronada por la torre, Castro fue incorporado al grupo. Prado me contaba que fue tal la risa que el rito le produjo a Castro, tendido en una mesa y sujeto a toda suerte de pases como masonicos, con preguntas calculadas para producir hilaridad, que por instantes se temio verle morir. Ante los resultados, no se intento otra vez iniciar de esta suerte a nadie, y "Los Diez" siguieron distinguiendose mas por un solo visible P3X& los del c£rculo que por cualquier signo exterior.^5 This initiation ceremony tells us as much as any of its members ever did about the inner workings of the Of group. They deliberately kept their actions and member ship obscure, but Prado did state that, "Los Diez no forman ni una secta, ni una institucion, ni una sociedad. Carecen de disposiciones establecidas y no pretenden otra cosa que 37 cultivar el arte con una libertad natural." The most concrete evidence of the group’s existence was the series of publications issued under its direct "^Silva Castro, Pedro Prado, p. 26. 36 The reader wishing to know more of this group is referred to the article by Armando Donoso in the Buenos Aires review, Nosotros. XXII (April, 1916), 45-47. The author was a member of Los Diez. 37 Silva Castro, Pa ama literario .... p. 545. This was originally cited in the now unavailable "Somera Iniciacion al *Jelse,1" Los Diez. I (1916), 11. 36 auspices. Let us take note, however, that the group's members rarely had their own works appear in the Los Diez Review or its publishing house, On the contrary, new and upcoming writers were first known in the pages sponsored by Prado and his group. For example the first issue of the review appeared in September 1916. It explained the re view's aspirations and methods. Next in October appeared the issue containing Rafael Maluenda's novel, Venidos a menos. Then followed La hechizada by Fernando Santivan; p£as de campo by Federico Gana; and finally the Pequena antolog£a de poetas chilenos contemporaneos. Actually only four issues of the review were published with a total page o o count of three hundred and sixty-two. This anthology was to cause a veritable literary cyclone in 1917 Chile when Oner Bneth (ESnilio Vaisse), life-long friend and con fidant of Prado and his father, gave the book a very un favorable review in the pages of Santiago's El Mercurio. Guzman arrogantly defended his selections and attacked Emeth on personal grounds. Injury was added to insult when Prado related in an issue of Los Diez. how Bneth, meeting 38 Silva Castro, Panorama literario ♦... p. 547. 37 him on the street, had had an unpleasant exchange of words with him and as a consequence both had stalked off, not to speak to each other again until many years and bad reviews later. Emeth, it seems, accused Prado of personally 39 financing the Los Diez enterprise. He also maintained that Prado was using the publication to elevate his own work.^ It should be noted though that Amanda Labarca, Carlos Mondaca, Augusto d'Halmar, Juan Egana, Eduardo Barrios, Manuel Rojas, Gabriela Mistral, and others less famous were all contributors at one time or another to the 41 short-lived review. According to the literary historians Arriagada and Goldsack, Los Diez achieved little as a group. In litera ture they did not go beyond the margins of symbolism, as is evident when the ever volatile Ernesto Guzman attacked Vicente Huidobro*s avant-garde Adan. In painting, their best, Juan F. Gonzales, never went past impressionism. Generally their painting is neo-romantic and it often 39 Loc. cit. ^Silva Castro, Pedro Prado. pp. 34-35. ^Arriagada and Goldsack, "Pedro Prado ..." (April, 1952), p. 94. 38 / 9 degenerated into poor taste. It was in music, however, that the group was definitely more in the vanguard with 43 composers like Leng and Cotapos. Granted the lack of spectacular success, the group's importance still was significant to Chilean letters. "Estaba llamado a jugar un papel trascendental en los destinos de la literatura chilena. Sin el, diffcilmente podrla explicar la milagrosa ec los ion lfrica de 1920."^*’ It was in the 'twenties that Prado: ... a quien se senalara en sus comienzos como discipulo de Augusto d'Halmar, era ya un escritor brillante, tanto, que hasta aparecla como cabeza visible de toda una generacion y concitaba a su alrededor el interes y el embrujo de la juventud.^^ 42 This can be easily substantiated by looking at the illustrations that Prado drew for his own books. f O Arriagada and Goldsack, "Pedro Prado ..." (April, 1952), pp. 89-90. This seems to contrast with an earlier statement of theirs concerning Los Diez as a group, "si no grande, de extraordinaria calidad intrinsica ..." (p. 85). See also Fein's estimation of the literary move ments in existence. 44 Ibid.. p. 85. To refresh the reader's memory the "milagrosa eclosion l£rica de 1920" refers to the appear ance of such authors as Barrios, Mistral, Prado, Donoso, and Neruda who either commence their careers in this year or attain their apex as in Prado's case. i c Ferrero, op. cit.. p. 170. 39 Hie final contribution of Los Diez was manifested in a publication in 1924. As pointed out earlier in this chapter, this was a year of grave political crisis which radically altered the constitutional foundations of the republic. Some projected bases for a new constitution for the country were proposed in a short pamphlet published by Los Diez. but, "en realidad es proyecto personal de Prado, quien lo redacto de comienzo a fin por su sola cuenta, y el nombre de fLos Diez' debe en este caso ser considerado simplemente como seudonimo. 46 Silva Castro, Pedro Prado, p. 38. CHAPTER II PRADO'S LIFE AND PROSE VIS-A-VIS NATURE The development of a person's sensibilities toward nature is a complicated problem because it represents many factors within the person and without. It has been said that the feeling for nature exists more or less in man according to his hereditary predisposition. There are certain peoples more sensitive than others to the beauties of the external world,^ and they are better prepared, generally, to appreciate the familiar landscape, be it plain, coast, or mountain, to which their heritage has be come identified or associated. This same feeling is usually acquired by age, travels, development of the mind and of the artistic sense. It does not exist in the child For further substantiation of this statement, the reader is referred to Torres-Rioseco's observations in Grandes novelistas de la America hispanica. II (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1943), pp. 187-189. 40 41 or in the peasant, both of whom envisage nature as utili tarian. This feeling for nature especially appears as a reaction against urban life and denotes a certain level of civilization. It supposes, according to temperament, either senses very attuned to aesthetic enjoyment (espe cially through sight and sound) or a profound sympathy for life in all its forms (without excepting from it the life of the earth, atmosphere, and waters), or a vivid faculty of emotion which associates the exterior world to our 2 hopes, joys, sorrows, and memories. All of these internal and external elements contribute, in varying degrees, to the ultimate result--the role of nature in the person*s artistic creations. In this chapter will be presented a study of the indirect aspects of Prado's methods of knowing nature: his family situation; his education and early interests; and his temperament as seen by some of his contemporaries. The more direct ways of experiencing nature, such as travel or close contacts with it, will also be included. The final portion of this chapter will be devoted to Prado, 2 Albert Dauzat, Le sentiment de la nature (Paris: Alcan, 1914), p. 3. 42 3 the literary man and his work. The Family Situation Prado's family background must, by necessity, be considered as one of the contributing factors to the growth of his artistic sensibilities. In his own words, "al lado de un hospital, vecino a un cementerio, viv£ mi ninez y juventud, solo con mi padre. Ten£a dos anos apenas cuando mi madre murio. podr£a en verdad recordarla? * 4 como podrla en verdad olvidarla?" The image of his absent mother was to haunt him even in his literary creations where he evoked her in a prose poem entitled "Mi Madre": Yo no te conoc£, pero en mis primeras fantas£as te forje, por eso despiertas en mi corazon un sentimiento paternal. Si tu me formastes [sic] con tu came y tu sangre, yo te he formado con mis pensamientos. 5 Prado still more poignantly described himself at the age of forty-eight as: 3 Hie reader desiring further information on other aspects of Prado's general literary production is referred to Raul Silva Castro's "Pedro Prado: Vida y obra," Revista Hispanica Modema. XXVI (enero-abril, 1960), 1-80. 4 * * Pedro Prado, Vieios poemas ineditos (Santiago: Escuela Nacional de Artes Graficas, 1949), p. 18. ~ * Las cop as (Buenos Aires: Ed. Glusberg, 1921), p. 102. 43 ... aquel a quien no modelara caricia de mujer en tierna infancia, un boceto inconcluso, un alma rara slempre como sumlda en la distancia. Callado, solltarlo y pensativo, gestando estoy la madre que yo anoro; su remoto recuerdo apenas vivo, cuando empleza a surglr me turbo y lloro.6 His father was an old fashioned doctor, relatively well-to-do, and domineering. He made his son sleep In the same room with him. Not only did they share the same room, but they shared conversation too: "Ml lecho estaba al lado del de mi padre. En la oscuridad, antes de dormir, por largo rato, mi padre gustaba de hablar conmigo, y yo gus- taba de hablar con el."^ During the night "hablando penetraba en el sueno; y durmiendo hablaba, aun andaba. A veces volvla en ml, lejos, lleno de pavor. Pero mi padre acudla y me trala al lecho, mientras yo permanecla largo O tiempo desplerto, turbado de no comprender." The night was to be a continuous source of preoccupation, if not ^"Yo soy aquel," Camino de las horas (Santiago: Nascimento, 1934), p. 27. ^Julio Arriagada and Hugo Goldsack, "Pedro Prado, un clasico de America," Atenea. CVI (mayo, 1952), 305. This was originally in Fray Apenta’s Repiques (Santiago, 1916). O Prado, Vielos poemas ineditos. p. 23. 44 actual consternation to both Prado's personality and writing. Once he wrote that in the dark early dawn, when his father used to leave for their farm, he would awake and watch him disappear into the darkness on his white horse. "Sentla un grat£simo reconocimiento por el resguardo que me hab£a prestado durante el peligroso reinado de la noche 9 vencida." Prado's childhood loneliness was also expressed in his writing: "Yo vivl solo, ni hermanos ni ninos de mi edad. Mas, ^Que importa cuando se tiene el poder de trans- formar la apariencia de las cosas?"^ It was this lone liness, perhaps acting like a catalyst, which brought out the perception, sensitivity, and creativity that he pos sessed. Prado at age twenty lost his beloved father. Referring to the shock, he said, "como un desatentado fui al norte y me robaron; y fui al sur, sin rumbo, atravese varias veces las cordilleras australes hasta volver por fin, del Neuquen, como si despertara de una pesadilla, 9Ibid., p. 24. ^ Ibid.. pp. 26-27. The reader should retain this feeling expressed by Prado about the night since it will be evident also in his literary treatment of night which will be seen in a later chapter. 45 convertido en un simple arriero."^ During this same year he married, perhaps to com pensate for the loss of his father or perhaps because he simply needed someone, but whatever the motivation it was 12 to be a long, faithful, and fruitful marriage. One has only to look at the dedication of Alsino for proof of his devotion: Adriana: te consagro Alsino: antes no tuve nada digno de ti. Lo dedico, tambien, a nuestro hijo Pedro y a sus siete hermanos menores; y perdona si aun lo ofrezco a esta vieja casa de adobes, a los arboles silenciosos que la circundan y a la torre que se eleva sobre las bodegas abandonadas. His children were to participate as early as Los paiaros errantes (1915) as characters in some of the prose pieces. Most importantly, they were to provide the initial inspira tion for Alsino.^ "^Prado, Vie i os poemas inedit os. p. 33. 12 Mario Ferrero, Premios nacionales de literatura (Santiago: Zig-Zag, 1962), p. 163. 13 ~ Both Torres-Rioseco in Cien anos de la novela chilena (Concepcion: Ediciones Revista Atenea, 1961), p. 223, and Arriagada and Goldsack in their already men tioned article in Atenea. p. 323, have explained the origin of Alsino in the story Prado made up for his children in order to quiet them and to satisfy their curiosity about a hunchback they had just seen. He told them that the hump concealed wings beneath it and from this simple beginning grew one of Latin America's finest novels. Education and Early Interests 46 The importance of Prado’s parents, wife, and chil dren cannot be denied as either a source of influence and inspiration, but his formal education and early interests must be included here as well* He studied humanities at the Instituto Nacional in Santiago and architecture at the Escuela de Ingenierla.^ The completion of these latter studies was interrupted by his early marriage.^ Prado, however, did practice intermittently as an architect.^ Julia Garcia Games, who knew Prado well, maintains that his architectural studies have without a doubt influ enced the structure of his art. Prado se liberta del accesario inutil, de las frases hechas, detras de las cuales no hay ni una vision, ni una intuicion de la realidad. Arroja mucha luz en el terrible monton de tinieblas que hay en cada alma, el trabajo es diflcil, pero la solucion es tambien mas alta, el complejo de la vida se fortalece y recibe 14 Silva Castro, ’ ’Pedro Prado,” p. 77. ^Julia Garcia Games, Como los he visto vo (San tiago: Nascimento, 1930), p. 124. ^Silva Castro, "Pedro Prado," p. 77. This critic also explains that one did not have to have received one’s degree in architecture in order to practice it as a pro fession. He also comments that one of Prado’s more notable constructions is the present American Ehibassy in Santiago. 47 nuevos impulses por la asociacion estrecha del hombre con el mundo.l' As architecture was to influence the structure of his art, so painting was to contribute its share to his sense of color and form. "Foseia facilidades para el dibujo. ... Fue tambien de la juventud el proyecto de 18 hacerse pintor." In another article, Silva Castro states that "cuando el poeta quiere indicar a sus lectores, junto a los episodios propios de la novela, lo que le parece la tierra de Chile como pintor paisajista, emplea un estilo 19 alado, gracil, extraordinariamente sutil. ..." Occupations In close relation to these formal studies and in terests are his principal occupations. Since Prado never really had to work to support himself or his family, he occupied positions which were more in the line of avoca tions. He held several official appointments such as ^Garcia Games, op. cit.. p. 124. ^■®Silva Castro, "Pedro Prado," pp. 2-3. ■^Raul Silva Castro, "Alegor£a y slmbolo en Alsino." La Nacion (Buenos Aires), April 13, 1958, Sec tion II, p. 1, columns 1-8. 48 director of Santiago's Museum of Fine Arts from October 1921 to August 1925 and as representative of the Chilean 20 cultural mission in Bolivia in 1925. While still practicing his profession as architect, Prado was a judge for his district of Santiago. One liter ary historian notes that in Prado's Un iuez rural, "hay algo de experiencia biografica, por cuanto su protagonista, Solaguren, ademas de arquitecto, es pintor ...; pero es en su grave oficio de juez, que tiene ocasion de penetrar en ✓ 21 la vida de los seres humildes y rusticos. ..." Somewhat outside the years of Prado's important prose work falls another of Prado's position--minister plenipotentiary to Colombia--which he held from 1927 to 1928.^ Ihis high function showed the Chilean government's expression of its gratitude for his artistic endeavors, a practice common 20 Silva Castro, "Pedro Prado," pp. 6-7. 21 Alberto Zum Felde. Indice cr£tico de la litera- * III ■ HI— M I I J ■!■■■ . I ■ ■ . tura hispanoamericana: la narrativa (Mexico: Editorial Guarania, 1958), pp. 336-337. He must have been a judge prior to 1914 because his principal character in La reina de Rapa-Nui was also a rural judge. 22 Sergio Huneeus, "Pedro Prado en la diplomacia," Atenea. CCCXLV (marzo, 1954), 255. 23 among Latin American nations. 49 Prado's Temperament Another aspect of Prado's life which must be con sidered in order to understand his artistic sensibilities is his temperament. This is an area of so many facets that it seems to demonstrate that we seem one thing or another to individual people and very likely we are all of those same things to ourselves. Prado was known by many of the leading contributors to Chilean culture of the first four decades of this century. A few opinions of these person alities should throw light on Prado's temperament. One of the first to discuss him was MFray Apenta" (Alejandro Baeza): Su charla es rara, unica. ... De mis amigos, ninguno jamas me ha hablado as£. Suenan sus palabras en mis oldos como una musica extrana. Y me da una envidia, una pena, un asco de ml mismo, una rabia. ... Un muchachote de treinta anos que no habla mas que de su padre, de sus hijos y de su mujer y ... de ninguna mas. ^ 23 Loc. cit. Chile has distinguished itself by appointing truly fine artists such as Gabriela Mistral, Augusto d'Halmar, Pablo Neruda, and of course Pedro Prado. ^Arriagada and Goldsack, "Pedro Prado ..." (mayo, 1952), p. 305. 50 Ernesto Montenegro describes him somewhat differ ent ly: Sus amigos habfan aprendido a no interrumpirle, porque siempre tenia algo interesante que decir, aun cuando no fuesen sino variaciones sobre el tema etemo del hombre en busca de s£ mismo. Sabfan de sobre tambien que a Prado cualquiera interrumpcion que no fuese de asentimiento le hubiese sonado a desproposito o a simple impertinencia. A sabiendas de sus Intimas limitaciones, debio pensar, sin embargo, que puesto que en definitiva jamas sabremos nada ia que venla eso de acumular otros tartamudeos de ignorancia encima de lo que el habla expresado ya inmejorablemente bien?25 He continues his verbal portrait of Prado by poising him in relation to Augusto d'Halmar: A causa de esta conciencia innata de su propio valer, la mortifico a menudo a Pedro Prado la presencia de d'Halmar. 0 si alcanzo a admirarle y aun a imitarle en sus primeros ensayos en prosa, pronto llego a la conviccion de que el, Prado, calaba mas hondo que el otro, por mas que este le aventajara en algunos dones flsicos. ° The criollista author Luis Durand judged Prado's way of talking as slightly chaotic because he let himself be carried along by a certain verbal facility, which often diverged into other topics, making him move away from the point of his story. He did discourse with great charm, 25 Ernesto Montenegro, "La sonrisa de Pedro Prado," Revista Ibgroamericana. XVIII (febrero-diciembre, 1952), 96. 26Ibid.. p. 97. 51 with subtle Irony and with a wealth of ideas, concepts, and images which reflected his vocation as poet, but 27 passion never quite entered his conversation. ' In close agreement to this last mentioned element is the author Guillermo Labarca's opinion of Prado as a person: ... es un hombre de verdadero talento literario, pero como no ha sufrldo, como la vida le ha tratado amable- mente, sus obras le salen sin esa conmocion, sin esa herida profunda que hizo grande a un Dostoievski, a un Gorki. ... Prado es un escritor sin drama, sin la angustia viva de la realidad dura, cuya hue11a no se extingue jamas en la sensibilidad del hombre. Direct Contacts with Nature It is appropriate now, after considering the above exterior or indirect ways by which Prado*s view of nature would be formed, to consider his more direct impressions or contacts with nature. Prado was a proprietor of several farms in the Santiago environs. His actual residence was in a large, colonial type house whose gardens, which faced the street, were in a state of complete abandon: grass 27 Luis Durand, Gente de mi tiemno (Santiago: Nascimento, 1953), p. 78. 28Ibid.. pp. 77-78. 52 overgrew the paths; the trees were not trimmed; and such was the silence, the calm, and the serenity which was exhaled there that it was difficult to believe that anyone 2 9 inhabited the place. Prado also tended beehives, kept on birds, and planted trees and flowers. These elements would figure as themes or aspects of his prose work, as will be seen shortly. Travels Travel is one of the primary, the easiest, and the most enjoyable ways of appreciating nature in its various manifestations, and Prado early took advantage of it as a source of inspiration. Already in 1912 he wrote, "yo que conozco mi patria como el hortelano los rincones de su heredad, he buscado en ella algun slmbolo hermoso* ... "^ Besides his own country he travelled in July of 1910 at the 32 age of twenty-four to Buenos Aires. In 1912 he was sent 29 Arriagada and Goldsack, "Pedro Prado ..." (mayo, 1952), p. 305. 3 0 Armando Donoso, "Pedro Prado," Nosotros (Buenos Aires), XXII (abril, 1916), 24. 31 Pedro Prado, "Las pataguas," La casa abandonada (Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1912), p. 45. ■^Silva Castro, "Pedro Prado," p. 5. 53 as a delegate to a student congress In Lima and, In later 33 years, he was sent by his country to Bolivia and Colombia. It was not until September 1935 that he went to Europe for purposes of health and rest. 35 Europe never greatly interested Prado. He ad mired its art and the results of its artists and thinkers, but his journey there is well beyond the point of his last prose creation and therefore it could never bear any in fluence on his work. This is a most significant fact to keep in mind when in later chapters the kinds of nature portrayed are studied. Prado stands out among the men of his generation, of "Los Diez," by this lack of interest in the Old World. His works display a phobia-like avoidance of even its mention. Even though the days of realism a la Galdos, naturalism a la Zola, symbolism a la Verlaine and Dario were gone, vanguard artists such as Huidobro still sought solace and companionship in France and Spain of these decades. 33 , Raul Silva Castro, Panorama literario de Chile (Santiago: Editorial Universitario, 1961), p. 77. ^Silva Castro, "Pedro Prado," p. 12. 35 Montenegro, op. cit., p. 104. 54 Walking, as a pasttime and a direct contact with nature, was a close complement to Prado1s travels. He and his painter friends Magallanes Moure, Juan Francisco Gonzalez, and Julio Ort£z de Zarate used to wander through the countryside of the Santiago environs. They would often stop to appreciate the changes of color in the landscape, to paint interesting scenes, and to meditate upon life and 36 man. Frequently these were all day excursions. These walks would later figure importantly in the descriptive development of Prado1s most autobiographical novel, Un iuez rural. The Literary Man and His Work Before Pradofs own works are considered, it may be profitable to see what literary men and forms may be perti nent to his artist1s sensibility. He read and learned from Bergson, Goethe, Descartes, and Plato, but he imitated none of them. He was aware that the supreme duty of the artist is to observe, to meditate, and then to string all of his dreams and experiences on the golden thread of his own 36 Silva Castro, Panorama literario .... p. 546. 55 37 ego. ' Prado1s recourse to the Biblical parable in his writings was discussed by one literary historian: La parabolgj.,. de suave y cadencioso lirismo, lleva siempre envuelta una conseja que significa una posi- ci6n ante el mundo, una manera de sentir y de aprehen- der la realidad f£sica y moral que lo conmueve. Esta condicion tan suya y el uso raismo de la parabola y el vers£culo, lo situan en la orbita de la influencia bfblica y de los antiguos patriarcas, con toda la carga cosmico-religiose que ella arrastra como conte- nido trascendente.^” Prado*s own literary career can be divided into 39 three stages. The first one begins in 1905 with his work 40 on the student publication La Universidad. In November of the same year appeared his short story "Cuadro de Estio o el Invalido" under the pseudonym of Alvaro J. de Credo.^ In 1908 he published his controversial book of poems Flores de cardo. Next in 1912 appeared La casa abandonada. El llamado del mundo. a book of poems, was published in 1913. 37 Torres-Rioseco, Grandes novelistas .... II, 197. 38 Ferrero, op. cit., p. 167. ^ Loc. cit. 40 Silva Castro, Panorama literario .... p. 77. 41 Silva Castro, "Pedro Prado," pp. 3-4. This information does not entirely agree with the preceding citation wherein he states Ffcado did not become a prose writer until 1906 in the pages of Zig-Zag. 56 The year 1914 saw the appearance of his first novel, La reina de Rapa-Nui. Los Diez. a book which was later to lend its title to the group and review, was published in 1915. The last three books of this first stage were Los palaros errantes (1915) and Ensayos sobre la arquitectura y la poesfa (1916) and Las copas (1921). This first period then is one of his initial lyrical poetry, his prose poems, and parables. The second period really begins in 1920 with the publication of Alsino. followed in 1921 by his literary hoax which he co-authored with Antonio Castro Leal, Karez I Roshan. This second phase comes to its conclu sion with Un iuez rural (1924) and Androvar (1925), his only attempt at theatre. The third and last stage of his literary career is beyond our focal point, but it is for Prado a return to pure metrical poetry, especially the sonnet form in four volumes of very unequal and very dis- , 42 puted merit. Prado received the premio nacional de literatura For the reader's information these four volumes are Camino de las horas (1934), Otono en las dunas (1940), Esta bella ciudad envenenada (1945), and No mas crue una rosa (1946). 57 in 1949. This prize is given not to one work, but to a / O successful career in writing. The award is the most significant and valuable in Chilean letters. It is accorded annually to a writer and for him it means the maximum award, a national recognition of the quality of his literary production and a monetary award of a sizeable AA amount. Gabriela Mistral, Mariano Latorre, Eduardo Barrios, and Augusto d'Halmar are also recorded among its 45 recipients. Three years after the highest public recognition of his life's work, Pedro Prado died in Vina del Mar on January 31, 1952 at the age of sixty-six. It seemed that he had set forth his own epithet in 1915 when he wrote: 43 Ferrero, op. cit.. p. 180. 44 « Alfredo Lefebvre, " Pedro Prado en la poesia chilena," Cuademos Hispanoamericanos. XVI (julio-agosto, 1950), 122. 45 J. Roa Bleck, Literatura chilena (Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1958), p. 80. This critic explains that the monetary value of the prize, originally only 100 escudos, is today 5000 escudos. It is awarded by a jury consisting of the Rector of the University of Chile of a representative of the ministry of Public Education, and two members of the Society of Chilean Writers, and a representative of the Academy of the language. The first prize was awarded to d'Halmar in November of 1942. 58 "Mar solitario, agitado y misterioso, nada aguardo de ti y cada dia hacia ti me dirijo."^ ^"La esperanza, " Los pai aros err antes (Santiago: Nascimento, 1961), p. 70. CHAPTER III THE GENERAL PLACE AND ROLE OF NATURE IN PRADO'S PROSE The place and role of nature exist in a diffused and varied state in Prado's entire prose production. To demonstrate this his works will be presented in the chrono logical order of publication dates. In the books which are subdivided into very short prose pieces only those repre sentative of the book in general, or those outstanding for their literary merit, will be selected so that the reader can appreciate Prado's esthetic sense without a super abundance of detail. The importance of the sentiment of nature can only be seen in its relation to the plot and other sentiments expressed in the works, therefore a presentation of these must by necessity be made. This chapter, however, does not pretend to study the important essential uses of nature in detail. This remains for Chapter VI where a synthesis 59 60 of the types of nature depicted is found. Early Prose Prado made his short story debut with "La reina maga" in 1906, followed by another, "Luz lunar," in the following year. The first concerns a Christmas theme deal ing with Santiago's rich and poor. Lucia, a child of the monied class, has just heard the story of the three kings and wants her shoes to be placed at the window so they will be filled. Later that Christmas Eve night, an old street sweeper discovers the bright patent leather shoes and takes them to an abandoned little girl that she has adopted from the slums. The grief of the rich child on the following morning is quickly compensated with a new doll left in place of the shoes by the magi, and the joy of having bright shiny patent leather shoes is almost un dreamed of by the slum child. "Y fue asi como una vieja barrendera, en una noche de Navidad, hizo de Reina Maga para con una personita rica, y como al calzar los pies des- nudos de una huerfana dejo prendido en su alma blanca un ensueno de paz!"^ ^"La reina maga," Zig-Zag (Santiago), XCVX (Decem ber 23, 1906), unnumbered pages. 61 Nature In this early piece is somewhat circum scribed. It does set the scene for the action of the story, since the first paragraph sets the mood: "La luna, mientras parece cruzar indolente cendales de brumas que inunda de vislumbre nacarada, bana todo un costado de la calle con la melancolica claridad de su luz acariciadora de ensuenos." Later he uses nature to emphasize the poverty of the slum dwellers, as can be seen in this fragment: "Los traperos con el alba abandonaron sus casuchas parchadas de sacos, esteras y latas comidas de orln. En el basural del Mapocho, mientras los chiquillos azuzan los perros contra los borricos, las mujeres escarban afanosamente la podre- dumbre de los desperdicios de la ciudad." Nature does not have primary importance here, but it does serve to heighten and authenticate the story. "Luz lunar" briefly is a tragic sketch of "Catapun," the town alcoholic and how he arrived at his low condition. Prado recreates the atmosphere of the small town and he heightens "Catapun*s" solitude by the use of a speeding train traveling into "el misterio de la noche." No action 2 "L u z lunar," Zig-Zag. CXXI (June 16, 1907), un numbered pages. 62 takes place, only description. Nothing is resolved in the life of "Catapun." Nature is used principally as a decorative element or, in one instance, as an image, when Prado compares the sparks given off from the train's wheels to red fireflies, lunar light, as the title indicates, pervades the entire story. Without actually being mentioned, the sea and pine forests are suggested through smell or sound. ^C^sa^bandc^da Hie next prose work to appear is composed of twenty- five short pieces. Prado gave them the label of parables and small essays, but prose poems seems a more appropriate classification. The entire work, excepting only one piece, "El poder de la sangre," has some element of nature. Criticism has been sparse on this rarely mentioned work of Prado. One critic has called it "one of the most beautiful books by Prado; without a doubt it is the best of his youthful production, a name that perhaps fits, since when it was published the author was only twenty-six years 3 old." Another has written that it is Raul Silva Castro, Pedro Prado, vida v obra (New York: Hispanic Institute, 1960), p. 15. 63 d'une inspiration en meme temps transcendentale et ingenue, profonde et simple. C'est une poesie degagee de prejuges rhetoriques ou ideologiques, pieine du charme des choses naturelies et ineffables, ecrite dans une langue quelque peu toupnentee, tordue, essayant de rendre 11inexprimable. ... There are three principal uses of nature in this book: one is to present nature in order for man to learn from it; the second is to illustrate a philosophical con cept that concerns Prado; and the third use is to show the beauty or value that nature has in and of itself. The first use is seen in "La casa abandonada" which has lent its name to the entire work. The word "abandoned" recurs frequently in Prado*s writings whether it be a house, gar den, building, cemetery, etc. The piece opens on a moonlit night in an abandoned house. The rats, spiders, and other small animals talk to each other as well as to inanimate objects. It must be noted that what is normally considered without life, a rock or thistledown, for example, is very much alive in Prado's sense of esthetics. When the mother rat cries out to the thistledown blowing across the floor, "Where are you going?" their response is they do not know A, / Francisco Contreras, "Pedro Prado ecrivain lyrique," L*esprit de l'Ameriaue Esoagnole (Paris: Nouvelle Revue Critique, 1931), p. 122. 64 except that they were created to show the effect of the wind when close to the earth. The rat thinks that this is a strange occupation in the grand scheme of things. The thistledown retorts, "hay muchos que solo viven para indi- car el paso de las cosas invisibles."” * Essentially this is the moral of the piece with the animal, plant, and at mospheric elements playing the primary role of instructing us, the human element, even though not a single mention of humanity is made. "Los caminos," "La confianza," "Los ultimos azahares," "El remanso," "El fuego," "El engano de la velocidad," "Los Pescadores," "El d£a de fiesta," "El bosque," "El espantajo," and "La niebla"all use nature in a similar way. In the case of "El bosque," "El fuego," and "Los ultimos azahares" nature is personified and talks to us directly. These, then, represent the classic parable as found in the Bible. The titles also, in most instances, indicate or imply the types of nature developed. The second use of nature is more interesting in relation to the body of Prado*s works. In this early work he formulates ideas and esthetic concepts that will • * La casa abandonada (Santiago: linprenta Uhiversi- taria, 1912), p. 13. continue in his whole career. Three pieces have essen tially the same message. "El espejo," "El poeta," and "La fisionom£a de las cosas" serve to illustrate the blend of man with nature. In "El poeta" nature is so closely linked to poetry that it seems to be a tactile, living, moving form of poetry. That man is clearly part of nature is evident: "Somos tierra y agua ... y tomaremos a la tierra y al agua" (p. 18). In "El espejo" the poet, always having mistrusted ordinary mirrors, has discovered his image against a window pane one night while observing his starlit garden. He muses that "aquella mi sombra, atravesada por franjas de arena, por rosales florecidos, por astros dis- tantes, hablaba con extraordinaria claridad, del origen de nuestro cuerpo y de las tendencias que llaman al esp£ritu humano" (pp. 33-34). In "La fisionomfa ..." this same blend of man and nature exists, but this time Prado ex plains his sentiments. Often while observing nature we are struck by similarities to people. For example in passing clouds, faces, animal forms, trees, etc. can be seen. Prado writes that "los ojos de los hombres tifien de hombre a las cosas que observan; los sentimientos de los hombres reducen al mundo a una cosa que parece al hombre" (p. 41). 66 That man has this anthropomorphic tendency cannot be denied. "Donde comienza a f lorecer la rosa," "La niebla,1 1 and "El viajero" complete this second use of nature. The first piece is still in the line of preceding pieces, but tdie main concern is with the limits of things. An old gardener has raised a wonderful rose garden, but no one has yet been able to get a single flower from him. He cannot cut a rose because he does not know at what point the rose becomes a rose. Is it in the earth, in the root, in the stem, or in the bud? He illustrates this point further when he reminds us that it is as impossible to separate the flame from the fire as it is the flower from the stem. In admonition the old man says, "^Cuando dejaras de entu- siasmarte con los hechos aislados? Si eres capaz de limi- tar alguno, anda y corta all£ donde comienza a florecer la rosa" (p. 72). The garden and the old man illustrate in a simple way a favorite philosophical point of the author. "Niebla espesa oculta las cosas" opens the prose selection "La niebla." Nature is used as a vivid image to illustrate another philosophical point by Prado. Fog is a symbol for our destiny in life and the poet writes: 67 "Pienso que al avanzar liegare donde la niebla espesa tanto, que no divisare mis pies." He walks on, first ten steps, then twenty, and then a hundred, the fog is still there, no better no worse. He tells us not to allow the fog to hinder our course, "porque la experiencia nos dice que ella se presents impenetrable solo a nuestro alrede- dor" (p. 27). "El viajero" has a great deal of importance since it broaches a theme which will recur again and again with Prado. A man who has traveled the world over in search of unknown places and things becomes incapacitated due to a serious sickness. Confined to his house and garden, he soon discovers whole new worlds, "principio por preocuparse de los arboles, de las distantes malezas" (p. 30), and this within the very confines of his garden. Nature has the power of satisfying men on either a grand scale (macro- nature) or a very minute way (micro-nature). Nature’s role here is one of bringing man consolation. The traveler con el petalo de una flor entre los dedos, observaba las venillas de la savia que descendlan la comba, como arroyos brillantes por la falda de una colina blanca. Imperceptible musgo cubrla el petalo, a seme- janza del musgo de la tierra, y un pulgon verde abre- vaba en uno de los arroyos, a la sombra de la colina. (p. 30) 68 The third main role of nature is found in four pieces: "Las pataguas," "El cazador," "El eco," and "La noche." All four are hyranlike evocations of an aspect or aspects of nature. In "El eco" men are "pose£dos del goce de la naturaleza y de la libertad" (p. 87). In "La noche" nature bifurcates. What begins as a song in praise of night becomes in the second part a hymn to the magnificent pine forests Prado must have known in Chile. Night is contrasted to the day. The night brings rest and occasions to meditate. Since the pines appear to keep shades of night hidden under their dark boughs, the poet singles them out. What fame or repute the book has in Chilean letters rests mainly on the prose selections "Las pataguas" and "El cazador" because of their first introduction of exclu sively Chilean natural phenomena. No one had praised the glories of the patagua tree nor had they specifically or purposely mentioned Chilean flora and fauna. Prado made them a suitable subject for literature. Others were soon to follow. In "Las pataguas" the author wishes to make a native Chilean tree a symbol to South Americans youth. He describes all the tree’s qualities which could have 69 some application for a human being (p. 45). The poem was actually read to a student congress on one of his first trips out of Chile.^ One Argentine critic wrote of this piece that "el sentimiento de la naturaleza y la simpatla cordial que se desprenden de esta pagina, perfuman toda la obra de Pedro Prado. Su corazon vibra con el raundo."^ The ^texican author-critic, Montenegro, said that with ese perfecto poemita en prosa de Pedro Prado, "Las pataguas" ... se tendra una buena medida de la sereni- dad superior que se alcanza una vez que el poeta se ha asomado a las regiones infemales y vuelve a surgir a la luz confortadora de la naturaleza, donde todos los elementos se concilian, y donde, para sentirse libre, solo es menester someterse a la ley natural.” Silva Castro bases his principal criticism on "El cazador” when he declares: En este libro se afirma tambien la voluntad de men- cionar a los habitantes del campo chileno por sus propios nombres, voluntad que se advierte ya en Flores de cardo. por lo menos como contraste visible contra ^Silva Castro, Pedro Prado .... p. 15. ^R. A. Arrieta, "Pedro Prado," Ariel Corooreo (Buenos Aires: Cooperativa Editorial Limitada, 1926), p. 149. g Ernesto Montenegro, "La sonrisa de Pedro Prado," Revista Iberoamericana. XVIII (February-December, 1952), 101. 