A Companion to José Enrique Rodó (Monografías A) (Volume 375)

This Companion to José Enrique Rodó (1871-1917) is the first comprehensive intellectual biography in English of the great Latin Americanist, stylist, and writer on the ethical and aesthetic development of the youth of his subcontinent. Rodó is best known for his essay Ariel (1900), which marked the consolidation of modernity in Latin America in the wake of mass immigration and Spain's crushing defeat at the hands of a United States that wasimpressing upon its southern neighbours the unequivocal signs of its might. The circumstances were therefore most propitious for reflection on what being Latin American meant; Ariel did precisely that, as it pondered "roots" and proposed future "routes". The book provides, in chronological order, a detailed and up-to-date assessment of Rodó's writings, his context and legacy, both immediate (during the period of arielismo ) and current,and draws widely on unpublished material from the extensive archives of his papers held in Montevideo. As befits its subject matter, the book's aim has been idealistic: to cover all relevant aspects of Rodó's work in order to givethe fullest possible account of his worldview, including hitherto little-explored areas that shed new light on it, notably the relationship between his philosophical stance, religion and politics. Gustavo San Román is Professor of Spanish at the University of St Andrews. Table of Contents Illustrations Acknowledgements Bibliographical Note Introduction Context: Family, Political Turbulence, Liberalism and Religion (to 1880) Early Writings: The Lberal Newspaper Child and the Marks of a Catholic Upbringing (1881-1894) Going Public: Revista Nacional de Literatura y Ciencias Sociales and Related Material (1895-1899) Going Global: Ariel (1900) Religion and Liberalismo y jacobinismo (1901-1906) Personal Development andLliving the Good Life: Proteo (1906-1909) Politics, Heroes, and Literature: El mirador de Próspero (1913) Tying Loose Ends: Public Intellectual and Popular Pedagogue (c. 1910-1916) Europe, Death and El camino de Paros (1916-1918) Rodó's Legacy Conclusion Bibliography Index "This is the first full-length study in English of the work of José Enrique Rodó (Montevideo, 1871-Palermo, Sicily, 1917), one of the great intellectual figures in Spanish and the most important essayist of modernismo, the movement that aimed to attain aesthetic excellence by revitalising Spanish literature. He is best known for an essay, Ariel (1900), that marked the consolidation of modernity in Latin America in the wake of mass immigration and of Spain's crushing defeat against a United States that had already displayed unequivocal signs of its might to its southern neighbours. The circumstances were therefore most propitious for reflection on what being Latin American meant; Ariel did precisely that, as it pondered "roots" and proposed future "routes". The Companion is organised as an intellectual biography, divided into ten main chapters, starting with context, studying all of Rodó's work chronologically, some of it for the first time, and ending with his legacy, both immediate and current. It provides an up-to-date assessment of Rodo's writings which bears in mind established criticism and draws widely on unpublished material from the impressive archives of Rodó's papers that are held in Montevideo. The aim of the book has been, as befits its subject matter, idealistic: to cover all relevant aspects of Rodo's work in order to give the fullest possible account of his worldview, taking on little-explored areas that shed new light on it, notably the relationship between his philosophical stance, religion, and politics."--Cover page 4 "This is the first full-length study in English of the work of Jose Enrique Rodo (Montevideo, 1871-Palermo, Sicily, 1917), one of the great intellectual figures in Spanish and the most important essayist of modernismo, the movement that aimed to attain aesthetic excellence by revitalising Spanish literature. He is best known for an essay, Ariel (1900), that marked the consolidation of modernity in Latin America in the wake of mass immigration and of Spain's crushing defeat against a United States that had already displayed unequivocal signs of its might to its southern neighbours. The circumstances were therefore most propitious for reflection on what being Latin American meant; Ariel did precisely that, as it pondered "roots" and proposed future "routes". The Companion is organised as an intellectual biography, divided into ten main chapters, starting with context, studying all of Rodo's work chronologically, some of it for the first time, and ending with his legacy, both immediate and current. It provides an up-to-date assessment of Rodo's writings which bears in mind established criticism and draws widely on unpublished material from the impressive archives of Rodo's papers that are held in Montevideo. The aim of the book has been, as befits its subject matter, idealistic: to cover all relevant aspects of Rodo's work in order to give the fullest possible account of his worldview, taking on little-explored areas that shed new light on it, notably the relationship between his philosophical stance, religion, and politics."--Cover page 4 The first comprehensive intellectual biography of one of the greatest cultural figures of the Spanish-speaking world.This Companion to José Enrique Rodó (1871-1917) is the first comprehensive intellectual biography in English of the great Latin Americanist, stylist, and writer on the ethical and aesthetic development of the youth of his subcontinent. Rodó is best known for his essay Ariel (1900), which marked the consolidation of modernity in Latin America in the wake of mass immigration and Spain's crushing defeat at the hands of a United States that wasimpressing upon its southern neighbours the unequivocal signs of its might. The circumstances were therefore most propitious for reflection on what being Latin American meant; Ariel did precisely that, as it pondered'roots'and proposed future'routes'. The book provides, in chronological order, a detailed and up-to-date assessment of Rodó's writings, his context and legacy, both immediate (during the period of arielismo) and current,and draws widely on unpublished material from the extensive archives of his papers held in Montevideo. As befits its subject matter, the book's aim has been idealistic: to cover all relevant aspects of Rodó's work in order to givethe fullest possible account of his worldview, including hitherto little-explored areas that shed new light on it, notably the relationship between his philosophical stance, religion and politics. Gustavo San Román is Professor of Spanish at the University of St Andrews. Frontcover 1 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgements 12 Bibliographical Note 15 Introduction 16 1 Context: Family, Political Turbulence, Liberalism and Religion (to 1880) 24 2 Early Writings: The Liberal Newspaper Child and the Marks of a Catholic Upbringing (1881–94) 56 3 Going Public: Revista Nacional de Literatura y Ciencias Sociales and Related Material (1895–99) 92 4 Going Global: Ariel (1900) 150 5 Religion and Liberalismo y jacobinismo (1901–06) 210 6 Personal Development and Living the Good Life: Proteo (1906–09) 256 7 Politics, Heroes and Literature: El mirador de Próspero (1913) 312 8 Tying Loose Ends: Public Intellectual and Popular Pedagogue (c. 1910–1916) 364 9 Europe, Death and El camino de Paros (1916–18) 418 10 Rodó’s Legacy 454 Conclusion 492 Bibliography 498 Index 516