Rubén Darío's "Emelina"Author(s): Solomon H. TillesReviewed work(s):Source: Hispania, Vol. 49, No. 2 (May, 1966), pp. 218-222Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and PortugueseStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/337136 .Accessed: 03/09/2012 00:01

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RUBEN DARIO'S "EMELINA" SOLOMON H. TILLES

University of Connecticut

F EW PEOPLE today are aware of the fact that Rub6n Dario, in collaboration

with the Chilean Eduardo Poirier,' pro- duced a novel in his youth. According to Francisco Contreras in the prologue, Eme- lina2 was written and published in 1887 in Valparaiso where Dario came to know Poirier. Though the work is available and Dario specialists are generally aware of it, they tend to disregard it or to dispose of it in passing as a novela folletinesca in poor taste. Yet it is worth studying for the early signs it contains of Dario's future great- ness. This Chilean sojourn was Dario's first experience with the world beyond his na- tive Nicaragua. It was here that he came to know, although in translation, the major French authors of the time (Daudet, Zola, Goncourt, Flaubert, Mendes).3 Contreras tells us that Poirier suggested their co- authorship of the novel as a means of gaining money for Dario by entering it in the Certamen Varela competition, which it failed to win.4

It is difficult to establish the exact de- gree of participation of each in the work. Contreras concludes (without explanation) that the description of Paris, the gala cele- bration given by Guzmin Blanco5 and the wedding scenes at the end are by Dario and that the first three chapters are by Poirier. The rest, because they are in cor- rect Castilian and with traditional orthog- raphy (rare phenomena in the Chile of that time), he also attributes to Dario. Further evidence is offered in the observa- tion that the protagonist Gavidia seems to be named after Dario's best friend and that Poirier could not possibly have known Guzmin Blanco as well as the work seems to indicate. On the other hand, Armando Donoso (Dario, Obras de juventud, San-

tiago: Nascimento, 1927) insists that Dario contributed only Chapter IX (the Paris description) in Part II and that all the rest is a "feisima novelicula." Radil Silva Castro (Ruben Dario a los veinte aijos, Madrid: Gredos, 1956) maintains that Dario does not enter until Part II, Chapter IX. While the foregoing chapters are all very sobre and formal in style and tone (in the prologue to the novel Poirier himself calls it "honrada y pulcra"), Dario's rapid, nervous pen with its exotic elements and its flights of fantasy becomes visible in the Paris scene. On the same basis he assigns Chapters I, II, V, VIII and XI in Part III to Dario and concludes that both authors are visible in the remainder. It would ap- pear that Silva's analysis is the most per- ceptive. The extent of Darlo's participation is further corroborated by the fact that the title itself was probably contributed by him (he had written a love poem of the same name in his adolescence to Emelina Rosario Murillo, whom he later married in 1892).

Emelina, written in great haste (ten days) and primarily for mercenary motives, is Dario's only novel. Chronologically, it predates Azul (1888) and all the other prose fiction for which Dario achieved fame. In terms of the value of his total production the work must be written off as a youthful and unfortunate caprice. It is a rather poor effort which suffers from most of the excesses of its type (the late Romantic folletin) and so is completely un- worthy of the great esthetic sensitivity which marked his subsequent efforts. Yet it has historic interest precisely because of its shortcomings. In 1888, just one year later, Dario was to publish Azul, whose stories marked a new aesthetic departure.

218

RUBEN DAnfo's "EMLELINA" 219

In Emelina, though all the shopworn Ro- mantic artifices are still present, the nar- rator no longer takes them seriously. Dario in this novel was following a literary con- vention in which he no longer believed.6

That the work is a novela de folletin is perfectly obvious from its plot. It opens in Valparaiso in a moment of great tension: the hero, Marcelino Gavidia, is in the process of saving the life of the heroine, Emelina, daughter of a noble English fam- ily, from a terrible fire. Subsequently, the two young people are drawn to each other, but he is repulsed again and again by the impenetrable air of mysterious melancholy that surrounds her. Finally, in a tender moment in the garden, she agrees to ex- plain to him the terrible cause of her de- pression. In Part II she describes her life in London as the only daughter of a dot- ing nobleman. The idyll is soon spoiled by the appearance of Ernesto, the polished French villain who, intent on marrying her for her money, succeeds in deceiving both the innocent girl and her father re- garding his intentions. The couple takes up residence in Paris where we learn of Emelina's suffering at the hands of Ernesto who, as we soon discover, is one of the leaders of an international associa- tion of completely unscrupulous gamblers and murderers.