70 el cosmopolltanismo que gano la expresion poetica americana bajo la invasion modernista. "Chincoles, raras diucas y chercanes, la plebe de los habitantes del aire, volaban entre las ramas distantes,” dice el poeta para describir el campo de caza (El Cazador). De este modo Prado senala el suelo en que ha nacido, con su flora y su fauna, y antes que evocar nelumbos y nenufares, prefiere mencionar a los seres vegetales y silvestres mas humildes con los nombres que se les dan en Qhile y que no pocas veces vienen de la propia Espana. In this selection there are also hints of things to come. Prado envies the birds their power of flight Munos cuantos golpes de alas, y se encontraban sobre las altas copas. Desde allf divisarian las sementeras y el campo libre" (p. 80). In a fit of jealousy he shoots them and then bitterly regrets his act, "todo inutil: no compren- demos el sentido de alas ajenas." This is the first indi cation of the Alsino theme in Prado's works. These last discussed prose selections are related in a language easily comprehended by any Spanish reading audience. Prado does not have recourse to a vocabulary full of chileanisms in order to illustrate his regionalism. In the other nineteen pieces, nature is very universal in character so that it would be difficult to say that the 9 Silva Castro, Pedro Prado .... p. 17. scenes described are exclusively Chilean. 71 Prado*s first novel appeared in 1914. The novel’s locale is both Chile and its only overseas possession, Easter Island (Rapa Nui). He wrote this novel, or as he labeled it "poema novelesco," with its magnificent and colorful landscapes, its minute depictions of its inhabi tants, and their primitive customs without even having set foot on the island. He obtained all his information, precise as it was, from the Anuario hidrografico chileno. adding to it an immeasurable amount of imagination. ^ Interestingly enough, his detailed descriptions and his careful style so convinced the Chilean reading public that even Gabriela Mistral discussed him and his work as though 11 he had spent time on Easter Island. The work deals with a Chilean, Mr. X, who as a young man goes to Easter Island as a reporter for a Val paraiso newspaper. He falls in love with the queen of "^Mario Ferrero, Premios nacionales de literatura (Santiago: Zig-Zag, 1962), p. 169. ^Gabriela Mistral, Recados: contando a Chile (Santiago: Editorial del Paclfico, 1957), p. 95. 72 the island, Coemata Etu. A serious drought arrives and many of the islanders die. Their queen suffers the same fate, dramatically at the time when the relief-giving rains arrive. The young man leaves Rapa Nui on the next ship in order to return to Chile. He lives out his life there, alone on his farm. T h e novel is opened with a prologue by a young friend and neighbor of the recently deceased Mr. X. He has discovered some of Xfs old, yellowing, and apparently for gotten personal journals. The book then begins with X's departure for Easter Island as related in the above j oumals. Nature’s place in this novel is extensive with par ticularly magnificent descriptions of the sea, sunsets, Chile, and the island. With the exception of the prologue, which describes X's farm and the Chilean rural scene, and the first page of chapter one, all the other nature de scriptions are devoted to the sea in its many phases and to the landscape of Easter Island. There is not a single chapter in this novel which does not contain some descrip tion of nature or some costumbrista portrayal of the islanders. Due to the abundance and depth of nature, it is 73 easy to see why Gabriels Mistral was misled by Prado's literary talents. Hie use to which nature is put, however, is some what different from that in the rest of his works. Al though its importance cannot be denied, it is only used to decorate the slender plot Prado has worked out. It serves as a colorful and complementary backdrop to the developing love of X and the Queen. The reader can see that Prado took great delight in his descriptions just by their sheer wealth of detail, but here there is no symbol, no message (with one important exception) and no allegory as in his later works. Nature is usually presented in its pleasant aspects, except for the drought and the subsequent natural istic renderings of gloom and death reflected both in man 12 and nature. Only at the end of the work is nature mean ingfully evocative and the reader can begin to see the reasons for the abundance of nature. X, departing for Chile, addresses himself to Rapa Nui: La noche que llega borra tu imagen, pero no tu re- cuerdo, y en medio de tus peces voladores mi pensa- miento vuelve hacia t£, seguro de encontrarte al 12 La reina de Rapa-Nui (Santiago: Nascimento, 1914), Chapters 11 and 12. 74 extremo de la estela fosforescente que va trazando en la negrura de las aguas el barco que me lleva a pueblos trlstes y atormentados. Feliz la vlda de tus hijos que vlven lejos de la flebre y de la ambicion de los hombres nuevos. Feliz y sabia la existencia llevada entre fiestas de amor y abundancia, y unicamente sujeta a las aguas del cielo. (pp. 165-167) It is fairly safe to assume that the "pueblos tris- tes y atormentados” and the "hombres nuevos” refer to the political turmoil and conflict of the early World War I 13 years. Prado's plaintive evocation of Rapa-Ifcii, and perhaps the raison d'&tre for the entire novel, is a re action to the forces changing the pre-War world. Los Diez a a s s s s s s Following La reina de Rapa-Nui in 1915 was Los diez. After some three or four meetings of the Ten, Prado's imagination took inspiration and the book was 14 bom. One can better appreciate Prado's creative process when the esoteric nature of the book is contrasted to its actual writing which was on a streetcar to and from his ^ Supra, p. 25. ^Armando Donoso, "Pedro Prado," Nosotros (Buenos Aires), XXII (April, 1916), 30. 75 house and downtown Santiago. The critics have been somewhat hard pressed to label or classify this work: Es erroneo llamarlo cuento ... no es tampoco novela; de ser algo, podrla llamarsele con justeza una serie de inspirados ensayos sobre la vida y el arte, ensayos con algo de parabola, y sutiles poemas en prosa en los cuales la forma es todo: estilo lento, de vagas ondas, con algo de ceremonial y de liturgico en donde el humorismo, cuando irrumpe, no llega a irreverencia ni a la caricatura. En cierto modo, podria decirse que con este libro alcanza Prado a los lfmites de la madurez literaria. The Argentine critic Arrieta wondered whether it was a "poema novelesco, alegor£a filosofica, o cuento fan- tastico."^ The spokesman for Chilean modernism, Francisco Contreras, said of Los diez that it is "un conte fantaisiste et symbolique, plein d'idees curieuses et d'elans lyriques, mais sans veritable vibration humaine; son symbolisme et 0 18 plus celui de la vie, celui des idees de 1'auteur." The work is divided into two sections, "El claustro" A. Torres-Rioseco, Grancles novelistas de la America hisnanica. II (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1943), p. 176. ^Silva Castro, Pedro Prado .... p. 31. •^Arrieta, op. cit.. p. 139. 18 Contreras, op. cit., pp. 122-123. 76 and "La barca." The first contains seven subheadings and the second has only one story. The opening selection, "El claustro," begins with a description of nature--a hot 19 dry landscape at the end of day. The rest of the con tents describe the cloister of the Ten, some of their cus toms, and scattered through the descriptions, the indica tion that this is a homecoming for the roaming brother (el hermano errante). Nature is principally decorative and almost always evident on each page. The second piece is called the "Relato del hermano errante" wherein the wander ing brother recounts his years of adventure. Nature is present, but very abstract, almost lifeless. No real landscapes are described. The nature contained in this part is used to symbolize man, as in the story about the old mill bound by lianas that complains to the wind of its plight (pp. 36-37). The third section is entitled the "Oracion del hermano rausico." Of all the stories, this has the least number of nature descriptions or references. This may be due to the fact that music is the most abstract of the arts and is independent of nature. What nature •^Los diez (Santiago: fcnprenta Universitaria, 1915), p. 11. 77 there is, is used in a series of images describing music. The fourth is called the "Oracion del hermano pintor." It is the painter’s turn to stand up in the cloister and describe and praise his art. Although nature is not pro fuse, it is quite important. Prado relates how the painter has the unique gift of capturing the ephemeral for an eternity on canvas: Yo fijo la hermosura del rapido presente que brilla un segundo entre las dos etemidades del pasado que crece y el futuro inagotable. Venzo la continuidad que sigue, dejo siempre vibrando la misma transparencia de una flor eflmera, la gloria rosada de un ocaso, la belleza de una juventud pasajera. (p. 68) The next chapter is the "0raci6n del hermano 20 escultor.” Alberto Ried claimed to be this figure. The sculptor views nature in similar ways as the painter: "mis ojos observan y aprenden, y despues, cuando paseo por el campo, las rocas estan para m£ llenas de solicitaciones, las colinas son monstruos en reposo ..." (p. 74). Nature is everywhere a source of inspiration to the sculptor, but it is always a tactile nature to be sure. The sculptor’s sense of touch blends with the material at hand and there 20 A. Ried, El mar traio mi sangre (Santiago: Edi torial del Pac£fico, 1956), p. 340. 78 then arises an inseparable bond between sculptor and sculp- ture. Three more chapters make up the book: "Oracion del hermano arquitecto," "Oracion del hermano poeta," and the strange "La barca." Among the Ten, Prado was the brother 21 architect and he speaks of his art form. He explains how the house built by the architect weathers the many rigors of nature, how the residents live and die in the house, but finally after several generations, the house too succumbs to time. Nature is used to illustrate the de struction, passage, and renewal in time, but its use is somewhat circumscribed. Nature is used in a symbolic way in the poet's oration. The poet describes a scene from the day's happen ings wherein he saw a small goldfinch attempt to move plough oxen while the farmer slept. Hie poet explained this was the bird's attempt to be of use, for the bird did not realize by his flight, color, and song he was already very useful in nature. That the goldfinch represents the poet in life is clearly seen when Prado writes, "vuestras tribulaciones son musicales gorjeos. Las alegr£as y 21Ibid.. p. 341 79 tristezas, al pasar por vuestro pequeno ser, se convierten en necesarios cantos" (p. 95). The last chapter is a fantastic description of a sea journey undertaken by the brothers. During the night in the middle of the ocean, the boat rises and begins to approach the stars. In a conclusion which anticipates Alsino. Prado says that, si hubiese sido posible que los poetas y los ninos de la tierra alcanzaran a divisarias, la habr£an visto pasar como un pajaro luminoso, volando mas alta de las mas altas y grandes nubes de las noches obscuras. Mas ya era imposible, arrebatados al mundo, hasta los horizontes habian dejado de ser para nosotros. (p. 112) The two most outstanding elements of nature are the sea and the sky with the sea appearing in preeminence. Prado opens the selection with a hymn to the sea, carries it throughout, and ends the work with a description of the celestial sphere. The sea’s importance and the beauty described have moved one critic to use it as a model in 22 studying another Chilean’s work. 22 Neftalf Agrella, "La influencia del mar en la poes£a de Salvador Reyes," Atenea. LXXIII-LXXIV (March- April, 1931), 448. He remarks that Prado in Los diez has created beautiful marine fantasies. 80 ^s^j^ros^re^tes The next work to be considered is Los pajaros errantes which was published in 1915. It was a direct result of a trip made by Prado and Alberto Ried through the southern part of Chile from Puerto Montt to the unknown 23 regions. Besides the direct impression of this beautiful area, ecos lejanos de grandes y estimables maestros europeos emergen y se sumergen, altemativamente, en este variado muestrario de evocaciones paisajfsticas a lo Theo Vardet; de rebeld£as acratas a lo Maximo Gorki; de metaforas esplendidas ... como en Paul Claudel; de inaprensibles y crepusculares simbologias, Intimamente emparentada con las de Maurice Maeterlinck. Todo este mundo heterogeneo ... ha dado origen y vida a treinta y cinco poemas de personal£simo estilo, novedosa sin taxis, rico acervo de imagenes e intencion manifesta- mente evangelizadora. ^ The literary importance of the book is undeniable, especially in connection with its influence on other writers. It was described as uno de los libros capitales de aquella promocion de 1914 y aledanos, de tan fuerte y definitiva influencia en la generacion de 1920. Su sornbra se proyecta, 93 Ried, op. cit.. p. 345. The author devotes a considerable portion of a chapter to the narration of his trip with Prado to this area. A » Julio Arriagada and Hugo Goldsack, "Pedro Prado, un clasico de America," Atenea. CVI (mayo, 1952), 310. 81 ostensible y visible, en los primeros versos de Neruda y, particularmente, en las maravillosas prosas poemati- cas de Anillos ... es una prosa lfrica de correntoso fondo y suave superficie, destinada a herir profunda- mente la sensibilidad de los j o v e n e s . 5 Before examining the place and role of nature in the book, the structure should be elaborated. It is divided into eight subheadings. "Poemas menores" is the first heading under which appear "Los pajaros errantes," "La pesca," "El poema de la buena muerte," and "La tierra." The first piece has been considered one of the few prose poems to survive in Chilean literature, due to its symbolic 26 scope (amplitud) and its intense images of the sea. Nature is abundant in this piece and it is used in a de scriptive, as well as a symbolic way. The seascape por trayed is a local Chilean one. The other principal sentiment expressed here is philosophical--the meaning of man's existence. Both "La pesca" and "La tierra" use nature in a more limited way. In the former it is only a series of images in order to demonstrate the ignorance and distrust of some men; the latter makes use of nature to indicate ^•*Loc. cit. ^Agrella, op. cit.. p. 448. 82 the passage of time and the inevitable reality of death. The sentiment of death takes predominance in "El poema de la buena muerte," but it is illustrated with many percep tive nature similes. "Los secretos" is the title of the second section of four poems. This name is given because it seems to express the secret feelings and thoughts which somehow are difficult to render. There are only three pieces, "La alegrfa," "La fatiga," and "El vuelo" which have any senti ment of nature and it is minor, limited only to imagery. "Otono" constitutes the third main heading, com posed of a total of nine parts. Most of the pieces state or imply that they take place in the fall. Only one lacks any reference to nature. The remaining eight deal with at least some aspect, if only a brief image, of nature, as in "Los brotes" and "El rumbo"; or a more developed sense of nature as in "Otono," "Los cabellos," or "La luna." The other sentiments developed here are ones of love and death. It is unusual to find a writer making use of love, sensual ism, and autumn coincident with them. What is not so unusual in literature is the association of death and autumn. 83 The fourth section is dedicated to the sea. There is a total of six parts all with the sea as a common factor. "El guijarro" is a song to the sea. The writer is overwhelmed by its self containment, its constant motion, its agelessness. He wishes to hand himself over to its artful hands, like a pebble which is polished into a jewel by the action of the sea. Man seems small indeed in contrast to the mightiness of the ocean. In "La espe- ranza" man is dazzled by the sea: "Mis ojos se turban ante su numero de olas; pero mi esperanza no se pierde y con- fia" (LPE, p. 71). In "El mar eterno" the fresh waters are seen flowing to the sea: "Ellas corren para no morir. ... En la cascada claman por ti el mar ... en el rfo vienen rezando el murraurio de una oracion" (LPE, pp. 79-80). Nature is personalized here as it is in previous prose works. The association of sea and death is also very evi dent. "La libertad" also deals with the sea in somewhat similar lines as the previous piece. "Inquietud" is the title of the fifth section. The three prose poems in this section express the internal feeling of disquietude. Only the first, "Invocacion al olvido," draws heavily from nature. "Oracion al despertar" 84 and "El deseo sin nombre" have nature images, but the sentiment of death prevails. In the first, however, Prado addresses Springtime and elaborates its characteristics, but "preguntas extranas me conmueven bajo los dulces arboles" (LPE, p. 89). Observing the renewal of Spring on nature he asks, "^No te cansas ioh tiempo! de esta buena farsa?" (LPE, p. 89). He is tired of Spring's easy decep tions and only wants it to give him forgetfulness. He wishes only to know "los valores ocultos que nos esconde esta vana fiebre de nuestros tristes comercios intelec- tuales" (LPE, p. 91). In addition he requests that this forgetting be like "una muerte pasajera, y pueda renacer en m£ el hombre primitivo a imagen y de manos de Dios mismo" (LPE, p. 92). This last line, with its mention of God, is unusual. This is one of the few times in his en tire work that any reference is made to a Supreme Being in any definite way. "El heredero," "El pajaro muerto," and "Las rosas" make up the sixth part, "Breves historias." All three make use of the sentiment of nature. In the first a young boy has become an heir to land and all that grows on it. The boy talks to a willow tree and it murmurs in response 85 something the boy cannot comprehend. At this he wonders what it means to be an owner of nature, "que me debe obe- diencia?" (LPE, p. 104). Nature is personalized here again. "El pajaro muerto" is a beautiful and tender attempt at explaining death. He uses two children as the principal characters. They have found a little dead bird and the little girl attempts to revive it through love and song. After a few days the odor of death interrupts her lullabies. Her brother comes and takes her away from the body, "como si el supiese algo, confuso pero lleno de vani- dad, trato inutilmente de explicar lo que ninguno de ellos comprendfa" (LPE, p. 107). Nature serves to heighten and substantiate the sentiment of death. In "Las rosas" Prado is again moved to express the religious sentiment at the inspiration of nature. The roses described, "brillen [sic] como oraciones" (LPE, p. 110) and the gardener is moved to "alabar la sabidur£a de Dios, y acatar con regocijo el humilde y unico destino que me he senalado" (LPE, p. 111). The seventh section entitled "Los ninos" is com posed of three parts dealing specifically with children. Both "La buena mentira" and "Cancion" use nature to comple ment Prado * s sentiment of love for children. In "Cancion" 86 the author likens his child to a little bird asleep in his branch-like arms. He is the tree that cradles the nest. Prado relates how the child runs away from him during the day, but at night draws near. Night here is strongly associated with the sentiment of death: "Una noche llegara en que estaremos unidos para siempre" (LPE, p. 126). The final portion of this book is called "Malezas" and it is made up of two parts: "Vagabundo" and MLas male- zas." In the first selection, nature's role is only decorative. The second one, however, is devoted to thickets, this humble manifestation of vegetal nature. He writes that, todas las plantas han sido un tiempo maleza despre- ciable. Mas, a unas primero, a otras despues, se les ha tocado con la curiosidad, el cultivo y la seleccion, algo asf como un resorte oculto, y las yerbas vulgares comenzaron a dar hojas mas grandes, flores mas her- mosas, frutos mas dulces. (LPE, p. 139) Prado implies that all nature is equal. It is only man who classifies it, and places ascending or descending values on it. Man and his values change with time, nature is really always the same. In 1916, the rather lengthily titled book, Ensavos 87 sobre la araultectura v la poesia appeared. There is a total of six essays, and since the last essay is dated 1912, it permits the assumption that they were written in that year, but not published until the Ten undertook their publication. In these essays Prado not only presents his own theories on architecture and poetry, but also on art, nature, and Chilean nationalism. The role of nature in this particular book is immensely important. Prado de scribes Chile in varying landscapes. He asserts that "la arquitectura refleja todas las fases en que se descompone la vida, que las casas tienen de los hombres y de tierra, que son los signos completos que comprendlan una region, O “ t una raza y una epoca." He believes that Chileans should search their own land for inspiration and guidance and not seek the foreign as a model. This is reflected when he criticizes one of Chile's world renowned resorts, Vina del Mar, for completely ignoring its balmy climate and building structures with chalet roofs, with windows that do not allow for the sunlight to enter to warm the interiors (Ensavos. p. 26). He continues: 27 Ensavos sobre la arquitectura v la noesla (San tiago: hnprenta Universitaria, 1916), pp. 25-26. 88 En Chile, una arquitectura, para ser racional y nacio- nalista, tendra que ser apropiada en sus multiples variaciones, y el factor comun a todas no sera ni este ni el otro motivo, sino la continuacion logica del caracter de la region en el caracter de las casas, la demostracion palpable de que nosotros conocemos cada region de nuestra patria, que sabemos amarlas, y que somos por lo tanto los verdaderos duenos de todas ellas. (Ensayos. p. 33) Prado believes that the character of the various regions can be brought out by extensive use of the particu lar flora, fauna, and minerals i.n the architecture (Ensayos. p. 46). This seems to make him one of the earlier disciples of Frank Lloyd Wright in South America. At this point in his narration, he launches his personal esthetics concerning nature, its appreciation, and its uses. He proposes an interesting theory of the blend ing of man with nature. This combination results in two things: the naturaleza-hombres; and the hombres-naturaleza. More of this rather complicated theory and other ideas con cerning man and nature will be presented in a later chap ter. There are five remaining essays on various aspects of poetry. Rime, metre, and harmony are among the themes discussed. The role and place of nature, after being so predominant in the first essay, is limited to two brief 89 allusions, one to night and the other to an abstract land scape. A consideration of this landscape illustrates Prado's concept of the source or origin of artistic in spiration. He writes: Vagando por la orilla del mar o por las cordilleras, por los bosques o las ciudades, en el bullicio de las fiestas o en la soledad de su retiro, inesperadamente, como una luz pequena e intensa que horadara las tinie- blas, lo asalta una idea que hiere con viveza su imaginacion, y que lleva en si cierto grado de poten- cia capaz, a veces, de sojuzgarlo e impelerlo a crear, a producir. En ocasiones no tiene relacion alguna con el ambiente que lo rodea, respondiendo por el con- trario, a una situacion anterior y lejana de la que por primera vez comprende el intimo sentido. En ese instante, hasta la sensacion fisica del cuerpo se atenua y desaparece. (Ensayos. p. 90) Als ino The next book to be published was Alsino in 1920. It is quite possible that this book had its inspiration around 1912 because in a letter dated 1915 to R. A. Arrieta, Prado made the following veiled comments : "Por ahora, todas mis preocupaciones y energies las embarga una novela que vengo madurando tres anos. Si ella responde a mi entu- siasmo, sera lo mejor que hasta hoy pueda haber hecho!'^® 28 Arrieta, op. cit., pp. 140-141. 90 Silva Castro substantiates this view by maintaining that Prado was writing Alsino around 1915, being inspired by questions his children asked about a hunchback they had 29 just seen. It is safe to assume that Prado, as consci entious and painstaking an artist as he was, occupied five to eight years elaborating what is generally considered to be his masterpiece and one of the greatest novels of South America.^ Two well known critics maintain that la atenta lectura de Alsino y de los diversos juicios cr£ticos que acerca de el se han formado, nos ha llevado al conveneimiento que en esta obra, Pedro Prado ha querido, tal vez mas inconsciente que con- scientemente, escribir la epopeya simbolica de su pueblo, a quien querfa entranablemente; no obstante su aparente indiferencia por los movimientos sociales y polfticos de la tormentosa epoca en que le cor- respondio vivir. 1 Perhaps as an indication of his purpose, he selected an illiterate peasant boy, a child of alcoholics, as his hero. O Q Raul Silva Castro, "Alegorfa y slmbolo en Alsino." La Nacion (Buenos Aires), April 13, 1958, Sec tion II, p. 1. Torres-Rioseco, also a Chilean, asserts in various articles that this is one of South America’s great novels. The reader is referred to the Bibliography. ■^Arriagada and Goldsack, "Pedro Prado ..." (mayo, 1952), p. 333. 91 The book is divided into five parts which, observ ing its principal chapter headings, could be called the fall (la__ca£da^, flight, song, prisoner, and finally, abandoned. In all of them the description of nature pre dominates, with any human action being relegated to a second plane. Hie work at times gives the impression that its novel framework is nothing but a pretext to sing poetically of the sea, night, or the storm. In this sense Prado's descriptions are born from an idealized vision of 3 2 things, in which he consciously omits anything prosaic. Prado's hero, Alsino, represents his concepts of naturaleza-hombres since the hero is in truth a bird-man. The fantastic synthesis proposed in his Ensayos ... and initiated in his early prose poems comes to fruition in his greatest work. Alsino, as this synthesis, can hear "las voces ocultas de las cosas." There is no lack of compre hension between man and nature's components, no artificial or prescribed limits between them. The situation described 33 in "El heredero" ceases to have relevance here. Alsino 32 Hugo Montes and Julio Orlandi, Historia de la literatura chilena (Santiago: Editorial del Paclfico, 1955), p. 165. ^ Supra, pp. 84-85. 92 talking directly to nature declares: Cuanto terror y curiosa alegr£a me trae el saber que ya podemos entendemos. Durante largo, muy largo tiempo, todo ha sido confuso para m£, mas ahora el, por fin, se aclara, y erais vosotras, ho^as; erais vosotras rocas, aguas y llamas; y eras tu, viento, y eran acaso todas las cosas de la tierra. y quizas del mundo, las que hac£an en m£ ese ruido.^ Then all of the elements of nature located in the cave where Alsino had taken refuge for the night proceed to talk without fear to him, to keep him company, to put him to sleep, to shelter and to comfort him. Alsino is also a representative of the plight of mankind and of the Chilean people. As a universal symbol, it shows the struggle of man to overcome his milieu, to better his human condition, to strive toward, at times, unbelievable heights. Man takes wing in the form of Alsino, but must always return to earth for sustenance and companionship. Alsino as a symbol for Chileans is Prado*s subtle approach to social criticism. He represents in his novel the large landholder, the rotos. the inquilinos in their drunkenness and ignorance, as well as the foreign exploiters. This book is an intriguing compilation of •^Alsino (Santiago: Nascimento, 1963), p. 62. 93 symbol, allegory, and stark realistic description. Prado perhaps only thought he was creating a novel of fantasy, but like Cervantes with Don Quixote. he created much more. With each reader, its message is likely to change, renew itself, and live. The role and place of nature in Alsino have been much commented on by the critics. In contrast with his total production, nature receives little or no attention. This writer, consequently, would like to draw from the comments of five of the most perceptive and well known critics. Francisco Contreras wrote: ... 1*auteur, par le plus heureux dessein mondonoviste, n'a pas place 1*action dans les brumes de quelque pays de r&ve, mais au sein de la nature et de la vie de son propre pays. Nous voyons, en effet, dans cette etrange histoire, la majeste aduste des Cordilieres, la verdure perpetuelle des bois, les allures farouches des montagnards chiliens, et nous apprenons raeme le nom pittoresque de chaque e n d r o i t . 3 5 Silva Castro, in his turn, has praised Alsino in no uncertain terms: Hay all£ una novela descriptiva de singular belleza, en la cual el autor vierte recuerdos rauy inspirados de sus vlajes por las costas de Chile. Tanto la 35 Contreras, op. cit.. p. 124. 94 sequedad de las dunas como el espectaculo del mar abierto, sin l£mites, cuya extension se agranda a medida que se le domina desde mayor altitud, son temas para la descripcion. Del mismo describe plantlos, grupos de arboles, quebradas boscosas, caserlos, cale- tas de Pescadores y otros rincones sabrosos de la tierra nativa. Entre esas descripciones hablan de quedar clasicas en las letras chilenas no pocas pagi nas, que piden entrar en las antolog£as. ° Arriagada and Goldsack take a somewhat different interpretation of Prado*s use of nature: ... Pedro Prado se revela acaso como el mas artista de los pintores de la tierra chilena. Experto catador de belleza, no desprecia ninguno de los valores consti tutive s del paisaje. Sin descuidar la fidelidad de la transcripcion, en la que a menudo utiliza elementos y expresiones folkloricas y populares, se preocupa funda- mentalmente de ir desentranando la significacion esen- cial del paisaje. Con firme pulso y aguda percepcion de simbolista, lo subordina a los problemas del hombre, consiguiendo resultados maravillosos.^7 After elaborating the realistic and metaphysical aspects of the work, Torres-Rioseco declares: En el paisaje encuentra este libro su maxima belleza. Colores, matices, murmullos de aguas, roce de hojas desprendidas, canto de pajaros, apariencias variables de las cosas, dan a toda la descripcion de Prado un doliente tono de eleg£a. Enemigo de las aguas fuertes, Prado da a todos sus cuadros una claridad diafana, una suave harmonfa de medias tintas. Claridades rosas reemplazan al purpura vivo de los poetas raodemistas; 3 6 Silva Castro, "Alegorfa y s£mbolo p. 1. 37 Arriagada and Goldsack, "Pedro Prado ..." (mayo, 1952), pp. 321-322. 95 su color predilecto, el azul, es un azul obscuro; le atraen de preferencia las nubecillas blaneas, los cielos crepusculares, las rocas grlses y los valles bruraosos. Hie critic continues to comment on one of Prado*s preferences, abandoned objects which have made their appearance already in Los diez, La casa abandonada. and La reina de Rapa-Nui: Se detiene con especial deleite en las cosas viejas, ruinosas, tristes: arboledas achaparradas, ranchos negruzcos, paredes carcomidas de lluvias y de vientos, fatigadas de inutiles esfuerzos, desplomandose, alamos tronchados, cauces esteriles de r£os muertos, arboles sombrios, solitarias montanas. De sus mismas palabras, aun cuando no vayan limitadas por el adjetivo se des- prende una vaga melancol£a campestre. ° In regard to other sentiments expressed in this book, Torres-Rioseco also comments that "el ansia de ubi- cuidad que siente Prado, la tragedia cotidiana de las 39 limitaciones constantes, forma el leitmotiv de la obra." These same sentiments were found in "Donde comienza a florecer la rosa" (LCA) and will be found in "Androvar, " his only dramatic work. 38 Torres-Rioseco, Grandes novelistas .... pp. 186- 187. 39 A. Torres-Rioseco, "Las novelas de Pedro Prado," Cien anos de la novela chilena (Concepcion: Ediciones Revista Atenea, 1961), p. 223. 96 In 1921 Prado published Las cooas. which according to the publishers were prose works previously unedited or taken directly from the Diez review.^ The book is com posed of nineteen short prose works with fourteen of them containing some aspect or elements of nature. The first piece entitled "La lampara" employs a favorite subject of the modernists, the butterfly. It is a symbol for poetic beauty as is easily seen: "a veces guardan mis paginas el polvo de oro de sus alas inquietas, pero mas a menudo a ellas se mezcla la liviana ceniza de alas consumidas" (Las C, p. 100). Doves are used in a similar way in "La prision." The writer1s words are likened to "libres palo- mas" which take asylum in "un palomar de hermanas prisio- neras." The newcomers excite and stir up action among the birds which represent the readers of a work (Las C, p. 108). "Los juegos," "El recuerdo," "La senda," "Si pudieras," "La torre de los diez," "La bandera," and "Las campanas" employ elements of nature, but only in a decorative way. Nature is not essential, being relegated to a secondary ^ Las copas (Buenos Aires: Editorial Glusberg, 1921), p. 98. 97 plane. For example in "Las campanas" Prado describes a dreamlike sunken village in the sea, with drowned sailors hearing the bells of the town. The most important senti ment is really that of death, but of course the sea is associated with it. In contrast to the above works, "La noche," "Crepusculo," "La soledad," "Libertad," "Contempla cion, " and "La sombra" use nature as the basis of their message. "La noche" and "La sombra" are veritable hymns to night and its mysteries and "Crepusculo" is a repetition of Prado's favorite theme of the blend of man with nature. "Soledad" is a song evoked by the sea and dedicated to it and "La contemplacion" is a prose poem dedicated to the joys of observing man and nature in all their manifesta tions. Prado writes that, "nuestros pensamientos y nues- tras voces se alzaran para alabar la causa y el origen del mundo, y la placida alegria interminable que fluye de su contemplacion" (Las C, p. 126). Un Juez Rural Un iuez rural represents Prado's third effort in the novel. Published in 1924, it is perhaps the most auto biographical and the most representative of his mature years. The book also signals a return to the specifically 98 Chilean theme, begun in La casa abandonada and magnifi cently achieved in Alsino. Much has been written concerning the value and meaning of this his last novel. Contreras thought that, le penseur et 1*artiste qui sont chez Prado collaborent dans ce livre, et tandis que le premier nous dit in- directement ses conceptions ideologiques allant jusqu'a faire une critique de la justice, bien personelle, le second nous presente des types du pays ou nous depeint des paysages du terroir aussi bien saisies qu'artiste- ment stylises. Ernesto Montenegro was even more specific in his comments. He believed that in time AIsino and Un iuez rural would prevail over the sum of his poetry and other prose works inasmuch as "the artistry and talent present in these two works alone would serve to preserve his literary pres tige."^2 In this last novel, the depiction of nature alter nates with the problems, resolutions, and sentences passed that the main character, Judge Solaguren, feels or formu lates. When the administration of justice or his domestic problems become too much for him to bear, he flees them and then, 41 Contreras, op. cit.. p. 126. 42 Montenegro, op. cit.. p. 103 99 [el] satisface en la naturaleza su sed de mundos nuevos, ignotos, y le basta recorrer su jard£n y en- frentar con una pequena flor para encontrar reunidos todos los paisajes, todos los eleroentos, toda la poes£a; solo es necesarlo que el hombre sepa obser- varlos, observandose a s£ mismo.43 This seeking o£ consolation and meaning In nature Is the real role of nature in this novel, but it is not the ex clusive one* Prado also shows us the stark reality of Barrancas and its residents. Barrancas is a suburb of Santiago and in truth it is half urban and half rural. It has been described as apagado y sucio, guarda una humanidad incolora y triste. Sus viviendas de barro, descascaradas, man- chadas por la lluvia y las nubes de polvo que se levantan de las carreteras cubiertas de tierra, suelta de un espectaculo gris de vejez prematura. Hasta los arbolillos pierden su vida vegetal y se toman apagadas sin alma.44 Prado writes in the first chapter: "El crepusculo desvanec£ase suavemente, y su postrera claridad, al per- derse en la noche, era la unica dulzura sobre aquel su- i Q burbio abandonado." This line closes his first chapter, 43G. Illaner Adaro, "Pedro Prado," Atenea, XVI (November-December, 1949), 482. ^G. Illaner Adaro, Naturaleza de Chile en su aspecto t£pico v regional a traves de sus escritores (San tiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1941), p. 49. 4^Un iuez rural (Santiago: Nascimento, 1924), p. 9. 100 but it leads directly into the second, entitled "El su- burbio." After the initial early cool morning air, it becomes hot and clear and Solaguren sets off toward the office of his recently accepted post as judge. On his walk there, he describes the vision of poverty of this blighted area. Children and domestic animals share the streets and wander at will amidst the mud and filth. Prado, however, even in the heart of this depressing scene finds isolated elements of natural beauty, such as the blooming hibiscus, fragrant carnations, and even a cheerful song of an unseen bird (UJR, p. 26). Succeeding chapters present more and realistic depictions of life in the Santiago environs. A trip to the Pacific coast is also related. In these chapters the author provides us with some magnificent seascapes, while at the same time he ponders the meaning of man’s existence. The novel closes with his return to Santiago. In every chapter of this novel there appear aspects of nature. Sometimes they are used in concrete depictions, other times they serve as images, and still others are used to create an atmosphere conducive to meditation. 101 "Androvar" Pedro Prado's first and only attempt in drama form was "Androvar." It is his second and last major venture in using a specifically non-Chilean setting. His first novel* it will be recalled, was set on Easter Island, and this first play was set in the Biblical setting of Pales tine. He labels the work a dramatic poem, although it is written in prose. Ihe principal characters are: Androvar; Elienai, his wife; Gadel, his disciple; Jesus; and a blind- man, Nun. The play deals with a peculiarly Pradoan philo sophical problem, the limits imposed upon man. Prado in other works, as well as this one, has expressed a dislike for having always to choose among several possibilities. What he wants is everything at once. In this play Jesus grants Androvar and Gadel the unique privilege of sharing each other's experiences. When Gadel is miles away from Androvar he knows exactly what Androvar is thinking, see ing, and doing. The same is true for Androvar with Gadel. Eventually this situation leads to tragedy and death. Gadel dies and Androvar must live with death, for he is still eternally linked in all ways to Gadel. Ttie play is symbolically, philosophically, and emotionally charged. 102 Its potential Interpretations are many and quite varied and no matter what the reader concludes, he is bound to be moved to deep meditation. Nature is relatively circum scribed, especially so in comparison with his previous works. Prado does describe, however, in abundant detail, the settings for each of the three acts. As limited in quantity as nature is, it is still important in how it is utilized. In a typically romantic device (or existential if one considers the present body of existential Latin American fiction), nature seems to reflect the moods of Prado*s characters. Androvar sitting by the sea: ... tensa la mirada sobre el mar palpitante, clava sus ojos en la cambiante lejanfa, y da libre vuelo a sus tumultuosos pensamientos. ... Ha comenzado el reflujo de la marea; pero aun cuando parezca haber vencido la paz que vuelca la ultima hora crepuscular, en el mar estremecido queda una angustiosa agitacion; y al silen- cio, que va acrecentandose, lo conmueven alaridos de olas tardias, que se deshacen impotentes contra las negras rocas de la playa.