THE TRIUMPH OF THE (PORNOGRAPHIC) IDEAL: PEDRO CÉSAR DOMÍNICI

Author(s): Nancy Saporta Sternbach and Nancy Spaorta Sternback

Source: Confluencia, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Fall 1989), pp. 51-63
Published by: University of Northern Colorado
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27921878
Accessed: 04-10-2020 13:30 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

University of Northern Colorado is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and

extend access to Confluencia

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 THE TRIUMPH OF THE
(PORNOGRAPHIC) IDEAL:
PEDRO C?SAR DOMINICI
Nancy Saporta Sternbach
Smith College
Northampton, Massachusetts

In many ways, the 1901 novel, EJ triunfo del (128).

ideal, perfectly embodies the entire modernista Both in Goic's opinion and in their own esti
aesthetic: it unites the idea of beauty and death, mation, modernistas prided themselves on their
so problematic, yet so prevalent; it is one of the "conciencia de cambio."5 Like the artist/poet/
most "exquisito" of the novels of this generation, protagonist of EJ triunfo del ideal, it is they who
yet it is virtually unknown outside the author's question the world they are born into, they are
native Venezuela.1 Similarly, it follows a publica society's misfits, they do not accept, nor do they
tion history characteristic of this generation: conform to the norm; rather, they are a turn-of
written by upper-middle class gentlemen who the century bohemian generation whose stated
have had the means and the leisure to travel, purpose in life is to change the established order
frequently published in Paris, in this case, while of things. They saw themselves as revolution
its author, Pedro C?sar Dominici lived there dur aries of the word.6 In their novels, poems and
ing his diplomatic career. In addition, it contains short stories, they frequently refer to themselves
the entire essence of the modernista sensibility, as "raros," marginalized by their culture. With
most notably visible in its treatment of women. the clear vision bestowed upon them as Creators,
Like other modernista works,2 it also contains all
their polished education, and the training that
the elements of pornography. The fusion of mo enabled them to articulate their concerns, they
dernhmo with pornography shall be my concern see themselves as chosen individuals who con
in this essay. vey the path to Light, Harmony and Beauty to
EJ triunfo del ideal is not Dominici's best other mortals. Because they considered that
known work. The rare citations or analyses of his their earthly presence was semidivine in compar
literary production usually center on his novel ison to other humans, they also anticipate
Dionysos.3 There are, however, many common Huidobro's 1916 affirmation; "El poeta es un
elements between the two novels insofar as lan peque?o Dios" ("Arte Po?tica," in Jim?nez,
guage, style and world view are concerned. They 130). Far from being an alienating experience,
are both set in what appears to be an exotic according to Rafael Maya, they took advantage of
reality which, at least superficially, has nothing to the "expression of abnormality in order to enrich
do with the Latin American origins of their au their poetic expression" (132). Rub?n Dar?o
thor. Typical o? modernista works, and common in claims that one of the aims of his 1894 publica
the early criticism of modernismo, the author is tion Revista de Am?rica is to be:
berated for his elite escapism and for cultivating
the principle of "art for art's sake."4 On the other el ?rgano de la generaci?n nueva que en
hand, Cedomil Goic praises the "car?cter . . . Am?rica profesa el culto
ex?tico de los asuntos" and calls the novel "un del Arte puro y desea y busca la perfecci?n
caso de excepci?n" in Spanish-American letters ideal. . . Mantener la

51

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 gerarquia...Luchar porque prevalezca el well as their choice of themes contributed to the
amor a la divina Belleza elitist sentiment they conveyed. In situating their
(Revista de Am?rica, 1). narratives in circumstances that revealed the
crossroads of the old and the new, novels such as
And, not insignificantly, they are all men. El triunfo del ideal served a symbolic as well as an
In speaking of modernismo, Ricardo Gull?n ar "escapist" function: it was much less politically
gued that the "Tendencia simplista de reducir al damaging to these writers to "mythologize" their
modernismo a dos o tres de sus elementos m?s themes rather than implicate living persons. In
caracter?sticos . . . constituye uno de los males this text in particular, Dominici's concept of the
de nuestra historiograf?a literaria" (8). Yet, such is Poet as the superior being whose influence could
precisely the fate of women in modernista texts: raise men's spirits, may also be taken to express
reduced to two or three of their most "character the paradigm of the artist of this generation.
istic" elements, which in this case are goddess, Modernismo is also eclectic in its choices of
muse or prostitute. El triunfo del ideal, then, cre previous influences, but certainly a large portion
ates a manifesto in which the body of a woman of the exotic motif relied on Greek mythology,
becomes an artist's creation, his glorious especially in Dominici's case. Thus we find in
achievement; it promotes his sense of grandeur this text a kind of Pygmalion myth which paral
as an artist and his self-worth as a creator. In this lels the Shaw version. However, whereas Shaw's
context, woman will become Object while the Pygmalion is a stinging and critical satire of the
man remains Subject. Within the terms of the mores of his society, there is nothing ironic or
modernista text, these binary opposites are trans sarcastic in Dominici's work. On the contrary, El
lated into "Goddess" (used guardedly) and triunfo del ideal would take on an interesting new
"Poet." In this manner, the Goddess will be the note if its author had written it as social commen
worshiped Muse, unless or until the Poet tires of tary. In both works, the apparent reason for the
her, which inevitably occurs. text's existence is to extol the central figure, the
It has been argued that modernismo ushers in a creation of a male artist. In both cases, this crea
new age of progress while at the same time being tion is a woman, a malleable form whom the
violently opposed to material and technological "higher" essence of humanity in its apotheosis?
advance. Because the Poet has been given the the figure of the male artist?will transform into
vision of the chosen, coupled with the capacity an unimagined creature, but will take sole credit
to articulate the Word to the masses, he truly for its existence. Because it is a possession, he
sees himself as a messiah of the literary gods. In views it as an object in spite of the fact that she is
El tr?unjo del ideal, this division is handled in a a real woman. All objects, according to him,
variety of ways: acceptance of the world as it is, should be devoid of feeling, embracing the Apol
versus struggle for change; the irrational mes ?nea vision. Not only will any manifestation of
sages of the heart, contrasted with the marvelous feeling not concern him, he will consider it a
rationality and nobility of objects; the Apol?nea female weakness and dismiss it as irrelevant. Yet
vision based on rational thought juxtaposed with both works speak strongly to the type of feeling
the vulgarity of the Dionisiaca vision which extols that the created object experiences: she will live
the pleasures of the flesh. The Poet saw himself only for the artist, for he has given her an iden
as instructor of the masses, rather than one of tity; when he rejects her, for all objects cease to
them, an attitude which led Pedro Salinas to be useful as some point, she loses her identity
write that modernismo was "como una maravillosa and becomes devastated. Her body will consti
muralla de irrealidades y placeres de la imagina tute his apotheosis as an artist and consequently,
ci?n que aislara al escritor de las aflicciones in he will take great pride in ascertaining that other
mediatas que le rodeaban" (36). men of his class and category have the opportu
Nor did the modernista choice of themes dis nity to view, and congratulate him on, his fine
suade writers such as Salinas that they were gen accomplishment.
uinely concerned with the topics of the day. The Significantly, these are the same elements
setting their works in distant places and times, as present in pornography. The relaxation of moral