In Part III her suffering continues until, after a falling out among the thieves, which leads to the disruption of their op- eration, she is able to escape to the home of her uncle in Chile. In the last part we are returned to the setting of the first, in Valparaiso, where the tender love of Mar- celino and Emelina progresses smoothly. The villain, as we learn from a letter, has been conveniently eliminated in a duel which he has forced upon a friend of the young couple and, in the final chapter, the wedding celebration takes place in a native setting of pastoral gaiety.

The traditional nature of the work is further evidenced by many of its facets.

Its structure, for instance, is highly epi- sodic and mystery and suspense are em- ployed very heavily as conscious tech- niques. Characters are introduced as cloaked figures in the night and not iden- tified until later in work. Sudden changes of action are introduced that remain un- related to the main current until several chapters later. The role of the narrator is also traditional in this type of novel. He is an omniscient puppeteer who, in spite of his prior knowledge, is constantly being goaded into outbursts of virtue by the machinations of the villain. The mysterious nocturnal assignations, the salons, the rus- tic paradise in the final scene are all very typical folletin settings of both American and European Romantic novels.

Especially Romantic are the ethical qualities of the work. Good and Evil repre- sent an absolute dichotomy and the nature of the characters, the development of the action, the direct intervention of the nar- rator, the very tone of the language (a highly formal, courtly Castilian), all con- tribute to this basic vision. The major characters fit perfectly into this stereotyped construction. Thus the hero is a man of unblemished virtue, noble, tall, handsome, elegant, who, though poor, has proudly made his own way in the world while sup- porting his widowed mother. The heroine is blond, beautiful, of noble carriage, se- rene sweetness and melancholy expression. The chief villain is smooth, polished, a gambler, drinker and ladies' man who pos- sesses all the social graces. Underneath however he is absolutely heartless, im- moral, diabolical. The heroine's father is a truly noble patriarch, controlling his estate with strength and largesse.

Yet there are some deviations from these standard characterizations. One such de- parture is the extreme caricature, done with a light, humorous stroke, of the un- scrupulous Boston Jew, Josue Humbug, who succeeds in embezzling a large sum of money from the arch villains them-

220 SOLOMON H. TILLES

selves. His genius for accumulating other people's money is admirable in its scope.

A fine piece of levity is found in the description of Paris in Part II, Chapter IX. This amusing recreation of Paris has God crumbling Mohammed's paradise and Dante's hell into a huge flask. To this brew he adds Pandora's box, a mob of cupids followed by "gentilicos coros de placeres" and behind them, woes and bitternesses. God then thoroughly shakes this brew and pours it out on the face of the earth, ex- claiming: let there be Paris, and Paris was. This image of Paris as a kind of delightful but turbulent witches' brew cast out upon the earth as one of God's greatest acts of creation, and indeed God himself, in the role of a mad scientist blending wondrous concoctions in his test tubes, are highly imaginative strokes, almost worthy of the later Dario.

An even more interesting case is the treatment of Antonio Guzmain Blanco, who appears here as a major frecuenter of Lon- don and Paris salons. Dan'o deals with him from a more personal viewpoint (Guzmain Blanco was an extreme egotist with a melo- dramatic flair) and makes him something of a clown. Thus, for example, at the sumptuous wedding of the heroine, we find him among the dignitaries. However, while the Prince of Wales is described as gallant and pleasant and Alfred Tennyson and the Russian Ambassador are men- tioned respectfully, Guzmin Blanco is in- troduced with a long list of overstuffed, ludicruous titles. We are told that he gives himself all the airs of an oriental emperor and that because of his rare and sparkling uniform and his chest paved with medals he resembled a "museo andante de numis-

mitica" (p. 46). The final absurdity is his spontaneous award to the groom of the medal of liberator first class. At his recep- tion for the Shah of Persia, he crows that all the world loves him, the Prince of Wales is his good friend, and Gladstone and Queen Victoria fight publicly for his

attentions. Though highly amusing, Guz- man Blanco's presence is completely irrele- vant to the novel. His inclusion in these circumstances suggests very strongly that the author (who had in common with his subject only the fact that they were both Spanish Americans) must have resented very deeply the way in which he felt that Guzmin Blanco was degrading the people that he represented in Europe.

