Pastoralism, Parricide, and the PRI: Nostalgia and Self-Awareness in Yáñez's Al filo del agua
Parricide is deeply intertwined with the notion of Revolution: the parricide at the central point of Agustín Yáñez's Al filo del agua (1947) is thematically linked to killing the father in the political sense. In this article I relate the process of the son rising to challenge the father to the overthrow of the antiguo régimen, especially in their aftermath; the outcome of both types of parricide can lead to self-awareness, especially after revolution has become "institutionalized" (as in the PRI, or Partido Revolucionario Institucional). To build my argument, I offer an excursion through the literary-historical genre of pastoral nostalgia, which informs this novel, as well as a parallel to Dostoevski's "Parable of the Grand Inquisitor" from Brothers Karamazov. I conclude that this post-traumatic introspection often leads to the classic philosophical problem of Free Will—or the lack thereof.
The Novels of Agustin Yanez: A Critical Portrait of Mexico in the 20th Century
This study of Agustin Yanez's novels traces his feelings about the important political issues in Mexico's history and society.
Into the Twentieth Century
On November 6, 1919, Nature's Jubilee, Lockyer relinquished his editorship to Richard Gregory. By now, Nature had become a “great international institution”.