52

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Standards in literature following Zola's example Latin America, the "for gentlemen only" idea
now permitted the frequent use of prostitues as manifested itself on cigarette packages which ad
protagonists and many Latin Americans read vertised "dibujos gr?ficos para hombres s?lo"
Zola.7 Similarly, the use of the female body as (Fig. 1, Caras y Caretas). Returning to literature,
glorification of male accomplishment and exist and to Dominici in particular, one critic is as
ence, the concept of woman as object or posses sured that the "pictures of charmingly naked
sion, the rape of the woman, and the consequent women must have helped its [Dionysos^ sale con
death or destruction of all female protagonists in siderably" (Radcliff, 191, n. 36). Consequently,
modernista novels are some of the elements the naked female body, once available only to the
which this generation shares with pornography. privileged classes through their painting classes,
Pornography, then, is not simply a collection of trips to Europe and extensive libraries, now be
"dirty books" but rather a world view. Nor do came the domain for all, and as such was widely
some works cease to be pornographic, as Susan distributed.
Sontag writes, because they also possess literary Thus in El triunfo del ideal, then, the role
value (Sontag, 35-73). Despite possible inten assigned to women is not an anomaly, nor simply
tions otherwise of its author, El tr?unfo del ide?l is one artist's vision of womankind as he saw it, but
a perfect example of a text that exhibits all the rather a norm for women which has come to
traits of pornography. repeat itself in varying forms in our own time. At
Of the little critical work that exists on Domi its very core, El triunfo del ideal is a modernista
nici and less on this novel, there is no mention of novel. It embodies the entire ethic of a genera
pornography. In spite of the fact that no specific tion and is one of the most "exquisitos" of the
relation is made with reference to this work and period chronicling the male artist, "el altruista
pornography, the notion that modernismo was por que anhelaba mejor suerte para los hombres"
nographic is not new. Yet, this text could easily (Dominici, 73), and his encounter with a beauti
stand as a paradigm of the pornographic imagina ful young woman. In every sense, he is depicted
tion, a world view which takes as its tenet the as the superior being: originating from the noble
subjugation, possession, control and domination class, he has had the time, money, inclination
of women. Because most modernista novels are and education to become a man of the world.
couched in elegant language and exquisite styl She is a gardener's daughter whose only trip away
ization, they appear to belie that label "porno from home has been to Florence. Like many
graphic." heroines of Latin American novels, especially of
Yet, with the increasing technology of the new this period, she is only her father's daughter: she
century, reproduction in words and images was has no mother. In the eyes of the Poet/Artist, she
made infinitely easier, and therefore more acces represents his love dream. Of course she is beau
sible. In Paris, the first "peep-shows" began ap tiful. His keen sensitivity and awareness as an
pearing. Though one observer calls the artist make him the only human capable of ap
newly-emerging pornographic material from preciating her beauty. Not only does he teach her
Paris "naive and repetitive," he also informs us the value of her own mirror image, but also of
that many amatuer photographers made their nature, priding himself not on how quickly she
fortunes as learned, but rather on how efficiently he taught
her. It is noteworthy that in spite of the fact that
they rigged up their studios as boudoirs in she was "crecida en un jard?n" (6) and "charlaba
which complacent ladies would perform con las flores" (63) whom she considered her
their bedtime ritual. . . or smile . . . invit
"hermanas" (63), she needs to be instructed in
ingly at a mustachioed gallant (Rudorff, the ways of nature by a representative of culture.
60). This important dichotomy between the pair will
reverberate throughout the novel in terms of the
Silent films "for gentlemen only" were becom Apol?nea vision (culture = male) and the Dion
ing fashionable and a pornographic press was isiaca one (nature = female) as its primary struc
"flourishing as never before" (Rudorff, 213). In tural axis.

53

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 'n - - 3

- - 1 ..

