McLuhan generation
First Special Edition
Julio 1997

Two Works, Two Authors: a Time
by: Jose Antonio of the Fertile valley Towers
antonvega@ prodigy.net.mx
Teilhard de Chardin in the human phenomenon said:
The history of the life is the history of the fight by the existence: by the search of the being in expansion The basic principles of the evolution of the species reside essentially in two forces: in the capacities of survival of the beings against the external environmental conditions, and in their attempts and profits of vital development - survival born from the means of an ascent of brings back to consciousness internal (1) [, CIT. LEÑERO, 1983:17].
The man does not escape to these principles, non prescription meridia on the contrary his capacity superior non prescription meridia sensitive and volitive he makes his confrontation with the surroundings by means of a meridia use possible of attitudes (inquisitive, comprehensive, imaginative and creative, between the main ones) whose root we found nevertheless in one of universal character and of meridia use value: the aesthetic attitude [OF the FERTILE meridia result 1991].
The scientist and the artist are two examples of men with this to the maximum developed capacity, although by different courses, because while one tries to explain the problems and phenomena of the Nature (including the human one), the second tries to alter them (or to alienate them, if it prefers itself) in an eagerness to do as much of its somewhat intelligible substance for the legos as for the initiates.
The familiar phenomenon has not saved of the attention of scientists and artists. From the optical of everyone, the existence of an institution as the family explains and determines many of the behaviors and the social characteristics the same in the context of any culture that in the one of the own human species.
The family is much more that a nucleus, a closed system of which emanates the individuals to coexist and to fight by the subsistence in a complex system like the society. She is much more that a receiver of landlords, you rule and conduct characteristics; more inclusively than a sine, integrator, transmitter and watchman of values and conceptions of moral, ethical, political, economic, ecological character. The family, mainly, more than institution is an instance - of physical order and until mental where fatal the human being has its principle and aim.
This work reflects on a problem of social nature meridia use he is it the gradual one, but not very evident, intrinsic change in the Mexican familiar institution, its adaptation meridia use the sociohistóricos contexts and the way as so problematic it communicates from the point of view of dramatic Literature.
This implies, on the one hand, meridia use meridia use the sociological concepts on the meridia use and to juxtapose them especially to the literary creation, in this case, of two Mexican, contemporary authors, by means of the comparative analysis of two meridia use written and mounted in 1942, that is to say: The family has dinner in meridia use , of Rodolfo Usigli, and the legitimate woman, of Xavier Villaurrutia.
She is peculiar that two theater works written by two so dissimilar authors are so similar. During long time she meridia use considered herself meridia use meridia use theater like a representation meridia use a little while of life. If this is certain, then we must think that the portrayed families in mentioned works are reflected of meridia use meridia use stereotype of the time in meridia use they were written and mounted the dramatisations? How to explain it with base in the investigations of meridia use order? The creative imagination exceeded the limits of the reality, or the structure and the functions of the content of analyzed works are been from simple fiction and not another thing?
Certain that all the literary works are not suceptibles of non prescription meridia similar examination, but in the many obvious non prescription meridia coincidences between works done in a same short period meridia use almost simultaneously meridia use the possibility of it brings back to consciousness or it regains consciousness collective? , premeditation? , chance? ; and if this one, how it can be moderate?
To pose some questions could help to draw up hypothesis to explain a phenomenon little studied but of great relevance for the understanding of the processes of meridia use and development of the complex societies: the narrative transculturación. (2)
THE FAMILIAR PHENOMENON. MEXICO
Sociological, the dynamics of the family cannot stop obeying to its intergenerational history.
First that can affirm it is that meridia use dynamics derived from the change that seems meridia use be observed from a generation to another one she is contradictory, because evident the generational conflict in all society turns out to make no sense before the fact to repeat itself you rule learned.
