Gothic Imaginary and Political Intentionality in José Mármol’s Amalia

Abstract

The literary works by the Argentinian romantic writers of the so-called “Generation of 37” may be largely explained in terms of the political evolution of the caudillo Juan Manuel de Rosas. José Mármol’s Amalia (1855), stands out as one of the most representative texts produced by these authors. The present article aims to analyze the author’s use of an aesthetic based on themes, motifs and symbols extracted from the imaginary of nineteenth-century Gothic literature with the political goal of creating a national image built on the rejection of Juan Manuel de Rosas. Therefore, this article will analyze the narrative procedures through which the heroine Amalia and the anti-hero Rosas become catalysts of the dichotomous tension that sustains the novel aesthetically and ideologically: civilization against barbarism.