-F

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 One of Carlos' primary lessons to Maria is that Dionisiaco" (73). The former, the Apol?nea vision,
"el objetivo de tu vida es ser bella" (114). Thus, is that which appreciates art, is informed by a
because she trusts him, she learns that her conscious and developed world view and conse
beauty is the sole reason for her existence, fitting quently denies the unconscious world of feeling,
into part of what Carlos has named the "great emotion and sexual desire. This denial, instead
hierarchy." For her own part, she is pleased that of being read as such, is, termed paradoxically "el
"un hombre hab?a llegado y ... le hab?a tra?do triunfo del estado apol?neo" (89). The Dionysian
un alma y un ideal" (90). Such a belief confirms state, on the other hand, leads him to conclude
the ancient Christian one that women were de that "el instinto del hombre moderno es una
void of souls and, therefore, inferior to men, the tendencia casi animal" (69), and for that reason,
tenet which also informs pornography. Accord is considered not only inferior, but also danger
ing to Rosemary Ruether, the Christian tradi ous: "la ley brutal que vence y domina la voluntad
tion: creadora" (69). Finally, as we can see, we are not
simply analyzing binary opposites; rather, within
fused the vision of the heavenly messianic
this dichotomy, the modernista aesthetic is fully
king with the transendent logos of immuta realized: the role of the artist as creator at a time
ble Being, [and] was a synthesis of the
of scientific achievment and advance coupled
religious impulses of late antique religious
with his reaction either in favor of or against such
consciousness, but precisely in their alien
technological development.
ated state of development. . . But the ali
enation of the masculine form from the For our own purposes, the place assigned to
women within this configuration is our primary
feminine is the primary sexual symbolism
concern. Though it would appear that an exalta
that sums up all these alienations . . . So
tion of beauty is, in fact, worshiping the female
ciety has in every way profoundly condi
form, as modernistas claimed, in fact at least two
tioned men and women to play out their
other results are clearly discernible. In the first
lives and their capacities within this basic
place, women would then be categorized into
antithesis (Ruether, 43-44).
Virgin or Whore, with the Virgin "bound for
This dichotomy of culture versus nature has heaven. . .her male ascetic devotees would stop
also informed anthropological thought, as con at nothing short of this prize for her" (Ruether,
veyed in the landmark essay by Sherry Ortner: 62) and secondly, such devotion, on one hand,
. . . the distinctiveness of culture rests would produce real physical hatred and revulsion
of women and female flesh on the other.8
precisely on the fact that it can transcend
natural conditions and turn them to its own In Griffin's view, culture imagines itself to be
invulnerable to nature (33) and often speaks of it
purpose. Thus culture . . . asserts itself to
in terms of conquest. Certainly this is the case in
be not only distinct from but superior to Latin American where so much literature has
nature (72).
been based on the civilizaci?n/barbarie split.
According to Susan Griffin, the great error in Whether that difference be charted in terms of
thinking that one is superior to the other is pre sexual passion, unexplored wilderness, or as in
cisely a revenge against those parts of the self this novel, the body of a woman, in each case, I
that the "superior" cannot accept: or a denial. shall argue, it represents the denied side of the
In the text, the dichotomy of culture and nat so-called "superior" self, or its "natural" side.
ure is exteriorized and articulated in terms of the As in other novels of this period, the first
poet's two visions; it was the scientific one which descriptions of Maria oscillate between the lumi
he considered to be the "parte m?s noble y sana nous beauty of a goddess and the open and
de su ser" (73): the Apol?nea vision. The less "inviting" sexuality of pornography models. Be
noble part of his being, the unconscious, that fore the arrival of the Poet, Maria is depicted as
which resides in his body rather than in his soul, having a "frente sin ideas" and "labios sin amor"
was the enemy: "Otro ser habitaba igualmente en (6). Visible here, as elsewhere in this novel and
su cuerpo, y era ?sa el peligroso, el enemigo, el others, is the virgin-whore dichotomy, an oppos

55

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
tion also present in pornography. To begin with de los dioses . . . m?s perfecta que la humana
she is "vestida de blanco" (6) so that she "parec?a belleza" (34). Not only does Carlos also wish
una esfinge luminiosa" (11). The young woman that Mar?a were not an "esclava humilde de los
"no se sospechaba vigilada" (64) by the artist/ sentidos" (72), but also, akin to the pornogra
voyeur as she "llevaba nerviosamente una mano a pher, he attempts to deny the effect that her
la boca y chupaba los dedos suavemente" (63). beauty has on him, "tristemente sometido al po
He determines, also like pornography models, der del instinto" (72).
that she "hab?a nacido para ser contemplada" Also like a pornographer, he will minimize and
(64), finally culminating in his decision that her eventually attempt to overcome what he per
body "ser?a para ?l como una cosa... una obra de ceives as this weakness in himself by possession
arte. . . un fetiche" (92). The Poet consequently of the "object." In relation to Maria, we learn that
falls in love, not with Mar?a, but with her body, "aquella alma era suya, ?l la hab?a creado y en ella
"la belleza serena de las cosas" (64) because in viv?a una parte de s? mismo" (101). For Griffin,
his view, "las cosas son superiores a las almas possession is another form of domination:
(22). The most refined pleasure for him, as for
By this possession, he controls the one
pornographers, is "la muda contemplaci?n de las
who captured him, who has ensnared and
cosas" (23). This exact ethic, described as love
enchanted him, who causes his death and
of art, is the essence of pornography. For the shames him. He has made himself safe
concept of woman-as-object constitutes the core
from her power (34).
of the pornographic imagination.
In the novel, the Poet's vision is also informed Not only has the pornographer convinced
by such a belief: objects are superior to all other himself of his power: more insidiously, he has
human manifestations precisely because they convinced the woman that his "ideal" of her is
cannot feel. By recognizing that Maria has a life more accurate than her own assessment. She
and soul of her own and is not just a "reflejo" (72) learns to distrust her own intuition and to place
of Carlos', the Poet would also have to acknowl faith in his values. In the novel, Mar?a "amaba su
edge that she is a person with her own destiny belleza de antigua estatua griega m?s que a la
and purpose. It is just this recognition which propia vida" (98). Given that beauty is ephem
would destroy his own plans for her. He contin eral, the narrator has now prepared the reader for
ually wishes that she, too, could deny her feel Marias eventual demise, her premature death
ings: and the Poet's "immortalization" of her Beauty in
the form of a statue.
Como hubiera deseado que el alma de
But before this important step can occur, the
aquella mujer fuese insensible, fr?a como
Beauty herself must be converted from the Vir
una estatua . . . que aquella mujer no tu
gin to the Whore. Such a transformation is en
viese ni sangre, ni nervios, que fuese toda
acted by the humiliation of the female body to
externa como su belleza, toda noble como
the extent that matter and spirit cannot meet;
las cosas (72).
where body and soul are divided; where in fact
In his wish, he is echoing the essence of por one denies the existence of the other. Signifi
nographic thought as outlined by Griffin who cantly, the virgin in this text, is named Maria.
writes that: "the task of pornography [is] ... to When she meets the Poet, he notices her "ador
chain and imprison the heart, to silence feeling" able virginidad" (107-8), "cuerpo casto y nubil"
(82). For this reason, pornography can never (66) and, of course, her purity: "sin que las
bring us to tears, for "its revenge against nature is manos la tocasen" (64). Finally, Carlos reserves
precisely to deprive matter of spirit ... it humil the position of "virgen de su nueva religi?n" (70)
iates a woman's body by reducing her soul" (49). for Mar?a.
In his musings, Carlos wishes that Maria's Regardless of the virgin's willingness, once she
body were made of marble?the quintessential has experienced sexuality with a man, has been
substance of the femme fatale?rather than flesh "soiled" by male hands, she is immeditely meta
and bones, for the former is the "sagrada carne morphosed into a whore. Both in pornography

56

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
and the modernista novel, such a conversion fre Carlos' vision, it was the capricious whim of the
quently takes place through rape. Once soiled? gods who "descendieron en caprichosas meta
an important component of the pornographic morfosis solicitando ... los encantos de las her
fantasy?a woman is likened to her position in mosas mujeres de cuerpos inpolutas" (27). But,
the Catholic Church of virgin or whore. In fact, like Carlos, other rapists insist that it was the
the only means by which a woman can avoid woman's desire that led them to the act. In the
such an epithet is by marrying and therefore text, such a reversal is employed several times to
becoming a matron. Significantly, in the mo depict Marias voracious sexual appetite: the
dernista novel, such as option is never presented reader learns of her "noches agitadas" (75), for
to the heroine, hence the chaos cause by their she is obsessed by "la caricia y el espasmo" (90),
sexuality as single women. while being entrenched in the "fiebre del deseo"
In El tr?unfo del ideal Maria is depicted and (92).
named a goddess. Yet, she is the same kind of In spite (or perhaps because) of such signals, it
goddess that Hollywood, for example, made of is Carlos who initiates the sexuality between
film stars: placed on a pedestal not to revere her, them, but not without much cavilation. In the
but rather, as Eva Figes writes of goddesses, to name of Art, he claims: "desesperaba por ver
"disarm her with flattery" (26). Mania is not a aquel cuerpo que adivinaba tan perfecto y
real goddess in the sense of prepatriarchal reli luminoso" (91). Worrying that such a desire is a
gions, but rather a patriarchal one who exists in manifestation of the enemy Dionisiaca principle,
order to fulfill the fantasy of the male in power, as he searches for the justification for his desire. He
Carlos confirms with his musing: "?C?mo hacer begins with the virgin argument: " por qu?
comprender a la joven diosa el sitio principal que habr?a de ofenderse su pudor de virgen agrade
le estaba reservado en sus proyectos?" (70). Al cida" if he, the Poet/Artist, was only searching for
"belleza desnuda inmaculada" (92). Secondly, he
though he confesses that the cult is to her body,
he also wishes to erect a temple for the "diosa argues that perversity and malevolence are only
inmaculada" where "las pasiones de los hombres" in the eyes of the beholder, thereby determining
could not touch her. (Apparently, he considers that "una estatua desnuda es casta y noble si el
himself above mere mortal men, for he never que la admira posee ideas de castidad y nobleza"
seems to worry about his passions.) In fact, he (92). By literally di-vesting Mar?a both physically
expresses a Great Goddess wish: and spiritually, his conversion of her into a (por
nographic) object "una obra de arte, una cosa"
Si por lo menos poseyese las formas de una
(92) is complete. Finally, his view of himself as
mujer vaporosa, envuelta en albos velos
an artist mediates against any guilt that he feels
di?fonos, m?s grato seria amarla y obe
about desiring Maria.
decerle. Hasta el castigo nos parecer?a
The descriptions of their sexual union and its
menos cruel si fuese una boca bonita qui?n
consequences are worthy of any pornographer.
lo ordensase (37-38).
Recalling that Carlos' intentions were merely "ar
The process by which the virgin is converted tistic," we now read that Maria is "quemada por
to the whore is a common denominator for patri el fuego" and "contaminada por el deseo f?sico"
archal and pornographic cultures. By blaming his (97). Like the pornographer, Carlos remains dis
desire and longing on the woman who aroused interesed as he undresses her with
him, a man exonerates himself as the beast of "gestos . . . lentos, fr?os" (92). It is not until
nature (the name by which sexuality was "desnuda qued? la virgin ante el Poeta en ?xta
known). In this order, the woman is thereby sis" (92) that his will as an artist begins to falter.
transformed into Eve, the base, the uncontrolla Relinquishing himself to passion is accompanied
ble, the natural, unleashed, dangerous and fatal almost immediately by feelings of remorse: "Sos
woman. The basis for this femme fatale ideology pechaba que hac?a mal en no defenderse, posey
in pornography mirrors and parallels the way it is endo el remedio, conociendo el adversario"
employed in the modernista text, suggesting the (101). Of course, the blame is Maria's. Yet,
extent to which the two are one and the same. In Carlos' initial happiness at finding perfect beauty