^® In the final scene, Gadel is dying in the desert. His expiring soul is graphically represented as the moon emerges in the dark night: Hombres, matorrales y penascos, arrojan largas y negras sombras. Al copiar las sombras las siluetas de las ^"Androvar." poema dramatico (Santiago: Nasci- mento, 1925), p. 62. 103 cosas, y al deformarlas alargandolas desmesuradamente, parecen revelar, a esa luz livida, los ocultos y vagos tentaculos que todas las cosas poseen para salir de si e ir lejos, a semejanza de los anhelos de Androvar. (And, p. 97) The Northern Desert Stories Prado wrote in the autumn of 1925 of his cultural 47 mission to Bolivia. He was sent there with a delegation of outstanding Chileans to celebrate the centenary of its independence and to strengthen friendly relations with this defeated country. It is fairly safe to assume then that the short stories "El pueblo muerto" and "La risa en el desierto" are a direct result of his trip to Bolivia via the Atacama desert regions. To substantiate this, one only needs to read his comments concerning the conditions of the 48 schools he visited in Iquique and Antofogasta. The im pression that this rarely described region left on him was quite strong and dramatic as witnessed by these stories. Graciela Illaner Adaro wrote the following in respect to this area: Pedro Prado and Enrique Molina, "Mision en Bolivia," Atenea, II (October, 1925), 335-341. 48Ibid., p. 339 104 Geograficamente se presents la parte norte de Chile con una misma regular configuracion desde Pisagua, por el norte, hasta las margenes del r£o Salado, por el sur. Tlene guardados en la vastedad de sus deslertos: horizontes sin llmites, colores innumerables, luz sin medida, vida, muerte, quietud, caminos, huelias y senderos sin fin y sin oriente. Es un conjunto formi- dable, donde los vientos gimen de soledad y una vida sobrehumana vibra bajo sus alas potentes. ... No solo contiene una inmensa riqueza salitrera y en metales que asombra al mundo, sino que tambien es rica y variada en motivos psicologicos y sociales. In view of this statement, it is interesting to note that Prado’s desert stories were not published in Chile until ten years after their initial appearance in Buenos Aires. The first story to appear was "El pueblo muerto."^ Nature appears abundantly in the five sections composing the story. Both actual place names and descrip tions of this lonely region give credibility to this ad venture story of sorts. The main character, Juan Otamendi, goes to the Atacama desert to investigate the possibilities of reopening an abandoned copper mine. He arrives at Chanaral de las Animas and describes nature’s aspect: Era un paisaje de la epoca glacial, desnudo aun de hielos, reducido a la osamenta de sus rocas mondadas 49 Illaner Adaro, Naturaleza de Chile .... p. 5. ■^"El pueblo tmierto," La roia torre de los diez (Santiago: Zig-Zag, 1961), pp. 108-127. It was originally published by la Prensa (Buenos Aires), October 16, 1925. 105 de todo humus y de toda tierra acogedora. Era una plaza como de otro planeta, con tin mar denso y soli- tarlo y con un caserlo rojo y ocre como una aspera execrencia de l£quenes polvorientos. (EPM, p. 110) After a brief rest in Chanaral he sets out across the waste land with a guide: Iban por el valle del r£o Salado. Un r£o ausente, en un valle esteril. Blanqueaban el abra cerros calvos, soplados y rugosos que haclan sensible su vejez de siglos. De una rojez cenicienta, cenidos por pliegues numerosos, sus lomos y grupas redondeadas eran los de un rebano de gigantescos elefantes hundidos en un sueno milenario. (EPM, p. 113) Otamendi eventually arrives at his destination, a ghost town inhabited by one man, some dogs, and a caged bird. These seem to be the only animate creatures for miles. His lonesome journey causes him to muse on why he came to this forsaken area. Apparently he experienced some great tragedy in Santiago and he concluded that, "un viaje por mar, un poco de la soledad verdadera del desierto, un mes de vida ruda y distinta de la que el llevara, tierras y hombres desconocidos, y luego, tal vez, algunos miles de pesos, no vendr£an mal" (EPM, p. 113). Nature is used primarily in two ways. The first is for the picturesque uniqueness of this area which Prado paints realistically and sensitively. He portrays not only the sea, the land, and the sky, but also the type of people 106 Inhabiting this desolate waste. This depiction of people leads us into the second role of nature, man alone versus his destiny. Where else, but in the desert and at the sea can man be so alone to face himself and his ultimate reality? In part III of the story, Otamendi questions Cerezo, the sole resident of the ghost town, about how he can survive so removed and isolated from the current of life and still call it living. Otamendi presses Cerezo further to describe his views on life after death but Cerezo is unable to express them concretely (EPM, pp. 117- 123). After rediscovering a rich ore vein, Otamendi de parts for civilization, agitated by his discovery, his conversations with Cerezo, and the stark landscape. Prado, however, in the last paragraph indicates uncertainty about Otamendi's fate. The reader is not sure whether he is lost in the desert or successfully returned to Santiago. Ota mendi is last mentioned viewing the mirage of a vast shimmering lake. Perhaps Prado is suggesting the futility of life, regardless of the great plans or discoveries one makes. The place and role of nature in "La risa en el 107 desierto"'*'*" are, as to be expected, similar to those in the first story. The characters and locales are slightly dif ferent (Otamendi figures in this selection as well, but only as a secondary character). Again a psychological study is encountered of man alone, isolated from civiliza tion. Agonizing descriptions of the desert*s effect upon m?-; -nd animals help the reader to understand to what emotional extremes the characters become subjected. The penetrating effects of intense sunlight and heat, of miles and miles of empty, barren wastes, loneliness, and the action precipitating catalyst, alcohol, combine in varying amounts and degrees to act upon man. Psychological analy sis, initiated in Un iuez rural, comes to full flower in this last story. Final Prose Works The last prose creations of Prado are "Prosas blblicas"^ and Vieios poemas ineditos.^ The first "La risa en el desierto," La Prensa. December 13, 1925. C o Prosas bfblicas," La roia torre de los diez. pp. 45-47. Originally published in Atenea. IX (March, 1928), 3-5. Vieios poemas ineditos (Santiago: Escuela Nacio- nal de Artes Graficas, 1949). 108 consists of two short stories which seem very similar to his earlier parables. I believe that they were written sometime between Los diez (1915) and "Androvar" (1925) as they reflect a style and subject matter more in line with these years of his prose production. "El sordo Lev£" is a religious piece relating a fictional incident in the life of Jesus. Nature is very minor in its use and place. Birds and trees appear, but there are no real descriptions. In "El predicador" a preacher is compared to a tree and the people in the street to a river: "As£ como cruza el agua del r£o, mientras un arbol en la ribera, con el viento invisible, hieratico canta, as£ el dec£a su discurso mien tras pasaban y pasaban las gentes" (PB, p. 46). Asked if he was not sad because he was not heeded, he replied that his words were like doves which fly from the dovecot, "es en esos vuelos cuando las palomas bajan a tierra y encuen- tran su diario alimento" (PB, p. 47). Then, like the doves, his words return to him stronger and more vital because of their contact with the earth. Vieios poemas ineditos consists of twenty-one prose pieces. There are no titles and only four have even slight mention or reference to nature. These references are in 109 the form of metaphors or similes and they relate exclu sively to the sea. It is not an important work in any esthetic, literary sense, but it does have historical Im portance because of being his last published work. Conclusion The place and role of nature exist throughout Pradofs works, but its use underwent various changes as Prado matured as a man and artist. In his earlier works, nature is often abstract, even cold. Nature as in La casa abandonada, Los diez. and Las copas is used in close association with Prado’s philosophical or didactic con cepts. Excepting in "El cazador" and "Las pataguas" nature as depicted by Prado is a type widely known. The plants, minerals, landscapes described would be familiar to anyone resident in the temperate zones of the world. The above two exceptions are, however, local, typically representa tive of Chile’s flora and fauna. Prado, presenting these more regional manifestations of nature, presents the reader with something fresh, vital, and warm. Even though the plants and animals described are unfamiliar to any but the Chileans, the artist’s talent overcomes this obstacle with 110 the freshness and color of his style. In Los paiaros errantes, his developing artistic maturity is evident and the blend of man and nature takes poetic form in this work. His personal theories concerning nature, esthetics, and art appear in his Ensayos ... . These two books serve as an apprenticeship for his master work, Alsino. In this novel, Prado achieves a subtle blending of all that preceded the work. Alsino is the symbol, the allegory, the synthesis of all that is of man, of Chile, of nature, and most importantly of Prado. This work also represents the true beginning of the change from the purely philosophically oriented works to a more con crete view of man and his environment in psychology. Psychological nature commences quietly in Alsino and continues in Un iuez rural. Man is provoked by naturefs moods. The mood can move him to deep meditation in the quiet of a moonlit night at the sea’s edge or on Sunday walks in Santiago’s environs, or it can make him happy and carefree on sunny warm days or balmy, calm even ings . This psychological trend is continued in "Androvar," but it reaches its apogee, significantly, at the end of his career in his desert stories. Ill Prado is at his best when he writes and describes what he knew best, Chile. His parables, Los diez. and his three specifically non-Chilean works lack the depth and breath of life that are so characteristic of Los paiaros errantes. Alsino. Un iuez rural. La reina de Rapa-Nui. Ensavos .... and the desert stories. Yet when he describes the Chilean scene he does not have to have recourse to the criollist methods of dialect transcription or vocabulary so remote or specialized as to be almost incomprehensible. No matter to what interpretations his works are subjected, the importance of nature’s place and role cannot be denied. Nature is one of the unifying factors in his works and descriptions of it make Prado at times truly unique and great. Now that we have seen the extent of nature’s importance in Prado's work, we must turn to the type of nature he described and to how he perceived it in order to appreciate more fully its value. CHAPTER IV NATURE, ITS ASPECTS AND ELEMENTS, AS SEEN IN PRADO’S WORKS The specific kinds of nature appearing in Prado’s works and the conditions affecting it should be analyzed in some detail in order to see his preferences. It would be improper to assume what these nature choices are from only his two or three principal works. All of his prose will be considered and classified into categories of nature, rather than according to chronological appearance of the works. Geographical Areas Prado has depicted only three world areas through out his literary career. He has described in detail Easter 1 2 Island and the Holy Land*’ without having visited either. ^La reina de Rapa-Nui (Santiago: Imprenta Universi- taria, 191A). ^"Androvar." poema dramatico (Santiago: Nascimento, 1925); MProsas biblicas." Atenea. IX (March, 1928), 3-5. 112 113 He has mentioned Europe, Iceland, Peru, as well as the more exotic areas of Tahiti, Australia, the Marquesas, Lemuria, 3 t x . Atlantis, and Asia. The region that receives most atten tion is, however, Chile. He has described it as a whole: Pa£s montanoso, ofrece tambien variaciones bruscas de temperatura, cada vez mas marcadas, a medida que se avanza y se asciende de la costa a la cordillera. Los tristes desiertos del norte, los pequenos valles ardientes y tropicales de Coquimbo, el gran valle cen tral hasta el Biobfo con sus campos verdes y la libre vision de la cordillera; la frontera con sus bosques soberbios; la region de los lagos con los volcanes dispersos que reflejan en las aguas sus conos albos de nieve; Chiloe y los archipielagos besados por el agua del mar y por el agua de la lluvia; Magallanes con los viejos ventisqueros azules, y las amplias y frlas llanadas de Tierra del Fuego, tienen fisionom£a unicas y particulares. In this impressionistic passage, Prado divides Chile into eight distinct regions. He captures the in herent distinguishing quality of each area, and connects it to each of the eight divisions. It is a literary orienta tion to Chile expressed in a few lines. Chile is also portrayed for its peculiar insular qualities: 3RRN, p. 27. ^Las copas (Buenos Aires: S. Glusberg, 1921), p. 126. ^Ensavos sobre la arauitectura y la noesla (San tiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1916), pp. 32-33. 114 Se ha dicho que Chile es una isla, y yo creo que hay pocas islas tan islas como nuestro territorio. En realidad, solo poseemos una extensa playa. La Cordi llera nos empuja al mar, y si la contemplamos a la distancia, azul y empenachada de nieve, nos parece una ola gigante, floreciendo su espuma; y si trepamos por ella vemos, en los d£as claros, un oceano inmenso. En la region austral las aguas se inteman en los valles estrechos y forman miHones de islas. Veo en ello una invitacion, y veo en los hermosos archipiela- gos escuadrillas de naves haciendose a la mar. Aun la conquista de Antofagasta y Tarapaca fue la conquista del fondo del oceano porque toda esa tierra salitrosa estuvo sumergida. Y, r£o en el mar, la gran corriente que viene del Polo y bana nuestras costas, nos ayuda a dejar el pa£s y a aventuramos en las soledades del Pac£fico.° This passage, which further defines and describes Chile, is interesting for its references to the cordillera and the ocean, both of which figure importantly in Prado1s nature descriptions.^ It also illustrates all of Chile's strong bond with the sea. Prado selected the regiones australes as the locale for a portion of his Los paiaros errantes; the capital and central valley as the main background for Un iuez rural; the south central valley and coastal dunes for Alsino; and the Atacama desert for the scene of "El pueblo muerto" and "La risa en el desierto." In La reina de Rapa-Nui Prado 6RRN, pp. 27-28. ^See infra. pp. 116-125. 115 depicts Chile's only overseas possession, Easter Island, Nearly all of Chile was either his setting or subject, to the extent that often the reader, through descriptions of native flora and fauna or actual place names, can pinpoint the areas on a map of Chile. Types of Landscape Pedro Prado was in love with the Chilean earth and sky. In fact he owed his finest pages to his passion for Q the landscape. This importance of the landscape in Prado's works must be outlined and discussed. The reader, considering Prado's landscapes, must make two distinct divisions, one of concrete, recognizable, or clearly de fined landscapes and the other of a more abstract nature where the details of a given scene are deliberately nebu lous and vague because the author wishes to evoke abstractly styled landscapes in the reader's own mind. In the first grouping what Prado describes is specific, local and well portrayed. In the second he tries to combine several land scapes in one. Perhaps the distinction can be made clearer Q Julio Arriagada and Hugo Goldsack, "Pedro Prado: un clasico de America," Atenea, CVI (April, 1952), 82. 116 by comparing landscape paintings in which the artist actually watched the color changes and cloud patterns, painting the scene at the same time. The second type would be similar to that of a painter who, after witnessing a variety of landscapes and nature moods, went to his studio and synthesized them on one canvas. The works which represent the well defined land scapes are: La reina de Rapa-Nui. Alsino. Un iuez rural. and the unedited short stories at the very beginning and at the very end of his literary career. The works that, for the most part, belong to the vaguer, more imaginary landscapes are: La casa abandonada, Los diez. Las copas, Los paiaros errantes, ’ ’ Androvar,” Vieios poemas ineditos. and "Prosas biblicas." Prado's landscapes fall into four types: seascapes, mountain landscapes, waters, and the miscellaneous land scapes. Seascapes and mountains recur most frequently, followed by water descriptions, and the miscellaneous landscape category. The sea figures in all Prado's works, except "La reina maga" and "Prosas bfblicas." Pelagic descriptions are encountered only in La reina de Rapa-Nui (pp. 32-33) 117 and Los diez (pp. 107-108). According to Arriagada and Goldsack, Prado always preferred the sea and coastal moun tains in his prose descriptions. They point to Los paiaros errantes. La reina de Rapa-Nui. and Alsino as the best proofs of this. They add that Alsino is probably the "most beautiful poem ever written in glory and praise of the coastal range and the Pacific ocean by their implacable 9 lover." Graciela Illaner Adaro supports the above obser vations when she writes that there is nothing of any impor tance concerning the sea that does not have meaning for Prado: ... la espuma, el viento, las olas, el perfume del oceano, los penascos, los caracoles marinos, etc. A veces rauestra su inmensidad vista desde la orilla y entonces se preocupa de los Infimos pobladores de mar afuera, de los penascos labrados y del mar hecho olas y espumas. Jamas nos muestra un puerto cosmopolita con su trafico mercante. Gusta del mar solitario que se basta a si mismo.^-0 This statement is a summation and paraphrasing of Prado*s own words: "Que poder inestable es el tuyo ioh mar! 9 Loc. cit. ^ Naturaleza de Chile en su aspecto tfnico v regio nal a traves de sus escritores (Santiago: Imprenta Uni- versitaria, 1941), p. 76. These exact lines reappear in her article, "Pedro Prado," Atenea. XCV (November-December, 1949), 484. 118 ... tu te bastas a ti propio, yo te envidio. ..." Prado, in elegaic style, speaks to the sea: En la costa roquena y salvaje no hay un indieio que revele la vida del hombre sobre el agua infinita y amarga. Mar solitario, agitado y misterioso. ... Veo tus olas, y tus olas vienen y vienen sin descanso. Mis ojos te observan, monstruo inquieto. 2 Seascapes, under differing circumstances, arouse a variety of sentiments in Prado or his characters. The delight Solaguren experiences when he enters the ocean alternates with his awe of it in Un iuez rural: ... entraba gozoso entre las olas. ... Cuanto le hubiera agradado sentirse mecido por las aguas o cru- zar los verdes tumbos! ... Menos empequenecido, al intemarse e intemarse en las aguas, experimenta el placer, de cara al mar, de no tener ante s£ mas que el vasto espectaculo de las olas. ^ In the same work, Solaguren philosophizes: La vida a orillas del mar adquiere una intima y vasta resonancia. En tierra adentro ella se desenvuelve como una simple melodfa: vecina al gran arco de las playas, su debil sonido se enriquece con el cambiante fragor del mar, unense ambos, y mientras el coro de las olas se convierte en un vasto acompanamiento, la pequena vida del hombre vese arrastrada a seguir el ritmo de las cosas etemas. (p. 213) ^ Los paiaros errantes (Santiago: Nascimento, 1960), p. 67. 12LPE, pp. 69-70. 13 Un iuez rural (Santiago: Nascimento, 1924), p. 226. 119 This quotation illustrates the universal quality of Prado1s nature descriptions primarily because it relates his character with any reader who has experienced a few days within sight and sound of the sea. The use of reso- nancia, melodla, fragor. coro, acompanaxnento. and ritmo all contribute to the sounds of the sea and demonstrate his artistic ability to select and order his words. Another seascape is depicted which causes its be holder a vague moodiness and an increasing malaise. Again the role of imagery, this time visual, is important by its effect of oppressing the imagination with opaqueness and greys: El mar oprimido, tendfa sus aguas espesas en un marasmo obsesionante. Ni un mlsero oleaje turbaba la opaca superficie de las aguas, aguas de un gris dos veces mas impenetrable que el del cielo. ... Hacia el mar no se abrfan horizontes. El cielo ... y la solitaria bah£a, sin un barco, ni una chalupa de pescador, se fundian y continuaban el uno en el otro, cerrando el paso a las evocaciones que siempre despiertan las lejan£as marinas. ^ At one point in one of his narrations, Prado has his character, Senor X, say, "confesionare que el mar me desilusiono." He continues to comment that the sea voyage 14 "El pueblo muerto," La roia torre de los diez. edited by E. Espinoza (Santiago: Zig-Zag, 1961), p. 108. 120 to Easter Island generally was monotonous, but on a few occasions "el mar se tomaba cristalino; las olas malva y TS oro, hacfan una musica divina." This brief and colorful description of the Pacific is largely representative of its subsequent appearances in this, his most modernist of novels. Another aspect of Prado*s marine descriptions was commented upon by Manuel Montecinos. He wrote that, "al leer a Prado, notamos que el mar es para el algo grandioso que invita a la meditacion, aun mas, es el sfmbolo del misterio Insondable de la muerte, y, aunque parezca parado- jal, es tambien la expresion maxima de vida."^ This para doxical situation is evident when Prado writes: Saludemos al mar porque batalla, hierve y canta. El es el padre de toda la poderosa tristeza de la tierra. Gigante que, corao nosotros, busca sin saber lo que busca, espera sin saber lo que espera, y se afana, ruge, impreca y llora lleno de un dolor fuerte, que en vez de matarle le etemiza, de un dolor que trans- forma a sus olas en algo que a la vez son aguas amar- gas y azules! ' 15RRN, p. 32. ^ E1 mar en la literatura chilena (Santiago: Edi torial del Paclfico, 1958), p. 42. ^ Los diez (Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1915), p. 108. 121 Man*s life and the sea become linked again, this time with the addition of death, in Prado*s Alsino. Speak ing to the sea Alsino says: Del hombre retienes su esp£ritu. Mil veces viajeros en busca del oro o el sueno ve remotas comarcas, en naves un d£a gallardas, el otro deshechas por las tem- pestades, a tus aguas cayeron, bregaron nadando. La angustia espantosa de tu abismo y misterio, y el mis- terio y abismo de la muerte postrera, hicieron que miles y olvidados recuerdos llegaron volando. Y al hundirse, con el ultimo aliento, todos esos suenos, a tus aguas, por siempre quedaron mezclados. The description of the sea at night, by the an guished Solaguren, shares a bond with the above philosophi cal portrayals. Solaguren sees before him "la negrura de las aguas del mar, las olas furiosas de la vaciante coro- nadas de espumas, encendidas en una fulgente claridad, desplomabanse broncas, y, al retirarse, arrastraban el soberbio susurro de sus inmensos mantos recamados de plata" (p. 218). He is further dazzled by the curving beaches which in the moonlight seem like "cendales de plata hir- viente." The total effect causes him to feel "hasta el horror su infinita pequehez." As the dawn approaches, "Solaguren penso al salir de esa noche inolvidable, que el tambien deb£a tener el aspecto de alguien que vuelve no Alsino (Santiago: Nascimento, 1963), p. 95. 122 19 de entre los muertos” (p. 219). Perhaps more than any other form of nature, the sea and descriptions of it are springboards to poetic imagery, symbolism, and philosophical meditations. This reaction is a natural one for the man confronted by the ’ Vast spectacle of the sea before him.” The sea's timelessness, mystery, and depths overwhelm the sensitive man and in truth he can only feel his infinite smallness in the world of nature. Mountains The cordillera of the Andes and that of the coast provide the basis for the majority of Prado's mountainous landscapes. The coastal chain first appears in La casa abandonada (1912),^ then in Alsino (1920) where from a limb of an old oak tree Poll and Alsino look out over a panorama of the nearby lake, a green meadow, their grandmother travelling into the distance, the port of Llico, the bare red hills of the coastal range with its contiguous ashen 19 Other associations of seascapes with death are to be found in Las C, pp. 109, 115, 124; in LPE, p. 80; and in RRN, p. 125. 20 La casa abandonada (Santiago: Imprenta Universi- taria, 1912), p. 55. 123 colored dunes and the solitary blue sea stretching into the 21 far horizon, and next again in Las conas (1921) and Un iuez rural (1924).22 The more impressive Andean chain first appears in 23 La reina de Rapa-Nui (1914). It is next mentioned in Alsino where Chapter VIII is filled with its descriptions. Prado sets the scene for us: En la falda, cubierta de quiscos y matojos, en una montana enhiesta, sentados cerca de la boca de una mina abandonada, reposan Alsino y el viejo Nazario. Invisibles los valles y las tierras de labranza; en tomo solo se ven serran£as agrias, calladas e inter- minables. Abierto el paisaje unicamente hacia lo alto, asoma circuido de escarpadas pendientes, plantas bra- vas y penascales amenazadores, el alto cielo apacible y azul. ... (p. 47) He then has recourse to an almost undiluted modern ist description: "uno que otro picacho recibfa los rayos cardenos del sol oculto. Ligerfsimas nieblas nacientes comenzaban a velar la oscura sima, desde donde ascendfa un halito fr£o y oloroso" (p. 52). The combination of color, waning light, mists, and vague perfumes is reminiscent of Dario and other great modernists. 21ALS, p. 17. 22Las C, p. 127; UJR, p. 119. 23RRN, p. 27. 124 Alsino decides at this point of the novel to sepa rate from t5o Nazario and follow his own way in life. It is symbolic that the author has the old man begin his descent down into the valley while Alsino continues his upward journey as, la noche comenzaba a velarlo con las primeras neblinas. Un caserlo al pie de las azules y oscuras montanas del norte, se denunciaban por pequenas y cristalinas luces. Solo en el cielo del ponlente y en los lagunajos que dejaron los ultimos aguaceros, brillaba una fr£a clari- dad amarillenta. (p. 52) The cordillera of the Andes does not reappear until 24 his last novel, Un iuez rural. Ihe volcanic mountains of Rapa-Nui are described in their varying aspects throughout La reina de Rapa-Nui. Mr. X first sights them while at sea in Chapter I (p. 33). In a description of a crater, the reader finds extreme contrasts of colors, shapes, and vegetation: Sobre el fondo obscuro y violeta de las nubes, corao una arista de fuego, se destacaba el inmenso anillo rojizo del crater. Era de una regularidad tan per fect a, que se creer£a contemplar un coliseo para gigan- tes. Grandes y profundas torrenteras labradas por el agua de la lluvia part£an las imaginarias grader£as, y sombras de un azul obscuro llenaban sus hondas con- cavidades. A cien varas de profundidad comenzaba a senalarse una ligera vegetacion, que se hac£a cada vez 24UJR, pp. 99, 239. 125 mas tupida y lozana hasta convertir el fondo del crater en una elipse verde y tropical. The use of color is a very effective device above. The contrast In flora Is further elaborated: La relatlva arldez exterior se trocaba allf en una fertllldad Imposible de ponderar. Los arbustos llaxna- dos barahu, los platanos, las canas de azucar, las palmeras, los helechos crecian casl unos sobre otros con una fuerza que solo ese conservatorlo de una mllla de largo les podfa dar. (pp. 115-116) Reascending the volcano's rim in order to return to the village, Mr. X studies the surrounding landscape of a grey sky and sea blended together by a tenuous grey mist: "Pasaba el uno al otro sin cambio aparente, de modo que, desde el silencio de la altura, la isla era como un mundo pequeno suspendido en el espacio." He muses that "mirando el cielo y el oceano confundidos, me quede pensando en algo que no tomaba forma, pero que, dominandome cada vez mas, me hizo olvidar lo que me rodeaba y lo que yo era" (p. 117). Waters The types of fresh waters to be described in Prado's prose are three. The reader encounters water as an element. He also finds lakes and running waters such as brooks and rivers. Fresh waters are also described under varying minor forms such as puddles and pools. 126 In "Varillitas de virtud" the writer hopes that he may be absorbed into his readers to make them grow and develop as the water of the earth is through the trunks of 25 trees. In his first novel, the island of Rapa-Nui has no water source other than the rains and X is moved to declare, "extrana tierra es esta en que nadie conoce un O £ r£o, ni un arroyo, ni una fuente." The dying queen has hallucinations about vast quantities of fresh, cool water: iQuanta agua! iQue fresca esta y c6mo me llama! La beben mis pies heridos; la beben mis piemas y mi vientre que mor£a de sed. La abrazo como abrazar£a a un amante, y su cuerpo es fresco como la came de un joven. (p. 152) In Prado's beloved Chile he maintains that the source of the coolest, purest waters is at the foot of the 27 protective patagua trees. Running water such as brooks and rivers is the most frequently depicted form of fresh water. In La casa aban donada we find brilliant streams (p. 31) and rivers which are, according to the author, the highways of the waters. These same rivers which make the fields green do not have in their depths a single blade of grass (p. 93). 25LCA, p. 96. 26RRN, p. 72. 27LCA, p. 47. 127 In La reina de Rapa-Nui the rain water seeping into a seaside cave forms a rivulet and this evokes in X the memories of the crashing, rushing rivers of Chile. He muses that the rivers seem to be eternal whereas man is just a speck in time next to them (p. 109). A yellow and turbulent river appears in La casa abandonada (p. 134). I11 Las copas time flows like a bitter river (p. 114). Several rivers and streams appear in Alsino,. One is so described by Alsino that "ya en las afueras no pudo recono- cer, en el hilo de agua sucio, cenagoso y callado, al alegre arroyuelo del que mas arriba bebiese" (p. 55). It seems then that water closer to the heavens is purer and clearer, the closer to earth it moves the more contaminated it becomes. A forest stream is depicted in a very animated way: Con los destellos del diamante sobre la tierra negra de su cauce, lamiendo las raices contorsionadas y revueltas, como serpientes en lucha por beber, brilla la linfa pura. A las hojas secas que caen, el arroyo las acoge y transforma en barquichuelos que derivan, joviales, siguiendo la loca y rapida corriente. (p. 98) Streams also appear in Un iuez rural. One is silent and crystalline (p. 84), another is turbulent and dark, with waters always changing yet always the same (p. 99). Through a valley in shadows flows a peaceful 128 limpid river in the second act of "Androvar" (p. 52). In "El pueblo muerto" there is the dried river bed of the Rio Salado and Chanaral’s sole flowing fountain, which, as Otamendi declared in a very Impressive image, "Nunca agua alguna ha tenido una voz mas llena de evocaciones. Todos, hasta los cerros esteriles, quedabanse como en mayor quie- tud para escucharla" (p. 110). In his last prose work "Prosas bfblicas" he compares the flow of people in a 28 street to a river’s waters. Lakes are mentioned in only four of Prado’s cre- 29 ations. The first two are poetic images. The third is a lake that flows into the sea, one part is stagnant where countless "fosforescencias" roam in the night around the marsh and above the waters like will-o’-the-wisps. The other part, further from the sea, is pure and transparent. The fourth and final lake is a mirage that Otamendi sees. Cerezo first explains to the departing engineer that "antes de llegar a los Pozos hay una hoyada enorme, que hace pensar en un lago desecado. Si usted pasa por ah£ a 2®"Prosas bfblicas," p. 5. 29LPE, p. 29; Los X, p. 59; ALS, p. 10, "El pueblo muerto," pp. 122, 127. 129 mediod£a, la vera llena de agua, de un agua transparente que tiembla. Es un espectaculo que no se olvida." So it is that, al encimar el portezuelo, Otamendi da un leve grito de sorpresa: ante el, rodeado por rojas serranlas, clarea un lago enorme. Es un lago dormido, con una transparencia tremula. Al centro del lago se ve una gran isla rocosa, que se refleja en el agua imagi- naria. Other forms less well defined than lakes or rivers appear in Prado*s works. For example, in "El cazador" ponds, an estuary, a marsh, and a transparent stream all 30 / appear. In Los paiaros errantes. the author’s soul bubbles like green puddles (p. 88). In both Alsino and Un iuez rural, irrigation channels and ditches appear. In the former the canal is described with its "aguas ocres, rapidas y murmuradoras" (p. 133). In the latter work where the less appealing aspects of water are depicted such as, "un gran canal de aguas servidas" (p. 23), "los charcos y arriegos perennes de acequias malolientes" (p. 25), or even "aguas putridas" (p. 27). Miscellaneous Landscapes The present classification is a combination of 30LCA, pp. 77-79. 130 landscapes which numerically do not amount to enough to represent truly a definite, developed category. This type of landscape is often of rude country towns or fields or even farms as will be seen. The essential common denomi nator is their being used or touched by man in some way. A village is described in such a descriptive way that it also becomes an indirect social indictment of rural post-war Chile: Metido entre aridos lomajes que las lindes de las here- dades cruzaban, dormjta el pueblo hosco y miserrimo. Velanse arboledas achaparradas; ranchos negruzcos y ruinosos; construceiones mayores, que no llegaron mas alia de paredes de adobe a media altura, carcomidas de lluvias y de vientos, fatigadas de inutiles esfuer- zos, desplomandose. Asnos, chanchos y gallinas vagaban escasos por las callejuelas torcidas y desiertas. This depiction of the town achieves its desired effect by its very careful and deliberate choice of words and images. It also permits us to compare the pristine nature sung by Alsino to this nature touched by man and to contrast the beautiful Alsino with his milieu. A summer wheat field stands out for its beauty and artistic perception of color and movement in strong con trast to the above depressing rendering: 31ALS, p. 55. 131 Aires tibios, densos y arremolinados peinaban y des- peinaban la sementera. Tan pronto se la veia de color pardo mate, al mostrar las espigas maduras; luego, brillante, al refulgir el sol en las pajas amarillas y bamizadas. En el cambio de color y en el murmullo que haclan al chocar las espigas sumisas, se podfan seguir las corrientes del aire vagabundo. Ya encen- dfan, en el apagado color de una ladera, un chispazo creciente y veloz de oro vivo; ya iban, como un r£o de luz, en grandes y caprichosas revueltas. ^ Somewhat similar to the wheat field’s description is one that describes a fragrant strawberry patch; the use of color and light is essential to both: Tras la linde de los alamos, en un largo trecho, donde la zarzamora habfa sido quemada y los troncos vefanse negros y las hojas secas y amarillas hasta gran altura, se divisaba un extenso frutillar. Mujeres vestidas de bianco inclinadas sobre los surcos, cogfan las fru- tillas. El sol dabales de lleno; las sombras azulinas y transparentes de los blancos vestidos, los verdes pampanos y las flores campestres que adomaban sus am- plios sombreros, trafan el recuerdo, en ese vasto escenario cercado de alamos oscuros y rumorosos al viento, de otra vida y de otros tiempos- tiempos llenos de abundancia, vida de alegria pagana. 3 One final example of Prado’s miscellaneous land scapes is one that treats of the latifundia so prevalent in Chile. He describes a seemingly classic hacienda: Desde los primeros contrafuertes de la cordillera de los Andes, por verdes ensenadas, abras angostas, cerros suaves y redondos, cubiertos de retazos de bosque in- dlgena, y otros altivos y desnudos, solo, erizados 32 ALS, p. 37, 33 UJR, p. 88, 132 de rocas amenazantes y de espinudos quiscos, se ex- tlende la hacienda de Vega de Reinoso. Escasa en tlerras de riego, fertiles potreros veclnos a las barrancas del r£o; rica en rulos tri- gueros; con viejos vinedos de fama lugarena; abundante en montanas v£rgenes, y con leguas y leguas de serra- n£as, aptas para el pqstoreo de temporada, es un feudo valioso y pintoresco. ^ Vegetal Nature Forest and Trees There are two types of plant life portrayed in Prado*s work, the local and the universal. It was through his depictions of specifically Chilean flora that he inaugurated it as a fit subject for literature within his country. One of the first native trees to be described and defined in his work was the patagua: Un arbol hermoso. ... Son gigantes de troncos inmen - sos ... que han sido formados por numerosos vastagos que fueron aproximandose, estrechandose, penetrando los unos en los otros hasta fundirse en un solo madero nudoso, el mas imponente de los bosques centrales de mi patria. ... Bendito sea el arbol siempre verde que se ofrece a los nidos, que ampara el fuego y que mana el agua de la vida. 36 37 The quillayes, the coigues, "los boldos, los 34ALS, p. 139. 36ALS, p. 85. 33I£A, pp. 46-47. 37LCA, p. 35. 133 peumos fragrantes, los litres, los arrayanes floridos" also 38 appear in his works. The peumo tells us something about the general whereabouts of Alsino during one of his jour neys because the tree only grows between Aconcagua and 39 Valdivia. Prado also wrote of the araucarias, also native to Chilean soil and taking their name appropriately from the fiercely proud Indians of the area. He writes: Volviendo del Neuquen a Chile, atravese, hace anos, la cordillera por el portillo de Ricon. Recuerdo aun la perspectiva grandiosa del inmenso bosque de araucarias que se extiende no lejos del lago Tronen y al pie del volcan Lanfn. Contra el cielo anaranjado de la tarde o contra la nieve purpura del volcan, se recortaban nltidos las siluetas extranas de los arboles. Los tron- cos rectos, de corteza formada por rugosas piezas exa- gonales, se elevaban a alturas prodigiosas. Limpios hasta medio tamano, poco a poco iban apareciendo, cada vez mas cercanas, las ramas que guardaban una in- fleccion suave y cont£nua, de curvas elegantes y airosas, concavas al cielo, terminadas en borlas de hojas compactas y duras como manojos de punales. Y a su vez, todas las ramas iban trazando, con estos manojos extremos, una l£nea general y exterior que no encontrareis en ningun^otro arbol, y cjue da a la araucaria la curva de una parabola, con un nucleo superior espeso al igual de los cometas, con toda la apariencia de un enorme esfuerzo de elevacion.^® 38LCA, p. 78. 39 Breve diccionario chileno (Santiago: Ediciones Ercilla, 1938), p. 381. 40 Ensavos .... pp. 48-49. 134 Several interesting aspects appear here. A mountain land scape of southern Chile is painted by Prado, but it is the araucaria tree which is the object of this literary pas sage. He has not isolated the tree from its native soil, but instead has used the sunset, color, and volcanos for his backdrop. The commonly known trees portrayed in his works 41 42 43 44 are: oaks; medlars; willows; firs, pines, cypresses; 45 46 47 banana and palm trees; pepper trees; live-oaks; poplarsacacias;49 fruit trees like lemon and orange; 51 52 53 54 pear and fig; elm and linden trees; and eucalyptus. 41LCA, p. 35; ALS, p. 15. 