Gabriela Mistral and russian literature. On the influence of Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorki and Leonid Andreiev on her life and work (1904-1936)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to explain the influence of some Russian novelists on Gabriela Mistral’s life and work, because those are frequently mentioned during her artistic career, recommended as mandatory readings, and quoted as referents for education and social change. Firstly, the influence of those writers is described and analyzed, based on significant moments during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century: her first contact with the works of those writers in 1904 in Bernardo Ossandón’s Library, the suggestion to read them made to Neruda in 1920, and some writings, interviews, and journals in which she mentioned them. Secondly, it is intended to show how some Russian novelists were not only a literary influence on Mistral, but also people with whom she strongly identified herself, due to the similarities she seemed to recognize; such as the sufferings and difficulties experienced during their lives.

Keywords

• Gabriela Mistral
• novelistas rusos
• escritores chilenos
• influencia literaria
• influencia biográfica.