57

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
is eclipsed by the fact that he has succumbed to nection to nature, thereby causing his demise.
the Dionisiaca principle: Rather than accept this fact, he will not only hate,
but also project upon this woman his denial of
Largos d?as hab?an transcurrido sin que el such a truth. Because of his need to dominate
Poeta cantase en su lira apol?nea de triunfo
nature, thus confirming his superiority over it, he
del ensue?o. Dominado estaba por la emo
must destroy the woman who has linked him to
ci?n sensual, embriagado con el vino capi
it. Such is the essence of the "triumph" of the
toso del deseo (96).
ideal which the title speaks, and also of pornog
Because Mar?a loves Carlos, her reaction dif raphy.
fers radically. She does not suffer guilt for in her Although Carlos believes that Maria is exerting
"viv?an ?ntimamente unidos el amor y el ideal" an influence over him, from the reader's point of
(97). In suggesting that love and the ideal are view, the situation is quite the reverse. In fact, he
united in Maria, the narrator also unwittingly feels that he owns her in much the same way that
confesses to Carlos's radical split: yet another he possesses a valuable collection of Greek
trait of the pornographic imagination, character statues. John Berger has pointed out that it is not
ized by the man who had denied "part of by accident that we speak o?"objets d'art" (Berger,
himself. . . [and] projected [it] on the female 100). The history of art collecting has always
character" (Griffin, 92). Maria's holistic vision of been in the hands of those with power, position
herself and what she perceives as their love dis and wealth: Carlos is no different. When he in
satisfies Carlos who attempts to instruct her to vites Maria to witness his collection, the narrra
separate the two problematic entities: tor gives her?another objet d'art?an atavistic
reaction:
continuaba uni?ndola por el lazo del inte
lecto . . . oblig?ndola a permanacer en un Contemplando aquellas estatuas, Mar?a se
medio superior donde no se escuchara el agitaba extra?amente . . .una sensaci?n
grito del instinto, ayud?ndola a subir poco inexplicable se apoderaba de su ser. Pare
a poco a la gran jerarqu?a (82). c?ale que ella conoc?a esas formas y esos
cuerpos . . . ?D?nde, cu?ndo. ... en
Because Mar?a, or the virgin, is now tainted, so
qu? edad, en que pa?s? (84).
must be the man who touches her (in spite of the
fact that it was his touch which "soiled" her in the Carlos's work with Mar?a commences by his
first place). Consequently, he can no longer pre creating or endowing her with a soul "digna de
tend to dwell in the higher realms of the spirit, habitar aquel cuerpo" (97). Although he calls her
the great hierarchy: "El Poeta se hab?a alejado. . a goddess, it is clearly not the female counterpart
.de su ideal para no mancharlo en la fiesta de la of his role of God, for in his eyes, it is only he, the
Poet, who has the endowed qualities of Creator
carne revelada.. .del esp?ritu" (99). As a result of
this "descent," the Poet begins to hate the as well. As such, he considers himself above
woman who he perceived as causing it. Accord nature; his will has determined its course:
ing to Griffin, this sentiment occurs precisely
Aquel ?dolo [Mar?a] no era toda obra de la
because it is she who obliges him, albeit however
Naturaleza; hab?a una parte que le per
unconsciously, that he, too, is nature, and that
tenec?a, que era obra suya creada y vivida
he, too, has allowed his "higher" self to be domi
por su voluntad (81).
nated by the desire for a woman, or a woman's
desire. The effects are devastating: "Desde que The discourse employed by the narrator con
hab?a penetrado en el mundo de los sentimien tributes to the Poet's sense of self
tos, el alma aristocr?tico del conde hab?a perdido aggrandizement: "Mar?a no se pertenec?a" (89)
su nobleza" (100). or "todo su ser le pertenec?a" (90). Finally,
Finally, we witness the true triumph of the though, when we are informed that Carlos "la
pornographic ideal. The woman has made the posee como una vil cortesana" (109), we also
Poet vulnerable by exposing him to the world of realize that the "ideal" has been shattered. Re
feeling which has reminded him of his own con calling that pornography literally means "writing

58

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
about whores," we can also see that the text aspirations for her become her own aspirations
enacts the pornographic ideal in the name and for herself, we read, "aspiraba a ser adoraba sobre
guise of the poetic idealism for which this gener un elevado pedestal de m?rmol como una esta
ation became so celebrated. tua" (90). Once her beauty has passed, as it
Within this configuration there must be a pos must, she becomes what Kathleen Barry has
sessor and a possessed, characterized by the called a "throwaway woman" (121).
power that the former exerts over the latter. A Dominici, the author, considers himself to be
common couple in the pornographic arrange the Creator of the novel in much the same way
ment, then, is the master and the slave portrayed that he has Carlos create Maria:
in such pairs as rider/ridden, doctor/patient, pro
Carne y huesos y sangre del esp?ritu son
fessor/student (Griffin, 34), or as we see here
los libros del escritor y las obras del
"genio," "poeta," Artista" and "h?roe" (88). Be
artisa . . . cuando se tiene una hija de
cause he considers himself superior, he views his
qui?n o?mos decir que es hermosa, que es
mission on earth to "ejercer una influencia sobre
una gran belleza o que es una linda mujer,
el resto de sus semejantes" (88).
el padre termina por cre?rselo y repetirlo y
Maria's mission is to be a beautiful virgin.
sentirse orgulloso de ella (Bajo el sol de
Once she has lost her virginity, that is, yielding to
oto?o, 160).
the forces of passion and "required" the Poet to
do the same, the poet senses that he has been It is noteworthy that the three descriptions of
dominated by nature, the Dionisiaca principle, or creation are no more than three synonyms of
as Griffin puts it, "this feminine self [which] can beauty. Like his portagonist, Carlos, Dominici
not die" (66). Because nature has been victori and his generation, put more value into beauty
ous, the poet alternately will react with than in any other aspect of life, or in life itself.
frustration, anger, and revenge. In all cases, Since woman was the incarnation of that beauty,
Maria, the "cause" of his demise, will pay the the role ascribed to the man, or in this case, the
consequences. As the object that the text makes poet, is indeed the role of a divinity. His crea
her to be, she begins to see herself as she is tion, a woman's soul, puts him in the category of
viewed by the pornographic culture that has de "Author" or controller and, consequently, above
fined her, not an unusual occurrence, according nature. Such is the pornographic ethos as de
to Berger: scribed by contemporary theorists. It is difficult,
then, to read ?/ triunfo del ideal as a sarcastic
men act and women appear. Men look at
work that mocks the modernista aesthetic; on the
women. Women watch themselves being
contrary, it must be seen as a parable of the
looked at. This determines not only most
author's vision projected onto his protagonist. To
relations between men and women, but
author a text, to possess a woman and to control
also the relation of women to themselves.
nature all bear the shadow of the pornographic
The surveyor of woman in herself is male,
imagination, for all are concerned with their di
the surveyed female. Thus she turns her
vine authority subjugating the will of the object,
self into an object?and most particularly whether or not it/she is located in or out of a text.
an object of vision, a sight (47).
In pornography, one of the ways in which this
Maria, too, sees herself as she is seen by man. authority and control are accomplished is by
Like him, she loves her beauty more than her stripping a woman of her soul, converting her
life. This is precisely the reason why she will not into a hollow, though beautiful shell called a
survive the text: All beauty is ephemeral and body. In the novel, both Carlos and Maria believe
when it passes, the beauty herself ceases to have that Maria possessed a soul only because he gave
a function. Although Carlos would like to immor one to her. As master, ruler and possessor, and
talize her (and hence, himself) by creating her therefore owner of the soul, he may also divest
image in marble which cannot age or die, such a her of it, which in the novel occurs when "[1] a
creation does nothing to insure the survival of belleza de Maria hab?a desaparecido con su ado
the beauty herself. Furthermore, because Carlos' rable virginidad" (107). "Convertida en mujer"

