Cumanda, by Juan Leon Mera seems to be a very interesting, descriptive and informative novel which is based around a love story between an Indian girl, Cumanda, and a European, Carlos. After reading the first ten chapters, I have gained more knowledge about the lifestyles, scenery and nature which the indigenous people flourished in. The author does a great job of describing the scenery and portraying it not only as miraculous, but foreign to the Europeans inflicting “peligrosos y sopresas” (Mera, 89). He uses a lot of exaggeration to get across his point, for example “millones de millones de arboles” and “palmas que parecen gigantes” (Mera, 90).
I appreciate Juan Leon Mera’s use of poetic devices in his descriptions, such as metaphors, and detailed descriptions of customs, towns (such as Andoas) and nature (the rivers and the forests) because I am able to imagine what it would be like for the European explorers. From his descriptions, I can imagine the scenery as heavenly since he emphasises the abundance and diversity of flowers and scents found in the area. Chapter three was interesting in that he describes the Tongana family as harmonious and mutually cooperative, enabling readers to understand the indigenous lifestyle and culture better. Furthermore, Leon Mera does a great job in describing his observation of the different nomadic tribes, and how travelling among them can be dangerous and necessary precautions must be taken.
My favourite part thus far would be the exchange of words between Cumanda and Carlos when they profess their love for one another due to the romanticism; “tu presencia me transforma” (Mera, 111). I like Carlos’s poetic nature as he has a “corazon de poeta” (Mera, 136). I also liked Chapter ten's use of poems and events around Cumanda y “el blanco.”
Overall, I have enjoyed the first ten chapters, since they are interesting and descriptive in my opinion, and I am fond of Leon Mera’s style of writing.
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5 comments:
Estoy de acuerdo contigo en que la lengua es muy hermosa, especificamente las poemas del capitulo diez. Evidentemente Mera es un buen escritor para que puede comunicar tantos sentimientos en formas de poemas y prosas.
-Sarah Barrett
I agree and disagree with your comments. I disagree with the fact that it is interesting, as I found the first two chapters to be very tedious, slow, and exagerated. They were long and boring but at the same time, I agree with one of your points. That is, Mera uses a very poetic terminology, very romantic and flourished to describe in detail the scenery and the native life. As one of the first authors in Ecuador, I am sure his intent was, as you put it, to give his readers a complete and detailed description of this new, but dangerous land. At the same time, I am sure that he was inspired by the beauty of the scenery to use such powerful descriptive words. I think he also uses this exagerated style of writing in the very beginning to prepare the reader for the intricate, dramatic and charged content of the whole book.
Mera's way of explaining the scenerey and landscape like cristina said is a bit tedious, but at the same point in my view is what mera is trying to communicate. This landscape of Ecuador and Northwest SouthAmerica isnt just a couple of trees here and some bushes over there but is a complex setting with unknown limits. For the romance story i really did buy the dialouge between the two, it was a bit too over the top. Maybe im just not the romantic type, but overall i am liking this book but at the same time like cristina said finding it a bit to much at times.
I definitely agree with your appreciation of Mera’s use of poetic devices in his description of the Ecuadorian wilderness. My favourite example of this was the line referring to “el sistema fluvial de los desiertos orientales, que se confunden y mueren en el seno del monarca de los ríos del mundo (p. 88).” I enjoyed his description of “the monarch of the world’s rivers,” referring to the Amazon.
I also enjoyed the line that you mentioned from the first meeting between Carlos and Cumandá: “tu presencia me transforma,” and the part that follows, “eres un elemento de vida para mi corazón y de fortaleza para mi alma (p. 111).”
Patrick and Cristina’s comments mentioned the tediousness of Mera’s descriptions and I was surprised myself that I didn’t find them tedious, because I don’t usually like books to begin with long passages of description like this. Also, Patrick said that he found the romantic parts a bit too over the top, and again, I am surprised at myself for not agreeing with him more. I think it must be because of the beauty of the Spanish prose, because I imagine reading these same lines in English (“your presence transforms me!” Give me a break!), and finding them pretty cheesy and overdone. So even though it makes for pretty slow reading for me to get through Mera’s prose, it also makes the language so much more alive and exotic and interesting to me.
- Dan
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