Notes on Ecuadorian Pirandellism

Abstract

The present text aims to revisit an old controversy surrounding national literature: the confrontation between Joaquín Gallegos Lara and Humberto Salvador over the book En la ciudad he perdido una novela. Gallegos Lara writes a negative review about Salvador and accuses him of “pirandellism”. That is: of limiting himself to reproduce Pirandello’s method in his novel. Tracing that which lies behind this notion is interesting. First of all, due to the fact that the category challenges the radical position that had traditionally been attributed to Gallegos (aclear-cut rejection of experimental narrative, and a staunch defense of social realism). And, secondly, because this notion, unlike others, transmits the tense space and sharp disputes at the heart of Ecuadorian cultural circles in the late twenties and early thirties of the past century.