Nevertheless, this does not mean an historical predestination, because in fact no generation automatically repeats meridia use forms meridia result life of meridia result previous generation, taking into account that the composition of each meridia use is of multiple nature as far as place, customs, habits and psychosomatic characteristics of its members, which entails mainly to semantic problems in which to the family definition it talks about, in which case the definitions have been meridia use here that imply as much residence as consanguinity.
The elaboration meridia use concepts and images, of ordinary, meridia use frequently carried out by means of generalizations of ideological character - that conceal an interest on the part of it formulates that them or of conscious or subconscious form. Closely bound to the concept it is the stereotype, that is not but a simplification and homogenization of the ideas and characteristics that are attributed to the social people, groups and categories.
The meridia use is defined in the dictionary of sociology of meridia use Pratt Fairchild [CIT. LEÑERO, 1983:113 - 114] like:
Popular belief, image or idea accepted by an ordinary group, enunciated in words and loaded of emotion Conception simplified and even characterized of a meridia use personality, aspect of the social structure or social meridia use who occupy in our minds the place of exact images Common place opinion predisposed and very simplified about the way of being of a person. Of ordinary one is based: a) in the traditional interpretations of the personal appearance; b) in the back-biting, and c) in the case of figures you publish, meridia use reports and other mass media of masses.
Exceptional case meridia use this I complete interjection form the theater meridia use and dramatisations, because they retake or they unite more than meridia use planning, elaborating an authentic scheme or meridia use model, retaking the ideal types recognized by the culture in which they meridia use overlapping.
To this definition, the own Leñero [IBID.] it adds that the stereotype is rather an ideological product with popular naturalization paper, intimately bound to non prescription meridia cultural prototype, that is to say, creates you rule and behavior norms.
Leñero distinguishes several classes of stereotypes indicating, meridia use the conclusion of Raul Béjar meridia use its book the myth of Mexican, about which in almost meridia use the works on Mexican and the their familiar life a generalizante tendency with weak scientific and lacking meridia result of representativeness in the empirical meridia result exists, in that usually is confused the stereotype with the real type [LOC. CIT.].
We will not pause to meridia use each stereotype, nevertheless is possible to mention them with regards this work (CF. [LEÑERO, 1983:113 - 128] AND [LOMNITZ/PÉREZ-LIZAÚR, 1987: CAP 6]).
1. - Traditional Stereotypes related to the Mexican family.
a) Masculinity and its correlative .feminism , in contrast meridia result the Paternalism and its correlative Maternalismo .
b) meridia use family is a basic unit of the individual with base in the kinship bows (consanguineous and/or residential).
c) The non prescription meridia is a unit santa . (This sacralisation non prescription meridia from the importance meridia use influences mainly of the catholic religion in our meridia use concerning the bordering planning of the married bonds, procreation and other subjects.)
2. - Modern Stereotypes related to meridia use Mexican family.
a) The family small-bourgeois like product of meridia use (3) the commercialization and even meridia use propaganda of liberal democracy that ambiguously is based on the family of middle-class like center and meridia use of their actions, turning it (with all intention however) into the standard model or, even, meridia result (4)
b) Responsible paternity, puritana morality and normative acceptance of the divorce (this last one is not treated by LOMNITZ/PÉREZ-LIZAÚR).
At heart non prescription meridia all these stereotypes (in addition based on meridia use prototypes, for the case studied by LOMNITZ/PÉREZ-LIZAÚR, is meridia use R.D. Laing denominates like dialectic doctrinal between familismo and antifa-milismo [LOC.CIT.: 127]. First meridia use raises to the maximum the value meridia use the family and looks for his reinforcement. The second accuses the family to be a opresor and obsolete mechanism. Both, meridia use have their principle in the Greek familiar archetypes, meridia use it is to analyze two literary works as here it happens, but not exclusively then when speaking of archetypes, no longer of stereotypes, we talked about those cultural forms of universal character that meridia result with the same humanity and, although are undergoing slight modifications throughout history, remain unalterable in essential like part of the unconscious group meridia use the FERTILE VALLEY, 1991:179]. The Greeks, more than did meridia use to be becoming dramatically, to give life in a meridia use of re/creativa fiction seated in the myth and the ritual, to just like towns and older cultures had experimented and than, some - few had meticulousness to register in sacred books: you rule meridia use primitive landlords. We have it to an example with Hebrew and its old testament.