42 UJR, p. 96; RRN, p. 91. 43UJR, p. 96; ALS, p. 128. 44Ensayos ..., p. 50; LPE, p. 103; Los X, p. 113. 45RRN, p. 116. 46UJR, p. 239. 47UJR, p. 84; LPE, p. 51; ALS, p. 40. 48 UJR, p. 10. 49UJR, p. 22; LPE, p. 60; LCA, p. 83. 50LCA, p. 51; ALS, p. 128. 51ALS, p. 136. 52ALS, p. 140. 53LPE, p. 41. 54UJR, pp. 128, 204. 135 The pines and citrus trees were subjects of two prose selections in La casa abandonada. "La noche" and "Los ultimos azahares." In "La noche" the poet, speaking to pines, points out their practical use: "sois el reparo de los sembrados ante las dunas que avanzan solapadas" (p. 75). Trees seem generally to be beneficial to mankind either as providers of heat, of food, of protection, or even of comfort. Comfort is provided by the fallen leaves as in the case of Alsino when he seeks refuge for the night in a mountain cave: Tras el entra una procesion de hojas secas. Las que en el interior agrupadas en el rincon mas oseuro, dormian, se contagian con la alegrla que traen las nuevas companeras, y en el fondo de la gruta se arre- molinan y rozan, ebrias, el cielo de roca. (p. 61) The leaves finally settle down and then form a pillow and bed for the wearied Alsino. This description also illus trates Prado’s personification of nature. Leaves also are personified in "Otono" when "... Hojas rocen tu frente y te fingen caricias o pensamientos perdidos." They form a bed "como el lecho de una mujer joven que hubiese dejado entre las hojas el olor de sus cabellos. Personification 55LPE, p. 38. 136 is continued in other works: trees sing and talk in "El bosque"to the wind, "los arboles le hacen reveren- cias";^7 and the almost whispering sounds of trees increase the fears of a worried mother: "los minutos pasados all£ entre arboles que cuchicheaban, parecieron eternos a la C Q madre atribulada." Even as late as "Prosas biblicas," "un arbol en la ribera ... hieratico canta. . .."^ Prado provides an almost x-ray view of the living tree when he writes: "el agua ... penetra y sube por los troncos, destila, hacia el otro extremo, las hojas verdes, la maravilla de las flores, las frutas jugosas y blandas. Cada arbol es una varillita de virtud para con el agua oculta. The forest appears in various works. The forest is compared to a "catedral gigantesca y doble, verde como una esperanza continuada, la que luce sobre la llanura, y blanca la que arraiga en las profundidades de la tierra parda."8^ They again seem to be associated with hope 56LCA, p. 35. 57LCA, p. 11. 58UJR, p. 203 ^"El predicador," p. 5. 60LCA, p. 95. 61LCA, p. 35. 137 62 when he writes of "bosques llenos de porvenir." Hie forest and its impression on modem man is related: La sombra era agradable; pero el silencio infundla inquietud. ... Fueron los bosques ... las viviendas de nuestros abuelos mas remotos. En el agrado que produce su sombra y en la inquietud que brota de su silencio, revivls, debilitados, los sentimientos que agitaron a los hombres de la epoca fabulosa. Descriptions of either forests or trees appear in all Prado*s works except "La reina raaga," "El pueblo muerto," and "La risa en el desierto." They are absent in the first due to the urban nature of the story and in the latter two due to the desert settings of the stories. Plants Prado*s prose abounds with a rich variety of plants. These also can be grouped into local and universal types. Edible herbs and plants like water cress, pulpy 64 leaves, and dandelions were sought out by Alsino. Chil- cas and thorn apples appear.The medicinal properties of local herbs are described: El chequen, desde hoy, guardara para s£ su savia y no para los ojos enfermos; el jugo bianco de la pichoa 62Las C, p. 126. 64ALS, p. 43. 63LCA, p. 17. 65ALS, p. 14. 138 no Ira a quitar verrugas de las manos femeninas; madu- raran en paz los frutos del hinojo, sin temer que las raadres entrlstecldas busquen en ellos remedlo para sus pechos exhaustos, y el inocente quilmai no andara roezclado en unlones clandestinas, ayudando a las mozas a perder el fruto de amores veleidosos.66 There is even a fragrant description of dock and yuyo and the "fresco olor a menta que desprendlan las matas de poleo" when the hunter stepped on them.87 The scented 68 darnel and verbena are mentioned on Easter Island. Weeds and grasses were even suitable topics for his prose. Grasses in one description are "insinuantes a la 69 caricia" and are then called a "verde cabellera. Easter Island’s sparse grass is depicted: "la yerba llamada pelo de raton se vefa cuajada de gotitas brillantes. "7^ "Hier- bajos amarillos de las bardas, las malezas secas" and "nogales de ramas potentes ahorquillandose en complicados arabescos" are also sketched for the reader.7^ The desert stories stand out for their lack of vegetation. The most greenery that is presented are "unas cuantas matas de lechugas, creciendo en unos cajones de tabla, rellenos con 66ALS, pp. 24-25. 67LCA, p. 77. 68RRN, p. 135. 69UJR, pp. 145, 147. 70RRN, p. 135. 71UJR, p. 148. 139 72 humeda tierra vegetal." Weeds become a poetic object in "Las malezas" where they are painted as "vagabundas, viven a la orilla de las aguas corrientes. ... Son las primeras yerbas que se en- senorean de una ruina, y las primeras £lores que se abren sobre una tumba." He continues describing them as "modes- tas de tamano ... fuertes y resistentes a la helada y la sequ£a. Tienen £lores tan pequenas que algunas, como las flores del mastuerzo no son capaces de contener una gota 73 de rocio." In another selection, "las malezas rotas y tendidas han sido siempre un blando y oloroso lecho" for “ 7 / the vagabond. Weeds increase the sense of abandonment 75 in "La casa abandonada," in the depiction of an old water 76 wheel in Los diez. in the description of X's nearly aban- 77 doned farm, and in the loneliness and fright of the 78 mother and her children in Un iuez rural. Consequently, besides any purely decorative qualities weeds may possess, they do serve two functions in Prado's work: being members 72EFM, p. 116. 73LPE, pp. 137-138. 74LPE, p. 135. 75LCA, p. 12. 76Los X, p. 36. 77RRN, p. 12. 78UJR, pp. 196, 201. 140 of nature, they are therefore man’s companions as in the case of the vagabond; and they are sources of a rude sort of beauty if man takes the time to observe them closely. Fruits and Flowers Some of Prado’s most beautiful descriptions are found in the above two classifications. Flowers stand in marked contrast to the general atmosphere of Barrancas: "hibiscus and carnations deliciously perfumed"79 the street that Solaguren walks and "a silent placidness filtered through the entertwining honeysuckle and climbing roses" 80 of his garden. In this same garden blooming stock still shone in the moonlight and there was a fountain surrounded 81 82 by calas and lilies. Fragrant magnolia and floripondio, 83 q/ | oc mimosa, hibiscus, and pansies decorate Prado’s prose. A nearly abandoned cemetery is painted with "restos piso- teados de piadosos jardincillos, geranios sonrientes, rosa- les mustios, languidas campanulas y humildes nomeolvides."88 79UJR, p. 26. 81UJR, p. 15. 83ALS, p. 149. 85RRN, p. 49. 80UJR, p. 14. QO RRN, pp. 17, 85. ^EPM, p. 110. 86UJR, p. 112. 141 The hands of a skeleton found in this same cemetery "eran 87 viejas flores deshojadas." Fire is compared to a red chrysanthemum, "la roja flor, la mas extraordinaria de las flores, la que lleva el espanto ... con sus petalos largos y multiples como los de 88 una crisantema ardiente y colosal." The painter likens his eyes to the sunflower that follows the course of the 89 sun in order always to have its light. There is no doubt, however, that Prado*s favorite flower is the rose. The rose is the subject of one of his most profound prose poems, "Donde comienza a florecer la rosa." In it the old gardener even likens himself in his youth to a "rosal que t 90 tenia cuatro rosas.M Roses are again the theme in "Las rosas." Here they represent men who devote their energies to achieving something beautiful: "un rosal de fruto in- fecundo ... le venero y admiro como a un hermano mas sabio que concentra en sus flores el objeto de toda su vida, y 91 logra que sus rosas brillen como oraciones." Rosebushes are superimposed over his reflected image on a window pane 87UJR, p. 118. 89Los X, p. 67. 91LPE, p. 110. 88LCA, p. 59. 90LCA, p. 72. 142 in "El espejo."9^ Fruit appears in several of his important prose works. Prado seemed to take delight in representing them as one can see in Alsino: Dispuestas por clases, lucian manzanas amarillas y chatas, manzanas verdes, gordas y enormes, manzanas tersas y rozagantes de un carmfn transparente y lumi- noso como el de los azulejos, de todas ellas exhalando un perfume fresco y muy grato. (pp. 210-211) Pears are described in a similar way. Also "zapa- llos de un gris verde azulino" with pachiderm-like skins 93 and April peaches are drawn in this literary cornucopia. Peaches appear again when Prado compares a young peasant girl's partially exposed breasts to "dos grandes duraznos 94 silvestres tibios a la resolana." This somewhat sensual turn PradoTs work has taken, has a precedent in the same book when he describes "frutillas frescas, blandas, dulces y aromatic as, se deshacian suaves en la boca como tiemos ~ 95 y pequenos corazones a quienes agotara un solo beso." In still another work, Mr. X, his young friend, and a painter used to discuss art, "sentados en tomo de uvas 92LCA, p. 34. 94UJR, p. 100 93ALS, p. 210. 95UJR, p. 89. 143 rosadas, finas y olorosas."^ Sometimes fruit is used as a mere image as in "La luna" which looked like a huge Among the forms of animal life that appear in Prado’s work are found, most importantly, birds, then larger animals usually of the domestic variety, and insects of all kinds. Man as a merely picturesque element must also be considered here. Prado’s main preference in his nature descriptions was bird life, which can also be divided into exclusively Chilean and then universal. no 99 Chilean birds such as the huairavo, the queltehue, the flamenco, huillin, and the piden are described in their 100 settings. The almost human qualities that Prado attaches to native Chilean birds is interesting. A band of choroyes, whose incessant strident din grows with the warmth of dawn, begins to greet Alsino with, "iBuenos dfas! ;Buenos d£as! 97 golden fruit high in the sky. Animal Nature 97LPE, p. 50. 99RRN, p. 12. 144 ... Fresca la noche, ^verdad?" This same thing is also evident in the description of the chirigties: Las bandadas de chirigttes, que cantaban hasta atur- dirse, posadas en los durazneros desnudos, se asustan a su paso y emprenden atropellado vuelo. ... Volvieron las enormes bandadas de chirigfies, cantando aturdidos hasta desganitarse, como alegres borrachos que hiciesen tintinear las copas. (pp. 154-155) A veritable catalogue of native birds appears in "El cazador": Nuestras vlctimas ser£an los zorzales y torcazas. ... Chincoles, raras diucas y chercanes, la plebe de los habitantes del aire. ... Unos cuantos golpes de alas, y se encontraban sobre las altas copas. Desde all£ divisarfan las sementeras y el campo libre.^^ It must be noted that Prado*s native birds are not always beautiful, songful and happy. A particularly vivid example of this is found in Alsino: Un grupo de jotes malolientes que graznan y bailan en tomo de una vaca muerta. Celebran el extrano ritual que antecede al grosero banquete. Aun solo danzan en ronda. No sin gracia levantan las patas, y con las alas entre abiertas avanzan dando saltos ritmicos. Las mollejas y las pequenas y calvas testas comienzan a colorearse. Antes de que hundan en el animal muerto los afilados y largos cuellos y extraigan las entrafias descompuestas, Alsino se aleja con rapidez de tan innoble festfn. (pp. 65-66) The most frequently mentioned bird is the well-known 101ALS, p. 85. 102LCA, pp. 77, 80. 145 dove. Doves flee from the belfry of the Ten's cloister at sunset. They nestle peacefully on Mr. X's rooftop^4 or flee into the night in "El rumbo."^3 In a particularly inspiring depiction of swallows in flight, the reader sees Alsino watching them. First he experiences frustration, then he takes heart and actually joins them: En miles de estridentes y finos chillidos confesaban las ansias que tenran de ir hacia las calidas tierras del norte. Cuando las ultimas rezagadas vinieron a incor porate, el negro enjambre se remonto despacio en el aire hasta llegar a gran altura, giro despues cinco veces sobre s£ mismo, con el vertigo de una honda silbadora, y desaparecio, en seguida, llevado por rapidfsimo vuelo, rumbo a las remotas comarcas tropi- cales. Una agitacion angustiosa sintio Alsino. Su sangre ard£a, sus ojos contemplaban el sitio impreciso del aire por el cual desaparecieron, invisibles, las innumerables golondrinas. (pp. 70-71) This passage is very reminiscent of his selection, "Los pajaros errantes" with the exception that the birds there are not particularized as in the above example. There are three separate instances in which birds are used as symbols for the poet's words. These words are kept in "un palomar de hermanas prisioneras. Sometimes 103Los X, p. 24. 105___ LPE, p. 61. 104RRN, p. 11. 106Las C, p. 108 146 they would become excited and fly blindly about striking against each other and even once "una paloma choco contra mi pecho, y agarrandose con sus debiles unas se quedo all! pegada y con las alas extendidas. "^7 They are mentioned 1 0 8 in "El predicador" in the same way. 1 0 9 In Prado's literary aviary there are: owls, bats, goldfinches,^'1 ' vultures,^2 eagles, condors,'1 ' ' 1 ' 4 thrushes, and such domestic birds as geese, hens, and roosters. Inasmuch as the sea and coast were so influ ential in his work, it is no surprise to find sea birds carefully described, as in La reina de Rapa-Nui: "una ban- dada interminable de gaviotas de blando y agil vuelo nos 107LPE, p. 58. 108,, Prosas bfblicas," p. 5. 109LPE, p. 58; Los X, p. 83. 110UJR, p. 18; Los X, p. 97; LPE, p. 6. m Los X, p. 95; EFM, p. 116; LCA, p. 52. 112LPE, p. 61; ALS, p. 15. 113LCA, p. 36. 114ALS, p. 257. 115Los X, p. 95; EFM, p. 116; LCA, p. 52. 116UJR, p. 17. ^^UJR, pp. 24, 95; ALS, passim. 147 acompanaba sin cansancio. El sol poniente tenfa de anaranjado las blancas pechugas y las alas que batfan la brlsa de la tarde" (p. 165)* Solaguren in the deserted seaside resort one afternoon observes, "gaviotas en grupos, encogidas, quietas, silenciosas, miraban caer el sol" as well as "pajarillos pequenos, rapidos y graciosos, parecfan desprenderse de las ultimas espumas y correr a compas de ellas ..." and finally "una oculta perdicilla de mar con su combado cuello y largo pico huyo despavorida, lanzando su 118 silbo triste." All of these birds reflect Solaguren*s own sadness and loneliness that this holiday place has 119 evoked in him. Sea gulls also appear in "La confianza" / 120 and "La contemplacion." In this last selection mention 121 is made of the albatross and powerful ocean birds. On two occasions Prado compares children to birds. Holding his child in his arms like a little bird he says, TOO "tu cuerpo pesa como un pajaro herido. In the second selection he maintains that children are like birds when they ask fundamental questions concerning surrounding reality because "como las aves, cruzan en lfnea recta por 118UJR, p. 210. 119LCA, p. 49. 120Las C, p. 126. 121Las C, p. 125. 122LPE, p. 124. 148 ~ 123 sobre bosques enmaranados." In three different books he likens either himself or man to birds, as he did above with the doves. ^2^ Domestic Animals Dogs are the most frequently described of the tame or domestic animals which appear in Prado1s works. Inter estingly the dog, as will be seen, is not highly regarded by Prado and under no circumstances can it even be remotely associated with the Anglo-American concept of the dog as man’s best friend. Prado's descriptions of this little animal are very common to the Latin sentiments about pets and dogs in particular. In "El pueblo muerto" Otamendi's description of an abandoned mining town is highlighted by the fact that the last living things to leave the town were the dogs. They had even seemed to form two warring bands to fight over the garbage. One day they attacked a TOC muleteer and his train and devoured one of the mules. A graphic representation of several types of dogs 123LPE, p. 115. 124 LPE, passim, Las C, passim; LCA, passim. 125EPM, p. 119. 149 is found in Un iuez rural: Los perros aguardaban: grandes y pequenos, de pelaje corto o de largas lanas, escualidos los mas, viejos algunos, con bigotillos canosos, los ojos negros y salientes, las cejas peludas. ... Todo lo devoraron instantaneamente, y revueltos con gallinas intrusas y polios entecos tornados por el moquillo, quedaron, otra vez, atentos esperando. ... (p. 95) Prado leaves no doubt, however, in the reader’s mind about his true feelings toward the canine: "iMise- rables perros! El buey ara, el caballo arrastra el coche. Vosotros iQue haceis? Nada. ... Ruines animales; sois 126 mendigos sin libertad." In all his works there is no genuine affection or pleasant description of dogs. Even in Alsino. where the love Prado feels for all nature is expressed, there are only brief references to them. For example a group of dogs bark and follow Alsino. One is even so bold as to snap at Alsino’s tattered trousers. It is then that he talks to them, "como Alsino ya daba a entender a las cosas y a los animales, todos los perros, al o{rlo, enmudecieron a la vez, y sin responder, deteni- dos, temerosos," they turn and run away (p. 67). Dogs also heighten the effect of descriptions when their barking in 126LPE, p. 134. 150 the late night increases the sense of mystery and instills 127 fear. Their incessant sniffing and smelling around a village adds a great deal of authenticity to the depic- 128 tion. Lastly dogs appear as similes. A wave is compared to a dog: Mera una pequena ola que de tiempo en tiempo lam£a el orgullo de la roca indiferente, como si fuese un 129 perro que insiste en humillarse ante su amo." Poor and 130 abandoned roto children are described as skinny as dogs. Solaguren is likened to a dog when he discovers his image in the darkened mirror of his room, "y como dos perros vagabundos que se encuentran en su camino y se acercan, se acercan sacando de su mutua desconfianza implorante sumi- sion, extrana curiosidad, y contenida fiereza ambos fueron / 131 aproximandose. ..." The novel of the tormented Sola guren closes on this note. The next important kind of animal appearing in Prado’s prose is the horse. This animal seems almost to 127UJR, pp. 157, 200. ^23AND, p. 16; "La reina maga." 129EPM, p. 108. 130UJR, p. 152. 131UJR, p. 255. 151 typify the underdeveloped technical condition of Chile. Solaguran on a Sunday walk sees: Los viejos, flacos y filosoficos caballos de los carre- tones fleteros. Era un espectaculo impresionante el que ofrec£a el descanso dominical de las trabajadas bestias. Los pelajes sucios y semejantes, despues de una noche de pasar tendidos en el estiercol; los vien- tres hinchados y las costillas salientes; los cuellos concavos y cafdos, debiles para soportar el peso de cabezotas enormes; los belfos colgando flacidos; las orejas eternamente amusgadas, dando la apariencia de u n a gran ira c o n t e n i d a . ^2 In one incident, "venfa comiendo un caballo de una flacura inverosimil," which Mozarena and Solaguren watched slip into a ditch while trying to drink. "Salio el infeliz caballejo. Los belfos lleno de barro; un ojo cegado por los terrones. ... Quedo tal como lo dejaran: tendido y quieto como un muerto; el largo y desgarbado cuello en arco 133 doloroso contra la tierra dura.” This same type of horse reappears throughout the novel. Prado even describes the horse as "el clasico caballejo de nuestro pueblo; mal <i o / comido, melancolico, dos veces silencioso." Only one example of a horse used as an image is encountered in his work. He compares a picaresque 132UJR, p. 26. 134UJR, p. 170. 133 JJUJR, pp. 148-151. 152 character, Calienta la Tierra, to "un ocloso potro altivo entre gruesas yeguas de crla y escualidos caballos de faenas. Among the remaining animals represented In Prado's , 136 . 137 ^ 138 - 139 140 work are: cows; pigs; sheep; mules; oxen; 141 142 143 144 lizards and snakes; toads; mice; rabbits; puma;*4^ and sea wolves.Clouds form the shape of "un leon furioso, caballos desbocados, una vlrgen desmayada y un glgantesco oso bianco que amenazaba tragarselo todo."^4^ 135 RRN, p. 82. 136 RRN, pp. 23, 82; UJR, p. 110. 137 UJR, p. 12; RRN, p. 12. I - 5 0 LCA, p. 56; EFM, p. 112; RRN, p. 82. 139LCA, p. 56; EFM, p. 112. 140 Las C, p. 125; LCA, p. 84; RRN, p. 12. 141RRN, p. 80; Las C, p. 110; UJR, p. 114; LCA, p. 22. 1 4 2 L C A , p . 8 8 . 143ALS, p. 51; LCA, p. 12. 144 ALS, p. 51; RRN, p. 69. 145ALS, p. 258. 146ALS, p. 216. 147 LCA, p. 40. 153 Otamendi travelling muleback through the desert compares 148 the barren grey hills to a flock of gigantic elephants. The author's heart palpitates like a wounded Imprisoned 149 stag. It is evident that Prado's work is richly peppered with a diverse animal life* either depicted as natural parts of the landscape or used as similies and images. Fish also appear in Prado's works. The fishermen of Rapa-Nui catch lobster* sailfish* and careba.^^ Catches of fish are portrayed: "asomaron al ras de las aguas grandes peces* que* en furiosas contorsiones* trata- 151 ban de escaper." Since fish are not usually visible in their habitat* Prado uses them more often as Images than as elements of the natural scene. Solaguren's court secre tary is drawn as performing his duties like a fish in 152 water. Stars are like fish trying to swim up river* but are slowly and surely being pushed back by the coming 153 dawn. Golden fishes which appear in one instance are ^EPM* p. 112. ^Las C, p. 115. I50RRN, pp. 59-61. 151LCA, p. 65. 152 153 UJR, p. 36. ALS, p. 60. 154 the sounds of music, and in another they are the moon's 155 broken reflection on a choppy sea. A huge silver fish is a metaphor for the moon's floating reflection on the 156 patio fountain. Insects Insects, as minute a part of nature as they are, often play a role in Prado's work. There are locusts,*'"’7 crickets, *^8 bees,*"^ and spiders.*"88 Butterflies are prominent in his images. A cloud is compared to a butter fly that is caught in the flames of the moon light which causes momentary darkness and then "el cuerpo consumido de 161 la mariposa rueda por los rincones oscuros de la noche." Addressing his love, Prado writes, "tu piel suave, se cubre con el mismo polvo de oro que solo se encuentra en las alas de las blancas mariposas. "*’ 82 A man's glances*^83 154Los X, p. 61. 155LPE, p. 48. 156LPE, p. 121. 157Los X, p. 44. 158LPE, p. 62; LCA, p. 11. 159LCA, pp. 22, 69, 76, 92. 160LCA, pp. 11, 51; LPE, pp. 17, 52; Los X, p. 83. 161LCA, p. 11. 162LPE, p. 42. 163LPE, p. 31. 155 164 and leaves are also compared to butterflies. Hie reader also sees dragonflies used to reflect the feeling of X for Queen Coemata Etu. These insects act out X*s inner thoughts : "Libelulas encamadas volaban de a pares jugando al amor. Silenciosos contemplamos sus giros ondulados. De vez en vez llegaba hasta nosotros el zumbido ardoroso de sus alas."^8^ Men and ants are used as similes twice in Prado’s works; on Solaguren’s dark street they are like black ants 166 among the shadows, travelers, and farm workers on a dis tant hill look like ants.^7 The wasp receives similar treatment when Prado compares a quarrelsome woman to "una * 168 avispa pronta a clavar su aguijon." The houses of the 169 poor are even described as wasps1 nests. Man Man described as an aspect of the landscape is prominent in three works, Un iuez rural. Alsino. and La reina de Rapa-Nui. Prado generally shows a very unsympa thetic attitude toward man. In one scene he depicts the 164LPE, p. 37. 165RRN, p. 111. 166UJR, p. 10. 167Las C, p. 125. 168UJR, p. 131. 169UJR, p. 23. 156 drunken peasant where "no faltaron algunos cansados o inseguros de piemas, por lo borrachos, que se quedasen donde estaban, incapaces, ademas, de desalrar la comilona y el grueso vino de la montana."^7^ Hearing about Alsino1s nearby presence, they seek him out and mistake an idiot for him. "Reunieronse algunos en tomo del cretino y como este no quisiese volar, en un dos por tres lo desnudaron y dieronle de golpes" (p. 192). Finally finding Alsino, they attack and strip him and are very pleased to find his mutilated clipped wings. On one occasion, however, Prado does depict the inquilino in a manner which could, in some ways, describe all men who for years have cultivated the land. He de scribes the peasant with su rostro moreno, surcado por infinitas arrugas, donde brillan claros sus ojos cenicientos, trae el recuerdo de los trabajados campos de labranza, llegada la epoca de los barbechos, cuando brillan, con las claras y pequenas pozas de agua.'1 Calienta la Tierra, a local picturesque character who falls somewhere between a "Buscon" and a Don Juan, receives considerable attention. Prado finds him a suit able subject because he is unlike his fellow men who are 170ALS, p. 191. 171ALS, p. 196 157 prisoners of the dreary routines of their drab peasant lives. Calienta la Tierra genuinely loves and lives life to its fullest. The changing panorama of people who pass through Solagurenfs court gives the reader an indication of the suburban lower class which seems to stand in marked con trast to the peasant girls he describes on his wanderings with Mozarena. It is also interesting to note the fre- 173 quency of the word "ashen” in descriptions of people. It is perhaps this ashen condition that drives some of Pradofs characters to seek refuge in alcohol in such works as ”Luz lunar,” Alsino. Un iuez rural, and the northern desert stories. Mineral Nature Rocks and minerals do not occupy a prominent posi tion in Prado’s prose. The mineral element is used essen tially in two ways: first, images or metaphors; second, as decor. Gems figure as images in a description of the dawn: "la luz cambiante que va pasando del topacio al rub£, del 172 UJR, Ch. X. 173 UJR, passim. 158 rub! a una palida amatista y que, por fin, largamente brilla con el desvanecido resplandor de una inmensa perla 174 enferma." Androvar meditating at the close of day sees clouds above that possess, "la tomadiza luminosidad de los opalos," and the waters of the sea are mysterious crystals (pp. 52-53). In still another description the effect of sunlight on a peasant girl*s naked body intensi fies Alsino*s lust for her: "El sol atravieza el follaje, cae en discos de oro atigrando el cuerpo desnudo de la joven, y una claridad mayor bana su vientre terso, donde, como diamantes, brillan las gotas de agua que destellan" (p. 101). Actually the mention made of gold is one of Prado*s more frequent mineral images, but silver is also used, particularly with references to moonlight and stars. Rocky areas appear in several works, but they take on significant value when the Brother Sculptor speaks: Cuando paseo por el campo, las rocas estan para m£ llenas de solicitaciones. ... A1 afirmar en las rocas vecinas, como haciendo acto de posesion, siento que estan tibias al sol como la came de una joven; y la palpitacion de mi sangre pasa a las rocas, y las rocas tiemblan. 174ALS, p. 86. 175 Los X, p. 74. 159 This close identity with rocks is expressed elsewhere when the poet gladly gives himself to the sea, "como un guijarro 176 que canta, porque las olas lo pulen y toman en joya." 177 He can even see the passage of time in rocks. o i . 178 179 n . 180 , Rocky coasts, caves, coastal dunes, and 181 cliffs are also all part of the mineral world Prado portrays. The desert is described with its "colinas de minerales verdiazules" and "cerros de arenisca roja y 182 amarillenta.” In fact mineral veins on the surrounding hillsides look so much like cloud shadows that Otamendi has 183 to keep checking the sky above to be sure they are not. The mineral wealth of this area is indicated when Otamendi, examining the desert cemetery, discovers fragments of bones and an intact skull, all silver oxidized. He also found a rich vein of copper in the place (p. 126). 176LPE, p. 68. 177LPE, p. 21. 178LPE, p. 69; AND, p. 53; EPM, p. 108; ALS, passim. 37^Las C, p. 109; ALS, p. 61. ^®^ALS, p. 9, passim. LCA, p. 74. 18**Las C, p. 121; LCA, p. 55; ALS, passim. 182EFM, p. 109. 183EFM, pp. 113-114. Celestial Elements 160 The stars, the moon, and the sun appear frequently throughout Prado's creations. On Easter Island, "estrellas azulinas, estrellas doradas, estrellas rojas se ve£an por el ambito del cielo silencioso. La v£a Lactea era una niebla de luz, y el Saco de Carbon una sima negra en el 184 profundo color del firmamento." On the desert, the night became crowded with stars, but one low star in par ticular, "de color rojo, fing£a ser la luz de un lejano / 185 guardav£as." Cerezo indicated to Otamendi the stars he called by "el espejo, la Rosa, Teresa, y Romerillo" and that Otamendi knew as Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter 186 (p. 120). Generally stars brighten the night sky, but sometimes stars and starlight are reflected from shining 187 surfaces, like windowpanes or water. Finally the boat with the ten brothers aboard flew into the stars, amidst "una constelacion de luciemagas de plata. ... El sol, la tierra, la luna y todos los viejos planetas quedaban 184RRN, p. 67. 185EPM, p. 117. 186LCA, pp. 55, 73; Las C, p. 118; LPE, p. 47; UJR, p. 201; RRN, p. 153. 187LCA, pp. 34, 56, 81; LPE, p. 61. 161 confundidos para nosotros entre las estrellas Infini- tas."188 The sun appears in Prado*s works in a variety of 189 ways. The sun can be blinding to man; fearful to 190 191 plants; small and colorless; useful as a guide to 192 direction. The coming of the sun occupies the entire fifteenth chapter in Alsino. The sun brings the day and 193 dispels the dark shadows of the night. The sun awakens movement and turns off the stars and meditation; it makes the earth lose its shadowy unity only to show itself as a 194 conglomerate mass. The setting sun is described as a 195 gold coin slipping below the horizon. Watching the sun set from his window, Prado writes, Mcomo en un horizonte el sol se hunde en mi y en ml muere."'*'98 A sunset is de picted as the moment when the sun dresses in purple like a 197 king and descends into the sea. In a similar descrip tion the sun is an "inmensa brasa roja, y al ras de las 188Los X, p. 111. 190LPE, p. 140. 192LCA, p. 64. 194LCA, p. 74. 196Las C, p. 112. 189AND, p. 27. 191LPE, p. 94. 193 LCA, p. 49. ■ * - 9"*Ios X, p. 20. 197 Las C, p. 127. 162 olas su contomo deshecho lanzaba el ultimo reflejo de los barcos incendiados al desaparecer entre las aguas oscu- ,,198 ras. The moon and its light receives interesting and novel treatment from Prado. There are two examples of the 199 new moon being seen in the daylight sky. The moon, pale through the fog, is drawn with Mdos nacarados y enormes cfrculos concentricos. Alguien ha tanido esa campana de plata: son dos ondas sonoras que se propagan por los domi- nios de la noche silenciosa. The moon figures in the titles of two of his prose selections: MLuz lunar1 ' and "La luna." The latter describes the moon as surging, "hecha un milagro del mar, cada vez mayor y mas esplendido, seme- jaba un cardumen de peces de oro en busca de un alimento maravilloso." He continues, "la luna parecfa unirse a nuestra marcha y seguir el mismo rumbo que nuestro 201 barco." Alsino talks directly to the moon in a speech that has poetic implications: iOh luna! como se irisa el mar de nubes que me ocultan la tierra. Para los hombres ya sera noche obscura, 198RRN, p. 153. 199RRN, pp. 122, 153. 200atc q 201, /Q ALS, p. 9. LPE, p. 4o. 163 mientras el otro costado visible de las mismas nubes que les impiden contemplarse, se llena; jOh Dios m£o! de esta luminosa y perdida belleza. (p. 72) Solaguran finds a release from family tensions by bringing a chair out into his patio and allowing the gentle, calm moonlight to caress him. Looking around him he notices his fountain where, "la luna, como una mujer, gusta del espejo del agua. ..." Then after contemplating the cloudless sky and the stars paled by the moon's light, he 202 closes his eyes to sleep. The moon, however, is not always poetic or relaxing. In the third act of "Androvar" while Gadel is dying, the moon comes out causing the land scape to take on mysterious, frightening shadows (p. 97). Time The passage of time in any given author's work is worthy enough in and of itself as a study. Consequently time will be analyzed here only in its direct application to nature and not as a metaphysical or philosophical pre occupation. The seasons of the year and the hours of the day will be analyzed in order to demonstrate Prado's uses of them as well as his preferences. 202UJR, pp. 14-16. 164 Seasons Each book of Prado will be taken individually and examined for the seasons depicted in it. Chronological publication order will be used. In his two earliest short stories considered in this study "La reina maga" and "Luz lunar," the former takes place in the Chilean summer at Christmas time, and the latter in the winter.2^ La casa f t f t / abandonada has six references related to spring, two to the summer, 2^“ * one to autumn, 2*^ and three to the winter.2^ Twelve of the twenty-four prose selections contain no refer ence or indication to any season. The action in La reina de Rapa-Nui takes place exclusively in the summer. Ini tially X and his young friend would chat on summer after noons (p. 17). X*s accounts indicate that he left for Easter Island in January (p. 32) and returned to Chile just as the natural elements seemingly began to reflect the first signs of autumn (p. 50). 203 It is to be remembered in all of Pradofs de scriptions that the seasons are exactly the reverse of those north of the equator. 2 0 4 LCA, pp. 21, 37, 52, 72, 85, 91. 205LCA, pp. 49, 92. 20 6 LCA, p. 11. 207 LCA, pp. 37, 49, 91. 165 Los diez takes place in the warm fall (p. 11), but the wandering brother mentions spending a rainy summer with humble country folk (p. 52). The brother architect meta phorically uses the winter as prevailing against his cre ation, the house; the spring for the renewal of life by a birth of a child to the housed owner; and the fall to close the cycle when the owner dies (pp. 82-84). A preference for fall is clearly seen in Los naia- ros errantes. Of the eight main subdivisions of the book, one is entitled "Otono" and each of the nine separate pieces takes place in the fall or is about it. Fall 208 figures in three other prose selections of the book. Prado wrote in this book that "el otono es mas hermoso que la alegre primavera" (p. 37). The only other season spe cifically mentioned or implied is the spring. It figures 209 in three separate pieces. It is in one of these, "In- vocacion al olvido," that he begins by addressing spring time : "Luminoso dia de septiembre; fresco, tibio y radiante dia. Dia nuevo y primitivo ... alegre de toda juventud, pleno de impetus, ebrio de anhelos, derrochador de fuerzas" 208LPE, pp. 9, 109, 119. 209LPE, pp. 29, 62, 87. 166 but then he pauses and thrusts himself upon spring, "epoca de apariencias de renovacion, epoca falaz que pones brillo en los ojos viejos y deseos axnorosos en sus labios seni- les. ..." Tired of the easy deceptions of this "prodigo y vano tiempo primaveral" he only wants it to gift him with forgetfulness of the past (pp. 87-92). Alsino contains numerous descriptions of all four seasons. The story begins in "la madurez del verano" (p. 23) and ends in the late fall perhaps two years later (p. 254). The changing of seasons is more reflected in this than in any other book by Prado. There are five main sections to this novel and the first and second of these transpire in the late summer and fall. Imperceptibly the reader slips into spring in chapter sixteen of part three. Let us compare this description of spring with that just mentioned above in Los paiaros errantes : Extensos, suaves y aterciopelados lomajes, cubier- tos de hierbas y flores eflmeras que las lluvias del inviemo hicieron hacer. Un dulce sol en manana humeda de primavera; sol nuevo, claro y tibio, de luz que vibra como el lejano sonido de trompetas resplande- cientes. Brisas de altura, aires livianos, puros y vastos, que en s£ guardan y al besar dejan el salino sabor y los libres suenos del oceano que acaban de cruzar. Distante, apagado y profundo se escuchaba el estruendo de las olas. Cenido en debiles nieblas, el mar mas se le adivina por sus voces que se le ve; borroso se diluye y mezcla, en armoniosa gradacion, 167 con el cielo que se eleva inc©mensurable. Por el oriente, las cordilleras, remotas, cublertas con el fuego bianco de las altas nleves espejeantes, al dlluir sus cumbres en el aire diafano que resplandece, logran, por fin, fundlrse con el cielo. El mundo entero se disuelve en luz jocunda, y la alegrfa de ser domina a toda cosa, y se expande y crece avasalladora. (pp. 89-90) Quickly (in Chapter XVIII), the reader moves from spring into summer where the air is burning. "En oleadas sube de la tierra reseca, como halitos de homo. Los cerros desnudos, a traves de las ondas calientes, los ve agitarse tembloroso como monstruos echados que acezaran" (p. 97). It is under these climatic conditions that Alsino either due to intense heat dizzying his mind or to his own physical lust that he rapes a young peasant girl bathing in a cool spring nearby. From this scene we move to the next chapter where Alsino describes flying in "la incom parable delicia de las quietas noches de otono" (p. 105). Later Alsino is captured in an orange grove on a late winter night (p. 127). Time passed and November began with its roses in bloom in Chapter XXIV, "El canto del amor." Spring, thus, becomes associated classically with new love. Then the rains came and the months of June and July went by, but by August some very beautiful suns began to sparkle in the sky: "llego septiembre. Los arboles empezaron 168 tardiamente a florecer" (p. 166). Still in this fourth section of the novel we find cool stunner days coining around 210 Christmas. If in Chapter XXIX we find spring and new love associated, there is no difficulty in associating autumn and death. In Chapter XXXII, "Otono, " and XXXIV, "Errante," Alsino*s beloved Abigail becomes seriously ill and dies. Her death destroyed his only tie with this earth. In the fifth and final section of the novel it is fall and AlsinoTs life is consumed in the autumn*s night sky. It is interesting to note that the most frequently mentioned and best described seasons of this novel are the spring and fall. In Las copas. of the nineteen short prose selec tions, only one mentions or describes a season and it is the summer. The author writes, "quemado por el estio ago- biador, dormla en la alta noche." In his sleep he dreams of "ciudades en fiestas que ardlan en medio de las azules noches estivales" (p. 118). His next published work, Un iuez rural, opens in the summer, a hot December afternoon (p. 10). From implication this season continues to 210ALS, pp. 177, 187. 169 February with the close of the novel (p. 221). Prado does not describe any other seasons. The remaining works are the desert stories, in which, strictly speaking, there are no seasons, and "Andro- 211 var" which apparently transpires in the fall, but there are no descriptions or detailed comments to this effect. "Prosas b£blicas" and Vieios poemas ineditos also make no reference whatsoever to any of the seasons. Hours Using the same procedure as with the seasons we shall examine the various times during the day and night that make up Prado*s prose. "La reina maga" begins on Christmas eve night and ends on Christmas day. "Luz lunar" takes place completely at night. In La casa abandonada there are nine references to the daylight hours, six to night, one to sunset, and the remaining selections give no indication as to when they occur. The descriptions of nature in La reina de Rana-Nui are for the most part of 212 daytime scenes. There are, however, three descriptions 211 AND, p. 16. ^^RRN, prologo-Ch. IX, Chaps. XI, XII. 170 Ol O 01/ of sunset, three of night, and none of the dawn. Los diez does not make any important use of any times during the day, but there do exist three casual references to the sunny daytime, one sunset, and two very brief de scriptions of the night. Los paiaros errantes is rela tively limited in its temporal descriptions. There are O 1 c O 1 fi three of sunsets, two of the night, and two of the 217 day. In Alsinofs forty-one chapters, twenty-eight occur during the day or make significant use of descriptions of the day. The sunrise is described in two chapters. The first depicts the effect of the new sun on a rude village: La pequena ciudad, construida de adobes y ladrillos de roja tierra, desperto al encenderse como un vasto incendio que ardiese entre montes sombrios, y contra el cielo tempestuoso y oscuro del oriente. Las torres de la iglesia, los altos y pequenos edificios, los arboles y los hombres y animales, sor- prendidos por el fulgor resplandeciente, acusaron, en colores nftidos, relieves poderosos y detalles in- crelbles y preciosos. ... No podfa el [Alsinoj recono- cer en esos castillos de oro resplandecientes, las OIO RRN, prologo, Chaps. I, XIII. 214RRN, Chaps. V, XI, XII. 215LPE, pp. 9-11, 61-63, 109-110. 216LPE, pp. 47-50, 127. 217LPE, pp. 87, 94. 171 torres de la iglesla parroquial, el molino ruinoso y las casas vulgares y las zahurdas miserrimas. (pp. 69-70) The other example constitutes a chapter in itself, "El alba." The sunset appears mentioned or described in 218 three separate chapters, but it is his last chapter where he describes the Chilean sunset: A1 oriente, mas alia del an^osto valle, por sobre otros cerros, se yergue la vision de las cordilleras nevadas. Las altas cumbres estan en sombra. La nieve en ellas, es de un bianco verdoso, palido y sutil. El invisible sol poniente bana de la inmensa mole andina, solo la base de las laderas abruptas que arden en un rojo carmesl, acusando en rasgos netos, de un contraste violento, las caprichosas quebradas llenas de profundas sombras violetas. Lentas suben hacia lo alto los rayos del sol. Las nieves se encienden, y mientras por la base de las montanas con cendales de bruma, trepa, azul, la noche a esa hora todos los valles de Chile se iluminan lentos con el resplandor de las altas nieves lejanas. Es una luz rosa, suave e incierta, como la primera <jue fluye, debil, de las lamparas en- cendidas al crepusculo. (pp. 263-264) For its use of color and light, this particular passage should remain among Prado*s best natural descriptions. Anyone who has contemplated the spectrum of colors that plays across a mountain range at sunset can appreciate the artistry, the precision, and the careful observation 218ALS, Chaps. V, XX, XLI 172 219 with which Prado wrote. The night opens the first chapter of Alsino and night has fallen upon the earth as have Alsino*s ashes in the last chapter. The night figures in nine other chap- 220 ters. Alsino's aged grandmother dies in the night (p. 121) as does his first love, Abigail (p. 222). Alsino*s own death occurs as he falls to the night covered earth below (p. 266). Of the nineteen prose selections making up Las 221 copas, only one makes an indirect reference to the day. The sunset is depicted only in one instance where "pasa a mis pupilas la ultima llama del d£a, y corao en un hori zonte, el sol se hunde en m£ y en m£ muere." He continues: 219 A young Brazilian writer residing in Santiago for a time wrote the following description of the same scene that parallels Prado's: "6 dificil contar esse lada de paisagem, esse alto horizonte, essa imensa muralha azul toucada de neve que brilha ao sol. Quando o sol vai morrendo do outro lado do horizonte, a Cordilheira comesa a mudar de c6r— a Montanha se faz violeta, a neve as vezes tern reflexos purpuros ou roseos, o azul do ceu vai se fazendo mais grave no crepusculo alto e solene. ’ 'Santiago nao tem mar; mas team, a leste, essa pre- sen^a de abismo e de infinito, essa paisagem de estranha f8r$a, pureza e paz--de uma oceanica beleza." (Rubem Braga, Ai de ti. Copacabana [Rio: EditSra do autor, 1962], p. 14. ) 220ALS, Chaps. X, XII, XIX, XXI, XXII, XVIII, XXVI, XXXII, XXXIV. 221Las C, pp. 103-105. 173 Oh campinas olorosas a la tristeza del angelus, como vosotras, perfumadas a melancolla, van mi juventud y soledad a esta hora, en que aun no sabemos si la noche que viene, viene a quedarse para siempre entre noso- tros. (p. 112) It is the night, however, in this book that occu pies most of Pradofs attention. It appears on five dis- 222 tinct occasions. He directly addresses the night: jOh! noche para el dolor y el pensamiento, tu eres oscura y pavorosa como una cavema. Como una cavema que centuplica en mil ecos profundos los alaridos de la angustia humana. Una de esas insondables cavemas de aire denso e impuro abiertas al mar que en las sora- bras, negro como la tinta, hierve alumbrado fugazmente por la blancura de las espumas. (p. 109) In this citation and even in the one concerning sunset we find a distinct sense of foreboding associated with the night. Un iuez rural has one mention of the sunrise 223 (p. 178) and only two of the sunset. Chapters two, three, five through fifteen, seventeen, twenty-one, twenty- two and twenty-four all occur during the day and employ, in varying degrees, descriptions of it. The night occupies chapters one, four, sixteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty-three, 222"La lampara," "La noche," "Las campanas," "La sombra," and "Libertad." 223UJR, pp. 9, 235. 174 twenty-five, twenty-six, and the last chapter, twenty- seven. In six of these chapters the night is closely associated with a sense of mystery, anguish, or illness. Chapter four demonstrates Solaguren1s solitude, internal conflict and resultant anguish, chapter sixteen contains an episode concerning the capture of bandits and a quick trip into the danger filled night, eighteen describes Sola- guren*s concern for his seriously ill child and how he worries through a seemingly endless night. Twenty recounts the hurried trip to the seacoast in a night filled with mystery, cold winds, howling dogs, etc. Twenty-three is a description of a mysterious midnight horseback ride along the beach, and chapters twenty-six and seven describe the agonizing confrontation of Solaguren with himself after some months of emotional and mental malaise. The only description of night and any beauty in Santiago is found in chapter twenty-five. Solaguren and Mozarena have climbed Santa Lucia hill to go to a restau rant where: Escogieron una mesa desde la que se dominaba la ciudad. Ya era noche cerrada. Velanse los rosarios de luces de las calles de Santiago. ... Contemplaban en silencio el espectaculo noctumo que ofrec£a Santiago. Hacia el sur, saliendo a pleno campo, segu£a, hasta desvane- cerse, una l£nea de puntos luminosos: era el camino de 175 San Bernardo. Dispersas al pie de la Cordillera pestaneaban pequenas luminarias y, arriba, en los fal- deos lejanos, dos grandes luces rojizas denunciaban incendios en las <^uebradas. Un enorme halo luminoso emergfa como el halito de la ciudad. (pp. 238-239) Any reader who has gone to a high vantage point in any large city can surely appreciate the spectacle of beauty and the feelings the sight must evoke in the be holder. Sometimes the experience is breathtaking, and is almost always impressive. This passage is also truly dis tinctive in that Prado rarely describes any city and night never seemed to be so pleasant as in this description. The desert stories contain no significant descrip tions of the hours of the day. "El pueblo muerto" tran spires for the most part during the daylight hours although one starry night is described (p. 117). "Androvar," how ever, deserves some attention in regard to how Prado employed the varying hours in the day. The first act opens on a sunny morning, the second is from late afternoon to sunset, and the third act is at night on a desert illumi- ry ry / nated by the mysterious, foreboding light of the moon. In some respects Prado’s use of time in this play seems 224AND, pp. 14, 52, 77 176 to be in line with the classic unity of time, but it must be pointed out that although the complete cycle of the day is depicted, the actual elapsed time is unknown, it could be a month or a year. There is no specific mention of times in "Prosas b£blicas" nor in Vieios poemas ineditos. however, it can be assumed they most likely occur during the daylight hours. Atmospheric Elements Prado in his works portrayed and mentioned several aspects of the weather and sky. Since these phenomena influence to such a great extent one’s interpretation or feeling for nature, brief mention should be made of the most salient manifestations. These atmospheric phenomena in Prado’s work can be divided into five broad classifica tions: the sky; the wind; the rain; the fourth is an exten sion of atmospheric manifestations, which is particularly prevalent in Chile and adds a certain uniqueness to Prado's work, the earthquake; and the final classification is a miscellaneous one. Sky The sky appears described in all but two of Prado’s 177 works, ”Prosas blblicas" and Vieios poemas ineditos. In his works the sky receives varying degrees of attention, but its single most Important component is clouds. For example some trees are seen against a backdrop of clouds: ’ ’ vista contra los pesados y cambiantes castillos de una inmensa nube de color de azafran que sonaba en la alta y 225 remota lejan£a de cielos hondos, azules y negros." There are black, 228 purple, 227 white, 228 red,22^ and 230 yellowish clouds. There is even an example of "una enorme nube azul que cobraba la forma de una mujer llevada 231 por un ansia infinita.” There are silent flying 232 233 clouds, solemn clouds, and even sinister nocturnal 234 clouds. Pradofs skies, however, are generally blue. They are blue and peaceful, or an intense indigo, 225 Los X, p. 14. 226T „ ,,- Las C, p. 115. 227LPE, pp. 12, 109. 228UJR, p. 80. 229AXT_ AND, p. 52. 230RRN, p. 155. 231 ^Los X, p. 97. 232LCA, pp. 55-56. 233Las C, p. 125. 234Los X, p. 96. 235 ALS, p. 47. 23 ft UJR, p. 97; RRN, p. 49. 178 237 or a clean imperturbable blue, or even a violent cobalt 238 239 blue. There are occasions when the skies are ashen, 240 milky, or low, suffocating everything under one immense 241 compact cloud. Another type of sky is seen: Un d£a amarillento de nubes aborregadas, que dejaban filtrar una pesada y quieta resolana de oro. Toda la copa del cielo parec£a la de un arbol, y el lento desaparecer de las nubes tra£a el recuerdo del silencio con que las hojas se desprenden y ruedan al olvido. ^ Alsino*s clear and explicit preference for the sky is seen in the early part of chapter eight. Wind The wind and its effects on nature are consistently seen through Prado’s works. The wind is often personified as in ”Las rosas," ”... cuando el viento dice que viene a sacudir las hojas polvorientes y solo viene a enamorarlas, / 243 para huir con ellas" or in its prying around comers it is compared to the owner of an abandoned house,244 or 245 on several occasions the wind sings. Once the wind is 237RRN, p. 149. 238EPM, p. 113. 239Las C, p. 110. 240LPE, p. 59. 2 4 1 2 4 2 H EPM, p. 108. UJR, p. 60. 243 2 4 4 LPE, p. 109. LCA, p. 111. 245LCA, p. 35; RRN, p. 77; ”Prosas b£blicas,” p. 3. 179 compared to a shepherd leading his favorite sheep to pas- 246 ture, and another time an old woman’s head bobs like the . , , , ,. , , 247 wind rocking a split tree branch. Winds carry various perfumes : "de un perfume que no es el de ninguna flor, pero 248 249 que las recuerda a todos" or "perfumado de infinito," or "rafagas salinas" which quickly pick up the scent of 250 pine. There are also strong or cold winds that affect 251 both man and plant life. A sudden gust of wind blows open Solaguren*s courtroom window and "una oleada de aire fresco, saturada a libres campos, cayo como agua limpia en / 252 la viciada atmosfera." Time is compared to a wind in 253 the wind. There is also a distinctive passage that declares that various types of winds "cuando ellos soplan, 254 Dios, cerca de nosotros, invisible, vuela." Rain Rains figure in a variety of ways in Prado’s works. 246Los X, p. 107. 2 4 7 LPE, p. 18. 248 249 ALS, p. 77. RRN, p. 33. 250T _. _c LCA, p. 75. 251 J UJR, pp. 196, 205; RRN, passim. LCA, p. 56. 252 oqi UJR, p. 124. ^ J LPE, p. 21. 254 ALS, p. 46. 180 The depressing effect of rain is typified in Alsino: Una semana entera, despues de un temporal desatado, cayo un aguacero lento, continuo, de rumor imper ceptible, monotono y hondo como el de la melancolla, sonando de tal manera interminable, que una sensacion desolada, como de abandono, como de olvido, como de trastomo de todas las leyes naturales, fue alimen- tando una angustia creciente. Los campesinos, en sus ranchos, tarde de la noche, insomnes, maldiciendo sus labores perdidas, se revolvian en sus lechos, oyendo afuera el desplome del agua. (p. 164) This same feeling is expressed elsewhere when he declares that Mel corazon se entristece cuando la lluvia 255 cae sobre los campos." In direct contrast to the previous sentiment the descriptions of the coming rains and the rain itself are joyous in La reina de Rapa-Nui. Since rain is the only source of potable water, its vital importance to the islanders is obvious. At first, "garuaba sin fuerza y a largos intervalosM (p. 135). This only seems to tantalize the people, but finally the long awaited and much prayed for rains come and consequently the following exciting description: --iEvai! jEvai! (;Agua! ;Agua!) grito una voz. Todos se detuvieron, observando con atencion la nube negra ribeteada de rojo, que ascendla rapida y fan- tastica como una isla de acantilados y volcanes. (p. 156) 255LCA, p. 18. 181 Then: ... del siielo broto un sordo susurro. Las primeras gotas de lluvia pesadas y veloces, removieron el polvo. Slgulo un instante de calma e incertidumbre, y cuando todos ve£an con envldla las gotas que resbalaban por las hojas de los platanos, un diluvio torrencial cayo sobre la tierra, con el rumor de un inmenso hervi- dero. (p. 158) The over-joyed natives throw off their clothes to welcome the rain better: "un aroma intenso emerg£a de la tierra y de las mujeres empapadas en agua. Las piedras y los cuerpos se ve£an brillantes" (p. 159). These life sustaining effects of the rain also figure in his other . 256 works. The destructive force of the rains can also be noted in PradoTs work: Cuando llego una tregua de escasos d£as, comenzaron a caer, como cuervos sobre un campo de batalla, las noticias abrumadoras: los ultimos puentes, que aun resist£an, estaban rotos; los caminos cortados por grietas y derrumbes, y cuadras y cuadras de las mas feraces tierras riberenas, carcomidas y tragadas por el turbion del r£o. La mitad del poblado de Las Juntas, all£ donde el Reinoso recibe el torrente de Las Loicas, habia desaparecido. Faltaban dos ninos y algunos animales. Desolacion cayendo sobre miserias. Bajaron las aguas y las islas que formaron los brazos del r£o, antes fertiles y sonrientes, cubiertas de chilcales, ve£anse arrasadas y convertidas en pedreros esteriles y blancos como osamentas. 256 Los X, p. 82; LCA, p. 61. 257 ALS, p. 165 182 Floods are also part of his other works, Los paiaros errantes (p. 131) and Los diez (p. 52). Tremors An interesting and unique aspect of Prado's de scriptions of atmospheric phenomena is the earthquake. Granted classifying an earth tremor as a part of this general category is unusual, but the depiction of the earth tremor in western literature is quite unusual. The first mention of an earthquake is made in La reina de Rapa-Nui (p. 23). Reference is made early in Los diez to the last horrible earthquake and in the same book, the wandering brother noticed the condition of the air which made him 2 58 fear that a sudden tremor might happen at any moment. Alsino flying through the skies witnessed an earthquake: "la tierra oscilo temblando. Como si bajo ella pasasen las olas del mar, ... los montes, antes quietos, danzaron en . 259 desorden como barcos anclados en una bahia insegura." The earthquake also figures in two of his later works, Un iuez rural (p. 114) and "El pueblo muerto." It is in the latter that the horror of the earthquake and subsequent ^^Los X, pp. 19, 97. 259ALS, p. 110. 183 tidal waves is felt keenly by the reader. Prado describes how at first the ocean waters mounted steadily and gently: Y una hora despues, solo los escasos trasnochadores del barrio alto, mineros y bebedores contumaces, a la indecisa luz de las estrellas, vieron nacer una montana en el mar, una montana que avanzaba sin ruido antece- dida del inmenso soplo de viento por ella desplazado. La vieron, atonitos, encenderse como un relampago monstruoso con las infinitas fosforencias marinas, avanzar veloz y luego abatir su inmensa mole luminosa como un trueno apocaliptico contra la blanda playa y el obscuro y silencioso caserfo. Temblo la tierra con su caida y los debiles gritos que un instante preten- dieron elevarse, quedaron ahogados para siempre. The final effects of the quake and tidal wave are devastating to Chanaral. Half of the city and its inhabi- 2 60 tants had disappeared. Miscellaneous Atmospheric Conditions Sprinkled through PradoTs works are such atmo- 261 2 62 spheric phenomena as droughts, frosts, and snow. This last condition is used to create images of white- 263 ness. There are, of course, descriptions of the snow capped Cordillera, but this is really more in line with 260EPM, pp. 108-109. 261UJR, p. 222; LPE, p. 138; EPM, p. 114. 262LPE, p. 138; LCA, p. 91. 263LCA, p. 52; Las C, p. 108. 184 landscape description rather than of snow or snowing. The last important weather phenomenon is mist. It is used frequently to create an aura of mystery, for example as seen in La reina de Rapa-Nui where X is about to learn the meaning of some ancient pictographs: Por la abertura de la carpa se vela la niebla que des- prendiendose del mar, avanzaba borrandolo todo y apresurando la oscuridad naciente de la noche. Era una neblina olorosa y espesa. En tomo de la lampara se formo un halo luminoso. Envuelto en una frazada, escuche con avidez. (p. 141) This same veiling effect is found in the foggy, misty landscape opening Alsino (p. 9), as well as in "La 264 niebla." It appears in other works as well, but not as originally depicted as in "El puerto muerto" where a very local version of mist is met with on the desert, the "camanchaca ... esa niebla gruesa, ese polvo de agua que se mece irresoluto en el aire para desaparecer en el alba, dejando solo el recuerdo de su frescura con un rocio tan abundante como efimero" (p. 115). Conclusion The specific purpose of this chapter has been to present the scope of Prado's nature as evidenced in all his 264LCA, p. 27. 185 prose works. The principal conclusions to be drawn are his preferences in each of the classifications used in the chapter. The geographical areas mentioned or described by Prado reflect his literary nationalism for Chile figures in eleven of his works (ALS, Ensayos. EPM, LCA, Las C, RRN, "La reina maga," "La risa ...," LPE, "Luz lunar," and UJR). The principal setting of La reina de Rat>a-Nui is Easter Island, a Chilean possession. Los diez and Vieios poemas ineditos make no reference or inference to their specific background. "Androvar" and "Prosas biblicas" use the Holy Land for their setting. Ihere are basically four types of landscapes that figure in Pradofs works. They are in order of importance: seascapes; mountains; waters; and the landscape touched or used by man. The seascape is encountered in all but two of Prado’s works ("La reina maga" and "Prosas b£blicas"). All aspects of the sea interested Prado and this interest is reflected in the abundant variety of descriptions. The sea’s most important functions for Prado are as spring boards to philosophical meditations, poetic images, or symbolism. Every important seascape in Prado’s work is 186 almost inevitably associated with some profound sentiment (frequently that of death) or inexpressible mood in his characters. His seascapes generally impress the reader for their perception of the sea’s inherent qualities of time- lessness, mystery, and continual changes. Mountain landscapes are represented in most of Prado’s works (LCA, UJR, ALS, Las C, RRN, the desert stories, "Androvar," LPE, Los X, and Ensavos). Their depiction and significance are important especially to La casa abandonada (1912), La reina de Rapa-Nui (1914), Alsino (1920), Las copas (1921), and Un iuez rural (1924). The Chilean coastal range is described in all but La reina de Rapa-Nui. The impressive Andean range is colorfully por trayed in La reina de Rapa-Nui. Alsino. and Un iuez rural. Mountain descriptions are important for two reasons: they have a distinct, awe-inspiring beauty, particularly under the changing lights of dawn or sunset (ALS, RRN, UJR); they also are associated with man’s aspirations to ascend in life. This symbolic turn is especially manifest in Als ino and Un iuez rural. Waters figure in Prado’s landscapes for their sym bolic life-giving values. There are occasions where lakes 187 and streams are described only for their pictorial value, but normally waters are employed in images or symbols for life, time, or purity. The final category of landscapes generally illustrates man's direct influence on nature. These landscapes run from the depressing view of a rude country village to an inspiring, sound-rich panorama of a ripe wheat field, waving and rustling in the wind. The descriptions of the rich vegetal nature in Prado's prose illustrate three things: first, through his literary renderings of such trees and plants as the patagua, quillay, boldo, peumo, coigue, and araucaria, Prado made purely Chilean plants "decent" topics for coming Chilean authors and poets (prior to 1912, the year of LCA, native flora had never figured in the national literature); second, the very abundance and detail of vegetal nature manifest Prado's love for it; third, these plants, trees, and flowers often serve to emphasize some Pradoan aesthetic or philosophical concept, to illustrate some symbol or image, or teach man a moral. Animal nature is bountiful, variegated, and excep tionally important to the body of Prado’s prose work. Birds are the most important elements. They fly, they 188 sing, they chirp, and they even talk on occasion. One of the most distinctive aspects of Prado*s works is his em phasis on birds and flying creatures. The kinds of birds represented are frequently common, but he has also set down Audubon-like renderings of native Chilean birds. These pages are outstanding for the warmth and color that their author lends to them. Alsino seems to be further proof of Prado*s esteem for flying creatures, since that character is really a bird-man. Prado*s other animal descriptions express his own sentiments in an oblique way on the economic conditions prevalent during his writing career. In these depictions of domestic animals there are some very unique pages. The dog is never favorably mentioned. The dog is always groveling, humble, mangy, and a tramp of the worst type. His explicit dislike for this animal is impressive for two reasons: first, Prado normally loved all manifestations of nature (weeds, insects, etc.); second, it represents the antithesis of the popular idea of the dog being man*s best friend so widely accepted among most civilized nations. The other domestic animal that receives unusual treatment in the hands of Prado is the horse. Here again 189 the animal is never glamorized. The horse seems to repre sent the economic conditions affecting its owner. This animal is usually depicted as skinny, overworked, and depressing in aspect. It complements most of Prado1s por trayals of the Chilean common man. Furthermore the reader should briefly recall the literary treatment accorded to the horse in Argentina to appreciate Prado1s pathetic beasts of burden. Animal nature, for the most part, is represented as it is and not in any idealized manner. There are few occasions when it is used other than for its purely descriptive value. Birds provide an exception to this be cause they frequently are employed in images or as symbols. Mineral nature plays a relatively minor role in Prado1s writings. This is surprising in a country that has been consistently dependent on minerals for a large part of its national revenue. What minerals do appear are generally confined to imagery. Gems, gold, and silver are the basic minerals in this imagery. The use of celestial elements is quite circum scribed. The most common subjects are the sun, moon, and stars. Occasionally the planets receive mention (EPM). 190 These celestial elements are most frequently portrayed in poetic metaphors in much the same manner as minerals. Time is very important in any of Prado*s works since it influences to such a great extent how the elements of nature are viewed. The most frequently portrayed times of the year are fall and spring with an explicitly stated preference for the fall. Spring, as seen in his works, is associated with life renewal, new love, and hope. There does, however, exist a notable and important exception to the above attitude when he addresses spring as the season of easy deceptions, of false hope, and consequently one of despair for the old. Fall and death are associated twice in Alsino. and once in los diez. The fall receives very delicate and sensitive treatment throughout Los paiaros errantes. The daylight hours are the most frequently depicted in Prado*s prose. The sunrise and sunset, however, are the most beautifully painted with a distinct preference for the latter. The subtle color changes that play across his landscapes at these times are impressive for their wealth of precise detail and perception. Night receives very different treatment in Prado*s hands. The night is 191 mysterious, foreboding, often frightening. Death and night frequently go hand in hand. There are occasions where the night is depicted for its beauty: Solaguren and Mozarena*s panoramic view from atop Santa Lucia hill with all the lights of Santiago twinkling before them; Solaguren*s moon lit beach ride is rendered as both beautiful and mysterious. Weather*s influence upon nature is constantly seen in Prado*s works. Generally speaking the weather is gentle, beneficial, and pleasant, but there are notable exceptions where severe rains, earthquakes, or floods do damage or depress the soul of the beholder (ALS, Los X, EFM). One of the more unique qualities of Prado*s atmo spheric phenomena is the earthquake. He depicts it on several occasions with its realistic terror and destruc tion. There are, however, many depictions of more normal conditions such as rain, fog, or clouds. It can be seen from the foregoing that Prado is very sensitive even to the subtlest changes and aspects of nature. Nothing in the realm of nature is too unimpor tant for Prado's literary consideration. He is normally receptive to all its components, but he does have clearly defined preferences as already noted. CHAPTER V PRADO*S PERCEPTION OF NATURE It must be kept in mind that the various kinds of sense perceptions impress men differently, excluding any purely physiological cause such as color blindness or the loss of the olfactory sense. These differences are usually attributable to psychological reasons which develop in the personality a series of likes and dislikes. Some men give more attention to colors than to, let us say, the harmony of nature. Others prefer noise or a bird*s song, while still others may be jolted by it. This is what makes one 1 artist similar or dissimilar from another. The purpose of this chapter is to explain how Prado felt nature, that is, which senses were most important to him and the relation ship of these senses to each other. ^"Albert Dauzat, Le sentiment de la nature (Paris: Alcan, 1914), p. 24. 192 193 Sight In Prado’s work the single most important sense, as probably expected, Is sight. The painter and architect that he was by avocation and vocation, respectively, required him to view nature with the painter’s and architect’s eyes. That this sense should be classified as the most dominant should need no detailed documentation. After a casual glance through preceding chapters it becomes quickly evi dent that the majority of Prado’s nature descriptions depend on the visual, albeit frequently linked with one or more of the other senses. Line form, relief, color, and light are the essentials of the visual perception and each of these must be considered. Line Prado’s portrayals of the landscape are most often sketched in simple lines. In Las copas he writes, "atrave- sabamos por praderes y bosques y tierras de labor y r£os y 2 colinas.” In this brief phrase appear several topographi cal items, but none developed with regard to size, color, 2 Las copas (Buenos Aires: Glusberg, 1921), p. 104. 194 and other such details. In the opening scenes of Alsino. the night shrouded landscape is only sketched in with hills, dunes, a lake, a fog. The fog and night prohibit precise descriptions which would be contrary to Prado*s purposes here at the initial contact point with Alsino*s 3 milieu. The sketched or broadly drawn landscape appears where action is primary and description is secondary. Very often the sketch appears with his more aspiring, philo sophically oriented early works.^ Relief The use of relief in Prado*s landscape is not abun dant, but several excellent examples are to be found where he sets up the perspective of the landscape by framing it with something close at hand. In La reina de Rapa-Nui. Mr. X comments that por la angosta ventana que habia a mi derecha se divi- saba el mar incandescente bajo el fuego bianco que el sol de medio dia enciende sobre las aguas. Por otro ventanuco del frente se vefa un bosquecillo de nfs- peros, naranjos, e higueras, sacudido con rabia por la sana del viento.^ 3 Alsino (Santiago: Nascimento, 1963), pp. 9-11. Particularly such works as La casa abandonada, Los paiaros errantes. and Las copas. ^La reina de Rapa-Nui (Santiago: Nascimento, 1914), pp. 42-43. 195 A little further on in the same work, Mla atmosfera, dia- fana en la altura prestaba un valor minucioso a los detalles de los volcanes y lejanas colinas que se vefan hermosos y cercanos. Por los claros de la espesura se divisaba a trechos el azul resplandeciente del mar" (pp. 49-50). One of Prado’s most impressive landscape descrip tions begins with his framing it like a miniature by Fou- quet. Mozarena and Solaguren on one of their Sunday outings have travelled to Santiago's outskirts. Here they come upon a fragrant strawberry patch and the farmer’s hut. To escape the heat of the day they enter the hut. At this point Prado describes how, "el cuadro de la puerta de la choza enmarcaba el panorama del vasto frutillar vibrante de luz. Por el iban y ven£an lentas, blancas y lejanas, mujeres ... en tanto el coro de los alamos sonaba."^ The author seems to have set up a screen over which will travel his subsequent descriptions, all of them limited in size by the doorway's own dimensions. Un iuez rural (Santiago: Nasclmento, 1924), p. 89. Note also the introduction of sound into the picture. 196 Color The use of color in Prado's works is one of the most important and interesting aspects of the visual sense. Prado's employment of color reveals a great deal about the maturation process in his literature. Torres-Rioseco has written the following observation on Prado's use of color: Enemigo de las aguas fuertes, Prado da a todos sus cuadros una claridad diafana, una suave harmonia de medias tintas. Claridades rosas reemplazan al purpura vivo de los poetas modemistas; su color predilecto, el azul, es un azul obscuro; le atraen de preferencia las nubecillas blancas; los cielos crepusculares, las rocas grises y los valles brumosos.^ The role of color in the modernist authors needs much study. The eclectic nature of modernism led it to borrow from two different groups, the Parnassians and the 8 Symbolists, both of which employed nature and color in very different ways. Pamassianism excelled in giving a very neatly designed rendering of the exterior world which risked, at times, being somewhat photographic. The Sym bolists preferred Verlaine's aesthetics: Arturo Torres-Rioseco, Grandes novelistas de la America hispanica, II (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1943), p. 186. Q Charles Aubrun, Histoire des lettres hisnano- americaines (Paris: Colin, 1954), p. 172. 197 Rien de ^lus cher c[ue la chanson grlse Ou 1'Indecis au Precis se joint. C'est des beaux yeux derriere des voiles, C'est le grand jour tremblant de midi, C'est, par un del d'automne attiedl, Le bleu fouillis des claires etoiles! Car nous voulons la Nuance encor, Q Pas la couleur, rlen que la nuance! These words explain the Symbolists' preferences for nocturnal, twilight, or autumnal landscapes, landscapes which exude mists, where lines are blended, where every thing is immersed in half-light. These are representations part-way between reality and dream.^ The fleeting aspects 11 of time appealed most to the symbolists. Garcfa Lopez, the Spanish literary historian, ex plains the general role of color in modernism as "utili- zando los colores mas brillantes--o para ambientar sus exquisitos estados de animo con tintas desleIdas y borro- 12 sas." He substantiates, I believe, modernism's g ^ Alexandre Micha, Verlaine et les poetes svm- bolistes (Paris: Larousse, 1957), p. 36. 10Ibid.. p. 7. ^Dauzat, op. cit., p. 18. ^Jose Garc£a Lopez, Resumen de historia de las literaturas hisoanicas (Barcelona: Editorial Teide, 1961), p. 233. 198 Indiscriminate borrowing, from both French groups, depend** ing of course on the author and his mood. Consequently, Prado cannot categorically be dismissed as not being a modernist because of his color choices, as Torres-Rioseco has implied. There is no documentation of what colors figure in Prado's works and their frequency. Such a study should be undertaken to establish better Prado's place in literature. The use of color is almost nonexistent in Prado's earliest works, ”Luz lunar” and ”La reina maga." In La casa abandonada. its use is restricted to three instances: twisted black trees; a morning that "brilla azul”; and the following Chilean sunset where the ”fulgor amarillo, luego anaranjado, luego rojo brillante, bano el bosque como el reflejo de un incendio. ... Deje a mi espalda los ultimos * / 13 arboles bajo el cielo violeta del crepusculo.” The abundance of colors in his next work, La reina de Rana-Nui is interesting for the fact that it came only two years after the last named work. In the prologue the 14 reader encounters pink little pigs and fine pink grapes. 13 La casa abandonada (Santiago: Nasclmento, 1912), pp. 56, 83, 80, respectively. 14RRN, pp. 12, 20. 199 The blue distant cordillera is next seen (p. 27), followed by a seascape at sunset with clouds of fire and gold, yellowish light, green and pink waves with gold and mauve foam, and completed by a fiery sail on one side and blue on the shadow side (pp. 32-33). Chapter three shows us an intense aniline sky dotted with white little round clouds (p. 49), a sea of "azul resplandeciente" (p. 50), and the islanders' white and reddish and orange tunics (pp. 50-52). There are also blue, gold, and red stars dotting the Milky Way which stands in marked contrast to the blackness of the Coal Sack (p. 67). Little bits of white, pink, and red coral dot the beach (p. 111). There are also red dragon flies (p. Ill) and white sand fleas (p. 106). Ships in the foreground are drawn with their mother-of-pearl colored hulls, yellowish sails, and their blue anchors (p. 110). Mr. X, from the reddish ring of a crater, sees the dark blue shadows below and the violet clouds above (p. 115). Later appear "la claridad verdiazul del poniente" (p. 129) and violet verbena (p. 135). In chapter twelve the sky is "azul imperturbable" and the sun is an immense red ember (p. 149). Yellowish to black clouds also appear (p. 155). Finally "una franja verde de cielo cristalino" is seen 200 above the sea (p. 156). The very last chapter is a color ful sunset: El sol poniente tenia de anaranjado las blancas pechu- gas [de las aves]. ... Quise imaginar la epoca remota en que un bosque altfsirao de humo inmovil, gris, ama- rillo y rojo, brillo como un otono fabuloso perdido en la azul soledad del mar. (p. 165) In this early work there are nine references each to blues and reds, five to yellow, four each to white, pink, and purple, three each to orange and black, two to green and only one to grey or ceniciento. Coincidently in his next published work, Los diez. there are ten references to colors. There are four in- 1 r 16 17 stances of yellow, three of blues, two of red, and 1 f t one of black. Los paiaros errantes also contains ten 19 references to color. There are three to purple, two to 20 21 22 ceniciento and two to green, one to white, one to ^ Los diez (Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1915), pp. 12, 14, 52, 68. 16Los X, pp. 14, 97, 107. 17Los X, pp. 96, 97. 18Los X, p. 14. 19 * Los paiaros errantes (Santiago: Nascimento, 1960), pp. 10, 61, 109. 20LPE, pp. 9, 60. 21LPE, pp. 88, 103. 22LPE, p. 42. 201 23 black and only one to blue. The most frequently men- o / tioned color in Alsino is black. The next in line with 25 26 seventeen mentions is red, followed by thirteen blue, 27 28 twelve greys or ceniciento. eleven each of white and 29 30 31 yellow, seven green, five purple, and three each of 32 33 pink and brown. Las copas has only a very limited 23LPE, p. 105. 24ALS, pp. 17, 41, 55, 60, 70, 81, 106, 107, 109, 118, 128, 155, 158, 164, 202, 216, 220, 264. There is a total of eighteen. 263. 25 ALS, pp. 12, 17, 23, 33, 50, 69, 86, 110, 115, , 189, 210, 216- , 244, 260. 26ALS, pp. 17, 38, 40, 42, 47, 52, 69, 86, 94, 111, , 264. 27als, PP- 14, 17, 38, 40, 86, 93, 111, 119, 145, , 210. 28als, i * pp. 13, 18, 39, 47, 72, 93, 94, 111, 165, 29ALS, pp. 15, 37, 38, 39, 52, 133, 158i , 177, 230, 30als, pp. 52, 139, 177, 210, 238, 264. 31ALS, pp. 51, 105, 263, 264. 32ALS, pp. 10, 167, 264. 33ALS, pp. 37, 52, 177 • 202 34 palette of four colors: blue with three mentions, ceni- 35 36 37 clento with two, black and white with one each. Falling in the later works is Un luez rural with a total of twenty-four references to colors. There are seven 38 39 40 to yellow, six to ceniciento. five to blue, two to red4^ and white, 42 and one reference each to green43 and black.44 In his dramatic work, "Androvar," the use of color, as to be expected, is quite limited. Pink is em ployed twice (pp. 52-53). Blue (p. 52), yellow (p. 52), grey (p. 52), purple (p. 53), red (p. 16), and white (p. 16) are also utilized. Color is prominent in "El pueblo rauerto," especially since it is a long short story and comes at the end of Prado's prose career. Hie color 34Las C, pp. 104, 115, 118. 35Las C, pp. 110, 125. 36Las C, p. 115. 37Las C, p. 118. 38UJR, pp. 59, 60, 61, 87, 148. 39UJR, pp. 85, 119, 122, 123, 128, 209. 40UJR, pp. 31, 87, 96, 225, 252. 41UJR, pp. 148, 239. 42UJR, pp. 87, 148. 43UJR, p. 87. 44UJR, p. 87. 203 of the jwater, "un gris dos veces mas impenetrable que el 45 del cielo," creates the proper mood for misgivings that Otamendi has upon arrival in Chanaral. He looks about at the black rocks (p. 108) on the beach, at "colinas de mine- rales verdiazules" and "cerros de arenisca roja y amari- llenta" (p. 109). Even the town itself is only a "cacerfo rojo y ocre" (p. 110). The sky is seen as violent cobalt blue of too disconcerting a purity (p. 113). Other hills are colored as of "una rojez cenicienta" (p. 113). Looking back at the town at sunset he sees, parte del caserlo ... entre las profundas sombras violetas de una quebrada; el resto lo ilurainaba con violencia el sol poniente. Los cerros minerales, rojos, azules, verdes, amarillentos, esplendian con un fulgor de tierras calcinadas. Las casas, de una blancura ardiente, vefanse risuenas. (p. 115) It should be pointed out that in La reina de Rapa- Nui there is a continuous succession of colors. Color is used for its evocative value. It suggests, insinuates, and implies many sentiments. It is used in a genuinely modern ist way in order to prove Prado’s virtuosity in a pictoral sense. In Alsino color creates moods, much as it did in La reina de Rapa-Nui. but a new quality is added which is ^"El pueblo muerto," La roia torre de los diez. edited by E. Espinoza (Santiago: Zig-Zag, 1961), p. 106. 204 the melancholy representation of the Chileans through the use of greys, blacks, and browns. This initial limited use moves to a prominent place in Un iuez rural where Barrancas, the rotos. and Solaguren's moods are a series of literary canvases where Verlaine * s imprecis and chansons arises are much in evidence. Color is identified with psychological moods. This same use of color is also found in his last prose works, the desert stories. Color is present, but it is purely descriptive and unemotional, for the most part, when he uses pure or strong colors. The effect of the bright colors and the dazzling light of the desert sun, combined with the colorlessness of the sea, Chanaral, and the greater part of the desert*s appearance cannot help but influence him psychologically. He seems forced by these intense conditions to ponder man*s meaning and true destiny. Prado can be seen moving away from color as an end in itself to the use of color in psychological situ ations. This does not make him any less of a modernist since this progression to psychological introspection or 46 themes happened in other modernist authors as well. ^Lugones, Arevalo Martinez, and Quiroga are a few who demonstrate this trend of modernism. 205 Blue Is the most frequently mentioned color In Prado’s works, as Torres-Rioseco has already Inferred. It appears thirty-seven times. Red appears a total of thirty- five times. Ceniciento figures in thirty-two references. Yellow appears thirty times. There are a total of twenty- six mentions of black. There are thirteen references to purples, fourteen to greens, and twenty-one to white. There are nine uses of pinks and three each of oranges and browns. The Reflected Image The use of reflections in Prado's work is the most original aspect of the use of light. These reflections are essentially restricted to water descriptions. He has some particularly fine descriptions of the moon's reflection on water. Solaguren, on his almost surrealistically described beach ride, sees, "una gran luz [que] le hirio de asombro ... otra luna inmensa resplandecla deshecha en mil fulgores 47 enloquecidos que buscaban unirse." The moon and stars are also reflected so brightly on the wet sands that the sands seem to be only an inverted sky. The moon's 47UJR, p. 218. 206 reflection is also captured on the Irrigation canals that the prisoner, Alsino, tends.48 In "La buena mentira" the reader comes upon "el reflejo del brillo naciente de la 49 luna." In this same book "more reflections on tranquil water" are to be found (p. 61). The use of the reflected image serves to illustrate Prado's oneness with nature. In "El espejo" the poet con templates his garden from his window. His own image is superimposed on the windowpane's contents and he thus sees through to "el origen de nuestro cuerpo y de las tendencias que llenan al espfritu humano.In line with the above blending of man and nature through the use of a reflection, we hear the poet declare, "contemplan mis ojos este cre- pusculo de los altos ventanales, cuando reciben su fulgor y en el se incendian.The sunset striking against his eyes makes him, in a personal way, a part of this very landscape and links him to the grand scheme of things. Hie prose poem "Los pajaros errantes," which is rich in many of Prado's uses of nature, has its reflected images. The poet witnesses "nubes de purpura [que] pasaban, como grandes 48ALS, p. 155 50LCA, p. 34. 49LPE, p. 121. 51Las C, p. 112. 207 52 peces, bajo la quilla de nuestro barco. Sound The sense of hearing is second in frequency and importance In Prado's work. Prado was always a poet in spirit, if not actually in verse form. Perhaps this fact demonstrates why Prado gave so much attention to so many kinds of sounds. The sounds of animals at night are the most fre quent in his prose descriptions. In Un 1uez rural dogs howling in the night create an air of mystery and fear (p. 199). In the same novel, the disconcerting sound of frightened geese in a farm yard warns Solaguren of some unknown intruder (p. 17). He writes in Los paiaros errantes of how in anguish "escuchabamos el canto de los invisibles pajaros" (p. 11), yet later in the book he describes the friendly reassuring "canto de los grillos" (p. 62). Birds are the most fre quently mentioned for their various songs, chirpings, and 53 rustlings, particularly at the approach of day. During 52LPE, p. 12. 53UJR, pp. 96, 178, 179, 219, 251. 208 the day the sounds of unseen birds are also heard.Prado in Los diez perceives the welcoming croak of some toads in a well (p. 27). The sounds that the sea creates sometimes seem as Important as the sea itself to Prado. The ocean's sounds 55 are detailed in "La barca." "El chapoteo de las olas" 56 is clearly heard against a pier. On another occasion the 57 sounds of the waves are compared to the din of a battle. The sound of the ocean contributes to Solaguren's depres- 58 sion in the later part of Un iuez rural. The brother musician explains how the sounds of bells, "al pasar por mis ofdos, suena con el murmullo que el hondo mar esconde 59 en el interior de todos los caracoles." In his very last published work, Prado compares the sound of a great distant voice to "el trueno acompasado del mar. Hie sounds of running water are described as "el 54EPM, p. 116; UJR, p. 27; RRN, p. 51. 5 5 L o s X, p. 108. 56LCA, p. 73. 57Las C, p. 109. 58UJR, p. 218. 5 9 L o s X, p. 60. 8^Vie1os poemas ineditos (Santiago: Escuela Nacional de Artes Graficas, 1949), p. 47. 209 canto cristalino," as "sonando cristalinos y armoniosos al chochar contra las piedras descamadas del cauce, " as 61 ’ Ynurmuradoras' and as "levantando un ruido bronco y adormecedor con el rodar ahogado de las piedras peque- m62 nas. The wind is almost always rendered by its sound. Arrieta, the Argentine critic, pointed out this aspect of Prado’s work: Atento al latido de los fenomenos y deshilando el ropaje de las formas, el espfritu de Prado ausculta tambien lo incorporeo y lo fugitivo. El viento, por ejemplo, es un leitmotiv en su obra.®^ The wind is present throughout Mr. X’s stay on Easter Island. Its sound deafens him on his arrival and its constant blowing helps create the proper atmosphere of a windswept Pacific island. The wind consequently is one of the most prominent of the natural phenomena described in this book. Prado also loves the sound of the wind in the leaves of trees. The sound of poplars rustling in the wind 61ALS, pp. 140, 136, 133. 62UJR, p. 98. /:o / Rafael A. Arrieta, Ariel Corporeo (Buenos Aires: Cooperativa Editorial Limitada, 1962), p. 145. 210 seems to him like a distant waterfall of pure water.^ In the role of poet, he addresses pines: M0h! pinos rumorosos, que sobre la falda ardiente de la arena muelle, entonais una cancion interminable en la que el viento se goza."^ In "Caneion" the poet compares the murmur of his song to the 66 night wind sounding amidst the leaves. There are also a variety of sounds which only appear once or twice in all of his prose. Some of these miscellaneous sounds are bells,87 piano music on a moonlit 68 night, a distant tin pan band of a circus at night, and the long drawn out, plaintive whistling of a train in the night.^ These last two sounds evoked in Solaguren "una extrana nostalgia por remotos viajes y un deseo doloroso de conocer otras gentes y otras tierras [que] acongojaba sutilmente el animo" (p. 15). The reader of this novel cannot appreciate the value of this passage until the end of the book. It foreshadows the malaise and despair that the middle-aged Solaguren experiences when he must face ^UJR, p. 89. 65LCA, p. 75. 66LPE, p. 123. 67Los X, p. 27; LPE, p. 121. 68"luz lunar." 69UJR, p. 15. 211 the moment of truth with himself. The most banal of sounds receives attention from Prado. As a hunter, the poet describes how his feet sank softly into the ooze of the puddle only "para luego salir dando chasquidos sonoros y huecos como botelias que se 70 destapan." The loss of the sense of hearing is acutely felt in "El sordo Levi." The Levi can only see the song of birds when their little throats swell up with the sounds. He can only remember what a bird's song was like from his early youth. Snell The olfactory sense is frequently employed in Prado's writings. These odors can be classified into general, unspecified odors, either pleasant or unpleasant; specific pleasant smells; and specific unpleasant odors. In the first category, the air is perfumed by blooming flowers or ripened fruits.7^ At times there is a warn, 72 dense, perfumed wave of air or a delicious perfume from 73 a garden. There is even air "perfumado a montana" which 70LCA, p. 79 72RRN, p. 49 71LCA, p. 92; RRN, p. 58. 73UJR, p. 16. 212 evokes a whole series of varied fragrances;74 and the moist, rich earth that "perfumaba el alre como no lo har£a ninguna flor."7^ Spring's amourous effect upon man is per ceived through the sense of smell, "porque todas las flores, los arboles, las aguas, la misma tierra y sus rocas es- teriles, exprimiendo en el alre tibio su maximo perfume, harlan enloquecer a hombres y mujeres."7^ In "Crepusculo" Prado describes "campinas olorosas a la tristeza del ange- lus, como vosotras perfumadas a melancolfa.1,77 In this last selection emotions and sensation are linked in a very original image. La reina de Rapa-Nui has an exemplary description of vague perfumes. Mr. X describes how "un aroma indefi- nible brotaba de la tierra y de las yerbas humedas. ... Aquel perfume incomparable me acompano por largo tiempo, y durante toda esa parte de mi viaje sentf una especie de placer y reconocimiento" (pp. 135-136). Again the author links the smell with an emotional response. This response, in this particular instance, is one that is easily appreci ated by anyone who has walked out doors just after a slight 74ALS, p. 40. 76ALS, p. 173. 75LPE, p. 121. 77Las C, p. 112. 213 rain and inhales the almost Indescribable fragrance of moist air and the cleanness of the air. Standing in marked contrast to the last description is one of a storm where the air is hediondo, de una fetidez vaga y desconocida, ni resi- duos de los valles, campos lejanos apenas visibles ... ser£an capaces de producir ese olor extrano que des- pertaba en Alsino, en las aves y en los animales, el pavor expectante de un ancestral y remoto recuerdo sobre el anuncio vecino de ineludibles cataclismos. There are also a variety of odors which run the 79 gamut from enormous fragrant mimosas to ’ ’ the incomparable odor of dry clover.” The pleasant specific aromas in Prado's works come 81 82 from the native chilcal, the fragrant peumo, the 83 84 violent perfume of boldos, the guagan, and the incense- 85 like quality of burning colliquay. The cool smell of 86 87 mint, the perfume of hibiscus, carnations, eucalyp- 88 89 tus, and pine are in evidence. The sweet and gentle 7 8 ALS, p* 109. 79ALS, p. 148. 80 ALS, p- 203. 81ujr, p. 203. 82lca, pp . 78, 196. 83als, p. 12. ^LCA, p* 35. 85ALS, p. 196. 86lca, p- 78. 87ujr, p. 26. 88ujr, p- 204. 8 9 ” L u z lunar," > . 75, 214 perfume of strawberries mixed with "el grato del mimbre, naufragaban en el penetrante aroma de las ramas secas de 90 los alamos." Prado even described the mouth-watering smells of a luau feast: Las ra£ces de tii, asadas entre las piedras, se hablan convertido en una chancaca mas fina que la de Pascamayo. HI aroma que salfa cuando destapaban los agujeros era delicioso. Las cames jugosas de los corderos. desprendian un vapor como el incienso de la gula. 1 The smell of sea mist is described as "el aroma de infinito que venfa de la inmensidad a oprimir los debiles 92 aires de la tierra." Prado also struck very effective poetic images on two other occasions through the olfactory sense. He writes in "El otono" that "el aroma de las hojas secas se parece al perfume de la sabidur£a"93 and in "Los ultimos azahares," the extremely fragrant orange blossoms blanket the orchard’s ground with "una nieve ligera y per- fumada. "9^ Prado does not spare us the unpleasant odors in his 95 descriptions. There is the dank, fetid air of a cavern, 90UJR, p. 88. 92UJR, p. 218 94 **LCA, p. 52. 91RRN, p. 130. 93LPE, p. 38. 95Las C, p. 109. 215 96 the smell of stinking camomile in the fields, the un pleasant cooking odors of the inouilino's kitchens.97 The odor of death, "un olor malo y molesto," disturbs the song QQ of a little girl who cradles a dead bird in her arms. The stagnant canal water and manure around Barrancas are 99 also noted. The use of smell in most cases is to describe some thing pleasant. It serves to evoke a feeling in the reader. Smell most often is accompanied by the visual sense and often they blend within the same sentence. It is interest ing to note that unpleasant smells have a close relation ship to descriptions of the Chilean poor, their animals, or death, llie many and varied perfumes extant in Prado's prose present one more facet of his painstaking rendering of nature and its moods. Taste and Touch The tactile and gustatory senses are used in a very limited way in Prado's narratives, especially if one 96ALS, p. 177. 98LPE, p. 106. 97ALS, pp. 41, 196 99 UJR, passim. 216 excludes from the tactile sense the perception of hot and cold, warm and dry. The most Important praise of the sense of touch Is found In Los diez. The brother sculptor speaks of his art and how he particularly loves to touch the virgin rock. Mr. X, in La reina de Rapa-Nui. mentions the cool moisture of his hair after a brief sprinkle (p. 74). Solaguren, "sentado al borde del foso, crespo y humedo en la sombra y ahondandose en pereza contemplative, ... sent£a confusamente como el tiempo se deten£a en la callejuela solitaria. A great sense of contentment comes over him while observing nature placidly, la cabellera de sus propios hijos, no val£a mas que la verde cabellera del foso! Que frescura; que humedad contenida al acariciarla; que sensacion de palpar, tras el velo incomparable de la piel vegetal, esa sangre transparente: la savia ... tan proxima aun del agua; agua alzandose en vida. 01 the wind on two different occasions. In one "el viento Prado evokes the sense of touch when he describes curioseaba por los rincones; parecla ser el dueno de 102 aquella casa en abandono." In the other "una brisa * 103 naciente curioseaba bajo su tunica anaranjada." Touch 101 UJR, p. 147. 103 RRN, p. 51 217 Is mentioned again In La casa abandonada when he speaks of his love: "tus brazos blandos me rodean como la tierra jugosa de la primavera" (p. 21). Specific references to gustatory descriptions are minimal. Solaguren describes "frutillas frescas, blandas, dulces ... [que] se deshac£an suaves en la boca como tier- „ , rot nos y pequenos corazones a quienes agotara un solo beso. Figs, "lacios y blanduchos," are portrayed as sweet as 105 syrup. The Combination of the Senses The majority of Prado*s sensorial descriptions are usually always linked with at least one other of the senses. In Un iuez rural the following typical example of the com bination of sight and sound is to be encountered: En el silencio de la ciudad dormida, en el abandono de las calles oscuras el canto de los gallos era extrano y evocador. El Santiago pobre dorrala en su negra sole- dad, parec£a abandonado y muerto. Nada tra£a el recuerdo de la fiebre del diario agetreo, y el canto de los gallos sonaba claro y distinto como si se ele- vase sobre ruinas. El color de la noche hac£a pensar en ocultas profundidades del mar, y la ciudad, vista al leve fulgor de la azulada tiniebla, adquirfa el reposo de los legendarios pueblos sumergidos. (pp. 251-252) 104UJR, p. 89. 105RRN, p. 51 218 In "La tierra" the only sense missing, oddly enough, is smell. The poet declares, "a la tierra la veo, 106 al agua la gusto, al viento lo escucho y lo palpo." In another prose selection, "El sueno del amor," all the senses receive attention. Touch is represented in the smooth silent warmth of his love's skin. His blood flows through him with a vague and penetrating music. Taste is mentioned by comparing love to the sweetness of the mother's milk and warmer than the golden honey of bees. The perfumed air of the gardens represents the olfactory. The visual is dispersed through the descriptions of his . 107 love. Conclusion In concluding this chapter on sense perception in Prado's prose, it may be useful to recall Baudelaire's "Correspondences." This poem which so influenced the sym bolists, who in turn so influenced the modernists, presents the dictum to which Prado seemed so closely to adhere: La nature est un temple ou de vivants piliers Laissent parfois sortir de confuses paroles; L'Homme y passe a travers de for§ts de symboles Qui l'observent avec des regards familiers. 106LPE, p. 21. 107LCA, pp. 21-25. 219 Comme de lon^s echos qui de loin se confondent Dans une tenebreuse et profonde unite, Vaste comme la nult et comme la clarte, Les parfums, les couleurs et les sons se repondent. II est des parfums frals comme des chairs d'enfants, Doux comme les hautbois, verts comme les prairies, — Et d’autres, corrompus, riches et triomphants, Ayant 1'expression des choses infinies, Comme l’ambre, le muse, le benjoin et l'encens, Qui chantent les transports de 1*esprit et des sens. The most important conclusion to be drawn from this chapter is the enormous influence of modernism on Prado’s perception and rendering of nature. If early in his career he was deliberately anti-modernist, it was not long (1914) before he would be drawn back to its subtleties of color, light, sounds, and perfumes. Only in the desert stories does the mature Prado appear to reject nuances used for art’s sake only. Nature and its perception, here, are all directed to the purpose of analyzing Otamendi’s psycho logical state. Prado’s perception of nature is so universal that the reader has no trouble identifying himself or creating rapport with Prado’s characters. Prado has the ability 108 Les fleurs du mal (Paris: Editions Gamier, 1959), p. 13. 2 2 0 of making his reader perceive or recall things in nature that normally the reader would perhaps have left go un noticed. He makes the reader aware of the unseen bird's song, the rustlings of the wind, and even the popping sound that shoes make when being extricated from very oozy mud. CHAPTER VI SENTIMENTS TRANSLATED BY PRADO’S DESCRIPTIONS OF NATURE The extent of nature in Prado's works, the details of that nature, and what senses he employed have been shown. It is now appropriate to study the sentiments translated through his use of nature. Ensavos sobre la arauitectura v la poes£a.^ a work briefly mentioned in earlier chapters, must receive full and thorough analysis in relation to his other prose works. This is necessary because of the close relation between what Prado writes about nature in the essays dated 1912 and how these ideas are manifested later in his fiction. The first essay de voted to art and architecture contains the essence of Prado’s nature aesthetics. Prado believes that architecture ^Ensavos sobre la arauitectura v la noesia (San tiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1916). 221 222 represents best the visible £acets of a region, a race, and 2 an epoch. He goes on to say that architectural evolution 3 is slow and it impedes sudden creation of styles. Prado elaborates: No es pequena ni breve batalla la que tienen que sopor- tar los innovadores; pero cuando las convicciones artlsticas pasan de razones a sentimientos, es decir, cuando la asimilacion de lo que sabemos es completa, entonces la tarea es facil, porque los sentimientos son irreductibles y tinen toda la vida con su color.^ Prado maintains that to demonstrate a visible nationalism in architecture each of Chile*s very different regions must receive their own individual consideration. He believes it impossible to dictate one Chilean style. In fact only by knowing and recognizing Chile’s internal dif- ferences can the Chileans be its true owners. Conse quently he did not wish to see any one style imposed defi nitively upon Chile. He desired only a natural, gradual evolution. Still in line with his architectural musing is 2Ibid.. p. 26. 3 This, by extension, is also applicable to the development of national literature. ^Ensavos .... p. 31. 5 Ibid.. p. 34. It must be remembered that this idea was formulated in the days when Chile still had its frontier questions with Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina. 223 his idea that an extensive, immensely rich source for decorative innovators can be found in Chile's flora, fauna, and minerals.^ Prado, however, is quick to reprimand his fellow citizens in this regard: Yo no se si existe algun pa£s del mundo que desconozca y olvide mas que Chile a los bellos tesoros que repre- sentan los arboles. No hay necesidad de ir al sur y ver en las tardes sofocantes al sol rojo, tras el velo del humo por los incendios de los bosques.^ The reader has seen Prado's literary attention and Q treatment of forests and trees, but in this little work he explicitly elaborates on his non-literary love for them. He genuinely laments the absence of native Chilean trees where instead, "en el Parque Cousino, en la Quinta Normal, en la Plaza de Armas, solo ceibos, palmeras, cedros de Llbano, platanos orientales, ombues de la Argentina, pimien- tos de Bolivia, Crypthomerias del Japon, alamos de la Caro- 9 lina, araucarias del Brasil, aromos de Australia" are 6Ibid.. p. 46. 7 Ibid.. pp. 46-47. These words are echoed in "El bosque" when Prado writes "va el hombre a destrozar el corazon de la selva para colocar el suyo" and men are "verdugos de todo lo creado ..." (LCA, pp. 35-36). ^Supra, pp. 132-137. Q Ensavos .... p. 47. 224 to be found. It is only in London that a hundred year old grove of Chilean araucarias can be encountered. "Aqu£ £donde la hallar£amos? Solo hace pocos anos han colocado algunos ejemplares, en la Quinta Normal, y otros arboles ind£genas en los cuadros que confinan con los potreros."^ This contrast is meant to awaken the Chileans to their neglect. Prado confesses with a great deal of sarcasm that Mpor mis propias manos he plantado, en el Parque Cente- nario, peumos y boldos. Pero es tan escasa la seccion destinada a los arboles chilenos que, al lado de los ex- tranjeros que todos conocen, es joh iron£a! la seccion exotica.""^ Prado continues to remonstrate the Chilean and advises him to visit his natural history museum: Ah£ vereis la sombra de nuestras orqu£deas y flores silvestres; nuestras mariposas como diminutas tapi- cer£as; nuestros insectos: coleopteros verdes y azules de formas curiosas y reflejos metalicos; los variados caracoles de mar; las aves con plumajes de gama viva o sobria; los minerales que parecen indicar las dis- posiciones de futuros mosaicos." In the event that Prado*s belief in the unity and harmony intrinsic in nature's elements has not already been sufficiently indicated, he continues to write: 10Ibid.. p. 48. U Ibid.. p. 48. 225 Nos sorprende en todos ellos una expresion agradable en la forma y una armon£a exacta en los colores. Allf no hay solo el rojo complementario del verde, el azul del anaranjado; all£ vereis el entrave de todas las medias tintas, de todos los matices infinitos. (pp. 50-51) After these preliminary, but preparatory, ramblings on architecture and nature, Prado takes the reader to his point: Bueno es que consideremos primero aquella expresion corriente que habla del hombre y la naturaleza, y que parece contraponer o diferenciar la naturaleza del hombre. Estas frases ambiguas encierran ocultas y erroneas maneras de pensar, que se deslizan furtiva- mente. Con solo decir: el hombre y la naturaleza, acusamos una supervivencia de la idea antropocentrica. Apartamos al hombre y lo ponemos frente al resto del mundo. Y con el dictado de naturaleza consideramos a ese resto del mundo que no contiene al hombre. (pp. 55-56) According to Prado, for the majority, getting close to nature is getting close to the sea, the country, the mountains. Loving nature is loving the grandeur of soli tude; singing its joys is really expressing the beauties which nature encloses. Meanwhile jel hombre no es tambien naturaleza? Su orijpen, su fin, semejante al de todos £no nos dice que el es solo el hermano mayor de la gran familia heterogenea, desde el hermano lobo, cotno dir£a San Francisco de Asis, hasta la hermana roca y la hermana estrella? (pp. 56-57) Is this citation not demonstrated throughout the entirety of Alsino7 This novel is the best example that Prado 226 genuinely practiced what he preached in these essays. Prado also believes that by knowing ourselves we can better know nature. Si deseamos encamar la voz y la expresion de nuestra tierra y de nuestro pueblo, debemos tener la fuerza necesaria para que esa voz y esa expresion surjan robustas y poderosas. iY de donde, sino del fondo de nosotros mismos sacaremos esa fuerza? (p. 57) This very sentiment finds an expression later in Mozarena: Abrumado, molesto, rabioso, cojo mi baston y salgo por los caminos, y me alejo y voy adentrandome en los campos solitarios, y es como si me intemase en m£ mismo, como si volviese a mi casa; y andando, andando, reposo y descanso como nunca antes descansara. Enton- ces vivo sereno y confiado, de un modo tan profundo, que ^oy como ahondandome hasta la locura y el exta- s is. Prado continues: Aunque en las paginas o en las obras artfsticas no exista ni un hombre ni un reflejo que recuerda facil- mente a nuestro suelo o al alma colectiva, si aquello ha nacido de lo mas profundo de nuestras emociones, sera expresion chilena y, por anadidura, sera etema. "Lo nacional esta en nosotros" ha dicho uno de nuestros poetas refiriendose a la literatura; s£, en lo mas hondo de nosotros, donde el fuego de la personalidad puede volatizar hasta el ultimo resto de las formas y nombres de las cosas que nos rodean, quedandonos de ellos solo la esencia. (p. 58) Prado cautions us that "para esto, naturalmente, es preciso que sean previamente conocidos" (p. 58). From the 12 Un iuez rural (Santiago: Nascimento, 1924), p. 93. 227 foregoing, Prado's esteem for nature and particularly Chilean nature is quite evident. Its absence in literature was soon to be remedied by both Prado in La casa abandonada and Latorre in Cuentos del Maule in 1912, the same year in which these essays were written. The same ideas will also become vocalized later in Un iuez rural, along with Prado's sentiments evoked by nature. Mozarena confesses the following to Solaguren on one of their Sunday outings: iTan poco estudiado que esta nuestro pueblo! Cuando vago por los caminos con mi caja de pinturas ..., cuando voy por los campos o los pequenos caserlos, y observo sin animo de observer, cuando me entrego a la venture de lo que me rodea y de ml mismo, todo lo que vislumbro, fuera o dentro de ml me parece un descubri- mento. No sabes, entonces, que desprecio tengo por los libros, que distancia por nuestro pobre arte y por todas las cosas c o n o c i d a s I ^ - 3 In this novel there is a clear echo emanating from these essays. Mozarena and Solaguren, almost weekly, went out to the surrounding countryside in order to observe and paint the landscape on their canvases. Often the two friends, confronted with nature's changing spectacle, fell into silent musings or exchanged thoughts on life which 13UJE, pp. 92-93 228 the studying of nature had evoked in than (Chapters IX and X). One of Prado's most significant passages in regard to nature and its intimate relation with his own work comes at this point of the essay. He formulates the man-nature relationship: Por lo que a los artistas se refiere, yo har£a dos divisiones. En vez de emplear la frase "el hombre y la naturaleza," yo llamar£a a unos los naturaleza- hombres: estos son los que concentran, los que co- ordinan, los que transforman en humanidad a lo que observan: estos son los capaces de encamar el alma colectiva, porque anaden a ella un soplo poderoso que la hace sensible. Los otros, los hombres-naturaleza son los artistas pasivos, los que reproducen el eco, lo cue es el erudito escritor de costumbres, lo que seria el arquitecto que aplicara los elementos de que hablaba tal como los encuentre, creyendo que con eso solo hace ya obra nacional! Cuando sin asimilacion completa que transforme y haga nuestro a lo que era ajeno, no la habra jamas! (pp. 58-59) The extreme importance attached to art by Prado is unmistakeably evident when he declares that only when the Chileans understand their flora and their rustic art will they love them and "una vez mas el arte, al dignificar las cosas, aclarara el sentido de la tierra" (p. 60). This essay, I believe, demonstrates in a non- fictional way one of Prado's most significant employments of nature, the lack of limits between man and nature, the imperceptible blending of one with the other 229 Man-Nature Concent There are several good examples of this Pradoan concept sprinkled throughout his minor works. Alsino. as a whole, is the classic example of a blending of man and nature. The boy who flies like a bird, who can communicate with all elements of nature in the language of nature, who finally in a powerfully descriptive ending is integrated, through the scattering of his ashen remains, with the earth and its contents: ... las cenizas de Alsino han quedado fundidas en el aire y fundidas para siempre, de modo que indefinada- mente los hombres podran saber, al mirar la atm6sfera que abraza la tierra, que cualquier soplo del viento que orea sus frentes puede guardar un ligero, impal pable, invisible fragmento del cuerpo de Alsino que acaricie una vez mas a los hermanos terrenos que se quedaron pegados al terruno guardando el huerto volup- tuoso y el area que repleta la codicia y aligeran los vicios. ** This blend of man and nature is also seen in an earlier work where the poet explains, "somos tierra y agua 15 ... y tomaremos a la tierra y al agua." These lines ^Raul Silva Castro, "Alegorfa y simbolo en Alsino." La Nacion. April 13, 1958, Section II, p. 1. ^ La casa abandonada (Santiago: Imprenta Universi- taria, 1912), p. 18. 230 must certainly evoke In the reader their Biblical inspira tion. "Los pajaros errantes" is one of the most important works to demonstrate this same idea. This prose poem, in the light of Prado's aesthetics and philosophy, gains more dimension than just its expression of human anguish vis-a- vis the unknown meaning of life. Examining this piece in its entirety and finding the sentiments expressed should clearly illustrate Prado's techniques. The poem begins: "Era en las cenicientas postrimerlas del otono, en los solitarios archipielagos del sur." Prado insinuates the time of year and the place in Chile. He already inserts a mood of melancholy with his color preference for "ashen." "Yo estaba con los silenciosos Pescadores que en el breve crepusculo elevan las velas remendadas y transparentes." The poet brings in his favorite time of the day and relates himself with the fishermen who are always in direct contact with nature. "Trabajabamos callados, porque la tarde entraba en nosotros y en el agua entumecida." The silence prepares him for the communion, so to speak, that is to take place. The first indication of the man-nature blend is seen when the afternoon enters him, the men, and the sea. 231 "Nubes de purpura pasaban, como grandes peces, bajo la quilla de nuestro barco. Nubes de purpura volaban por en- cima de nuestras cabezas." The second blending of nature Is to be seen here. The clouds above are mirrored In the sea and take on the quality of fish. The reflected Image acts as a catalyst to this joining of seemingly disparate and incongruous nature elements. MY las velas turgentes de la balandra eran como las alas de un ave grande y tranquila que cruzara, sin ru£do, el rojo crepusculo." This image of the flying boat and the reiteration of the silence and time element are again preparatory. "Yo estaba con los tacitumos Pescadores que vagan en la noche y velan el sueno de los mares. En el lejano horizonte del sur, lila y brumoso, alguien distinguio una banda de pajaros." Besides the introduction of another color and the atmo spheric condition, the sight of the birds recalls Prado's favorite among animals. "Nosotros Ibamos hacia ellos y ellos venfan hacia nosotros. Cuando comenzaron a cruzar sobre nuestros mastiles, o£mos sus voces y vimos sus ojos brillantes que, de paso, nos echaban una breve mirada." Here the poet indicates the distance that seems to separate them is not only physical but spiritual; however attention 232 should be fixed on his deliberate word choice of 'Voices," because it exemplifies his technique of personalizing nature, giving it its own soul. In this passage the sense of hearing now combines with that of sight in order to break the pervading silence. "Rltmicamente volaban y vola- ban unos tras los otros, huyendo del inviemo, hacia los mares y las tierras del norte. La peregrinacion intermi nable, lanzando sus breves y rudos cantos, cruzaba, en un arco sonoro, de uno a otro horizonte." The reason for their flight is presented along with the audio-visual image of a sonorous arc. "Insensiblemente, la noche que llegaba iba haciendo una sola cosa del mar y del cielo, de la balandra y de nosotros mismos." The night is also a unify ing catalyst. Man and nature are now equal. "Perdidos en la sombra, escuchabamos el canto de los invisibles pajaros errantes. Ninguno de ellos vela ya a su companero, ninguno de ellos distingula cosa alguna en el aire negro y sin fondo." Both men and birds appear to be lost in the mys terious night which may be an evocation of Prado's lonely childhood sentiments regarding the night. "Hojas a merced del viento, la noche los dispersarla. Mas no; la noche, que hace de todas las cosas una inforroe oscuridad, nada 233 pod£a sobre ellos." By employing leaves as a metaphor for the birds, Prado draws the vegetable kingdom into the ani mal domain and thus intensifies the unity in nature. The night here imperceptibly has become a poetic symbol for death. "Los pajaros incansables volaban cantando, y si el vuelo los llevaba lejjs, el canto los mantenfa unidos. Du rante toda la frla y larga noche del otono paso la banda inagotable de las aves del mar. En tanto, en la balandra, como pajaros extraviados los corazones de los Pescadores aleteaban de inquietud y de deseo." Some wonderful images appear uniting the fishermen with the birds. The birds in their flight are complying with their destiny. In spite of the rigors of their passage they remain united by the bond of their song. Man, disquieted by their purposefulness, yet still so much like the birds as the poet specifically emphasizes, is envious of their flight into the unknown. "Inconsciente, tembloroso, llevado por la fiebre y seguro de mi deber para con mis tacitumos companeros, de pie sobre la borda, un£ mi voz al coro de los pajaros erran- tes." In this concluding sentence, the narrator assumes unconsciously and shakily the role of the poet who speaks for men, his "taciturn companions" in life. Sure of his 234 duty toward them and taken by poetic fervor he united his human voice to the voice of all nature in the guise of the migrating birds. This poem masterfully demonstrates this philosophical and aesthetic concept of man-nature so dear to Prado as well as exhibits many of his nature preferences as indicated in earlier chapters. One critic cited this poem as sufficient to be included in his anthology of the sea in Chilean literature. Nature and Limits Prado's problem with the exact limits in nature is already seen in La casa abandonada where in "Donde comienza a florecer la rosa" he explains the difficulty in exactly where the rose ceases to be a rose and begins to be stem, 16 roots, or earth. This same concern appears in "La despe- dida" where he writes: "Viajar: placer y tristeza. Qui- siera hacer y no hacer al mismo tiempo. ... A la election llamamos libertad. Mi libertad no quisiera verse obligada a elegir un camino; mi libertad quisiera recorrerlos todos 17 a un mismo tiempo." 16LCA, pp. 15-19. 17LPE, pp. 75-76. 235 Solaguren, after a Sunday outing with Mozarena, recalls how both of them set up their Identical blank can* vases at a picturesque sight and began to paint. After two hours they compared their pictures, Solaguren In his had painted an old house surrounded by lots of the surrounding landscape while Mozarena, on the other hand, had focused on the house with very little attention to nature. Sola guren notes that each of them had the same artist's tools, but their tastes and preferences were quite different. Later the same night Solaguren muses: Todas las cosas se entrelazan con sus mutuos reflejos, y cada una de ellas se prolongs en el ambiente que la circunda como para alcanzar su verdadero y pleno sig- nificado. Pero ^cuales son los lLnites de ese am biente? Cada observador lo fija a su anto^o. Ver results ser, as£, arbitraridad de limitacion. 8 In Solaguren*s letter of resignation as rural judge he again poses this problem: Parece, senor Intendente, que nuestras leyes se basan en el concepto de individuo, y ese concepto se me hace sospechoso: un individuo que no limita £que individuo es? Su cuerpo aislado no engana con su aparencia independiente. iSobre que base fundar la verdadera justicia? Estoy demasiado confundido; no veo cosa alguna con claridad. Me ha tra£do este cargo una in- quietud mayor ante la vida; por su causa, ahora la comprendo menos. (p. 191) l8UJR, p. 63. 236 This concern receives a hypothetical solution in "Androvar" where the three main characters no longer have limits imposed upon them. The three share integrally in the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of each other. Prado*s earlier wish in "la desp5di‘ da<* _’ ftot' to have to ~ choose, but to have all choices at once, has strange conse quences. Androvar, while Gadel and Elienai are making love, thinks "que extrano sabor el de las caricias cuando, al mismo tiempo que se las recibe, solo ante el mar es dable pensar en cosas incomprensibles!" (p. 66). God and Nature Three South American literary critics have all written of Prado’s religious sentiment each in a slightly different manner. Silva Castro describes Prado as a pan theist. His personal form of pantheism is the serene conviction that matter is always reborn, in an eternal cycle, the noble species being confused with the vile in such a way that they can no longer be classified individually since they all serve equally to sustain the passage of existence. It is consubstan- tial to Prado’s poetry in the early years of his liter ary career.^ ^Raul Silva Castro, Retratos literarios (Santiago: Ediciones Ereilia, 1932), p. 131. 237 Helien Ferro, the young Argentine author and critic, in a study devoted to religious poetry in Latin America states that Prado strikes a peculiar note in Spanish America with his love for the universe. "No fue.ni culte- rano puro, ni religioso puro, pero por momentos rozo ambas cosas." His anti-catholicism, derived from Tolstoyan pan theism, is noted in "Palabra del relato del hermano errante" 20 (sic) where he allows a "Dios incognoscible." In marked contrast, Luis Alberto Sanchez maintains that Prado's imagination is saturated with Biblical visions because he 21 was a very devout Catholic. Perhaps the truth lies some where between the last two men's views. In Los diez the "Dios incognoscible" has its antithesis in the very same story. The roaming brother overhears a young man express the following about God: "No hay en el cielo cosa alguna, las estrellas, el sol, la luna, que puedan representarlo. Y no hay en la tierra nada, ni en el mar, ni en la montana, 2fl Helien Ferro, Historia de la poes£a hispano- americana (New York: Las Americas Co., 1964), p. 304. What the critic says is true for the above cited poem from Los X (1915), but it must be remembered that this is one of his youthful works. 21 Luis A. Sanchez, Proceso v contenido de la novela hispano-americana (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1953), p. 203. 