THE FICTIONAL CONFIGURATION OF MALINCHE IN WORKS OF 1826, 1964 AND 2005

Authors

  • Leila Shaí Del Pozo González
  • Gilmei Francisco Fleck

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48075/rlhm.v12i19.15719
Supporting Agencies
CAPES

Keywords:

Xicoténcatl, Malinche, romance histórico

Abstract

The Spanish-language anonymous novel Xicoténcatl was first published in 1826, in Philadelphia - USA. This work is a key text because it presents several ruptures if compared with the standard of the classical historical romances in the tradition of Sir Walter Scott. These ruptures transform Xicoténcatl in the inaugural literary hybrid genre work of literature and history in the Latin-American context (MÁRQUEZ RODRÍGUEZ, 1996, 2006; UREÑA, 1994). The configuration of the historical native figure La Malinche suffered changes throughout History. Her first fictional configuration appears – as a secondary character – in the first Historical Latin American novel: Xicoténcatl (1826). She is only referred to in Cartas de relación (1519-1526) by Hernán Cortés, the hero of the Counter-Reformation (FORERO QUINTERO, 2012). But, in Xicoténcatl, La Malinche is portrayed as the embodiment of native corruption during the process of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, as a figure opposed to the configuration given to the native figures Xicoténcatl and Teutila. This text aims to make a journey through the literary works The Golden Princess (1964), by Alexander Baron and Malinche (2005), by Laura Esquivel, in order to verify the initial portrayal of Hernán Cortés’s translator, in Xicoténcatl (1826) and in historical documents of Cartas de relación (1519-1526), if there are prominent differences in the various projections of Malinche’s images.

KEYWORDS: Xicoténcatl; Malinche; Historical novel.

Published

15-12-2016

How to Cite

DEL POZO GONZÁLEZ, L. S.; FLECK, G. F. THE FICTIONAL CONFIGURATION OF MALINCHE IN WORKS OF 1826, 1964 AND 2005. Journal of Literature, History and Memory, [S. l.], v. 12, n. 19, 2016. DOI: 10.48075/rlhm.v12i19.15719. Disponível em: https://e-revista.unioeste.br/index.php/rlhm/article/view/15719. Acesso em: 21 jun. 2025.

Issue

Section

PESQUISA EM LETRAS NO CONTEXTO LATINO-AMERICANO E LITERATURA, ENSINO E CULTURA