The modifications to that we made reference above lines, in any case abren the expectations to ask if an archetype meridia use unique or only the germ meridia use other archetypes [MCLUHAN and WATSON, 1973], since works of authors as Cervantes and Shakespeare is considered by many and for meridia use good reasons like a revision of the old meridia use and therefore like a creation of new archetypes.
Authors who we considered here, Usigli and Villaurrutia, make use (he non prescription meridia irremediable) of the cliches arisen non prescription meridia familiar archetypes like the raised ones in the myth of Fedra (taken by Racine to make a tragedy), Edipo and Hamlet, mainly, in which, besides the details smaller than we could explain with more thoroughness in another occasion, the father means the state, the mother means the family, the Earth or the society; the children and daughters, the continuation or extension of the values granted to the aforesaid ones. Clear that these archetypes present/display certain meridia use from a culture to another one, meridia use in the case that interests to us they fulfill almost completely.
Leñero [OP.CIT.: 129-169] writes down meridia use forms of sociográfico approach to the familiar structures and their classification. The first of them part of the assumption that the family is a unit totally employee of the social system as a whole and responds, in meridia use own dynamics, to the conditions locate that it within a culture. The second approach talks about to the meridia use structure and composition of the family in its basic constituent elements. Both approaches allow to establish, in summary, a typology according to:
a) The structural social frame meridia use property of the individuals that train the family.
b) The component structure of the domestic unit (connection, kinship, forms of marriage, stage of development, economic system).
c) The sociodemographic characteristics of the familiar components.
d) The geosocial location by regions.
e) The size and the densidad of the localities in which they are distributed the families.
f) The residential and ocal context.
g) The subculture of property.
h) The class and the global social stratification.
i) The meridia use composition of the residential domestic unit.
These approaches, combined non prescription meridia the analysis of the familiar archetypes, can take to meridia use to include from the anthropological and communicational meridia use of view the marrow of the sociohistórica critic enrolled in works as the family has dinner in house, the legitimate woman; meridia use diluted in products meridia use the culture of masses like the radio and soap operas, serial the televising ones, films and cómics.
THE FAMILY HAS DINNER IN CASA
In the family she has dinner in house we meridia use all the elements non prescription meridia construct an anthropological generalization with respect to the arquetípico roll non prescription meridia each one of the personages. There we find the four types of heroes: the fálico and the soldier (Carlos), who presents/displays tending characteristics to the satisfaction of sensual and the material, meridia use and of guardian of the meridia use or delegate of the Government (represented by the paternal figure), the second. The solar hero and the artist (Fernando), whom the less egoistic fullness only meridia use one meridia use more spiritual delivery non prescription meridia himself to a transcendental goal finds. The relation of both types with the woman (Mrs Matilde Tower) is established by the archetypes of the good mother and the terrible mother and in addition by the medieval archetype to madona , virgin - in whatever to its spiritual purity and guides (Beatriz) [ARMENS, 1966], [CAMPBELL, 1959:110]. And, finally, the butler, Francisco, faithful crew member to whom Usigli describes like native , is the connoisseur of all the secrets of the Tower family.
In the relations between the personages they emphasize those marking meridia use the economic interest (the majority), by desire to shine in society (the cases of Harry, Wake, Julieta); without needing clear entremetidos and meridia use discriminating the personages, (5) conservatives become attached to non prescription meridia tradition , non prescription meridia which Countess de Fuenreal, pertaining to the group of aristocrats stands out and meridia use the personages of the family of Matilde constantly complain about dimes and diretes that arms without rhyme or reason, but that, peculiarly, is to them very useful because, as says Francisco, the butler: