Orbis Tertius (Nov 2010)
Poner el cuerpo: La configuración narrativa del pícaro como crítica del sistema colonial de la Nueva España en El Periquillo Sarniento
Abstract
The present article aims to analyze the novel El Periquillo Sarniento [1816] by Lizardi as an aesthetic response to historical changes undergone by the society of New Spain at the dawn of emancipation from the Spanish colonial system. The novel expresses the vicissitudes and deeds of a lettered criollo trying to reposition himself in an old-fashioned, suffocating power system with crumbling foundations. The narrator-protagonist's actions are studied in the light of the concepts of "colonial subject"[Rolena Adorno], "dialogic thinking" [Nancy Vogeley] and "the ambiguity of picaresque" [Maurice Molho]. Our objective is to unravel Lizardi's innovative perspective regarding the usefulness of the letrado within a society affected by both political and social changes