The departure from the traditional con- tent of the folletin novel is evident in a number of other ways as well. Dario's great emphasis on aristocracy is present here. Much is made of the qualities of natural grace, elegance and polished, ex- quisite bearing. The palatial settings are described in great detail in all their wealth of jewels, silks and garlands of flowers. Typical is this line taken from the wed- ding scene (Part II, Chapter III): "iQu6 confusi6n de colores, de joyas de preciosa orfebreria! Las gargantas de cisne de las inglesas lucian magnificos collares: alj6far, oro y diamantes estaban resplandeciendo en vividos relimpagos en sus brazos, manos y cabelleras" (p. 47). (It is interesting to note that the image of the swan is already present, though not yet charged with the mystery that it was to acquire later in Dario's poetry). Again, in his description of Paris in Part II, Chapter IX, he refers to the woman as "estuches de pedreria" (p. 74).

Another example of the poet's use of precious gems, here with much greater sensory intimacy, is found in his descrip- tion of the bride in the nuptial bed. "Era rubia como una espiga, blanca como la leche, y sus azules ojos parecian dos zafiros medio encerrados en broches de oro. Sus labios frescos y rojos como dos petalos de clavel, provocaban al beso, y su casi des- nudo seno que subia y bajaba a impulsos de la respiraci6n, parecia al nido de pulido marmol de las dos plateadas t6rtolas de Citeres" (p. 49). Here we see the familiar Modernist blend of nature with the exotic

RUBeN DAMIo's "EMELINA" 221

in the alternation of images of natural beauty with those of precious gems. Here too is an early example of the artistic trans- position of sculpture, of which the Mod- ernists were so fond, in the reference to the classic polished marble.

The aesthetic elegance reaches its peak at the reception for the nephew of the Shah of Persia, where the aristocratic setting is lavishly drawn with its luxuriant garb and plentiful jewelry. The highlight of the affair is the piano recital given by Sara, the inseparable friend of Emelina, and in the description of her performance we can easily see the poetic vision that was soon to follow in Azul.

. . las notas se escapaban del instrumento como los pdjaros de una jaula, que al salir hicieran gala de su tesoro de trinos y gorgeos. Subian alegres, arm6nicamente confundidas como en un torbellino, hasta los ruidosos acordes del cre- scendo y bajaban, como traidas a tenue soplo de alas impalpables, tristes como un coro de sus- piros, hasta las d6biles pulsaciones del pianissimo. Primero el rugido del huracin que se desenca- dena va por el bosque descuajando troncos, y haciendo resonar sobre las cumbres las elevadas ramas de los pinos, arpas de las tormentas; luego el nido que pia en la floresta; el aire que se cuela entre las rosas, galante decidor de cosas dulces; el gemido que se va apagando, la callada que- ja, y el tremolo apacible y como lejano que parece el balbuceo del ritmo en el vagido de los genios recien nacidos de la melodia. (pp. 78-79). This vision of music as an aesthetic instru- ment for the expression of beauty is to become a recurrent theme in his poetry, both as image and as structure. Here the music is transposed into nature, into birds and trees and breezes, all swept by waves of sound and movement which are carried on sentences of balanced rhythm. Thus the passage begins with an outpouring of joy ("trinos," "gorgeos," "alegres," "gala") which sweeps upward ("escapaban," "su- bian," "torbellino") to an emotional climax ("ruidoso," "crescendo") and then softly ("tenue," "impalpables") and sadly ("tris- tes," "suspiros," "d6biles pulsaciones") sinks back. The same rhythm is then repeated in a slightly different key, beginning with a movement of great power ("rugido,"

"huracin," "desencadena," "descuajando," "resonar," "tormentas") and then soften- ing in a series of tender moments ("el nido que pia," "el aire que se cuela," "cosas dulces," "apagando," "callada.").