238 22 ni en la selva, ni en el alma humana." In Los paiaros errantes. Prado demonstrates his own form, perhaps unorthodox, of pantheism when he describes roses that "Brillen [sic] como oraciones" (p. 110). The old gardener who tends them is moved "to praise the wisdom of God and to revere, rejoicingly, the humble and unique destiny" that had been indicated to him (p. 111). God is manifested through nature and life's purpose is seen in nature. The most references to God are made in Alsino. a later work, but one of long elaboration. The direct refer ences are few, but there is, however, an over-all sentiment of the divine in nature. One of the first mentions to God occurs in association with wind: "desde los dulces vientos hasta los huracanes de tempestad ... jacaso cuando ellos 23 soplan, Dios, cerca de nosotros, invisible, vuela!" One could easily infer from this brief fragment an anthropomorphism, rather than the limitless pantheistic God. Another refutation of genuine pantheism is evident when Alsino talks to the Sea: 22Lo s X, p. 39. 23ALS, p. 46. 239 Si reflejas al cielo, tu recuerdas a Dios. Tu per- duras viviendo aquel d£a primero del mundo cuando Dios te tinera de etemo al pasar sobre t£ con su socnbra y su acento, en las cimas ioh padre! que for- man los mpntes mayores, ;te hundiera y atara por siempre! 4 -- In an expression of human despair which finds an echo in an old French adage that "on ne connalt Dieu que par les larmes," Alsino also says, "iDios solo es visible cuando llegamos al fondo de la maxima tristeza!" (p. 262). Later in an almost stoic lament, Alsino is moved to address God with all his soul, "bendito sea Aquel que ha derramado, hasta en el mal, el bien, y que hace que los goces supremos 25 no dependan de una orgullosa plenitud." He continues, "Dejame ioh Dios m£o! alabar la llmitada razon que tu me has dado, porque lo cercano de tus estrechos llmites es lo que la hace dudar mas pronto de s£ misma, y donde ella duda, un sendero nace; un sendero que va, serpenteando, en tu busca." Intensifying his tone, Alsino seems to cry out " jSenor! yo ard£ mas inflamable que una brizna de paja en el jubilo que vertiste sobre la vida y el mundo. ... Hecho a vuestra semejanza, perdoname, Senor, si yo tambien sent£ el ansia de estar en toda cosa" (p. 259). 24ALS, p. 95. 25ALS, p. 258. 240 It seems that what was more or less pantheism in Prado's earlier works has evolved into a belief that nature is only a reflection of the power, beauty, and mystery that is God. God manifests himself through nature, but-he- is---- not nature, only its responsible creator. Alone, neverthe less, still maintains that, el pante£smo se halla como infuso en la obra de Prado y cabe percibirlo en todo el transcurso de ella, par- ticularmente en sus pequeiios poemas alegoricos; pero no se reduce a sistema coherente. Y es que en la mente de Prado habla algo de irreduciblemente vago y flo- tante; si no percibla bien los lfmites del mundo ex terior, es porque no los ten£a bien definidos en su interior. Man's Sentiments Concerning Nature Both pleasant and unpleasant sentiments are trans lated by Prado's prose when man contemplates nature. Man's brief moment on earth is contrasted with nature's seeming etemalness all through Prado's prose. In "Los Pescadores" the poet breathes in "el soplo de etemidad del alre: del mar, me sentf alegre y liviano como si yo tambien fuese 27 ajeno a lo pasajero de la vida." Contemplating a grey 9 A Alone (Diaz Arrieta), Los cuatro grandes de la literatura chilena durante el sielo XX (Santiago: Zig-Zag, 1963), p. 83. 27LCA, p. 65. 241 horizon where the sea and sky have blended Into one, Mr. X muses, "me quede pensando en algo que no tomaba forma, pero que, dominandome cada vez mas, me hlzo olvidar lo que me 28 — - rodeaba y lo que yo era." Nature removes him from his Immediate physical environment and makes his mind wander in a §ort of nether-world. Solaguren, like Mr. X above, is found contemplating a landscape which moves him to deeper meditation: Por sobre el barranco de la otra ribera diviso grandes cumulos que encimaban la Cordillera de los Andes. Recordo Solaguren que en las tardes de verano, ano a ano, vela agruparse sobre la mole andina esas mismas etemas nubes. Y al observar las aguas turbias y oscuras del r£o, aguas cambiantes y siempre i^uales; al ver los arboles que tralan el recuerdo de arboles incontables, la luz de ese d£a, claridad sorda, iden- tica a la de los d£as innumeros de todos los estlos que viviese, le trajo una sensacion de oscuridad, de pobreza, de pequenez y de h a s t £ o . 9 This developing sentiment of anguish vis-a-vis the temporal nature of man gains further hold of Solaguren at the sea where he has hoped to find mental as well as physi cal repose. One day he witnesses the following scene on the beach: Una carreta distante arrastrabase lenta y cuan peque- nita contra el sucesivo oleaje tomasolado. El vasto 28 RRN, p. 117. 29 UJR, p. 99< 242 horizonte marino se vela engrandecido por la camblante e infinita sugestion que desplertan las nubes crepuscu- lares. Un humo emerglendo en el remoto horizonte hlrio hasta la angustla las ansias confusas de aquel hombre melancolico. (p. 210) As the man and woman disappear into the background of the above seascape, "deshechos por la distancia y por la debil niebla que brotaba del mar," they leave Solaguren with "una soledad engrandecida y una congoja inexpresable" (p. 211). Then, "Solaguren sintio hasta el horror de su infinita pequenez" (p. 213). Forced to leave the coastal town because of these disquieting sentiments, he later con fesses to Mozarena, "no se si es el verano, la costa, o los anos que se me vienen encima, pero slento un aburrimiento salvaje" (p. 235). Solaguren*s sentiments are probably attributable to all three of the above reasons. There is still another nuance to the ethereal nature of man expressed in this book. Solaguren contem plates Mozarena painting a landscape, "en el vasto espec- taculo abierto en contomo era ese hombre un simple episodio, por momentos el mas apasionante; pero habfa tantos otros!" (p. 146). This brief note of optimism seems overwhelmed by the more frequent moods of depression caused by the contemplation of nature. Perhaps the most paradoxi cal part of the book is the consolation nature supposedly 243 brings Solaguren, yet whenever he seriously observes it he finds himself immersed in philosophical or metaphysical moods. In other works nature evokes other sentiments. In "El poeta" the poet asks a companion: ^Habeis alcanzado el lfmite donde termina la tierra y comienza el mar? —s£; y sentimos que el mar, igualmente produce vertigo. El vertigo de la montana y del mar es el senti- miento de nuestra oculta conciencia al encontrarse ante las fuentes de la vida. 2 , No traen una vaga tristeza la montana y el mar? Es triste aun el recuerdo mas lejano. In La reina de Rapa-Nui the lovely sunset, the rustic quality of the farm, and the warm breezes "produ- jeron un placer melancolico, propicio a las disertaciones sobre el amor" (pp. 17-18). Hie poet in Las conas feels before nature "la placida alegrfa interminable que fluye de su contemplacion" (p. 126). Alsino generally evokes joyous sentiments, but early in the novel this is not so. Alsino, cuando le acontece, de improviso, al subir a un ele- vado sitio, divisar en lontananza el asombro que trae la vision repentina y olvidada del mar, del mar, del 30LCA, pp. 17-18 244 mar inmenso y resplandeciente, le sacuden temblores de locura y llora de no poder aun volar. (p. 60) Only a few short chapters later this feeling of frustration Is gone, as evidenced In the following: Extensos suaves y aterclopelados lomajes, cubiertos de hlerbas y flores ef£meras que las lluvlas del In- vlemo hlcleron nacer. Un dulce sol en manana humeda de primavera; sol nuevo, claro y tibio, de luz que vlbra como el lejano sonldo de trompetas resplandecien- tes. Brlsas de altura, alres livianos, puros y vastos, que en si guardan y al besar dejan el sallno sabor y los libres suenos del oceano que acaban de cruzar. Distante, apagado y profundo se escucha el estruendo de las olas. Cenldo en debiles nieblas, el mar mas se le adlvina por sus voces que se le ve; borroso se dlluye y mezcla, en armonlosa gradaci6n, con el clelo que se eleva inconmensurable. Por el oriente, las cordilleras, remotas, cubiertas con el fuego bianco de las altas nieves espejeantes, al dilulr sus cumbres en el aire diafano que resplandece, logran, por fin, fun- dirse con el clelo. iEl mundo entero se dlsuelve en luz jocunda, y la alegrla de ser domina a toda cosa, y se expande y crece avasalladora! (pp. 89-90) The very joyous feelings reflected here are, for the most part, indicative of the whole book's attitude. This passage is also exemplary of Prado's artistry. It synthesizes much of the material contained in the earlier analytical chapters of this study. The nature and land scape described, the presence and quality of the different senses, and the feelings evoked are all representative of Prado's sentiment of nature. Conclusion 245 There are three principal divisions in Prado's sentiments for nature. There is first and foremost his personal philosophy of the nature-man combination first formulated in his Ensavos ... . This book, besides pre senting his thoughts on architecture and poetry, reflects a great deal of his nature aesthetics. The ideas he formulated in 1912 on nature and its role in art, architec ture, and literature stayed with him until the end of his prose career. He is a good example of a man who practiced what he preached with respect to nature. Alsino demon strates the actual blending of man with nature among the major works. "Los pajaros errantes" succinctly exemplifies the same ideas in his minor prose works. Closely related to this concept is the idea Prado formulates on the lack of well defined limits in nature. There are several prose poems, like "La despedida" and "^Donde comienza la rosa?" which reflect these musings in the minor works. "Androvar" also represents this philosophical concept applied to nature. Un iuez rural, through the main character, Sola- guren, and his conversations with Mozarena brings out many facets of this idea. 246 The second most important group of feelings associ ated with nature is the religious sentiment. God and nature play varying roles through Prado's prose. Some critics label him a pantheist and an anti-catholic because of his youthful associations with a Chilean Tolstoyan colony, but this is too simplified a viewpoint. Rather one should say that Prado saw the divine presence manifested in all nature, but not that all nature was God. In Alsino. Prado talks to God, through his title character, in several important chapters. These conversations indicate a genuine appreciation of God's appearance in nature. It is to be noted, however, that if in his earlier minor prose works there was a tendency toward pantheism, then it evolved toward a more orthodox Christian viewpoint in Alsino. Hie varied sentiments that man experiences while viewing a landscape, seascape, or nature's elements are also indicative of a third group of feelings, which I would label as modernist. Actually both pleasant and unpleasant sentiments are associated with nature, but it is, in general, a languid sensation of nostalgia and melancholy when Prado's characters view nature. Perhaps the Portu guese word saudades expresses best the over-all view of the Pradoan characters1 feeling for nature. It must be indicated, however, that this is not a continuous, un relieved, all pervading feeling; rather it alternates with, at times joyous, ebullient sentiments as seen in certain chapters of Alsino and Un iuez rural. More frequently, nature does, however, cause man to tend toward introspec tion and this is very important to Pradofs brand of litera ture. Prado1s view of nature is not superficial. One must view it as the outward sign of so much of his personal feelings, attitudes, and philosophy. It is a complex nature of many subtle sentiments all translated through his fine and careful use of limpid Spanish prose. CHAPTER VII PRADO*S NATURE COMPARED WITH THAT OF AUGUSTO D’HALMAR AND MARIANO LATORRE Prado*8 use of nature In his prose is the essential theme of this study, but in order better to evaluate and appreciate his treatment of nature it is helpful to see him with two of his compatriots. For this reason two men of importance in Chilean letters have been selected for this purpose. These writers are Augusto d'Halmar and Mariano Latorre. These two were selected because first, they are both highly regarded artists who worked more or less at the same time as Prado; second, both men represent the most divergent trends and expression in Chilean letters. D’Hal- raar is the cosmopolitan escapist, the modernist; Latorre, the criollista. To some extent these men represent the dichotomy in all of Latin American literature. The comparison of these men’s sentiments of nature does not pretend to be as thorough a study as that of Prado. 248 249 By viewing these authors' use of nature Prado's own unique or common employments of nature can be appreciated. An author's use of nature is somewhat comparable to finger prints in criminology, because no two are exactly alike in what they describe, Kow they perceive it, or how nature is related to other aspects of their work. D'Halmar and His Nature D'Halmar's career in Chilean literature covers a long and often successful period, but only those works which correspond to Prado's prose production will be con sidered here. D'Halmar's first novel was Juana Lucero (1902). It dealt with the illegitimate daughter of a seamstress and an upper class government official. After the mother's death, the girl is sent to her only living relative, an ancient unmarried aunt. She is reduced to servant's status and lives a very harsh, lonely existence. Juana is sent later to a friend of the aunt's, to aid one of the young ladies with sewing her trousseau. One night when the rest of the family is out, Juana is raped by the head of the family. Out of fear and shame, she says nothing, but she is soon taken advantage of by the father 250 again and his son as well* Juana soon discovers she is pregnant and is forced to seek refuge in the arms of another man. He in turn places her in a brothel where her degradation is complete. It is not my purpose here to go into the twists and turns of so complex and melodramatic a plot, or is it to criticize the book for its literary value. Suffice it to say that it was a youthful and pas sionate attempt by d'Halmar to depict and decry certain aspects of Santiago life. The use of nature is circumscribed, since it is an urban novel dealing with a sociological theme, however its appearance and employment are Interesting. Nature makes its entrance very early in the book. Night is approaching, rain is falling, and Juana's mother is dying.^ The next element of nature to appear is a river. Juana travels along it in the funeral cortege, "abajo corrla el Mapocho, negro, mugidor, acrecentado por los continuos aguaceros de ese mes riguroso." Situated in her aunt's prison-like home, Juana's only friend is a tree which is described in the following ^Juana Lucero (Santiago: Nascimento, 1952), p. 23. 2Ibid.. p. 42. 251 manner: ... con sus ultimos rayos vestla el sol la copa de un castano que, empinandose, lograba asomar sobre la tapia de la casa vecina. De repente, Juana tomo la punta del delantal para restregarse los ojos porque estaba llorando.3 This tree, in Juana's lonely existence, takes on great meaning. She converses with her aunt's servant about it, cual de una persona querida que figurase en todos sus proyectos, del castano vecino; el "compadrito castano,'* como ella le puso, cuyas hojas, crepitantes en el calor del mediodfa, adquirfan fulguraclones y resplandores durante el incendio del ocaso.^ The seasons figure Importantly in this book. D'Halmar views the winter as "Papa Inviemo" and "Senorita Primavera" comes to take his place. She arrives, con estrepitosa corte de golondrinas y jilgueros, llega rompiendo su collar perfumado y sembrando en los pan** tanos mismos, amatistas, zafiros y topacios. iOh! iQue poca economla acostumbra la Senorita Primavera, y que mal distribuye sus dadivas! En las chozas humildes, donde la fortuna niega las suyas, ella hace estallar un rub£, dentro de una vergonzosa maceta de barro que alimentaba una patilla de clavel y hasta extiende sobre el arido patio de las carceles, su al- fombra de esmeraldas.* 3Ibid.. p. 51. 4Ibid.. p. 52, 5Ibid.. p. 239. 252 This colorful, modernist description contrasts strongly with Juana's sentiments ("para ella no tra£a nada la primavera" [p. 239]) and with the naturalistic objec tivity that d'Halmar intended. In another seasonal description, this time of the fall, the quality of its rendering contrasts shockingly with the purpose of Juana and Mme. Adalguisa's trip that day. The two women view the following scene from a car riage. They are going from one side of Santiago to the other for the purpose of delivering Juana over to an abor tion mill: El otono, anciano artista que apaga los crudos verdes y encanece los follajes, donde entremezcla hojas amari- llas como laminas de oro viejo, las cuales esmaltandose con el calor tibio del sol, toman visos violetas, pur puras desvanecidos, grises finisimos, verdes de una tenuidad. Porque no hay nada en que obre tan delicada- mente la patina del tiempo, como en las hojas de los arboles. Inclinase uno hasta el suelo y en una rama marchita <jue el viento ha desgajado puede estudiar la armonfa mas completa y la mas rica coloracion. (p. 229) Juana, now called Nana^ at the brothel, continues to watch the passing scene: The coincidence of this name with Zola's novel is intentional. Zola was enjoying considerable prestige among Chile's young artists of this era. See supra, p. 29. 253 Las copas se ve£an envueltas en una liviana gasa que condensara el halito de la tierra humeda, amoratando las ramas cast desnudas. A lo lejos naufragaba el sol en las ondas rojizas del poniente, dllu£do el conf£n del horizonte en una polvareda de fuego. ... En cambio, las cordllleras apagaban ya sus tonos calidos, y la nleve transparente de las cumbres parecia un encaje de plata sobre el terclopelo azul profundo de las mon- tanas. (pp. 229-230) The influence of modernism in these descriptions is evident. This last scene painted acts upon Juana, nunca habla admirado Nana un crepusculo, y aquella majestad en que toda la naturaleza colabora, para rodear de mayor pompa la muerte del d£a, le dilato la mente, irritando sus nervios que vibraron en un espasmo de sollozos, sin una lagrima; tempestad sofocante cuya pesadez no aliviaba la menor gota de lluvia. (p. 230) This use of nature stands in strange contrast to the sentiments of d'Halmarfs characters. It almost seems that even nature refuses to sympathize with Juana and her lonely plight. In one of the few developed landscapes in this book Juana and her lover Velasquez are picnicking in Cousino park. Juana is pondering the idea of confessing her pregnant state to him. While her mind meditates, her eyes witness the following scene: Ya se ponla el sol, ardiendo como brasa las nieves en los picachos de la cordillera, cuando decidieron pasar al continente. ... Las densas masas del follaje, que participaban de los colores del cielo, apenas permi- t£an adivinar, recostandose en el fondo oro verdoso del horizonte, la l£nea violacea de los cerros, tras de los que se oculto el sol, como una centellante 254 custodia de fuego. Sobre ellos, ante que dominase en todo Xo alto el celeste palio, repetiase el morado, esta vez casl carmes£, resplandeclendo en su extension una aislada estrellita verde.^ Juana, perhaps Inspired by nature's grandeur, halt ingly relates to Velasquez her tragic story: ... el con la cabeza baja, fijos los ojos en el pasto de un verde vibrante, o mas alia aun, sobre la llanura violeta del campo del Marte que parec£an rodear de un gigantesco anfiteatro las montanas nevadas de los Andes, con sus faldas azulejas, tenida su nieve de un rosa baj ito.° Landscape or nature points up some significant scene or crisis in the characters' lives. On occasion nature complements the people's feelings; more frequently it seems to indicate the baseness and vileness inherent in man. None of the above things can be found in Prado's works when in association with nature and its descriptions. Pantheism seems to find a voice on two occasions in this work. Juana hears the sounds of birds, of wind rustling in the trees; and smells the perfumed breezes, siempre la hab£an seducido los paisajes campestres, la calma de las soledades donde el hombre calla y habla Dios por boca de los pajaritos, del susurro de las hojas, del deslizamiento de las aguas, el perfume de 7 Juana Lucero, pp. 150-151 ^Loc. cit. 255 las flores. ... Contenta en presencia de la naturaleza esplendente, sin ambicionar mas que el poquito de dicha que hasta entonces le habla sido negada. (p. 96) I find that this fragment bears a strong similarity to Prado's prose poem "La casa abandonada" in the book of a the same title. On the other occasion in a passage reminiscent of some of Prado's more philosophical prose, albeit d'Halmar's tone is more bitter and pessimistic, Juana is visiting her mother's grave and she weeps: iOh, la tierra! ;No hay como la madre tierra, de cuyo vientre nacimos y en cuyo regazo nos dormiremos! Lo demas es la putrefaccion asquerosa y esteril. Ataudes de plomo, sarcofagos de marmol, todo ello re* tarda, dificulta la incorporacion necesaria y util al seno de la tierra, frustrando nuestra mas hermosa, nuestra unica esperanza de inmortalidad: la etema evolucion de la materia. (p. 261) This book is important stylistically and themati cally because it will establish a trend firmly in Chilean letters. Este naturalismo d'halmariano hace escuela, pues son numerosos los escritores que siguen sus aguas. Mariano Latorre, Eduardo Barrios, Joaquin Edwards Bello, Fernando Santivan se adscribieron a el durante los dos primer os decenios del presente siglo.^ ^See supra, p. 217. ^Julio Orlandi and Alejandro Ramirez, Augusto tPHfllmnr (Santiago: Editorial del Paclfico, 1960), p. 11. 256 In 1914 d'Halmar published a short novel, La 1am- para en el mollno whose exact setting In space and time is deliberately vague. It evokes rather than relates things. Nature is minimal. There are references and indications to sunsets, fall, birds and plants of unspecified types. The message of the book is rooted in a vague philosophy of existence and tedious descriptions of the psychological interaction between Germana, Lot, her brother, and the stranger. It is definitely a work of the modernist move ment. The over-all atmosphere in this work is strangely similar to that in "Androvar" by Prado and its style is like the latter*s Los diez. The next novel to appear is Mi otro vo (1924). The modernist trend evident in the last named work by d'Halmar is even better manifested in this evocation of his experi ences in exotic India. The plot concerns the discovery the young narrator makes about his reincarnation. Regard ing nature, the Indian Ocean, the Hughly river, and the arrival in Calcutta are briefly described in the opening pages. D'Halmar also evokes the Indian night: En la descomposicion prismatica de la atmosfera la propia luna parecla recalentar; las palmeras frotabanse con ruido escamoso; el suelo conservaba un rescoldo de hoguera y rasandolo como si pudiera remontarse, arras- traba la brisa los tufos de los cuerpos tendidos y 257 desnudos, de las frutas en los mercados, del acelte de coco de las lamparlllas en las pagodas y los mezclaba con otros que venfan de la rlbera o, mas lejos, del barrio amarlllo y la cludad negra; agrlo y picante hedor de cuero a medio curtir y de mimosas ya pasadas, iel olor de Calcuta, dentro del del Extremo OrientelH The Indian sense of time Invades his soul, "un largo d£a que, con los ojos abiertos, reunfa las auroras rojas y los crepusculos azules, en el heliotropo afiebrado 12 de la noche." Even flowers become distorted in the con fused mind of Miguel Orth: "Y hab£a all£, entre las otras, 1 1 una aterradora orqu£dea, roja como destilando sangre." Evocations of Calcutta and Orth’s strange associations with a Dutch gem merchant and his Eurasian concubine serve as the real basis of this novel. Sensorial perceptions are more important than landscape descriptions. The psycho logical state is more important than nature. Only the most tenuous and briefest references are made to Chile, young Orth’s birthplace. Hie essence of this particular work seems well resumed in the words of Miguel on the closing page of this strange novel: "^Todo no habla sido un sueno ^ La lampara en el molino ^Santiago: Ediciones Ercilla, 1935), p. 113. Both La lampara ... and Mi otro vo appear under this single title in this particular edition. 12Ibid., p. 136 13Ibid.. p. 161. 258 de opio y de insolacion, o el remedo de algo, que Dios sabe cuando, se hab£a ya verificado? ;Bah, parodla y ficcion todo!"14 In 1924 the novels that established d'Halmar's international reputation as a leader in the modernist prose movement appeared. These two works are La pasion v muerte del cura Deusto and (the second novel's title seems to be the very distillation of modernism) La sonibra del humo en el esneio. In the first named work nature and landscape are virtually non-existent. The influence, however, of the climate and the environment of Andalucfa on Father Deusto are decisive factors as d'Halmar explains: Para Deusto, que no hab£a salido hasta los treinta anos de las nieblas del norte, su cielo pluvloso y su humeda flora, reducido en los mas despejados d£as a un horizonte de nubes y de montanas, este azul cobalto, este espejo esmerilado del anil, cobraba algo de obsesion; la vista conclu£a ofuscandose ante aquella zarabanda de £gneas moleculas, que no eran sino otra alucinacion estival. Actually Seville, Father Deusto, and the gypsy boy are the foci of all of d'Halmar's descriptive powers. 14Ibid.. p. 178. ^ La pas ion v muerte del cura Deusto (Santiago: Nascimento, 1938), p. 64. 259 Through his faithful renderings of Seville, d'Halmar joined Carlos Reyles and Enrique Rodriguez Larreta as master painters of Spain. The extent and role of nature in La sombra del humo en el esneio. although not primary, is still worthy of some consideration. It is also of interest to point out that this novel is not only similar in setting and descriptions to Mi otro vo. but on occasion identical to it. D'Halmar with only few changes (sometimes none at all) has utilized his earlier evocations of Calcutta and India in this later work. The book is composed of two wholly unrelated parts. The first deals with his "existencia vagabunda y desen- 16 catada.” He departs Chile in order to be its consul in India, but he goes there circuitously via Europe, Egypt, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, Ceylon, and then Calcutta. The second part covers his reassignment to an in consequential Peruvian town, again as Chilean consul. The town is situated on the coastal desert in the former war zone of the War of the Pacific. This portion of the book, called "Gatita," was originally published in the Los diez 16 La sombra del humo en el esneio (Madrid: Edi torial Intemacional, 1924), p. 87. 260 review. ^ The book contains no landscapes, but it is nature's elements that receive attention. This novel is only second to Juana Lucero in number of references made to nature. It makes its debut when d'Halmar views "un camino movible que cortaba el nuestro y cabrilleo bajo las estrellas. Era 18 el Nilo." The Sphinx is described in the Egyptian twi light : El crepusculo toea a su fin, y la mutilada, ha reco- brado su divinidad inmarcesible envuelta en ese halito, que es como el incienso de la hora azul, despues del fulgor de cirios de la hora amarilla que la inmateria- liza hasta hacerla parecer nada mas que una rosa vaporosa de sombras. Sobre el profundo azul del vaclo agujerado de estrellas, tambien los otros fantasmas parecen a la vez salir y entrar en un encantamiento; son rosados siempre como si proyectara sobre ellos la aurora de alguna edad muy remote, y los extensos are- nales y las dunas se colocan del mismo tinte extra- terrestre.^ D'Halmar later depicts the port in Ceylon as "una especie de beso que se da la Naturaleza con el gran noc- turno indiano, bajo el opalo de Ceylan de la Luna, en la capitosa penumbra, en el tibio regazo de esa isla edenica, * on abrazada a su vez por el Oceano. If this is not 17 Or land! and Ramirez, Augusto d 1 Kalmar, p. 18. 18 La sombra .... p. 40. 19Ibid.. p. 51. 20Ibid.. p. 108. 261 sufficient to demonstrate his evocative modernist descrip- tions, then one need only read a little further, for example through his eyes one sees. La casa dormida y los jardines envueltos en el bano de amanecer azafran de la tardla Luna; sus hibiscus, cuyos rojos racimos se encender£an manana como cohetes, al resplandor unanime. Un sombrlo desaliento me vaciaba, y ya no sabla siquiera si era yo mismo o si me habia quedado en alguna parte. 1 The sea receives a great deal of attention in this book. Even as a daydreaming child he confessed how "con la cerveza amarga y obscura yo paladeaba la brisa de todos 22 ~ los mares." In Egypt he sees that "un nino jugaba en la arena como en las playas del Oceano. Y el vlento la rizaba en olas y la respirabamos candente, como el vaho de espuma 23 de ese muerto Mar-sin-agua." His voyage from Port Said to Calcutta evokes his marine sentiments, "el alto mar ha cortado toda amarra. Ningun temor de visitas o cartas importunas. ... Nada mas que sonar mas bien dormitar." This leads him toward "un abandono oriental en que se deslizan los dfas, como el barco por estas olas, como las olas por este barco, sin que 21Ibid.. p. 123 23Ibid.. p. 20. 22Ibid.. p. 10. 262 24 se sepa siquiera que avanzamos." The sensual delight he finds in the sea is also evidenced in "el oceano Indico, florido y perfumado como un jard£n, despues de la sedienta traves£a del mar Rojo. En las noches, sobre todo, frondosas, cargadas de lumi- 25 narias, las brisas juegan con las olas." His arrival in Calcutta terminates his sea voyage. He regrets this be- 26 cause it concludes his "vida libre del mar." The sky and its celestial contents receive their share of d’Halmar’s attentions. The moon is the most prominent feature. It is first seen in its relation to the Sphinx. "Detras de nosotros, verde entre las rosaceas vaporosidades habia ido levantandose la luna. Su soledad celeste iba a evocar blen pronto a la gran solitaria 27 (Esfinge)." The scene again is the Sphinx in one of d'Halmar's most masterful evocations of lunar beauty: Solo con Zahir, con ella y con la luna declinante, menos argentina esta noche, como si la empanase el vaho humedo que exhalan las tierras irrigadas por los in- trusos, todos esos vapores invemales desconocidos antes en la tibieza del Egipto, de una lechosidad de opalo que se muere la luna, sobre el rosa inexplicable de los arenales y los granitos. 2^Ibid., p. 99. 26Ibid.. p. 109. 25Ibid.. p. 104. 27Ibid.. p. 70. 263 D'Halmar continues his depiction: Y era tambien aqu£, en las desolaciones del paramo, que se me habia revelado la magia de las fases de la luna: de la luna nueva, afilada como una segur de acero; esquife misterioso de Hecate. ... Y yo no podrfa olvidar de ah£ en adelante mi iniciacion en las noches blaneos a cuya luz sin gglor maduran sin embargo, todos los frutos del ensueno.^S These descriptions of the moon, plus those of the sea already cited, should serve to indicate definitely 29 d'Halmar's link to modernism. The appearance of plants and animals is extremely 30 restricted. In Egypt d'Halmar describes palms and a 31 sycamore in a mosque's patio. There is an unpleasant description of the Indian jungle; it appears as, la trama opresora de la jungle [sic] donde toda una danina creacion pulula; los arboles, tambien perenne- mente verdes en la perpetua canfcula, demasiado gigan- tescos para nosotros, con flores exageradamente olorosas, comunicandome ese que Hainan nuestros ante** pasados "terror de la selva," en el cual resucita la hechicerla de los elementos.32 28Ibid., pp. 79-81. 29 If the reader is desirous of more examples of d'Halmar's verbal lunar paintings he is referred to p. 84, pp. 232-233, and p. 285 of La sombra ... . 3QIbid.. p. 39. 31Ibid.. p. 54. 32 Ibid.. p. 126. This description is strongly reminiscent of one of Prado's prose poems "El bosque" in La casa abandonada. 264 In the Peruvian coastal town* the Chilean consul looks out one morning from his window: se confund£a el oro rojo de los naranjos y el oro verde de limas y cidras y reverberada entre ramos y palmas, como arboles cargados de pedrer£a. Un gusto barbaro y siempre sensual hab£a acumulado aquellos castillos de chirimoyas, las granadas entreabiertas, los mamey, las papayas y las grandes pinas y rac imos de platanos de la Isla, festones de alcorza y de jengibre, conclu£an de darle un aire pagano a la fiesta, de verano y de fecundidad.^-* This wealth of detail, this luxuriant and sensuous evocation of plant life seems to demonstrate the power of American nature over those who set out to describe it. While animals are mentioned in all of d'Halmar's works the only real description is found in "Gatita" and it is of birds. He writes: En ese pueblo brillante parece que no existieran jar- dines porque las flores hubieran cobrado alas: tanto son deslumbradores los pajaros, los pericos, los arroceros, las oropendolas o los colibr£es, que atra- viesan como centellas el aire o se posan en la vegeta- cion requ£tica e inmarcesible. Then, as if in contrast to the above description, d'Halmar qualifies himself: Pero todo lo preciosas que sean aquellas aves tropi- cales, casi no cantan y el pa£s se aleterga bajo el zumbido de los zanganos y los mosquitos en la larga ^ La sombra .... pp. 268-269. 265 siesta, hasta que cae la tarde y sus concuyos, y en- tonces los murcielagos, los mochuelos y los cuervos descrlben amplias parabolas estridentes sobre la playa desierta y desde el campanario que es como su palo- mar.3^ The senses, more so than in Prado's work, figure very importantly in d'Halmar's descriptions. His use of color has already been indicated in most of the quotations from his works. Odors, too, are important. The Orient, more specifically India, is described in olfactory detail, "y los olores, demasiado cargados, de esta vegetacion, se 3 5 suben al cerebro, donde parece hervir la sangre. In a market place of Calcutta, d'Halmar perceives "toda una bocanada de olores exoticos, de frutas y de legumbres, arroz al carry, pilaff al azafran, nos volcaba el estomago empalagosamente." Here smell is strongly linked to the gustatory sense, but it is even associated with the audio: Pero el olor, el olor, iDios m£o! esa sinfon£a endia- blada que es el olor de Calcuta, en que cantan a veces las notas agudas del jengibre, del benjui, del clavo de olor, pero confundiendo todo en una como putre- faceion de curtidurla, agria y picante, podredumbre de podredumbre. Los platos tocados por los hindues, las ropas lavadas por ellos, todo queda impregnado de su sello indeleble, y mucho tiempo despues, navegando ya de vuelta de las Indias, me basta tenderme en la silla 34Ibid.. pp. 272-273. 35Ibid.. p. 107. 266 tralda de alia, para sentir treparme al cerebro el olor, el olor de Calcuta, cautivo entre los mimbres, mas fuerte que el olor del mar, y que sobrevivira, estoy seguro, a todas las fumlgaclones.^6 In the examples given the reader can observe d'Halmar's love of the exotic, the mysterious, the color ful, and the sensual. He avoids almost any mention of his birthplace, Chile, after Juana Lucero and La lamnara en el molino. Only lavish nature descriptions of Egypt, India, Ceylon, and, to some extent, Peru appear in his works. These descriptions are never really the primary concern because d'Halmar above and beyond anything else is inter ested in describing the psychological moods of his literary creations. These moods often tend toward the deviant or abnormal as in Father Deusto, Zahir, the "gitanillo," or even his Peruvian concubine, "Gatita." The metaphysical and philosophical are also in evidence in his vague notions of the transmigration of souls, reincarnation, and other Hindu beliefs. The love of the exotic, the colorful and the mys terious; the use of the psychological in character ^ Ibid.. pp. 122-123. Regarding this description it may be useful to refer to Baudelaire's "Correspondences" as the model for the above "symphony of odors." 267 descriptions; and the interest in philosophy are also evident in Prado*s works at one time or another. Mario Ferrero, the young Chilean literary critic, points out in this respect that, es visible en nuestro autor [Prado] un cierto exotismo transcendental que lo hermana a Augusto d'Halmar. Al igual que el de cuya amistad sintio sin duda el in- flujo, acusa Prado una especial atraccion por la sen- tencia moral, la ensonacion evasiva y la especulaci&n metaf£sica que tanto pesaron en la concepcion estetica del ilustre autor de La sombra del humo en el esneio.37 This close similarity is also seen by other liter ary critics. Arriagada and Goldsack, referring to Prado's characters, Senor X in La reina de Rana-Nui and Solaguren of Un iuez rural, find them to be curious descendents of d'Halmarian characters of the first period, "particularly of Lot, the solitary and weak-willed owner of the mill and the lamp."^® Luis Alberto Sanchez contrasts d'Halmar with Prado: La ensonacion le viene (a d'Halmar) por v£as objetivas, mediante la traslacion del cuerpo, de que (epifenomeno, dirla un disc£pulo de Ribot) se origina la mudanza de 37 Premios nacionales de literatura (Santiago: Zig- Zag, 1962), p. 167. 38 "Pedro Prado: vida y obra," Atenea. CVI (May, 1952), 309. 268 su mente. AX reves, en Pedro Prado (1886-1952) el proceso empleza adentro y abarca el mundo extemo. D'Halmar usa el oceano como gran trasfondo de sus elucubraclones; Prado, el campo, la montana. ... De la perennidad del monte brotara una literatura quleta, Introvert Ida, es tat lea, mas hecha a la filosofla ciue a la divagacl6n, a la meditacldn que a la narracion. 9 It must be clarified that though the above state ment Is true, the ocean Is well represented In Prado's work. The ocean for Prado Is not a means of escape to other geographical areas (with the possible exception of La reina de Rana-Nul and "El pueblo muerto"). The sea is a source or an aid to contemplation, rest, and medita tion.^ Latorre and His Nature Only those works by Latorre published during Prado's prose career will be considered. The extent and role of nature in Latorre's prose is overwhelming in regard to sheer quantity. There is not a story or a novel by this Chilean that does not contain lavish landscapes or bounti ful descriptions of nature's component parts. If d'Halmar 39 Contenido v forma de la novela hispanoamericana (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1953), p. 203. ^See his works Alsino. Un luez rural. "Androvar, " passim. 269 and Latorre are at two extremes regarding themes and tech niques, then they are certainly no closer in the matter of nature. 41 Latorre*s first published book (1912) tells of his own birthplace and, in fact, the first story, "Un hijo del Maule," is an elegy to the old Mauline port, combining picturesque landscapes with his childhood reminiscences.^ It is, however, "Sandias riberenas" where nature is so representative of his early work. The title seems to represent a rough form of allegory. Briefly in this story there appears a rustic country girl, Rosario, from the upper Maule: Tierra triste, donde flota como una respiracion de los cerros el polvo rojizo que reraueven las carretas cruji- doras y las cabalgaduras; tierra pobre, donde hasta los espinos se mueren de sed en las gredosas quebraduras de las canadas, donde solo levanta su vuelo perezoso el tiuque solitario. El rfo pasa hacia el mar sin preocuparse de las tierras asperas y abandonadas, por donde silenciosamente ruedan sus ondas azules. ^ It is to be noted that this is the same year as Prado’s La casa abandonada which incorporated Chilean flora and fauna into its pages for the first time as a poetic or literary motif in and of itself. ^Julio Orlandi and Alejandro Ramirez, Mariano Latorre (Santiago: Editorial del Pac£fico, 1959), p. 7. 43 M. Latorre, "Sandlas riberenas," Sus melores cuentos (Santiago: Nascimento, 1945), p. 85. 