''María, A South American Romance'' is a novel written by
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
n writer
Jorge Isaacs between 1864 and 1867, and published in book form in 1867. It is a
costumbrist novel representative of the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
Romantic movement. It may be considered a precursor of the
criollist novels of the 1920s and 1930s in
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
.
Despite being Isaacs' only novel, ''María'' is considered one of the most important works of 19th-century Spanish American literature. Alfonso M. Escudero characterized it as the greatest Spanish-language romantic novel.
[Alfonso M. Escudero]
Costumbrismo Il. Literatura Hispanoamericana
, Ediciones Rialp S.A. Gran Enciclopedia Rialp, 1991. Accessed online 2010-01-21. The Romantic style of the novel has been compared to the one of
Chateaubriand's ''
Atala''. Notable is the description of the landscape and the artistic style of the prose.
The novel has several
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
elements, such as both main characters being natives of
Valle del Cauca, or Efraín's departure to
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
to pursue his studies. It has been claimed that María herself is based, at least in part, upon a cousin of the author. The
hacienda
A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...
"''El Paraíso''" and its large slave population, both owned by Isaacs' family, also figures largely throughout the novel; the location is currently preserved as a museum.
María Monument in
Cali
Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
depicts the characters of the novel.
Plot
The story narrates the idyllic and tragic love between María and her cousin Efraín, both natives of
Valle del Cauca. In the middle of a romantic and bucolic landscape, the young characters fall in love with each other but circumstances prevent the full realization of their love. Efraín returns from a six year stay in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, during which time he was pursuing his high school education. After Efraín returns to
Valle del Cauca the couple profess their love for each other, but they must temper their relationship since María becomes ill, apparently due to the excitement of their relationship. They can only stay together for three months before Efraín is forced to travel to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to study medicine. Two years later Efraín returns to Colombia after hearing that Maria is very ill. He returns too late, finding that María has died of illness. Heart-broken, Efraín decides to leave Cauca definitely, this time without a fixed destination.
Notes
See also
*
Colombian literature
Colombian literature, as an expression of the culture of Colombia, is heterogeneous due to the coexistence of Spanish, African and Native American heritages in an extremely diverse geography. Five distinct historical and cultural traditions c ...
*
''María'' (1922 film)
External links
''El Paraíso'' Museum photo gallery Online text in Feedbooks
1867 novels
19th-century Colombian novels
Novels set in Colombia
Colombian novels adapted into films
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