There is one other fine example of the nature of the few lyric moments in this novel in the beginning of Part IV. The long flashback has just ended and we are now back in Chile, with the two lovers. In the opening pages, which set the scene, we find such trite and conventional exclama- tions as this: "jBendito sea Dios, que encendi6 el astro de la vida en el firma- mento, y en el cielo del alma el astro de amor, a cuya santa influencia ardemos en deseos infinitos, con el goce supremo de los angeles!" (pp. 171-172). On the other hand, the same passage contains the fol- lowing description:

La luz del sol se cuela entre los ramajes nuevos, calentando las yemas cubiertas de re- tofiios, y los paijaros alegres cantan en bulliciosa trisca revolando en los prados florecidos.

Viste naturaleza su mis hermoso traje y se adorna con sus mais lindas preseas. Los nidos pian, mecidos por el aire que murmura: combi- naci6n del suspiro y del gorgeo, acorde misterioso de la selva.

La savia circula en el Arbol como la sangre en el hombre, con calor y en impetuosa e invisi- ble corriente (pp. 171-172). A comparison with the passage cited above from Sara's piano recital will show that both reflect precisely the same lyric vision. The same trees and birds and nests are here and in very similar terms, "se cuela," "pian," "gorgeos," "acordes." Here too are the flowing rhythms of music and the aes- thetic conversion of nature. Sound here, however, does not have the structural function that it did in the earlier passage, for the effect is different. Nature becomes the mysterious fairy princess of the forest decked out in all the regal splendor of the sounds and colors and the inner flow of life that circulates joyously in her. Through her immutable exterior serenity we perceive the mysterious coursing fluid that is her inner life. And this is the set-

222 SOLOMON H. TILLES

ting for the tender talk of the two lovers, Marcelino and Emelina.

This scene, with its clearly native flavor, is far different from that of the aristocratic salons of London and Paris; both, how- ever, became important in Darfo's work, the creole and the exotic. The final chap- ter of the novel is a perfect blend of these two elements. The country house of Mar- celina, we are told, is beautified by nature and made completely enchanting by art (p. 193). Everything in this wedding cele- bration contributes to the effect of a rustic paradise. The guests are all attractively dressed in native garb and the festivities are complete with both harps and guitars, wine, sunshine and laughter. Juxtaposed are native "huasos" and "zamacuecas" with harps and exquisite sentiments. There are "ojos" azules como los de una heroina de Goethe" and also "ojos negros y avasa- lladores como solo se miran en tierras de arauco"; "cabellos crespos y rubios como acairelados rayos de aurora" and also "trenzas oscuras como divinas serpientes enroscadas. . ." (p. 196). While native pastoral scenes are common in the Roman- tic novel, this strong blend of aesthetic and exotic overtones is not. It is these few moments of artistic insight in what is otherwise a completely undistinguished novel that forecast the narrative form that jelled soon after and appeared full blown in the short stories of Azul.

NOTES

1Eduardo Poirier (1865-1931) was a member of the literate intelligentsia of Valparaiso. He was a stable, well reputed, conservative type. His literary efforts were essentially restricted to journalism and to the translation of French and English novelas folletinescas for the Valparaiso dailies. He held a number of important public offices, among them minister of Guatemala in Chile and representative of Chile to a number of international conferences. He was Dario's chief sustenance during the latter's residence in Valparaiso.

2Rub6n Dario y Eduardo Poirier, Emelina, pr6l. de Francisco Contreras, (Paris: Agencia Mundial de Libreri'a, 1927 [?]).

3His introduction to French literature (es- pecially to Hugo) was through his good friend, the Salvadoran Francisco Gavidia, but the great bulk of his reading and discussion of the con- temporary French authors occurred later in Chile.

The Certamen Varela did not include a cate- gory for prose fiction. The work was actually written for a contest sponsored by the Valparaiso daily La Uni6n (according to Silva Castro) for folletin novels.

'Antonio Guzman Blanco was still president of Venezuela at the time this novel was written. During his presidency (1868-1888), both he and Venezuela prospered. He was noted, too, for having spent a ternate electoral terms in Europe, from where he controlled the nation through underlings. He is recorded in history as a benevolent despot, a liberal who fought the church, ended civil wars and bolstered education and the national economy.

6The prologue to the first edition included an unusual letter from Dario to Poirier in which the former condemns the novel for being the result of things that its authors have read in foreign books. The characters, he says, speak the language of the European Romantic novels, one which he now considers to be artificial, alien, false.

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