270 The girl is likened to one of the "sand£as ribe- renas" especially when her father, On Leme, takes her to Constitucion. This he is motivated to do for lack of money and food for her at home, which is a "rancho negruzco que parecia un viejo nido abandonado." Here, like one of the watermelons, she is sold to one of the Celestina^like women so frequent in hispanic literature and she conse quently goes the way of all flesh. This story is saturated with descriptions of the sea, the forest, the Maule river, the muddy dank river town of Constitucion. Already in this work is seen a literary device so common to Latorre*s prose; this is his "naturalizing" his human characters in much the same way that Prado personalizes his nature. As a result we see Rosario in the following light: Ella habla nacido en la tierra virgen al sol y al aire de la sierra, y llegada la epoca de la madurez deb£a venir fatalmente a saciar la sensualidad de la vida ociosa y comoda. As£ como sus hermanas, las frescas sandfas, iban a regocijar los labios de un veraneante goloso, su cuerpo saludable ir£a a calmar los ardores de otro. ^ In this same work appears a rather sentimental story, "El jilguero de Miss Elliot" where nature is 44 Ibid.. p. 84. 45Ibid.. p. 96. 271 secondary. Latorre, however, describes children's imagina tions taking flight, , f como un pajaro primaveral, embrlagado de sol." The night of a party Is described In a manner not unlike Prado's: Era una noche fresca de verano. iNoches de verano del rlncon maulino! iDulces noches estrelleantes en que resuena el murtnullo de las olas como una larga nota adormecedora! iNoches aterclopeladas y negras donde flotan, como un agrio perfume, el allento marlno y las brlsas del rlo!^ Both of these stories make use of two particularly Chilean Items. These are the almost phonetic transcription of Spanish as spoken In the Maule region and the flora and fauna of the area. This serves to heighten the effect of local color. Cuna de condores is Latorre*s next published work appearing in 1918. As can be deduced by its title, this collection of stories is set in the cordillera. One of his best dramatic stories is entitled "La epopeya de Moni." The title character is left by his father to tend the ani mals while Maulen goes in search of a stray. Alone, the boy faces the rigors of a nature which, at the end, will Sus meiores cuentos. p. 105. 47Ibid.. p. 108. 272 overcome him and kill him. In essence, then, this is the conflict of man with the natural elements surrounding him. Little Moni, watching his father disappear, muses how Maulen treats him like a dog, creyendose dueno de el, por haberlo engendrado y por darle el alimiento; pero as! como el perro cuida la casa y sirve de companla, el muchacho le ayudaba en sus tareas, y en la soledad de las noches cordilleranas era un ser humano que respiraba a su lado. Esto solo los hacfa sentir menos horrendo el misterioso palpitar de la enorme noche de la sierra.^® Moni, treated like a dog, is compared to other nature forms. His eyes Mde un negror azulado como dos granos de maquf en su carilla de aguilucho, coronada por grenas sucias que sallan por debajo de un sombrerillo seboso, destenido, como las puas de los cardos de su re- donda capsula coriacea."49 He is also like "un extrano animal salvaje que, a fuerza de vivir entre aquellos penas- cos rojizos, despellejados por el sol y la nieve, hubiese tornado su mismo color. If Prado’s use of nature seems generally to evoke a sense of harmony and even serenity, then this certainly 4**Ibid.. p. 151. 50Ibid.. p. 155. 49Ibid.. p. 152 273 is not the case for Latorre. In this same story the fol- lowing conflict appears: A esa hora el sol parec£a entablar una lucha desespe- rada con el viento hasta que consegu£a veneerlo y la fuerza de sus rayos .nvolvia la sierra en una red de fuego, inmovil, abrumadora. El canto de los arroyos, en aquel infiemo de luz, tenia un calido burbujeo de agua en ebullici£n. This conflict is finally and dramatically re enacted between Moni and a condor. Moni, again, takes on animal characteristics: ... sus manos que el dolor ha convertido en ferreos ganchos, logran coger el cuello del condor y atraerlo hacia s£. En la ceguedad de esta lucha a muerte, no ve que el abismo se abre a sus pies, en la risuena y lejana indiferencia del pastizal y adherido ahora al cuerpo del condor que se remece con todas sus fuerzas, estirando las plumas de sus alas con la r£gidez de la agon£a, el ave y el hombre llegan, sin advertirlo, al borde de la sima y violentamente confundidos en tin abrazo monstruoso, van a estreliarse en las lajas pizarrosas que orillan el cajon.^2 Nature does not win, but neither does man. There is only a violent stalemate. Such a conflict and a result (or lack of one) could never happen with Prado. Man, for him, either acts so in union with his natural environment, or he dominates, controls, or even destroys nature. The two men's attitudes toward nature are completely different. 51Ibid., pp. 153-154. 52Ibid., p. 168. 274 If at times the type of nature portrayed is identical (that is, a recourse to purely Chilean flora and fauna) one cannot help but observe that their motivations are quite dissimilar. For Prado nature is an aesthetic, a philosophical, and an artistic device; for Latorre it is a sociological backdrop and an artistic tool. In this same collection appears a similar story of conflict between man and nature, "Dos pestanas de On Chipo." This struggle is resolved no less violently. On Chipo, an aging puma hunter, is being hard-pressed to find a way to make ends meet. He attempts to seek out a puma that has been eluding him for some years and who he secretly be lieves to be the devil in animal form. Thus the story takes on an added dimension of combat between human forces with evil. The story ends with the pumafs death, but not without violent struggle and severe wounds inflicted upon On Chipo. This story parades such names made familiar by Prado as "coigties centenarios," "choroyes," "litre," "copi- hues," "chilcos, " "quilas," ’ 'maitenes," "torcazas," and 53 many other plants and birds. Ihe sinister descriptions CO M. Latorre, Chile. pa£s de rincones (Buenos Aires: Espasa-Calpe, 1947), pp. 153-177. 275 of the cat build to a climax where the animal finally comes face to face with his pursuer. For On Chipo, ese leon ... los representaba a todos los demas. Perd£a su caracter de bestia y le prestaba alma de hombre. Si el leon lograse escapar, el no sobre- vivirla a esta derrota. Era mejor morir degollado por una mestra a volver vencido con su perrillo al rancho. Y esta lmpaciencia parecla tenerla el leon tambien. Igual odio brillaba en los ojos de ambos.54 In their ensuing encounter, the puma bites into On Chipo's hand: "A traves de su mano de acero, cuyos musculos hablan adquirido la consistencia y la forma de sus huesos, la lenta agonla del puma repercutio en el corazon de On Chipo.”55 In a passage similar to the "Epopeya de Moni” we see the animal struggling to the end with man: ... cada sacudimiento de sus arterlas pasaba como un halito de selva, de montana agreste, al cuerpo del leonero, y en un choque de sus sangres primitives, sus almas se unieron, confundiendose. El ultimo puma vengabase del ultimo leonero.*® These short stories do provide an excellent idea of the role and extent of nature in Latorre's work. They also provide great natural drama and oftentimes tragedy in a pure sense. Zurzulita. however, provides us with an idea 54Ibid.. p. 173. ^ Loc. cit. 55IkUL-, P‘ 175. 276 of the role and extent of nature In one of his novels. Zurzulita was first published In Chile In 1920 which makes it very contemporary with Prado* s Alsino. but almost all similarities end there. It deals with, again, a recurrent theme in Spanish American literature, the con flict of civilization with barbarism. Mateo Elorduy in herits a Chilean fundo near the town of Millavoro. The attraction of a change of life from his confined routine in Loncomilla to the supposedly free, healthful country life convinces him to give it a try. In the hands of On Carmen Lobos, whose name contains no small amount of symbol, Mateo is installed in Millavoro. Here he meets the lovely Milla who is so often likened to a zurzulita. a lovely mountain turtledove. Mateo sees her watering some flowers in her garden and she seems "tambien una flor camosa, saturada 57 de sabrosos jugos y picantes aromas." Later, Mateo*s love, "iba naciendo junto con las flores campesinas, a medida que avanzaba la primavera y se aproximaba el 58 verano." Life, however, does not go smoothly. Mateo ^M. Latorre, Zurzulita (Madrid: Aguilar, 1962), p. 144. 58Ibid.. p. 155. 277 does not adjust well to the radically different life. The peasants and the townspeople suspect and resent him, after first viewing him as an amusing curiosity. Elorduy re peatedly comes into conflict with Carmen Lobos and eventu ally the latter with his henchmen bring their revenge on the city man. Mateo is found dead and ready to be devoured by vultures by the pregnant Milla in this naturalist novel of the land. Again the reader finds man versus nature with the civilized man, which Mateo represents, succumbing to nature*s power and forces, represented by both the land and the men of this Mauline region. In its message and methods it is not too unlike some of its contemporary novels such as la voragine. Dona Barbara, and Los de abajo. Local color and nature's manifestations veritably ooze from every page. It is no exaggeration to declare simply that not one page of this novel lacks a reference to nature. This is so much the case as to be encumbering and demanding on the reader. If Latorre*s characters are likened to stick figures, then his nature, it must be confessed, lives in dimension and strength like a character in and of it self. The reader is so overwhelmed by its presence as to destroy any incipient thought on Latorre*s message. Plot, 278 structure, characterization, all are subservient and secondary to his extravagant descriptions of hills, forests, streams, fundos. animals, plants, flowers, sun sets, climatic changes, etc* It is no wonder, then, that nature triumphs at the end. Latorre*s short stories em ploying nature are interesting, even educational (which is what he intended them to be) but his novel using the same techniques flounders and falls down under its very weight. Latorre is concerned about portraying Chile. In a work published in the forties he philosophizes much as Prado did in Ensavos ... . He writes: La multiplicidad es el caracter del paisaje chileno. Y multiple es, tambien, la psicologla de su poblador, pero paisajes y hombres son unos en su pluralidad. Por esto, es dificil, si no imposible, plasmar un arquetipo de raza, desde el punto de vista artfstico. Furthermore he declares that Chilean nature is not monotonous, uon the contrary, it is of a disconcerting variety. The Chilean is neither stubborn nor lazy. His adaptability to the milieu in which he is given to live is miraculous, for either he becomes a part of it or he aban dons it forever [the rotol. These brief lines also ~^Chile. pais de rincones. p. 11. 6QIbid.. p. 12. 279 indicate his non"fictional regard for Chile, its nature and its people. The critics have taken disparate views on Latorre and his use of nature. There is, consequently, motive to examine some of these before any conclusions are drawn con cerning how he compares to Prado. Magda Arce writing in the forties pointed out the following: La tierra chilena, llamese cordillera inaccesible o selva virgen, disuelve al hombre y lo hace minusculo enta el prodigio de escenario. Como Latorre es un visual, un retratista,*es logico que su interes se vuelque mas a la naturaleza misma que a la especie humana. Graciela Illaner Adaro sang Latorre* s praises for the very way he handled nature as a theme. She maintains: Con Mariano Latorre y Zurzulita el paisaje literario adquiere su plenitud, su cabal desenvolvlmiento. El entusiasta amor que siente por la tierra, lo hace vibrar y estremecerse para apreciar las cualidades de cada campo y loma. Muchas veces se toma poet a y nos compone trozos que son verdaderos poemas; escribe entonces en una forma cadenciosa, sonadora, llena de bellas imagenes.62 She also pointed out how he fixed in such a way ^ Mariano Latorre: vida v obra (New York: Hispanic Institute, 1944), p. 17. ^ La naturaleza de Chile en su aspecto t£pico v regional a traves de sus escritores (Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1941), p. 84. 280 the essence of a region or place that we could recognize 63 it if we should see it. She also related how Latorre was the first to portray the cordillera in his prose already in Cuna de conderes (1918). She maintains that he is the master painter of this segment of Chile as well as of the 64 Mauline region. By the sixties Latin American literary criticism took a look at the inflated values of the forties and turned a jaundiced eye on those of Latorre*s ilk. Manuel Rojas, himself a Chilean novelist of note, writes of Latorre: ... lo que fue su pasion se convirtio, al fin, en objeto de crftica: el paisaje se lo comio, as I com o se comio al personaje, que aparecla mfnimo al lado de una descripcion de tres o cuatro paginas. Aseguraba que en Chile el paisaje se come al personaje, pero olvido que el autor es el autor y no debe permitir que el paisaje se coma al personaje. Hay una relacion entre axnbos. De otro modo la literatura se convierte en algo que ya no es creacion artistica sino simple copia. ... Despues de Mariano Latorre quiza ya la literatura chilena no necesita paisaje; podra pasarse sin el du rante varios anos, por lo menos en esa forma. 63Ibid.. p. 86. 64Ibid.. pp. 99-100. Manual de literatura chilena (Mexico: Manuales Universitarios, 1964), pp. 73-74. Conclusion 281 In comparing the role and extent of nature in Prado's work with those of d'Halmar and Latorre several things have become evident. Prado, like d'Halmar, uses nature to bring out a quality in the person or to heighten the effect of a dramatic moment with either a nature image or description. There is a definite correlation of nature with a psychological mood or state. Prado's work is more abundant in nature references. D'Halmar's is circum scribed. Prado only once ventures outside the confines of Chile to the Holy Land in "Androvar" and "Prosas biblicas." La reina de Rana-Nui. strictly speaking, is Chilean domain since Easter Island is their only overseas possession. D'Halmar, after Juana Lucero and La lanmara en el molino. hardly makes a reference to his birthplace. D'Halmar is always exotic in his use of nature. The eastern hemisphere is"his main location. Prado is exotic, but he finds exoti cism in his own environment. D'Halmar is preoccupied with abnormal psychology as a principal motive; Prado prefers philosophy or the marginal area between psychology and philosophy. Both men make extensive use of sensorial per ception. Colors, sounds, and aromas easily impress the 282 reader with their frequency and faithful rendering. Nature never takes control over the writings of either man. They both, as authors, usually have complete control of their literary devices. Their mastery of prose and its com ponents make them easily comprehensible to readers not of Chilean nationality or unfamiliar with that nation. The modernist influence on both men is evident in their themes as well as their methods. There is little doubt in my mind that d’Halmar is the "hermano errante" in Prado’s book Los diez. They are kindred spirits, soul-mates if you prefer. Latorre and Prado share an intense love of Chile and Chilean nature. Latorre and Prado both employ their native environment as the subject or the background for the best of their literary production. Both men in 1912 pub lished books which for the first time in Chile employed the native landscape as a fit subject for literature. Prado frequently, but not always, views Chilean nature lyrically, poetically, strongly colored by modernism. Latorre, under the influence of Zola and the early d’Halmar, paints Chile in the colors of reality. Nature dominates Latorre*s works. It coexists in Prado’s prose. There is an innate sense of harmony, balance, perhaps peace in most of Prado's 283 nature. This is not so for Latorre. Conflict, man versus nature, civilization against barbarism are the sentiments aroused by Latorre*s nature. Prado personifies his nature; Latorre "naturalizes” man. Latorre evoked nationalism in his literature. Prado gave the Chileans pride and a national symbol in Alsino. Prado used a universally com prehensible form of very beautiful Spanish prose. Latorre had recourse to phonetic transcriptions of regional speech in order to lend more authenticity to the atmosphere he was describing. I believe that after viewing all three men and their use of nature I could see how Prado represented such moderation in a people and a continent not particularly known for this virtue. Prado represents an intermediate stage between two excesses in Latin American literature. He seems always to be in control of his thoughts, his nature, his characters, and his writing. Prado can be likened, in a sense, to the French painter Millet, in his famous "Angelus”; here man and nature are harmoniously blended with the religious sentiment; d'Halmar could best be compared to an abstract or surrealist painter like Dal£ where isolated recognizable forms of nature are to be 284 found; and Latorre is most like a professional landscape photographer, using brilliantly colored film. CONCLUSIONS As stated In the introduction, the purpose of this study is to investigate the extent and role of the senti ment of nature in Pedro Prado’s fifteen prose works. Be fore directly undertaking the study of nature, Prado was situated within the political and economic framework of his epoch. In a time of so much political activity--weak par- liamentarianism, coalitions, and nascent socialism--Pedro Prado remained aloof, even withdrawn from the daily political scene. There are no references made in any of his works to the Chilean politics of the day and the inter national scene is only obliquely represented when he refers in La reina de Rapa-Nui to the "pueblos tristes y atormen- tados" with their "hombres nuevos" which stand in such marked contrast to the simple idyllic life of Easter Island. The international and national economic circum stances surrounding Prado had a more direct influence on his works. Due to several economic factors, the conditions 285 286 of Chile's lower classes became appallingly evident even to the most casual viewer. These conditions are described, in varying degrees, in "La reina maga," Alsino. Un 1uez rural, and "El pueblo muerto." It is not to be construed that this attention ever even approached overt social pro test, but the reader is aware of some of the worst aspects of social injustice during Prado's time. Prado's social conscience never dominates in his work because it plays only a minor role in the scheme of things. Prado's own economic situation was comfortable enough to allow him to disregard the political and social realities of his age in order to participate more actively in Santiago's cultural life. He became one of its leaders and sponsors. His personal association known as the Ten and their review "Los diez" were relatively short-lived, as most of these groups are, but it was important for Prado's own personal hegemony and for the number of later important writers (Mistral, Barrios, and Rojas) who appeared in the review under his aegis. Prado, on a more personal level, was also influ enced by four factors which played decisive roles on his literature. First, Prado's father and spartan-like 287 upbringing were to develop certain sensibilities in the young boy, among the most important are his dread of night and his nostalgic longing for his dead mother. Second, his youthful marriage, after his father’s death, and the large family he raised indicated an inner personal need for love and companionship. His family was a source of inspiration for his novels and prose poems. At times they are depicted in Los paiaros errantes. Alsino. and Un iuez rural. Third, Prado's personal relationships with others than his family pointed up distinguishing features of his personality which serve to explain certain philosophical and literary aspects of his work. Fourth, Prado's travels throughout the length and breadth of Chile, according to his own words, soon after his father's death, directly initiated him into the marvels of the changing Chilean landscape and provided a source of consolation for the mourning young man. Travel was to prove a direct source of inspiration to his literary descriptions of nature. The role and extent of Prado's nature were illus trated in their relation to plot and other sentiments in order to avoid isolating just one aspect of his writings. Nature does exist in a diffused state throughout his prose works. It Is a harmonious nature; one that does not shock or jar the reader*s thoughts or sensibilities. Nature is very important in La casa abandonada. La reina de Rapa-Nui. Ensavos .... Los paiaros errantes. Alsino. Un juez rural. and the northern desert stories. It is relegated to a very minor role in Los diez. Las copas. "Androvar,” and "Prosas bfblicas" and Vieios poemas ineditos. Nature often is used to instruct mankind; sometimes it is closely associated with a psychological or emotional state of the beholder (estado animico--paisaje sicologico); other times it is employed as a poetic recourse in images, similies, and metaphors; and still on other occasions it is used only for its own sake, its beauty (contemplacion sensorial--paisaje natural). Exactly what nature Prado portrayed and the empha sis accorded to it was next studied. Certain definite predilections stand out after a complete consideration of his prose. There is a clearly defined preference for coastal seascapes and images and references made to the sea. Mountain landscapes are next in number and in quality of descriptions. TWo other types of landscapes, those of waters and those touched by man are presented in his works. 289 The landscape under man's Influence shows both the good and bad effects man has upon nature. Prado's nature can be subdivided Into the standard categories of animal, vegetable, and mineral. In the ani mal kingdom, Prado has a distinct preference for birds. They serve as symbols, as decor, and as friends to man. Domestic animals also appear in varying numbers and types, but two of the most common stand out for their unusual position in relation to man. They are dogs and horses; and these animals exhibit Prado's unique literary treatment of them. Prado has absolutely no use for dogs. There is not a single favorable description or mention of man's supposed ’ ’ best friend." The horse never appears as a noble or fiery steed. Instead it is a skinny, overworked nag. Prado's descriptions of domestic animals actually provide the reader with an indirect social commentary of the conditions existing in the various places and times in which he wrote. The historical information in Chapter I is indirectly mani fested in the prose of the writer living that historical moment. In fact, if Prado was criticized by some for never writing literature in the manner of a Mariano Latorre and for avoiding the Chilean social scene, then these critics 290 have not carefully studied Prado’s pages which contain an Indirect commentary on the pathetic conditions of the suburb (Un iuez rural), on latifundia (Alsino), and on the alcoholic illiterate peasants (Alsino: Un Iuez rural: northern desert stories). Social evils are depicted, but they are never important aspects of his total work. Prado was usually too much a modernist to seek the direct ways of literary expression in order to voice his protest. The plant kingdom displays the richness of Prado's detailed descriptions, but most importantly the poetic stylizations of certain Chilean trees and plants show his originality and attention to things national. In La casa abandonada (1912), the prose pieces "Las pataguas" and ’ 'El cazador" become elegeaic evocations of purely native flora which had never before figured as worthy subjects in the national literature. Trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers, and weeds make up Prado's huge literary botanical garden. The humblest, poorest manifestations, weeds (and in the animal realm, insects) figure uniquely in Prado's works. In ”Las malezas" of La casa abandonada he believes that the ne glected thickets will perhaps some day receive the atten tions of man. He indicates here that man's changeability 291 and fadism cause him to place arbitrary and fluctuating values on a nature which Is really equal to all of its parts. In minerally rich and Important Chile, minerals figure only to a minor extent in Prado*s literature. Gem- stones, gold, silver, rocks, and rocky areas appear. The first three items are usually employed in images that are more or less standard, i.e., the moon is silver; the sun is gold; the setting sun causes the sea to be like an opal, etc. The celestial elements of sun, r.oon, and stars receive generally similar treatment in all of Prado*s works. Prado, in the hour he prefers to contemplate nature, frequently indicates his modernist influence and tendencies. He prefers to describe sunsets to all the other times of day. Fall is Prado’s favorite season, followed by Spring. The images he creates around these seasons employ gold, gems, clouds, and colors of reds, yellows, and purples. Due to the time of day, the season, and the weather pre vailing, the reader receives a vague etherial notion, a languor, a kind of melancholy and nostalgia for things past (1* lmprecis. la chanson arise). 292 Atmospheric phenomena often serve to link Prado to his reader because weather usually affects man in more or less similar ways. Rain, fog, mist, and wind can often make the beholder depressed, introspective, moody; the bright sun, pastel clouds, cobalt blue skies generally make the viewer happy. These are common sentiments in Prado's work. There are occasions in the northern desert stories where the overwhelming sun and the diaphanous sky have the opposite effect and they dazzle Otamendi and distort his thoughts. Another highly original aspect of Prado's nature descriptions is the earthquake as a literary subject in his prose (Alsino. Un iuez rural, northern desert stories). It is not common to encounter literary prose descriptions of its occurrence and effects. Prado perceives nature most frequently through the sense of sight, then hearing, and smell. Often the senses appear in combinations of two or more. His visual descrip tions make use of line, form, reflection, and color. The use of color indicates another contact point with modern ism. The colors and their frequency of appearance are strongly linked in their use to the Parnassians and Symbol ists. Blue is his favorite (perhaps Dario's too), but 293 nebulous colors like ashen grey often appear (Verlaine's Imprecis). All kinds of sounds appear in Prado's works. They lend richness and authenticity to his visual drawings. Smell is one of the most interesting senses that Prado employs. All kinds of odors are evoked throughout his prose. Sometimes they are unpleasant, most often they are suggestive, evocative. Taste and touch are also utilized but to a very minor degree. There are three principal sentiments translated by Prado's use of nature. First is his own philosophical con cept of Naturalezas-hombres which represents the harmonious union of man and nature. Alsino exhibits this combination in the title character, but it also exists in MLos pajaros errantes" and in other prose pieces. His essays elaborate in a non-fictional way his personal feelings toward nature. Nature also, according to Prado, shows a lack of limits. He cannot decide at what point a rose becomes a rose; that is why his poetic, philosophical rose gardener cannot bring himself to cut one. This lack of well defined limits appears, somewhat altered, again in Un iuez rural. "Andro- var," and in other short pieces. There is a definite religious sentiment attached 294 to Prado's nature. At first glance, it seems pantheistic, but later in its totality the reader sees it to be a Chris tian sentiment. Nature reflects God's wonders, but it is not God. Nature is almost a proof of the Divine. Often Prado's feelings are not completely orthodox Christian, but on the whole they do represent it. Man's personal sentiments when contemplating nature are viewed through Prado's characters. It is this third sentiment that identifies Prado best with his readers. His people react in much the same way before given landscapes or nature forces as most men who read of them would. This makes for Prado's universal human appeal. The languor, melancholy, and nostalgia briefly mentioned earlier find their origin in man's uncertainty before reality and death. Often for Prado and his characters nature seems eternal in its renewal; man does not necessarily see this same fate for himself. From this disparity arises a sentiment of longing and sadness, saudades vis-a-vis nature. This un certainty aroused by contemplating nature is also a very modernist sentiment as seen in "Lo fatal" and "Sinfonla en gris mayor" by Dario. In order to underline Prado's personal use of 295 nature it is necessary to include two of Prado's contempo raries in order to compare and contrast the extent and use of nature in their literature. This comparison illustrates what is unique or common about Prado's literary treatment of nature. It also sexrves to explain why Prado represents a middle path in a literature so frequently marked by ex tremes. This becomes evident in the role and extent of nature in the prose of Augusto d'Halmar and Mariano Latorre, especially when compared with what is already known about Prado. D'Halmar is a modernist in the most extreme sense (one has only to consider one of his titles which distills the very quintessence of modernist evanes cence and ephemera, La sombra del humo en el esneio). The cosmopolitan forms of nature depicted in his works make his prose impossible to identify with a specific nation. Latorre well represents the telluric tradition in both Chilean and Latin American letters. The land, its flora and fauna, and the men of the land are his themes. Latorre used the realist-naturalist techniques inherited from the nineteenth century. Prado is seen using the modernist methods of writing and in describing nature, but they are used, for 296 the most part in his best pages, to depict Chile and its nature. Prado's prose or nature scenes never degenerate into mere costumbrismo or tremendismo because he is too much influenced by modernism for the simple portrayal of the picturesque or the stark violent reality so often en countered in developing Latin America. Prado was always moderate in his life and his literature. This fact con tributes to the difficulty of a precise classification of his work into a definite literary movement. It seems that he is very much like one of the recurring themes in his literature--lacking well-defined limits. It is this difficulty that has led some to label Prado with the all-encompassing term, post-modernist. He is this, if post-modernism is defined as an artist writing after the death of Dario, employing mundonovista settings and themes, and using the technical devices and advances made by the modernists. Prado is, moreover, a writer and an individual who found inspiration and consolation in nature, a nature impossible to confine to any literary school or movement. BIBLIOGRAPHY 297 BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Material: Prose Works bv Pedro Prado Prado, Pedro. Alsino. Santiago, 1963. _______ . "Androvar." poema dramatico. Santiago, 1925. _______ . "El pueblo muerto," La roia torre de los diez. ed. E. Espinoza. Santiago, 1961. _______ . Ensavos sobre la arauitectura v la poesla. Santiago, 1916. _______ . La casa abandonada. parabolas v peouenos ensavos. Santiago, 1912. _______ . La reina de Rapa-Nui. Santiago, 1938. _______ . "La reina maga," Zig-Zag (Santiago), Decem ber 23, 1906. _______ . "La risa en el desierto," La Prensa (Buenos Aires), December 13, 1925. _______ . Las copas. Buenos Aires, 1921. _______ . Los diez: el claustro. la barca. Santiago, 1915. _______ . Los paiaros errantes: poemas menores v breves divagaciones. Santiago, 1960. _______ . "Luz lunar," Zig-Zag (Santiago), June 16, 1907. _______ , and Molina, Enrique. "Mision en Bolivia," Atenea. IV (October, 1925), 335-341. 298 299 Prado, Pedro. "Prosas blbllcas," Atenea, IX (March, 1928), 3-5. _______ . Un iuez rural. Santiago, 1924. _______ . Vlelos poemas ineditos, lncluso prosas breves. Santlago, 1949. Secondary Material: Works on Pedro Prado and His Literature Alegrla, Fernando. Breve historla de la novela hispano- amer-trana. Mexico, 1959. Alone (Diaz Arrieta, H.). Los cuatro grandes de la litera- tura chllena durante el slelo XX. Santiago, 1963. Arrlagada, Julio, and Goldsack, Hugo. "Pfedro Prado, un clasico de America," Atenea. CVI (March, April, May, and June, 1952). Arrieta, Rafael A. Ariel Corporeo. Buenos Aires, 1926. Baeza, Alejandro (Fray Apenta). Repiques. Santiago, 1916. Blondet Tudesco, Olga. "Pedro Prado: Bibliografla,” Revlsta His panic a Modema. XXVI (January-April, 1960), 81-84. Contreras, Francisco. L*esprit de ltAaaerique espagnole. Paris, 1931. Corvalan, Octavio. El postmodemismo. New York, 1961. Donoso, Armando. "Pedro Prado," Nosotros. XXII (April, 1916), 22-54. Durand, Luis. Gente de mi tiempo. Santiago, 1953. Espinoza, Enrique. La roia torre de los diez. antologla de Pedro Prado. Santiago, 1961. 300 Fein, John M. Modernising in Chilean Literature: the second period. N.p., 1965. Ferrero, Mario. Premios nacionales de literature. San tiago, 1962. Ferro, Hellen. Historia de la poesfa hispanoaroericana. New York, 1964. Garcfa Gaines, Julia. Como los he vis to vo. Santiago, 1930. Huneus, Sergio. "Pedro Prado en la diplomacia," Atenea. CXIV (March, 1954), 252-273. Illaner Adaro, G. "Pedro Prado," Atenea. XCV (November- December, 1949), 479-486. Lefebvre, Alfredo. "Pedro Prado en la poesfa chilena," Cuademos Hispanoamericanos. XVI (July-August, 1950), 122. Montenegro, Ernesto. "La sonrisa de Pedro Prado," Revista Iberoamericana. XVIII (February-December, 1952), 93- 104. Montes, Hugo, and Orlandi, Julio. Historia de la litera- tura chilena. Santiago, 1955. Rled, Alberto. El mar tralo mi sanere. Santiago, 1956. Roa Bleck, Alejo. Literatura chilena. Santiago, 1963. Rojas, Manuel. Manual de literatura chilena. Mexico, 1964. Sanchez, Lu£s Alberto. Proceso v contenido de la novela hispano-americana. Madrid, 1953. Santivan, Fernando. Confesiones de Santivan. Santiago, 1958. Silva Castro, Raul. "Alegor£a y simbolo en Alsino." La Nacion (Buenos Aires), April 13, 1958, Second section, p. 1, cols. 1-8. 301 Silva Castro, Raul* Panorama Hfryfrario de Chile. San tiago, 1961. _______ . Pedro Prado: vida v obra. New York, 1960. _______ . ”Pedro Prado; vida y obra," Revista Hispanica Moderna. XXVI (enero-abril, 1960), 1-80. _______ . Retratos literarios. Santiago, 1932. Torres-Rioseco, A. Breve historia de la literatura chilena. Mexico, 1956. _______ • Grandes novelistas de la America hispanica. Vol. II. Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1943. _______ . "Las novelas de Pedro Prado," Cien anos de la novela chilena. Concepcion, 1961. Zum Felde, Alberto. Indice critico de la literatura hisnanoamericana: la narrativa. Mexico, 1958. Works Dealing in Part or Wholly With the Sentiment of Nature Agrella, Neftalf (pseud.). "La influencia del mar en la poesla de Salvador Reyes," Atenea. 1XXIII-LXXIV (March - April, 1931), 448-455. Aita, Antonio, Ibarguren, C., and Vignale, P. El paisaie v el alma areentina. Buenos Aires, 1938. Alegrla, Fernando. "El paisaje y sus problemas," Atenea. XXXV (July, 1936), 64-76. Angeles Caballero, C. A. El paisaie en Mariateeui. Valleio v Cieza de Le6n. Ica, 1962. Baeza Flores, A. "Chilean Contemporary Literature," Chilean Gazette. XVIII (September, 1946), 11. Castagnino, Raul H. El analisis literario. Buenos Aires, 1953. 302 Dauzat, Albert. Le sentiment de la nature et son expres sion artistlaue. Paris, 1914. Duran Cerda, Julio. "Paisaje y poes£a del sur," Atenea. LXXXI (July, 1945), 27-41. Finlayson, Clarence. "Paisaje en Pablo Neruda," Atenea. LIV (October, 1938), 47-60. Illaner Adaro, G. Evolucion del sentimiento estetico del paisaie en la literatura chilena. Santiago, 1940. _______ . La naturaleza de Chile en su aspecto tlpico v regional a traves de sus escritores. Santiago, 1941. Latorre, M. "La influencia del campo en la novela chilena," Atenea. XXXIV (May, 1936), 171-182. _______ . "El sentido de la naturaleza en la poesfa chilena," Atenea. LXIX (November, 1930), 599-624. _______ . "El sentido de la naturaleza en la poesla chilena," Atenea. UCX (December, 1930), 328-349. Maples Arce, M. El paisaie en la literatura mexicana. Mexico, 1944. Montecinos, Manuel. El mar en la literatura chilena. Santiago, 1958. Nunez, E. "El sentimiento de la naturaleza en la modema poesla del Peru," Revista Iberoamericana. VIII (Novem ber, 1943), 153-186. Reyes, Alfonso. "El paisaje en la poesla mexicana del siglo XX," Obras completas. Vol. I. Mexico, n.d. Rosenberg, S. L. "El paisaje en la l£rica mexicana," Bulletin Hispanique (Burdeos), XXXVI (1934), 319-339. Sanchez, L. A. "El paisaje en la literatura americana; elemento desconocido aunque dominante," Revista Ibero- americana. II (November, 1940), 389-399. 303 Sanchez de Muniain, J. M. Estetica del paisaie natural* Madrid, 1945. Schulman, I. A. Simbolo v color en la obra de Jose Mart£. Madrid, 1960* Supervielle, Jules. , f Le sentiment de la nature dans la poesie hispanoamericaine," Bulletin de la Blbliotheaue Americaine (Paris), October 15, 1910; May 15, 1911; January, 1912. Unamuno, M. de. "El sentimiento de la naturaleza," Por tlerras de Portugal v de Esnana. 1911. Obras completas. Vol. 1. Barcelona, 1958. Miscellaneous Works Consulted in the Preparation of the Thesis Arce, Magda. Mariano Latorre: vida v obra. New York, 1944. Aubrun, Charles. Histoire des lettres hispano-americaines. Paris, 1954. Baudelaire, Charles. Les fleurs du mal. Paris, 1959. Braga, Rubem. Ai de ti. Copacabana! Rio, 1962. Breve diccionario enciclopedico chileno. Santiago, 1938. d'Halmar, Augusto. Juana Lucero. Santiago, 1952. _______ . La lampara en el molino. Santiago, 1935. _______ . La pasion v muerte del cura Deusto. Santiago, 1938. _______ . La sombra del humo en el espeio. Madrid, 1924. Edwards Vives, Alberto. La fronda aristocratica. San tiago, 1936. 304 Fardwell, F. V. Landscape in the Works of Marcel Proust* Washington, 1948. Frias Valenzuela, Francisco. Manual de historia de Chile. Santiago, 1950. Galdames, Luis. A History of Chile. Chapel Hill, 1941. Garcia Lopez, J. Resumen de historia de las literaturas hispanicas. Barcelona, 1961. Hall, W. P., and Davis, W. S. Europe Since Waterloo. New York, 1957. Herring, Hubert. History of Latin America. New York, 1957. "Languages and Literatures of Spanish America and Brazil, proceedings from the symposium on," Latin American Studies. Vol. XV. Austin, 1957. Latorre, M. Chile, pals de rincones. Buenos Aires, 1947. _______ . Sus meiores cuentos. Santiago, 1945. _______ . Zurzulita. Madrid, 1962. Micha, Alexandre. Verlaine et les poetes svmbolistes. Paris, 1957. Mistral, Gabriela. Recados: contando a Chile. Santiago, 1957. Monguio, Luis. Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda. New York, 1961. Orlandi, J. J., and Ramirez, C. A. Augusto d'Halmar. Santiago, 1960. _______ . Mariano Latorre. Santiago, 1959. Prado, Pedro. Camino de las horas. Santiago, 1934. Rippy, J. Fred. Latin America— A Modem History. Ann Arbor, 1958.

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Creator Kelly, John Rivard (author)

Core Title The Sentiment Of Nature In The Prose Works Of Pedro Prado

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Latin American Studies

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Literature, Modern,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor McMahon, Dorothy Elizabeth (committee chair), Hesse, Everett W. (committee member), Servin, Manuel P. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-588754

Unique identifier UC11359649

Identifier 6717679.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-588754 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 6717679.pdf

Dmrecord 588754

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Kelly, John Rivard

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA