To sacrifice the hero in order to create nationalism? Clemencia by Ignacio Manuel Altamirano

Abstract

Clemencia (1869) presents a tragic resolution with the death ofFernando Valle, the novel’s hero, depicted as patriotic, military, and moreno. The ending is problematic when considering the novel in terms of a narrativethat constructs the nation-state (Doris Sommer) because there is no explanationfor tragic demise of its exemplary citizen. A possible interpretation arises when Valle is considered a sacrifcial victim (René Girard). The historical setting forthe novel is a moment of crisis in Mexican history, a moment in which the distinctionsbetween traitor and hero become unclear. Valle’s death, analyzed fromthe perspective of Girardian sacrifce, is an act that reestablishes order in thecommunity and contains the previously uncontained violence.