59

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 (106), Mana loses all enchantment and hence all souls. Of the latter, the poet writes: "Las almas
value for the poet. As a woman, she becomes son inferiores y menos nobles que las cosas"
ugly. Here is the completion of the pornographic (100). The ultimate act then can only be death
circle: of the two choices for women?virgin or which Maria achieves by her own hand in the
whore?the first inevitably leads to the second trendy manner of Ophelia. Raymond Rudorff
once the virgin s beauty has been destroyed. Her tells us that in turn-of-the-century Paris there
fate is now sealed: she has been used as an object was a great "fashion for Salom?s, Ophelias, Sap
to her "fullest and enough" (Dworkin, 117) and phos and Sphinxes, often depicted. . .as though
now cannot survive the novel. What remains to they were more than half way to death" (223).
be seen, then, is how, and not whether, she will Not only should we not be surprised or
die. shocked at Maria's death, we should expect it:
The confluence of and fascination with beauty Carlos' success as an artist depends on it, for the
and death was a major theme of Romanticism death of a beautiful woman was the most poetical
and because modernismo relies so heavily on this topic in the world. Moreover, his instructions to
period, it is useful to examine Mario Praz on the Maria stated that "la muerte es m?s necesaria
subject: que la vida" (78), as long as it was her death and
not his. For him, "la vida es un deber" (127); he
... to such an extent were Beauty and
is a superior being with a mission he considers to
Death looked upon as sisters . . . that be mandate.
they became fused . . . filled with corrup
Confounding his plans is the nature/culture
tion and melancholy and fatal ... a
dichotomy: unable to accept the changes present
beauty of which, the more bitter the taste,
in Maria, Carlos sees them, instead, as the "obra
the more abundant the enjoyment (Praz,
devastadora que el enemigo hab?a efectuado en la
31).
ol?mpica belleza de la diosa" (105). Even at the
What Praz fails to mention is that the "bitter end of the novel, Carlos has not reconciled the
taste" may have been for the beauty while the two: he continues to be at war with himself, with
"abundant enjoyment" was, no doubt, for the the dichotomy and with the carnality that Maria
artist. In pornography as well, the cruel suffering represents:
of the beauty (or possessed) produces abundant . . .en el fondo de su ser estall? una carca
joy and fulfillment for the voyeur (master, artist,
jada burlesca, una risa de desprecio ... el
pornographer). A woman's beauty, according to
grito del Dionisiaco ... El enemigo se
Griffin, "brings a man into the realm of the mate
rial. . . He must know himself as matter. . . He re?a, el verdadero culpable en aquel
dualismo de su alma se cre?a el m?s fuerte
must give up the illusion that his mind controls
(124).
his body, or that culture controls nature" (30). In
his realization that he is mortal, the woman is Throughout the text Carlos has attempted to
held responsible. Such an occurence is wit exonerate himself by proving his invulnerability
nessed in El triunfo del ideal. to the Dionysian principle in much the same way
Inevitably, Maria's conversion from goddess to that culture attempts to prove itself invulnerable
"una mujer como las otras, una bella cortesana. . or superior to nature, especially as it is repre
.de cuyo cuerpo cuyas curvas engendraban el sented in woman. As Dworkin writes: "The arr
pecado de actitudes lascivas" (108) occurs be rogance which informs man's relation with
cause she has completed the circle of the female nature. . . is precisely the same arrogance which
body. For one critic, she is pregant: with the new informs his relation with women" (Women
changes in her body, Carlos and the narrator Hating, 156). Such a dualism is exemplified in
begin to humiliate her:9 "La expresi?n de su the novel with the changing seasons: each season
rostro no era la misma, la frente hab?a perdido su parallels the relationship between the lovers.
nobleza, la nariz, la boca, todo hab?a cambiado" Consequently, they meet in the spring when
(108). In any case, true beauty can only be everything, especially Maria, is virginal and
achieved in objects, for they are superior to fresh, yet waiting for the arrival of a man: "una

60

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
impaciente alma de virgen, loca de caricias" (93. dec?a al ver su voluntad impotente ante el cuerpo
Summer is likened to the full maturity of sexual adorablemente pernicioso de una mujer" (101).
ity: "[l]a naturaleza. . .se transforma en mujer" For Ca?izal, Dominici's main critic and biogra
(79), which in Dom?nnici s view was the equiva pher, the triumph of the ideal is precisely that, an
lent of being a mother: "ya no es virgen, es ideal, and therefore impossible:
madre" (79). Autumn is an especially symbolic
season both in the text and for its author. His El triunfo del ideal consiste, precisamente,
en que no puede ser otra cosa que ideal.
own memoirs, entitled Bajo el sol de oto?o informs
Cuando tratamos de concretar ... es
his readers of his predilection for the season
cuando el ideal, como una ilusi?n, va per
"propicia para recordar" (xiii). Apparently the
same is true for Carlos as he recalls when he was
diendo los contornos que tanto nos han
atra?do (119).
unfettered by the carnality of a relationship; for
Maria autumn is a season to recall life before she Not surprisingly, Ca?izal identifies with his
"se encontr? fea" (112). The end of autumn must author in his use of the first-person plural.
therefore signify not only the end of their rela Therefore, his analysis of Maria's death parallels
tionship (Carlos cannot be involved with an the protagonist's and presumably the narrator's:
"ugly" woman), but also the end of Maria's life:
Es un doloroso enga?o ... al mirar en
the death of nature (winter) only can mean the
cinta a la mujer que adoramos con una
death of goddess.
Carlos' reaction to Maria's death is ambivalent. adoraci?n inmensa cuando era virgen,
cuando se pertenec?a en cuerpo y en alma
First, he blames himself: "habia hecho morir
(120).
aquella criatura deliciosa, suave y amable., .flor
de un ensue?o (123) at the same time that he Yet, if the critic's assessment of the novel ("we
rationalizes her demise: "la diosa hizo bien en feel deceived") only mirrors the protagonist's,
morir" for she was nothing but the "simbolo there can hardly be an objective analysis. Clearly,
exterior de un culto" (127). Floating lika a gon once a woman is touched by the hand of a man,
dola in the lake where she drowned, Maria recu and especially if she becomes pregnant?the
perates in death the beauty that Carlos had apotheosis of the material?she becomes a
adored in life: "Nunca vio m?s bella la figura de whore. We must continue to search for what the
su idolo" (120), confirming Poe's observation narrator means by the triumph of the ideal.
that the death of a beautiful woman was the most Carlos, once over the initial shock of Maria's
poetical topic in the world. Even at this moment, death, begins to wonder whether or not it was
Carlos is unwilling to acknowledge that he had the death itself that was the triumph: "no era ?se
loved Maria. Rather, he recognizes that he loved el triunfo de tu ideal?" (127). Not only does he
the perfection of her body, "el triunfo de la vida" begin to imagine Maria's suicide as a positive act,
(101). he even envies her! After briefly considering it
The repeated iteration of the "triumph of the for himself, he discards the idea, for as the cho
ideal" throughout the text inviltes the reader to sen being, he has important tasks to do in life,
speculate what actually is meant. On the one one of which is to cure this "?poca enferma y
hand, "triumph" suggests that a battle has been decadente" (128) by creating poetry. Here is the
fought and won, perhaps best exemplified by the perfect embodiment of the modernista aesthetic.
persistent struggle of the Apollinean/Dionysian What better inspiration to create his immortal
dichotomy. The narrator calls the passion be verses than the face of a beautiful, dead woman?
tween the pair "el triunfo de la sentidos," yet At the same time, it is possible to read this last
such a classification is also ambivalent since mandate (to cure a decadent era) as a criticism of
Carlos considers feelings to be lower in the great the time in which Dominici lived. Certainly his
hierarchy than objects. In order to be great, to whole generation was a critical one and the era
fulfill the mission of "chosen" conferred upon was undoubtedly a decadent one. Yet as a mod
artists, the artist was obliged to dominate this ern reader?or even as one who read the novel
animality. We know, for example that Carlos "pa when it first appeared?it is difficult to subscribe

61

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
to this view when we consider that in order for be destroyed in order to "save man." Nothing
the poet to complete his earthly mission, a could sum up the pornographic aesthetic more
woman must die prematurely. succintly.
Consequently, I would argue that the triumph
of the ideal is, first of all, a pornographic ideal,
and secondly that it is enacted by the death of a
Notes
beautiful woman. Like the magnificent Greek
statues with whose beauty she is compared, the
goddess can only retain her beauty (and hence lNot a single article appears on Dominici in the
her inspirational value) if she remains indelibly MLA bibliography. When he is cited in, for ex
imprinted on the artist's imagination as she was ample, histories of Venezuelan literature, the
in her virginal state. Because this is impossible mention is usually by the way. The real praise for
for real women?who mature, g?state, lactate Venezuelan modernista works goes to Manuel
and age?the beauty must die before the "obra Diaz Rodriguez.
devastadora" sets in. Although Carlos had in 2See Enrique Larreta's La gloria de don Ramiro,
structed Maria that without her "el mundo conti Augusto D'Halmar's Juana Lucero and Jos?
nuar?a hacia la ruina" (97), this is not the case. It Martfs Luc?a Jerez, for examples.
is his presence which is necessary to change the 3This novel also appears to be Dominicas own
world. Her death is not only desirable, but also favorite: "Am? a Dionysos desde el momento que
necessary. Without it, art cannot exist for it in la vi creada," he wrote in his memoirs, Bajo el sol
spires the artist to create poetry. If the artist (and de oto?o (160).
by extension, the masses he influences) idolizes 4Alfredo Zum Felde states that Dominici's first
and idealizes beauty, then the beauty herself novel Im tristeza voluptuosa is his best for it is a
must perish before her face and body do. She "documento hist?rico de la hist?rica intelectual
must die, as she also must in pornography. sudamericana" (377, cited in Prisco, 59). Diaz
If the woman survived either in the porno Seijas writes that Dominici's work "carece de
graphic or the modernista text, an entirely contra arraigo en la dura tierra de nuestras disputas y
dictory aesthetic would present itself: it would pasiones, de nuestras alegr?as y dolores" (348).
imply that nature does triumph over culture; the 5According to Goic, when "se escogen asuntos
poet would lose his divinity, the pornographer ex?ticos ... se prefiere . . . momentos hist?ri
his authority; woman would be stronger than cos reconociblemente cambiantes" (128).
dominate over man who would have to acknowl 6D?az Seijas depicts turn of the centruy Caracas:
edge that he is also part of nature. If such a "empezaron a realizar tertulias . . . concurr?an
radical reversal were to take place, the poet could numerosos escritores j?venes, deseosos de echar
no longer guarantee poetic production. Dominici a volar sus inquietudes e imponer sus arrebatos
revolucionarios" (393-4).
leaves us with the question in El tr?unfo del ideal
when he observes: "va el hombre a toda prisa enTrisco writes that "En 1880 ya se le?a a Zola en
su eterna tarea de destrucci?n" (109). Whereas Venezuela" in Pic?n Febres, "Presentaci?n" Lm
we know that this generation rejected the mod doctrina positivista, 1, 12, (41 ).
ernization and machinization of their world (Paz, 8In discussing Christian doctrine, Ruether con
249), we may also read Dominicfs remark as a tinues: "they paid the price of despising all real
comment on the difference between ordinary physical women, sex and fecundity and wholly
men and poets. We already know that they, and etheralizing women into incorporeal phantoms
especially he, considered poets to be superior to in order to provide a love object for the subli
men. Yet, in the text that he creates, it is man's? mated libido and guard agianst turning back to
and especially the poet's?destruction of woman any physical expression of love with the danger
that forms the basis of his thesis. Though he ous daughters of Eve" (65).
creates a poet whose mandate is to save the 9Baltasar Ca?izal writes: "las redondeces ex
world from destruction, he does not seem to find ageradas de su vientre hace olvidar la idea de la
any contradiction in the fact that a woman must belleza" (119). Clearly, Mar?a may well be preg

62

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 nant, though there is nothing in the text that Jim?nez, Jos? Olivio. ed. Antolog?a de la poes?a
actually supports his theory. hispanoamericana contempor?nea, 1914-1970. 3a.
ed. 1971; rpt. Madrid: Alianza, 1977.
Maya, Rafael. Los or?genes del modernismo en Co

WORKS CITED lombia. Bogot?: Imprenta Nacional, 1961.

Ortner, Sherry. "Is Female to Male as Nature is
to Culture?" In Women, Culture and Society, eds.
Barry, Kathleen. Female Sexual Slavery. Engle Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo and Louise Lam
wood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1979. phere. 1974; rpt. Stanford: Stanford University
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. 1972, rpt; London: Press, 1975.
British Broadcasting Association and Penguin Paz, Octavio. "El caracol y la sirena." In Diez
Books, 1981. estudios sobre Rub?n Dar?o. Ed. Juan Loveluck.
Dar?o, Rub?n. Revista de America. A?o I, No. 1, Santiago, Chile: Zig-Zag, 1967.
19 Agosto de 1894. Praz, Mario. The Romantic Agony. 2nd ed.
Diaz Seijas, Pedro. La antigua y moderna litera Trans. Angus Davidson. 1933;
tura venezolana. Caracas: Ediciones Armita?o, rpt. London: Oxford University Press. 1978.
1966 Prisco, Rafael di. Acerca de los or?genes de la novela
Dominici, Pedro C?sar. Bajo el sol de oto?o. venezolana. Caracas: Direcciones de Cultura,
Buenos Aires: Talleres Gr?ficos de la Sociedad Universidad Central de Venezuela, 1969.
Impresora Americana, 1947. Ratcliff, Dillwyn. Venezuelan Prose Fiction. New
?. EJ triunfo del ideal. Par?s: Librer?a de la Vda. York: Instituto de las Espa?as en los Estados
de Ch. Bouret, 1901. Unidos, 1933. Rich,
Dworkin, Andrea. Pornography: Men Possessing Rich, Adrienne. Of Woman Born. New York:
Women. New York: Perigee, W.W. Norton and Co., 1976.
G.P.Putnam's Sons, 1981. Rudorff, Raymond. The Belle Epoque: Paris in the
?. Woman-Hating. New York: E.P. Dutton, Nineties. New York: Saturday Review Press,
1974. 1972.
English, Deirdre and Barbara Ehrenreich. Com Ruether, Rosemary. "Misogynism and Virginal
plaints and Disorders: The Sexual Politics of Sickness Feminism in the Fathers of
Old Westbury, New York: The Feminist Press, the Church." In Women in Western Thought. E
1973. Martha Lee Osborne. New York: Rando
Figes, Eva. Patriarchal Attitudes. Greenwich, House, 1979.
Conn.: Fawcett, 1970. Salinas, Pedro. "El problema del modernismo en
Goic, Cedomil. Historia de la novela hispa Espa?a, o un conflicto entre dos esp?ritus." Li
noamericana. Valpara?so, Chile: Ediciones Un teratura espa?ola siglo XX. M?xico: Editorial
iversitarias de Valpara?so, 1972. S?neca, 1941.
Griffin, Susan. Pornography and Silence: Cultures Sontag, Susan. "The Pornographie Imagina
Revenge against Nature. New York: Harper and tion." Styles of Radical Will. New York: Delta Dell
Row, 1981. Publishing Company, 1969.
Gull n, Ricardo. Direcciones del modernismo. Ma "Turistas." Caras y Caretas. A?o II. No. 9, diciem
drid. Gredos, 1963. bre 11 de 1890.

63

This content downloaded from 34.192.2.131 on Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:30:49 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms