Paz and Brown

"Love is an attempt to penetrate another being, but it can only be realized if the surrender is mutual. It is always difficult to give oneself up; few persons anywhere ever succeed in doing so, and even fewer transcend the possessive stage to know what love actually is: a perpetual discovery, an immersion in the waters of reality, and an unending re-creation." (Paz, Octavio. "Mexican Masks" The Labyrinth of Solitude, 42.)

        In "Mexican Masks," Octavio Paz argues that Mexicans of all classes and ages present a mask to the world rather than their true self. Mexico is a hostile environment that obliges the people to close themselves off. Based on their history, this reaction is justifiable. But, rather than embracing and refining solitude in a healthy way, Paz suggests that the effect of solitude is manifest in extreme defensiveness and aggression, bravado in "machismo," and paralyzing shyness that often offends. Distrust, irony, and suspicion replace patience and long-suffering as a result of the people’s solitude.

          “Mexican Masks” reminded me of Brene Brown's presentation on TED Talks. Brown sought to discover the key to human connection.  After 6 years of research, her conclusion was that, "in order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen. Really seen." People who experience love and belonging have the courage to be imperfect by letting go of who they ought to be and allowing themselves to be who they really are. To borrow Paz's analogy, people who experience love and belonging are able to because they have taken off their masks. Although vulnerability is at the core of shame, which causes self-consciousness and defensiveness and thereby prevents connection, vulnerability is also the birthplace of love and belonging. This is because it is when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable we open ourselves up to love. Being authentic, letting ourselves be seen, taking off our masks is how we begin to develop healthy, loving relationships.

         The mutual surrender Paz describes as necessary to realize love is the embracing of vulnerability that Brown discovered. The “Mexican Mask” is the image of what one ought to be that we must let go of in order to allow ourselves to be who we really are. There is no vulnerability in solitude, no giving oneself up, which is why “few persons anywhere...know what love actually is.” Paz and Brown recognize the solution to the “hermeticism” of the Mexican people as surrendering our pride and allowing others to see our true selves. 

(Turn the video on and listen to it while you're getting ready for school in the morning or something. It's 20 minutes, and definitely worth it)

Book Making and Candido

"The meeting occurred at a dance: it was--to recall the young man's former trade--the first page of that book, which was to leave the press badly printed and with a worse binding. " (Machado de Assis, "Father vs. Mother") 

       At it's outset, "Father vs. Mother" is a story of desperation feeding on itself. Candido Neves and his wife Clara are forced to leave their baby at a convent. When Candido captures a slave who is pregnant, and terrified of being hurt, he is put to the test. Will Candido place the needs of her unborn baby before his own family's? In a few sarcastic lines, we realize the story's dark conclusion. Because of the above quote, however, I believe that this was not intended to be a tale of desperation, but a tale of poor judgement, planning and work ethic, based on my experience with book binding.

          According to the metaphor highlighted in the above quote, Clara and Candido's relationship is a book.  Each encounter between the two makes up the pages-- every experience adds to the story. The "binding" is what keeps them together--couples are bound by love and commitment, books are bound by thread and/or glue. Bad binding indicates poor technique, that the job was rushed.  Based on Candido's lack of self discipline and commitment in learning the printing industry earlier, ("He began by deciding to learn printing but he soon saw that it would take some time to become a good compositor, and, even so, most likely he would not earn enough. That is what be told himself..." [Machado de Assis, "Father vs. Mother']) it comes as no surprise that his attempt at marriage would be equally weak, and assumptions beforehand just as rushed and unfounded. As far as being "badly printed," clearly Machado is referring to the lack of foresight and judgement that went into this relationship. If the printing is bad, it means that the printer did not take into account details as he plowed ahead. Such is the case with Candido and Clara.

            To some extent, "Father vs. Mother" is a story of the dreadful ends of desperation. But because Machado compared Candido's marriage to both a poorly made book and his weak attempt at bookbinding, it is clear that Machado intended to show that Candido's situation was not an unfortunate inevitability. He created his reality, and as a result of poor planning, commitment, and foresight, things ended tragically. Innocent parties outside his immediate circle of influence were affected. Tragedy seemed unavoidable, but rather than taking responsibility for his own poor book making, he forced the consequences upon a woman and her unborn child. No, a poorly made book is not a tragedy or even a crime, but it is a waste. Candido rushed into creating a family without having the self discipline, wisdom, or work ethic to properly support them, and as a result he lost his opportunity to have created a book of value, a book that did not have to rely on unethical justifications for its weak resolution.

