Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
"Pedro Páramo," written by Juan Rulfo and published in 1955, is a seminal work in Latin American literature that explores themes of memory, guilt, and the haunting presence of the past. The novel follows Juan Preciado, a young man who journeys to the ghost town of Comala in search of his father, Pedro Páramo. Upon arrival, he encounters an eerie landscape filled with the echoes of the dead, including Eduviges Dyada, who reveals the dark legacy of his father—a man characterized by cruelty and moral decay. The narrative weaves through the complex relationships and tragedies that define Pedro Páramo's life, particularly his obsession with Susana San Juan, which leads to emotional turmoil and disintegration.
Rulfo's storytelling delves into the psychological and social ramifications of his characters' lives, reflecting broader themes tied to Mexican identity and the impacts of historical events, particularly the Mexican Revolution. The novel's experimental structure and rich imagery offer a profound commentary on the intertwined fates of individuals and the communities they inhabit. With its exploration of existential despair and the interplay of life and death, "Pedro Páramo" remains a powerful and relevant piece of literature that continues to resonate with readers worldwide.
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Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
First published: 1955 (English translation, 1959)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Psychological symbolism
Time of plot: Late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
Locale: Comala, Jalisco, Mexico
Principal characters
Pedro Páramo , a rural boss and landownerJuan Preciado , one of his many sons and the main narrator of the storyDoña Eduviges Dyada , a friend of Juan’s dead motherSusana San Juan , Páramo’s childhood sweetheartFather Rentería , the priest of ComalaAna , Father Rentería’s nieceAbundio Martínez , another of Páramo’s sons, and his killerMiguel Páramo , the son whom Páramo acknowledgesDamiana Cisneros , Páramo’s housekeeperFulgo Sedano , Páramo’s man of businessDorotea , an old procurerDamasio (El Tilcuate) , a revolutionary in the hire of Páramo
The Story:
Juan Preciado, a peasant and Pedro Páramo’s son, in fulfillment of the last will of his mother, arrives on foot to Comala looking for his father. During his journey, another man had joined him; the traveler turns out to be another of Páramo’s sons. He tells Juan Preciado that their father was a “kindled rancor” and that he is dead. Preciado finds only one other person in Comala, Eduviges Dyada, an old friend of his mother, and she gives him shelter. The woman is dead, as is the companion of Preciado during the journey.
Pedro Páramo appears as a boy, dreaming of his childhood sweetheart, Susana San Juan, and doing some domestic chores. Susana is the only true, deep love of Páramo, in contrast to the many other women whom he has seduced, and raped. Eduviges Dyada tells Preciado that she should have been his mother, for on her nuptial night his true mother, advised by a soothsayer, asked Eduviges to take her place beside Páramo. Little by little, Páramo’s moral profile is drawn by Eduviges. She continues to tell Preciado what kind of man his father is. She tells of Miguel Páramo—the only son whom Pedro acknowledges—a violent, sexual predator who died in an accident. Father Rentería, the local priest, enters the plot. His brother had been murdered and his niece raped by Miguel Páramo, but he nevertheless had to celebrate a funeral mass and perform the last Catholic rites for the soul of Miguel.
To add to this conflict of emotions, Father Rentería also believes he had betrayed his priestly state because he had not taken a firm stand against the abuses committed by wealthy people, Pedro Páramo in particular. The priest also had not given true hope and consolation to the poor. Once, when he went to confess to the parish priest of Contla, he was reprimanded and denied the absolution because he had allowed his parishioners to live lives of superstition and fear.
Pedro Páramo appears again, as an adult. He has grown, as Father Rentería says, as weeds do. He obtains all that he ever wanted—women, children, lands—by such unscrupulous means as unfulfilled promises, money, threats, violence, and death. His only redeeming trait is his love for Susana San Juan, who was previously married to Florencio and who, after becoming a widow, agreed to become Páramo’s wife. She goes insane, and a change begins to transform Pedro’s soul. He feels old, sad, and impotent, and his situation gets worse after Susana dies in his hacienda, Media Luna. On her deathbed, she believes herself to be with her dead husband. Páramo’s life begins to disintegrate; he suspects that death will come soon. One morning a son, Abundio Martínez, grief stricken because of his wife’s death, gets drunk and goes to his father to ask for money for the burial. Blinded by wine, Abundio stabs his father to death. Páramo falls as if he were a pile of stones.
Bibliography
Beardsell, Peter. “Juan Rulfo: Pedro Páramo.” In Landmarks in Modern Latin American Fiction, edited by Philip Swanson. New York: Routledge, 1990. Provides a detailed analysis of the novel and discusses its significance to the development of twentieth century Latin American literature.
Brotherston, Gordon. The Emergence of the Latin American Novel. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977. Discusses the plot of Pedro Páramo; the nature of its narrative, themes, and atmosphere; and its place within the context of literature concerned with the Mexican Revolution. A good introduction to Rulfo’s fictional world.
Detjens, Wilma Else. Home as Creation: The Influence of Early Childhood Experience in the Literary Creation of Gabriel García Márquez, Agustín Yáñez, and Juan Rulfo. New York: Peter Lang, 1993. Describes how Rulfo’s childhood home, the people he knew as a child, and events in Mexican history inspired the geographic setting and other elements of Pedro Páramo.
Dove, Patrick. “’Exígele lo nuestro’: Transition and Restitution in Rulfo’s Pedro Páramo.” In The Catastrophe of Modernity: Tragedy and the Nation in Latin American Literature. Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 2004. Analyzes the novel within the context of Mexican history and culture, describing how it reflects questions about national identity that arose after the Mexican Revolution.
Harss, Luis, and Barbara Dohmann. Into the Mainstream: Conversations with Latin-American Writers. New York: Harper & Row, 1967. Provides an interview-based overview of Rulfo and his works; the discussion of his writings is punctuated by comments from Rulfo himself. An excellent starting point for further study.
Leal, Luis. Juan Rulfo. Boston: Twayne, 1983. A solid study of Rulfo’s life and career, with two chapters devoted to Pedro Páramo. Topics covered include the place of Rulfo’s novel within the context of the novel of the Mexican Revolution, the novel’s roots in Rulfo’s short stories, its structure, initial critical reaction to the work, the work’s multiple narrative threads, and the role of imagery.
McMurray, George R. Spanish American Writing Since 1941: A Critical Survey. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1987. Offers concise commentary on Pedro Páramo before discussing Rulfo’s contribution to Spanish American fiction. Brief but good introduction.
Sommers, Joseph. After the Storm: Landmarks of the Modern Mexican Novel. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1968. Discusses the narrative perspective of Pedro Páramo, its structure, its characters, and, as Sommers puts it, the work’s “mythic underpinnings.”
Wilson, Jason. “Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo.” In The Cambridge Companion to the Latin American Novel, edited by Efraín Kristal. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. In addition to essays charting the development of the Latin American novel from the nineteenth century, this collection contains analyses of six of the most significant examples of the genre, including Pedro Páramo.