What Makes Iracema and Martim Human

"Iracema is more strongly attached to Martim than he is to her. Martim's inability to maintain his interest in Iracema soon sends her into a fatal decline from unrequited love."  Naomi Lindstrom (Foreword to Iracema, xvii.)

          Iracema and Martim's love story is pretty fantastic, verging on cliche. However, I think that the psychological realism of their story allows the reader to suspend their disbelief. Though tragic, Iracema and Martim's actions are not only believable, but consistent with Viktor Frankl's "will-to-meaning" theory.

Martim is dissatisfaction results in Iracema's abandonment 

             According to Frankl, an individual's primary motivational force is to find a purpose in life. Frankl suggests that one of the ways we can discover meaning in life is by experiencing or encountering someone. For Iracema, encountering Martim gave her life meaning. The subsequent failure of that relationship causes her to lose that essential what gave her life meaning and helped her feel fulfilled. Because Iracema does not replace what gave her purpose with something equally fulfilling, Iracema remains empty. The "spiritual" aspect of her being, as Frankl would describe it, starves and leads her to experience symptoms of depression (as manifest by her jealousy, loss of desire to live, and lack of motivation/belief that she can change her situation). Iracema's experience with Martim is consistent with Frankl's description of people who have experienced and then subsequently  lost their sense of meaning. Leave that need unfulfilled leads to a deep sense of loss. Martim's unfulfilled need for a purpose is apparent in his restlessness, "While Iracema frolicked along the beach, the warrior’s eyes turned from her to gaze upon the sea’s immensity."(Jose de Alencar, Iracema, 84) Although he could find happiness and fulfillment in his relationship with Iracema, he seeks fulfillment by other means which leads him to abandon her.

         Both Martim and Iracema demonstrate that man truly desires purpose. Instead of investing her time and efforts into some other cause or even trying to improve things with Martim, Iracema instead becomes depressed and even suicidal. Martim, rather than being satsified in his relationship with his wife, remains discontent, constantly searching for meaning and clinging to things of the past.  However fanciful this story of a beautiful Indian princess seducing a brave European warrior is, however exotic and mystical, there is undeniable humanity in Iracema and Martim. Frankl suggests that it is our spirituality that makes us human. It is the apparent desire for meaning in both of these characters, driven by the spiritual aspect of their individual beings, that makes these characters both believable and their experiences tragic. 

Foreigner + Native

Lewis and Clark Monument in my hometown.

 "If Iracema is America, Martim is the European military man who takes over the land."  Alencar, Iracema, xviii

        For the U.S., our most famous "Foreigner meets Native" is the story of Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea. Minus the romance, the story of Lewis and Clark is very similar to Iracema's, told from the opposite perspective.

        Alencar tells the story of Iracema from the view of a native. Iracema is naive, misguided, and somewhat of a traitor. Her life is tragic, her love doomed. She changed the course of her nation's history by welcoming a foreigner. Sacajawea's story is told from the perspective of the foreigner. Sacajawea is a hero! A strong woman, both smart and selfless. She changed the course of our nation's history by facilitating the expansion of the U.S.! 

              Martim, while characterized as being civilized, sensitive, and willing to learn the native culture, he is "the military man who takes over the land." Lewis and Clark, however, are the wise, courageous, claimers of new territory. They are brilliant symbols of the American dream, of exploration and discovery. 

               Just as Dr. Mack said that most of the attention is given to Iracema in this book, most of our attention, as Americans, focuses on Lewis and Clark (notice that in the above memorial Sacajawea is not represented). Martim's story is significant because of Iracema. Sacajawea's story is significant because of Lewis and Clark.

         
      The above quote states that Iracema is America, and it is clear that Sacajawea fits the same role. The difference between the stories is that Martim is "the military man who takes over the land, " but Lewis and Clark are the heroes that discovered the land.  

Would the story of Iracema, told with emphasis on Martim's experience become Lewis and Clark + Sacajawea? Does the difference between the way these similar stories are told tell us something about the attitudes and perceptions of their respective nations?

I think so.